by Isaac Hooke
“Yes, you are a strong one,” Alric said. “I expected that, given our previous chippings failed to take hold. But I suppose that given how many Essences you can Siphon, by nature you’d have to be strong. But it doesn’t matter, because you’re mine now. I planned to use Mind Shape upon you once you were in the Alcove. I was going to announce that we’d developed a way to chip you successfully after all. I will simply move that announcement forward.”
Tane glared at the man. He felt the White, Dark, and even the Emerald waiting beyond the edges of perception for him, but he couldn’t access any of them. He was completely under Alric’s control.
“It’s a great gift you have,” Alric said, coming close to examine the gray shockwaves that continually emanated from Tane. “And you don’t even know it. You can wield the Gray Essence, without the need of triggerable reservoirs. The Essence shockwaves coming from your body are evidence of that. With you at my side, I won’t have to rely upon the creodenti for the scraps of power they deign to give me. You will become my power source.”
Tane smiled inside. The idiot actually assumed that Tane knew how to use the so-called Gray Essence. Then again, he’d have access to all of Tane’s other abilities. The inner smile quickly faded.
As he stared at the man, he realized that while most of the shockwaves traveled outward from his body in random directions, there was a small portion that proceeded directly from his mind toward Alric’s, appearing as a concentric series of circles and forming a tube of sorts. Those circles still faded about a meter from Tane, but he had no doubt they continued onward until they touched Alric’s forehead, part of whatever Gray Essencework the Paramount Leader was using to control his mind.
When Tane focused his gaze upon the spot where he estimated those circles touched Alric’s temples, he felt something. He wasn’t sure what it was. A vibration of sorts, on a different plane of existence, or dimension.
He realized the concentric circles linked his mind to Alric’s in some way.
Tane explored those pulses, feeling around in the dark. The vibrations varied in intensity as he went deeper, sometimes becoming stronger, sometimes weaker. Tane realized he was plumbing the depths of Alric’s mind by probing those vibrations. It was an unintentional side effect of the Essencework, one that Alric obviously didn’t know about, since he couldn’t actually wield the Gray.
Unlike Tane.
If Tane could find the spot where the vibrations were strongest, perhaps he might find some way to break free. Or at least exert some influence over Alric, because the source of the vibrations would be that portion of Alric’s mind that was controlling him. At least, that was the running theory. He wasn’t actually sure what he’d do once he found it.
He felt a spike in the vibrations, and then retraced his steps in the dark.
Only an instant had passed since Tane had begun his probing. So far, Alric hadn’t exhibited any signs that he noticed.
The vibrations were growing strong again as he retraced his route. Yes. There. He’d found the source.
Now what?
Tane attempted to exert his will upon the vibrations. Pressing down, harder, ever harder.
Alric’s face dropped. “What are you doing?”
Tane squeezed with as much force of will as he was capable, but it was like trying to crush an iron ball. It simply wasn’t possible.
He released the pressure, and the vibrations sprung back as powerful as ever.
Alric inhaled forcibly.
“Stop that!” the Paramount Leader ordered.
Tane felt the vibrations intensify, and realized that was the result of Alric’s command, bearing down upon Tane’s own mind.
He had to act quickly, in the split second before the instructions registered with his hindbrain.
But what could he do?
Wait. If he couldn’t squelch those vibrations with his will, perhaps an alternate approach was in order.
He reached inside those vibrations, and added his own, increasing the intensity. Before he knew what was happening, the vibrational source had opened and swallowed him right up…
29
Alric was the youngest admiral of the navies ever assigned to the role, and it was due solely to his relationship with Frederick Marlow, high president of the Free Planets of Thorran. The two had been friends since childhood, and despite the very different paths they had taken, had always remained in contact. Alric was already a distinguished and decorated officer, attaining the admiralty at an age that was also considered young, so that when Frederick became high president, Alric was the natural choice. When Frederick called him to ask if he would accept the role if it was offered, Alric told him it was his duty to serve.
Alric got the position the next day.
The two of them consulted together on matters of policy and strategy. Alric often had to make tough decisions, dispatching the fleet to quell the different rebellions that sometimes erupted within the vast Thorran territory, or sending ships to deal with delicate situations involving the Volur.
But then the war with the dwellers came.
Frederick made a series of costly mistakes, ignoring the advice of Alric and his top admirals, and in the process had managed to reduce the size of the star navy to half of its former glory. They had lost thousands of ships. And hundreds of thousands of lives.
They were going to lose the war.
And to add insult to injury, now that the navy’s scientists had come up with a plan to end the threat of the dwellers outright, Frederick refused to implement it.
“How many human lives must be lost to the dwellers?” Alric had argued after Frederick dismissed the other military advisors. “Let the plan proceed.”
“I can’t authorize it,” Frederick said. “Your tacticians want to destroy an entire homeworld. A homeworld! Ninety billion dwellers live there, by our estimates. Almost all of them civilians. It’s not right.”
“What choice do we have?” Alric said softly. “They’re alien. Not human. Alien. You can’t forget that.”
“We’re all brothers in this galaxy,” Frederick commented.
“There’s something to be said about sticking up for one’s own species,” Alric said. “It’s people like you who will be the end of us. People like you who value alien life over our own. We have a right to exist, too. And given how things are going at the moment, I’m sad to say this, but it’s either us or them.”
“Famous last words, spoken throughout our checkered history,” Frederick said.
The high president went to the portable fridge he kept in his office and retrieved a bottle of aged cognac, given to him by the ambassador to Greater Pindi.
“I told myself I would open this bottle only for a special occasion,” Frederick murmured.
He proceeded to open the bottle and poured himself a small glass. He took a sip, and then turned to face Alric. He beckoned toward one of the empty glasses, but Alric shook his head.
Frederick took another sip.
“There has to be an other way, my old friend,” Frederick said. “We have sent a contingent of Volurs to propose another peace treaty. Maybe this time—”
“The dwellers don’t know what peace is,” Alric interrupted. “They know only war. They live for it. They haven’t accepted any of our previous proposals, why should they accept this one?” Alric rubbed his brow. “Frederick. They know they’re winning. They’re enjoying this… this is sport to them! They won’t stop until they wipe us out. You must see this?”
“I’m sorry,” Frederick said. “I won’t authorize the destruction of their homeworld. Not until it’s the only path available to us.”
“By then it will be too late,” Alric said, storming from the office.
Frederick had forced Alric’s hand. It was the president’s fault that Alric had to do what he was about to do.
We have to make hard choices in this life. And in war. Terrible choices.
Alric had received the message that very morning. Effective immedia
tely, Alric was no longer the admiral of the navies.
He smiled grimly. Bad move, Frederick.
He gave the order, and the fighting began.
Alric’s most loyal men had sent troops to engage with the president’s security forces. Alric joined in the fighting, surrounded by his personal guard—Mancers, Essence warriors, and scepters.
As the defenders fell he made his way forward until at last he was standing before the final door. The wreckages of two mechs littered the entryway. In the ceiling, a broken laser turret hung in tatters, shot down where the defense system had deployed.
“Bring the laser cutters!” he told the scepters, and they came forward and began to carve their way into the bunker.
More defenders awaited within. When they were destroyed, Alric went inside, alone.
The door to the conference room was open. Alric went inside.
Frederick sat alone at the far end of the table.
“So this is what it comes to, my old friend?” Frederick said sadly.
“You will transfer the government over to the control of the navy,” Alric said. “I’ll need the command codes.”
“I won’t give them to you willingly,” Frederick said.
“Then I’ll take them by force,” Alric said.
“You’ll have to kill me,” Frederick said. “And reconstruct the codes from brain scans.”
“If I must…” Alric said.
Frederick stared at him, unblinking. “Then do it. I won’t be a willing party to the destruction of ninety billion lives. Alien or not.”
Alric started to raise his pistol, but then hesitated.
Frederick smiled. “Go ahead. Do it. I’m not going to help you out here. I won’t give you an excuse. I won’t even draw a weapon. If you want to kill me, it will have to be in cold blood.”
Alric forced his face to remain hard. He would not smile, would not frown, would not allow a flicker of emotion.
He raised his hand and aimed for the center of mass. Had to keep the brain intact.
Before he could change his mind, he squeezed the trigger.
What was left of Frederick slumped onto the table. His insides clung in smears to the wall behind the chair, and fell away in gory clumps as Alric watched. Underneath the body, blood pooled across the tabletop.
“My friend…” Alric found himself saying.
He couldn’t let his men see any weakness in him.
Alric quickly shut the door behind him, and wept.
“Do it again,” someone said.
Alric glanced up in shock. A strange man stood there, next to the table. He was clad in casual black clothes, and had the face of a kid barely out of his teens. He was lean, with features that were almost gaunt, as if merely existing in this universe had taken a lot out of him. But those eyes belied his true age, eyes that were haunted by the weight of countless years. Likely, the youthful appearance was the result of rejuvenetics.
Alric pointed his pistol at the young man and squeezed the trigger. The plasma bolt passed right through him and struck the wall behind.
A hologram?
“What do you want?” Alric said.
“Do it again,” the man repeated.
“I know you…” Alric said. “You’re…”
“The Bender of Worlds,” the man said.
“Impossible…” Alric said.
“I’m in your mind,” the Bender of Worlds said. “Everything is possible, here.”
Alric looked at the body of Frederick. “This was before I had Mind Shape. Before the creodenti. I had no choice. I did this to save humanity.”
“You tell yourself that your reasons were noble,” the Bender of Worlds said. “And yet I see the truth in your heart. You desired power. That’s why you killed him. That’s why you took control. And after you destroyed the dweller homeworld, you set yourself up as dictator.”
Alric shook his head. “I only wanted to help humanity.”
“Yes, you keep saying that,” Tane said. “Now, let’s do this again. And again. A thousand times. You will relive this moment forever.”
“No…” Alric said.
And then he was standing before the door to the bunker once more. The robots cut through, and killed the defenders inside. Alric walked in and entered the conference room.
“So this is what it comes to, my old friend?” Frederick said sadly.
Alric raised his pistol and fired, scattering the rear wall with the innards of his kindest and most loyal friend. He dropped to his knees and wept.
“Again,” the Bender of Worlds said.
The memory looped back. Alric squeezed the trigger.
“Again.”
Alric lost track of the number of times he relived that one moment in time. A hundred times. A thousand. Ten thousand.
It was the worst moment of his life. The moment of his greatest guilt. In later years, he told himself that it was also the best moment… because it led to his, and humanity’s, greatest triumph. They were saved from the threat of the dwellers. What was the cost of one life for all of that? It was truly the moment that had defined his rule for the next twenty years.
And yet as it replayed over and over before his eyes, the guilt and shame began to overwhelm any feelings of triumph he might have had. Because in his heart, he knew the Bender of Worlds was right.
Alric had killed his best friend not merely to save humanity, but because he wanted Frederick’s power.
As he saw the insides of his friend smear the wall for the ten thousandth time, at last Alric broke.
30
Tane gazed intently at Alric. The concentric waves that joined them had become stronger in intensity, fully visible all along the length of the translucent tube they formed; those waves had also reversed direction some time ago, traveling from Alric’s head and into Tane instead of vice versa.
“Make it stop,” the Paramount Leader said. “Please.”
But Tane did not.
Finally Alric fell to his knees and his features grew slack. “Stop…”
Those accompanying Alric exchanged confused glances; it was obvious they were preparing to fire at Tane. He had to wrap this up quickly.
Thankfully, the invisible vise that held Tane fell away a moment later. He knew because he staggered slightly. He bent one of his legs experimentally, keeping an eye on Alric’s troops the whole time: he had to be careful not to make any sudden movements.
“I killed my best friend,” Alric was muttering. “My best friend.”
Tell them to stand down, Tane instructed the Paramount Leader.
“Stand down,” Alric said tonelessly.
The Essence warriors exchanged looks, then lowered their swords. The scepters followed suit, dropping the aim of their rifles, and the mechs retracted their laser turrets.
You will follow me, going forward, Tane told the Paramount Leader over their mental link. You will obey my every command.
Alric nodded slowly. Drool trickled down his slack lower lip.
The words of Tiberius echoed in Tane’s mind and he felt a moment of guilt.
Just because you can control, doesn’t mean you should. Sometimes it is better not to force your will upon someone, but instead strive for a more peaceful solution. A compromise.
In this case Tane couldn’t afford the luxury of a compromise. He needed the absolute, unquestioning loyalty of the Paramount Leader. The fate of the galaxy, and the entire universe, was at stake.
Tane released the source of the vibrations, and the waves ceased to emanate from the man’s mind. Alric straightened.
Tane experienced a moment of doubt. He had believed his mental commands had wormed deep enough into Alric’s mind to remain there forever. But he could be wrong. Alric might no longer be in his control. Unfortunately, Tane could’t hang onto those vibrations forever. He already felt weariness sweeping over him in waves after releasing the Mind link, and it was all he could do not to buckle where he stood.
“All my life I toiled to ho
ld on to my position of power,” Alric said. “Killing my best friend. Then striking a deal with the creodenti. And in one fell swoop, you have taken everything away.”
“You may still rule,” Tane said. “I ask only that you follow me.” He was testing if he still had mastery over the man.
Alric exhaled, and bowed his head. “I obey your every command.”
The surviving Mancer gasped. “But Leader, you can’t—”
“We are his, now,” Alric snapped at the man.
Tane regarded the Mancer coldly. “The boundaries between universes weaken. Stars are being snatched from systems. You must follow me. There is no other option. I need the TSN to work with me, not hunt me.”
In answer, the Mancer scowled. But then he dropped his gaze. “I serve and obey.”
“He is the Fundamental,” a disembodied voice boomed. “He instinctively knows how to invert the Gray work used against him.”
Tane glanced around, searching for the source of the voice, but saw no one.
“Yes, there is no other explanation,” another booming voice intoned.
When neither the Paramount Leader nor his minions seemed concerned, Tane realized he was the only one hearing the words. They were being delivered telepathically to his mind.
“He is the Fundamental,” another said. “The Banished One was right.”
“Should we kill him? As the Banished One wished?”
“No. The Fundamental must fulfill his destiny.”
“He could destroy us all.”
“Yes.”
“Do we reveal the Ruin?”
“We have no choice. If he is to fulfill his destiny, he will need the Ruin.”
“Who are you?” Tane said.
The Mancers and Essence warriors in front of Tane exchanged confused looks, trying to figure out who he was talking to.
Tane received a sharing request from an unknown ID. He didn’t accept.
“We are the creodenti,” a voice said. “Accept.”
Tane decided it was probably best to hold off for now.
“Contained within this request is the knowledge to Siphon the Gray Essence,” another voice said. “We cannot give you the muscle memory, as we have no technical understanding of your nanotech. You will have to practice, using what is taught within the communications packet. You have the ability inside of you: learn to Siphon the Gray, as you will need it against the Z’Antamaraan.”