Chapter Fifty-two: "The size of someone's brain has nothing to do with the stupid things you do." Ariana asks Riftvan what he did to her mind before he asked her to marry him. He claims he was just checking his chances. He mentions that the sooner she lets him sleep, the sooner they can leave. Ariana goes down the kitchen to request some food and works out while it's being prepared. Alex asks Delwin how Sand was able to remove the key Spikard from Delwin when Bleys and Fiona had so much trouble getting it off of Foster. Delwin points out that while Foster was wearing the ring, Sand controls the source. Alex observes that this places Delwin in a nasty situation. He suggests Delwin might want to let Random know he's in Amber, before Bleys, Fiona or Gerard mention it. Delwin isn't worried about Bleys and Fiona. He suggests Alex convince Gerard to keep quiet. Alex is doubtful that he can pull it off. Delwin asks if Alex is that unsubtle. Alex decides this is going nowhere and chats with Lucretia next. Lucretia can't tell him much about Delwin and doesn't want a tour of the castle, but she does want some food. Alex arranges to have something sent up for her, but opts to eat with the family. Ahab is domestic with Nicholas and Kimdyl for a while. They engage in their usual bickering, but, in an unusual turn of events, it doesn't end in sex. Heather is eating when she hears an explosion and machine gun fire from the next room. She checks and finds the girls are playing some CD-ROM game. She goes back to reading her book. Some time later, she catches the girls watching a porno channel. She tells Eris that she doubts Driscoll would approve. Eris claims Driscoll would find it mind-expanding. Emer looks almost proud. Heather doesn't believe Eris and insists they turn it off. She begins to regret allowing Eris to sleep over. Driscoll calls Heather and checks to see how she's handling the girls. Heather claims everything's fine and she'll call him in the morning. Driscoll gets the impression that there's something she's not telling him, but can't get anything out of her. He says he'll pick Eris up tomorrow morning. Felix also arranges to eat in his quarters. Michael is rather put out by all the requests he's getting for separate meals. Everyone gets the equivalent of a McDonald's Happy Meal, only the burgers are much better than fast food burgers and the fries are curly. Felix Trumps Caine and says he has a question. He explains that Sand tried to ruin Foster's life, and mentions that Delwin is in the castle. Caine thanks him and breaks the contact. Felix is unable to re-establish it. Foster points out that was stupid. Felix tells Foster that Rinaldo came by. Foster thinks Rinaldo just wanted to know if he had figured out how to use the Spikard. Felix says he thought Foster knew that. Foster explains that his instructors left out how to activate the Spikard, since he was such a precocious child. Felix tries to reach Caine again, but still can't get through. Ariana finds Kira and takes Jalana back. Kira asks if Riftvan can change her back yet. Ariana says he's still not well enough. Kira is not pleased at all. Ariana takes Jalana back to the infirmary and spends the rest of the evening there. Alex, Ahab, Kimdyl, Nicholas, Deirdre, Flora, Gerard, Isabeux, Lyss, Random, Vialle and Mirelle are present at dinner. Gerard ignores Alex throughout the meal. Ahab asks Lyss if walking the Pattern first blocks you from taking the Logrus. Lyss says she's not sure. Although she's walked the Pattern, she has no intention of taking the Logrus. She does mention that she doesn't seem to be able to shapeshift. Ahab explains that Vetch told him the Logrus had to be taken before the Pattern, and he's trying to catch Vetch out in a lie. He asks if Lyss has heard from Ariadne, but she hasn't. Ahab remarks that Ariadne has gone incomminicado before. Lyss disagrees. Ahab explains that it was before she was born, and teases that the world didn't begin with her birth. Lyss asks how deep one could bury a fork in his thigh. He asks if she wants to know theoretically or where she's concerned. She says both, so he tells her that theoretically a fork could go all the way through his thigh, but she couldn't touch him. Lyss concentrates. Ahab tells her that's cheating, right before he disappears. Random gives Lyss a quizzical look. Lyss says she'll bring him back when she's no longer mad at him. The rest of the meal is uneventful. Alex returns from dinner to find Lucretia lying on the floor unconscious. Other than the black eye, she seems to be OK. Delwin is gone from the other room, and a struggle seems to have taken place. There is a drop of viscous blood by the bed and a little bit of dirt. It looks like it's from a woodland area. Alex carries Lucretia to the bed and tends to her. She comes around and bops him on the nose before she realizes it's him. All she can him is that she thinks she heard the door open and there was a flash of red. She figures that it can't have been Sand, since she's still alive. Alex says he'll go looking for Delwin. Lucretia tells him to be careful, since they play rough. She asks if he wants any help, but she doesn't sound real enthusiastic. Alex asks if she can give him any leads. She tells him that Delwin once mentioned that he wouldn't return to Amber because Caine and Julian might do him in. Alex goes up to the battlements and uses the Logrus to search Arden for signs of Delwin's Spikard. No luck. Nothing out at sea, either. He ponders for a while on the battlements and starts working on a spell to locate Delwin. Ahab finds himself in a gray, featureless area, where neither Pattern or Trump seem to work. He decides to take a nap. He wakes up some indeterminate time later and starts experiencing sensory deprivation. He closes his eyes and tries bringing the Pattern to mind again. While he's concentrating, he feels himself move. He opens his eyes and finds himself about a foot above the table and falling fast. He laughs right before he makes contact with a solid thud. A page asks who goes there. Ahab identifies himself and sort of explains what happened. The page looks confused. Ahab can't think of anything appropriate to do to Lyss in retaliation, and he's not tired, so he opts to finally read that book on shadow physics that he got from Brand. Much of it makes no sense, although he is able to figure out that Lyss put him in a shadow pocket. Alex's spell is ready by dawn, but even that can't locate Delwin. He starts casting it again, this time looking for Julian. This takes another hour or so and locates Julian in Arden. Alex uses the Logrus to determine that there is Pattern in Arden, but not enough to be more than one Amberite. He asks a page where Caine is. The page isn't sure, but guesses he's at sea. Sure enough, Alex finds Pattern out at sea, but it's also not enough to be more than one Amberite. He debates which uncle he wants to contact (do you like your death hot or cold?). Felix wakes up and Trumps Caine again. Caine answers this time and comments that it's rather early. Felix notices that Caine is sporting quite a shiner. Caine ignores Felix's questioning look. Felix asks what's going on between Delwin and Gerard. Caine tells him that Gerard doesn't like Delwin. Felix asks if he knows why. Caine says he does. Felix explains that he's worried Sand may try for Foster again. Caine says there's been a bit of a dent in that plan. Felix asks again why Gerard dislikes Delwin. Caine says he doesn't want the beating that he'd incur by telling Felix. It's Gerard's story, after all. Felix complains that Caine is not being very helpful and points out that he could ask Julian. Caine says he's welcome to try, but Julian is probably just as loyal to Gerard as he is. Felix suggests he get that eye looked at and breaks the contact. Heather wakes up at 8:30. Half an hour later, while she's still getting dressed, the doorbell rings. Heather ignores it. It rings again. Heather continues to ignore it, hoping one of the girls will get it. It rings a third time. She throws a robe on and answers the door, just as Driscoll is about to knock. Heather looks pissy and tells him she doesn't know where they are. This doesn't seem to improve Driscoll's mood any. She calls for the girls, but gets no answer. Checking their room reveals that their beds are neatly made, but they are gone. Heather scowls and searches the apartment. She finds a note from the girls on a table by the door. It says that since it was a school day, and she was sleeping so soundly, they left to catch the bus themselves. She shows the note to Driscoll, who recalls that yesterday was indeed Sunday. He apologizes. She asks how the album's going. He tells her they can discuss it over breakfast. She says he should find whatever he needs in the kitchen and leaves to finish getting dressed before Driscoll can protest. Ariana wakes up and notices that Riftvan is out of bed and standing by the window. She remarks that he's doing better and asks if he can take care of changing Kira back. He tells her he can't change both her and Kira, and he thought she wanted to see her son. She says she does, but she can't leave Kira like that. Riftvan doesn't seem to understand why. Ariana insists that it would be wrong. Riftvan says he'll come back later and take care of it. Ariana reluctantly agrees, once he assures her it shouldn't be more than a couple of hours from Kira's point of view. Riftvan warns her that the shaping will hurt if she resists it. The process of shaping her into a Faerie is somewhat uncomfortable and takes half an hour. When he's done, she's almost unrecognizable. She's taller, thinner, and weaker, with larger eyes, slanted eyebrows and pointed ears, although her eye and hair color are unchanged. She also no longer has Pattern. Riftvan opens a gate, takes her hand and they step through, arriving in a medieval-looking room. Riftvan has Ariana change into some better fitting clothing, and then takes her to the nursery. Ariana hurries over and picks up Morgan. While she's fussing over him, she hears a voice tell Riftvan that he took his time. Sand adds that she was barely able to get Delwin away from Caine and Julian. Riftvan says he was busy. Sand glares at him and leaves. Ariana observes that he tends to have that affect on people. Riftvan says he can hardly be blamed if people have unreasonable expectations. Ariana notes that Sand seems perfectly sane to her. Riftvan says she is. Ariana asks what else he lied to her about. He says they have a lot of time to discuss this, but now there's something he needs to do. He leaves her with the twins. Alex notices a brief surge of odd magic and notes that it came from the infirmary. He continues thinking about his problem and eventually decides to try talking to Julian over Caine. He rides into Arden. As he gets further into the forest, he spots a hawk flying overhead, and shortly afterwards his horse gets very nervous. He looks around and notices wolves off in the shadows. Alex forces the horse onwards, until the wolves emerge and harass the horse into stopping. Alex says he wants to talk to Julian. The wolves don't seem to care. Alex threatens to go around the wolves. The wolves attack. The horse runs away. Alex casts a lightning bolt spell, which discourages a few of them. He picks a wolf up with the Logrus and throws it at the others, which only momentarily slows them down. He gets the impression that they're toying with him. He dismounts and the horse takes off. He insists that he's going to talk to Julian, so the wolves come after him in earnest. He opts to leave via a spell gate. Ahab is woken up by a pounding on the door. When he answers he finds a rather large page standing there, saying his mistress is gone with the baby. Ahab says he doesn't know the man. The page explains that he's really Kira. Ahab learns that Vetch is gone and asks if there were signs of a struggle. Kira says there weren't, but she thought Ariana would have at least said good-bye. Plus, Vetch was supposed to change her back to her proper form. Ahab notes there's not much he can do. Kira says she thought he should know, since he and Ariana had been close. Ahab notes that Ariana's behavior of late hasn't been the best. Kira decides to return to the house in town. Heather enters the kitchen and finds Driscoll staring at a cookbook. There is a frying pan with two eggs in it. In the sink. She asks if that's the best he can do after forty-five minutes. They wind up eating out, which is what Driscoll wanted to do in the first place. She tries to persuade him to record some more, but he shows no desire to do so. She does find out that the book store where she made her most recent purchase is a front for a wiccan cult. Felix notices that Gerard looks unhappy at breakfast. After the meal is over, he asks what he can do. Gerard says he'll get over it. Felix mentions that he told Caine that Delwin was in the castle. Gerard immediately pulls out Julian's Trump. Felix says Gerard didn't hear it from him. Gerard asks why. Felix tells Gerard of his morning conversation with Caine. Gerard says he'll do what he feels is best. Felix returns to his quarters to hide. Foster comes in and asks what's wrong. Felix explains. Foster tries to hide his delight that Felix is in trouble, but is unsuccessful. Felix is afraid Julian or Caine will beat him up. Or Gerard. Foster decides he has to leave, he's got classes after all. He asks what sort of flowers Felix wants at his funeral. He also points out that Felix is a bit big to be worried about a spanking. Felix responds that Gerard is even bigger. Ariana explores the Faerie castle. It's rather large and sprawling. She spots Sand and Riftvan talking in the garden, so she joins them. She hears them say something about the children before they notice her. Riftvan introduces them. Sand mentions she hasn't met Ariana in this form. She seems amused as she leaves. Ariana asks why Sand doesn't need to be shifted. Riftvan says she's learned Faerie magic. She asks what else he lied to her about. He asks her to be more specific. She asks if the attack on Morgan was real. He says it was, although he was expecting it. She asks why Sand is trying to kill Random. He says it will create a power vacuum, which always makes things interesting. However, he doesn't agree with it and is not helping her with that. He won't tell her what they're working on. She argues that it hardly matters now. He claims she might get clever and escape. She asks why he returned to Amber after leaving Morgan here. He admits that was stupid, but says it did make things more convincing. And he knew she had medical training and wouldn't let him die. She admits she wouldn't have, at the time. He says she's learning. She asks what changes are associated with this form. He tells her that he's already instructed that she not be taught gate spells. She doesn't have to worry about cold iron, since there isn't any here. However, she should avoid running water and holy items from the humans. Apparently there are a few of them still living in the shadow, despite the Faerie efforts to kill them all. He also tells her that she has some status from her position as his consort. She asks if that's what she is. He replies she is currently. She asks why Sand left Amber. He explains that her exile was self- imposed. Apparently she was angry with Oberon. Which reminds him, he has an appointment with Oberon, so he has to go. Ariana is quite startled and asks how that's possible. He explains he's Oberon's counselor, but it's not the Oberon she's thinking of. He looks quite amused at her misunderstanding. Ariana fails to see the humor in it. Alex arranges an audience with Random. He tells Random that Delwin is gone, and he thinks Caine and Julian were responsible. Random notes that if Caine and Julian are back now, that doesn't bode well for Delwin. He says he'll try and find out where the body is. He asks if Alex has any specific connection to Delwin or a reason for his interest in this matter. Alex says he doesn't wish to reveal it at this time. Random tells Alex that he will be upset if Alex kills Caine or Julian in the castle. Alex tells Random that when they brought Foster to Vetch, he said something about Sand double- crossing him. He also mentions that he suspects Ariana and Vetch are gone, due to the magic he detected earlier. Random asks if there were any signs of a struggle. Alex says he's not sure, since he hasn't been to the infirmary. Random says he'll talk to Julian and puts on the Jewel of Judgment. Alex checks out the infirmary and finds a large page moping about, but no sign of a struggle. Ahab and Kimdyl engage in their usual banter. Kimdyl is trying to get Ahab to act more mature. Ahab says he promised to love her when they were married, but he never promised to be rational. Kimdyl sends a Logrus tendril creeping up his leg. Ahab decides that as a rational man he'll promise whatever it takes to stop her from squeezing his balls. Kimdyl tickles him and lets him go. She asks if she's wounded his ego. He tickles her back. When this gets no response, he puts her in a painlock. She brings the Logrus back up. He points out he could raise the Pattern. She tells him that's not fair. A woman's supposed to use whatever's at her disposal. A man should be manly. He asks if she's going to stop. She asks if she's won. He assures her that she has, at least until he comes up with something creative, and lets her go. Kimdyl observes that coming up with something creative could take him a while. She also tells him he's baby-sitting and leaves. Ahab decides to pass the time by trying to learn how to teleport things other than himself. He brings Pattern to mind and tries to teleport a pillow out the window. Suddenly, he finds himself 20 feet up and falling fast. He feels his ankle break when he lands. He teleports up to the infirmary and has it set. Heather calls Mary and asks if she wants to look at some of the material for the recording. Mary does, and asks if they should meet at Heather's place or hers. Heather says she'll bring them over. Mary says she'd rather meet at Heather's. Heather agrees. Mary tells Heather to chill the wine and hangs up. She arrives in short order and starts looking over the stuff. She mentions that she's got some great photographs they could use. Of course, it would limit the audience... She asks why Heather doesn't do the cover design herself. Heather considers the notion. Felix looks up Isabeux and tells her the whole sordid tale. Isabeux observes that he's made a fine bed. She's amused that he was hiding in his room and tells him he's welcome to hide behind her skirts. He argues that he's too big. She says he could get on his hands and knees. He responds that she'd like that. Isabeux looks shocked and says they need to get him married off. She threatens to call Lord Feldane and suggests he wait for his father in his room. She tells him to remind his father and uncles that they haven't been able to make more. Felix isn't amused. Isabeux suggests that he may making the situation out to be worse than it is. Felix isn't convinced and goes back to his room. Ariana decides she really doesn't like the long skirts all the women wear, so she cuts hers down to size. She walks away from the castle, and finds the surrounding area is arboreal in nature. There's no one else around, although she feels like she's being watched. Eventually she comes across a small stream, and feels uneasy as she gets close to it. She follows it downstream for a while. After four hours, the twins need attention, and she realizes that she didn't bring any diapers with her. Riftvan shows up with some while she's considering what to do and offers to help. She asks how long he's been watching her. He says he's only been doing so for a minute or two. She asks if there's any place truly private in this shadow. He says her quarters are. He points out that he wouldn't let her go unobserved while she's still getting used to this form. She doubts she ever will. He tells her the Faeries would lynch her if they saw her real form. She tells him he's enjoying himself too much. He says he'll endeavor to look more stern. She struggles to keep from smacking him. Random knocks on Alex's door and tells him that Delwin is alive, but Sand has him again. Apparently his ring finger was removed when Caine and Julian had him, but Sand got that too. Random says he's instructed the brothers not to repeat such antics. He adds that he is making Sand a priority. Alex mentions that Bleys was helpful in dealing with Sand the last time. Random says Bleys left that detail out of his story. He Trumps Bleys. Bleys claims he thought it wasn't worth Random's time. Random doesn't buy it. Bleys says he'll be there when he's done with his current project. Random suggests he hurry and tells him to talk to Alex when he's ready. Random breaks the contact and explains that he figured Alex would want to be in charge. He tells Alex to keep him updated. Alex tells Random that he ran into Sand before, and she tends to remove valuable objects. Random asks if he's lost his Trump deck. Alex says it's not lost, since he's pretty sure Sand has it. Random gets a laugh out of this. He Trumps Heather and tells her the ambassador is short a deck. Heather says she'll see what she can do. Ahab waits for the plaster on his cast to dry and hobbles back to his quarters. Kimdyl walks into the room a short while later and asks what happened. Ahab looks embarrassed and says it was a metaphysical slip on a cosmic banana peel. Kimdyl asks if he fell down. He says she's on the right track. She asks how. He replies that it was feet first. She considers this for a moment, then asks where he teleported to. He won't say. She walks up to him, toys with his blouse, looks into his eyes, and starts laughing. Ahab continues to look embarrassed. Kimdyl tries to pamper him because of his injury, but he decides he doesn't like this. Heather puts together a bare minimum deck and Trumps Alex, but can't get through due to the defenses he's placed around his room. She figures she's done her part, so she and Mary eat lunch. Afterwards, she Trumps Random and explains that she can't get through to Alex. Random offers to pass the deck on to him. Heather is privately amused by the prospect of the King of Amber acting as a messenger. Random asks if anything else is going on. She tells him that his son can't cook. He suggests that if she finds it disagreeable, she should rectify it. Heather says it's not concern of hers. Random says he'll talk to Flora about it. Felix waits in his room until lunch, then asks his mother if it's safe for him to go down to eat. She says she'll come with him. Gerard is in the dining hall and says in a stern voice that he wants to talk to Felix after lunch. Felix turns pale. Ahab finds this amusing. Felix says he'll be in his quarters when Gerard is ready. Ahab asks Deirdre if they were ever that bad. Deirdre says no, when she had a problem with him she beat the shit out of him. But she adds that Gerard and Isabeux would be considered the better parents. After all, look at how Ahab turned out. Foster asks Ahab what Felix has done that Gerard is so upset about. Ahab figures he's screwed up his sex life. Foster says maybe they should just have him neutered. Ahab makes a teasing remark and Foster argues that Ahab isn't allowed to pick on him. Ahab smiles and says he was talking to Julian the other day... Rinaldo warns him not to do that, as Foster gets cranky when he's mad. Foster opts to go check on his father. Gerard knocks on Felix's door and is invited in by a very guilty looking Felix. Gerard asks if Felix has something he wants to tell him. Felix asks why Gerard is asking. Gerard replies that Felix looks like he does. Felix says he was worried about Gerard and Foster, and he only wanted to do what was best. He points out that Gerard has been absolutely miserable lately. Gerard denies this. Felix says he feels terrible about all of this. He mentions Caine's black eye. Gerard says that sometimes Caine gets what he asks for. Felix is confused by this. Gerard tells him that Delwin is no worse off than he was, but there's some dispute over possession of the body. He asks if he's that scary to his own son. Felix points out that Foster is afraid of him. Gerard says he forgives Felix, and Caine does too. He leaves. Foster pokes his head in shortly afterwards and remarks that Felix is still in one piece. Felix says he's feeling stupid. Foster tells Felix to remember that the next time he does something stupid. Felix is still upset. Foster assures him that the size of someone's brain has nothing to do with the stupid things you do. Ariana asks Riftvan what happened to her Trumps. He points out she can't use them here. She's still upset, so he offers to give them back to her. He says she's going to have to watch her temper. She replies she would have hit him already if she wasn't in control of it. He reminds her that she did once. She tells him that was a long time ago, and he deserved it. He mentions that her current clothing isn't appropriate. She explains that the long skirts make it impossible for her to fight. He says she's not expected to. When she asks what she's expected to do, he says she's expected to act feminine. She points out that he's never voiced any complaints. He admits he hasn't, but suggests it might be hard if the children have to grow up hearing she's a freak. She is, however, free to carry her sword, to avenge any insults. She asks if Alastor would have any affect on Faeries. He tells her that it has enough iron in it to do so, and it is an unusual sword. She asks what would have happened if she'd gone after him with her blade instead of her fist that one time. He admits he would have been rather unhappy. She reluctantly agrees to dress appropriately, but doesn't look happy about it. He tells her she's free to leave, but she can't take the twins with her since he doesn't want to risk them. She asks if he was lying before when he said Jalana would be safe. He admits he's not sure if Jalana would be anymore. Ariana expresses surprise that he'd let her go despite the fact that she's seen this shadow. She asks if he was planning to remove that information from her mind. He replies that she's convinced him not to do that to her anymore. She asks if he still thinks he can bring Kira to this shadow. He says he'd have to shape Kira into a Faerie in order to do so. She wants him to get Kira's permission first. He doesn't see why she cares so much about shadow dwellers. She points out that she was raised by them. He admits that's a handicap. She warns him that Kira will probably not be pleased to see him. Alex waits for Bleys in the hall, so Bleys will be able to Trump him. Bleys arrives in person, having been warned by Random about the difficulties with Trumping Alex. He tells Alex that Sand seems to have stashed Delwin someplace he can't find. He asks if Alex has any idea where she might have taken Delwin. Alex mentions that their infirm guest disappeared at about the same time as Delwin. Bleys asks if he's referring to Lord Vetch. On learning that he is, Bleys asks if there's anyone Ariana might have shared information on Vetch with. Alex suggests talking to Ahab. Ariana asks Riftvan why the twins ears are pointed. He admits that was an experiment. Apparently he was in his Riftvan form in Maui, but he used a glamour to disguise this. He wanted to see if the Faerie blood could be passed down to another generation, since he thinks they'll need the edge. She asks if this means he was lying about why he sought her out in shadow. He points out that he has dragged her around in shadow with him. She admits that's true. He asks why one normally does that. She asks if she'll have any more luck getting him to say it this time. He says it would be admitting to a terrible weakness. She argues that everyone has them. He admits that he cares for her and asks if she's happy. She says she is. He agrees to take her on a tour of the castle, after using a glamour to disguise her current clothing. He wants her to leave the twins behind, but she refuses. Alex and Bleys find Ahab in his quarters and ask what he can tell him about Lord Vetch. Ahab answers that Vetch is a father. Bleys is surprised. Ahab explains that Ariana delivered twins, a boy and a girl. Afterwards he and Vetch had a talk, and he decided not to kill Vetch. Bleys finds this interesting. He asks what form Vetch was in. Ahab says Vetch does all of his serious business in his Faerie form. Bleys says they know the location now, but it won't make it any easier. Ahab asks what Vetch has done. Bleys says he's made off with some property, and he's not referring to Ariana. Ahab says he could have been. Bleys asks if it's reached that stage, then, or if Vetch has brainwashed her. Ahab thinks that's the same thing. He is told that Delwin was taken from Caine and Julian by Sand at about the same time that Vetch left. Ahab tells Bleys that Vetch seems to be pretty tight with the Faeries, so he'll have to take them all on. Bleys mentions that one has to be Faerie to even get into the shadow. Ahab offers Bleys his cold iron spear, saying he doesn't need it now since he promised Ariana he wouldn't kill Vetch. Bleys looks impressed and remarks that he wouldn't want to get on Ahab's bad side. He asks if anyone has Ariana's Trump. Ahab hands Bleys his sketch of her. Bleys concentrates, and Ariana feels a faint tingle, but blocks it. She mentions it to Riftvan, who says he'll have to postpone the rest of the tour for a bit. Bleys says he can't get through. Ahab mentions that Ariana was in full paranoid mode when they last talked, so she probably wouldn't be receiving calls. He also mentions that she smacked him soundly, psychically. Bleys says she can be deprogrammed. He asks if Ahab is sure he's not up to coming along. Ahab points to his ankle and asks if Bleys can wait a few days. Bleys asks if that has anything to do with the Pattern activity he detected the earlier. Ahab refuses to comment. Quote of the day "I know all of the pages, because I'm intimate with them all." -- Ahab