Red Star (The Triple Stars, Volume 2), page 21
He heard more footsteps approaching, swishing through the grass. But it wasn't his father come to tell him the food was ready; it was his mother. She sat down beside him and leaned her head on his shoulder.
“Ah, I'm going to miss you, Aevus.”
He nodded, his cheek brushing the top of his mother's head. “I won't really be gone. I'll be just up there, only a hundred kilometres away when we're overhead. And it's such an opportunity. I may even be summoned to the God Star one day, become a First Augur. Who know where this will take me?” These were the things they'd said to each other again and again over the previous few weeks.
“But you,” his mother said at last. “Are you ready for this?”
There was a wariness in her tone. He'd always been closer to his mother than his father, but there was a wall between them now. A distance. He understood why. In the privacy of their own home his mother had always been candid with him, talked openly about Concordance, and everything and anything else. Now she knew she had to watch her words. Her son was no longer her son; he was an Augur, and she couldn't say all that she might want to say. There were things he couldn't be allowed to hear, because an Augur's first duty was to Omn, not to family. The loss of that connection felt like something once-solid in his mind fraying and breaking.
“It will be strange at first, but within a few days I'm sure it will all seem normal. I will communicate with you as much as I'm able, and of course I'll be able to see you even if you are not able to see me.”
She summoned up the courage to ask. “Do you have doubts, though? Don't you worry whether this is the right path for you to take? To stop being Aevus and become this Malleus?”
Malleus. The name that would be given him once he was on the Cathedral ship. He was to be Augur Malleus, not Aevus Magision. It felt like he was becoming a different person.
Once he was on the ship, also, he could not admit to having misgivings. But for now, in this moment, he allowed himself to. It was, perhaps, the last moment of his childhood.
“It worries me what I might become when I am on the Angelic Gaze. We all know the stories; I do not want to become like that.”
“You are a good person, Aevus. You will be changed, yes, but you will not be corrupted or marred.”
“I hope so, but I also don't know if that's really possible. We fear those on the Angelic Gaze, but we don't love them.”
His mother sighed, and something like a sob shook through her body. She said, “I can't bear to lose you, but I'd rather it was you up there than anyone else. I'd trust you to stay true to yourself more than anyone I know. When it comes to it – if it comes to it – you will do the right thing.”
“I hope so.”
“I know you will. Now, come inside and eat, we have a few hours before the lander comes. Let's spend it together, shall we?”
“Yes,” said Aevus. “I would like that.”
2. The Seer Stone
Selene tracked down Eb in the cocoon of his sanctum at the heart of the Radiant Dragon. He lay in his customary position, floating in mid-air, but he was no longer physically connected to the vessel.
His skin looked more alive, blemished and lined, marked with veins and hairs, although the was still a pallid tint to it. His eyes flickered open at her approach. “Surtr is gone?”
“He is. He took the entire Concordance battlefleet with him. He achieved that.”
Eb's words were little more than a croak, as if he still spoke to her over vast distances, from deep within the layers of his protective shells. “It was an abrupt end after waiting for so long. I'm pleased you opened his eyes, showed him the wider galaxy, but to have it all taken away just as he was glimpsing what he might do and be … that is hard to swallow.”
“He wouldn't be dissuaded. He saved billions of people on Periarch and perhaps other planets, too. I think it went deep within him.”
“I understand.”
“Is it the same with you? I need to know you're not going to do the same thing at a critical moment.”
Eb's mouth moved a few times before the words appeared. “Surtr's nature was purer, while my existence has been … complicated. My roots are clearly biological, not technological. This ship is my vessel, and I am tied up with it in something like the way Surtr was entangled with his ship, but my nature is different. I have changed much over the gulfs of time.”
“You were altered radically and embedded in the core of a metaspace ship. Why was that done to you?”
The question appeared to amuse Eb. “I don't believe it was done to me. As far as I recall, it was a path I willingly took. I set aside my nature as a Tok to become what I now am. I have flown the galaxy all of this time, visited wonders and marvels, watched civilisations rise and fall and rise again. Before you, and Ondo, and Aefrid, I travelled with many others. I think the original Eb, the person I was, sought that out. A sort of immortality, I suppose. He didn't wish to die.”
Eb's eyes opened wide for a moment, and Selene had the clear impression that there were suddenly no barriers between them, that she'd finally dismantled all his defences and was now staring into his innermost soul.
“The same choice could be yours,” he said.
“I don't see how.”
“You are already more of a hybrid than I was at the start. I became this biotechnological entity, this person-who-is-a-starship, but once I was simply a man. I recall it took me a long time to properly inhabit my carbon-metal flesh, to coordinate metaspace drive limbs and sensor senses. But you will understand that; you went through a similar process yourself. It took time for your artificial and natural halves to become whole.”
“Do you think of yourself as divided now?”
“It's a long time since I gave the matter any thought, but no. I do not. I can do more than any person inhabiting a natural body can do. More than any constructed starship can, too. AI Minds are creations of staggering computational complexity, but they are barely alive in the organic sense. I was and am alive. It gives me a perspective that I would not lose for anything.”
“Surtr's vessel was able to function without his presence, for a time.”
Her comment appeared to amuse Eb. “And the Dragon could function without me. You know that; I was locked away in here for a long time. There are enough computational layers to handle the metaspace-traversal calculations. Life-support and grav emulation would continue, but in my absence this would be just a ship. A seashell without its living heart.”
“You said you couldn't survive outside the Dragon, but Surtr was able to do exactly that.”
He thought about that for a time, his gaze flicking around the room, although the walls were bare. “The ship is me, now. It has been for a long, long time. I have no desire to be anything else.”
“But could you walk free if you wanted?”
“I don't … no. I could not.”
He didn't appear to be quite as sure of the fact anymore. There was more that she wanted to say to him, but the arrival of a ship in local space caught her attention.
Instinctively, she began running through fight/flight prep, looking for angles, but the Dragon's AI flagged the newcomer as friendly. It was the Falling Fire. Hessia had returned.
Selene opened a comms channel. “I thought you'd decided to stay on Periarch.”
“Oh, I meant to, I really did.”
“Couldn't keep away?”
“Honestly? I'm surprised to still be alive. When the end didn't come, I was confused. Then my sensor network relayed the news of what Surtr had done.”
“I tried to talk it out of saving your planet.”
“I understand why you would.”
“What about all those lagoons and warm ocean currents? Won't you miss those?”
“They're still there, and as lovely as ever. I'll go back one day. But Periarch … it is still a troubled world, awash with frustration and anger.”
“Did you enlighten them about what was happening?”
“I chose not to. My readings of the star confirmed that it acquired a small amount of mass, but not enough to alter its astrophysical nature. If the scientists on my planet notice, it will give them something to puzzle over.”
“We need to decide our next course of action. Will you EVA over to the Dragon?”
“Am I welcome?”
“We need all the help we can get.”
Selene cut the connection and was about to leave, go to meet Hessia, but she stopped to consider Eb. She still hadn't said what she'd come to say.
“I never apologized for forcing you to make the two trips through Dead Space. I thought it was the right thing to do at the time, and perhaps it was, but the cost to you was terrible. I felt it, but I carried on. And when I battered my way through your defences to confront you … I should not have done that, either.”
Eb shook his head as he looked up at her, seeming to see her from great depths. “The damage was inflicted long before you were born. I am grateful to you; before you took control of this ship, I was fading. It is a problem for the long-lived. Your intrusion was not welcome at first, but I am glad of it now. You wakened me from my slumber.”
She wanted to say something more in reply, but couldn't find the words.
This time, only four of them met: Selene, Ondo, Hessia and Eb. She felt the absence of Surtr keenly. She found herself glancing to the corner of the room again and again, expecting to see the statuesque giant watching and listening. Hessia appeared to be aware of what was going through Selene's mind. The Periarch caught her gaze, and nodded almost imperceptibly in acknowledgement.
Ondo sat between them. He still suffered from brief, blinding headaches, but there appeared to be no systemic reason for them. He would heal. He already looked better, a spark in his eyes, his hair swept into some semblance of order.
He grimaced as he shifted in his chair to arrange his limbs, though, and Selene placed a hand on his arm. “Are you okay, old man?”
He dipped his head to peer at her over his multiglasses. “I am absolutely fine. And less of the old man or I'll activate the secret self-destruct bug I planted in your brain.” The return of his sense of humour told her all she needed to know.
Eb, meanwhile, stared at the table in front of him, as if he saw something fascinating in its surface. The short walk to the cartography deck had drained him, but he pulled together a fleeting smile when he noticed Selene looking at him.
Hessia, at least, was full of energy. The survival of Periarch obviously had a lot to do with it. If Selene was reading her physiognomy correctly, she looked amused as she spoke.
“Before we start, I assume you've seen the latest broadcast from Concordance?”
Selene shook her head. She'd been too preoccupied to keep up. She caught Ondo's gaze and saw that he was in the dark too.
“Is it worth watching?” Selene asked.
“I think so, for what it doesn't say as much as what it does.”
“You've checked there's nothing malicious embedded within it?”
Hessia's look was withering. “I've been surviving alone for as long as Ondo.”
Selene acknowledged the point with a dip of her head. “Please. Show us.”
She expected to see the familiar features of Godel projected into the air between them, but instead another Augur appeared.
“Carious,” said Ondo, one eyebrow raised. “That is interesting. The Primo does not normally waste his time broadcasting messages. He leaves that to one of his underlings.”
“These days, mainly to Godel.” said Hessia.
“Yes.”
A question occurred to Selene. “How many First Augurs are there really? Concordance say there are many, but we only know of a few.”
“I can name five,” said Ondo. He held out his splayed hand as if that would help them visualise the number. “As well as Carious and Godel, there's Valomar, Catterbron and Mezzovain.”
“And I've never heard of Valomar,” said Hessia. “They put about the idea that there are hundreds of them, spending their days and years in awestruck contemplation. Like Ondo, I have my doubts. Apart from the ships and the weapons, there sometimes doesn't appear to be very much to Concordance at all.”
Selene had never seen the Primo before. She'd expected the First Augur to be a crueller-looking version of Godel. Instead, Carious was an unimpressive figure: short, bald and with too much weight for his own good hanging from his chin. Perhaps his stock was from some higher-g world where people tended to be shorter and squatter. Or perhaps, being at one with his beloved Concordance, he shunned the metabolism modifications that might actually make him healthier and give him a longer life. Artificial enhancements were, naturally, an abomination.
He stood in his ornate regalia of office, the two Void Walkers behind him staring into the distance as if entranced or stunned. He paused for a moment, gathering his words. Selene wasn't sure what emotion he was trying to work his face into. It might have been regret or sorrow. His words would be broadcast over and over to every world controlled by Concordance.
“My friends and children, I am speaking to you from the God Star, bathed in the light of Omn's grace, and I have to convey to you my overwhelming sense of sorrow, even grief. Many of you will have seen the latest transmission from the apostate, Ondo Lagan, claiming to have found miraculous proof that Omn's church, Concordance, is the source of all the galaxy's grief and brutality.”
Carious held out his hands, palm forwards, in a gesture that said, I speak to you openly and honestly. “We are all aware, of course, that this is a twisted and malicious inversion. Lagan claims that he has found Coronade, the mythical world where all was peace and bliss, yet what he shows us is a planet devastated by extreme orbital bombardment, its cities ruined by attack, its people wiped out by firestorm and environmental collapse.
“My friends, he shows us the truth – the real truth – without intending to do so. Whatever this world is that he has found, he is at least correct in one regard: it was once heavily-populated, and is now lifeless, its biosphere blasted into oblivion. This was the reality of life before Omn ordered his Augurs to bring peace to the galaxy. This was the grim experience of our forebears. Horror and death, endured unendingly. And now? Now there is no war, no conflict. The worlds are at peace because the Cathedral ships intervene if anyone attempts to incite war.
“This means, of course, that it is sometimes necessary for our ships to ensure order is respected. We intervene to protect lives and livelihoods where we absolutely must, when all else fails. Is that not a small price to pay? Is that not preferable to endless conflict? No one who doesn't step out of line has any cause to fear Concordance; on the contrary, they will be met with our eternal love. It is only those who threaten our peace, who wish to dismantle the galaxy-wide accord, that have any reason to fear Concordance.”
Now the Primo adopted an expression of almost desperate sadness. “And one such is certainly Ondo Lagan. Another is his accomplice, Selene Ada. I do not know what hatred drives them to endanger us all, what twisted reason they have to wish to return the galaxy to its days of brutality. Perhaps they are simply ill, deserving our pity rather than our anger. But that is their desire, make no mistake. I am sure it is tempting, sometimes, to listen to their outlaw lies, their whispers of rebellion and their talk of a glamorous life of freedom, but they are lonely, desperate people who have turned their backs on their homes and their families, and who wish only to do you, each and every one of you, great harm. Rest assured, we will not let them. They will be found, and the light of Omn will be shone upon them. They will emerge as better, wiser, happier people. Until then, I ask you to ignore their words. I ask you to look at the so-called proofs they are broadcasting and see them for the simple lies they are. May the light of Omn shine upon you.”
Carious closed his eyes and dipped his head.
Selene cut the images off. “Looks like our broadcasts got through, then.”
“Interesting, though, isn't it?” said Hessia. “They're clearly genuinely worried about your Coronade claims. Normally they don't react in any way to your communications, but this time they've wheeled Carious out to challenge your ideas. It has to be significant.”
Ondo was nodding, and it wasn't hard to spot the look of amusement on his features. “We've got them worried. And where is Godel? There was no sign of the Storm Gatherer within the stellar weapon fleet, but she had to be behind the attempts to explode the Periarch star.”
Hessia said, “It looks to me as if Carious is imposing his will, reminding the galaxy – and her – that he is the one in charge. We might not see Godel again for some time. It's possible we might never see her again. She might have been … introduced to the light of Omn in a very physical way.”
Ondo nodded. “She wouldn't be the first. Concordance claim that ascension to the First Augurs, to Secundus and then to Primo, is all a matter of divine will, but it looks to me like the raw brutality of power-struggle politics. It's amusing in its way, but it doesn't change anything. Concordance are still there and we're still here.”
Selene held up the red bead that Surtr had given her. It was the first time she'd shown it to anyone.
“There's also this. Surtr gave it to me before it left. We've seen coloured beads like this before – a green and black pair at the Haven – but we haven't been able to study them, and we don't know how they function. Or even if they function.”
Hessia held out her long-fingered hand to take the bead. She held it up to the light, peering into its depths.
