The Arc of the Universe

by Mark Whiteway

  His fogged brain tried and failed to process what she was saying. “Are you saying there are two identical ships?”

  “I have no answer for you, Quinn.”

  “Perhaps we should try calling them?”

  She indicated a winking light on the dashboard. “They appear to be calling us.”

  “Can you put it on the screen?”

  She tapped a panel, and the image of the dart gave way to a view of a spacious cabin. Quinn counted at least eight masked Shanata, with Zothan’s angled frame in their midst and white-haired Vyasa towards the rear.

  A Shanata in the foreground looked up. “Rahada, it’s good to see you.”

  “Mornae,” she replied. “Please transmit a general order. No one is to enter the anomaly for any reason. It’s a Damise trap.”

  “A moment.” He muttered to a Shanata beside him before turning back to the screen. His eyes flicked left and right. “You appear to have encountered some difficulties.”

  “You might say that. We saw your ship destroyed.”

  “I’m… not sure I understand,” Mornae replied.

  “Me neither.”

  “Rahada, you should know that during your absence, a group of rogue Shanata attempted to seize control of the ship. They destroyed the Damise vessel and then called for your removal and for the execution of the human they call the Shanata Tamah.”

  “Is the ship secure?”

  “We managed to quell the uprising. Those dissidents who survived are in containment, but others may share similar sympathies. It’s difficult to say.”

  “Contact the ship. Order them to place sentinels at every critical area—Badhati, not Shanata. Can you take the construct in tow?”

  “I believe so.”

  “Then signal us when you’re ready, and we’ll follow you back to the ship.”

  “Understood.”

  Rahada shut off the screen and frowned. “None of this makes any sense. We saw the scout torn apart by the anomaly. How is it that they’re still intact?”

  “I have a partial theory,” Quinn said, “if you’ll allow me to test it.”

  “Very well.”

  Quinn turned slowly, eyeing every corner and shadow. “Vil-gar!”

  Silence filled the pod. “Vil-gar, I know you’re listening. Show yourself!”

  Several seconds passed. Then the silver sphere fizzed into existence. The little creature appeared beneath it and stuck his proboscis in the air. “I am not accustomed to responding to summonses. What is it that you want?”

  “It was you, wasn’t it?”

  “What was me?”

  “The little stunt with the scout vessel—you pulled that off.”

  “Why would you say that?” Vil-gar asked.

  “Because it’s the only explanation. You disappeared the moment the scout was destroyed. Next thing we know, it reappears intact, having never entered the anomaly. You altered reality somehow.”

  “Reality is such a fluid concept.”

  “Don’t play games.”

  Vil-gar sniffed. “It might be possible. First, you would need to generate a subuniverse large enough to encompass the ship’s debris using a right- as opposed to a left-handed helix, so as to reverse the flow of time. Then, you would need to resolve the causality flow. Get it wrong, and you could end up creating the very outcome you were trying to avoid or even tearing a rift in the parent universe. A difficult task… difficult indeed.”

  “Right now, the ‘how’ doesn’t interest me,” Quinn said. “What I want to know is why.”

  “Your friends were dead. Now, they are alive. Is that not enough?”

  “You’re saying it was an act of sheer benevolence?” Quinn suggested.

  “If that explanation pleases you.”

  “Except that you are not benevolent. What you did to your own people proves that.”

  Vil-gar paused as if weighing his response. “Your race’s attempt at humour can be a little difficult to grasp at times.”

  “It’s not a joke. Back at the complex, when you sent me to locate an alternative power source, you ordered me to avoid a certain section.”

  “Archival,” Vil-gar said. “The conduits there had been subject to overloads and random discharges. It wasn’t safe.”

  “Are you certain that was the reason?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Are you sure there wasn’t something there you didn’t want me to find?”

  “You found something?”

  “A recording,” Quinn said, “from when the complex was first built. I saw your people enter those receptacles and give their lives to feed your essence.”

  “I told you about that,” Vil-gar said.

  “Yes, yes. Your people voluntarily sacrificed themselves to keep you alive so you would one day solve the mysteries of the universe. Only that’s not what happened is it?”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “They didn’t go willingly. They were forced into those cylinders by soldiers of some kind.”

  Vil-gar’s voice grew shrill. “You’re lying!”

  “I saw it with my own eyes. You are here through an act of mass murder!”

  Vil-gar covered his head with his arms and vanished.

  “That was a little harsh,” Rahada said. “After all, he saved your friends.”

  Quinn stared at the spot Vil-gar had just vacated. “He’s a monster. I don’t care if I never lay eyes on him again.”

  Part Six: The Trial

  The pod’s door sighed and slid open like an expression of relief. Rahada stepped onto the floor of the Shanata vessel’s hangar bay, closely followed by Quinn and Conor.

  Confronting them was a deputation of fifteen Shanata and four tall, robed Badhati, along with Vyasa and Zothan. Vyasa dashed to the front and threw her arms around Quinn, pressing her slender frame against him. “Quinn, it’s so good to see you safe!”

  Quinn reddened and disentangled himself before glancing at Conor, though whether by accident or design, the boy wasn’t looking in his direction.

  Zothan stepped forward. “Magatha rashan, Quinn. When you did not emerge from the anomaly, I feared the worst. Now, our omesku is whole again. It is a good day.”

  “Agreed, my friend. But the day is not over yet.”

  The Nemazi responded with a formal nod.

  Quinn approached Rahada, who was hearing reports and issuing orders. He waited for her to finish and for the group to disperse.

  She turned to him. “Your dolin will be housed in a corner of the hangar bay. It’s the only part of the ship that’s large enough. I take it the construct will give us no trouble?”

  “It’s not my dolin. But no, I don’t believe it will give you any trouble.”

  She made to turn away.

  “Rahada.”

  “What is it?”

  “There is still the question of where to go from here.”

  “We entered the neighbour universe to find and rescue you, because you are the only one who has shown himself capable of defeating the AI. Thanks to Vil-gar, who was able to navigate the spatial eddies and currents, we achieved our objective. Now, we must return to our universe, rejoin the fleet, and resume the fight.”

  He shook his head. “We need the Elinare’s help. We can’t do it without them.”

  “You already told me you encountered another Elinare and it has taken up residence inside you. We have all that we need.”

  “I also told you one wasn’t enough. Aurek managed to purge your ships of the AI, yes, but it cost him his life. We need the help and support of all of the Elinare, their entire race, and to do that, we need to find them.”

  “Do you know where they are?”

  “Right here in the neighbour galaxy.”

  “Where exactly?”

  “I don’t know, but Keiza does. If I ask, I know she will take us there. I can serve as intermediary, relay her directions.”

  Rahada’s features worked. “How far do you trust this Elinare?”<
br />
  Quinn wanted to say, as far as I trust you, but stamped on the thought. “She hasn’t steered me wrong so far.”

  “I’d like to meet her. Could you arrange that?”

  The question was as unexpected as a sucker punch. “I’m… not sure.”

  “Fine,” she said, turning on her heel. “Let me know when you have an answer.”

  ~

  Alone, Quinn entered the ship’s elevator and touched a glowing roseate panel. The elevator closed its doors with a whisper, and he descended towards the lower levels of the Shanata vessel’s rear section.

  His first thought had been to suggest that Keiza transfer to Rahada. He had even flirted with the idea of asking for the change of host to be made permanent. The current conflict centred on the Consensus, of which he was not even a member, whereas she was a figure of authority among the Shanata and a natural leader. In many ways, Rahada would be a far more logical choice.

  However, all his attempts to contact Keiza had failed. The last time she had shown herself had been inside the anomaly, when she manifested as his aged grandmother. She had appeared confused and disoriented, which, though consistent with his grandmother’s persona, made Quinn wonder whether she was still recovering from injuries suffered during the Damise’s attack.

  After an hour’s deliberation, he could think of only one other way to fulfil Rahada’s request. He was not sure she would like it. He was not sure he liked it, or even that it was possible. He did have one advantage. The entity he was about to see owed him a favour. He could only hope that would work the same way as it did in the human world.

  He had thought of taking someone else along, but decided against it. Zothan had no diplomatic skills, Vyasa would be nothing more than a distraction, and Rahada might balk at his idea before he could develop it fully. As for Conor, he seemed to have taken up residence with the dolin in the hangar bay. The attachment was probably unhealthy, but following Tzurel’s defection and the abortive Shanata uprising, it was distinctly possible there were further hostile elements aboard. Quinn consoled himself with the thought that the boy couldn’t be under better protection.

  The elevator doors sighed open, and he stepped onto the engineering deck. The Shanata vessel was now crewed by a seamless mix of the three races. A single Badhati acknowledged him with a brief nod from beneath his dark hood, but no one else paid him any attention. Quinn threaded his way through the hustle and bustle and climbed a ramp to the next level.

  A knot of Osei was gathered around a stand of fibre optic bushes. He made a beeline for them and spotted Grey near the centre.

  “Pardon me,” he began.

  The Osei turned towards him as one. The effect was disconcerting until he reminded himself that they were all connected. They thought as one, operated as one.

  He focussed attention on Grey. “I’d appreciate your help with something.”

  Grey’s tentacles waved as if washed by an ocean current. “And I would appreciate yours.”

  Quinn took a mental step backwards. Of all the reactions he’d rehearsed, that hadn’t been among them. His human instinct was to respond with I asked first, but for some reason, that seemed wildly inappropriate. Instead, he smiled. “What can I do for you?”

  “Rahada has asked the Osei to help root out any remaining dissidents among the Shanata.”

  “I’m not sure I understand,” Quinn said. “What does that have to do with your people?”

  “We are alone in an unfamiliar universe,” Grey replied. “If Shanata insurgents were to disable this ship, we would have nowhere to turn for help.”

  “No, I meant what does she expect of you?”

  “Our Unity is to be her eyes and ears. We are to watch the Shanata and report any out-of-place remark or unorthodox behaviour.”

  “You’re saying she wants you to operate as her spy network?”

  “That would be one interpretation,” Grey said.

  “That’s preposterous!” Quinn exclaimed. “You would be directly in the line of fire!”

  “Line of fire?”

  “Sure. In any future uprising, the rebels would silence your people first to prevent them from blowing the whistle.”

  “I see,” Grey said. “Then we will let her know you have declined her request.”

  “Me?” Quinn closed his eyes. “Hold on a minute, how did this become my decision?”

  “Your word is law. Defeating the AI is our alliance’s highest priority. Only you and the Elinare within you are capable of that. The function of this vessel and its crew is to preserve you at any cost. The rest of us are expendable. Did Rahada not explain this to you?”

  “Not in those terms, no.”

  “Then make your request, Quinn. If it is within the power of our Unity, we will do it.”

  Quinn stared at the Osei surrounding him like a pack of school children. His intention had been to converse with Grey in private, but among the Osei, privacy did not exist. To speak to one was to speak to all.

  He glanced around to make sure none of the other races were within earshot, and then took a deep breath. “I want to join your Unity.”

  ~

  Quinn paused for the outcry, the protestations, and the frantic waving of tentacles, but the Osei merely shuffled slightly, waiting for him to elaborate. “What I mean is, I would like to make use of your mind sharing technique. Rahada has asked to meet with the Elinare inside me and… well, quite frankly, I couldn’t think of any other way.”

  “I see,” Grey said.

  Silence descended. Maybe they’re communing somehow? Maybe this is their way of coming to a decision. Quinn settled down to wait.

  Again, the response, when it came, was not what he expected. “Why?”

  “You mean why does she want to meet the Elinare? She mentioned something about trust. I think she wants to satisfy herself that the Elinare is trustworthy.”

  “And how will she do that?”

  Quinn shrugged. “Talk to her, I suppose.”

  “And if she decides the Elinare is not to be trusted?” Grey asked.

  “I’m not sure I understand what you’re getting at.”

  “The Elinare within you represents the Alliance’s only hope of defeating the AI. If Rahada determines she cannot trust her, what then?”

  “I… don’t know,” Quinn replied. “She didn’t discuss that part.”

  “Then perhaps Rahada’s true motives differ from what she has told you.”

  Quinn foundered, buried in an avalanche of possibilities.

  Finally, Grey broke the silence. “The Unity has agreed to your request.”

  ~

  Quinn lay on a gurney in the ship’s primary care facility, surrounded by lights, tubes, and tentacles. He recognised the dark mottling of the medical adept who had attended him on the breaching pod. On an identical gurney beside him lay Rahada. With her hands folded across her chest and her gaze fixed on the ceiling, she looked like a pharaoh waiting to be embalmed.

  “Your access to the Unity will be limited.” With few concessions to tact, the medical adept had explained that human and Shanata brains were less developed than those of the Osei and risked being swamped by the flood of input from the Osei’s shared consciousness. The machines would serve as a firewall, insulating Quinn and Rahada from the effects of full exposure. “Yours will be a Unity within the Unity.”

  Quinn slowed his breathing and waited for the show to begin. He was still troubled by Grey’s suggestion that Rahada had a hidden agenda, but it seemed unlikely the Osei would have agreed to the procedure if there were any immediate danger.

  His other major concern was Keiza. Her silence suggested something was wrong. He felt as if he were about to barge into a sick person’s bedroom uninvited.

  The change, when it came, was sudden and uncompromising like a curtain pulled across his face. He was sitting in a dark place, arms wrapped around his legs in a foetal position. His heartbeat quickened. He raised his head and waited for his eyesight to adjust to
the gloom.

  Two shadowy figures crouched before him. One leaned forward and ignited a yellow flame that guttered in its struggle for birth before settling to a steady glow. Soft light shone on the faces of Rahada and Keiza.

  They were seated on the floor of a cramped hut, dressed in tight-fitting Shanata black, minus the facemasks. The air smelled musty, and the meagre flame did nothing to dispel the dampness.

  “What is this?” Rahada’s enquiry carried a dangerous edge.

  “You already know,” Keiza said. “But Quinn does not. Perhaps you would care to explain it to him?”

  Several seconds passed before Keiza spoke into the silence. “Very well, then allow me. We are on Shana, the Shanata home world, before its destruction, that is. This is the forest of Jaranthar. For thousands of years, the best and brightest among the Shanata youth have come here to be tested. Those who prevail will be trained for positions of honour and prestige in the service of their masters, the Agantzane.

  “On this day, Rahada came with her sister, Solana, a young male called Anmadon, and eighteen others to run the course. Only ten made it through, including Rahada and her sister. Rahada won the event. Anmadon and eleven others perished.”

  “Whatever you’re planning, it’s not going to work,” Rahada said.

  Keiza leaned forward, eyes smouldering in the light of the flame. “You created this conflict. I mean to settle it before we reach Shan-ta-har, The Haven, my people’s new home. This scenario, drawn from your mind, will be the means of resolution.”

  “Conflict? What conflict?” Quinn asked. “What’s she talking about?”

  “She intends to take me from you, don’t you, Rahada?”

  Rahada locked eyes with her.

  “Why would she do that?” Quinn pursued.

  “Before the incident at Korradan, Rahada held a position of dominance among the Shanata. The Shanata had greater numbers and ships than either the Osei or the Badhati. That effectively made her Commander of the fleet. When you defeated the AI with help of the Elinare, your authority supplanted hers. Now she wants it back, and the only way she can achieve that is by merging with me.”