by JM Guillen
My interface had changed. In the location that held the sphere, a column of four small cubes appeared. Each of them had numbers and symbols on each side. They were highlighted in a soft green color.
I knew what that meant: they were a tactile interface. Curiously, I reached up and grasped the spot in the air in front of me that corresponded to one of the cubes. I noticed that I could turn and move the cube how I wished.
What are these?
Leave the cubes alone. Wyatt’s tone held a touch of wry humor. That’s advanced stuff, mostly involving the physics of how matter behaves when it passes through the apertures. A lot of it involves things like the conservation of energy and the passage of time.
That’s interesting. I looked closer at the cube I was manipulating.
You’ll think so until you nudge one a few microns in the wrong direction without realizing it. Wyatt paused. Once heard about some dumbass who didn’t realize he had knocked his differentials off center, and he kept exiting his apertures before he had entered them. Fucker didn’t realize he was creating Rationality eddies every time he used an aperture. Wyatt paused. It was a cascading issue.
Wow. I tried to wrap my mind around the physics involved. What happened?
He eventually simply didn’t exit again. Probably adrift somewhere between the two apertures. No one knows for sure. He paused again. Don’t play fuck-around, Hoss.
Got it. I dropped my hand and squeezed the sphere again.
The aperture vanished.
Then I heard that low, rumbling growl again. It was still in the alleyway, but I had little doubt that the patrol had returned.
I quickly stepped to the door and slid it quietly open. Thankfully, it was empty, appearing to open on a small, hot spring spa. The floor was darkened marble, and there was honest-to-goodness water in a shallow pool—at least, that was what it looked like, as I decided not to taste it.
As I avoided death by mandibled monstrosity, Wyatt continued.
You know that the packet also uses the Gatekeeper’s spikes for all kinds of complex maneuvers. A lot of them take a reasonable amount of background in higher math, but one of them is fairly simple.
You’re talking about offensive porting. I grinned. I had always thought that the concept was cool.
I peered out of the still-open door and saw the patrol.
Slowly, I eased the door shut. As it rotated in on itself, I held it open just a fraction so I could peer outside.
Bishop, your heart rate is elevated. Rachel felt concerned. Is all well?
As well as can be expected, Caduceus.
Copy that.
Rachel’s link had partially overridden Wyatt’s, but I didn’t have time to complain. I peeked out the crack, my heart sinking as the two Drażeri soldiers leisurely strolled around the plaza.
The more I watched them, the more that I felt my initial concept was correct. They were posted here. That meant the Vyriim knew the direction my cadre had fled.
They were ready.
—exactly like the tangler. You have an infinite amount of quarrels, as it is generating them via the energy-to-matter process. The quarrels will also embed themselves into almost anything you aim at, just like the tangler. The important thing to remember is that you can leave a quarrel behind, to anchor an aperture on it later. It’s the easiest way to open one when it’s outside of visual range.
Good to know.
Although it is possible to fiddle around with different quantities of mass, for the most part you should know that anything you embed one of those quarrels into can be shanghaied to a designated aperture. That’s the textbook definition of offensive porting. Of course, you can create as many apertures as you can manage to keep track of and link them together as you will. He paused. Honestly, Hoss, for the most part the Corona will give you the appropriate prompts.
I think that may be enough, Wyatt. I looked out across the plaza to where the two Drażeri soldiers still patrolled. Their pet was still agitated, and I didn’t like that at all.
Is it party time?
It is. I smiled grimly. My goal here is to place an aperture behind these two blue boys and feed them a couple of shots from the disruptors before they even know I’m there. I slung the gatekeeper over my shoulder as I drew my pistols.
That’s easy.
Easy. Roger that.
Perhaps, if I were lucky, a certain young Drażeri woman would have moved along. I couldn’t see her through the slim crack I had left for myself. If not…
I’d do what I needed to.
With the interface aimed in front of me, I squeezed the sphere. Crimson fire, burning with an odd, singsong sound, lit the room. In a heartbeat, the first aperture was ready, the sound of it haunting.
I pulled my disruptors, more than a touch nervous. I stepped away from the aperture, looking out into the plaza. The two Drażeri had patrolled around the plaza square twice now, and I had a good feel for their route.
Any moment now that route would take them right past one of the small, narrow alleyways that the Drażeri seemed so fond of creating. In my visual interface, I positioned the marker sphere right at the edge of the bent passage. I watched closely, waiting for my moment.
No matter my bravado, I was a bundle of nerves. I expected Rachel to link in at any moment, cautioning me about a heart attack.
After a moment, the Drażeri patrol walked unknowingly through the location where I had my sphere readied. One gestured to the other and nodded his head emphatically. I let them take one stride and then another before activating the aperture.
As soon as I saw the first wisp of crimson shine, I charged through, disruptors readied.
I would only have one shot at surprise.
11
Stepping through the aperture was like gliding through curtains of burning silver. The heat briefly brushed my skin but not long enough to cause any pain. Instead, an odd flickering sensation tingled against my flesh. I heard a soft crackling in my Crown, like the embers of an almost dead fire.
Then I was through.
I already had my disruptors set and aimed in front of me. I brought them up, holding my weapons centimeters away from the back of their heads.
“Hello, boys.” I grinned as I appeared behind them. For a moment, they were completely stunned.
One started to turn, but he would never have the chance. I pulled both triggers.
CLICK.
A lance of electric agony burned through the left side of my Crown. I stumbled backward, the pain searing. I frantically pulled the triggers again.
CLICK.
The burning pain speared through me a second time.
Bishop! Rachel sounded horrified. It’s your disruptors! Their holotecture must have slipped when we soft synced the Gatekeeper!
Slowly, the Drażeri turned to look at me, while I stood behind them with my weapons still in hand. For a long moment they stared, as if uncertain of what they saw.
Rover reacted much more quickly.
It was even more grotesque up close, combining all the worst qualities of a voracious, distended beetle and a savage, mange-covered canine. It lurched forward, its mandibles eager.
“Fuck!” I threw one of the disruptors at the creature, striking it squarely in the face.
It didn’t even seem to notice, huffing and growling as it skittered toward me.
It closed those gleaming mandibles on my ankle.
I screamed and swung downward with the hilt of my other disruptor, smashing the thing right in one of its puckered, rheumy eyes.
It squealed and relaxed its wicked pincer just for a moment.
That was more than enough. With every bit of will I possessed, I hurled myself backward, through the burning aperture.
I can’t re-sync your disruptors! They require specialized mecha!
Can’t talk now! I looked through the aperture, where the Drażeri were not nearly as close to dead as I had planned.
The one not holding the chain drew a length of ir
on from his back, and a brilliant green light burst from it, burning along its length in the shape of weirdly twisting script.
As the thickly muscled Drażeri strode purposefully toward the aperture, I crab-crawled backward, shouting as I did, “No! No, no, no!”
At the last moment, I pulled up the interface and terminated my end of the aperture.
It faded into nothingness.
So, they might know I’m here. I linked my cadre as I picked myself up. I’ll end this as quickly as I can, but my end may be hot as well.
Copy, Bishop. Gideon seemed worried. Just get us a safe zone.
Will comply. I gritted my teeth.
I stood, stepped over to the nearest iron door, and pushed it open a touch.
The two Drażeri strode purposefully around the plaza, their eyes keen and searching.
As they searched, I used the sphere in my interface to douse the aperture next to them.
I needed a plan.
Just then, the soldier holding the mandibled beast released the chain, and it immediately shuffled forward, tasting the air with its long, pink tongue. It sniffed the ground, obviously seeking the alien interloper.
If anything was good about this, it was that one of the soldiers was directing the young woman and her beau to vacate the plaza. As I watched, I saw some others from the buildings to the side of me. After talking with the patrol for a moment, they too left the area.
Well, that was something.
I watched as they left, wondering if they would be back, shambling mindlessly.
No time. If I didn’t pull an amazing plan out of my ass, I had no doubt that one of the Vyriim would be along shortly. My disruptors hadn’t been the most valuable tool against them, true, but somehow, I doubted the bow would be much better.
But apparently, the gatekeeper was all I had.
There wasn’t much chance that I was going to fight them squarely. These two definitely looked as if they knew their business and as if that business typically involved causing pain. I needed to be smart and use what I had available.
Fine.
Looking out onto the plaza, I used the interface to set an aperture in the air, approximately twenty meters up. This setup required more effort than the others had; it seemed more difficult to move the sphere the further away it got.
That was worth remembering.
As soon as the sphere was in place, I initiated the aperture. This too was slightly more difficult, as if I had to squeeze it harder in order for it to ignite.
When it did, I grinned wickedly. The Drażeri hadn’t noticed it, as they would have to stop and look straight up. It was far enough away that they likely wouldn’t realize it was there.
I peered forward, trying to get a good view on my opponents. All I needed now was to place a second aperture and then ignite it so one of them would fall in…
But that seemed impossible. From the far side of the plaza, I couldn’t see their feet very well. I could open an aperture near their feet, but I had a hard time imagining that they would cooperate by stepping into a singing disk of crimson flame. For my trap to work, they needed to fall straight down through it.
For a moment I considered the gatekeeper itself. I pulled it from my shoulder, hefting the wicked device and looked at it thoughtfully. True, anything I managed to hit with its quarrels could be transported through my aperture, a perfect example of offensive porting. Still, I had never fired a regular crossbow in my life, much less the gatekeeper with a soft sync.
What if I missed? That could be game over.
As I mused, I heard the bestial growling of the Drażeri’s pet monster. It had scented me, apparently, and ambled toward my hidey-hole.
That settled things. I needed a different vantage point.
The plaza was surrounded by the monolithic buildings, most more than a story tall but only some with the iron doors. As I peered around the area, I saw one shorter building, however, with a small garden inset on the roof.
Perfect.
In less than an instant, I sent the sphere across to the building and ignited an aperture. The moment I did, I felt a subtle snick in my Crown as the two burning gateways linked together.
Oh. Right.
I hadn’t intended to connect my trap to the rooftop, instead meaning to create a third and step across the plaza. Still, that was fine. Wyatt had said I could use more than two. I just had to decide how they linked.
The nightmare scrabbled closer, and its handlers drifted my way as well. They had both drawn those odd iron implements from their backs, and both rods sang in a soft, malicious green.
They strode forward with dire purpose.
No time to wait. I created the third aperture in my small room and immediately received the prompt:
PLEASE LINK FISSURES IN DESIRED ORDER
I started at the harsh prompt. It seemed much more mechanical than typical system communications. I looked at my readout, which showed the three temporal constructions. I linked my most recent aperture to the one on the garden rooftop.
CURRENT CONFIGURATION RESULTS IN PARADOX LOOPING PLEASE CONFIRM
“Fuck.” I was a moment from being sniffed out and the system prompt was yelling at me about physics.
I’d been wrong about how the apertures would link; I saw that now. Two apertures would automatically link with a two-way connection, but the third created a bundle of possibilities.
All I really needed to focus on was the exit point of any given aperture. I relinked the one in front of me to the aperture across the way, and then linked that one to the one above the plaza. Then, I linked that third one to the one in front of me—even though I doubted anyone would be going into an aperture that hung in midair.
It created a nice little circle.
CONFIGURATION ACCEPTED
“Took long enough.” I stepped through the scarlet gateway into a lush garden of violet and green fungus. In one corner, a stairwell led down, and in the other several small benches surrounded something that looked like a harp.
I stepped to the edge and immediately looked down on the plaza.
Yes. This was the view I needed.
The moment I had the perspective, I carefully placed the sphere of my interface, aligning it with the ground. Only now did I realize that I had the opportunity to two-way link the apertures before I ignited one. In less than three seconds, I designated the one on the ground as the entry point for the one hanging in the air. Then I relinked the one behind me with the one in the room with the hot spring.
Easy.
CONFIGURATION ACCEPTED
“Ha!” There was nothing to this, Wyatt was right. As the Drażeri soldier stepped into the center of my clever tesser-trap, I ignited the aperture with no small amount of satisfaction.
The soldier fell straight downward, his arms wildly splaying in a morbidly satisfying way.
But he didn’t actually fall.
Oh, he plummeted for all of a half-second. But then, the green shimmer on his tool burst with brilliance, and his descent slowed significantly, allowing him to drift through the air. He looked like something out of an old ninja movie, still falling but moving so slowly that he nearly remained in place.
“What?” I said the word out loud, stupefied, gawking at the figure. That was my second mistake.
He glared squarely at me when I spoke, his eyes meeting mine. They burned with a dark and relentless fury.
“Oh.” My eyes widened. “Oh, fuck.”
Then he gestured toward me with his iron rod. As he drifted downward, like he was falling through honey, I heard his words, echoing oddly in my mind.
Little rodent, slipping through dim shadow
Weak, small, found by the hunter, soon to die.
The images were horrifying, a spatter of gory torments that threatened and disoriented. Wisps of shadowy figures shoved fingers into my disemboweled gut, and insects devoured my eyes.
I steeled myself against them, nothing but taunts.
Yet the smugness in t
he Drażeri’s mind carried a certainty that I resented.
No sooner did I feel his words than liquid green luminescence burst from the end of his rod, screaming with a terrifying wail. Sparks of electricity capered at the edges of the living flame. I threw myself to one side, and the energy struck the black stone where I had just been standing.
The stone melted into shadows and a thin, steaming liquid. Only a huge hole was left where the flames had touched.
Significant spikes at your location, Michael. Anya’s tone conveyed her worry.
No shit. I scrambled to my feet as the man aimed his weapon at me again.
That’s an unknown type of energy. I would advise against physical contact.
Noted, Anya.
The Drażeri hurled green malice at me a second time; the scream of it sliced at my ears. I hurled myself sideways, narrowly avoiding being liquefied as it burned and melted another part of the roof.
I sprinted back toward the aperture and re-linked it to the room with the alien hot tub. Now, this gateway led to and from that narrow passage. In my mind, the system asked for confirmation, and I gave it without a moment’s thought.
Then, I saw what I had done.
“Oh. Fuck me.”
There, on the other side of the gate, stood the drooling aberration. Rover had apparently followed my scent to the iron door, and the other soldier had opened it. It skittered toward me gleefully, preparing to leap through the aperture.
And, I assumed, devour my face while I screamed.
“Nope! Nope, nope, nope!” I skidded to a halt, almost falling as I spun in place and bolted in the opposite direction. Maybe I could just leap off the side of the building. It had only been about four meters. If I landed right—
That’s when I saw the floating Drażeri look squarely at me as he drifted downward. A smirk laced with pure hatred shone across his face. He raised his weapon a third time.
It sang with awful fury.
As I hurled myself to the left, my amazing and brilliant plan of genius came together, fully formed. I hadn’t even struck the rooftop before I was already juggling the apertures in my mind.
CONFIGURATION ACCEPTED
The verdant flame poured through the aperture behind me, only to cascade downward from the one hanging in mid-air. The Drażeri’s long braids and shoulders were engulfed in a conflagration of viridian hatred.