The IX (63 page)

“And that’s not Stained-With-Blood?”

“No.”

“You’re positive?”

“Yes. I was chosen for this. I’d stake my life on it.”

“Won’t you be doing that anyway?” Saul countered. “Throwing your life away over some noble gesture—”

“We’re dead already, Saul, remember? We shouldn’t be here now, discussing this. But we are. I’ve lived an additional eighteen years I wasn’t entitled to. Eighteen years during which I’ve cared for a long list of new friends and acquaintances I would never have otherwise met. And for what? Because of the Horde, most of them are dead
again
now. Lost for all eternity. But I won’t be. Accepting my fate means part of me will live on forever.”

“Forever? Ayria! You won’t exist.”

“But my children will.” Nodding toward the avatars, she explained, “I’ve already donated my ovaries into the care of Calen, Sariff, and the Architect. They will ensure each egg is nurtured and fertilized when the time is right. It’ll provide me with a whole host of descendents to help repopulate this barren world.”

“An ingenious suggestion,” Calen interjected, “and one made by Ayria herself. Future generations will look back on this moment in honor, and treasure her sacrifice for all time.”

Saul was struck by a sudden realization.

“Hang on, does this mean the prospective population won’t be truly human or Ardenese anymore?”

“Of course they will,” Ayria replied. “No matter what we look like on the outside, we will always remain true to who we are. Take Angule and Raum, and all their friends as an example. It took a long time, but they fought their way back to themselves. This way, we’ll have the best of both worlds.”

Saul took the time to study each face around the table.
They’ve clearly made their minds up about this.

After a seeming eternity of deliberation, he sighed deeply. “Then we’d better get on with it. For good or ill, the future awaits us.”

*

It started with a barely perceptible vibration running through the walls and floor. A tingle in his toes that let him know the energies coalescing in the Gate room over two leagues below were reaching optimum levels.

Ephraim checked his monitors. Each one depicted a different scene, and at this moment he could see the focusing array had already established an outgoing wormhole. Angule walked toward the mirrored plane before him. After lingering at the threshold just long enough to encase a portion of Stained-With-Blood’s tomahawk within an opaque barrier, he stepped in. The Imperator’s codex was instantly stretched across the infinite expanse of null-space.

After waiting a moment, Ephraim entered a series of minute adjustments into the computer. The targeting emitters fired again, and a new quantum construct emerged.

He studied the emissions from the paired singularities closely.

“Gravitational constancy has been achieved,” he announced, “event horizons are confirmed at three angstroms. Angule? If you can hear me, you have a
go
to introduce the meteoric material.”

There was no audible reply. However, within moments of the request, a wrinkle appeared at the center of the glistening duality. Radiating outward as if a stone had been thrown onto the calm waters of a pond, the ripple gained the circumference, and the paradigm flared into a conjoined whole.

“Atomic fusing completed. Möbius accelerator established. Activating primary and subsidiary ion collectors.” Ephraim flicked a switch, and the drone of countless capacitors charging throbbed in the air. Over his shoulder, he shouted, “Raum? You’re up.”

The Horde Master had been waiting patiently at the end of the observation pier. The circular balcony had been fashioned in such a way as to occupy a space equidistant from the surrounding Ark modules lining the chasm. It was perfect for their needs, as it also happened to be directly above the Gate, thousands of yards below.

Adopting a relaxed position, Raum reached up to her crown and initiated a pulse of astral brilliance. As it died, her entire form was encompassed within an argent halo of stunning purity.

My link to the Unium Tier is now active
.
Stand-by. We will deploy the safety filter on my mark . . .

Her construct ballooned outward, and concentric spheres of plasma appeared. Spinning in multiple directions at once, the speed of each orb increased until they became a confusing blur to the eye. Raum raised her own portion of Heaven’s-Claw.

Mark!

The globes locked abruptly into place, forming a huge esoteric oculus. A sizzling skein, like a dancing web of lightning, skittered across the surface, enmeshing her body and suspending her in a nimbus of psychedelic light.

Raum disappeared, but her mental voice continued to give a running commentary via the speakers.

I am manipulating the vext. Prepare for conflicting tidal surges.

A tiny pucker formed within the kaleidoscopic maelstrom.

Opening the portal in three, two, one . . . now!

As the distortion swelled, the rainbow parade blinked out.

Ephraim felt the familiar tug of a void in close proximity. He peered toward the holo-projector on his console. The unit was broadcasting a live, 3D image of prevalent conditions between Ark control and the Gate room six miles below. He could see a vast reservoir of untapped potential building, which increased exponentially with every passing second.

Spellbound, he watched as each segment of cryptogenic material acted as a lodestone to the others.
Fascinating!
It appears to be the mesons, not the baryons that are the energizing catalyst.

Wraith-like streamers of fermionic matter connected, intertwining at an astonishing rate. As they meshed, the entire construct solidified and gained coherence. A choral tone of heartrending majesty reverberated around the chamber, and in the blink of an eye a titanic throb of energy knotted together and commenced its mad dash along the esoteric conduit.

The underlying tremor beneath his feet became much harsher.

“Watch out, Raum!” he warned. “The tsunami’s on its way.”

Adjusting his focus, he continued, “Ayria? If you could also get ready to go? I need you in position within the next ninety seconds.”

He glanced at his left-hand screen, and his heart skipped a beat.

Ephraim had known Ayria for the last fifteen years, and counted her a rare treasure among the gems he had come to know during his time on Arden. Fiercely loyal to her friends, she was totally reliable, and could always be counted on to put the community ahead of her own needs. She’d lasted longer in this hostile environment than just about anyone else.

And here she is, putting her life on the line for her extended family once again.

An unexpected pain clutched at his chest.

Oh, Ayria. We’ll miss you so much.

Strangling down the lump in his throat, he watched as Calen helped her remove the simple cotton gown she had chosen to wear to this, her last solemn duty. As naked as the day she was born, he didn’t miss the anxious manner in which she repeatedly clutched at the remaining fragment of Heaven’s-Claw. Despite her nerves, Ayria still found the time to smile, and accepted the avatar’s assistance into the re-genesis chamber.

Christened the Pearl Bed, it resembled the two halves of an open clamshell. The amazingly sophisticated device was the pinnacle of Ardenese ingenuity, for it contained the final genomic catalyst that would trigger the re-genesis program and transmute a living body into the key for saving an entire world.

As Ayria took her place, Calen tenderly kissed the back of her hand, and solemnly lowered the cover. Once the seals had actuated, he turned and made his way swiftly over to his own computer console.

The background shudder intensified, and a warning buzzer sounded. Ephraim activated the umbilical, and as the Pearl Bed rose into the air, he checked his instruments again.

“Raum!” he shouted. “The plasma nucleus has almost reached us.”

Thank you, Ephraim Miller
.
You need not concern yourself. I am prepared and waiting.

An escalating roar welled up from below. The gray helix above them expanded, and a glittering curtain descended across the outer vestiges of the balcony. Augmented by cyclonic pressure, the energy wave crested the bore and thundered into the gyre. Despite the protective barrier, the whole level juddered and rocked as if seized in the grip of an earthquake. The sound was deafening.

Transfixed, Ephraim stared as the fragile-looking vortex warped under the onslaught. It adjusted, then swallowed the entire potential of the opening blast.

Incredible! Who would have thought something so flimsy could do that?

The fluctuating surge stabilized into a solid, consistent beam.

It took Ephraim a few moments to realize that the strands of the portal were slowly twisting open. The outer folds budded into a flowerlike construct of glowing, blood-red petals. The stigma, however, remained separate and dark. Operating the miniature thrusters of the Pearl Bed, Ephraim gently nudged the casing forward until it was snugly encompassed within the safeguard of the central axis.

As the minutes ticked by, the blossom diffused into a tenuous cloud that flushed increasingly brighter. Crimson, ruby, cerise, rose, and eventually, pink.

The miasma pulsed and throbbed with eldritch possibilities. Crystal intonations of the purest clarity chimed forth amid a brilliant accompaniment of starburst detonations. Seconds later, the chamber was blanched in phototropic glory.

Raum chose that moment to speak.

Ephraim Miller. Brace yourself for the final phase. The experience is bound to be daunting. Take courage, for we will ensure to maintain resolution until the very last second.

Before Ephraim realized what was happening, the inner corolla of the node hovering high above him unraveled. A confusing network of stamenlike filaments folded outward and flowed toward the multitude of chambers lining the edge of the Ark. They bobbed and weaved within the puissance of the photonic flow, like new shoots basking in the warmth of sunlight. Almost immediately, they glowed white-hot. A haunting counterstroke cut through the all-enveloping cadence around them, and the ceramic shell of the Pearl Bed cracked open. The massed banks of indicator lights positioned on the exterior of every biogenic pod within the chasm blinked on.

Ephraim felt his nasal cavities throb as the pressure increased dramatically.

“Matter injectors charging,” he yelled. “Calen? Stand-by for my signal.”

His attention flicked across the readouts, coming to rest upon a final tier of energy-level gauges at the far end of his console. He watched closely as the display ramped its way up from red, through amber. As it hit green, Ephraim shouted, “Now, Calen!”

A prickling sensation washed across his skin, and his gaze snapped back to the main screen.

Down in the Gate room, Angule transmuted the sum of his remaining codex into a summons of irresistible force. A fresh rent in the fabric of spacetime opened. Through it, Ephraim was shocked to witness a terrifying glimpse of the Horde realm. Punching through the superficies, the Imperator issued his final command. And the Kresh obeyed.

The entire essence of his race was sucked through the portal and into the growing maelstrom beyond. The infusion of their genetic material with the augmented Möbius accelerator produced a staggering reaction. A blinding flash ensued, and the gateways were destroyed. Angule vaporized, and the cameras situated about him within the cavern went blank.

An overwhelming concussion rocked the foundations of the city. With nowhere else to go, the titanic energy now encompassed within the remains of the ionic stream stabbed upward.

Oh dear. I don’t know how we’re going to survive that . . .
 

As if in answer to his panicked thought, the iridescent curtain of protective power encompassing the control center expanded back down the shaft. The effect of the tremors subsided almost immediately, and Ephraim offered a quick, silent prayer to Raum’s vigilance.

How the hell she’s managing to retain their focus, I’ll never know.

Like an erupting volcano, the surge advanced. Ephraim marked its ascent by the successive obliteration of each of the safety monitors along the shaft.

Jesus, that’s fast.
“Watch out, people, here it comes.”

The chamber bucked as the beam thundered onto the command level. Raum reappeared within the threshold of the vext. For the blink of an eye, he could see her within the matter stream, arms thrown wide as if attempting to absorb the tincture directly into her matrix. Then she was gone.

The Pearl Bed was engulfed. Ephraim expected the device to burst into flame, but it didn’t. With trembling hands, he reached out to his controls and changed viewpoints, so he could watch the unfolding process within.

The arcane energies flooding the shell had recognized Ayria’s biological sequence. Instead of consuming her, they swirled around and through her, cocooning the entire construct in a web of astral fire.

The portion of meteor rock in her hands transmuted. Turning fluidic, it flowed along her skin until it covered her entire form. Then the mixture infused her epidermis and bonded to her molecules. Ayria began to sparkle, as if thousands of diamonds had been scattered across her body. Transformed, her atoms drifted apart, and prismatic reflections cut a glittering swathe through the air.

Instead of gliding away, the infant particles began revolving around a new, invisible center of gravity. Faster and faster they spun, performing complex, interwoven patterns that confused the eye.

Ephraim soon gave up trying to follow the path of individual ribbons, and pushed himself away from the unit. Only then did he realize what he was actually looking at.

Oh my goodness. That’s a triple helix. A DNA strand!

The network of energy intensified, and Ephraim became aware of an expanded form of consciousness hovering in the ether about him.