"What is that?"
"I've never seen one created. The ability is rare. But they are known to the Union. The creator of the vortex calls Constructive Energy to them and creates a mass. They add more and more matter to the mass, making it heavier, yet keeping it small."
Karl put up a hand. "How do they do that? Make it heavier without making it bigger?"
"By converting it into dark matter."
Karl's eyebrows jumped for his hairline. "How do they do that?"
Tenessa sighed, taking on the mien of a long-suffering teacher. "Dark matter cannot be seen in our universe because it doesn't exist in the third dimension. It exists only in the sixth."
"The sixth dimension is dark matter?"
Tenessa inclined her head. "The maker of an opaque vortex pushes the matter into the sixth dimension. The weight of it remains, but the volume does not. Soon the mass becomes so heavy, it bends into the fourth dimension.
"A black hole," Karl said.
"It has been called such in previous eras," Tenessa said.
"You're telling me," Karl said incredulously, "This girl, who'd only started to come into her neurochemical abilities, created a black hole?"
Tenessa shrugged. "Her sibling said their sire did it before. If the ability is inborn, it's feasible the offspring learned from watching, even one time."
"Okay," Karl said, trying to wrap his head around it, "so this girl could manipulate dark matter. If the Cimerian can too, why did her black hole stop him?"
Tenessa paused, obviously gathering her thoughts. "The Abviscerate can manipulate dark matter. As long as he's the only one who can, he is king."
"So he, what?" Karl asked. "Got afraid?"
Tenessa nodded slowly. "He felt fear, and rightly so. This man swathes himself in darkness. That darkness comes from dark matter. If he'd come too close, this offspring's opaque vortex might have latched onto his darkness and sucked him into the vortex."
Karl let her words sink in. "So," he ventured. "This sixteen-year-old girl has the ability to pick up this Cimerian, who holds the entire world's freedom in the balance, and send him into the sixth dimension?"
She merely gazed at him.
"Tenessa, what happened to Téa? Would the vortex have meant her death? Could she have been sucked in herself?"
Tenessa frowned. "Doubtful. We have no way of knowing what happened to her. The Cimerian would have attempted to find a way to control her. He might have killed her. Or enslaved her somehow."
"But you said he feared her vortex."
"An inexperienced offspring doesn’t have the foresight to prepare for all contingencies. The Abviscerate is a skilled problem solver. After his initial shock, he would have looked for some way around her ability. Without having been there, we have no more idea than the Separatist what happened to the girl."
Karl sighed. “How do we stop this, Tenessa?”
Her eyes quickened again.
“We don’t care much either way about the Merging. What will it take to stop the assimilation?”
Her eyes turned hard. “The Separatists cannot stop it.”
“What will it take?” he growled. She didn’t answer, and he realized he didn’t need her to. If the Cimerian possessed the dark matter abilities the collective needed, killing him would kill their plans. “Tell me,” he said in a more moderate voice, choosing his words carefully. “Is every member of the Council of Six needed for…the Merging?”
Tenessa frowned warily again. “Yes and no. Their abilities are needed, but the Union has failsafe plans in place. If one of the Council is rendered useless, they can fill in the gaps using the abilities of the members.”
Karl nodded. “But only the Cimerian is needed to for the global assimilation?”
Tenessa hesitated. “His powers will work in tandem with the Council of Six.
Karl raised an eyebrow. “Then the Council is needed for the assimilation as well.”
She dropped her eyes to the table, looking guilty. “They…will all work together. Yes.”
Karl nodded, filing the information away. “If you wanted to stop this, Tenessa—”
She opened her mouth angrily and he hurried on.
“I know you don’t and wouldn’t, but if you did, what would you do? How would you go about it?”
Looking distinctly unhappy, she answered tersely. “Once the eclipse is in motion, the Union will use its power to enhance the neurochemical abilities of their members, who number in the millions. The Union will streamline the energy of the eclipse for communication, Concealment, Protection, and to direct the merging and assimilation. The Separatists cannot hope to fight against such a massive corridor of energy.”
“So,” Karl pressed. “What would you do?”
A strange look came into Tenessa’s face. Karl couldn’t quite read it. Wonder? An idea on her part, perhaps? That couldn’t be good. Any idea she came up with would surely work against Interchron.
“We would attempt to remove one of the necessary variables before the eclipse begins.”
Karl leaned back, understanding flooding in. Something about it felt foreboding. “And you can tell us where the variables are, prior to the eclipse? Where the Council of Six or the Cimerian are?”
Tenessa gazed up at him through her lashes. A look of smug manipulation. “All the Separatist must do is take away his orb.”
Karl frowned. “What orb?”
“The one made of white light the Executioner of the future brought to the Canyon.”
Karl arched an eyebrow. “The Cimerian has that stone?”
“He does. He will use it to perform the assimilation.”
Karl shook his head. “A moment ago, you said his abilities with dark matter are what will allow him to perform the assimilation.”
“They work hand in hand. If the Union had possessed the orb before finding the Cimerian, they couldn’t have used it. They needed someone with the ability to manipulate dark matter. If they’d had the Cimerian, but not the orb, they still could not have performed the assimilation. He has the ability, but no way to streamline or direct it for what the Union wants. The orb helps him do so.”
Karl thought of a simpler way to explain it. “The orb is a conduit stone.”
“It is. A conduit stone for dark matter.”
Karl rose to pace again. He wanted to believe Tenessa told the truth, yet knew he would be a fool to fully trust her. The orb was an interesting development.
Karl froze, turning back to Tenessa. “How do you know the Cimerian has the orb? Future Maggie had it at the canyon. The Cimerian wasn’t there. You’ve been with us since then. How could you know he has it?”
She didn’t look self-conscious this time, returning his gaze levelly. “The Executioner of the future brought an orb of the future with her, and took it with her when she left. The Union already possessed the orb before you tore me away from them.”
Karl rolled his eyes. “You mean before Marcus Healed you, saving your life, after the Union left you for dead?”
Tenessa pressed her lips together and didn’t answer.
“So where did the orb come from, then? Did the Union create it?”
She hesitated this time. “We…are uncertain. Truly,” she added quickly when Karl opened his mouth. “We were not made privy to this particular detail. However, we don’t think the Union could have created this tool. Just as it takes one who wields dark matter to use it, it would take one who wields dark matter to create it.”
Karl stared at Tenessa with suspicion. What she said made sense, and something about her expression looked earnest. He thought she was being truthful.
“Can the Cimerian be killed?”
Tenessa’s eyes turned guarded. “All things can be killed.”
“How? What is his weakness?”
“Only one who matches his abilities can hope to kill him.”
“So Maggie has to do it.”
“She has no hope of such a thing,” Tenessa said quietly. “She hasn’t be
en trained as he has. She cannot learn what she needs in three days.”
Karl got to his feet. He processed better when he paced, and his mind reeled, searching for solutions. Benny’s sister had the ability to send the Cimerian into the sixth dimension, and Maggie shared those same powers. Which meant she needed to learn how to create black holes…in less than three days. Karl sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. It didn’t seem possible. Then again…
“No,” he said, turning back to Tenessa. “Maggie is an exceptional learner. She’s suddenly acquired abilities she didn’t have before. She’s left us, and come back knowing things she shouldn’t. If anyone can figure this out in three days, she can.”
Tenessa didn’t answer. She still looked a little too pleased.
Karl turned fully toward her. “You seem to be in favor of this plan. You want us to take the orb. Why? What advantage is there in it for you.”
To his surprise, she showed no hesitation. “We can take the Separatists to the location where the orb is being held, and they can try to obtain it. Chances are, they will fail, but Union members will be there. You will take me with you and I will come into contact with them.”
“Ah. So you can return to your precious Union that much sooner.”
She bowed her head slightly in affirmation.
“What if we succeed, Tenessa? What if we manage to get the orb? Wouldn’t the collective punish you for bringing us to its location, and losing a tool necessary for the assimilation?”
She shook her head. “Doubtful. On the minuscule chance the Separatists succeed at stealing the orb, the Union will simply activate the Dark Matter, take the orb back, and commence the assimilation. We told you before, you cannot stop it.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Karl waved his hands in the air. “Activate the dark matter? What does that mean? How would it return the orb to them if we already have it?”
Tenessa dropped her eyes to the table, brows furrowed and mouth going flat. For the first time, she looked as though she might have said something she shouldn’t have.
“Tenessa,” he pressed warningly. “Tell me what it means.”
She gave a long-suffering sigh. “We speak of two different types of dark matter. First, there is actual dark matter. The matter we have been speaking of all along.”
“Okay,” Karl frowned. “What’s the second type?”
“Dark Matter is the name of a project the Union has put into place.”
Karl’s mind instantly jumped back to what Doc discovered before the canyon formed. Using the mind of a captive Arachniman as a conduit, he’d gained observational access into the collective ether. At one point, he’d heard various drones talking about honey bees, which had been extinct for some time. It turned out to be a code name for some project the collectives lost control of.
“Dark Matter is a code name for some operation,” Karl said. “What is the operation?”
Tenessa glanced up and away several times, reluctance in her face. “A sleeper cell. Planted in a Separatist mind some time ago. All the Mastermind has to do is activate it, and the Separatist whose mind has been implanted will do his bidding.”
Karl gaped at her. “What?!?”
Chapter 17: Oblivion
“Any questions?” Doc asked.
“Is it truly wise for us to lay hands on this orb?” Nat asked. “We know nothing about it or how it functions.”
Maggie, Marcus, Joan, Karl, Doc, Lila, Jonah, Nat, David and Tenessa all stood out on the slopes of Interchron. Doc had thought it would be a nice change from the conference room. Maggie couldn’t have agreed more. The cool wind felt refreshing, the overcast sky was still bright enough to make her squint until her eyes adjusted, and the wind carried the scent of rain. She’d been so cooped up for a week, busy with so many different worries, she hadn’t had fresh air in what felt like forever.
“We know Maggie will acquire the orb at some point in the future,” Karl said, “and come back to form the Canyon. I can’t imagine it would be toxic or difficult to manage. Since she has it in the future, it may be our best promise of success.”
“The Separatists won’t find the task easy,” Tenessa said haughtily. “The orb will be well-guarded.”
Karl snorted. “And here I thought it would be a cake walk. I’m glad you’re here to inform us of these things.”
Tenessa glared at him and turned her head slowly to face forward.
Maggie still didn’t understand why Doc wanted Tenessa here. He said he wanted her present in case anyone else came up with any questions or problems that he, Karl, Maggie, Marcus and Joan had overlooked. She supposed she understood the precaution, but if anyone else did come up with any problems they hadn’t thought of, they could have taken them to Tenessa later. As it was, she stood listening to all their plans.
Maggie knew Tenessa would be showing them the way to the orb’s location, so by default, she had to come along, but Maggie didn’t like it. She didn’t trust the collectivist woman and didn’t think Doc ought to let the woman in on so many of the team’s plans.
“Tell them, Tennessa,” Karl said in a commanding voice. “Tell them what you told me.”
Maggie sat at one corner of a square rug in the living area of Doc’s personal quarters. Karl had mysterious shown up twenty minutes before, summoning her, Marcus, and Joan to Doc’s rooms. Tenessa and Doc were already waiting when they showed up.
“Why are we meeting here?” Joan had asked. “And why just us?”
“Karl requested that only core members of the team here,” Doc said. “He wanted to meet privately, so that others weren’t aware of the meeting, so I volunteered my rooms.”
“You’ll understand when you hear this,” Karl said, eyes sliding toward Tenessa.
“What we discuss here does not leave this room,” Doc added.
They all sat in a circle on the square rug, looking up at Karl and Tenessa, who stood at the head of it. Karl had already explained what Tenessa told him about the orb and the Council of Six. She still hadn’t answered his last question. “Now,” Karl said more firmly.
Tenessa spread her gaze around the room before depositing it resolutely on the floor. “The tall Separatist and I,” she threw a scornful look in Karl’s direction, “discussed dark matter.”
“And what is this dark matter?” Doc asked.
“Dark matter is theoretical matter that makes up the majority of the weight of the universe. It is non-luminous, which means it can only be observed in terms of gravitational affects and may be non-barymetric.”
“We know what the physics definition of dark matter is, Tenessa,” Karl snapped. “That’s not what he asked you. Tell them what you told me.”
Looking mildly smug, Tenessa turned her gaze back to Doc. “There is a sleeper cell within your community.”
Something in Maggie’s middle seized up. She turned to Marcus, sitting beside her. He looked as concerned as she felt. Joan shifted uneasily across the circle from Maggie.
“A sleeper cell,” Doc repeated, voice quiet. “Of what nature is this sleeper cell?”
“A person, controlled by the Union.”
“Impossible,” Joan said sharply. “We would know if someone living among us was controlled by the collectives. There would be...” she waved her hands absently in circular motions, searching for the words. “…outward signs. We have precautions against such things.”
Tenessa gave Joan a haughty look. “This Dark Matter is not active. The Union put it in place long ago. It remains dormant.”
“To activate control over a person remotely,” Marcus said, “they would have to establish a link with the person. They don’t know Interchron’s location, which means they don’t know the physical location of this sleeper cell until the connection is active. Is that kind of connection possible?”
“In theory, yes,” Doc said. “Just not probable. Such a thing has been theorized in the past, but no one has figured out the specifics of how it would work. What is the function of this sle
eper cell?” Doc looked at Tenessa again. “Will it aid in the merging? In the assimilation?”
“Neither,” Tenessa answered. “It is merely a failsafe. If the Separatists gain an upper hand anywhere, the Dark Matter will be activated to bring the advantage back to the Union.”
“Why not do it now?” Marcus asked. “If they activated this sleeper cell, whoever it is will be able to tell them where we are.”
“The Union could do so,” Tenessa conceded, “but the Separatists would feel the connection and might eradicate the cell. The Union’s plan is…grander.”
“They’re waiting for their opportune moment,” Marcus said grimly.
Maggie swallowed. The hollow feeling in her gut grew worse with every word.
“Theoretically,” Joan offered, “we shouldn’t have to worry about this until and unless we gain some major advantage.”
“Which is exactly what we’re planning on doing,” Karl said. “If we can’t get this orb or take out the Cimerian or one of the Council of Six in the next three days, we’re all toast anyway. Once we do one of those things—which we will—the sleeper cell could be activated.”
Doc heaved a deep breath. “Well. At least we know about it now and can prepare.”
Maggie felt her eyes widen incredulously. “Prepare? How?”
“We can discuss it another time,” Doc said quietly. He looked pointedly at Maggie, then slid his eyes briefly toward Tenesssa.
Of course. He didn’t want her to be privy to their plans. If by some miracle she made it back into the collective, she would tell them of Interchron’s preparations against this Dark Matter.
“I’m more interested,” Doc continued, “in this orb. It must be the most powerful tool ever created by human beings. What is it made of?”
“Energy.” Tenessa said.
“Neurochemical?” Marcus asked.
Tenessa hesitated. “Yes. And no. Neurochemical energy is used…not to power it, but to direct its power. To contain it.”
“What creates the brilliant light?” Maggie asked impatiently.
“Miniscule matter/anti-matter interactions.”
A shocked silence fell around the table. Maggie’s mouth fell open. “No way something like that could be stable. Right?” she asked no one in particular.
Dark Matter (Interchron Book 3) Page 23