Free Charon by Jack Chalker Page B

powered and air-conditioned, all the rest. Technology then wasn't so much impossible on Charon as it was banned. By whom? Matuze? No, she hadn't been in power long enough to produce this sort of thing. This town and the culture reflected by the male native was long-term. By the Lord of Cerberus, that" was for sure—perhaps long, long ago. That made some sense if the ruling could be enforced on a planetary scale. If only the Lord of Cerberus and those he or she designated had access to technology and the training to use it, they would be assured of absolute control.
      "We'll let you go to your rooms first for a while," the woman was saving. "There are towels and such there, and you can get fairly dried out. We also have robes there, so if you want to change into those you'll probably be more comfortable. Top floor, pick your own rooms and roommates, and meet us back down here in—say, an hour for food. I know you don't have watches, but we'll make sure you get called."
      We made our way to the rear of the lobby area and discovered an alcove in the back with a spiral wooden staircase. From the other side of the alcove, beyond two closed wooden doors, came the smells of food cooking and people talking loudly. The bar? The restaurant? Well, it didn't matter—yet.
      I hung back. I had decided the easiest way to guarantee either that I'd be alone in a room or at least get a random shot at it was to be last, there being an odd number of us.
      No such luck on the single, though. The big, gruff man who had made all the sour comments along the way staked out a single and nobody seemed inclined to argue with him. Everybody else, including two of the women, paired off; and by the time I reached the top of the stairs only one person remained—the pretty young woman who had asked about the air system downstairs. I saw her down at the end of the hall looking slightly worried and more than a little confused. She cautiously opened the last door on the right and looked inside then turned back to see me approaching. I could tell by her expression that she wasn't thrilled by the situation.
      "Looks like we're stuck together," I noted.
      She thought a moment, then sighed. "What the hell— what does it matter, anyway?"
      "Thanks a lot," I responded sourly and walked into the room. It was surprisingly spacious and contained two large comfortable beds, mattresses and all, some closet space and a sink with a cold water tap. I was surprised at that, having expected to have to go down to a well someplace. The beds were not made, but clean linen was folded at the foot of each along with washcloths and towels and, as promised, a robe each.
      I saw her hesitating, a little nervous, and I sympathized. "Look, if I'm offending your morals I'll step into the closet. Somebody my size could practically live in there."
      "No, no, that's not necessary. After all, we were all naked on the shuttle coming in."
      I nodded, relaxed a little, and peeled off the wet clothes and stuck them on the towel rack to dry. I then took the towel and dried myself as best I could, particularly my hair, which was a tangled mess, then tried the robe. As I suspected, it was quite a bit large for me. So much for standardization. Still, I decided I could manage in it without breaking my neck.
      During this time she just stood there, watching me. I began to wonder if she knew who her roommate was. "Something wrong?" I asked her.
      For a moment she said nothing, not even acknowledging my comment or existence. I was beginning to suspect I had somebody really ill but she finally snapped out of it and looked at me.
      "I—I'm sorry, but it's been hard for me. I feel like this is all an ugly dream, that I'll wake up from it sometime."
      I nodded sympathetically. "I know what you mean. But you can't let it get to you. You have to figure that you're alive, and you're still you and not some psych's dream, and that you've got a whole new start in a whole new life.