Myth 08 – Myth-Nomers by Aspirin, Robert

patiently, and in a few moments it stopped. I continued

waiting.

“Are you still down there?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Why?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why didn’t you open the door and come in when I

buzzed you through?”

“Oh, is that what that was? I’m sorry, I didn’t know.

Could you . . . buzz me through again?”

“What’s the matter, haven’t you ever seen a remote lock

before?”

I suppose it was meant as a rhetorical question, but my

MYTH-NOMERS AND IM-PERVECTIONS 173

annoyance at being embarrassed prompted me to answer.

“As a matter of fact, I haven’t. I’m just visiting this

dimension. We don’t have anything like it back on Klah.”

There was a long silence, long enough for me to wonder

if it had been a mistake to admit I was from off-dimension.

The buzzer went off, somehow catching me unaware again

even though I had been expecting it.

This time, I managed to get the door open before the

buzzing stopped, and stepped through into the vestibule.

The lighting was dim, and got downright dark after I let the

door shut. I started to open it again to get my bearings, but

pulled my hand back at the last minute. It might set off an

alarm somewhere, and if there was one thing I didn’t need

right now it was more trouble.

Slowly my eyes adjusted to the shadowy dimness, and I

could make out a narrow hall with an even narrower flight

of stairs which vanished into the gloom above. “Come right

up” she had said, so I took her literally and started up the

stairs . . . hoping all the while I was right.

After ascending several flights, this hope was becoming