'Nope. I hardly remember Indica, all I did as a kid was watch TV, how could I be upset? How could I get turned on?'

'That's the big question, Rod. How can you get turned on? Do I remind you of your stepmother? I mean I'm older, kind of motherly. And my name, Ida, that's a lot like Indica.'

He slumped down in his chair. The afternoon sun slanted in through the window and reflected from Ida's compact mirror into his eyes. Squinting against it, he said: 'Everything's like something and everybody's like somebody, that doesn't mean much. Like all TV programmes have a car crash in the first five minutes, what does that mean? Gee, Ida, I guess all your hard work goes for nothing, you been swell but what's the poi the poi the the-'

'Hey, what's wrong?'

'Nothing,' he said after a moment. 'Just the light, the way it flashes in one eye and then the other. It's real distracting. Real nice.'

'Aha! Turns you on? Like this?'

'Not so wild. More regular. Like a truth table. Say if left was true and right was false like this.' He took her eyebrow pencil and wrote on the kitchen table: L L.

L R.

R L.

R R.

She tried it again, and Roderick began to relax and enjoy relaxing. 'Maybe a longer sequence,' he murmured. Just then the sun was eclipsed by a tall building, the Kratwel Tower.

'I knew it! I knew it was no good!'

'Don't worry,' said Ida. 'We can use an electric light no? Okay then maybe a sunlamp?'

'No! No, just forget about it, forget-'

'Wait. There's one place in town where the sun will be up for at least an hour, the big hill in Beauregard Park. Come on, I'll finish fixing my face in the taxi.'

The taxi dropped them at the foot of the hill, and they hurried up it, Ida carrying her shoes to keep them nice. When they reached the top they were facing a sheet of burning gold.

'Look at that sky, Rod! Just look!'

'Yeah, yeah.' Roderick grabbed her purse and pawed through it looking for her compact. Powder spilled as he fumbled it out and thrust it into her hand. 'Come on, come on.'

They sat on the warm grass and Ida, following the truth tables he'd scribbled in the taxi, gave him: 'Just let yourself go,' she said soothingly. 'Go on, go on.'

'I'm ... afraid I'll drain my battery ...'

'Don't worry about anything, just let it all go, lover. Let it all go. Let go.'

Roderick had never felt anything like this strange, pleasant numbness that was engulfing him. His mind seemed to be thrusting and thrusting at some barrier, then pushing deeper into warm darkness, layer after deep layer until it reached the golden fire explosion.

He drowsed, then, only half-aware of Ida's leaving for her evening at the Escorial. When he awoke it was getting dark. There was a kleenex beside him with a note in eyebrow pencil: 'Told you so! Love, I.'

Christ, what had he done? Used her, that's what, used Ida like a kleenex or a mirror, to rub his own disgusting mind against the world and take crude pleasure from the friction. His first friend, his first real friend. Now he knew he could never face her again. Hadn't even told her how nice she looked. Hadn't even stopped a second to look at the sky, her sky, pure gold like Ida herself. No, he was just a an animal automaton, a cheap clockwork gimmick to wind up and run down. He was despicable.

Roderick flung away the tissue and started walking down the hill. Halfway down, the path was blocked by a man carrying a sign: !TNEPER.

There seemed to be no way around the man, so Roderick stopped.

'Brother.

'Okay. Mind if I get past?'

'Brother, a moment. Stop and reflect. Stop and reflect. Have you read my sign?'

'Yes but-'

'Notice anything unusual about it?'

'No. Except that it's written backwards. Now can I '

'In mirror writing, brother.'

Something about the man's emphasis made Roderick shudder. He looked into the wild eyes. 'You, uh, saw me up on the hill?'

'With the lady, yes. Playing with a mirror. Ah, how little ye know, for ye stood on the path to paradise, and took not a step.'

It seemed certain that the man knew his terrible secret, but Roderick had to be sure. 'Can you explain that?'

'Come to our meeting tomorrow night.' The man pressed a tract into his hand. 'The address is on the back. Come all ye faithful!'

Was the man mocking him? He stood aside, and as Roderick passed, said, 'All will be made clear. St Paul said, "We see as in a glass, darkly, but then face to face." Reflect on his words, brother. Reflect!'

Roderick managed to murmur thanks and take the tract home. There he found he could only read it by holding it up to a mirror.

REFLECT AND REPENT.

Have you looked at yourself in a mirror lately?

Oh, not just to comb your hair, but to see yourself. Look now. Do you like what you see?

The decay of the flesh, the marks of age, even the ravages of sin?

Roderick saw the ravages of sin, and read on. The tract explained that all Nature was made symmetrical by God, and for a hidden purpose: Mirrors contained the whole of the world outside, showing (if darkly) the truth. No one can hide the truth from his mirror, any more than the mirror can hide his lies from him.

Have you ever thought, that when you look at your

reflection in mirror, your reflection is looking

at you?

'God sees dog,' Roderick joked, and almost at once wondered whether his reflection would find this so funny. What if this mirror stuff was true? He read on: The eyes are the mirrors of the soul, the tract explained. St Paul speaks of mirror-seeing. Reflection is highly prized in all religions. The God of the ancient Hebrews was YAWAY, a name readable in a mirror. Didn't all this add up to something? Surely the incredible symmetry of all Nature was no accident, but part of a plan, a manifestation of God. The left side of every creature was exactly like the right side yet different. Scientists were now convinced that the right and left sides of one human brain were as different as two individuals one musical and linguistic, the other spatial and mathematical. All magnets had both North and South poles, as did the Earth and all planets. Electrical charge could be plus or minus, people could be male or female, all time itself was either past or future. Didn't all this symmetry add up to a glimpse of the DIVINE PLAN?

It did, said the tract. God wanted us to preach his gospel not only among ourselves, but to those of His creatures trapped on the Other Side to the people within mirrors. Incredible as this might at first sound, there was evidence of this DIVINE PLAN everywhere: in Nature, in the Bible, and especially within ourselves. Only if the gospel were carried into looking-glass land, could we be sure of turning the message of the world ('EVIL') into the message of the mirror ('LIVE!') This tract was printed by the Church of Christ Symmetrical. All strangers, and their reflections, were welcome.

'We should be honoured, he decided to pay us a visit. Welcome!' Mr Danton grabbed Roderick's ear and banged his head against the wall, then kneed him. 'I mean, excuse me all to hell, we forgot to put out the red carpet. Only we didn't know what day you was finally gonna show up for work, did we?'

'No sir.'

Mr Danton knocked Roderick to the floor and was just picking up a cleaver when the alley door opened and a patrolman came in.

'Is the manager here?'

'I'm the proprietor, officer. Can I help you?' Danton laid down the cleaver. The cop stared at it for a moment, pushing back his cap as though perplexed. He kept one hand on his gun.

'We found a lady's leg in your garbage can back there. You want to explain it?'

'A lady's leg? A lady's leg?' said Mr Danton, as though his place often disposed of all other kinds of human legs. 'Naw, we don't know nothing about that.'

'You wanna explain what you intended doing with that cleaver, then?'

'That? Oh, I was just kidding around with my dishwasher here. Tryin'a scare him a little, haw haw haw. Hell I treat the kid like my own son, how does he repay me? Comes in late, don't come in at all. Never no apology or nothing.'

The cop straightened his cap. 'Kids these days! They don't know the meaning of punctuality, respect, duty, clean hearts.'

Roderick said, 'About this leg '

'Well if none of you did it, I guess it might turn out to be another unsolved case. I could call it the case of the lucky legs. Only one though: case of the lucky leg sounds wrong, you know?'

Roderick said, 'Officer, I might be able to help.'

'Yeah? You wanna confess?' The cop winked at his old pal Danton. 'Your son here wants to confess!'

'No I I think I saw somebody drop something in that garbage can. In our garbage can. The day before yesterday it was.'

The patrolman squinted at him. 'You mean you think you saw them or you think they dropped it?'

'I did see him, and he did drop it. It was wrapped in a newspaper.'

'What was?'

'Whatever it was he dropped.'

'Oh now you're sure he dropped it? You wasn't so sure before. Okay.' The cop opened his notebook. 'Okay, suppose you describe this guy that maybe didn't drop anything wrapped in a newspaper.'

Roderick described the man as having gold hair, a pockmarked complexion and gold-rimmed sunglasses. He'd worn a casual terry shirt in an easy-care polyester blend, a rib-knit V-neck with cuffs and bottom band. The body of the shirt was terry in a sculpted design. It was light rust in colour, size: medium. He'd also worn s-t-r-e-t-c-h woven twill slacks in an outstanding blend of Celanese Fortrel R polyester for long wear and cotton for comfort. These were in straight-leg styling with an elastic waistband to help prevent waistband rollover, slant front pockets, two set-in back pockets, the left one with a button-through flap. These were khaki tan, size 34 regular with about a 34 inch inseam. They probably featured hook-and-eye front closure, nylon zipper, and seven belt loops fitting belts up to I inches wide. Roderick couldn't be sure about the belt loops, because of the jacket.

This was a cotton poplin jacket with a smooth nylon lining. Hip length, with a two-button tab collar and slash pockets. Set-in sleeves with one-button adjustable cuffs. Elastic insert at waist sides. Nylon zipper. This was in navy blue, medium size with about a 34 inch arm.

Finally the man had worn smooth leather-upper sports shoes with sueded split-leather reinforcement at toe. Ventilated vinyl tongue with laceholder was padded for comfort. Padded collar and peaked back. Rubber toe guard would help protect toe area against wear. Sturdy moulded heel counter. These shoes were white with royal blue vinyl stripes, and featured moulded rubber sole with crepe rubber wedge, sole having ribbed tread for traction. Size 9.

The patrolman had written nothing down, and now he closed his notebook. 'A description like that could fit anybody,' he said. After lingering a few minutes to flirt with one of the waitresses, he swaggered back out the alley door.

Within a month, the police would arrest Allbright, who was short, dark, bearded, had a clear if grimy complexion, and wore greasy denim work clothes, the only clothes he owned.

VI.

The cold weather was here, and with the drop in temperature came a drop in Roderick's fortunes. The two were connected: Fur coats were coming into the dining room regularly now, and poodle sweaters. Somehow the sight of all these creatures keeping themselves warm irritated him. He was reminded of pictures of the first Thanksgiving: all those roundheads and featherheads sitting down to eat food. Where would a robot be at that banquet? Waiting tables? Out in the cold?

Though technically he needed no special winter garments, Roderick wanted something cosy. Ma and Pa would have understood, being cosy small-town folk themselves. Ma would have said, if you're undecided about doing something, do it big.

Roderick went into an exclusive sporting-goods store, bought himself a very fine red wool stocking-cap for two weeks' wages, and wore it to work.

Unfortunately, he forgot to take it off while waiting tables. Though some patrons only laughed, one complained to the management. Mr Danton was happy to fire him.

'Son or no son,' he said, 'you're out in the fuckin' cold.'

'Sonnenschein, initial D?' asked the hospital receptionist, touching her keyboard. 'Yes, and your relationship to the patient, Mr Wood?'

'I'm his I'm his lawyer. And I demand '

'Certainly, sir.' The machine hummed and produced a red ticket. 'Take this pass, so you can get out again. It's Ward I8G, express elevator to the eighteenth floor.'

On the eighteenth floor he handed his pass to a nurse manning another computer terminal. 'I like your cap,' he said, 'Unusual.'

'Thank you, sir.' She read the pass and tapped keys. 'A lot of people seem to like our caps.'

'No I meant yours in particular. Unusual.'

She looked wary. 'What do you mean?'

'Well I just noticed, all the other nurses have them folded left over right, but yours is right over left.'

'Is it?' she laughed. 'Well you're the first person to notice that, anyway.'

'Well I only noticed because the cap itself is a variation on an ornamental dinner-napkin fold called The Slipper. I remember seeing a picture of it in Mrs Bowder's Encyclopedia of Refinement.'