Benjamin, who had been quiet, piped in when Freud listed people to be hypnotized. "And me, sir." Freud looked embarrassed. "Of course, Herr Franklin. I apologize. Now, what shall we ask ourselves?" "Surely the only Questions to be asked are 'What Dreams have you had here?' and 'What do you think they mean?', are they not?" Benjamin replied, somewhat mollified. "Have I misunderstood the Purpose of these Mesmerisms?" Shaw nodded in agreement, and added "We should also try and find out about the lack of memory that some of our group seems to have." Jeanne was intrigued by the prospect of seeing the others hypnotized, for all that she disapproved of it. She could not decide if her feelings were fascination with the forbidden or simple human curiosity, and she murmured soft admonitions to herself to remember the fate of Lot's wife. Jeanne added, "Because we all come from different societies, perhaps some simple questions first, to establish the boundaries that person's mind works within? My point being that things which seem out of the ordinary to me might be commonplace to Josephine, and thus overlooked. Or vice versa. "There may be something in these differences that would explain why dreams are given to some, and not to others. Or why some remember and others do not, if the dreams are sent to all. "Easy questions, something the others might know or have heard of? Name, region of birth, mother's name? Christian or no? Something that will help us interpret what they say later." Charles summarized the group's intentions. "Friend, We are interested in knowing many things. Firstly, Why do some of us have memory of previous lives here on this River, and others do not -- Is something blocking their and my memory of previous times here in purgatory? "Secondly, The dreams that Shaw have had, and that which Shaka related to us, all share a common thread -- perhaps your skill with dreams will help us to answer puzzles that they do not see. "Thirdly, Let us proceed with much caution, for if memory serves me correct, when you tried to get such answers from Stalin, he succumbed to a death from within. We must be prepared to break off questioning, and remove your 'Hypnosis' if something occurs like that. "I, for one, wish to know of my previous times here on this world, and why, perhaps I do not dream..." Josephine took a moment to look around at the lazari, trying to gauge their reactions to the hypnosis herself, concluding with Shaw, next to her. While Charles enumerated his questions, she pulled him aside and spoke softly to him. "Whatever this session reveals," she said quietly, "let us make a point to spend some time together afterwards, OK?" Shaw nodded silently. "Oh, and if I become too agitated or try to hurt someone, please restrain me. I trust you to see that I don't cause harm to myself or another." She smiled at Shaw and touched his cheek briefly before returning her attention to the group. After her brief conversation with Shaw, she spoke to the others. "My offer to go first still stands, but if Charles prefers he go first, that is acceptable." She smiled and moved off to the side, out of the way but so that she can still see and hear everything. Jeanne paled slightly. "What happened to Joseph... Has this happened to others while you mesmerized them? Is there some danger beyond the metaphysical one associated with such sorceries?" "I don't know what happened with Joseph," Freud replied, shaking his head. "It may be that he was so strongly resistant to answering that he chose to take his own life. A more sinister possibility is that his life was somehow taken from him. For us, there may be a danger, but perhaps not so great. I shall certainly take more care with my friends than I did with Joseph. "Let us begin then, for it is already dark, and may well be dawn before we're through." Charles came forward and sat on one side of the boat. Freud began speaking in the soothing monotone that some of the others recalled from his hypnotism of Joseph, and Charles was soon entranced, his eyes closed and his voice responding calmly to Freud's questions. remember and others do not, if the dreams are sent to all. "What is your name?" Freud began. "Charles of Aachen." "Where were you born?" "Aachen, in the Carolingian Empire." "What is your religion?" "Christian. The Holy Roman Church." Freud nodded, and began the more serious questioning. He pointed to Josephine. "When did you meet this woman?" "Twelve days ago." "How did you meet?" "We both woke up together in the hills." "In the hills?" Freud looked surprised. "Not by a grailstone?" "Not by a grailstone." "Now, I want you to imagine that you have just woken up. What was the first thing you said?" "Yes Nightingale. I be Charles. Christian." "Now, I want you to go back a little farther in time, to the day before you woke up. Where are you?" "I...don't know." "What do you see or hear?" "Nothing." "It is dark?" "No...not dark. But nothing." "What is your name?" "I don't know." "Can you remember anything?" "I...no. Nothing." "Very well, Charles. I want you to return to the present time. I want to ask you about your dreams. Have you had any dreams?" "Yes." "Did you have a dream last night?" "Yes." "What happened in your dream?" "I was naked, and kneeling before a woman, also naked. I was very excited by her breasts." "Did you recognize the woman?" "Yes." "Who was the woman?" "Jeanne." Jeanne blushed furiously at the response. Josephine successfully hid a smirk. "Er, yes." Freud continued. "Can you remember any other dreams, dreams that seemed somehow different or coming from a source outside yourself?" "No." "Are there any images that you have seen in many dreams?" "I have dreamt that I was an Emperor again many times. I order my soldiers into battle. I do not learn their fate." "Very well, Charles. I want you to awaken now, and remember everything you have said, when I count to three. One. Two. Three." Charles' eyes snapped open. Looking over the group, his gaze fell on Jeanne, her cheeks still flushed. Charles reddened in turn and looked down. "I apologize, Jeanne. I do not remember my dreams, much less direct them." "Few do," Freud agreed. "And we have learned but a little from Charles. His memory for the first 30 days is not buried, but completely erased! He can recall nothing. This is beyond the psychology of my day. I do not know if Charles' dreams have any significance." "I suppose I'm next," Josephine said. * * * * "What is your name?" "Josephine Baker" "Where were you born?" "St. Louis, Missouri" "You have heard Charles describe his lack of memory for the period before you met. Do you remember anything from that period?" "Yes." She shuddered. "You will remain calm. Nothing will hurt you. What do you remember?" "Only blurs. Men running and men dead...all around." "Yes. You mentioned this when you chewed dream gum before. You had a bad reaction, a seizure, and a dream. What did you dream?" "I saw strange beasts, with claws. They glowed and were blurry. They were on our backs. And I saw Glenn, and shadows in a bright white light, touching the beast on his back, and it vanished. And then I remembered from before." "She didn't mention the blurry glow or that Glenn's beast vanished when she told us about the dream before," Freud noted. * * * * "What is your name?" "Erik Weisz" "Where were you born? "Hungary" "Do you remember when you first awoke on the River?" "Yes. I was the First Day; everyone was confused, angry, hopeful." "How did you feel?" "I was hopeful. I thought I might be able to communicate with the living world, breach the gap from this side." "When did you meet these others?" "Four days ago. I was reborn in the evening and they were there." "Before that time, did you have any unusual dreams?" "No." "After that time?" "Yes." "When?" "Last night." "What did you dream?" "I heard a man's voice tell me to pay attention and remember. I saw our group. In a line, Shaw, Benjamin, Charles, a woman I did not recognize, Josephine, and Jeanne. You and I were standing in front of them, facing the same direction. You walked forward and stopped, and then turned to face me. Then I heard another voice, a woman's voice, tell me to forget, and the dream faded." * * * * "What is your name?" "Thomas Edward Lawrence" "Where were you born?" "Wales." "Why do you name yourself Shaw?" "I used that name later in life, in the R.A.F." "You have been experiencing significant visions when chewing dreamgum. Have you ever had a vision without dreamgum?" "No." "What was your last vision?" "I was a knight, mounted on a horse, on a chess board. The others were there too, and all those who have vanished. And others who I do not recognize. A general, a brown-haired woman, a slender man with long fingers..." "Those last two might be Maria and Glenn," Josephine whispered. Freud put his fingers to his lips and asked Shaw to continue. "The farther I looked, the less I could see the others; the field shifted strangely, and I could not see what colors the people stood on. Then I saw a hand reach down and move a man-sized pawn two squares forward. I was afraid of the hand." "Did you recognize the pawn?" "It was a man...pale...I think...I think it was you." Freud raised an eyebrow. "What color was your horse?" "White." "And what color was your square?" "Black." "If I remember my chess correctly, that might make you the white king's knight. Was there anything else?" "Yes. A strong feeling that I was close to a revelation." * * * * "What is your name?" "Benjamin Franklin." "Where were you born?" "Boston, Massachusetts." "Have you had any strange visions or dreams that you did not remember?" "Yes." "What did you dream?" "A Man came to me. His face was masked behind one of the Masks that was so popular in Paris when I was a young man. He told me that he was Unimportant, and could be forgotten, but that I should Contribute to the Riverworld Civilization by reintroducing the Noble Game of Chess." "When did this happen?" "Three nights ago." "And you began your chess set the next day?" "Yes." * * * * All awakened, the group faced one another as the sun rose. "Now," Freud asked, "what do you make of these revelations? And what should we do now?" * * * * After the stories ended, Shaka sat alone, thinking and meditating for some time, then stretched out and fell asleep. The others quickly followed. Shaka awoke at early down and roused the camp. "Arise, all of you, today we march." he announced. "Remember, only eat half of what the grailstone gives, for we may be without before long. We travel north, to the home of the gods of this place." As if in celebration of their leave-taking, the grails provided an unusually bountiful breakfast, and the group did not find it difficult to save half of the fare. As they ate, Shaka organized the remaining Zulu males into the units that he invented, the horns, the chest, and the loins. The youngest and swiftest men were put in the horns, the fleet-footed fighters who would encircle their enemy and guard the flanks. The strongest went in the chest, the phalanx that was the main unit of group. The loins were the reserves, and consisted of the women of the group and the non-Zulu. While they ate, Sly moved from person to person, asking for their spare food or other grail items. Louis offered Sly his dream gum or tobacco, and Sly happily accepted the former. When the others weren't watching, Sly looked around for items he might take without being noticed, but the camp was too vigilant. After the meal, Shaka pointed to the north. "Come, the scouts will have left signs and will send us messages. Let us move forward to our new destiny." Mandragola, taking his place in the loins of the army, was secretly pleased. Here at least, he would not have to take part in the kind of melee that did not suit him. As they lined up, Mandragola pulled Louis to one side, and said, almost to himself, "What do you think of the one named 'Sly?' He is a strange one, no? His dialect appears to be a rather primitive version of the English language, but he speaks of objects and people that did not exist during my time on Earth. Very strange." Louis broke away from his riposte practice, and, with an elated expression, asked Mandragola if he spoke French. When the latter smiled, Louis continued in French. "Sly seems to have no direction...nothing to guide him." the Frenchman observed. "I think he comes from a time after us, just like Freud and Mishima. I think Freud was an Austrian, and Mishima was from Japan. Sly's argot reminds me of the way the Sans-culotte spoke; very base. I think he is English, but one can be certain of nothing on this accursed River." Sly approached Shaka as he was setting up the formations. "'ey man, I wanna be inna horn, mate, or mebbe a scout. What say, eh bloke? You heard me story didn't ya? Oi can foit like a bloody rugger if need be." "There will be ample time to prove your skill." Shaka replied. "For now, it is best that you stay with the others who speak English." He gave Sly a short spear, and left him muttering to himself with Louis and Mandragola. When the formations were complete, Shaka took his place at the head of the group and gave the order to march north. After an hour's trek, Shaka and the Zulu horns stopped and looked for signs of the scouts he had sent ahead with Pala. They found nothing, which occasioned increased murmurs among some of the Zulu. Shaka ordered them to press on, and by mid-morning they had reached the next grailstone. Clustered about the grailstone were a small group of people whose appearance reminded the others of Mishima. They sat stiffly upright in neat rows, looking straight ahead, and seemingly did not notice the army's approach. * * * *