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Inlé turned and walked toward the girl who had followed him, frozen in terror. She stared at the scene at its end, unaware of Inlé's presence. He knelt and addressed her. "Well, miss. How did you like the real show? Not as exciting as the movie, was it?" Her eyes leapt to Inlé, terror still fresh on her face. "Do not worry," he said coolly. "You are in no way at fault for anything you saw, save that you followed me. This must, quite obviously, never happen again."

He placed a hand on her shoulder in a gesture that, were his face not impassive, might have seemed comforting. "But you need not have such a powerful memory. It will be painful to you. Listen to my voice." Reaching into his sleeve, Inlé pulled out a pendant of a swastika inside a circle. He hung the pendant in front of Tanya and spun it, first one way, then the other. "Hear only me," he said. "See only me. Watch the charm spin. See it dance. Listen to my voice."

Inlé repeated these words until Tanya had slowly calmed, and the terror had crept from her face. "You will not remember anything that happened after we walked past this alley and you heard a voice cry out. Instead, you tripped, and I am helping you up. I am helping you up. I am helping you up." The swastika disappeared back into his sleeve, and Inlé snapped his fingers.

Tanya came out of her stupor as Inlé asked, "Are you hurt?"

Tanya took the offered hand and rose saying, "Thanks, just my pride."

"That will heal," Inlé said. "Now, I should take you home. It is getting late, and this city can be dangerous at night."

Tanya snorted. "Right, sure. You've been here two months, and you think you can tell me what the city's like? I was born here."

"Really?" Inlé said calmly. "I did not think the city was quite so old."

"Just barely," Tanya admitted. "My father was one of the first to move here. He was personally asked to move here by the founder.

"I was born a week after we moved here. The hospital hadn't even been finished yet, so the midwives that arrived just had mom have me in the living room."

"Interesting. You must have been the first child born here, then."

"The first once the city was officially named. One of my friends was born a month and a half before me. Her father's the architect who designed the layout of the town, so she beat me. What about you? Where were you born?"

Inlé was silent so long, Tanya thought he was going to ignore her. Just before she changed the subject, though, Inlé spoke. "My mother and father used to travel for work. Father loved to study native culture, and this rubbed off to a lesser extent on my mother. And, despite four months of complaint from father, the crew, and my grandparents, mother continued to travel with father until I was born.

"'A son should be born where his father is', she would explain. And when father offered to stay home for a few months, she said they needed to keep their schedule."

"Sorry," Tanya interrupted. "Crew? Schedule?"

"My parents are scientists," he explained. "They were traveling doing research. I was born off the coast of the Galapagos Islands as mother swam there. The U.S. almost denied me citizenship because of it, but for the technicalities that I was in international waters, and both of my parents were American citizens."

"Yeah," Tanya said. "You really don't have anything normal about you."

"I suppose not."

They walked quietly for a minute before Tanya continued. "So do you like jewelry?" she asked.

"Jewelry? Why do you ask?"

"Well, you always wear those bangles on your wrist. Most guys don't wear bracelets, but you've got at least three or four on your left arm. And that necklace was pretty uncommon, too. You probably shouldn't show it off too much. People might get the wrong idea."

"Necklace?"

Tanya sighed. "Don't play dumb with me now. I told you I wasn't stupid. And I'm not easily hypnotized either."

"What?" Inlé asked, still visibly unruffled.

"Dad used to test new methods on me, always analyzing and cross-analyzing. If I refused to tell him something, he used to hypnotize me to get me to tell. I eventually got used to it. I'm sort of immune, though he doesn't know it yet. Now I know your secret, and you know mine. How's that for fair? Just don't tell Dad, okay?"

Inlé was silent for a long time. Finally, "I have other ways to make you forget. Less gentle methods, more powerful methods. I should use one now to erase these memories from you." He became silent again.

Tanya waited a moment, then, when she was sure he wasn't going to reach for his pendant, she queried, "But ... ?"

"But they are also more dangerous," he continued. "For you more than for me, and more so at the moment, as I have expended a great deal of energy already today, and am not within proper physical condition.

"You should not have to remember what you have seen tonight. Death in that manner is not something most ladies should be submitted to. But as I am partially at fault for this, I will give you an option."

"Like you gave the other guy an option?" Tanya asked cynically.

"I did give him one," Inlé said. "I offered him life or death. He chose death. But I would not place a geas on you, even had I the ability to do so."

Tanya kicked a stone into the road. "All right, what are my 'options'?"

"First, you allow me to attempt another form of hypnosis to eliminate this memory. This hypnosis is much more ... potent than the first."

"I'm not going to fall for hypnosis however potent you think it is."

"Second, I remove all memory you have of me by severing a string of fate."

"A string of fate? That sounds so cheesy. But wouldn't that cause trouble?"

"It would. When we next saw each other, you would not recognize me. That of itself would not be a problem, but others may notice that something happened. Also, in the state I am in, there is a small chance that I would sever other strings that need not have been severed."

"How small are we talking?"

"Small enough to be unlikely. Large enough to be worrisome."

"Next option?"

"In the third option, I go into your memory and manually remove the memory. Depending on how you think, this may be dangerous. If your mind is an organized one, I may be able to remove the memory with minimum collateral. But a chaotic mind could force me to remove a great deal more than was necessary."

"So you could really fuck my brain up like that?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"Pass."

"The fourth option is that I allow you to keep this memory, trusting your word that you will tell no one what you saw tonight. Though not all of it may be believed, the wrong ears hearing what you have to say could cause me trouble. And I have enough to worry about without the police suspecting me of murder."

"That one sounds a lot less rough for both of us. What's the down side to it?"

"For one, you have seen something most people believe to be real only in storybooks. You know there is more to the world now. That is a heavy burden in itself. You will also be haunted by this memory. The terror was real enough that it will not go away so easily. Though you seem to be much calmer now."

"Believe me," Tanya said, her voice suddenly solemn. "I'm still scared out of my mind. That may be why I can listen to this so calmly. But you know, I was more scared of you than that other guy, and you say you won't hurt me. You've been pretty honest so far, so ..." her voice cracked. Swallowing, she tried again. "So I'll trust you on that one, if you'll trust me to keep this a secret."

"Very well," Inlé said. "But you should keep well out of such things again. For your own good."

Tanya turned on Inlé with a look he could not read, then teasingly said, "You're canceling our next date before we even set it?"

"You still want to do that?" Inlé asked.

"Of course!" Tanya said. "You think your being some kind of super-hero makes me less curious? I may go the way of Schrödinger's cat, but that in itself is an exciting prospect, right?"

Inlé shook his head. "I wonder what your children will be like."

"You shouldn't say that with such a cold face," Tanya pouted. "And I doubt they'll be as bad as yours, Running around, exploding people."

"Hardly." Inlé said.

Tanya stopped then, in front of the office where the two had met. "Well," she said, "I'm home."

"The office?" Inlé asked.

"Above it, but yes."

"So your father ..."

"... Is the doctor, yes. Does it make me weird that I work for my father?"

"Not at all. It was once the rule. And although it is not as common today, it is not uncommon. I would have wound up working under my parents, under slightly different circumstances."

Tanya smiled. "That actually makes me feel worse, knowing I have something like that in common with you. It makes it seem weirder. But thanks, anyway."

She patted him on the arm, then ran up the six steps to the entrance of her home. Before disappearing into the house, she called after the already retreating Inlé, "Try and spot me tomorrow before I spot you!"

Description
Inlé turned and walked toward the girl who had followed him, frozen in terror. She stared at the scene at its end, unaware of Inlé's presence. He knelt and addressed her. "Well, miss. How did you like the real show? Not as exciting as the movie, was it?" Her eyes leapt to Inlé, terror still fresh on her face. "Do not worry," he said coolly. "You are in no way at fault for anything you saw, save that you followed me. This must, quite obviously, never happen again."

He placed a hand on her shoulder in a gesture that, were his face not impassive, might have seemed comforting. "But you need not have such a powerful memory. It will be painful to you. Listen to my voice." Reaching into his sleeve, Inlé pulled out a pendant of a swastika inside a circle. He hung the pendant in front of Tanya and spun it, first one way, then the other. "Hear only me," he said. "See only me. Watch the charm spin. See it dance. Listen to my voice."

Inlé repeated these words until Tanya had slowly calmed, and the terror had crept from her face. "You will not remember anything that happened after we walked past this alley and you heard a voice cry out. Instead, you tripped, and I am helping you up. I am helping you up. I am helping you up." The swastika disappeared back into his sleeve, and Inlé snapped his fingers.

Tanya came out of her stupor as Inlé asked, "Are you hurt?"

Tanya took the offered hand and rose saying, "Thanks, just my pride."

"That will heal," Inlé said. "Now, I should take you home. It is getting late, and this city can be dangerous at night."

Tanya snorted. "Right, sure. You've been here two months, and you think you can tell me what the city's like? I was born here."

"Really?" Inlé said calmly. "I did not think the city was quite so old."

"Just barely," Tanya admitted. "My father was one of the first to move here. He was personally asked to move here by the founder.

"I was born a week after we moved here. The hospital hadn't even been finished yet, so the midwives that arrived just had mom have me in the living room."

"Interesting. You must have been the first child born here, then."

"The first once the city was officially named. One of my friends was born a month and a half before me. Her father's the architect who designed the layout of the town, so she beat me. What about you? Where were you born?"

Inlé was silent so long, Tanya thought he was going to ignore her. Just before she changed the subject, though, Inlé spoke. "My mother and father used to travel for work. Father loved to study native culture, and this rubbed off to a lesser extent on my mother. And, despite four months of complaint from father, the crew, and my grandparents, mother continued to travel with father until I was born.

"'A son should be born where his father is', she would explain. And when father offered to stay home for a few months, she said they needed to keep their schedule."

"Sorry," Tanya interrupted. "Crew? Schedule?"

"My parents are scientists," he explained. "They were traveling doing research. I was born off the coast of the Galapagos Islands as mother swam there. The U.S. almost denied me citizenship because of it, but for the technicalities that I was in international waters, and both of my parents were American citizens."

"Yeah," Tanya said. "You really don't have anything normal about you."

"I suppose not."

They walked quietly for a minute before Tanya continued. "So do you like jewelry?" she asked.

"Jewelry? Why do you ask?"

"Well, you always wear those bangles on your wrist. Most guys don't wear bracelets, but you've got at least three or four on your left arm. And that necklace was pretty uncommon, too. You probably shouldn't show it off too much. People might get the wrong idea."

"Necklace?"

Tanya sighed. "Don't play dumb with me now. I told you I wasn't stupid. And I'm not easily hypnotized either."

"What?" Inlé asked, still visibly unruffled.

"Dad used to test new methods on me, always analyzing and cross-analyzing. If I refused to tell him something, he used to hypnotize me to get me to tell. I eventually got used to it. I'm sort of immune, though he doesn't know it yet. Now I know your secret, and you know mine. How's that for fair? Just don't tell Dad, okay?"

Inlé was silent for a long time. Finally, "I have other ways to make you forget. Less gentle methods, more powerful methods. I should use one now to erase these memories from you." He became silent again.

Tanya waited a moment, then, when she was sure he wasn't going to reach for his pendant, she queried, "But ... ?"

"But they are also more dangerous," he continued. "For you more than for me, and more so at the moment, as I have expended a great deal of energy already today, and am not within proper physical condition.

"You should not have to remember what you have seen tonight. Death in that manner is not something most ladies should be submitted to. But as I am partially at fault for this, I will give you an option."

"Like you gave the other guy an option?" Tanya asked cynically.

"I did give him one," Inlé said. "I offered him life or death. He chose death. But I would not place a geas on you, even had I the ability to do so."

Tanya kicked a stone into the road. "All right, what are my 'options'?"

"First, you allow me to attempt another form of hypnosis to eliminate this memory. This hypnosis is much more ... potent than the first."

"I'm not going to fall for hypnosis however potent you think it is."

"Second, I remove all memory you have of me by severing a string of fate."

"A string of fate? That sounds so cheesy. But wouldn't that cause trouble?"

"It would. When we next saw each other, you would not recognize me. That of itself would not be a problem, but others may notice that something happened. Also, in the state I am in, there is a small chance that I would sever other strings that need not have been severed."

"How small are we talking?"

"Small enough to be unlikely. Large enough to be worrisome."

"Next option?"

"In the third option, I go into your memory and manually remove the memory. Depending on how you think, this may be dangerous. If your mind is an organized one, I may be able to remove the memory with minimum collateral. But a chaotic mind could force me to remove a great deal more than was necessary."

"So you could really fuck my brain up like that?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"Pass."

"The fourth option is that I allow you to keep this memory, trusting your word that you will tell no one what you saw tonight. Though not all of it may be believed, the wrong ears hearing what you have to say could cause me trouble. And I have enough to worry about without the police suspecting me of murder."

"That one sounds a lot less rough for both of us. What's the down side to it?"

"For one, you have seen something most people believe to be real only in storybooks. You know there is more to the world now. That is a heavy burden in itself. You will also be haunted by this memory. The terror was real enough that it will not go away so easily. Though you seem to be much calmer now."

"Believe me," Tanya said, her voice suddenly solemn. "I'm still scared out of my mind. That may be why I can listen to this so calmly. But you know, I was more scared of you than that other guy, and you say you won't hurt me. You've been pretty honest so far, so ..." her voice cracked. Swallowing, she tried again. "So I'll trust you on that one, if you'll trust me to keep this a secret."

"Very well," Inlé said. "But you should keep well out of such things again. For your own good."

Tanya turned on Inlé with a look he could not read, then teasingly said, "You're canceling our next date before we even set it?"

"You still want to do that?" Inlé asked.

"Of course!" Tanya said. "You think your being some kind of super-hero makes me less curious? I may go the way of Schrödinger's cat, but that in itself is an exciting prospect, right?"

Inlé shook his head. "I wonder what your children will be like."

"You shouldn't say that with such a cold face," Tanya pouted. "And I doubt they'll be as bad as yours, Running around, exploding people."

"Hardly." Inlé said.

Tanya stopped then, in front of the office where the two had met. "Well," she said, "I'm home."

"The office?" Inlé asked.

"Above it, but yes."

"So your father ..."

"... Is the doctor, yes. Does it make me weird that I work for my father?"

"Not at all. It was once the rule. And although it is not as common today, it is not uncommon. I would have wound up working under my parents, under slightly different circumstances."

Tanya smiled. "That actually makes me feel worse, knowing I have something like that in common with you. It makes it seem weirder. But thanks, anyway."

She patted him on the arm, then ran up the six steps to the entrance of her home. Before disappearing into the house, she called after the already retreating Inlé, "Try and spot me tomorrow before I spot you!"