The Temporal Void (ARC)

by Peter F. Hamilton

  He cried out in torment. The sensation of something wrong was like a tidal wave of fear, threatening to send him plunging down into the infinite black of the abyss beneath the world. A pitiful broken thing on his way to Honious. Left behind by the Skylords. Left behind by Kristabel. Dinlay, Boyd, Macsen, Kanseen; all of them peered down from the rim. One by one they turned away.

  'No,' he begged, pleaded, wept. 'No, come back.'

  But they wouldn't because something was wrong.

  He woke violently, back jerking off the bed as he clawed his way out of the abyss. Shaking with fear. It was still dark all around. Silent. He fought for breath against panic so strong it was throttling him. 'What!' he demanded, and sent his farsight stabbing out.

  The souls of Dinlay, Kristabel and his parents were clumped together by the end of the bed. Kristabel's arms were held out to him, radiating tangible concern.

  'What?' he repeated as his breathing became less frantic.

  'Edeard, we've tried to wake you,' Dinlay said. 'We tried hard. But you were so tired.'

  'I'm awake.' When he squinted through the half-open door on to the veranda, he could see nebula-light washing the white-painted rails outside with familiar pastels. It must have been close to midnight.

  'Salrana,' Kristabel told him brokenly. 'She betrayed you.'

  'What?' he blurted in confusion. 'What?'

  'I'm sorry,' Dinlay said. 'She has an exceptionally strong longtalk. She called Owain just after sunset. She told him where you were.'

  'Salrana? What do you mean?'

  'We couldn't stop her,' Kristabel said. 'We are helpless against the living.'

  'No no,' Edeard said. His farsight sensed Salrana walking across the hallway.

  'Edeard?' she said in a light voice. 'Are you all right? I thought you were still sleeping.'

  'She called Owain,' Kristabel insisted. 'His men are already here. They're coming up the mountain.'

  'They can't be. That's not—'

  'Who are you talking to?' Salrana asked, she was standing in the room, giving him a curious look.

  'My wife,' he said levelly.

  Salrana's face remained impassive. The start of surprise in her mind was minute, and well shielded. But like Edeard, she was no Makkathran native. 'You know I can see souls,' he said. 'I even gifted the Pythia that particular vision. Here,' he said, and opened his mind so she could receive his farsight.

  Salrana gasped as she found herself surrounded by four souls. 'I…'

  Edeard slid off the bed. 'They told me you betrayed me,' he said in a flat voice as he approached her. 'They told me you called Owain himself. I said they were wrong. Are they?'

  Salrana took a step backwards. 'Edeard—'

  Edeard sent his farsight out from the pavilion, ranging across the side of the volcanic mountain. Using the gift dear Finitan had bestowed him to uncover concealment he exposed over twenty men approaching the wooden building, each carrying a rapid-fire weapon. Out in the darkness behind them, more teams were gathering. Then Edeard viewed the base of the mountain. Two entire militia regiments were down there, deploying around the bottom of the slope, encircling the mountain.

  'Dear Lady,' he murmured in astonishment. 'You really did.' He stared at her, trying to understand. 'Salrana, you called them!' A note of hysteria had crept in from somewhere.

  For a moment her composure held. Then she simply glared at him. 'Yes, I called Owain.'

  This can't be happening. This is Salrana. My Salrana. The two of us together against the world.

  'Why?' he pleaded. 'Why did you do this? Because of Kristabel?'

  Salrana gave Kristabel's soul a contemptuous glance. 'Jealous of that? Me? Hardly. I'm just as beautiful. Probably better in bed, too. Your loss.'

  'But… us.'

  'Oh you stupid country peasant. Haven't you learned anything since we arrived here? Did you really think a thirteen-year-old's crush lasts for life? That I'd be loyal to you for ever?'

  'You can't believe in Owain's One Nation?'

  'Why can't I? Because it doesn't fit our wretched backward provincial upbringing? This is how the world works, Edeard. Can't you see that? The Grand Families already have wealth and power, and with Owain's leadership it will grow even stronger. I can be a part of that. I can make myself part of that. Did you think you were the only one with ambition?'

  'This is not you,' he said through growing anguish. 'These are not Salrana's words. Not your thoughts.'

  'You are so weak. Even now you could claim the city for yourself. You have the power, the strength to make this world your own. Why don't you?'

  'No one person can rule a world.'

  She gave a disgusted snort of contempt. 'Humility, the refuge of the weak.'

  'The Lady teaches decency.'

  'And what has her church ever achieved except for instilling a decent sense of obedience in the lower orders?'

  'Now I know that's not you. Who did this to you? Who changed you?'

  'I changed myself. I finally understood the world and set out to make something of myself in it. After all, you found your Grand Family bitch.' She waved dismissively at Kristabel's soul. 'A good way in to the Upper Council for someone so spineless. Why shouldn't I have some of the same? I've been screwing people who can help me; the ones who hate you are easy to take advantage of. And greatest among those is Owain himself. Did you know he has eight mistresses, but I'm the one he turns to now. He likes it. He likes having me, the Waterwalker's childhood friend. I saw how resolute and determined he is; so much more than you. He's smarter, too. You have your virtue, he has ambition and fire and power and wealth, and, above all, vision. He will be an emperor, uniting the whole world as One Nation. I will have a big part of that, I will be Pythia, he promised me that. Our children will be born to positions of privilege and power.'

  It was as if his nerves had died. Edeard stared at the crazy girl smiling defiantly in front of him, feeling absolutely nothing. 'No,' he said. A lone tear trickled out of his eye. 'You cannot build a world on a foundation of violence and fear. He will destroy Querencia just as he has destroyed you.'

  'I am not destroyed, I have never been more alive.'

  Edeard's farsight observed the armed men reach the pavilion's front door. He wasn't the slightest surprised to see their leader was Arminal. 'You would see me dead?' he asked faintly.

  'The strong survive. Owain fears you will replace him. You still can. You can take his place, Edeard. You can shape the world to your vision. I would help you. We can be together yet.'

  Edeard looked at his wife. He looked at his friend Dinlay. He looked at his parents who had so much faith in him. 'I will not be Mayor, not now. And you; you will not be Pythia.'

  'Fool!' Salrana screamed at him. She spun round and raced out of the bedroom.

  Edeard realized that the ability to sense through concealment was not one of the gifts and treats Owain had bestowed upon her.

  Arminal and his men charged into the hall. They started firing indiscriminately as they ran forwards. Bullets chewed up the walls, shredding the furniture. Muzzles blazed as they swept back and forth, seeking out the Waterwalker.

  Salrana's shield wasn't strong enough. Eight bullets struck her as she flailed desperately. Huge blood plumes burst across her Novice robe. She was flung backwards; her body landing inelegantly on the elegant pavonazzeto floor to sprawl inertly. Her soul was already staring down at it.

  Edeard dived behind the big bed, allowing the thick mattress to absorb the hail of bullets. Now, as the gang hurriedly swapped their exhausted magazines for fresh ones, he raised his head. 'I wish you well,' he told Salrana's soul. 'I hope you find peace in the Heart.'

  'Edeard?' she said. 'Oh Edeard, what have I done?'

  'Go,' he told her. 'Find the Heart. I will join you there.'

  Her soul wavered, drifting up through the pavilion's ceiling. There was a final surge of distress, and she was gone.

  Arminal finally slammed the fresh magazine into his rapid-fire gun,
and brought it up. His farsight swept through the pavilion, eagerly searching for the Waterwalker.

  The magazine suddenly crumpled, the thin metal buckling as an inordinately powerful telekinesis squeezed it. And the Water-walker materialized in the bedroom.

  'Kill him,' Arminal shouted at his squad. But their rapid-fire guns were equally useless as delicate components and casings were crushed and mangled.

  'Last time we say goodbye,' the Waterwalker told him.

  Arminal hardened his shield, and turned to flee. The pavilion doors slammed shut with a bang that reverberated through the entire wooden structure. Arminal spun back to face his enemy, catching a glimpse of Edeard in the bedroom as his black cloak fluttered around him. Edeard held up both arms, his fingers splayed wide. Lightning ripped out from each fingertip.

  Within seconds the entire pavilion was on fire. Joists, rafters, doors, walls, window frames, shelves, furniture and roofing shingles ignited as they were raked with lightning bolts. Thick black smoke swirled out from the roaring flames, clotting the air.

  Edeard pushed the bedroom door open, and walked out on to the veranda. Inside, the squad were coughing and yelling in fright as the smoke clogged their lungs and the heat began to roast their flesh. The bedroom door closed. Edeard hopped over the rails and landed on the grassy field. Inside the pavilion, the squad were blundering into each other. Voices reached a crescendo of pain and fright; several had already fallen. Edeard folded his concealment around him like an outer cloak and walked away into the night.

  * * * *

  The trusted Weapons Guild guards that Owain sent to eliminate the Waterwalker skirted the burning ruins of the pavilion. They wrinkled their noses up at the stench given off by the smouldering corpses inside, but carried on tracking their quarry. Several among them claimed to be able to perceive right through the Waterwalker's concealment, and hurried after the dark figure they said skulked through the trees just up ahead.

  At the bottom of the mountain, the militia regiments completed their deployment, forming a tight ring just outside the fringes of the forest. As ordered, they drew their pistols and waited. Farsight tracked the squads high up on the slopes past the smoking pavilion. Occasionally there was a burst of gunfire that made them flinch. But the guards armed with their deadly new guns pressed onwards and upwards.

  Edeard kept ahead of them easily enough. He'd only headed up because there was nowhere else for him to go. A squad was guarding the cliff face with the cave mouth. He'd never be able to climb to it and escape. Salrana must have told Owain about the cave, about the travel tunnels… everything. So up he went. The terrain wasn't exactly tough, the trees were few and far between above the pavilion. Grass was ankle high. Small streams trickled down the steep slope. Eventually, even the trees were behind him. Now there was just grass and boulders. He could see the summit already.

  And that's when I have to decide.

  'I could imprison them,' he told his small ethereal court of advisers. 'The city can create rooms without doors or windows. They would have food.'

  'I think death would be more merciful,' his father said.

  'Remember what happened to poor Argian when you did that to him, and that was only for a couple of days.'

  'He's right,' Dinlay said. 'Locking them up is just for the benefit of your conscience. They have to be wiped out. We know how ruthless they are now. If you don't remove them altogether they will come back again and again. How many times do you want this to happen to the city?'

  'Once was too much,' Edeard said. 'But to kill so many…'

  'The Lady will understand,' Kristabel assured him.

  'They half expect it,' Dinlay said. 'That's why we are where we are.' He gestured at the groups of men making their way up the slope. At best, the lead squad was twenty minutes behind.

  'I'm not so sure I can get past them all,' Edeard said. 'Owain seems resolute.'

  'Of course he does,' Kristabel said. 'He knows you are the only thing left between him and absolute power.'

  'Perhaps if I retreat out to the provinces, form a legitimate opposition.'

  'A revolution?' his mother asked. 'It would take years, if not decades. How many would die in that struggle. No, if this is to be done it must be done swiftly. That will keep the bloodshed to a minimum. Every day you hesitate sees him consolidate his authority still further.'

  'You sound so certain.'

  She smiled, nebula-light shining through her diffuse silhouette. 'You don't grow up in Makkathran without knowing all about politics.'

  'You are from Makkathran?'

  'Yes. The fifth daughter of the fourth son of the family Herusis. But that was many years ago. My sisters and brothers will have even less status now.'

  'Herusis?' Edeard paused, trying to recall what he knew of that family. A wealthy trading enterprise with large land holdings on the Iguru and a small fleet of ships. 'Isn't Finitan a Herusis?'

  'Yes. One of my great uncles.'

  'Finitan is my relative?'

  'Yes.'

  'I wonder if he knew?'

  'He probably suspected. Akeem certainly did.'

  'But… Mother, why did you leave?'

  'I was engaged to a lout of a Kirkmal, it was arranged between our families. I didn't want to go through with the wedding. I wanted my life on my terms, even if it meant giving up the money.'

  'That's where he gets his stubbornness from,' Kristabel said.

  'I'm not—' he gave a wan smile. Even now she could tease him.

  He covered the final slope quickly. The summit was mainly boulders and loose stone, with tufts of wiry grass growing out of cracks between pebbles. A gentle breeze was blowing in from the sea.

  Edeard stood there, and turned a complete circle until he was facing Makkathran. The city's orange lights cast a strong glow into the air above the streets and canals. He could just make out the jagged outline of the towers. The first time he'd seen the city it had been so compelling, as if he was finally coming home. That yearning was still there, but the grief was a stronger force. He could barely bring himself to look at it.

  I have to decide.

  Everything he'd ever wanted or asked for had been contained inside the crystal wall, as had everything he'd ever feared.

  'I don't think I can go back,' he confessed to the souls. 'I think Owain and the others are right. I'm not strong enough.'

  'You have the strength, Son,' his father said.

  'I don't. The suffering I would bring is unthinkable.'

  'You only have to take away the leaders,' Dinlay said. 'Owain and his cronies.'

  'That might have worked at the start, but not now. Everything has changed. The guns are out there in the open. Hundreds of people are flocking to join him.'

  'Hundreds more resisted him, and died. Don't they deserve justice? You know you have support. Think of the election results.'

  Edeard knelt on the ground, still looking at Makkathran. 'I can't do this. It's over.'

  'We understand,' Kristabel said. 'This is what makes you, you. This is what I loved.'

  'We'll be together,' he promised her. His farsight sensed the first squad reaching the final slope up to the summit. All of them were readying their rapid-fire guns. 'We will reach the Heart and live there for eternity.'

  'Together,' Kristabel agreed.

  Edeard drew in a deep breath. He looked out one last time across the Iguru Plain, his thoughts serene as he stopped shielding himself. Makkathran's thoughts brushed against his mind, as slow and content as always. Dreaming in another realm.

  'Thank you for all your help,' he told it, and poured his gratitude out to the city.

  For the first time he sensed a change. The giant mind began to quicken. Stronger, more concise thoughts began to rise, like some massive creature coming up from the depths of the sea. Makkathran was waking.

  Edeard swayed back, astounded by the reaction he'd kindled. He'd tried innumerable times to make himself understood to the city, never receiving any reply. It did
his bidding for simple things like altering the buildings, or sending him along the travel tunnels. But he'd assumed any true connection was beyond him.

  'You heard me,' he longtalked in astonishment.

  The answer was still slow, measured and considered as he expected it to be. Solemn: as was fitting for such a magnificent creation. 'I felt sorrow,' Makkathran said. 'You are in pain. I have not felt pain like that for such a time.'

  'I… I have lost. That was the pain you felt. I apologize. I didn't mean to disturb you. I simply wished to thank you for all you've done.'

  'Loss? I remember loss. Once there were many, now I am alone.'

  'There were others like you?' Edeard asked.

  'Once. No more. Not even here. To revisit that time would be useless.'

  'I'm sorry. I didn't know. Can I help? I'm about to go to the Heart of the Void. Will your kind be there?'

  'No. None would submit to absorption. That is not what we are.'

  'What are you?'

  'The failed past.'

  'You haven't failed us. You gave us shelter, refuge.'

  'I am glad. Do you accept the Void's purpose? Is that why you go to its Heart?'

  'What purpose?'

  'To become one with this universe. It seeks all rationality.'

  'That's… No. I go because I have lost my life.'

  'How can you lose your life in the Void?'

  He gave Kristabel and the others a puzzled look, very conscious of the armed men slinking up the slope towards him. 'I don't understand.'

  Something like a gust of emotion swept out of the city. Reluctance. Acceptance. Pity. 'The Void allows you to find your perfect life,' Makkathran said. 'It is the way it brings you to fulfilment, to reach your personal evolution and achieve contentment with what you are.'