Leaning on the side of the bridge, Chuck watched Elysia's ruin, glad to have escaped with his life. His body hadn't fared so well. When the last wave of influence had washed over him, he had ended up a skinny, albeit reasonably fit, man. He knew, with regret, that this form was closer to his true self than any he had yet worn in the Dreamland. Gone was the handsome teenager, gone the muscular twenty- something who had flung human beings like so many tennis balls, farewell even the thirtyish man in the mirror. But he was back in one piece. The hole in his chest had closed up completely. The funny thing was that he felt younger than ever. He had managed to gain something he had lost a long time ago: joy. His inner demons were gone or under control. He wasn't a failure at all. He had just stopped appreciating the successes he had accomplished. Now he was alive and happy to be that way.

He remembered everything about his daily life. His grandfather had always told him to hurry only on purpose, not to run to or from something. He'd never really understood the old man before. He'd come on a long and dangerous trip to learn something he'd known since he was a child.

Many of the people whose lives they had saved came by afterwards to thank Chuck and the others in person. This time he was prepared to accept the thanks, and did so with grace.

"I owe every one of them an apology," Persemid said, glumly. "Who knows how many people were trapped in there because Morit wanted to get some of us? I feel responsible."

"Come on, you didn't dream him on purpose," Chuck said, putting a friendly hand on her arm. "I saw Blanda in there, just before we got away from his army. She could have escaped, too. I wonder why she didn't?"

"Love," Sean said, shortly. He sat on the ground nearby with his long arms wrapped around his knees. "In spite of the fact it meant death to stay, she stayed. Most people wouldn't, but he was her man."

"If they survived the change, I hope they are happier people now," Bergold said, ensconced on a rock beside Mrs. Flannel and Mr. Bolster. The old woman alternated between fussing with her pet or looking up adoringly at the Visitor who had saved their lives. The salesman was discussing the benefits of a regular sleep program with a potential client. Kenner and his dream girl were a hundred feet and a world away, kissing madly and talking in lovers' whispers. "But if they have vanished, then it is for the best."

"I don't understand a fatalistic attitude like that," Chuck said, "but then, I don't live in the Dreamland. To me, death is death."

Persemid frowned. "I should have known he was evil the moment he made us sit down and watch a slide show of his vacation pictures," she said.

"Well, it's over," Keir said. "You must simply learn to forgive yourself. And me, for not paying adequate attention to the signs. I will always blame myself for that." He glanced across the chasm at the land. "We should have been able to go onward into Elysia by now."

"I don't want to go in there," Chuck said. "It looks as though Changeover is still going on."

"That's not possible," Roan said. "When it stops, it is over."

"But it looks like it hasn't stopped."

The sky, filled with roiling, bruised colors, looked like a couple of concerned human faces peering downward. Chuck could feel from where he stood that the whole land was unhappy, in pain, and confused. It never completely settled down. Earthquakes continued restlessly heaving earth as if it couldn't get comfortable. The aftershocks seemed to go on forever. The Elysia side of the bridge quivered, thinned almost to the breaking point. Chuck felt sorry for anyone still trapped in there. He could see nothing alive. It looked like a vortex, a whirlwind. It felt all wrong.

"This is a very troubled Sleeper," Bergold said, highly agitated. People were starting to head back over the bridge. He jumped up on the span and held out a hand to stop them. "Don't go! It's starting again! Something terrible must be wrong in the life of this Sleeper. He is departing already!"

His warning was unnecessary. Once the ground began to fold in on itself, anyone who had mounted the bridge ran back to cower on the Somnus side. Stitched by lightning and seared by firestorms, the province of Elysia underwent its second Changeover in a matter of hours.

"I cannot believe it," Bergold said, writing furiously in his little book. "Two Changeovers, and we didn't even suspect the onset of one. This is a most rare occurrence. It's a privilege to be able to witness one from start to finish."

"I'm just glad I'm out here," Chuck said, watching in horror. Wisps of fire licked out over the chasm with a roar like tortured lions. Half of the bridge swayed violently.

"It can't get us over here, can it?" Sean asked, scrambling to his feet and recoiling in alarm.

"You're in no danger," Roan said. "The chaos is contained. The realm of one Sleeper is absolute.

The gorges and the river separate the provinces, and there is never any carryover. You might say that the Dreamland is a confederation of states of mind, not a single entity. Therein lies its variety, and its - survival."

Reassured, Chuck was able to watch the whole event with a critical eye. There was no doubt about it. Changeover was a horrifying catastrophe. He couldn't believe he had come through that unharmed. He was grateful to be alive.

The new Sleeper couldn't have been more unlike its immediate predecessor. When the land stopped heaving at last, the blue sky was sparklingly clean. Small villages had reasserted themselves upon the headlands. They had an Alpine look to them, half-timbered houses with tidy gardens and colorful quilts spread upon the balcony rails to air. He or she had a serene and ordered mind.

"I am glad to have been able to witness such an event," Bergold said, closing his diary with satisfaction. "I know there will be an investigation into why the rest of the Historians could not be here to observe, but since the perpetrators have discontinued-indeed, wiped twice over from the face of the Dreamland, there's nothing to be done about it. I assure you," he told Keir, "future incidents will be prevented. You must not let this incident keep you from bringing others from your world to visit us."

"I won't," Keir said. "I promise you I will look forward to returning. A little older, a little wiser, and a little sadder, perhaps, but I'll be here, with anyone who will trust me to lead them again."

"Me, for one," Chuck said, and was rewarded with a grateful look from Keir.

"And me, for another," Persemid said. "What are the chances of running into another one of my - creations?"

"As small as the possibility of two Changeovers occurring in a row," Roan said gravely, but his eyes twinkled.

"Oh, thanks!"

"And I," Sean said. "I can tell I've got a lot more to learn about myself."

"Good!" said Bergold. "The next time, you must come to Mnemosyne. There are a lot of little places that Roan and I can show you . . ."

Together, they walked over the railway bridge. Below their feet, the restored railroad tracks gleamed like polished silver.

The new province felt positively healthy. The air was soft, fragrant and moist with the gentle rain that ended as they reached the other side. A faint rainbow hung in the sky that was growing rich with twilight. For a short time, both the moon and the sun were in the western sky, casting gold and silver light over the clean lines of the land. Chuck looked around in disbelief.

"All that happened, and this place is the same shape as before?"

"See for yourself," Keir said, drawing his map from his ragged back pocket. Even Keir's homely garments looked lovely in the new light. Chuck unfolded the map. Although Elysia was now divided by a vast range of mountains that ran through it from north to south as opposed to the flat, river-riddled lowlands it had featured before, the outline was precisely the same. "Look," the guide said, pointing to a town just beyond Frustrata, "there's Enlightenment. It's not far now. You'll reach it this time."

"That's good," Chuck said easily, watching the sun slip down below the horizon. He stood bathed in the rays of color, drinking them in until they were gone. "We'll get there when we get there. There's no hurry. I don't mind being able to save something for next time. Right now, I want to take things slowly and enjoy myself. And, you know, I think I will."

"Well, come along, then," Keir said, his black eyes merry. "It'll be a welcome journey."

"Wait," Persemid said, hurrying to catch up. Sean was right behind her. "We're coming with you."

"And I," said Roan, with a smile. "I shall need to report to the king about the alterations in Elysia. It will be a pleasure to gather my information in the company of friends."

"I, too," Bergold said. "I have many, many more questions about the Waking World. For example .

Together they started walking toward the full moon.

BAEN BOOKS by JODY LYNN NYE Also in this series: Waking in Dreamland School of Light The Death of Sleep (with Anne McCaffrey) The Ship Who Won (with Anne McCaffrey) The Ship Errant Don't Forget Your Spacesuit, Dear (editor)Book Three of The Dreamland