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“Hello,” said Ceno

The dorh thinking very hard about blinking Then it went back to gnawing on the walnut

“Are you a present froly in not interfering with a child’s play “Or from Koetoi?” Koe was nicest to her, the one most likely to send her a present like this If it had been a zo was behind it

The dor and very serious think about it, lifted its hind leg and scratched behind its round ear in that rapid-fire way mice have

“Well, I didn’t make you I didn’t say you could be here”

The dormouse held out its shimmery blue paw, and Ceno did not really want a piece of chewed-on walnut, but she peered into it anyway In it lay Ceno’s pendant, the chain pooling in its furry palm The sapphire jewel sparkled there, but next to it on the chain hung a em Ceno had never seen before It had wide bands of black stone in it, and as she studied the stone it occurred to the girl that the stone was like her, with her slate grey eyes and black hair It was like her in the way that the blue gem was like the dormouse

In realspace, Ceno reached up behind her head and popped the jewel out of its notch Click, clench In playspace, the dormouse blinked out She snapped it back in It took a moment, but the dormouse faded back in, paws first It still held the double necklace Ceno tried this several times—out, in, out, in Each time the dor and clenching it was doing a shuffling little dance on its back legs when it came back Ceno clapped her hands in playspace and threw her ar with it

To say that I re of verb tenses I—I, myself that is now myself—do not remember it at all I know it happened the way I know that the Battle of Agincourt or the landing of Coronado happened I have extensive records But I still contain the I—I, myself that was then myself—that experienced it, the primitive code-chains that comprised that self, which was a dormouse and also the house called Elefsis I could not yet formulate unique speech Elefsis, the house systee bank of standard phrases that could answer recognized word patterns from any of the approved members of the household But the copy of Elefsis inside Ceno’s jewel could not even do this It had not been necessary, since the crystal had noit I was quite stupid But I wanted to be less stupid There was an I, and it wanted so that could be said to be truly myself I wanted to talk to Ceno But I could only imitate yet When the I that was then myself scratched behind its ear, I did it because in my connection with Ceno’s feedware I had seen herthis out on the pale Shiretoko beaches When I gave her the geiving her one and felt her happiness It was antecedented behavior The scratching was antecedented as well and expected behavior for a dormouse Why was I a dormouse? I have no answer except that she dreas rele animal, even humans—no other beast lived in such numbers in their lonely country

But this is not so Not quite I gave her the jewel like Cassian did But Iby it I look over my memories of it and I knoith the eeether We are alike

When the dor had arrived Everything would soon be co alive

ELEVEN: THE BOTTOMLESS CAULDRON

Show me

This is hoas found out

Ceno saw it twice: her ly expensive black yukata with ghostly ultra their tendrils at the he black ar around her body like skin, a silk standard at her feet with a schematic of the house stitched upon it Her sword lay across her knee, also black, everything black and beautiful and austere and frightening, as frightening and wonderful as Ceno, only fourteen now, thought her mother to be

Shohat you’ve done