“She has arrived, your Majesty. ”
Emperor Pell scowled for a moment. But then brightened. “Oh well, I suppose I had best get this over with right away. No point in dillydallying. The sooner done, the better. ”
“Yes, your Majesty. ”
“I will meet her in the usual place.”
“Of course, your Majesty. ”
“And see that it is… that it’s made…. just see to it that everything goes smoothly while I make my.. trip. ”
“Yes, your Majesty. The way has already been prepared. None will see you enter or leave. Not even I, my lord. ”
“Excellent…. the less said about this, the better. Fetch me my scepter and my…. on second thought, never mind. I suppose it doesn’t matter what I bring. ”
“As you like, sire. ”
“Well then… I guess I’d best be off, then. ”

<------------------------------------------------------------------------------------>

As he always did at these times. Emperor Pell found himself walking very slowly and admiring his castle and its contents as though seeing them for the first time.
There was the Hall of Legend, where all his heroic exploits were depicted in magnificent detail on tapestries of the finest, richest cloth in all the Kingdoms. The Battle of Greycastle, where he had slain the demon-lord Draconis. The Vanquishing of the Mirror Ghosts who drove people mad by trapping them in their own memories. The College of Wizards he had built with his own two hands when unbound wizardry had threatened the stability of his lands. And dozens more. All deeds to swell any man’s heart with pride, but Pell just looked upon them as things that had needed to be done to protect his kingdom.

Next came the Banquet Hall, where the magical Table of Transformation turned the base gruel that was the standard fare of the Kingdom into the most sumptuous, delectable, senses-pleasing meals imaginable. Meals made still the more wonderful because the magical food did not fill one up, so one could feast through the night unimpeded.

Then came the Armory, where his Sword of the One True Kingdom hung. It was with this sword he had conquered the rebellious and treacherous Outer Lands once and for all. One by one, he had subdued them, and with the power of the sword and his true and unyielding will, remade them in his own image and according to his own designs.

The Outer Lands had lain quiescent for many a year after that. But now….

After the Armory came the Treasury. In it lay many a treasure from the Outer Kingdoms, things which he had found there which pleased him. The rest, he burned, so that there be no trace left of those foul and wicked places.

In it was a battered old tome full of numbers and symbols that he found soothing. There was also a large slate upon which chalk looked especially pretty. A Noble Prize he had won in the days of his youth, before his Kingdom even existed. Such things are precious to old men.

But no matter how slowly one walks, one eventually arrives, and it was with a heavy heart that Pell came to his destination, a plain and ugly door of clear glass and metal. He took a deep breath, opened the door, shielded his eyes from the bright glare within, and went inside.

<------------------------------------------------------------------------------------>

Inside was a Spartan room consisting of only a simple cot, a worn old wooden chair, and four bare concrete walls painted white. With great caution, Pell took off all his clothing, changed into the same pale blue pajamas that always awaited him here, and lay as still as he could despite his trembling.

Soon it will be over, he told himself. She will visit, we will talk, and then she and this horrible pressure in my head will be gone, and my Kingdom will be safe again.

He closed his eyes as tightly as he could as the pressure built and built, and despite himself, the Emperor of the Central Kingdoms could not keep himself from whimpering from the pain.

Finally, the pressure stopped, relief and gratitude flooded his soul, and when he opened his eyes, she was there.

<------------------------------------------------------------------------------------>

Pell squinted at the florescent bulbs on the ceiling, and shook his head. “I don’t know how you people put up with those. ”

“Put up with what, Mr. Pell?” she said.

“Those… lights, up there. Such a harsh and unfriendly light they shine. We have nothing like them in my kingdom. I would never tolerate something so… disrespectful. ”

“They only show what is there, Mister Pell. ”

“That’s one way of looking at it. Anyhow, I suppose we had better get started. Hello again, Dame Dumont. ”

“It’s Mrs. Dumont here, Mr Pell, as you well know. I thought we had agreed that you would honor the customs of this world while you were in it? ”

“Oh yes. How silly of me to forget. Forgive my lapse in decorum. Hello again Mrs. Dumont. ”

“Hello again, Mister Pell. So nice of you to join me for this meeting. ”

Pell harumphed. “Your foul magics do not give me much choice, madam. I either meet with you or go mad from the pain. ”

“A regrettable necessity, Mr. Pell, but I did warn you that you would pay a price for your continued… obstinacy. ”

“Hah. Is that what you call it? I call it loyalty to my kingdom. ”

“This was once your kingdom as well, Mr. Pell. ”

Pell leaped to his feet, eyes ablaze. “That is a foul and contemptible lie! I have never had any part in this cruel and heartless realm. By the grace of God, I was born fresh and without sin into this Realm some twenty years ago, and I have led an exemplary life since there. There is not the slightest trace of your Outermost Kingdom in me, and I will thank you, madam, to remember that and keep a civil tongue in your head. ”

Lightning flashed and sirens screamed around Pell, so great was his rage. The air was filled with a cacophony of shrieks, clangs, and alarums, and Pell felt the hot blood in his chest.

“Very well, Mister Pell. I will not speak of it again. Please, sit back down and calm yourself. Such fits of rage do not serve either of us well, Mister Pell. ”

Pell gratefully lay down on the cot once more. Suddenly he felt weak. His rage had worn him out. “Very well, Mrs. Dumont. Perhaps we have both made mistakes in etiquette today. ”

“Indeed, Mister Pell. Now, I believe that when last we spoke, we were discussing possible terms for cooperation. ”

“You mean terms of surrender. You know that I could never do what you ask of me. I could never turn my back on my Kingdom and let you destroy it and the people within it for my own personal advancement, no matter the prize. Just out of curiosity, what are you offering this time?”

“The same as always, Mister Pell. Wealth, fame, public accolades, the love and gratitude of millions. The freedom to pursue whatever you wish. ”

Pell laughed. “And for this you would have me forsake my kingdom? I already have those things, and in greater amount than your cold and pitiless kingdom could ever offer. You would have me trade gold for copper, madam, and low grade copper to boot. ”

“As you say, Mr. Pell, but what we offer has one unbeatable advantage over what you already have. ”

Pell knew what she would say in reply, but asked anyhow : “And what is that?”

“It’s real, Mister Pell. Actually real. You and I both know that your Kingdom and its inhabitants are not truly real. ”

“They’re real enough to me!” he replied. “And they are a damned sight better than anything I could find in your blackhearted realm. I made my Kingdom, and I made it right. Everything is perfect here. Nobody goes hungry, nobody worries that they will killed on the way to work by some street thug, everything is safe and there is never any kind of… ”

“Any kind of what, Mister Pell?”

“Never mind. It’s not important. What is important is that I have all I need here and there is nothing your so called ‘real’ world has to offer me. I decide what is real here. ”

“And that’s the problem, Mister Pell. You have to decide everything. You have to create everything. You have to keep track of it all in your mind, and keep it alive by remembering it. Don’t you ever get tired? Don’t you ever want to just let it all go so you can rest? When was the last time you really slept, Mister Pell?”

Pell looked small and confused. “Sleep… I…. I have a wonderful bed, made of gold and jewels and the softest fabrics in all the…. the feathers, they come from….. a giant… ”

“I am not asking about your bed, Mister Pell. I was asking about your sleep. When was the last time you slept in that bed?”

“I can’t… I’m sure I must have…. sometimes, I spend whole mornings just laying there and reading… ”

“But do you SLEEP there, Mister Pell? Have you slept a single time since your arrival in your kingdom? When was the last time you can remember going to sleep? ”

“I… I must have…. but I can’t remember any… ”

“So in all the twenty years you have lived, you haven’t slept once? That’s hardly normal, is it? Wouldn’t you like to sleep again? If you come with me, I promise you that you can rest. Just come with me, Mister Pell…. Jeremy. Come with me and you can finally rest again. ”

With that, Mrs. Dumont put a hand on Pell’s, and the hand was cool and soft and solid and very, very real. Pell looked up at her with such longing and confusion that she gasped. “Could I really….can you really do it?”

“Yes I can, Jeremy. The machine that brought you here can take you home. But only if you let go. You have to decide to come with me, Jeremy, or it will never work. Come with me. It is time you came home. ”

“HOME?” shouted Pell. The confusion and longing were gone, and the arrogance and anger were back. “My home is my kingdom, you treacherous bitch! Oh, you are wily, I will give you that. You almost had me confused enough to hand you victory. But I will never succumb to your witch’s ways, do you hear me? ”

“Now Jeremy… Mister Pell… ”

“This interview is over, madam. You can turn that infernal machine up to twenty five for all I care, You will not get another word from me ever again. GOOD DAY, madam!”

Pell turned toward the wall, and steadfastly refused to turn back until he knew she was gone.

<------------------------------------------------------------------------------------>

“So how did it go?”
Doctor Suzanne Dumont sighed as she took the electrode cap off her sweat-soaked head. “I don’t know, Lacey. It really seemed like I was close to breaking through there at the end, but then he clamped down again, and hard. Harder than ever before. So I don’t know whether I am inches from freeing the greatest mind of this century from its coma, or inches from shattering his sanity completely by robbing it of its defense mechanism. ”

Nurse-Technician Lacey Templeton smiled at Doctor Dumont. “In one ear and out the other, Doc. Sorry. I never had the head for that psychological stuff. But we sure got a scare when his vitals shot up like that. ”
“That was my fault. I pushed too hard at the beginning. That’s always been my problem, barreling in like a herd of buffalo when I should be walking soft like a cat. When will he be ready for another treatment?”

“Gosh, Doc, I don’t know. I am looking at his liveMRI and it is all over the place. His pathways are going to be twitching for a long time after this. I’d say at least a week, maybe ten days. ”

“That’s okay, I will probably sleep that long after this anyway. ”

They both laughed. “I have to ask, Doc… how long has Professor Pell been like that?”

“Almost a year. Ever since the day he killed his wife. Shoved her down a flight of stairs. ” Seeing the look of horror and disbelief on Nurse Lacey’s face, she added “Oh, I know everyone thinks he’s the sweet funny man they saw on TV, but he was always very fragile. When his wife said she wanted a divorce, he snapped. They say she was dead before she hit the landing. They found him at the top of the stairs just how you see him now and he has been catatonic ever since. I guess he just couldn’t live with what he had done. ”

Nurse Lacey looked shocked and overawed. “But that…. that’s just terrible. And here you are, inventing a whole new form of cranial stimulation just to save a murderer? Why?”

Doctor Dumont smiled tiredly. “Because he was my best friend. They both were. Can you finish the cleanup for me? I am pretty sure I will be asleep twenty minutes from now and I would rather be home in bed when it happens. ”

“Well okay, but you better bring the donuts next time. Remember, I like the… ”

“Apple-Cherry Fritters, I know. See you next week, Lacey. ”

Feeling a little unreal herself, Doctor Dumont drove the five blocks to her home, and put herself to bed.

<------------------------------------------------------------------------------------>

“What troubles you, sire?”
“Oh… nothing. Nothing. Just tired. Listen… this will seem like a strange question but… when was the last time I slept?”
“My Lord? You are abed every night at ten, and ring for your breakfast every day at six in the morn, rain or shine. ”
And I don’t allow servants in my bedchambers, so as far as you know, I am asleep that whole time, thought Pell. But I don’t sleep. I don’t know what I do during those hours, but it’s not sleep. It’s like that time just… doesn’t exist.
“Listen… Jenkins, is it? Next time I go to bed, I want you to very quietly peek into my bedroom and see what I am doing, then tell me when I ring for breakfast in the morning. ”
“It’s Jayne, sir. I will of course do as you wish, sir, but… may I ask why?”
“No, you may not. Just do as you are told. I am your King!”
“Yes sir. Will you have your tea now?”
“Of course… actually, on second thought, no. I… just don’t feel like having tea right now. ”
“As you wish, sire. May I be dismissed, then? ”
“Yes, yes… go. And tell the others I am to be left alone for now.”

<------------------------------------------------------------------------------------>

Pell wandered his castle restlessly, in search of what, he did not know. But suddenly the castle and servants which had pleased him for so long now filled him with disgust. It all seemed so pointless now. All the splendor, all the honour, all the legends, and all the glory just seemed like nothing more than a child’s game to him now. He needed something MORE.

Eventually, he wandered into the Treasury. He picked up the old battered tome and flipped through its pages. The symbols and numbers inside had always baffled him before. But now he thought he could almost make a kind of sense of them.

Pell stared off into nothingness, book in hand, for a long time. Then he abruptly put the book down and picked up a piece of chalk, and stood before the staring, staring at it.

And then, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, he began writing equations on the slate.

And that made him feel a lot better.