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him on. The path twisted about, taking him past increasingly intriguing exhibits.
He paused to examine one statue more carefully. It was a representation of two figures, male and female,
both naked, locked in close embrace. In fact they were engaged in the act of physical love. Such
representations were common enough in India, but this one was unusually specific. The figures almost
seemed to move.
In fact, they were moving. Mym thought he was being deceived by the play of moonlight, but now he
heard the sounds of their exertions. The figures were alive!
Impossible. Statues did not come to life!
Yet there was definite sound and movement, as the act progressed. Mym inspected the representation
closely, and finally touched the shoulder of the man. It was cold stone. So this was some kind of
mechanical device, simulating human mating. Interesting.
He moved on. The breeze picked up, ruffling his hair. The moonlight brightened. The trees were larger
and prettier, and the smell of their naturalness intensified. Now there was sod underfoot, slightly
springy.
He turned to look back, but could not see the castle; he seemed to be in a forest. That didn't bother him;
he was pleased with the extent and verisimilitude of this garden. No wonder Rapture had been delighted!
He came to another statue-and this one was larger, more animated, and more intimate than the first.
These could have been real people, and their technique was quite interesting.
The man turned his head and saw Mym. "Ah, the master of the castle arrives," he said.
Startled, Mym stepped back. It talked!
The woman disengaged and sat on the pedestal, dangling her long, bare legs over its edge. She was
extremely full-breasted and full-hipped, but slender in other respects. "Come, join me," she invited
Mym, opening her arms.
A concubine? "Who are you?" Mym demanded. Then he paused, surprised, for he had spoken without
stuttering.
"I am Satan, the Incarnation of Evil," the man said. "This is one of My innumerable consorts, each of
whom is more luscious and tractable than the last."
"Satan?" Mym repeated, again amazed at his lack of stutter. "Here in my castle?"
"Not precisely your castle. Mars," Satan said. "You have wandered from your garden into a section of
My realm, where reality is more intriguing. But have no concern; you are welcome here. I have wanted
to interview you."
"Aren't you the occidental figure of evil?" Mym asked. "I have been warned to be wary of you."
"Indeed I am, and indeed you have," Satan agreed expansively. "My name is Nefarious-and rightly so."
This was not precisely the approach Mym had anticipated. He had been led to expect a creature with
hooves, tail, and horns, who breathed fire. This man was none of these. He seemed entirely human, even
to the act he had been performing with the woman. "Why have you chosen to contact me?" he asked,
once again marveling at his lack of a stutter.
"Why, isn't it the neighborly thing to do?" Satan asked. "It is no easy thing to step abruptly into the
office of an Incarnation, and it behooves others of us to facilitate your adaptation in whatever ways we
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can."
Mym shrugged. "I appreciate that effort. But other accounts indicate that you bear mostly malice to
others. As the Incarnation of Evil, this makes sense. So you should be trying to make this more difficult
for me."
Satan grinned in disarming fashion, and the woman smiled. "This shows the importance of personal
contact. As you can see, I am not as intractable as others may depict Me. Come, let us converse." He
jumped off the pedestal, not at all concerned about his nakedness, and the woman followed. She was
robustly constructed, and her breasts bounced magnificently as she landed. What a concubine she would
make!
As they walked, the welkin brightened, not from any dawn but from a surrounding luminescence. The
trees glowed, and the ground, and even the three people, as if animated from within. This provided a
preternatural clarity of vision, for there were no obstructive shadows. The garden was almost ecstatically
beautiful, a true paradise.
The woman took his arm. Mym glanced at her, surprised. The enhancement of vision applied to her, too,
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