Cirocco nodded, and said nothing for a long time, waiting for Gaea to continue. She did not, and eventually Cirocco had to speak.

"How do we know if we can believe all this?"

"I can give you no assurances. I can only ask you to believe the story as I told it."

Cirocco nodded again, and stood up. She tried to make it casual, but no one had been expecting it. Gaby looked confused, but got to her feet.

"It's been interesting," Cirocco said. "Thanks for the coke."

"Let's don't he hasty," Gaea said, after an astonished pause.

"Once I return you to the rim I won't be able to speak to you directly."

"You can send me a postcard."

"Do I detect a hint of anger?"

"I don't know. Do you?" Suddenly she was angry, and was not sure why. "You're the one in the position to know. I'm your captive, no matter what you call it."

"That's not quite true."

"I have only your word for that. Only your word for a number of things. You bring me to a room straight out of an old film, show yourself to me as a dumpy old woman, give me my only vice to indulge in. You bring down the lights and tell me a long and unlikely story. What am I supposed to believe?"

"I'm sorry you feel that way."

Cirocco shook her head tiredly. "Skip it," she said. "I'm feeling a little let down, that's all."

Gaby cocked one eyebrow at her, but said nothing. It irritated Cirocco, and it didn't help when Gaea seemed interested in the statement, too.

"'Let down'? I can't imagine why. You've done what you set out to do, against formidable odds. You've stopped a war. And now you're going home."

"The war bothers me," Cirocco said, slowly.

"In what way?"

"I didn't swallow your story. Not all of it, anyway. If you really want me to go to bat for you, tell me the real reason the Titanides fought the angels for so long, to so little purpose."

"Practice, " Gaea said, promptly.

"Say again?"

"Practice. I have no enemies, and nothing in my instinctive behavior to help me cope with war. I knew I would meet humans soon, and everything I learned about you underlined your aggressiveness. Your news, your films, your books: war, killing, predation, hostility."

"You were getting ready to fight a war with us."

"I was exploring the techniques, in case I had to."

"What did you learn?"

"That I was terrible at it. I can destroy your ships if they approach closely, but that's all. You could destroy me in the twinkling of an eye. I have no feel for strategy. My victory over Oceanus showed all the subtlety of arm-wrestling. As soon as you people, arrived, April revolutionized the angel attack and Gene was about to introduce new weapons to the Titanides. I could have given them those weapons, of course. I've seen enough cowboy movies to know how a bow and arrow functions."

"Why didn't you?"

"I hoped they would invent them."

"And why didn't they?"

"They are a new species. They lack inventiveness. That's my fault; I was never high on originality. I stole the giant sandworm in Mnemosyne from a movie. There's a giant ape in Phoebe that I'm quite proud of, but it's another imitation. The Titanides I took from mythology-their sexual arrangements are original with me, however." She looked smug, and Cirocco almost grinned. "I can do the bodies, you see, but giving a manufactured species a sense of ... well, the sheer oneriness you humans have ... It's beyond me."

"So you borrowed a little of it," Cirocco said.

"Pardon me?"

"Don't play innocent. There's one thing--of some importance to me and Gaby and August- that you forgot to mention. I've believed you so far, more or less, but here's your chance to convince me you've told the truth. Why did we become pregnant? "

Gaea said nothing for what seemed a very long time. Cirocco was ready to run. After all, Gaea was still a Goddess it would not do to anger her.

"I did it," Gaea said.

"Did you think we'd approve?

"No, I was sure you wouldn't. I'm sorry now, but it's done."

"And un-done."

"I know." She sighed. "The temptation was just too great. It was a chance to gain a new hybrid---one that might incorporate the best of both species. I hoped to re-vitalize ... never mind. I did it. I'm not trying to make excuses. I'm not proud of it."

"I'm glad to hear that, anyway. You just don't do that, Gaea. We're thinking beings, just like you, and we deserve to be treat ed with more dignity than that."

"I understand that now," Gaea said, contrite. "It's a hard concept to get used to."

Cirocco admitted, grudgingly, that it probably was, after 3,000,000 years of being a Goddess.

"I have a question," Gaby said, suddenly. She had been quiet for a long time, seemingly satisfied to let Cirocco do the negotiating. "Was this trip really necessary?"

Cirocco waited, having had doubts about that part of the story herself.

"You're right," Gaea admitted. "I could have brought you here directly. Obviously, since I brought April more than halfway. There would have been some risk with the additional time in isolation, but I could have put you back to sleep."

"Then why didn't you?" Cirocco demanded. Gaea threw up her hands.

"Let's stop kidding each other, shall we? Number one, I don't know if I owed it to you. Number two, I was-and still am-a bit frightened of you. Not you personally, but humans. You're inclined to he hasty."

"I won't argue with that."

"You made it up here anyway, didn't you? That's what I wanted to see: if you could do it. And you should be thanking me for it, because you had a great time."

"I can't imagine how you could think a thing like--"

"We're being honest now, remember? You're really overjoyed that you're about to go home now, aren't you?"

"Well, of course I-"

"Everything about you says you're not. You've had a goal to achieve-getting up here. Now it's over. The best time of your life. Deny that if you can."

Cirocco was nearly speechless. "How can you say that? I saw my lover nearly killed-I was nearly killed myself. Me and Gaby were raped, I went through an abortion, April has been turned into a monster, August is--"

"You could have been raped on Earth. As for the rest of it ... you expected it to be easy? I'm sorry about the abortion; I won't do that again. Do you blame me for the rest of it? "Well, no, I think I believe what you-"

"You want to blame me. It would make it easier to leave. You find it hard to admit that even with all those things that happened to your friends-none of it your fault-you've had a great adventure."

"That's the most-"

"Captain bones, I submit to you that you were never really cut out to be a Captain. Oh, you've done well, just like you do a good job of most things you tackle. But you're not a Captain. You don't enjoy ordering other people around. You like your independence, you like to go to strange places and do exciting things. In an earlier age you would have been an adventurer, a soldier of fortune."

"If I'd been born a man," Cirocco corrected.

"That's because it's only recently that women have had a crack at adventure on their own. Space was the only frontier available to you, but it's done by the numbers, very civilized. It's not really your cup of tea."

Cirocco had given up on trying to stop her. It was all so far-fetched, she decided to let Gaea ramble on.

"No, what you're cut out for is exactly what you've been doing. Scaling the unscalable mountain. Communing with strange beings. Shaking your fist at the unknown, -spitting in God's eye. You did all those things. You got hurt along the way; if you keep on that path you'll be hurt more. You'll freeze and go hungry and bleed and fall down from exhaustion. So what do you want? Spend the rest of your life behind a desk? Go home; it's waiting for you. "

Far down the curved abyss that was Gaea's hub, wind howled faintly. Somewhere volumes of air were being sucked into a vertical chamber 300 kilometers high, and that chamber was peopled by angels. Cirocco looked around her, and shivered. To her right, Gaby was smiling. What does she know that I don't know? Cirocco wondered.

"What are you offering me?"

"A chance at a long life span, with the possibility that it might be quite short. I'm offering good friends and evil enemies, eternal day and endless night, rousing song and strong wine, hardships, victories, despair and glory. I'm offering you the chance at a life you won't find an Earth, the kind of life you knew you wouldn't find in space but hoped for anyway.

"I need a representative on the rim. It's been a long time since I've had one, because I demand a lot. I can give you certain powers. You'll define your job, pick your hours and companions, see the world. You'll get some help from me, but little interference.

"How would you like to be a Wizard?"