Peter Hamilton - The Temporal Void

The culinary unit managed to produce them, though she thought some of the tastes were a bit strange.

It was all strange and good to Kazimir's palate, he wolfed the lot down.

'Have you seen anyone else here? she asked as she sipped her own champagne.

'I thought you said I didn't exist before today, he said, only half teasing.

'I don't know how long you've been here, actually. It took the Void four years to create this world. I think.

He sat back in the chair and thought hard. 'I have memories, or notions of my life before today. That life I had back with my clan isn't real, I see that now, nothing about that time is substantial. It is a notion of what should have been. And yet I remember setting out on my groundwalk a couple of weeks ago.

I'm sure the last few days were real. Today is. Today has you in it. I remember waking and enjoying the clear sky.

'So you didn't see anyone on your groundwalk?

'No. But the idea of the groundwalk is to be on your own.

'Of course.

He shivered, looking round the cabin again. Apprehension was creeping into his thoughts. 'I am nothing. I am a toy some alien has built to amuse you. What kind of being has such power?

'Hey, she said soothingly. 'You're certainly not nothing. You're you. It doesn't matter why you are, only that you're here now. Life is to be lived, I told you that the first time we met.

Kazimir sniffed suspiciously. 'Did I believe you?

'You took some convincing. You were just as stubborn then.

That seemed to satisfy him.

'What are you going to do now? he asked.

'I'm not sure. I came here to try and talk to the nucleus. That's looking quite difficult now. It thinks I want to be here with you instead. She reviewed the Silverbird's status again. None of the drives were operational, and the smartcore didn't know why. The generator was producing some power, enough to maintain basic life support. A majority of cabin functions were running, though she wasn't sure she'd want to use the medical cabinet. What vexed her most was the reason for the failures and glitches. There wasn't one.

Willpower , she thought, that's the governing factor in this universe. The power of mind over matter. Thoughts can affect reality. So the Void doesn't want the Silverbird to fly. It's as simple as that .

'And you don't want to be here with me? he asked.

'It's enjoyable, she told him. 'But it's not why I'm here. His face was so crestfallen she immediately felt guilty. 'Kazimir, I apologise, but there is an awful lot at stake. More than I expect you to believe. I have to do whatever I can to help.

'I understand, he said gravely. 'It is an honourable thing that

you do. My mind may be false, but I believe in honour. It is a universal truth.

'You're very sweet, she said. 'I remembered that part of you perfectly. She yawned. 'I'm going to try and get some rest, it's been a long stressful flight and that champagne has gone straight to my head.

'I will keep watch outside, he announced gravely. 'If this is a whole real planet there might be something hostile out there.

'Thank you. Damn, my memory's a dangerous thing . The cabin extended a large bed as Justine stripped off the one-piece suit; then the replicator produced a thin duvet. It had peculiar hard lumps in it, but she shrugged and pulled it up anyway. She fell asleep straight away.

And dreamed. Dreamed of her own bed in her own home, where she was warm and safe and life was comfortable.

Someone pulled the drapes back, and sunlight streamed in through the tall windows. Justine yawned and stretched. It was cosy under the duvet.

'Hello, darling.

'Dad, she said drowsily, and smiled at the gold-face looming above her. 'Is it time to get up?

'It's time you and I had a talk.

Full awareness hit her like a plunge into ice water. Justine yelped and sat up straight. It was her room in the Tulip mansion, the one she'd spent her adolescence in, therefore ridiculously purple and black as she merrily ploughed her way through her retro-Goth phase mainly to annoy her parents. Her T-shirt and baggy flannel pyjama trousers were black cotton. Toe- and fingernails were black, with embossed blood gems. She looked at them, mortified by the fashion. Fingers heavy with silver skull rings hurriedly pulled a string of hair in front of her face to check: yes, black.

'Jesus, she muttered.

'You always looked cute no matter how bad the fashion, Core said. He was standing at the foot of the bed, arms folded as he leaned against the post. (Four-poster with black gauze drapes — of course.) His handsome gold face grinned down.

'What? I… Am… Is this the Void?

'You're still in the Void, Gore said. 'I'm back in the Commonwealth thinking up cosy environments to amplify our rapport. And there's nothing cosier than a childhood room.

'Rapport?

'I'm hugely embarrassed to say I've become the Third Dreamer. And guess whose life in the Void I'm dreaming.

'Oh shit.

Gore produced an evil grin. 'Could be worse, you could have slept with him. And I'd be the one relaying it into the gaiafield.

'Shit!

'That nobility of yours will get you into real trouble one day.

Justine stood up carefully. 'What's been happening out there? Did the Pilgrimage make it through?

'You mean in the four days you've been inside?

'Four days? she asked incredulously.

'Coming up on five.

'But it's been…

'Four years. Including the interlude with the Skylord.

'You got that part?

'Oh yes. That little shit Ethan is making a lot of capital out of its refusal to take you to the nucleus. A real big boost to the cause. The Clerics from his jumped up Council have been all over the Unisphere ever since, ranting about destiny. It's almost enough to counter the fuck-up they've made on Viotia.

'Viotia? she asked in a daze.

'They're turning the planet upside down looking for the Second Dreamer. Don't worry about it. We've got to concentrate on your problem.

'Kazimir?

'In a manner of speaking. Damn, I never realized you were still so fixated. You really ballsed that one up, didn't you?

'What do you mean?

'So far all Living Dream has been promising is the chance to put your life straight, just like their precious Waterwalker did every time he made his many mistakes. Screwed up again? Never mind. Bang, he thinks back to the moment he went wrong and rearranges the whole Void to that instant. That's what sold it to them, all the sheep bleating to be taken on the Pilgrimage fleet.

'I know, time travel is everyone's wish fulfilment made true. Going back to correct your life's blunders is the ultimate fantasy.

'Time travel is pure bullshit, impossible; nobody can defeat causality or entropy. All the Void does is press the reset button. That's what that goddamn memory layer is, a template of every instant inside there. And how does it fucking power that?

'Dad.

'Every planet, every person, every Skylord, every star has to have its entropy reversed to the point in time Edeard fancied going back to. Every star! Every single atom in every star in the Void has to have its energy level pumped back up so he can begin again. Dear God, what arrogance. And where does it get the energy from to do that? From us. From eating our galaxy. That's what feeds the reset. Mass to energy, good old E equals MC squared.

'Dad, calm down, you're ranting to the converted.

'Oh am I? If they were converted, the stupid dumb shits wouldn't be going on their Pilgrimage, would they? Sometimes I think the Ocisens are quite right, they should just wipe us out because any species thick enough to produce a Living Dream doesn't deserve to live.

'Dad! she said, shocked.

'Yeah yeah. He grinned round savagely. 'You like this dream, Ethan? You like what's coming at you from the Void now? Or is this too much truth for you? Because it's not just going to be your dumbass Waterwalker skipping back through his life any more, is it? I could just about live with him being the saviour of a bunch of shipwrecked medieval cretins. But that was never enough for you, was it? You are so fucking stupid you want to take everyone in there. Millions of you resetting your lives every time you get a drop of shampoo in your fucking eye. Are you so fucking pitifully weak you can't face living your life properly? Learn from your mistake and move on. That's what makes you human. Not condemning the rest of us to extinction because of your personal goddamn failure of an existence. Grow some balls, for fuck's sake.