Dayworld

Mudge stepped through the entrance, which had been hidden by the wall strip, into an elevator cage. He turned and beckoned Ohm to follow him. Ohm got into it. Mudge said, "Up." The doors closed, and the cage rose swiftly. Evidently, since there was no display of floor numbers, the elevator went to one floor only. When it stopped, Mudge got behind Ohm and gently nudged him out. Charlie did not like it that Mudge, who had been in front of him almost all the way, now was behind him. He could do nothing about it and was not sure that he had any reason to try to do something.

They stepped out, facing south, into a large but low-ceilinged room with unactivated wall strips and a thick expensive-looking green carpet. Mudge told him to move on. Charlie went to the only door, which led west. Here was a curving hallway about ten feet wide with another thick carpet and dead-screen strips. As they walked along it, Charlie Ohm saw doors closed on his right. He doubted that these were tenanted. Whoever lived here had plenty of extra rooms and must, therefore, be a very important person indeed.

At the end of a curving three hundred feet, they stopped before a large door. Mudge inserted an ID tip into the code-hole. A few second later, a voice told them to come in. Mudge stepped behind Ohm again and told him to go in. Ohm pulled the door open and went in. He was in a large anteroom with plenty of comfortable-looking chairs and davenports. Obviously, he was to go into the next room. He opened the door to that and entered a very large room. Its windows gave him a view of the Hudson River and of the forest covering the part of New Jersey that he could see. There was a lot of furniture, though not too much for this room. On the wall, spaced among the activated strips, were paintings in the ancient Chinese ma

The man sitting in a chair at the end of the room, near a window, was wearing scarlet pajamas and slippers and a Kelly-green morning robe. He was large and dark-ski

Mudge said, "You may stop here." Meaning, "You must." Ohm did so, and Mudge said, "I'll take your bag."

Reluctantly, Ohm handed it over. He had intended to see just where Mudge put it, but the man arose from the chair and bowed slightly, shaking hands with himself. That was Tuesday's greeting, which meant that this man could be that day's citizen. Or it could mean that he was indicating that he knew Ohm's primal persona. Or it could mean both.

The man smiled and said, "Welcome, grandson."

Ohm stared, felt his blood rushing from his head, and said, "Grandson?"

"Also my great-great-grandson in your paternal and maternal lines."

Though shaken, Ohm had recovered quickly. Aware that he had not returned the formal greeting, he did so. And he said, "You have the advantage of me."

That was not quite true. Only one man in the world could be his great-great-grandfather and still be living. But he had died.

That was what the vital statistics of the World Data Bank recorded. However, who knew better than Ohm that the data bank held many lies?

"Advantage?" the man said. He gestured that Ohm should sit down. Ohm, as was proper, waited until the older man seated himself first. Before taking the chair offered, he glanced around. Mudge was standing by a table ten feet behind him. The shoulderbag was on the table but unopened. Mudge, of course, would know by its weight that it contained a gun.

Ohm also sca

Ohm sat down, looked steadily into the man's eyes, and said, "All right, no advantage. You did take me by surprise, I admit that. I had no idea ... we've all been told that the founder was killed in a laboratory accident."

"Blown to bits," the man said. "It was not difficult to grow skin and organs and bones from my own cells, even hands, which had, of course, my fingerprints, and one eyeball that was not destroyed by the explosion. By design, of course. There were a lot of of courses."

"Your intimates were wondering why you looked so young," Ohm said. "You finally had to seem to die, and then you took a new ID."

Gilbert Ching Immerman nodded and said, "My permanent residence is not in this country. It won't hurt for you to know that. You may also know that Saturday is not my official citizenship day. I flew here to straighten this mess out."

Whatever Immerman's name was now, it was that of a very high official, Ohm thought. Probably he was a world councilbr. Only a man of that rank and influence could have a personal apartment-such a large one, too-that he rarely used. And only a very high official could break day when he pleased. Ohm wondered what his coverup story was. Not that that mattered. What did matter was why Immerman was here.

"Grandfather," Ohm said. He paused. "May I call you Grandfather?"

"I'd like that," Immerman said. "No one has ever done that. I had to deny myself the pleasure of my grandchildren's corn- pany. But, of course, I also did not have to be involved in the sometimes painful and distressing troubles thaf come with the joys of grandchildren. Yes, you may call me Grandfather."

He stopped, smiled.

"But what do I call you?"

Ohm said, "What ... ? Oh! I see. Today's Saturday. Call me Charlie, please."

Immerman shook his head slightly, then made a gesture. Mudge appeared by Ohm's side and said, "Yes, sir."

"Would you get us some tea. Our guest may be hungry, also. Would you like some food, Charlie?"

"Some protein cookies would be nice," Ohm said. "I had a very light breakfast."

"I would imagine you would," Immerman said. "The way of life you lead ... today, that is. You are amazing, Charlie. Not quite unique in being a daybreaker sanctioned as such by the immer council. But unique in your roles. And in the intensity with which you have adopted these roles ... personae, rather. I believe that you actually become a new man each day. Admirable, in some respects. In others, dangerous."

Here it comes, Ohm thought. Now we're getting to the reason I'm here. This is not meant to be a family reunion.

"May I walk around a little while we're waiting for the tea and cookies?" Charlie said. "I didn't get my accustomed exercise. I'm tight and sluggish. I can think better with the muscles loose and the blood flowing."

"Be my guest."

Feeling somewhat self-conscious, Charlie got up and strode up and down the room. He stopped at the entrance, turned, and went as far as a few feet from Immerman before turning again. The old man-old man, he did not look more than five years older than his grandson!-sat with folded hands and watched. He was smiling very faintly. While Charlie paced back and forth, he saw a huge seal-point Siamese cat enter from a doorway. It paused, looked intently with enormous blue eyes at Ohm, then trotted to Immerman and leaped upon his lap. It curled down there while Immerman gently stroked it.

"Ming is my first and only pet," Immerman said softly. "Ming the Merciless. I doubt you know the reference. He's almost as old as I am. In obyears, that is. From time to time, I stone him."

Charlie took his gaze away from the wall strips, though he had seen something in one that had startled him. He said, "Even so, Ming must have been given the elixir for him to live so long. Right?"

"Right," Immerman said. "Only ... it's not an elixir. It's a biological form, a genuine life form, though artificial in origin. It cleanses the plaque from the arteries, does many things. It also partially suppresses the inherent aging agent in our cells. I don't know how it does it, though I've been trying to find out for a long time."