Synthesis

by Rexx Deane

  ‘Slow down, Shiliri,’ Janyce said, gently rubbing the bark.

  ‘I do not mean to speak quickly. The effect was most disturbing … I do not believe the entities’ nature is the same as ours. If it were, they would have been able to reconnect with you after the purging spell. It is best to think of them as existing in another layer of space, in a realm between realms, through which they use the weave to contact you.’

  ‘You know,’ Aryx said, ‘I think the entities exist in superphase, or somewhere that touches it.’

  ‘What?’ Sebastian couldn’t believe it.

  ‘The dust on ships, like I saw at Kimberley depot. I think it’s carbyne. I think the entities exist there, and that’s where the powder goes.’

  ‘This may go some way to explaining the damage our ships occasionally experience when traversing superphase,’ Tolinar said.

  ‘It might also explain the “acceleration psychosis” Wolfram discovered,’ Aryx said.

  ‘Oh shit!’ Sebastian blurted. ‘If they don’t die when purged, but instead get disconnected, they could take knowledge they’ve gained back to their realm!’ It didn’t bear thinking about, but in hindsight their decision to leave Yazor had been the correct one.

  ‘It is likely. However, without encountering one of these beings, it is impossible for us to determine exactly how the connection works. In our experience of mind-to-mind contact, we have only been able to assimilate the knowledge accessed by the mind we touch at the time of contact. We do not gain knowledge of the host’s entire memory. This may also be the case with your entities.’

  ‘What about those that are permanently possessed?’

  ‘During those times, the beings may detach from their realm in the way that our consciousness separates from our host trees. It is possible that they cannot communicate with others in their realm until the consciousness returns fully.’

  ‘It’s a good job we brought the comet from Yazor,’ Aryx said. ‘The one that possessed Duggan could have been passing knowledge back and forth every time it possessed him, and any others that come through will probably know of the comet’s previous location.’

  Sebastian’s heart lifted. At least the demons might not be aware of the cube’s continued existence; they certainly hadn’t seen it while Duggan was attempting to strangle him. If the Folians were correct, they could be aware that there was a method of ejecting them from the hosts, but any entities currently lodged in this realm wouldn’t know about it, and that could provide a much-needed advantage if they encountered others in the future. He hoped they wouldn’t.

  Duggan interrupted his train of thought. ‘So, back on the essential topic, how do we stop them from invading us when we use magic?’

  ‘I believe it is relatively simple,’ Shiliri said. ‘You must create a shield of white light around yourself when you first acquire your spell imagery. The protection will be bound into the impressions you receive.’

  ‘Then we should go and get some practice,’ Duggan said. ‘I have yet to initiate Sebastian into the fine art of thaumaturgy. Can you look after the others? They probably need something to eat.’

  Shiliri moved to another tree. ‘Very well. Tolinar, please bring them. Duggan, take Sebastian to the Cambium. It will provide a suitably conducive environment for practice.’

  Sebastian hugged Janyce and Erik. ‘I’ll see you soon. The Folians will look after you until I come back.’

  ‘Be careful,’ Janyce said, and kissed him on the cheek.

  ‘You’d best take this.’ Aryx tossed him the cube. ‘If you’re messing about with magic and things go wrong, Wolfram’s the only one that’ll be able to purge you both.’

  ‘Thanks,’ he said, dropping the cube into his backpack.

  Duggan made his way in the direction of the Cambium. Sebastian hurried after him.

  ‘Seb, wait!’ Aryx shouted. ‘What about the results of the scan?’

  He called back, ‘Nothing. They were blank.’

  Chapter 40

  Tolinar led Aryx, Janyce, and Erik through the undergrowth until they reached an avenue of trees that separated the main forest from the belt adjacent to the grassland. It was easy enough to keep up with the alien using the mobipack. Erik seemed to be enjoying the adventure; he skipped along while Janyce walked with her face turned to the sun. The colour had finally returned to her face – at least she was over her motion sickness.

  Shiliri’s floating consciousness hung back in one of the larger trees at the edge as they crossed the avenue. The slender jungle-like forest gave way to a clearing filled with short, widely spaced trees. Several species looked familiar, reminding Aryx of the fruit trees his father had grown in the orchards on the farm. The fragrance of orange blossom gently caressed his senses.

  Tolinar stopped at the nearest tree and pointed to something like a grapefruit that grew from its branches. ‘We grow many types of fruit in this grove. Are you hungry?’

  Aryx’s stomach growled before he had a chance to speak and Erik, hiding behind his mother’s legs, giggled.

  ‘Definitely,’ Janyce said.

  ‘I haven’t eaten for ages. What sort of fruit are they … citrus?’

  Tolinar tilted his head to one side. ‘The structure is similar, but there are many variations. If you prefer, we have some varieties that are higher in protein and taste like meat.’

  ‘Yuck!’ Erik said, pulling a face.

  Aryx snorted a laugh. ‘My sentiments exactly. If it looks like fruit, I want it to taste like it.’ He smacked his lips. ‘Besides, I’ve got the taste for something sharp now.’

  Tolinar plucked a fruit from the lowest branch and handed it to Erik, who eagerly stripped the mustard-coloured skin, bit into the interior, and quickly recoiled. The boy’s face looked like it was going to turn inside out.

  ‘That must be some sour fruit!’ Janyce said.

  ‘It’s gross!’ He spat the chunk out onto the ground and handed the fruit to Aryx, who bit into it wholeheartedly.

  Aryx nodded. ‘Very nice.’

  Janyce folded her arms and shook her head. ‘Says he of the cast-iron taste buds.’

  Tolinar handed Erik a smaller, redder fruit. He bit into it tentatively, but this time smiled. ‘That’s really nice. It tastes like raspberries.’

  The Karrikin handed out several more varieties, all from the same tree, and watched over the trio while they sat down to eat in the afternoon sun.

  Erik shifted while he ate.

  ‘What’s up?’ Aryx asked.

  ‘Nothing.’ The boy wrung his hands together.

  ‘Come on, what do you want to ask? Is it something about my legs?’

  ‘No, silly. I wanted to know who your friend was on the station, that big dog-man – what is he? A Bronadi?’

  ‘Deruno? Yes Erik, he’s Bronadi.’

  ‘Where do they come from? I’ve never met one.’ The boy was wide-eyed with curiosity. Janyce listened, smiling.

  ‘They’re from Bronat, but they originally came from a planet in the Sirius system. They had an ecological disaster, centuries ago, that forced them to move.’

  Janyce laughed. ‘Sirius, the Dog Star? You are kidding.’

  ‘I kid you not. But, it is just an ironic coincidence. Canis Major is named after the shape of the constellation, and has nothing to do with the Bronadi looking like dogs – which reminds me …’ He looked up at Tolinar. ‘Sebastian said the Folians had been to Earth, and that a lot of the trees in the galaxy were seeded by them. Is it possible they told early Humans about other races?’

  ‘We cannot say for certain, as the memories the Folians received back were fragmented, but it is possible the early seed travellers passed on such knowledge.’

  Aryx rubbed his chin. ‘Ahh, that explains something Sebastian once told me. He came out with a stupid story about a tribe in Africa that supposedly knew Sirius was a binary system, even though it wasn’t visible without a telescope. If it wasn’t just a cultural contamination by anthropologists, I suppose t
hey could have got that from the Folians. Is there any way other types of DNA could have got here? Could our dogs be related to the Bronadi?’

  Janyce folded her arms. ‘No Aryx, we’ve got fossil evidence on Earth with a clear progression that goes back millions of years.’

  Aryx sighed and shook his head. ‘You’re such a spoilsport. You’re almost as bad as Seb. I was hoping for some cool explanation, like … werewolves being based on stories of alien contact or something.’

  She shrugged.

  ‘I started a project on first contact before that man kidnapped us,’ Erik said.

  ‘Your timing was perfect, then,’ Aryx said. ‘The Bronadi were the first race Humans met out here. When the Gliese explorers found a damaged node in space, they met a Bronadi ship that turned up to repair it.’

  The boy’s eyes widened. ‘Did they get into a fight?’

  ‘No. The ship from Earth was an exploration vessel. They had a few marines for security, but nothing that was equipped for a space battle. The Bronadi were already aware of other races, so they knew it was best to approach with care. They barked at them for a bit over the comms until a linguist took over and she was able to pick up a tiny bit of Galac while the Bronadi repaired the node, but there weren’t enough resources on the exploration ship to last the crew until the repair was completed. They didn’t know the node would send them straight home, and they couldn’t learn the technical language they needed to understand the nodes from the Bronadi in the time they had, so they turned around and went home at light speed.’

  ‘Didn’t the Bronadi give them any of their food?’

  ‘Oh, they offered, but it wasn’t in any state a Human could eat – some of it was almost carrion, and highly poisonous.’

  ’But if Humans didn’t know what the node was, how did we use them to get into space?’

  ‘The transmitted mission logs from the expedition arrived at Earth before they got home themselves, and the people on Earth were able to scan for the same energy signature as the one given off by the node in Gliese, and that’s when we found the one in our solar system.’

  ‘Why didn’t the Bronadi come and visit us?’ Erik asked.

  ‘Their ruling council, the Bronala, have a strict policy of not visiting the homeworld of a race that doesn’t have an extrasolar trade station. It’s sensible, because it means anyone they come into contact with is likely mature enough to deal with other races.’

  ‘Can you ask them about their planet for me?’

  ‘If I get the chance, I’ll let you know what I find out.’

  Janyce cleared her throat. ‘Speaking of which, when you’ve left us here, how do we contact you if we need anything?’

  ‘Well, there’s no comms relay in this system so you’ll have to—’

  Tolinar’s head tilted, as though listening to something, and he whispered to Aryx, ‘We must go. There is a matter of great importance that we must attend to. Please stay here. We will be back soon. Shiliri will attend to your needs where possible.’

  ‘What’s the matter?’

  It was too late; Tolinar had dashed out of the grove.

  ‘Is everything okay?’ Janyce asked.

  ‘I don’t know. Tolinar said he had to go but would be back.’

  ‘Oh. So, what were you saying about the comms relay?’

  ‘You’d have to take a ship to the node and align with the next one in the network that has a comms relay, then send a signal to it.’

  ‘And will we be able to receive a signal from you?’

  ‘If we do the same. There are no relays at the surrounding nodes pointing in this direction.’

  She shrugged. ‘I suppose it’s good, really. It’s not exactly a hideout otherwise, is it?’ She moved closer to him and whispered. ‘I wouldn’t worry too much about finding out about Bronat.’ She looked back to see if Erik was listening. ‘Do you think Seb’s in trouble?’

  ‘He can be a bit daft at times, but I’m sure if he’s going to attempt magic he’ll be cautious. Duggan seems to know what he’s on about – and they’ve got Wolfram in case anything goes wrong.’

  ‘Would that thing know what’s happening?’

  ‘You’d be surprised. I’ve had to trust him with my life.’ His jaw tightened at the memory of the predator attack. But it wasn’t just that. Wolfram had saved him, only to delay the inevitable.

  Janyce touched his arm. ‘Are you alright?’

  ‘Yes. It brings back some bad memories, that’s all. I’m over it now.’ He stood and leaned against a tree.

  She got up and squeezed his arm. ‘Over it or not, you don’t look okay.’ She obviously wasn’t going to let it go.

  The urge to tell her rose to his throat and he swallowed it back … It didn’t work. He couldn’t bottle it up forever; he needed to confide in someone. He leaned forwards and whispered. ‘I couldn’t tell Sebastian, but the infection I got when I lost my legs has got worse. I’m dying.’

  Her fair skin lost what little colour it had. ‘I’m so sorry! Oh, you’ve got to tell him.’

  He turned away from her and stared at the ground. ‘I can’t say anything … It would kill him.’

  ‘Isn’t it curable?’

  ‘It’s manageable with drugs. I’ve got a few years in me yet. I’d hoped the Cambium fruit might have cured it.’ He shook his head, trying to hold back the tears that threatened to overwhelm him. ‘I got tested when we got back to the station, just in case, but it was still there. I didn’t tell Seb. The Folians said healing was very specific, and the fruit works like nanobots, but those couldn’t cure it, either.’

  ‘You have to tell him!’ She walked around to face him. Her eyes were red. ‘He cares about you. I’ve seen how you are together. You have to.’

  ‘No, Jan, promise you won’t. He already feels bad for dragging me out here. But if it weren’t for him bringing me, I’d never have got off the station. I can’t die languishing in some hospital bed. Out here I can make a difference.’ He looked over his shoulder at Erik, who sat rummaging in a pile of leaves, as though looking for some small creature. ‘We’d best get back to him,’ he said, nodding in Erik’s direction. ‘I guess it could be a while before the others come back. Just promise you won’t tell Seb.’

  She wiped a tear away with a thumb. ‘I promise.’

  Chapter 41

  Duggan moved rapidly through the undergrowth with the surefootedness of someone who had been on the planet only yesterday. The sixty years or so that he’d been away certainly hadn’t dulled his memory, and Sebastian stumbled over roots and vines to keep up. How did the old man manage to move so fast?

  ‘What exactly are we going to do?’ Sebastian asked.

  Duggan pulled apart a clump of undergrowth that blocked his path. ‘I’m going to teach you how to use magic.’

  ‘But how, exactly?’

  ‘As I’ve explained before, we’ll use visualisation and intonation. Have you ever tried throat-singing?’

  ‘I can’t say I have.’ Sebastian recalled his grandfather singing to him as a child – no wonder the tones Duggan had produced seemed familiar. It was amazing how people created multiple harmonics while chanting; as if more than one person was making the sounds – almost like the voices of the Folians. The art had almost died out; he remembered his grandfather telling him that the Sami people of Finland did it as part of the Joik, during their traditional worship of nature. Maybe they too had a connection and understanding of the weave.

  The pair broke from the dense foliage into the Cambium. Duggan stood in the centre, while Sebastian put his bag on the floor, took out the cube and placed it on top so Wolfram would have a good view of the proceedings, and dropped two vials of carbyne beside it.

  Duggan rubbed his hands together. ‘To get us in the mood, how about having your cube show us something impressive?’

  ‘I can hear you, Mr Simmons, and there’s no harm in addressing me directly. What would you like to see?’

  ‘I do apologise. It’s q
uite difficult to get used to. Something harmless but visually striking, if you know anything like that.’

  ‘One moment.’ The lights on the cube flashed randomly and a low hum emanated as Wolfram chanted, ‘Fallacis immolationem.’

  The metal burst into flame as though doused with alcohol and lit. The flame danced and shimmied around the cube, with little tongues licking several inches into the air. The vial of carbyne closest to the cube slowly emptied itself.

  Sebastian leaned closer. Could he actually feel heat on his face, or was he imagining it? The canvas of the rucksack looked unscathed, but it was definitely being illuminated by the fire.

  ‘Very impressive. Illusory flame, indeed.’ Duggan walked over to the burning cube and waved his hand through the flames above. ‘Ouch!’

  Sebastian smirked. ‘Not so illusory?’

  Duggan rubbed his palm with his thumb. ‘Very interesting. No damage, but it certainly felt like it hurt. That could be quite useful under the right conditions.’

  ‘I imagine it would,’ Sebastian said. The flames vanished and the bar of LEDs on the cube lit fully. ‘He’ll be quiet until he cools down.’

  Duggan clapped his hands together. ‘Right then, enough of the fun. Let’s start off with something nice and simple, shall we? The most basic of requirements – stabilising orichalcum. Sorry – carbyne.’ His tone became teacher-like. ‘Sit down and cross your legs.’ He made a flicking motion in the direction of Sebastian’s head. ‘And pull your hood up, too.’

  ‘Why do I need the hood?’

  ‘It stops light from getting in your eyes – you’ll see why that will help shortly. I’d also suggest wearing looser clothes in future. If they’re too tight, they’ll distract you when you’re trying to concentrate.’

  ‘The N-suit is fine. It’s more comfortable than you’d think.’ He shifted and crossed his legs.

  ‘Ready?’

  ‘Yes, I’m ready.’

  ‘Good. Now the first thing to do is get your mind into a state where now is all there is. Do away with the future and what you’d like to happen; do away with the past. Be aware that the present is the state of things that were. Exist only in the moment. What you want to happen simply is.’