Timeweb Trilogy Omnibus (112 page)

She eyed him skeptically. “You’re still not telling me everything, are you?”

He grimaced. “You know me too well. But please understand that in my position, I cannot provide all of the details. This is a matter between Human and Tulyan governments, at the highest levels.”

“And I’m a mere pilot, you mean?”

“No, it’s just that certain matters of galactic security must remain confidential. I am the Doge, and you must respect that.”

“You’re not
my
Doge. I am a Parvii, not a Human.” She paused. “So, you admit wanting to discuss additional, unspecified matters with the Council of Elders?”

“They involve sensitive diplomatic issues.”

“And Tulyan caretaking operations for MPA planets?”

“Perhaps,” he said.

She kept her eyes narrow. “They will do that even if you don’t ask for their help. I know them, and understand their motives. MPA sectors will get the same treatment as other sectors, according to priorities. Are you going to ask them for favoritism? Is that it?”

“Of course not. I only expect what we deserve.”

Shaking her head so that her long black hair made a snapping sound, she asked, “Why don’t you send a message through Zigzia, the Tulyan female who works with Noah’s Guardians? Through her, he is in regular contact with the Council of Elders, sending messages across Timeweb.”

“We tried that, but there are transmission problems, and we haven’t been able to get clear signals through. It’s patchy at best; signals keep breaking up. Zigzia and Noah think it has something to do with the galactic infrastructure failing.”

She was about to say something, but instead glowered and took a deep breath.

“For this mission, I can only do it in person,” he said. “Maybe it’s meant to be. There can be no intermediaries, no couriers or messaging technology. I must look in their eyes, and they must look in mine.”

“Then you’re not in any position to ignore me, are you? Not if you want to hitch a ride.”

He reddened. “You’re absolutely impossible!”

“And you’re not?”

“This matter can’t be delayed,” Anton said. “Don’t you understand? The galactic infrastructure is failing, and we need to leave right away!”

“And if I say no, the whole damned galaxy falls apart?”

“Something like that. Yeah.”

“Why is it all on my shoulders?” Her eyes smoldered.

“It’s not. We’re in this together.”

“Well, I don’t feel that way.”

“This goes way beyond feelings, Tesh. It goes beyond emotions.”

“You just said the wrong thing again,
Mister.
As usual.”

Before Anton could recover, she whirled and left.

Too upset to eat, Tesh headed for her podship. Nearing the tunnel that led to the vessel she ran straight into Noah Watanabe, as he rounded a corner.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said, as he stumbled trying to avoid her. The two of them remained on their feet, and stood looking at each other awkwardly.

“That’s all right,” she said with a smile. “I have a lot of insulation in my energy field. It acts like an airbag, reducing any impact on my body.”

“I was just looking in on our newest robot recruits,” he said. “Gio Nehr was responsible for tearing them down and inspecting their programs, so to play it safe we’ve been checking all of his work.”

“I’m heading for Webdancer. Oh, that’s what I call my
…the
podship.”

“I like it. Do you want company?”

“To pick up where we left off?”

He frowned in confusion as they began to walk together. “Kind of. I was going to ask you what you decided to do about Anton’s request. He’s young and doesn’t always put things very well, especially to you, it seems.”

“We just had an ex-lovers’ spat,” she said.

“Oh, so you turned him down?”

“It wasn’t about that. But even if it had been, I’d turn him down. But never you. I enjoyed last night.”

“What?”

“In the podship.” She tossed her long hair over one shoulder. “We made love, in case you’ve forgotten so soon.”

“That really happened?”

With a smile, she said, “I’d say so.”

They reached the end of the tunnel, and passed through the electronic security.

“I thought it was a dream,” he said. “My physical body wasn’t with you.”

“Sure seemed like it to me. It was terrific, like supernatural sex.”

Noah thought about this and finally said, “Maybe it’s a projection of some sort—like your magnification system makes touching your projected skin seem real. Maybe I locked onto something like that while I was dreaming.”

“I can’t think of a better explanation.”

“Actually it seemed like more than a dream before I was with you. I was out in the galaxy, taking a telepathic trip through Timeweb. I didn’t try to get out there, either. I was pulled out of my dream.”

“Strange.”

Ahead, beneath a shimmering veil of electronic security, the gray-and-black podship waited. They mounted a platform next to it, and a side hatch yawned open.

“Will Webdancer allow me to board?” Noah asked.

Tesh touched the mottled skin of the creature, and stroked it gently. “I think so,” she said. “The podship knows I’m in full control now, and that you pose no threat.”

With trepidation, Noah followed her. As in his dream, he saw the trembling of the vessel’s interior skin, and he moved forward quietly, as non-threateningly as he could. He had heard of podships reacting to intruders by sealing themselves up and closing off all sections, suffocating the passengers.

Gradually, the trembling of the thick skin ceased, and Noah breathed a sigh of relief. But he had no illusions about regenerating his past piloting abilities. He thought that Tesh’s presence, and her feelings of support for him, were calming influences on the creature. On a level that he didn’t understand, these podships were able to sense danger, and he was pleased that he seemed to be making some small progress in convincing one of them that he was not a danger to their race.

“How does your magnification system work?” Noah asked, keeping his voice down. “That might give us a clue as to what happened between us last night.”

“I don’t know how the system works,” she said, “only that it does.” They paused in the middle of the passenger compartment, and the hatch shut behind them, a compression of cellular material over the opening. “Just as we don’t understand how podships work, but we use them anyway.”

“How do you activate your magnification feature?”

Pushing the collar of her blouse aside a little, she pointed to a tiny, dark mark on the skin of her neck. “I rub that spot for a moment. It’s an implanted device.”

“Med tech?”

“Enhanced. It creates an energy field all around me that makes me look much larger than I really am.”

“But what happened with us last night wasn’t technological. Unless.…”

“Unless what?”

“Unless there really is an area of overlap between the scientific and the spiritual. I’ve never been devoutly religious, have considered myself more of an agnostic about such matters. But the
Scienscroll
of the merchant princes says there is an overlap, a theoscientific universe of the heavens.”

“Maybe the explanation lies in the holy scriptures of your race,” Tesh said. “In fact, the more I think about it, maybe that isn’t as odd as it sounds. After all, there is a distant genetic link between Humans and Parviis.”

“Perhaps, though I’m not a student of religion. Or, the answer lies in a combination of truths from the Parviis, from Humans, and from all of the other galactic races, including the Tulyans.”

“I hate to think that Mutatis are part of God’s sacred design,” Tesh said. “They’re more like something out of the undergalaxy, something that should have never been allowed to escape.” She shuddered at the thought. Then, as if to calm herself, she ran a hand along a bulkhead wall, and felt the faint pulse of Webdancer.

“Sometimes it’s hard to envision the truth.”

“At least you have eternal life now,” she pointed out. “That gives you enough time to investigate the greatest questions in the universe and discover the answers.”

“You mean like, ‘What is the meaning of life?’”

She nodded. “Maybe it’s even bigger than that. Maybe the question should be, ‘What is the meaning of the universe?’”

Looking around the compartment, Tesh stared at the place on the floor where they had made love the night before.

Noah saw where she was looking, and smiled. She kissed him on his lips, and drew him against her body. But he pulled away.

“Did Anton ever tell you the truth?” he asked.

“Going back how far?”

Showing no amusement, he said, “I don’t mean when you were lovers. I mean about why he wants to go to the Tulyan Starcloud.”

She shook her head. “Just political doubletalk.”

Pursing his lips, Noah said, “Anton wants the Tulyans to help him mount a military operation against your people. He wants to capture the huge Parvii podship fleet—all those thousands of ships—and prevent Woldn from using it to take revenge on the Tulyans.”

“I thought so. That occurred to me, and I even asked him if he wanted to use military power. He lied to me, and I didn’t want to believe that could be the reason.” Tesh felt anger rising. “Does he expect me to turn against my own kind?”

“I understand why you’re hesitant, Tesh, because he’s talking about going after Parviis. I don’t want to admit it, but I agree with Anton. He should not have lied to you, but he is right. I hate to put it this way to you, but we need to attack the Parvii nest. For the sake of the entire galaxy, you must be a Guardian before you’re a Parvii, before anything else. It’s that critical, my darling, and we don’t have much time.”

“I’ll give you an answer when I’m ready,” she said. “As for our little rendezvous, I’m no longer in the mood.”

“Neither am I,” he admitted.

They talked stiffly for a while longer. Then the Parvii woman opened the hatch for Noah and he went to his office, where he found the Doge awaiting him.

“Subi said he saw you with her,” Anton said.

“I told her the truth. You weren’t getting anywhere, so I tried a different tack.” The young Doge covered his eyes with one hand, then peered through his fingers at the older man. “What did she say?” Noah told him.

Unable to sleep that night, wondering what Tesh’s answer would be, Noah tossed and turned. Finally, he began to drift off.

And as before, Noah was sent spinning on another mental journey into Timeweb. This time he discovered a new aspect, and saw the web in curving layers that peeled away before him like those of an onion, showing some familiar aspects and some that were new to him. Each layer, he realized to his amazement, was an entire, huge galaxy. How many were there? He couldn’t tell, and couldn’t gauge the full scope of what was seeing. The images compressed, and again he beheld the familiar, faint green web lines of the cosmic filigree, with very few pods flying along it. He was surprised to see that the Mutati homeworld Paradij did not exist anymore.

Only a debris field remained.

Curiously, the less Noah tried to enter Timeweb, the more he was able to go into it. Two nights in a row. The sensation terrified and excited him simultaneously. He wanted to see these things and learn the secrets of the heavens, but didn’t want to at the same time. He thought he might be several different entities at once, and that his life was like an umbrella for all of the creatures living under it, including the Human aspect of Noah, as well as his spiritual form that ventured into the universe, and much more. But details eluded him.

Suddenly he felt himself sucked far across the web, and he was speeding through space at multiples of tachyon speed, covering vast distances. Gradually, as if he was on a machine in the process of shutting down, he stopped spinning, but felt a sharp, sudden pain in the middle of his back. Something had just struck him from behind, penetrating the skin.

Whirling, he saw the image of his sister Francella—looking haggard and old but with a fanatical energy and the fierce gleam of madness in her eyes. Screaming soundless epithets, she flew at him across space, firing lightning bolts from her fingertips—eerie, noiseless lances of light in rapid succession.

He dodged them and fought back in the same manner—as if the two of them were mythological beings battling one another in the heavens. Moment by moment, Noah felt Timeweb suffusing him with power, and he drove the crazed apparition back, hitting her with so many energy bolts that her entire form lit up in flames that should not have been possible in the oxygenless void.

She screamed, again without making a sound, and disappeared into a ragged rip in the web of time.

Chapter Eighty-Five

Think of secrets, small and large. Secrets within each individual’s mind and expanding outward into the cosmos, until the entire universe is filled with them. Based largely on selfishness and narcissism, they have become an unhealthy, dangerous energy.

—Master Noah Watanabe

Unknown to Doge Anton or Lorenzo del Velli, two laboratory-bred podships filled with HibAdu soldiers had slipped through Canopa’s security network and landed on a desolate, remote prairie. Activating an electronic veil over them, they made themselves—and their new military camp—invisible to satellites or aircraft.

After the soldiers were set up with their assault aircraft and other equipment, Pimyt made arrangements to use one of the lab-pods, along with its crew. At shortly past midnight, the lab-pod flew to a prearranged rendezvous point north of Rainbow City, where the scheming attaché boarded it, taking with him a bound, drugged man. The prisoner, carried by a bulky robot, was Jacopo Nehr.…

The subsequent journey across space took more than an hour, a very slow passage that Pimyt learned was due to deterioration of the galactic infrastructure on which they traveled. The sections they had to traverse for this trip were especially rough.

A few minutes into the flight, Nehr stirred from his bench in the passenger compartment and struggled with the electronic cuffs securing his wrists, then tumbled onto the deck. Unknown to him, a Hibbil sat in a comfortable VIP chair at the rear.