#It was been mentioned in /Orca/ that Zerika had the odd habit of #disappearing now and again, a few days at a time. It's possible, #of course, that nothing is going on more unusual than the Empress #taking a bit of a breather, probably with her lover. # #However, I was thinking about Devera, and I found myself wondering #if perhaps Devera was taking Zerika with her on jaunts through time #to find young Phoenixes to be persuaded to be relocated into the #future, thus rebuilding the House. A fascinating idea! But why should that cause her to go missing? With the usual kinds of time travel, you can go "elsewhen", spend as much time "then" as you like, and (subjective-)then return to the moment of your departure, leaving no gap in your presence unless someone was actually watching you and saw the inevitable discontinuity in your position, the folds of your clothing, etc. -- Mark A. Mandel [This text prepared with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.]