L Modesitt - Empress of Eternity

…might be said to be the…commonality…behind all intelligence…

How did we get here? Helkyria?s question was as direct as a stunner bolt.

You are where you always were. The locking of the entrances to the Bridge was the firststep in breaking the perceptual links to your event-points. Your…device…was the second. Youcan see all the event-points simultaneously…or you could if your perceptions were notconditioned to a limited set of points…

Who are you? How can you communicate with us? Why now? Earlier all we could makeout were fragments.

With the range of all event-points, the systems attempted to address all possibleinquiries…but you were not equipped…to limit…your focus on a unique set of points.

Are we now? asked Helkyria. Or is it something you're doing for us?

That is what a keeper does.

Duhyle felt a sense of sadness…and yet of muted triumph.

The universe, the keeper went on, our universe-is at a pivot point-at two other times,the same struggle is being fought, but your battle is the one that will decide whether allcontinues.

What about you? demanded Duhyle. Where do you fit in? He could sense Helkyria?s irritation at his interruption, but the idea of an outside force or keeper or whatever dictating what they did bothered him.

I am the keeper. There have been other keepers. The last keeper fought the same battlethat you must fight. There was a long pause. When you look at the ring in the heavens, you see aportion of those costs…as the Bridge is also a remnant of that battle and a cost…and promise.

Promise? asked Helkyria. How can you help us? Can you destroy the Hammers?

"I" am not truly where you are. Our event-points do not coincide. Yet there arepossibilities. Another pause followed. Tell me exactly what you face and where.

The Aesyr of Midgard have revolted and are threatening to use a weapon that will, ifused often, unravel the dark matter of the universe. They have a ship, from the past, fitted withthis weapon…

Duhyle listened as Helkyria gave a summary of the situation, followed by a description of the Hammers and the threat they posed.

The keeper said nothing, her eyes focused totally on Helkyria until the scientist paused. There is only one Hammer. It can be made to appear at multiple points but can only forceintersection sequentially, not simultaneously.

It can strike in the future, then? asked Helkyria.

The keeper shook her head. Not even the Bridge can do that. It can only reach any pointwith which it coexists and only at that point. There is no future, just as there is no past. There areonly infinite sets of points of existence. Each coherent set of infinite points traveling throughspace can be said to be a universe…and not all points intersect naturally for all of that journey.Observation of those intersections is experienced by those with intelligence as time. All livingorganisms have some intelligence.

Duhyle thought he knew why Baeldura and Thora wanted to control the canal station, but wasn?t certain. The Hammer-or Hammers-can only strike at one…location…oneevent-point…before it can proceed to another?

In a general sense…yes.

So where is the Hammer, its physical locale? asked Helkyria.

There was another long pause before the keeper replied. Physically, it is located on thelarge warship to the west of the canal.

You said there were possibilities that you could help. How? pressed Helkyria.

What you call the great canal is a Bridge to anywhere equal to its length. Each of youcan only depart it at the moment you left the event-point you inhabited and you can only leave itin an event-point congruent to your past/present event-point…

You're saying that the canal can touch anything anywhere within two thousand kays andat any time? asked Duhyle.

Almost simultaneously, Helkyria inquired, You can let us depart somewhere near, butonly at the same time as when we sealed the station?

That is essentially correct.

Duhyle knew that "essentially correct" translated into "grossly over-simplified."

Is there any limit to those who can leave? asked Helkyria. Could all the troopers leave atonce?

They could.

Do you have any weapons to support them?

None that would not make matters worse. Far worse, and far sooner.

Duhyle watched Helkyria, but his consort only nodded before asking, Can you provide aview of the inside of the warship?

Another long pause followed. We can see the outside, and there may be plans of thevessel, but I cannot transfer those to you. I can only describe…

Our event-points are not congruent, said Helkyria dryly.

No…

We will have to determine how to attack the ship, Helkyria said. Give us some time…orcontinuity of event-points…

As you wish…

The keeper vanished, as did the shadowy silver figure, but the light-shaded "ghost" machinery did not. Nor did an indirect and diffuse illumination that seemed to come from the stone itself. Duhyle discovered that he had a slight headache, possibly from straining to see what amounted to two sets of images occupying the same space. "You?re going to invade the control centers of the warship?"

"That?s where the Hammer is. Do you have a better idea?"

Duhyle didn?t. "What if she-or it-isn?t what she says?"

Helkyria smiled wryly. "Let?s see."

"What do you mean?"

"If I understand what she said, or the implications, she can only communicate with us so long as the station is locked. Let?s see if we can unlock one of the windows."

"You don?t think we can, do you?"

"Let?s say I have my doubts." Helkyria walked toward the synchronizer, then stopped.

"All the outside screens are frozen, with the last images on them."

"How…" Duhyle swallowed. "When we used the synchronizer…did that put us outside of time?"

"I think the keeper would have claimed that we?re outside our event-point…or something to that effect," said Helkyria dryly. "That?s a good indicator that we probably can?t open things."

Duhyle realized that the synchronizer was still powered, but running off the stored system, not off the grid.

Helkyria bent over and touched the screen. "We?re locked out."

"What if we depower?"

"It shouldn?t make any difference."

Duhyle cut the power to the synchronizer.

Nothing changed, nor did the light from the stone diminish.

He walked over to where the window was and touched the stone. It remained immobile. He looked at Helkyria.

"I?m inclined to believe her," said Helkyria. "It appears as though we don?t have much choice."

"Ser…?" offered Symra. "Aren?t there any other…?"

"Options? Can you think of any with a hundred of us locked inside here?"

Symra looked away.

"I?ll need to work out how we?ll do this." Helkyria gestured toward the nearest wall.

"We?ll have to use one of the existing doors, and that only will allow three fully equipped troopers at once." She turned to Symra. "We?ll need to talk over what you and Valakyr need."

Then she looked back to Duhyle. "We?ll need you, too."

"I do have some biotherm," he said with a slight grin.

"That will come in useful, more than I?d thought."

Duhyle nodded. He?d have to work out detonators, but he could manage that…somehow.

Maertyn didn?t even try to ask Maarlyna any questions until after he and she had each eaten a healthy portion of the still-warm cheese, potato, and lamb casserole that had been left on what served as a pantry table. Then they had walked back up to what had been their main-floor study, and Maertyn poured two goblets of a Zaendan red that he?d been saving for a special occasion that had never come. The Voharan carpet looked the same, and so did the ancient chairs from Norlaak…except Maertyn could see/sense the light-sheathed consoles that seemed to be everywhere and yet not there at all.