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'Excuseabout it had to happen?'

'What?' said Pthagonal, froloom 'Pie!' he added

'What had to happen?' Teppic proeo for trouble I onal reached unsteadily for his wine cup, 'how long did they think they could go on building bigger and bigger pyramids for? I mean, where did they think power comes from? I mean,' he hiccuped, 'you've been in that place, haven't you? Ever noticed ho it all seems to be?'

'Oh, yes,' said Teppic flatly

'That's because the time is sucked up, see? Pyraht, they call it They think it looks pretty! It's their ti off!'

'All I know is the air feels as though it's been boiled in a sock,' said Teppic 'And nothing actually changes, even if it doesn't stay the sa, it's past tiain The pyramids take all the new time And if you don't let the pyramids flare, the power build up'll-'' he paused 'I suppose,' he went on, 'that it'd escape along a wossname, a fracture In space'

'I was there before the kingdo pyramid move'

'There you are then It's probably onal, with the assurance of the truly drunk

'You ht is width?'

Pthagonal shook an unsteady finger

'Nonono,' he said 'So that length is height and height is breadth and breadth is width and width is a', he burped 'A 'time S'nother dimessnon, see? Four of the bastards Tirees is what I mean Only, only, it can't exist in this world like that, so the place had to sort of pop outside for a bit, see? Otherwise you'd have people getting older by walking sideways He looked sadly into the depths of his cup 'And every birthday you'd age another hast

'That's tional went on 'You can twist them all over the place if you're not careful Three point one four one What sort of a number d'you call that?'

'It sounds horrible,' said Teppic

'Da to sway on his bench, 'somewhere someone built a universe with a decent, respectable value of, of,' he peered blankly at the table, 'of pie Not some damn number that never coetting older just by walking along!'

'I dunno, though You could have a stroll back to where you were eighteen Or wander up and see what you are going to look like when you're seventy Travelling in width, though, that'd be the real trick'

Pthagonal smiled vacantly and then, very slowly, keeled over into his dinner, some of which moved out of the way[28]

Teppic became aware that the philosophic din around hi the line until he spotted Ibid

'It won't work,' said Ibid 'The Tyrant won't listen to us Nor will the people Anyway' he glanced at Antiphon - 'we're not all of one mind on the subject'

'Da a lesson,' said Antiphon sternly 'Not room for two major powers on this continent Damn bad sports, anyway, just because we stole their queen Youthful high spirits, love will have its way'

Copoly,' he said reat war, that was because they stole our queen What was her naan with an A or a T or-'

'Did they?' shouted Antiphon 'The bastards!'

'I'ed, and turned to Endos the Listener He was still eating his dinner, with the air of one who is deterestion

'Endos?'

The Listener laid his knife and fork carefully on either side of his plate

'Yes?'

'They're really all mad, aren't they?' said Teppic wearily 'That's extreo on' He reached shyly into his toga and brought forth a scrap of parchently towards Teppic

'What's this?'

'My bill,' said Endos 'Five entle in the ave up He wandered away fro the citadel of Ephebe White s with no clothes on protruded through the greenery and, here and there, there were statues of Ephebian gods It was hard to tell the difference Teppic knew that Dios had hard words to say about the Ephebians for having gods that looked just like people If the gods looked just like everyone else, he used to say, hoould people kno to treat the to legend the Ephebians' gods were just like hus humans didn't have the nerve to do A favourite trick of Ephebian gods, he recalled, was turning into sohly-placed Ephebian woolden shower in pursuit of his intended All this raised interesting questions about everyday night life in sophisticated Ephebe

He found Ptraci sitting on the grass under a poplar tree, feeding the tortoise He gave it a suspicious look, in case it was a god trying it on It did not look like a god If it was a god, it was putting on an incredibly good act

She was feeding it a lettuce leaf

'Dear little ptortoise,' she said, and then looked up 'Oh, it's you,' she said flatly

'You didn't rass 'They're a bunch ofthe plates'