Peter Hamilton - The Evolutionary Void

Neskia stood between them. Her neck waved fractionally from side to side like a snake rising vertically, its casing of gold rings sliding over one another without revealing any human flesh. The metallic-gray surface shimmer of her skin was subdued. Big round eyes blinked once as Paula appeared. That might have reflected puzzlement; Paula wasn’t sure. She had certainly been startled by the news that the Accelerator agent had surrendered herself to the warrior Raiel without any fuss.

“You were complicit in the establishment of the Sol barrier,” Paula said.

Neskia said nothing.

“I would like the deactivation code now, please.”

“And then what?”

“You will face an inquiry into your actions.”

“By ANA itself. So there’s really not much of an incentive to hand over the code, is there?”

“A memory read is never pleasant.”

“A mild discomfort. But you would never be able to extract the code. I have several self-destruct routines embedded in my biononics.”

“So you are in an invincible position. Congratulations. Curious, then, that you allowed yourself to be intercepted. Your ship has a superb stealth capability, yet you chose not to use it. Why?”

Neskia’s neck became rigidly straight. “I have nowhere to go.”

“She didn’t take you with her.”

“Obviously.”

“But then, ascension to postphysical status through Fusion was never her aim.”

“I am aware of that now.”

“What deal are you looking for?”

“Total immunity. The right to settle on whatever world I select. And I retain ownership of the ship .”

“No to the ship . You are forbidden from taking part in any subversive activity ever again. You will permit removal of all combat-enabled biononics. You will not reinstate them or any further weapons enrichments. You will report any contact by criminal or proscribed organizations to my office immediately.”

“Free political association is the fundamental right of the Greater Commonwealth.”

“Without ANA, the Commonwealth as we know it cannot exist. I fully intend to protect it from extreme ideologues.”

“Will it ban the Accelerators?”

“I suspect those members involved with illegal activities will be suspended. The rest will be free to pursue and continue lobbying for what they believe in. As is their right.”

“Very well. I agree.” Neskia’s u-shadow sent the code to Paula, along with instructions for applying it to a specific coordinate outside the Sol system.

“Thank you,” Paula said. “So you’re pissed at her, then?”

“To put it mildly. I risked everything, devoted my life to the cause, and now I find it never actually existed.”

“What will you do?”

“I will found the real Accelerator faction. I still believe in human evolutionary destiny.”

“Of course you do.”

The Elvin’s Payback sank down out of the low gray clouds that were drizzling steadily across the rumpled verdant countryside. Oscar directed it to land on the grass next to the spinney of gangling rancata trees. He floated down out of the airlock and looked around contentedly. Seeing the raised circular house just as it always was kindled an unexpected bout of homesickness. While he’d been away, he’d thought of it and Jesaral and Dushiku and Anja less and less, so much so that he’d started to believe he didn’t care about any of them anymore. Now he was here, and he didn’t want to leave again.

Wild emotions of surprise and trepidation burst into the gaiafield. Oscar grinned wryly as Jesaral charged down the spiral stairs in the house’s central pillar and ran across the lawn.

“You’re back,” Jesaral yelled. He flung his arms around Oscar and began kissing him with youthful eagerness; rampantly erotic thoughts came percolating out through his gaiamotes. “Oh, Ozzie, I missed you.”

“Good to be home,” Oscar admitted.

Dushiku and Anja hurried up.

“I couldn’t believe it when you showed up in Gore’s dream,” Dushiku murmured as he hugged Oscar tight. “You were in the Void! That was you in Makkathran right at the end.”

“Yeah, that was me,” he admitted. It actually felt good to boast about it for once.

Anja finally got her moment with him. “So this is what you really are? Some kind of galactic superagent?”

“Some of the time,” he admitted. “Not very often, thankfully.”

The other starship dropped through the clouds and came in to land next to the Elvin’s Payback .

“Who’s this?” Dushiku asked in a resigned tone.

“And why does a starship need wings?” Jesaral asked.

“They’re not wings, they’re heat dissipaters, and this is my new partner.”

Anja recoiled slightly. Dushiku merely gave a disapproving glance, and Jesaral was already powering up his outrage.

“Business partner,” Oscar assured them hurriedly.

The Mellanie’s Redemption landed smoothly The airlock opened, and a set of aluminum stairs slid out.

Jesaral gave Dushiku a meaningful glance that ended as a pout. Oscar put his arms around both of them, enjoying the flashes of jealousy.

The aluminum steps bowed as Troblum came down, raindrops trickling quickly down the worn fabric of his old toga suit. He gave Oscar’s startled life partners a brisk nod and quickly looked away.

“What sort of business?” Anja asked curiously.

“Exploration,” Oscar said contentedly. “The Commonwealth has sent out a lot of colony ships over the centuries. We thought it was about time we found out what happened to some of them. And who knows what else is on the other side of the galaxy? Wilson never did have a proper look.”

Anja raised her eyes skyward and produced a sigh of disapproval in that way only she could. However, she stepped forward and held her hand out to Troblum. “Good to meet you.”

“Uh, thank you.” He gave her hand a frightened look. By then it didn’t matter; Anja was looking up at the second figure to appear at the top of the stairs. She was so surprised, she forgot to prevent the emotion from revealing itself through her gaiamotes.

“This is my fiance,” Troblum announced.

“Pleased to meet you,” Catriona Saleeb said. She smiled nervously as she came down the stairs and fumbled for Troblum’s hand.

Oscar knew he was leaking out all the wrong thoughts, but he just couldn’t help it. He’d been the first to support Troblum when Catriona was made real. Troblum had seen that one last slender chance in the time after the Heart had decided to follow Gore and before the moment when it elevated itself. He hadn’t analyzed it or paused for doubt; he’d simply gone for it, using the Void’s creation layer to turn his solido into flesh and blood, an act that was perhaps the most human thing Troblum had done in his life.

Oscar was also pretty sure that it wouldn’t last, that Catriona would soon outgrow her initial thoughts. But then, ephemerality was the summation of most human activities. The trick was to enjoy the time when things were going right.

The Silverbird alighted gently outside the Tulip Mansion, its landing legs barely making dents in the gravel drive in front of the grand entrance portico. Justine floated down out of the airlock, taking a wonderfully reassuring breath of Earth’s old air once again. There had been moments when she thought that might not happen ever again. Kazimir whooped joyfully as he followed her down to the ground. Manipulated gravity was just one of the delights he’d discovered in the short time since she’d summoned him back out of the Void’s creation layer.