Channeling Cleopatra Read Free

cat-loving friend, a roommate from undergrad days at
the University of Heidelberg? But strangely, the person who seemed
so glad to see her also looked very much like Chime's equally
brilliant but much shyer, cat-allergic husband, Tsering. Leda was
startled to realize as the person grasped her hand and hugged her
that she continued not to be able to decide which one it was.
    "Leda! How very good to see you. You
received your ticket, I see."
    "Oh, so you were the one who sent it?" she
asked, not letting on that she hadn't decided which name to call
her benefactor.
    "Yes. We arranged to be here along with the
recruitment delegation from Nucore, the corporation that sponsors
our work. We have a matter of a highly confidential nature we
wished to discuss with you—a matter involving your interest in
Egypt. If indeed you have continued with your studies and achieved
such eminence that our gift was a slight, forgive us. Since your
name did not appear on the list of invited dignitaries, we felt
that if we sent the ticket, and you came, we could take it as a
sign of your continuing fascination with Egyptology."
    "Gee, I wish you had sent a note with it and
told me how to find you. We could have cruised around
together."
    "That might have raised questions we were
unprepared to answer until now about matters we aren't at liberty
to discuss freely. And while here, our time was not our own until a
moment ago. However, we were told that you had arrived. One of our
security staff made certain that we would not miss you."
    Looking around for the other—whichever one
it was—Jetsun, she asked cagily, "Is your better half with
you?"
    "Oh yes, we are both here," her friend
answered.
    Leda looked around. "Where?"
    "Right. Here." The person tapped himself or
herself on the chest. The brown eyes twinkled at Leda's confusion.
"We are sorry, old friend. It is not fair to tease you this way. We
can say no more while we are here."
    "I could drive us to dinner somewhere," Leda
offered.
    "A fine idea."
    She half expected her friend to whip out a
cell phone and call a third person and end her confusion, but
instead, a black silk clad arm linked with hers, and they walked
toward the parking lot. The voice was huskier than Chime's had
been. So it might be Tsering. On the other hand, there was a silver
pendant dangling down over the front of the black silk shirt, so it
was probably Chime. On the other hand, the pendant was a handmade
silver yin-yang pendant, like some emblem of monkhood, so it might
be something Tsering would wear, too. Leda grew more exasperated
the more she tried to figure it out.
    Once they were safely inside her car, she
asked, "Look, I really appreciate the ticket and all—"
    "You are welcome. We will be happy, whatever
your answer to our question, to see that you always receive a
ticket."
    " 'We' who?" Leda asked at last. "I don't
mean to be rude, but unless you have a mouse in your pocket, there
is only one of you here."
    When the person in black was silent for a
moment, Leda snapped her fingers. "You've had a sex change
operation, right?"
    The person beside her laughed a laugh that
was almost Chime's but not quite. "You might say that, yes. But it
did not involve surgery. And we did not change our sex. We . . .
augmented it, I suppose you could say."
    "You mean you're a hermaphrodite?" Leda
asked. She was just kidding, but to her surprise, the person beside
her considered her question carefully.
    "Emotionally, spiritually, yes. But
physically, we are contained within the body of the one you knew as
Tsering Jetsun."
    "What does that mean?" Leda
asked.
    "Please, could you begin to drive? We will
attempt to explain on the way. The parking lot is probably not a
secure area, and our person, as well as the information we hold, is
of a highly confidential nature, most important to the company that
sponsors our work and which, if you agree, may sponsor yours as
well."
    Leda's eyes widened as she took in that
information. "Okay, you're