Bright Segment by Theodore Sturgeon

Author:Theodore Sturgeon [Sturgeon, Theodore]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-1-58394-752-4
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
Published: 2013-04-15T16:00:00+00:00

“Are you quite all right, sir?”

Now that, old Dean-head, is a question. The music is surf and feathers in all its upbeats, strictly society on the down: scherzophrenic. A hot, transparent, blue flame whuffs out, and suddenly that is a matter of supreme importance, though I can’t think why. Slowly I look up at him. “Me?”

“It seemed for a second or two that you weren’t quite—with us, sir.”

“A second or two,” I say, “that’s all it takes.” Now I remember: that blue flame on the jubilee tray is the one I was looking at when I went under, or other, or wherever Rogero keeps his world. Surely I know where that is! I look up again. Deans read books. “Listen, what do you know about Atlantes?”

“Atlantis, sir?” This guy, you couldn’t ruffle him with a williwaw. “As I recall, it sank under the sea.”

“No, Atlantes—a magician.”

“Ah. I believe there was a necromancer of that name in Ariosto, somewhere.”

I put an accurate forefinger on his second stud and push it triumphantly. “Orlando Furioso! So that’s it! Hey, do you remember what ever happened to Bradamante?”

He puts his hands behind his back and looks at the wall meeting the ceiling. Good head on that man; splendid. “As I remember, sir, she married a knight—”

“Ex-knight,” I say, and it hurts. “Also, good night.” I give him a whole heap of money and head out.

“Good night, sir,” says the doorman.

“Oh,” I say, “You. Hey, a girl about so high and so wide with a silver streak in her hair, she left here. How long ago?”

He says he doesn’t recall so I give him some money. “About four minutes,” he says. “That way,” and points.

“Only four?” I have something in me like a pain. “That way, you’re sure?”

“You should be able to catch her,” he says. He closes his eyes and smiles. “Pretty.”

“The Grand Canyon,” I say, “it’s cute too.” I run the way he points. It’s to the river.

So it’s Orlando all this time, I think, and something has kept me from recognizing it. Atlantes and Bradamante, Angelica, princess of Cathay, the hippogriff and the Orc, all there. And what am I doing, acting it out? Atlantes kept Rogero from being a knight; some sort of magic keeps me from being a painter. Only nowadays they call it a neurosis.

So where am I going in such a hurry?

Got to save the Princess from the Orc. Orc, variant of urp, a real nauseating beast. Better I should go right back to the studio and mind my own business. Yes, that’s what Rogero kept telling himself. And he landed by the Princess anyway, no matter how his hippogriff laughed. Well laugh then, hippogriff. You’re not long for this world anyway.

There she is!

Walk now. Get your wind. See what happens to her. She’s chained naked on no rock yet. Or maybe she is … analogies being what they are …

Now cut it out, Giles! You’re all right now. It’s all just a story you read and mooned over when you were a kid.

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