Part 24 (1/2)
”Mr. K'Raoda, make for epsilon red four eight,” ordered the commodore. ”May something be there besides rock.”
17.
They stood inside a hollow diamond, surrounded by infinitely regressive reflections of themselves, two in K'Ronarin uniform, two in white jumpsuits. John closed his eyes, then opened them, trying to restore the sense of perspective stolen by the endless multi-faceted images that danced at the least movement.
”Where are we?” said Zahava, squinting in the wan blue light.
”Is this it?” asked John, turning to Guan-Sharick.
”This is the Trel Cache,” said Guan-Sharick, nodding. ' 'Just as an Imperial Survey party found it-a party under my command.”
”You're a person of many talents, Guan-Sharick,” said a dry, faintly amused voice. There was no telling from where it came.
”h.e.l.lo, Eldest,” said Guan-Sharick.
”Eldest?” said Zahava.
”The guardian of the Trel Cache,” said Guan-Sharick.
”But not just a guardian,” said the voice. ”I gather data, sift it, glean what I can, and store it.”
”What sort of data?” asked John.
In answer, his reflection faded from one of the facets, replaced by the image of a gaunt, black uniformed man in his sixties, talking with John. It was nighttime, trees all about, with other, indistinct figures moving nearby. The older man held a pistol; John held a vicious-looking machine pistol.
”Are you familiar with the cla.s.sical concept of an umphalos, umphalos, Major?” asked the other, reloading his pistol and slipping it into a pocket. Major?” asked the other, reloading his pistol and slipping it into a pocket.
”Hochmeister,” said John, staring at the image. ”On Terra Two. But how ...”
”As I said, I gather data.”
”The guardian is omniscient,” said Guan-Sharick. ”At least by our standards.”
”And this . . . data,” said Zahava. ”Where do you record it? And why?”
”It's all here, in this chamber,” said the voice. ”Etched into the molecules of this glittering artifact. The knowledge of a great people, the Trel, what befell them-and what followed: the Revolt, the Empire, the Biofab War, Hochmeister and Terra Two.
”It's been some time, Guan-Sharick,” continued the voice.
”Three thousand years, more or less, Eldest, since I last stood here,” said Guan-Sharick.
”Three thousand years!” John whispered to Zahava. She shook her head.
”You're in trouble, aren't you?” said the voice.
The blonde nodded. ”The Rift has opened, Eldest. Your foe and mine, the Fleet of the One, is on its way to crush us. We have little that can stand against them.”
”And you have come for ... ?” prompted the voice.
”The weapon of which we spoke, so long ago.”
”I must tell you,” said the voice gently, ”that you may not have that weapon.”
Guan-Sharick stepped back as though struck. ”But, Eldest . . . !”
”The weapon we used against the AIs, if used again, would cause an irreversible chain reaction, exponentially converting all matter to antimatter, obliterating this and the AIs ' universe.”
”But when I was here before, you said nothing ...”
”New data came to light subsequent to our conversation,” said the voice. ”Impressive, longitudinal, physical data.”
”Eldest,” said the S'Cotar, hands spread, ”plans were made and implemented based on our conversation. Dynasties, cultures, whole civilizations have been manipulated in antic.i.p.ation that I would come here and that you would give me the weapon, and that that, together with an aroused and militant people, would defeat the AIs. We cannot defeat the Fleet of the One without the weapon.”
John had to admire the S'Cotar: thirty centuries of planning in shambles, yet it pressed its case logically, pa.s.sionately.
”Eldest, we must have the weapon.”
”How would you get it? Violence?” said the voice. ”Only a part of the outpost is in this continuum. And you have my word-the weapon was destroyed, long ago.”
Guan-Sharick sighed, head bowing in defeat. ”Eldest, you've just spoken our epitaph.”
”Perhaps,” said the voice.
The blonde raised her head. ”We'll go and face them, then, s.h.i.+p to s.h.i.+p, being to being, as we did at the start.”
”Wait,” commanded the voice. ”Do you recall when the AIs the Empire created revolted? The so-called Machine Wars?”
”Vividly,” said the S'Cotar. ”I died in that revolt.”
”And the emperor then?”
”S'Yal,” said Guan-Sharick.
”Correct. S'Yal first sent the Twelfth Fleet to crush the revolt. They were using a new jump system that had been extensively tested, but never in a single transfer involving so many ma.s.sed s.h.i.+ps.”
”The Twelfth Fleet of the House of S'Yal jumped,” said Guan-Sharick, ”and was never seen or heard of again.”
”That fleet exists,” said the voice, ”suspended in time through a small error in jump field mechanics. A device has been made that will correct that error and recall the Twelfth Fleet.”
”Where is this device?” said Guan-Sharick intently.
”According to communications I've monitored,” said the voice, ”the prototype exists in the research labs of Combine T'Lan. They've created it as a jump-navigation aid, but with a few minor modifications it should recall the Twelfth Fleet.”
”You can provide those modifications, Eldest?”
”I've already done so. They're logged into Implacable' Implacable''s engineering archives.”