THE CATERPILLARS QUESTION

"So then the Imago did mature," he continued. "And at the same time, the egg-we had thought it was just a sting or something, but apparently it was a tiny egg, that was timed to grow and mature the same time the Imago did, so it could help-it grew big, and hatched, and the hatchling turned out to be a little charneleonlike creature that can greatly facilitate the effect of the Imago. The Imago is-is empathy. For every living thing, animal and plant.

Every type of creature. And it really can save the galaxy, because a Gaol with empathy for others is a decent person. The way Garth is. You carry supreme empathy with you, Tappy."

"Yes," she breathed, lying back on the bed and drawing him down with her."

I feel it! Always a little, but now overwhelmingly." Her hands drew him in. "Tell me more about it, while you make love to me.

Jack had hoped she would forget about that. But it didn't matter; he knew he was going to do it. She really was old enough now, not just because of her phantom seven years, but because the Imago made her more fully adult than any normal person could ever be.

"But with the arrival of the Imago," he continued, stroking her body, touching her small breasts on either side of the bandage, through her nightie, "came also the Gaol. They had not been able to find us until then. But they zeroed in on the Imago, as if it had been only a few days. The AI had to fetch us, to try to keep us safe, in a huny. We had to leave everything behind. Even your favorite teddy bear. I'm sorry about that. But the Gaol came to the AI station, too. Just as the Imago and the hatchling came. The Gaol took over the station. Malva manifested, looking exactly as she did seven years ago, and just as mean, and forced you into the coffin. I mean, the-"

Tappy touched his lips with one hand. "Stop, Jack. You have caught up to the present. I'm relieved. I was afraid that something awfully wrong-that maybe it would turn out to be all a dreamthat you didn't love me after all-"

"Oh, Tappy, I do love you! Doubt all else, but don't doubt that!" That much he could say with sincerity now.

"I don't doubt it," she murmured. "Now let's make love."

"Yes." Relieved, and flush with his burgeoning emotion, Jack got off the bed and stripped his clothing. He had made the dream real for her and saved the situation. Whatever parts of it were lies, he could at least make this much true. He owed it to her-and he wanted to do it.

He lay down beside her and touched her body again. And discovered that she had fallen asleep.

"NOW we must have a council of war," Jack said hours later, when he and Tappy were rested. "Let me be sure I have it straight: Candy has a great deal of specific knowledge about the Imago, but no real initiative; she acts on the directives of the Imago as relayed through its host or someone designated by the host. In this case, me."

"This is true," Candy said.

"And Garth has a great deal of knowledge about the Gaol and their empire, and about the mechanics and organization of their space vessels. But his newfound empathy for other living things has played havoc with his concentration, and in any event he was not a decision-maker, he was a technician deemed to be expendable. So he, too, lacks initiative."

The Gaol whistled. "That is correct," Candy said.

"But we do all want to serve the interests of the Imago to the best of our abilities," Jack said. "So since I seem to be the one with initiative, and Tappy trusts me, is it agreed that serve as temporary leader of this group?"

Garth whistled. "What is a leader?"

"A creature who acts as the originator of the actions taken by the group. As the guide for others to follow. The one with initiative."

There was no response. So Jack prompted it. "Garth?"

" Agreed," the Gaol whistled.

"Candy?"

"

Agreed."

"Tappy?"

"I love you."

Jack smiled. He was still slightly startled to hear Tappy talking. She was quite pretty now, with her face clear and her hair nicely done; Candy was taking excellent care of the host of the Imago.

And, for whatever reason, Tappy did look older; her breasts showed more clearly under her sweater (where had Candy found a sweater for her?) and there was an aura of maturity about her.

She had the attitude of adult confidence. "Apart from that."

"Yes, agreed, of course." She glanced sidelong at him. "Now will you initiate a kiss for me?"

"You aren't going to try to seduce me again, and fall asleep before we get there?"

She shook her head, smiling. "No, Jack."

He leaned over and kissed her. That had really worked out well, last night. (He chose to call a period of sleep night, regardless of the clock. The clock hardly mattered now.) He had not denied Tappy, she had denied him, and he still wasn't guilty of another statutory rape. But he knew that he would not luck out that way again, and wasn't sure he wanted to. They were far from Earth now, and no one else cared about the detail of age. Certainly the conversion of the galaxy was more important than the precise timing of an act of love between two creatures. Still, his Earthly inhibitions remained. So he loved and desired Tappy, and yet also felt guilty for those feelings, irrational as that might be.

"At least, not right now," Tappy added, crossing her legs so that her thighs showed under her skirt. (Skirt? Candy must have a clothing generator similar to the food generator!) Her legs, too, seemed to have added flesh. If she intended to incite his interest, she was succeeding. She must have had considerable experience in this, and learned exactly how to push his buttons-in her seven years of fantasy. Maybe her empathy, because of the wakening of the Imago, enabled her to understand his desire in a way she otherwise would not have.

Had it really been only three or four days-or had it been seven years, and the brevity of the time span was his fantasy? He looked at Candy, who was now quite demurely clothed, her former sex appeal damped down. She would know -but could he trust her answer? If this were another dream, she would respond in the ma

Jack shook himself. There was no profit in such speculation.

He still had to assume that this was reality, and make it work. As reality, this presented a considerable challenge.

"All right. So here we are in isolation, the only free folk in this stellar system, with a Gaol empire ship standing guard five light-hours away to blast any intruder into oblivion. What happens if we try to make this ship leave this system, Garth?"

"Nothing," the Gaol whistled. "It is incapable of interstellar travel."

"Then suppose we make it travel toward the Gaol sh*p?" Then, when the Gaol did not answer, he added: "When I look directly at you, when speaking, as I am doing now, this has the same effect as naming you."

,it would take this ship several Earth years to traverse that distance-and when it did, the Gaol ship would simply move away across the system in one hop."

"So we can neither escape this system nor approach the Gaol ship, " Jack concluded. "How, then, can we accomplish our purpose?" He looked at Garth, who had no answer, so he looked at Candy.

"We can bring the Gaol to us," Candy said. "They will come if the host of the Imago requires attention."

"Say, you are capable of original thought after all!" Jack exclaimed.

"No, only of assessing prospects in a given situation. when required to do so," she clarified. "The AI have become proficient at avoiding the attention of the Gaol, and therefore know what draws that attention."

"Still, I'm glad we brought you along. You are good for Tappy, and perhaps good for the mission."

"This is my purpose in existence," she reminded him.