Free Stardust Dreams by Marilyn Campbell

frowned. "In
other words, if I had heard the Weebort better, your mission might already be
over. But the one word that the computer translated was
counterfeit.
Maybe
the Weebort was trying to say the document was a fake."
    Rubbing his chin, he
appeared to be giving her suggestion serious consideration. "That sounds
logical, until you consider all the deaths so far. If the document was a fake,
it wouldn't matter what it said. No one would have had to steal it or hire an
assassin to prevent the Consociation from learning what it said. They could
have let it be known that it was worthless much more easily, so I tend to
believe the document contained information someone didn't want revealed."
    Cherry agreed with his
assessment. "Considering their ability to create illusions, is it possible
that everything the monitors are picking up is an elaborate hallucination? Maybe
counterfeit is a really loose translation."
    Gallant's smile was broad
enough to show his straight white teeth for the first time. "Good
deduction. You have the makings of a tracker, Cherry."
    She laughed. "I've
been told something like that before. The fact is, I just like figuring out
puzzles. So what do you think?"
    "The problem with that
reasoning is that all we have to go on is what was recorded four hundred years
ago. At that time, it was understood that the Illusians' ability involved
tricking another being's mind. The monitoring system involves machines."
    "Hmmm. What if,
instead of a hallucination that's all in the mind, the reason why their
illusions seemed so real is that the image actually has, urn…" She formed
shapes with her hands in the air between them.
    "Mass?" he filled
in for her. "Or at least the perception of mass. That could explain it,
even if no one comprehends how it could be done. If you accept that possibility
though, then one major problem is still left. If the Illusians have truly
changed their ways, there's nothing to fear by raising the shields, and aiding
them would be the proper, humane thing to do.
    "But what if they
haven't changed, and it's all an illusion? How much stronger are they today
than they were four hundred years ago? Could we stop them once the shield was
removed, or would they have figured out where they went wrong the last time and
have corrected the weakness?"
    "I get the
picture," Cherry said, but her mind was still trying to locate missing
pieces.
    "I'm glad to hear
that, because I need your help."
    "My help? You already
know everything I know about this business."
    He shook his head. "I
don't need help with what you know, but what you
do.
I need you to do
a little acting."
    Cherry laughed. "Now
that's an interesting twist. Don't tell me. You kidnapped me to save you and
Mar-Dot from terminal space boredom. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I
have an important appointment coming up back in Innerworld, and as long as the
Illusians haven't taken it over yet, I intend to be there, not here,
entertaining you while you chase bad guys."
    "You're not taking
this very seriously, Cherry. Don't you believe anything I've told you?"
    She shrugged her shoulders
and rearranged her legs. "I suppose I believe you, but it's so… I don't
know, beyond my experience maybe. Remember, I'm only a lowly Terran, and where
I come from, the kind of story you just told only happens in the movies. Please
try to understand my side of this. I'd help if I could, but since I don't see
how, I just want to go home.
    "Aster's in the last
month of her first pregnancy. I should be there with her right now. And the
appointment I mentioned is a once in a lifetime opportunity for an actress. Theodophilus
himself will be conducting auditions in Innerworld for the Noronian Performing
Company. I
have
to be back in time for that."
    "You have an
incredibly selfish attitude," Gallant said in a nasty tone.
    She looked surprised at the
intended insult, then admitted, "Sometimes I am incredibly selfish, but at
the moment I'm simply being logical. If the