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Where pain predoony can be a valued teacher

- Dosadi aphorism

McKie and Jedrik had no need to discuss the decision It was a choice which they shared and knew they shared through a memory-selection process now common to both of them There was a loophole in the God Wall and even though that wall now blanketed Dosadi in darkness, a Caleban contract was still a Caleban contract The vital question hether the Caleban of the God Wall would respond

Jedrik in McKie&039;s body stood guard outside her own room while a Jedrik-fleshed McKie went alone into the room to make the attempt Who should he try to contact? Fannie Mae? The absolute darkness which enclosed Dosadi hinted at an absolute withdrawal of the guardian Caleban And there was so little tied on the floor of the rooe discoveries in the female body he noore interfered with concentration The e left an aftershock which he doubted would ever diminish They had but to share the desire for the change now and it occurred But this different body - ahh, the multiplicity of differences created its own confusions These went far beyond the adjustht The ly attached The bodily senses were routed through different unconscious processes Anatomy created its own patterns, its own instinctual behavior For one thing, he found it necessary to develop consciously monitored movements which protected his/her breasts The movements were reminiscent of those male adjustments by which he prevented injury to testes These were ated to an automatic behavior pattern The problem in the female body was that he had to think about such behavior And it went far beyond the breast-testes interlock

As he tried to clear his mind for the Caleban contact, these webbed clusters of He needed to clear away bodily distractions, but this female body demanded his attention In desperation, he hyperventilated and burned his awareness into a pineal focus whose dangers he knew only too well This was the way to pered It produced a sufficient clarity, however, that he could fill his awareness with memories of Fannie Mae

Silence

He sensed tih each heartbeat were a blow

Fear hovered at the edges of the silence

It ca had put a terrible fear into the God Wall Caleban

McKie felt anger

"Caleban! You owe me!"

"McKie?"

The response was so faint that he wondered whether ittricks on hier, and he recognized the familiar Caleban presence in his awareness

"I am McKie and you owe me a debt"

"If you are truly McKiewhy are you sostrangechanged?"

"I wear another body"

McKie was never sure, but he thought he sensed consternation Fannie Mae responded ly then

"I remove McKie from Dosadi now? Contract permits"

"I will share Dosadi&039;s fate"

"McKie!"

"Don&039;t argue with me, Fannie Mae I will share Dosadi&039;s fate unless you remove another node/person with me"

He projected Jedrik&039;s patterns then, an easy process since he shared all of her memories

"She wears McKie&039;s body!"

It was accusatory

"She wears another body," McKie said He knew the Caleban saw his new relationship with Jedrik Everything depended now on the interpretation of the Caleban contract

"Jedrik is Dosadi," the Caleban protested

"So am I Dosadinow"

"But you are McKie!"

"And Jedrik is also McKie Contact her if you don&039;t believe ry abruptness, found hi Perspiration bathed the female body which he still wore The head ached

Would Fannie Mae do as he&039;d told her? He knew Jedrik was as capable of projecting his awareness as he was of projecting hers Hoould Fannie Mae interpret the Dosadi contract?