Read Online Dramocles: An Intergalactic Soap Opera by Robert Sheckley - Free Book Online Page B

old fellow was now! And here was Phlibistia, his baby nurse, and Otania, the love of his fourteenth year. Room after room was filled with similar surprises, but something stranger lay ahead, for Dramocles came to a series of rooms with closed doors, and when he tried them, he found they were locked.
    He rattled the handles and banged at the doors, even tried to break them down with a well-placed kick. But he was an ethereal being in an imaginary place, and his blows had no force. Regretfully he turned away. He had the feeling that vital information lay behind those doors, and he didn’t understand why they were barred to him. Puzzling, he went on toward a glow of light in the unfathomable distance. As he came closer, he saw that there was a single door at the end of the corridor. It was open, and shining with light.
    Dramocles went in. He was in one of the rooms of his young manhood, the East Bower, where he used to dream of the great things he would do when he was king. There was his rolltop desk, and a man was sitting at it.
    The man lifted his head. Dramocles saw a slim, bold-featured young fellow with a flat nose and burning eyes. It was himself, forty pounds slimmer, and without a beard.
    “Yes, that’s right,” the young Dramocles said. “I’m you. It’s an anomaly. I shouldn’t be here at all. Do take a seat.”
    Dramocles sat down on a nearby couch and patted his pockets for a cigarette. Young Dramocles gave him one and held a light for him.
    “I suppose you’ve been wondering what to do next,” young Dramocles said.
    “As a matter of fact, I have.”
    Young Dramocles nodded. “The next move is rather delicate. I thought it best to tell you about it in person. You see, it involves Rufus.”
    “Good old Rufus!”
    “I was sure his loyalty had no end. That’s good. But now it will be necessary for him to betray you.”
    “Rufus, betray me? He’d die first! Anyhow, I’ve got plenty of people around who’d love to betray me, so why must it be Rufus, who wouldn’t?”
    “Only Rufus will do. His position is crucial. He commands the great spacefleet of Druth.”
    “And Glorm is safe as long as Rufus’s ships stand with my own.”
    “True. But safe isn’t good enough. Your position is static and subject to deterioration. Crimsole is on the alert against you, and there’s still the Vanir to consider. This could go on for years, to nobody’s gain. To change the situation, somebody must change sides. Rufus is the logical candidate.”
    “You must be crazy,” Dramocles said. “That’s exactly what I don’t need.”
    “Rufus’s betrayal will be a mere sham. When the enemy spacefleets are engaged with your own, Rufus will spring the trap, coming out with the fleet of Druth and catching your opponents from the rear.”
    Dramocles shook his head. “Rufus would never agree to such a dishonorable course of action.”
    “Sure he will. It’s just a matter of presenting it to him in the right way.”
    “Maybe you’re right,” Dramocles said. “But what am I doing all of this for? What is my destiny? People are saying that I am trying to reestablish the old Glormish Empire.”
    “Your destiny is far greater than that. But just what it is cannot yet be told. Trust me, Dramocles, for I am yourself. Let them think that you seek the Glormish hegemony. It is a useful screen to mask your deeper purpose.”
    “But I don’t know what that purpose is!”
    “You will, and soon. Remember this conversation. When the time comes, make the right moves. For now, farewell.”
    Young Dramocles faded from sight.
    Dramocles found himself back in the Shrine Room.
    Drusilla was saying, “Father, are you all right? Did you learn what you needed?”
    “I got more than I wanted, and not half enough,” said Dramocles. “I must get back to Ultragnolle immediately. I fear a difficult time ahead.”
    He left without ceremony, a worried man.

 
    17
    On his way back to Ultragnolle, Dramocles began considering the rapidly