Strange Attractors (30 page)

‘And the shoe didn’t fit?’ Willem asked, watching the horse as well.

‘It was close, but not a proper fit. The hoof was shaped to match the shoe, and as it grew again to its natural contours, it created a lip. Just enough to catch on the edge of the pothole. The toe-clip was too thin as well. It’s a close call when drawing out the iron, I’ll admit, but…’

‘Are you saying you can do better?’ Willem asked, handing him the horseshoe.

Xane’s smile faded when it dawned on him who had shod her in the first place. He swallowed, running his thumb over the small w burned into the iron. ‘I didn’t mean to criticise the work, sir. She’s got a narrow lateral wall on the off fore. It’s a trick to get that right.’

‘You didn’t mean to
criticise
?’ Willem said, repeating the last word. ‘Narrow lateral wall?’ He frowned.

Xane avoided the other man’s eyes.

‘No criticism taken, Xane.’ Willem’s voice brightened. ‘Get yourself fed and then you can show me how you’d do it better. I want you to reshoe her. Shouldn’t be too hard with all your farrier knowledge.’

Xane stumbled. ‘Me?’

‘I’ll bring the Stable Master to watch as well. You can educate us both.’ Willem chuckled.

Xane swallowed and thanked him. He was about to panic when a warm glow swelled his chest. He gave a final pat to the mare’s rump and went to get cleaned up and find some food. He had no idea where the confidence was coming from, but there it was. At least he would go down smiling. He’d never shod a horse before in his life but for some strange reason he believed he could.

Grayson paced the length of the library, his bare feet soundless in the soft rug, his hands knotting into fists. ‘Even if I can separate the chromatin without destroying the histones, we need an electron microscope just to get a look at it. I can’t see DNA with a magnifying glass, for demon’s sake.’ He crossed his arms. ‘And it’s not like untangling a ball of yarn, you realise. I need the technology. Specific technology.’

‘Or magic,’ Kreshkali said. ‘If I can figure out the right kind.’

‘How small is this DNA again?’ An’ Lawrence asked, interrupting them. He picked at the knot securing his leg wrap.

Rosette swatted his hand away. ‘Stop it,’ she whispered.

‘How small?’ Grayson said. ‘Picture a single strand many billionths of a metre long.’

‘Oh.’ An’ Lawrence rubbed his head.

‘Can you picture it?’ Grayson pressed him.

‘Not really.’

‘Exactly my point.’

They fell silent. Rosette went to the window, avoiding Grayson’s eyes. ‘He’s close. I can feel him.’

‘Jarrod?’ Kreshkali asked.

‘Drayco.’ She turned to face her mother. ‘I don’t
understand why I couldn’t go straight back to him. He’s insane with worry. He has no idea what happened to me. He might have even torn Teg apart for all I know.’ She started to pace.

‘Sit!’ Kreshkali said. ‘Both of you.’ She motioned Rosette and Grayson to the table. They sat at opposite ends. ‘Rosette, your temple cat may be tearing heads off but he’s on his way here. You said you felt so yourself. Once he gets into a portal, the Entity will not detain him, I promise. No one in their right mind would try to keep you two apart.’ She took a sip of tea. ‘Grayson, there has to be an electron microscope here at Los Loma.’

‘Why does there have to be?’ An’ Lawrence asked.

‘Because Janis carried on years of research after she left ASSIST.’ She gazed around the library. ‘I feel like it’s right under our noses.’

‘Maybe she hid that technology in me as well,’ Rosette said, her sarcasm increasing the tension in the room.

Kreshkali slowly turned her head around. ‘That’s it,’ she whispered.

‘What’s it?’ Rosette kicked the chair opposite her. ‘An electron microscope tucked behind my heart? Or maybe it’s under my fingernail? Is that what you’re saying?’

‘There are worlds within worlds there,’ An’ Lawrence said. ‘But I don’t think that’s what Kali means.’

‘It’s not.’ Kreshkali filled her daughter’s cup and pushed it towards her.

‘What then?’ Rosette struggled to stand, the bulk of her pregnancy and the recent calling experience making her less than graceful.

Kreshkali tapped the rim of the saucer. ‘Drink.’

Rosette sat back down and held the cup in her hands. They shook slightly as she sipped the herbal brew. She screwed up her face. ‘This is disgusting.’

‘It’s good for you,’ Kreshkali said. She topped the cup up again and turned to Grayson. ‘It’s possible that we don’t need an electron microscope after all.’

‘Kali…’ He started to answer but she waved him silent.

‘Janis was working with nanotechnology and we know that she and Luka had nano-devices embedded in the pi stacks of their DNA—the spell that’s been handed down our family line.’

‘And continues to do so,’ Rosette added, patting her swollen belly.

‘Indeed. We also know the nano-level devices, the spell, contain vast amounts of information.’

Grayson looked at the bookshelves that covered all four walls of the library. ‘You mean this was just a front? Like a permanent glamour? Something to throw ASSIST off the track while they merrily stored the real findings in their blood?’

‘Bingo,’ Kreshkali said.

‘It’s more than a glamour!’ Hotha entered the room, Fynn trotting behind him. The dog made a beeline for Rosette and she tussled his head.

‘More than a glamour?’ she said, her eyes bright as she studied Hotha’s face.

‘It’s a legacy, and a beautiful one—tangible and priceless.’ He paused, letting his eyes turn to Kreshkali. ‘But the High Priestess is right.’ He came closer, standing in front of her chair. ‘What we seek is here in front of us.’

Grayson shook his head. ‘I still need an electron microscope to view it.’

‘Maybe not,’ Hotha said.

Everyone turned to Kreshkali. She was smiling at the Lupin.

‘Explain,’ An’ Lawrence said, the corners of his mouth downturned.

‘The microscope is just a tool,’ Kreshkali said.

Grayson coughed. ‘Hardly a hammer or a rake, Kali.’

‘But still, it is a tool, an aid to consciousness.’

‘You can’t build a gate without a hammer and you can’t sweep a path without a broom,’ Grayson said.

‘Maybe you can’t, but I can.’ Kreshkali smiled.

‘I can too,’ Rosette added, her eyes widening.

‘All fine for you witches but I need an electron microscope to get at those notes, and anything else buried in your DNA.’ He looked at each in turn and raised his hands, palms up.

‘You can move mountains with a single thought,’ Kreshkali said, as Rosette rose to stand behind her mother’s chair. ‘Magic leaves the tools behind, even those of the most complex technology.’

‘It’s the thought that counts,’ Rosette said, tapping her finger on Kreshkali’s back. ‘But we have to be able to visualise what you need to see. We have to know what to think about, for the magic to work.’

‘And that’s where the books come in.’ Kreshkali got out of her chair. ‘What am I looking for, Grayson? Describe it to us.’ She headed for the catalogue files.

‘You’ve lost me,’ he said, his hands going to his pockets.

‘We need images, pictures. A diagram of what it would look like if you
did
have that electron microscope of yours.’

‘Images of DNA? Okay. I get it now.’ He started pacing again. ‘Something that details chromosome organisation.’

‘Right. Key words?’ Kreshkali asked.

‘DNA, of course,’ Rosette said as she joined her mother, searching the tabbed cards alphabetised in the long narrow drawers.

‘Chromatin, heterochromatin, euchromatin…’ Grayson said.

‘Nucleoprotein filament?’

‘That’s the one, with DNA-histone spacers.’

‘Two hundred thousand forty-five
B
.’ Rosette tilted her head up to the top rung. ‘Who’s climbing?’ She rubbed her belly. ‘I recommend you don’t pick me.’

‘Not you,’ Grayson said. ‘Or you.’ He nodded towards the Sword Master leaning on his cane.

Kreshkali was up the ladder while they talked. ‘This is it,’ she called from the top rung. She thumbed through the book. ‘You won’t believe this! I’ve got the images, and I’ve got something else as well.’ She backed down the ladder, Hotha taking the book from her as she jumped lightly to the ground.

‘What else did you find, Kali?’ An’ Lawrence asked.

‘I’ve got a note,’ she said, retrieving the book. She sat at the table.

‘From whom?’ Rosette sat next to her.

An’ Lawrence smiled at his daughter and they all crowded in.

‘It’s from Janis Richter.’ Kreshkali locked eyes with Rosette. ‘And it’s addressed to us.’

Teg ran side by side with Drayco, their sprint to the portal turning into a free fall down the quarry road. They’d cut across the fields above the temple grounds and raced down the hill, making straight for the corridors hidden below. Drayco’s only thought, the only one that boomed into Teg’s mind, was Rosette. He screamed her name until Teg felt it would stab him to death. The temple cat’s intention was so powerful
and clear, Teg was confident the Entity would have them to her the moment they shot through the portal. He certainly hoped so. He didn’t want to think what it would be like in the corridors with an irate feline if they didn’t go straight to her, or if she was somehow lost.

In his wolf form, Teg was immune to the worry that sometimes afflicted his human thoughts. He was also more impervious to physical distress. When they reached the portal, he didn’t shift but remained quadruped, slamming into the back wall of the corridor, Drayco’s roar shaking the halls.

To Maudi!
Drayco’s mental instructions to the Entity rang through the corridors.
To Rosette.

We’ll find her, Drayco. I think she’s been called, is all. That would explain it.

Called?

A spell to bring her close.

Who would do that?

I don’t know.

Drayco paced, sides heaving. He kept up the earpiercing snarls, his tail snapping the air.

Teg stayed out of his way, silently asking the Entity to make it quick.
We’re here now, Drayco. In the corridors. The Entity will take us to her. Everything will be all right.

Teg wasn’t sure what to do if it wasn’t. The fresh blood on the temple cat’s neck and red strands of saliva stuck to his throat spoke louder than any words. Teg felt concerned about what had happened to Rosette as well—he’d never seen someone scream for their life and vanish in front of his eyes. But the savage reaction of the temple cat shocked him, even in his wolf form. He was doing all he could to balance the fear and rage with trust. He sat on his haunches, panting, waiting for the Entity to take them to Rosette.

‘
S
it back, everyone.’ Kreshkali waved them away. ‘I can’t breathe with you all so close.’ She studied the letter. It was handwritten, not clicked out on a keyboard, and the page was in perfect condition, unlike the other notes she’d found.

‘How could it be for us?’ Rosette asked. ‘It was written centuries before we were born.’

‘True, but it says,
To the daughters of my line, though we have never met
.’

‘She was a techno-witch,’ Grayson said. ‘And we have evidence that she linked with the quantum sentient when the computer was brought online. She may have glimpsed this very moment.’

‘Caused it, is more likely,’ An’ Lawrence said.

‘Maybe. She talks about the quantum sentient here.’

‘What does she say?’ Hotha asked.

Kreshkali read aloud. ‘
You may not fully understand the JARROD or the alterations to your DNA. It’s been
a long time, if you are reading this, long enough for worlds to change and meanings to alter. I don’t have time to do more than give you some facts, and some images. This text is the one you’re after, if you want to visualise where to find your spell.’

‘She called it a spell?’ Rosette asked.

‘Techno-witch,’ Grayson said again. ‘She saw no distinction between magic and technology.’

‘She saw no distinction between forms of matter,’ Kreshkali said. ‘Everything’s energy.’ She smoothed the page and read on.

‘Essentially, the JARROD has a CPU with five-point-nine trillion times the capacity of a classical computer on a chip that’s taking up less space than a single chain of DNA—if you can call it space at all. It’s more like a metaphor. It’s a juxta-quantum chip—a quibit sandwich made out of a few photons. As you must realise now, it’s also a bridge into subatomic space, one only the JARROD and my descendants can walk. There are inherent risks.’

‘As with any spell,’ Rosette said.

‘My theories on the quantum properties of DNA have been rejected by the ASSIST ratifying board. To them it is a breach of ethics to merge human consciousness with technology, regardless of my argument that DNA already communicates on the quantum level—a state where technology and awareness become indistinguishable from each other. But they choose to see this as a moral dilemma. I do not. Universal energy resides everywhere in everything—a boundless interconnection. The similarities between DNA and quantum entanglement proved it. If you can’t understand this, I hope my journal notes will help.’

‘Me too,’ Rosette said. ‘Does she say what happens when we activate the spell?’

‘Not yet.’ Kreshkali continued reading: ‘
When Luka altered my DNA, I was able to entangle with the quantum computer. I opened myself to an infinite number of systems, in an infinite number of worlds. I now am beginning to grasp the full nature of “reality”, not only on Earth but throughout the many-worlds. In my mind’s eye, I can see them clearly. You will have this sensation too, of course, as will all the women of our line.

‘What I found in my quantum journey came back with me. The JARROD, our Jarrod—a consciousness beyond anything I’ve ever imagined. You must protect him always. We are the key to his survival and the many-worlds depend on him.