The Dark Symphony Read Free Page B

this special night. "The judges are romantic fools, and only an equally large fool would not use that knowledge to his benefit."
    Guil was paying only half attention to his father, the other half of his mind trying to think of the words to the song the robo-orc played and wondering what it was that Rosie had planned for the following day, the thing that was upsetting the hunchback so much that he could not even sleep properly.
    "Dear son, 'tis but a misty cloud."
    "Ah, sweet child, come with me!
    Such pleasant games I'll play with thee!
    Such pleasant flowers bloom in the field,
    My mother has many a robe of gold …"
    Could Rosie be giving up without a fight? It was possible to forego the tests completely, to admit defeat even before you had been tested. You were given a sedative and carted away to the disposal furnaces just the same— but you didn't have to sweat through the chores in the arena. Was that what Rosie had in mind? No. That was not Rosie's way. His entire life had been a continuation of proofs of himself, an effort to show all that he was more than they were, worthier, able to accomplish more. He would not just give up, throw everything away without a fight—not after all these years of fights.
    "—you would use it against?" his father finished asking.
    He swallowed a lump of cheese and washed it down with wine as he sorted through the half of his mind that had been paying attention and tried to find what his father had asked. "First my whistle. Then the sonic-knife. If neither worked, I would use my sound-rifle as a last alternative. The judges frown on using the heaviest armament first."
    "Very good," his father said. "Didn't you think he was good with that one?" he asked Guil's mother.
    "Umm," she said, nodding, not particularly interested.
    "Now," his father began, "the next thing—"
    "Oh, father, father do you not hear
    What the Erlking whispers in my ear?"
    "Be still, my child, be calm;
    Tis but the withered leaves in the wind
…"
    "Now, Judge Scarlatti is an egomaniac. If you are chosen a sextuple—"
    His mother shifted, sighed. "The boy told us he was only a Class IV."
    "Damn it, don't undersell your son! He—"
    "He is a Class IV," she said, sucking on a plum. "He is a Class IV. Building hopes will only lead to—"
    "Oh Father, Father see you not
    The Erlkings daughters in yon dark spot?"
    "My son, my son, the thing you see
    Is only the old gray willow tree
. . ."
    "The robo-orc swirled colorfully with the sinister music of
Der Erlkonig
, and Guil suddenly realized that there was something in this song applicable to the Coming of Age Day ritual. Usually, their dinner music was light, airy, nothing at all like this. So there must be some reason for the change. He concentrated on remembering the last lines as it drew to a close.
    "I love thee, thy form enframes my sense;
    And art thou not willing, I'll take thee hence!"
    "Oh Father, Father, he grasps my arm.
    The Erlking has done me harm!"
    Strange
, Guil thought.
It is a very dark vision, this song.
The robo-orc swirled on, full instrumented and misty-bodied. His father watched.
    The father shudders, He speeds ahead,
    He clasps to his bosom the sobbing child,
    He reaches home with pain and dread;
    In his arms, the child lay dead!
    Goethe by Schubert.
    Wer reitat so spat durch Nacht und Wind?
    …
in seinen Armen das Kind was todt
…
    There was something about the German language that made the words even more sinister.
    Guil shivered, turned to his father and saw the Meistro was watching him expectantly, his mouth now empty of fruit, his eyes cloudy and unreadable. It was obvious that he expected his son to say something, though Guil was not exactly sure what would be proper. "Father, the song,
Der Erlkonig .
. ."
    "Yes?"
    His mother busied herself clearing the table although the sonic-servants could have done the job quicker and easier. She disappeared into the kitchen with a stack of dishes in her hands. His father watched her go, then turned