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cock 1991
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* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The holosuite program was not what it was before. There was no
jasmine, no rolling hills or soft breezes, only black sky studded
with stars, and presenting a huge and awe-inspiring ringed planet to
the observer. It was in crescent phase, its rings edge-on, like a
tightly drawn iridescent bow with an arrow of silver. Julian looked
down at his feet; the rock under them was also iridescent, and each
thing, himself included, cast two complementary shadows, one from the
distant cold sun and one from the shining jewel overhead, far
brighter than the star that illuminated it.
Ten feet before him was another bubbling hot pool, a must, he
realized when he again awoke stiff and sore, after any lesson. As he
lowered himself past the mist into the water, he looked overhead. He
missed the jasmine, he concluded, but here the view was better.
He had awoken in slightly better shape than the time before, as his
hands had not been bound, but his muscles were still tired and stiff.
There had been no sign of his Lady; only Rala was with him, curled up
and sleeping beside him. For a long time, he had simply lain there,
watching the other man sleep, watching his chest rise and fall,
fleeting expressions dawning and passing over his face as he drea
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