sky. Metaphysics was a subject with which he
wasn't yet fully prepared to cope.

The model of the world inside the orrery must have been made from
earthly materials already, and it was colored to depict land and sea
areas. It could probably be used. At their agreement, he nodded with
some satisfaction. That should save some time, at least. He stared
doubtfully at the rods and bearings that supported the model world in
the center of the orrery.

"What about those things? How do we hold the globe in the center of
everything?"

Bork shrugged. "It seems simple enough. We'll fashion supports of more
of the sky material."

"And have real rods sticking up from the poles in the real universe?"
Hanson asked sarcastically.

"Why not?" Bork seemed surprised at Hanson's tone. "There have always
been such columns connecting the world and the sky. What else would keep
us from falling?"

Hanson swore. He might have guessed it! The only wonder was that simple
rods were used instead of elephants and turtles. And the doubly-damned
fools had let Menes drive millions of slaves to death to build a pyramid
to the sky when there were already natural columns that could have been
used!

"There remains only one step," Sather Karf decided after a moment more.
"To make symbol and thing congruent, all must be invoked with the true
and secret name of the universe."

Hanson suddenly remembered legends of the tetragrammaton and the tales
of magic he'd read in which there was always one element lacking. "And I
suppose nobody knows that or dares to use it?"

There was hurt pride of the aged face and the ring of vast authority in
his voice. "Then you suppose wrong, Dave Hanson! Since this world first
came out of Duality, a Sather Karf has known that mystery! Make your
device and I shall not fail in the invocation!"

For the first time, Hanson discovered that the warlocks could work when
they had to, however much they disliked it. And at their own
specialties, they were superb technicians. Under the orders of Sather
Karf, the camp sprang into frenzied but orderly activity.

They lost a few mandrakes in prying loose some of the sun material, and
more in getting a small sphere of it shaped. But the remainder gave them
the heat to melt the sky stuff. When it came to glass blowing, Hanson
had to admit they were experts; it should have come as no surprise,
after the elaborate alchemical apparatus he'd seen. Once the crystal
shell was cracked ou