Daisy and Doc didn’t seem as stunned by the revelations as the rest of them. Doc presumably had known. And so, Simon decided, had Daisy.

She said, “An entire world of Adams. I can’t take it.”

She did not sound exasperated but despairing.

Simon didn’t see what he could do, but he didn’t want to tell everyone that. If someone had a brilliant idea they would have already said so. He wasn’t going to be passive anymore.

He said, “Doc, you remember when the River said I needed to talk to someone? At the time it sounded like someone was trying to say ambiguous stuff while not upsetting a head case and encouraging him to seek help. Now what I’m thinking is that if all this crap is actually real, and elders can find ways to communicate with and through people who are into the Eightfold, so can the River.”

Doc shrugged. “Maybe. I wonder whose side the River is on.”

That gave Simon pause. The River was a huge but schizophrenic nanocomputer divided into huge nodes that were fairly independent of each other, partly because of the light years and universes that sometimes separated them. They tried to obey the often inconsistent commands built into them when their original was created. They often had differing interpretations of said commandments.

“But … it was your idea. You took me there.”

The other man replied, “I’m not as sure as I was.”

He asked Doc, “So assuming we don’t have a clue from the River, what’s our next step?”

Doc was silent for less than a minute. “I don’t know.”

“So we might as well go on the assumption that we do.”

The silence stretched, and it became clear that nobody knew where to go from there either. Finally Simon said, “I’ve been thinking about what you said, about struggle making the story.”

Sensing he was headed somewhere, Doc looked at him. He took a deep breath and continued, “Rather than us blundering about and wondering what we missed – we established in the very beginning that Stinger looked familiar to my character. Since Sargon had the pictures, presumably he has some idea as to where Stinger is to be found. If he agrees to let his character to my character, will you agree it could happen? If he tells us the name of the portal world and the target, who would know it better?”

Doc argued, but in a way which at least took the idea seriously. “But, since nobody has done any time travelling, I’m not going to let you change time. Everything that happened before you left your final session with Adam has already been established as real.”

Simon didn’t point out that protecting the real world was more important than the integrity of the game. Of course it was. And of course a link to another universe was fragile. If Doc did what he knew wasn’t right, they could end up breaking the strange link and playing a meaningless game.

He said. “Of course. So we’ll ask Stinger and Phil to do the same things they did in real life, so Erd’s visions can be fulfilled.”

Doc asked him, “Why do you think Phil might want to help us? Wasn’t it his character who led the final effort up to the decision to kill Lord Regal?”

Simon spoke slowly, feeling his way as he put his intuition into words. “At first it might have been. In the end when he saw how upset I was, he wasn’t so enthusiastic about it. You know Adam better than I do. Do you think he’s told everything that’s going on to his whole group?”

Doc shook his head. “I don’t think he would. He bragged to me, but he didn’t like my reaction. I don’t think he told anyone else before I left.”

Suddenly Simon perked up. For the first time in quite awhile he had hope, concrete hope that he could put a name to.

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“So what happened while I was there happened to Lord Regal. But supposed they killed my character right after I left. That wouldn’t mean anything. I mean, if we suddenly got a message that Adam had killed Erd in his campaign, we would laugh at him. So anything that supposedly happened to my character while I was gone was invalid. So if our team could show up at the moment right after I left …”

When nobody responded Simon took a different tack. “I’m not sure what everyone else saw and heard, but it seems like Adam is using vulgar sorcery to make me forget things.”

Carlos added, “And to spy on us.”

Simon told the table, “I don’t remember what I said right after I heard the word ‘report.’”

Mitch replied, “We could tell. All the sudden you talked very mechanically and methodically. You summarized everything our group has done since you’ve been here.”

“Did he tell me to forget doing so?”

The other guy shook his head. “No, I think he’s already programmed how you respond to the word ‘report.’”

Simon felt a sudden jolt of anger and helplessness. Presumably Adam had been given the same thing that had been offered to Simon in his dream, or more. For the first time Simon wondered what he might have paid in return, and what if anything was left of the old Adam Simon had once thought he knew.

Doc asked rhetorically, “Why would he spy on us? What does he hope or fear? Not like we’re accomplished much – though I still hope we can help you.”

This last was addressed directly to Simon.

Simon thought he might have a clue for the first question. “You know who might even tell us that? Phillip. At first he seemed to be leading the charge, but he seemed to feel for me when he saw how much it might hurt. Although I wonder if Adam ever used sorcery to make him forget anything, as he did me. I think he might be the one the River was referring to.”

More silence, so eventually Simon said, “Doc, if Adam erased some of Phil’s memories, would you be able to reverse it with sorcery of your own?”

Doc replied slowly and reluctantly. “It could be done, certainly. If I could do it or not I’m not sure. And I hate to say, but I might be afraid to try. You’ve read the books and you know there’s a price to sorcery. And sometimes the bit of yourself you lose is the bit that doesn’t want to do sorcery. I’m afraid of becoming Adam sometimes.”

Miserably Simon realized that he was right, and it was too much for him to ask of Doc. He’d been offered sorcery lessons of his own, and now he would need to take them.

He told Doc, “I’d still like Phil’s number though. Even without sorcery, I feel like he’ll help us if he can.”

Doc shook his head. “You’ve read Triuniversal Symphony. You know the struggle is part of what makes it real. As the gamemaster, I can’t give you anything. Sargon might be able to locate Stinger, but he doesn’t know how to make him want to talk to Erd.”

Simon gave him a funny look, wanting to say this wasn’t just a game. But it was a game, even if it was somehow real too. Then he had a better idea.

He turned to face the rest of the group. “Anyone else here got Phillip’s phone number?”

Carlos grinned. “I do, and since we’re all in this together it’s perfectly legitimate for me to volunteer it.”

Then he added, “Better yet, I’ll call him. I’m not saying we’re close friends or anything, but we talk. I don’t think I’ll mention that we’ve just seen that sorcery is real and Adam is a villain though. Just the game?”

Simon nodded eagerly after a moment, when he realized Carlos was asking him. Then Carlos pulled out his cell phone and started dialing.

“Hey Phil? How ya doing? Yeah, I’d love to, but I already have a date that weekend. You guys have fun.

“Hey, listen. Simon joined Doc’s group a few weeks ago. I know you didn’t like him that much, but he’s grown on us. Could you do me a big favor?”

Carlos listened silently to his phone for about a minute, and Simon began to worry. But when Carlos spoke again he sounded pleased. “Then here’s what you could do. I’m going to buy both you and Simon a slice of pizza at the old place. No, we’ll be fine, I’m sure nobody will remember us, it’s been over a year since the Nancy incident. Anyway, his character wants to talk to your character.”

More silence, but now Simon was becoming more optimistic. These active silences were very different from the passive and bewildered silences that had occurred around the table a few minutes ago.

Carlos said, “I think this campaign takes place a few months or a year before the last day Simon was with you. Doc won’t tell us exactly.”

After a few more moments of intent listening Carlos said, “Yes, that’s a good way of looking at it. Since all this happened before what your character is doing now, we’re retconning the parts of the past that happened to your character while you weren’t actually playing.”

Then a bit later, “Yeah, Doc sometimes tells us stories about Adam. Most of them have to be kidding around or playing Delirium games, but –”

Simon could see the double shock hit Carlos. Doc’s stories had been serious, perhaps the unvarnished truth. But he couldn’t tell Carlos, not without his words being distorted by the Delerium.

He finished up his phone call. “All right, see you then.”

When he had hung up he said, “Simon, want me to pick you up and give you a ride?”

For an instant he was embarrassed, wondering if Carlos knew the grinding poverty he lived in. Then he realized that wasn’t necessarily so, it was just a ride after all. And he had much bigger things to worry about, as did just possibly the whole world.

“Yeah, thanks.”