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She was leaning over to kiss him when the scene froze and began to fade. A voice in his ear whispered "Please insert additional energy units to continue experiencing this adventure." Lester knew what this meant, and he fumbled frantically for some more quarters. But he only found three. He tore off the other gauntlet and the headgear, intent on quickly cashing some bills at the arcade attendant's desk. But as soon as he stepped out of the booth he saw a familiar antagonistic young face, and knew that his turn was over. Resignedly, he shuffled off to Burger Boy to drown his disappointment in a large cola.

After he ate, he walked back to the arcade, hoping the Neverworld booth would be free. But it wasn't and rude looking kids were hanging out all around it waiting their turns. As he was leaving, head down, he noticed a gaudy magazine someone had dropped on the floor. He dutifully picked it up to bring it to the attendant's desk, in case whoever dropped it might be looking for it. But when he glanced at the back cover, he saw a picture of Zogar! Hastily he read the text. "Bring Neverworld into your own home!" it said. Lester's pulse quickened. Why, if he could play Neverworld at home he could spend much more time with Glenadare! The heady thought made him feel dizzy. A little guiltily he slipped the magazine inside his coat and hurried out of the mall.

There was no question in Lester's mind that his grandmother would not have approved of his spending half of his inheritance money on his own personal Neverworld machine. The money had been given to Lester so he could make a down payment on a house when he had finally started a family, or so his grandmother had said. "Start a family!" he thought, "I can't even get a girl to look at me cross-eyed, not to mention marry me!"

Lester was so involved in his thoughts that it was too late before he noticed he had said the words, "marry me" aloud while the bank teller was preparing his cashier's check.

"I beg your pardon?" said the teller, slightly aghast at Lester's unintentional proposal.

"Oh, uh, uh, I mean, it's that, um. . ." he said, searching for the right words that would somehow excuse him for blurting such an embarrassing statement. "I mean, uh, I'm sorry. I guess I was mumbling to myself. Is, um, my check finished yet?" Lester finally said, attempting to change the subject quickly.

"Yes, sir. Here's your check to Neverworld, Inc. Please sign the receipt here."

Lester nervously signed the receipt, took his check, and bounded off for the post office so he could send out the check in the evening's express mail run. He didn't want to miss a day using his own Neverworld machine. Zogar might get impatient with him for not being there to continue the fencing lessons, and God only knew what the other Rondo would do while Lester marked time in the accounting office.

"If something happens to Glenadare while I'm away," he thought while dropping the envelope to Neverworld, Inc. into the overnight mail slot, "I'll have to kill somebody."

Lester punched his fist into the side of the mailbox in a fit of anger, and was rewarded with badly skinned knuckles that smarted each time he turned the steering wheel on his drive home.

Now that Lester had sent for his home system, he became obsessed with the thought of being able to enter Neverworld any time he wanted and stay as long as he liked. Having to wait for the system to arrive was more than he could endure. He went to the arcade nearly every day, and stayed in the Neverworld booth until he was physically forced to give it up. The time he spent there with Glenadare became the high point of his days.

It was one of these times and he was with her once more. Zogar had left them alone, and they had been strolling lazily along the big road for some while, still heading east. Rondo was feeling very contented, watching the vitual landscape transform itself as they walked along, and Glenadare was telling him more about why she was so anxious to get to the Castle Mandelmere.

"When I came to Neverworld I decided I wanted to learn to do magic spells," she said. "I was told that such an attribute could not be instantly acquired, that I would have to study to become a sorceress. Then I was told if I went to the Castle Mandelmere, I would meet a prince who carries the key to such knowledge. That is why I must go there."

Something in what Glenadare had said caught Rondo's attention, because it brought a huge new thought to his mind. He turned to her and was about to ask her about it when the scene froze. A familiar voice in his ear whispered "Please insert additional energy units to continue experiencing this adventure." Lester was instantly furious, but he was prepared this time and reacted quickly, slipping his hand out of the gauntlet and grabbing some quarters he had perched on the display case for this contingency. Just as the image started to fade, the last of the five quarters plunked solidly into the machine, and the image of Glenadare perked back to life.

Rondo was angry, and Glenadare was taken aback by the scowl that had appeared on his face. "It won't be long now, Glenadare," he told her, "Soon I will be able to spend as much time with you as I want! And you won't be stuck with that other Rondo all week any more either."

"You are the real Rondo, aren't you!" she exclaimed. "I knew it! The other one seems so...so phony. Although it has been getting a little better. Neverworld must be able to improve the Dopplegangers as it learns how we act."

"Yes, and you are the real Glenadare! Something you said just now when you were telling me about the reason for your quest made me sure. But that means...I mean we could...I mean if you want me to I could tell you my real name!"

"Oh Rondo, don't you remember? Our True Names cannot be revealed in Neverworld!"

Rondo was puzzled. "What do you mean, can't be revealed. My real name is Rondo." Lester's jaw went slack. He was sure he had said "Lester Gilroy", but what his ears heard was "Rondo".

Glenadare was looking up at Rondo in sympathy as he stood there dumbfounded. Lester tried again. "Lester Gilroy," he said. "My name is Lester Gilroy." But what he heard was "Rondo. My name is Rondo."

"Don't you see, Rondo," she said, "Only our Neverworld names are used in Neverworld. Our True Names remain hidden."

Rondo/Lester understood now. When the Neverworld system heard him speak the name Lester Gilroy, it put the name Rondo in Rondo's mouth. So it was Rondo that Glenadare would hear, and Rondo that he would hear through the earphones in his headgear. Lester Gilroy was his True Name, and his True Name could not be spoken aloud in Neverworld.

Some of the shine was taken off of the day for Rondo when this became clear to him, and he began to brood. Glenadare tried to cheer him up, but soon his time was up, and Lester slipped sullenly out of the booth and went home.