Air whistling: a jagged crack in his helmet.
No! Liam pressed his glove over the spot. The whistling muted but didn’t cease. A warning began to beep from his suit controls.
But now something caught his eye overhead. The view of nebula space rippled, as if it was a watery surface. An energy field began to spark into existence, a bubble shape just like the one that had enclosed the landing area outside of the Dark Star control center. It shimmered into place, and then the ground vibrated, and the silence of space was replaced by a humming sound, then a whoosh, like wind.
Iris? Liam asked.
A shadow fell over them in the dim nebula light.
“Are you all right?” asked the chronologist.
Liam strained to undo the seat buckle, then rolled off the overturned chair and got to his knees, breathless. He saw that the plaza they’d landed in was now safely encased in a dome-shaped energy field that created a seal along the tops of the buildings, into the gaps between them, and around the tunnel-like walkways that connected one building to the next. If he could hear the chronologist, that meant there was atmosphere, and the fact that he was kneeling indicated that there was gravity. He put JEFF’s head aside—the robot’s eyes were still flickering—pulled off his helmet, and gulped in the fresh air. “I think so.”
He spun to Phoebe, still in the seat, carefully pulling her free until she was lying on her back, and then removed her helmet. Her eyes were closed, but her chest was rising and falling normally. He shook her shoulder gently, and she stirred, her lips moving. She mumbled something faintly, then rolled onto her side. Maybe the best thing was to give her a minute.
Liam stood and turned to the chronologist. “Did Iris do that? Or did you?”
“I did,” said the chronologist. “There are control stations for atmosphere and gravity at each local sector of these arms. The buildings and walkway tunnels have their own systems as well. Once I saw that you had ejected from your craft, I was able to get out here and locate the systems. Obviously I had to increase the gravity just so, in order to bring you down without damage.”
“Thanks,” said Liam, catching his breath. “I’d ask you how you had time to do all that as we were falling, but I guess that would be silly.”
Was that a smile on the chronologist’s face? Liam couldn’t quite tell. He stumbled as a fresh wave of pain radiated from his shoulder. He moved his arm carefully, and though it ached, he was able to rotate it fully.
He looked around and saw that they were about halfway out on this arm, which curved up and away such that the control room atop Dark Star appeared to be above them, one of those disorienting tricks of artificial gravity that Liam still wasn’t quite used to. The Artemis was a few kilometers off to the right.
This plaza was a square shape, bordered by smoky glass structures, some of which were rectangular, some like pyramids. The tubular walkways running along their bases had doors at regular intervals.
“Liam! Are you there?” It was Kyla over his link, which was still flashing madly.
“Yeah,” Liam responded, worry surging through him. They were probably about to get in all kinds of trouble.
“What happened?” said Kyla. “We saw you transit the portal. The hard line picked you up briefly on the other side, but then your signal died out. We were just about to scramble a rescue team when you popped back through.”
“The skim drone died on the other side,” said Liam. “Shorted out from the portal, I think. I was able to turn it around, but we had no control when we came back through, so we had to eject and—”
“Liam, this is Ariana.”
Oh great. “Hey.”
“Is Xela all right?”
“Yeah. She had a bad reaction to the portal, I think, but she seems to be doing better now.”
“What were you thinking, taking such a risk?”
“We were just—”
“Stay where you are. We’ll be there shortly.” The signal cut off.
“You say Phoebe reacted badly to the portal,” said the chronologist. “In what way?”
“It was like she couldn’t see anything. And she had a really bad headache. She kept talking about bright lights, and pain, like maybe a seizure or something? JEFF freaked out too, actually. Like his circuits were overloaded. And the skim drone just died out . . . although it probably still had issues from back at Centauri. I mean, the portal was weird for me, but I was fine on the other side.”
“I see. It seems that my recorder’s cloaking function has been working—unless you’ve spoken with Iris since we parted?”
Liam shook his head.
“I am beginning to think that is for the best.”
“Why do you say that?”
The chronologist looked across the plaza. Liam followed his gaze. The space was mostly in shadows, except for a faint light from the energy barrier and the dim glow of the nebula. The central feature of the plaza was about twenty meters away: that large statue that Liam had glimpsed briefly while flying overhead. From here, he could see that it was a massive figure made of metal, standing on a pedestal with one arm upraised. There was an elevated platform around the statue, which was maybe used as a stage, as well as columns in the corners, which held globes that seemed to be lights.
But the statue . . . As Liam studied it, his insides began to spin. Long robes, a diamond-shaped face with two large eyes, two noses, one above the other, the hand extended upward with many fingers . . .
“It looks like you,” said Liam.
The chronologist blinked. “Not exactly like me. We don’t all look the same.”
“Sorry, I mean—”
“Yes, I know what you meant. The statue looks like one of us.”
Liam peered at it, at its upraised hand. “He’s holding a crystal like yours.”
“It’s a she, but yes. She is.”
A chronologist statue, at the center of a plaza, on an arm of Dark Star . . . “What does it mean?” said Liam. “I thought your people had never been here?”
The chronologist gazed at the statue, responding in an almost dreamy tone. “As I said earlier, the long count has no record of Dark Star, of the portal, or of any ability to leave our universe. And yet clearly, at some point, either we were here or the people who used to inhabit this place observed us.”
“Is it possible that you’re, you know . . . an Architect?”
The chronologist didn’t respond.
“I mean, the stuff you can do with time is pretty powerful, and you sort of, you know, watch over the universe. Maybe your ancestors created our universe and then came to live in it.”
“We have no ancestors,” said the chronologist. “We were born along with the first wave of stars in our universe.”
“Yeah, your colleague told us that exact same thing before,” said Liam. “But how? You’re superadvanced beings. You couldn’t have just appeared that way. Didn’t you, like, evolve or something?”
The chronologist was quiet again, still gazing at the statue.
“Hello?”
“It is very curious: your question is an obvious one, and yet it is utterly surprising to me. Almost like we have never thought to ask it of ourselves.”
“You’ve never asked yourself where you come from?”
“Of course we’ve asked where, as well as when, but we’ve never asked how. I do not . . .”
“What?”
“Thinking about it now, I do not understand how we could have not asked ourselves this.”
“It sounds like you guys took it on faith,” said Liam. “Or trust. Except you and your colleague have both said those are more three-dimensional things.”
“Indeed.” The chronologist’s mouth pursed.
“Maybe it just wasn’t important to you guys.”
“That may well be, but why not? The question of how one came to be is endemic to every sentient being. I have read what the captain said when he killed my colleague. It’s never been your way to ponder the oldest question. W
hich confused her because we knew of no such question.”
“He told me the oldest question is why.”
“Our entire long count is built on observing what happens. We do not question how or why, because we can see events both forward and backward in time. Therefore the how and why are never a mystery. Except this.”
“Does that mean you’ve never gone back and observed your origins? Your birth, or whatever?”
“Not only have we never done that, we have never even thought to. At least not that I know of. Almost like this line of inquiry, these oldest questions were . . . unavailable to us.”
Liam considered the statue again. “Maybe the people who used to live here had observed you, even if you haven’t observed them,” said Liam. “They had a portal into our universe. Maybe they thought you guys were like gods or something.”
A light had begun to blink in the distance, out by the Artemis. Liam guessed it was a ship coming to get them.
The chronologist turned and seemed to take in the whole of Dark Star. The sweep of this arm on which they stood, the hundreds of buildings organized on it, leading all the way back to the core. The portal floating just above and behind them. The other arms, the other portal, this plaza around them. . . . Liam imagined this space full of people. What would they have been doing? Worshipping a statue of the chronologist? He looked around the buildings. Where had everyone gone?
Phoebe’s words echoed in his head: It feels dead.
A sound caught his ear and he saw that Phoebe had propped herself up on her elbow. It sounded like she was speaking. Maybe JEFF had snapped out of it, too.
“There’s something else I believe I should show you,” said the chronologist.
“What’s that?”
“It’s back in that central core area. I think it is perhaps something I remember.”
“Remember? From when?”
“I do not know. But I am beginning to think that I require a more . . . three-dimensional being, like yourself, to figure it out. It may also help us to figure out the true history of this place. Will you help me?”
“Um, I guess so. But I need to get Phoebe back to the Artemis before I go anywhere. If they even let me.”
The chronologist seemed to mull this over. “May I accompany you?”
“Sure.” Liam started toward Phoebe, but the chronologist remained for another moment, staring up at the statue. Liam crouched beside Phoebe. “Hey.”
Phoebe was on her knees now, rubbing her head. “Where are we?”
“Back on Dark Star. We kinda crashed, but the chronologist saved us. Are you all right?”
Phoebe looked around woozily and winced. “I think so?”
“You were talking about blue lights or something.”
“Yeah . . . it was weird. They were all around, and it was so loud.” She shook her head. “I thought I saw the planet for a second, but just a glimpse.”
“I’m sorry,” said Liam. “It was a bad idea. Too dangerous.”
Phoebe looked at him oddly for a moment, then shook her head. “No, don’t worry about it.”
“Can you stand?” Liam helped her to her feet, and she leaned on his shoulder. Nearby, JEFF’s eyes had stopped flickering and now were glowing a mellow amber, as they did when he was restarting. “Did I hear you talking a second ago?” Liam asked Phoebe.
“Yeah, just to JEFF. The portal messed with him too, so I gave him a hard reset. It will probably take a while for him to boot up.”
Liam motioned across the plaza. “Take a look at the statue.”
Phoebe followed his gaze, and her eyes widened. “No way. What’s that doing here?”
“Don’t know. Even weirder: he doesn’t either.”
The chronologist rejoined them. “Your rescue team is coming.” He pointed toward the Artemis. The lights of a Cosmic Cruiser were halfway to them. “I need to go adjust the energy field to let them in.” He moved off toward the side of the plaza.
Liam scooped up JEFF’s head.
“How can he not know why that statue is here?” Phoebe asked.
“I don’t know. It’s weird. Talking to him, it’s almost like he hasn’t ever thought of some really obvious questions.”
Overhead, the shuttle was slowing and nearing the energy bubble. A rectangular section of it lit up and seemed to shimmer, not disappearing, more like thinning, and the cruiser slipped through and touched down.
As Liam and Phoebe made their way toward it, the side airlock slid opened and Ariana rushed out. She stepped right between Liam and Phoebe, taking her daughter by the shoulders.
“I cannot believe you would pull such a foolish stunt,” she said. “You tell me you’ve grown so much while we were apart, but then here you are, making the same sorts of mistakes, over and over. It’s like you learn nothing.”
“You don’t really give me a choice,” Phoebe muttered.
Ariana stiffened, and Liam thought he saw her hand rise like she might strike Phoebe. But she flexed her fingers and lowered it. “The sooner we depart this place, the better.”
“You’ll just love that, won’t you.”
“I love nothing about this. I will tell your father and the others to ready the supplies.” She guided Phoebe into the ship, Phoebe with her head down.
Liam followed them into the main cabin, which was similar to his family’s Cosmic Cruiser in almost every way. “What’s he doing here?” Ariana said over her shoulder when she saw the chronologist following behind Liam.
“He’s coming with us. Is that okay?”
“Imagine that, actually asking permission for once.” She started to bring Phoebe into the cockpit, where an officer from the Artemis was at the controls, but Phoebe shook free.
“I’ll be fine here,” she said, leaning against the wall.
“I think—”
“Mom! Maybe let me have a minute before we leave forever, okay?”
Ariana looked from Phoebe to Liam, her eyes blazing. “Fine.” She ducked into the cockpit. The ship hummed and lifted off.
“Amazing to think I ever missed them,” said Phoebe.
“Tell me about it.”
Phoebe started to smile but winced.
“What is it?”
“Sorry, just strange memories from the portal.” She eyed Liam. “I saw you, but . . .”
“What?”
“It was weird.” She shook her head. “Did it hurt for you like it did for me?”
“No,” said Liam. “I mean, it got a little stretchy when we went through, but it was fine after that.”
The shuttle quickly crossed the space between Dark Star and the Artemis, then slowed, waiting for the airlock to slide open. Phoebe and Liam pulled off their space-grade suits and threw them on the couch.
“May I have my crystal back?” said the chronologist when they were finished.
“Oh, right.” Phoebe had been gripping it tightly. She handed it to him.
The chronologist consulted it but left it glowing. “I think we’ll still be needing this.”
“You don’t trust Dark Star anymore, do you?” Liam asked. “After that statue.”
“I would characterize it less as mistrust and more as extreme caution.”
“Why?” said Phoebe. “What are you worried about?”
“The increasing number of things I seem not to know, and the future I cannot see.”
The shuttle transited the airlock, and there was a rumble as the ship entered atmosphere.
“I can’t say I disagree with him,” said Phoebe. “There’s a part of me that will be relieved to get out of here. Maybe it’s just the headache talking, but . . .”
Liam didn’t know what to say, especially about these recent mysteries. And yet he reminded himself that Iris had made them a new home, not to mention helping him overcome his fears.
The floor shook as the landing stabilizers fired. A thud as the craft touched down. Ariana ducked into the main cabin. She put a hand on Phoebe’s arm, but then paused and looked a
t Liam. “We never thanked you, for saving us back at Centauri.”
For a moment, he felt a surge of frustration. Wanted to tell her that he wasn’t even sure he would have, if he had to do it over again, or even if he should have. Instead he just said, “Sure.”
“And for saving Xela. You are a credit to your people, Liam. I hope they can learn from you.” She nodded, as if satisfied with her words. “Five minutes,” she said to Phoebe, and walked out.
Phoebe turned to Liam. Her eyes had welled up. “So, I guess . . .”
“Yeah.” Liam’s heart pounded. His palms were slick. Suddenly it hit him: this was really it; the moment he’d seen. They would say good-bye, right now, and he would never see Phoebe again.
“I’m going to—”
The Artemis officer emerged from the cockpit, his boots clomping like he was trying to be as loud as he could. He cleared his throat. “Just want to get by.”
“I should step outside too,” said the chronologist. Liam and Phoebe let him pass.
When Liam’s eyes met hers again, he felt for sure that he couldn’t take it, that he would be better off just running, getting out of here, because facing this felt like too much. He’d seen the future, seen the past, been in so many dangerous moments, and yet this felt somehow more dire than all of it: the end, a true end, of something he would never be able to get back. It was a feeling he could barely fathom, like his heart was going to burst. He felt tears behind his eyes, at the same time he saw them falling from Phoebe’s.
He put his shaking hand on her shoulder. “I, um—”
“Xela!” Ariana called from outside.
Phoebe winced, balling her fists like she wanted to explode, and then threw her arms around Liam and kissed him right on the lips. Liam managed to move his arms, to put them around her, managed to keep his face where it was and his lips where they were for one, two . . . saw that her eyes were closed and closed his . . . three . . .
She moved her lips from his and slid her cheek across his and, for a moment, hugged him as tight as she could.
Liam pressed his face against her bristled skin. His mind unmoored from the moment, drifting, and he could see all of it at once . . .
The Shores Beyond Time Page 23