The new kqyres ignored this comment. "Lord Njeri was transferred. He has asked me to say that he looks forward to the pleasure of renewing your friendship when you come again to Ferr. Meanwhile, I have taken his place." After some hesitation, the new kqyres added, "I hope we shall be good friends, also." There was no use pretending any longer. "I know who you are," Mattern said. "I recognize your voice. You're the mbretersha herself, aren't you?" * * * * * She seemed pleased rather than dismayed. "Yes, I am the mbretersha. I came to realize that the post of kqyres was more difficult than that of queen. Therefore, I was the only one who should rightfully undertake it. As I told you, in our universe a ruler cannot afford pride. She lives only for the good of her people." "She's got to," Mattern said bluntly, "if, as you said, her nervous system is attuned to theirs. What actually did happen is that Njeri told you I was quitting the business and he couldn't control me any more. So you took his place to see if you could change my mind." "Oh, that was a mere pleasantry!" she said. "I knew you would not give up the hyperspace trade. What else would you have left?" What else _would_ he have left? His money, his collections, his unpleasant memories. All his emotional ties now were with that other universe. "Who's ruling Ferr?" he asked, evading her question. "Lord Njeri, your former kqyres, serves as my regent. He is my father, so he is fitted by birth; his system is also attuned to the planet's, although not as sensitively as mine, since he is a male. Perhaps that would make him a better ruler; he will suffer less. And I see no reason otherwise why a male should be deemed incapable of ruling, providing he is under careful supervision." "No reason at all," Mattern agreed. "Moreover," she continued, "I have organized the whole government of my planet so that it runs itself. And, of course, from time to time, when we make our trips, I shall be able to check into what's going on." "But we're not going to make any more trips," he said. Although he had not been serious about retiring--he knew that now--he wasn't going to let the hyperspacers push him around. _Make her sweat a little_, he thought irreverently. "Will you not give me a chance, Captain?" she asked. "Is the prospect of my company so displeasing to you that it will make you give up the business immediately?" "You know it's not that. I told the kqyres before you came--" "But my people won't know it's not that. I shall lose face." "If only you _had_ a face!" he cried. "I'm sick of sailing with shadows!" "My form in your universe is truly horrible, Mattern," she said softly, "truly monstrous. The xhindi who have seen themselves in mirrors in your universe have often gone mad." "Anything is better than emptiness," he told her. "If I appear in my true form, then will you accept me as your kqyres?"