A hollow formed in spacetime, through un-
lular magnetosomes, which shifted the mag-
curling and expanding dimensions. The hol-
netic f ield around the entangled particles in
low stretched, forming a throat. Fingers
the button. The nuclei of the entangled parti-
twitched. Systems shut down. Magnetic pres-
cles in the pin also rotated, sending an instan-
sure from coils ended. The intellect reduced
taneous signal along the f ilament of
the current from electroplaques to magneto-
probability to their entangled counterparts a
somes. Cold gas jets pushed the ship forward.
third of a light-year away. Like a light switching
The Jonglei entered the induced wormhole.
on, the location of the other entangled parti-
Silence. No space. No where. No one.
cles became clearer. That was the approxi-
Then, the Jonglei emerged into normal
mate location of the Mutapa.
spacetime. Displays winked on. Twenty-one
The Limpopo was 225 kilometers anti-spin-
kilometers away, the Limpopo f loated in a
ward, relative to the Stubbs Oort cloud, and
slow, distant orbit of the Stubbs Pulsar. Holo-
within the Limpopo was the pair of conjoined
graphic yellow outlined the shape of the
Axes Mundi.
Limpopo. Dorsal cargo bays. Port and star-
The quantum intellect issued directives. “In-
board weapons placements. Inf laton drive
crease magnetic f ield strength to four hun-
channel. Bunkered bridge and engine. Ruhin-
dred and eight thousand Gauss. Down-angle
di whistled, signalling an emotion.
starboard coil 3.8 degrees. Decrease coil cur-
The quantum intellect’s sensory input ex-
vature by two inverse centimeters.”
panded. Novel probability wave patterns
The Iekanjika subjectivity approached.
washed over the intellect, produced by a tight-
Stood still. Looked close. Possessed a facial ex-
ly coiled loop of causality: the interfering Axes
pression. “Where are we going, Arjona?”
Mundi carried in the Limpopo.
The quantum intellect repeated. “Increase
“If your goal was to get us back to the Mu-
magnetic f ield strength to four hundred and
tapa, Arjona, you missed by a couple hundred
eight thousand Gauss. Down-angle starboard
kilometers,” Iekanjika said.
coil 3.8 degrees. Decrease coil curvature by
“Not bad over a third of a light-year,” Ruhin-
two inverse centimeters.”
di said, implying an assessment of error toler-
Superimposed probabilities became richer.
ance.
Light-second by light-second, perception ex-
It was not an error. The intellect had target-
panded.
ed the induced wormhole precisely, to be able
The Iekanjika subjectivity and the Ruhindi
to observe the patterns of interference of the
subjectivity issued sounds. Processed interact-
paired Axes Mundi.
ing analog information. The magnetic f ield
The Belisarius subjectivity had embedded
strength rose. The starboard coil curvature de-
instructions for the quantum intellect to re-
creased and pointed further from the ship’s
turn processing control to the Belisarius sub-
axis. The shape of the ship’s field shifted.
jectivity after the transit and observations. But
“Increase port coil curvature by 1.7 inverse
these instructions were of low priority com-
centimeters and increase the permeability of
pared to the possible data to be gained from
THE QUANTUM MAGICIAN, PART I
27
ANALOG
continued observation. The temperature of
“Your feat of navigation might have im-
the Belisarius physicality rose to forty-one de-
pressed me,” she said, “but I don’t really see
grees. The quantum intellect overwrote the
the point, and the cost to you seems prohibi-
subjectivity’s instructions. It would remain in
tive.”
control for as long as physically possible.
“I never said I was good at being a Homo
“Arjona, I’m talking to you!”
quantus. We normally enter the fugue with a
Shaking. Threat? Qubits were protected
bit more medical support.”
from mechanical and thermal disruption.
“So all Homo quantus are built this poor-
Quantum computing capacities remained co-
ly?”
herent, and cognition continued to expand.
“It’s fair to say I’m the sum of many genera-
“He’s hot. Feverish.”
tions of flaws.”
“Quarantine?”
“You can barely navigate zero-grav, you get
“I don’t know. I don’t think he’s conta-
sick when you try something unusual, and
gious.”
you missed the Mutapa,” she said. “Our own
“He can’t stay here.”
navigation could have come closer.”
“Corporal, rack him in sick bay.”
“I get it,” he groaned. “You don’t agree with
Hands declamped boot magnets. The quan-
the decision to hire me.”
tum intellect compensated by adjusting the
“Correct.”
current to the magnetosomes. The Belisarius
“Then don’t hire me if you don’t think I can
physicality was carried from the dashboard
do the job.”
displays, but the perceptions of the quantum
“I’ve seen no sign that you can.”
intellect continued to grow. It was imperative
“Can I get cleaned up?”
that it continue to observe and complete its
“You’re still feverish.”
analysis of the wormhole data.
“The fugue fever lasts a few more hours and
Temperature 41.6 degrees.
then breaks.”
Temperature 41.7 degrees.
Iekanjika left. The computer, with different
manipulators, started cleaning him roughly.
Chapter Eight
He’d never gone that far into the quantum
Belisarius stank. Vomit crusted his lips. His
fugue, so deep into the fever. After forty-one
head pounded. Only by tucking his fingers un-
degrees, not even the quantum objectivity
der his arms would they stop trembling. Fever.
could reliably store memories, and it sounded
His stomach wanted to bring up more, but
like it had held on for longer than that. His
had nothing left to offer. He lived in an aching
own rising temperature had probably caused
and empty world filled with punishing light.
the quantum objectivity to decohere. It was
“What the hell is wrong with you, Arjona?”
the physiological equivalent of stopping a
Iekanjika said. Her voice was grating. Strong.
train by running it into a wall.
The accent over mildly antique French was el-
The objectivity had not intentionally tried to
> egant, now that he’d gotten used to it.
kill him. It minded Belisarius’ physical safety
“You have an appalling bedside manner, Ma-
within the context of competing priorities,
jor.”
some of which were more important. If Belis-
“Our medical computer thinks you almost
arius died, it would cease to exist, but it didn’t
died last night,” Iekanjika said. “Twice. Hyper-
care. His programmed instincts had a bug that
pyrexia.”
couldn’t be fixed. To be so callously valued by
“That’s a damn high fever,” he said. Dryness
the thing holding his life was chilling.
stung his throat.
But he’d thrown the dice and won.
“The computer couldn’t get your tempera-
He wouldn’t survive another dip into the
ture down. Cause: drug effects or sepsis,” she
fugue, but the past twenty-four hours had giv-
said. “I hadn’t given the order to poison you.”
en him information he could use. Firstly, the
Belisarius groaned. Had she cracked a joke?
Union data he’d broken into had shown him
Probably not.
how two wormholes could interact stably.
The light aching at his eyes was just a lamp
Secondly, he now knew that a quantum intel-
on the ceiling. Some kind of small sick bay,
lect, together with entangled particles and a
decorated in bleak industrial tones.
good wormhole-inducing ship, could navigate
28
DEREK KÜNSKEN
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018
very precisely, beyond the limits of the ship’s
seemed suspicious, whether of him or of
own systems.
strangers, or both, he didn’t know. He sup-
He had the start of an idea for getting the
posed he would be wary of strangers after
Expeditionary Force to the other side of the
forty years of isolation.
Puppet Axis, but that was just navigation,
They seated Belisarius to the left of the ma-
playing the cards. The larger problem would
jor-general, across from a hard-faced brigadier,
be playing the Puppets. They wouldn’t be
and beside Iekanjika and the diplomat Babedi.
easy marks.
Officers sat along both sides of the table. The
conversation in front of him toggled between
Chapter Nine
falsely jovial and forced politeness. Corporals
By evening, Belisarius’ fever broke, and an
in ceremonial uniforms served frugal courses
invitation to a mess dinner waited for him. It
as the volume of the conversation slowly rose.
was from Major-General Rudo, Commander of
Some spoke accented French, but most spoke
the Sixth Expeditionary Force. He’d never at-
Shona, a language Belisarius didn’t have on
tended a mess dinner. It seemed quaint and
file and hadn’t yet decrypted.
pointless. Formalized, regimented fun didn’t
A bubble of quiet eventually enveloped him
sound like fun at all. But a dour MP came for
and the major-general. She watched him over
him at seven.
her port, unsmiling. Most of the officers in the
They’d accelerated the Mutapa to simulate
room were of a size with Iekanjika, but this
a fifth of a gravity. A broad mess hall had been
woman was diminutive even by comparison
decorated with old tablecloths, white plates
to Belisarius.
and bowls, and real silverware. Flags of the
“Victory, Major-General,” he offered, toast-
Sub-Saharan Union, without the fleur-de-lis of
ing her. She toasted as well, triggering a wave
the Congregate, hung on the walls.
of raised cups.
They provided Belisarius with a brown uni-
“He looks young enough to be my grand-
form, absent any insignia. The fleet’s uniforms
son,” Rudo said to Babedi.
were not very different. Metal and ruby on col-
“Mister Arjona broke into the vault of one of
lar, shoulder and wrist indicated ranks, from
the big Plutocracy Banks and stole an experi-
Rudo’s major-general to a few majors, includ-
mental AI when he was still a teenager,” Babe-
ing Iekanjika. But no one had any medals, not
di said.
even the major-general. When Belisarius noted
“That wasn’t proven,” Belisarius said. “I
this distinction from all other militaries, the
wasn’t even charged.”
president of the mess, a gray-haired colonel,
“He’s also wanted for questioning by the
told him that no one would want a medal
Congregate on suspicion of espionage,” Babe-
while their nation lived under the patronage
di said. “Congregate defense secrets were
of the Congregate.
compromised.”
The president of the mess introduced Belis-
“The charges were withdrawn,” Belisarius
arius, and the minor mystery of Iekanjika’s dis-
said. “There was no evidence linking me to
proportionate authority evaporated. Major
anything. I’m free to move through Congre-
Iekanjika was the junior wife of Major-General
gate space.”
Rudo’s triptych marriage. A tall colonel was in-
“So Mister Arjona has a habit of getting into
troduced as Rudo’s and Iekanjika’s middle hus-
trouble,” Rudo said.
band. Belisarius had had little reason to study
“He has a habit of getting out of it, which is
the social dynamics of the Union and hadn’t
what we need, ma’am,” Babedi said.
realized they’d adopted the triptych marriage
“Just so,” she agreed.
customs of their Venusian patrons.
“What will you do on the other side, Major-
Two dozen senior off icers attended the
General?” Belisarius asked quietly. “The Con-
mess dinner, including the colonels com-
gregate will want what you’ve got. Just like the
manding each warship, the lieutenant-
Puppets.”
colonels and majors in important command
“They can try to take it,” she replied. The
positions, and the two brigadiers who com-
hum of conversation lowered as off icers
manded the two wings of the Expeditionary
strained to hear their commanding off icer.
Force. No one warmed to Belisarius. They
“A hundred and twenty-f ive years ago, the
THE QUANTUM MAGICIAN, PART I
29
ANALOG
Venusian state signed an accord with the Sub-
the best people in the business. We’re going to
Saharan Union. In the last century, in service
need an inside man, a demolitions expert, a
and in blood, the Union has paid out its debt.”
navigator, an unparalleled electronics wizard,
“The Congregate owns a lot of real estate in
a geneticist, probably an exotic deep diver,
the Epsilon Indi system,” Belisarius sai
d. “Two
and an experienced con man.”
fortif ied Axis Mundi wormholes. Battleships
“We’ll be intimately involved in the plan-
bigger and more numerous than your cruisers.
ning and execution of your con,” Rudo said.
And I think they’ve got a dreadnought in sys-
“Major Iekanjika would be delighted to help
tem.”
assemble your team.”
“They do,” Babedi said.
“Of course.”
They were going to die. They were all going
“So explain,” Rudo said, smiling with fright-
to die if they faced the Congregate navy, and
ening determination.
they needed him to get to a place where they
could die.
Chapter Ten
“The Congregate’s political stance may
A month later:
make conflict inevitable,” Rudo said.
Many ships came to the Puppet Free City
Shouts of “Hear! Hear!” accompanied the
despite the embargo, including the Cervantes,
slapping of hands on the table. Belisarius was
a passenger liner. The Cervantes plodded out
the odd man out. He drank. Rudo drank. The
on fission engines until it was far enough from
noise abated.
the Free City to induce a wormhole. As pre-
“They call you the magician,” Rudo said.
dictable as an old donkey, the Cervantes
“You’ve seen what we’ll pay for a bit of magic.
could reliably induce one wormhole per day,
What scheme do you have in mind?”
bridging the 175 light-hours to Port Barcelona,
He wasn’t responsible for them. He wasn’t
which orbited Nueva Granada.
responsible for anyone but himself. If they
Belisarius didn’t mingle with the other pas-
died, that was the product of their choices.
sengers. He liked looking at the stars, con-
They all made choices. Belisarius set down his
structing geometries in their patterns,
cup. Conversation quieted.
especially when he was restless. The scale of
“With respect, Major-General, I actually cost
the heist itself wasn’t bothering him so much
double what you’re offering.”
anymore. A series of dangerous jobs, con-
Silence washed over the mess hall. Rudo
gealed between periods of inward-seeking in-
raised one eyebrow.
decision, was a good description of his adult
“No one has the fast shuttle we’re offering,”
life. It was the idea of returning to the Homo
she said. “One alone is invaluable.”
Analog Science Fiction and Fact Page 8