Timeweb Trilogy Omnibus (145 page)

In the days since Coreq had ordered the new investigation, highly agitated Adurian scientists had been delving further into the genetic memories of their own people, and of the hundred Parviis from the swarm, seeking information, some common ground. The old data did not come through clearly, but clues were surfacing along genetic paths that the researchers followed backward, using complicated techniques. The scientists did this with both races, and as ancient memories came back they were processed, converted to data, and projected onto screens.

Now, on a large wall screen of the central chamber, the lab technicians displayed two side-by-side composite projections, one for the combined memory cells of each race. Images sped up and slowed, as the experts searched for connections, for similarities. As Coreq stood looking up at the screen, the Parvii side showed views of deep space, of suns, planets, and swirling nebulas in a hypnotic array of colors and shapes.

To the left of it, the Adurian side was much more limited in astronomical scope, showing trips through space, but comparatively more images of the Adurian homeworld itself. Coreq recognized his own capital city, always bustling in its various stages of historical development, and he saw yellow-suited scientists that worked long ago, looking very much like their modern counterparts.

Now the laboratory manager—an old Adurian with a pointed chin—pushed back the hood of his suit and joined Coreq. “I wish you had not asked us to research this matter, sir, for it has put my staff on the verge of a nervous breakdown. They are holding together as well as possible, but I am worried about them.”

“Don’t ever come to me with such drivel,” Coreq said. “My time is valuable, and if you’re not careful, your time will be limited.”

“I have already enjoyed a long and productive life, but I do not wish to displease you. In addition, High Ruler, I must admit that I am finding the ancient lab procedures intriguing as they are revealed to us, though many of them would be of little interest to you. There is … Wait! I just saw something.”

Though Coreq normally cared little about names, he had remembered the name of this particular scientist, because he had been on the team that grew the three triumvirate leaders in this very laboratory. He called himself Bashpor, and might need to be dealt with eventually because of his arrogance, even though he had never been proven disloyal. For the moment, at least, he remained useful.

From a high-caste family, Bashpor and his team had initially tried to exert control over the HibAdu triumvirate. That had soon proved impossible, because the hybrids were so dominating and powerful, so the Bashpor group had slipped into what appeared to be a subservient position. And, while they were not entirely pleased with this, Coreq had the surveillance reports to prove that they had formed no conspiracy against the triumvirate, and that they held considerable emotional affection for their three laboratory creations.

Of utmost importance, from all appearances the galactic aims of the top Hibbil and Adurian scientists and of the HibAdu hybrids matched: Eliminate the Merchant Prince Alliance and the Mutati Kingdom. Thus far, the military successes had been gratifying, but a great deal of work remained to be completed, mopping up the remaining—and significant—resistance forces.

With a wave of his hand, Bashpor stopped the Adurian screen images from moving, and backed them up. Then, as the scientist enhanced the image of a table at the rear of the long-ago laboratory, Coreq saw what looked like tiny humanoids inside a clearglax enclosure. It took several seconds, but with more enhancement and enlargement, the images came into focus.

“Parviis?” the High Ruler asked.

“It would appear so, Your Eminence. I’ll do more checking, but it looks to me like we created them in our laboratories.”

Around him, Coreq heard the Parviis clamoring inside the observation galleries. A microphone clicked on, and it was Woldn, “That’s the proof, isn’t it?”

“It is a possible indication,” the lab manager said, transmitting to him. “We shall investigate it further.”

“I was right!” Woldn shouted, with his small voice made large by the lab’s sound amplification system.

* * * * *

Later that day, the HibAdu leaders received a more complete report from the lab manager.

Inside a sleek office suite, High Ruler Coreq sat at a wide, polished desk, with Premier Enver on one side of him, and Warlord Tarix on the other. They stared blankly with their overlarge, pale yellow eyes, and listened.

“An intriguing tableau has emerged,” Bashpor said. “Now that I’ve opened my mind to it, I must admit that it is very interesting.” He paced back and forth in front of the big desk. “In ancient times, we Adurians were even more involved in biotechnology than we are now. Content with our present scientific and societal conditions, we never thought to delve so far back in our genetic history.”

“Not content,” Coreq said. “Fearful is more like it. But continue.”

The old Adurian paused, and looked at the three. “We have always believed that the future is a more interesting domain.”

“Undoubtedly that is one of the reasons that you created us,” Tarix said, her oddly-echoing voice reverberating through the room. Her long white teeth glistened, which she liked to display to throw terror into underlings. At the moment, it had its effect on Bashpor, as he could not hold gazes with her. To avoid that uncomfortable position, he resumed pacing.

“In ancient days, we were engaged in countless wars, some of which did not go well for us. In modern times we knew that had occurred, but only in general. Here’s a specific detail that rises above others: Long ago, we created two galactic races in our laboratories.”

Coreq leaned forward. “
Two?
One was the Parviis, I assume?”

“Correct. The other has no name, but they are even smaller than Parviis, and have a domain that is quite surprising and intriguing. For want of a better term I shall refer to them as sub-biologicals, or sub-bios. Mmmm. They are nano-creatures, so I shall call them Nanos instead. Yes. In the most unlikely of all places, the Nanos live
inside
the galactic webbing, the structure that Tulyans and Parviis call Timeweb.”

“I think we should call them Webbies instead of Nanos,” Enver said. Sometimes he said off-the-wall things, focusing on irrelevant points. Just the same, Coreq thought the name that Enver suggested was preferable, so he nodded.

“Very well,” Bashpor said. “Regarding their exact function, we don’t know how to test any hypothesis, but we think the … Webbies … may explain how Tulyans are said to communicate across vast distances over the galactic infrastructure. If that is the case, the infinitely small creatures might also have something to do with the nehrcom transmission system of the Humans, a system we have replicated, without really understanding how it works. It is believed to operate through some sort of web-related cosmic frequency. I have more to tell you, much more.”

Bashpor increased the speed of his pacing, as if charged with a drug. “Long ago, other galactic races took offense at our laboratory methods, so they went to war with us over them. Among our enemies were the Blippiqs and the Huluvians, and they forced to us to abandon our laboratory attempts to create new races. It seems that we went back to doing the forbidden things anyway, however, when we created you three HibAdus. Of course, that doesn’t amount to an entire race yet, but I know your professed intentions in that regard.”

“
Will
you stop pacing!” Coreq said. “My neck aches from watching you go back and forth.”

Looking very nervous, Bashpor slumped into a chair in front of the leaders. Then, not making firm eye contact with them, he continued to speak. “In those long-ago days, the other galactic societies considered our experiments dangerous and unethical—which led to the hostilities. After using their war machines and forcing treaties on us to shut down that phase of our researches, the Blippiqs and Huluvians made attempts to eradicate the entire Parvii race. This proved unsuccessful.” He paused. “But in response to the threat, the Parviis bred at a high and efficient rate, and soon their aggressive swarms wreaked havoc in the galaxy by taking control of the podship race away from the Tulyans. It seems that we caused a bit of trouble in space, albeit indirectly and unintentionally.”

“And we’re doing it again,” Tarix said. “But this time, no one will stop us. We are no longer mere Adurians. We are
HibAdus
.”

“There is one thing more of particular interest,” Bashpor said. “We have long suspected this, but now we have the proof, having followed the genetic markings back in time and unraveled the details: Genetic mutations of the Parviis led to the abhorrent Human race.”

“Good reason to wipe out both races,” Tarix said, causing a long, eerie echo at the conclusion of her words.

* * * * *

Awaiting word from the triumvirate, Woldn felt a change of pressure in the linked observation galleries. He exchanged telepathic alarm signals with his followers. All of them went into a frenzy as those stationed at the perimeters, in the ducts, and at all previously unsealed areas sent information to him. Outside the dome, the sentries he had positioned relayed additional information. With all of this data, the Eye of the Swarm knew the Adurians were making a more concerted and overt effort to seal the galleries and prevent escape.

“We reject your offer of close cooperation between Adurians and Parviis,” Coreq said, his voice booming over the speaker system.

“And I reject your rejection!” Woldn shouted back.

Ever-wary and prepared for this, Woldn knew exactly where the weakest Adurian security points were—and where he should focus the telepathic attention of his swarm. Though not yet at their full mental or physical powers, he and his followers had been growing collectively stronger, and they had telepathic detonators that functioned passably well. He led his swarm through a heating duct system, blasting everything out of the way in mini detonations. Soon they found themselves in free space.

Woldn determined their course for the return voyage across the galaxy. Moments later, at the head of the small swarm, he vowed, “This Adurian insult shall not go unanswered!”

But he wondered who—and what—that odd creature in the laboratory had been. It looked male, as well as part Adurian and part Hibbil. A horrific combination of genes, from the look of it. Certainly it should have been a failed experiment, but the creature looked to be in charge of the entire operation.

Woldn had never seen anything like it. The very sight of the monster had given him chills.

Chapter Forty-Six

Appearances can be deceiving. Despite its bulky, fleshy form, a Mutati adult in its natural state weighs only half as much as a typical Human of the same age. Aeromutatis—the aviary version of the shapeshifter race—are just as light, but have stronger frames, so that they can fly other Mutatis on their backs, generally one at a time.

—MPA autopsy and interview results on Mutati prisoners

By taking interconnected hoverbus and airgrid plane routes, Dux, Acey, and the robot had been able to travel thousands of kilometers, getting them to Xisto, considered the last of the Sirikan frontier towns. In reality, there were other villages and towns in the back country beyond, but they did not have any form of public transportation.

As the boys and the small brown robot disembarked in the central square of Xisto, it was late morning. Dux and Acey had been eating sandwiches and any other quick food they could find, to keep going. Their passage and other expenses were all being paid by the unobtrusive-looking robot, from a compartment full of local funds that he carried. None of the townspeople even gave the trio a second glance; there were numerous other robots on the streets and visible in shops, performing a variety of tasks.

Unofficially, this was a personal trip to see the boys’ grandmother. Officially, it was a military mission, to see if there were any HibAdu elements in the hinterlands. So far, other scouts had found no trace of them.

Acey said he knew his way around, since he’d been to this town before, with Grandma Zelk. “We want to go that way,” he said, pointing toward a dirt road that led north.

They began walking, and within the hour picked up a ride from a flatbed hovertruck driver who talked cheerfully about his ranch and children. The teenagers rode with him inside the cab, while Kekur held onto a railing in the back. Later that afternoon they caught a ride from another farmer, this time on a motocart laden with fruits and vegetables. The people were quite friendly, just as the boys remembered. That night, they slept in an abandoned, ramshackle barn, while the robot kept guard over them.

The next afternoon, they got even luckier. For a modest charge, paid by Kekur, a young woman gave them a ride of five hundred kilometers in her crop-duster plane. On the way the boys ogled the attractive redhead and flirted with her. She had a good figure that she didn’t mind showing off to them. But nothing came of the encounter, and at dusk she circled over a small meadow near a river, preparing to set down in hover mode.

In the low light, none of them noticed a camouflaged encampment on the opposite river bank. Suddenly, beams of blue light hit the wings of the aircraft, sending it spinning toward the ground.

“What the hell?” the pilot shouted.

“HibAdu forces,” Kekur reported. “I am notifying command headquarters.”

The pilot fought for control against the blue beams, and for a few moments she got the craft flying again, on an escape route. Then a blast of light penetrated the cabin and hit her in the head, killing her instantly. Descending, the plane ripped off the top of a tree and then skimmed over the ground, ready to go down hard.

Neither the boys nor the robot noticed a large white bird circling high overhead.…

* * * * *

After the party left, Noah and Doge Anton had decided to send even more protection for them, so they’d told Parais d’Olor to follow, and to do what she could to keep them safe. Now she watched helplessly as the crop-duster plane landed roughly and skidded to a stop. She saw movement inside. One of the doors opened, and the boys tumbled out, followed by the robot. They were on the side away from the HibAdu camp, so maybe the soldiers wouldn’t see them.