Fairy Vivienne

Then he slammed the shutter, snapped the lock and hurried to meet his new friends. His palms itched. "Yes please," he said, "Right this way, come into my parlor. My name is Arachnae, I am so pleased to meet you. What are your names?"

When everyone was introduced and comfortable Merlin produced a tiny three stemmed hookah pipe which incredibly got big, punk for burning and a chunk of hashish. Arachnae ordered chai and the three sat and got trashed.

"My goodness," Arachnae said.

Merlin leaned forward discreetly to Arachnae, "Can we trust you?"

"Yes, yes, my friends, you can trust Arachnae. You ask anyone, they will tell you I am to be trusted and so I tell you immediately, I must have some of this hashish. With it I will be the most successful dealer ever. Can you get me some. How much can I get? Do not sell it to any other dealer. Only me."

"We have much for sale," Merlin said.

"I must have some hashish."

"Let us return to our starship and take an accurate inventory," Merlin said and bobbed his head. "Tomorrow, my friend, we'll talk sisterchies."

Fairy Vivienne, after cursing, vial threats and a few blows, again rebooted the hyerlunky control computer. "Ignorant piece of crap." That night Fairy Vivienne dreamt of Merlin and the young red head stoned with a turquoise spider. "Derelicts." In the morning the computer served spinach salad and Fairy Vivienne thought of Merlin. "This is all his fault."

Merlin and Mercury back on The Bullfinch in the great hall sat as if they didn't care Thalia was smirking. Zaldivar was singing opera and brewing up a big slab of hashish. For the finishing touch he embossed it with a gold stamp. "What do you think?" he asked Rinaldo.

"It's beautiful, and stinky," Rinaldo said.

"Is anyone else hungry?" Mecury asked.

"I'd like some spinach salad please," Merlin said.

Thalia hummed. "Mango sorbet please."

Zaldivar was making the replicator hum, and he switched from opera to Elvis.

Thalia, Mercury, Merlin and Rinaldo sat at the exquisitely carved heavy wood great table.

When the sorbet arrived it was lime rickey. Thalia looked at Merlin. "This is all your fault."

Merlin sat up straight. "What are you talking about?"

"If you hadn't gotten Zaldivar stoned, the sorbet would be mango."

"He's a computer," Mercury said.

"This is not my fault," Merlin said.

Thalia leaned forward, elbows on the great table and grinned at Merlin. "It' s your love we're saving."

"You're going to be a hero." Rinaldo said.

"I doubt it," Merlin said.

On the spacedart Eurus, Polyphemus was miserable.

Malagigi was not sympathetic. "You just do not travel well."

"It says right in the book, Cyclopes, An Uninteresting Race, that I don't."

"It's not like the days when having only one eye singled you out, now you're likely to run into some smuck with three or even seven eyes," Malagigi said. "You'll blend right in."

"I don't even know why we have to go to Basmati."

"Arachnae said there was hashish."

"Why can't you replicate your own."

"You know I don't have any recipes."

"And you're avoiding Anjelica."

Polyphemus put on head phones and listened to Sting.

In the late afternoon Mercury and Merlin found the petite turquoise man behind his bars nodding on his sumptuous fuschia cushion. "Psst," Merlin whispered.

Arachnae woke calmly. He smiled, then a cloud covered his eyes. "My new friends, the most terrible thing is going to happen and I will tell you all about it as soon as I can see my way clear, but first let's make our deal."

"What are you talking about?" Merlin asked.

"Your wonderful hashish and whatever else you care to show me.