He decided to tell her the truth about himself. «I am not from your world at all, Narlena. I am from another dimension, and I came here because a computer was attached to my brain and altered it so that I can now see and sense your dimension and speak your language.»

«A lakhyr was attached to your brain? Oh, that is wonderful! Then your people also must have the Dreams. You will be very much at home here in Pura.» She seemed almost about to clap her hands for joy. Then her face fell. «But I do not know if there is an empty vault in working condition for you. Even if there is, I do not know how to set one for anybody but myself. We would have to find a vault master who can analyze any person and adjust a vault for him so that he can have the kind of Dreams he wants most of all. But there are not very many of the vault masters, and we would have to find one of them Waking. I am afraid you will have a long Waking. But there are things we can do during the Waking.» There was a mischievous glint in her eye as she said the last sentence.

Blade nodded absently. His mind was divided between relief at the casual way she had accepted his tale of coming from another dimension and mystification at her constant talk of Dreams and vaults and Waking. Obviously, these had some key role in her society-or in what her society had become. Although Blade had his suspicions, he wanted to learn more precisely what she was talking about.

He shook his head, as if in bewilderment-and he was not entirely faking the bewilderment, either. He said, «Narlena, in my dimension we do not have Dreams. I use the computer only to travel between dimensions. When I am at home, I am waking all the time, except when I am sleeping naturally.» He wondered if that would make any sense to her. It hinged on the accuracy of his guesswork about the nature of Dreams and Waking.