“Are you still using that juvenile expression, my dear David?” the holographic vision speaks to him. “Well, I suppose it's better than some of the words you young people use today.” David is speechless. His mouth hangs open in astonishment at the familiar sight of the capricious gypsy fortune teller. “Come now, David. No words of welcome for an old friend? You do remember me, don't you?” How well he remembers the delightful woman who cajoled him onto the Moon Singer the first time, to the Island of Darkness and his encounter with Ishtar and the beautiful Princess Saliana. “Dorinda! My God. I can't believe it's you. And I can't believe I can hear you.” “Why are you surprised? You invoked me before and you heard me then. You still have the power.” “Yes, but I don't have the Singer. I didn't think I could ever hear again without it.” “It's just like riding a bike,” she says, with that perpetual twinkle in her eyes. “Once you learn, you never forget how.” “I seem to have forgotten everything, Dorinda.
