Crater swiftly did searches on possible spellings of wu wei and Stoicism, as well as the infrequently used “worrywart.” He wondered if this very young pilot was something of a philosopher, conversant in ancient Chinese and Greek schools of thought. “That's Brigadier General Ria Vorclif, your sister. I've read her theses on astrobiology.”
“No doubt,” Rand said dryly. “I can't pretend to understand all that. Not really interested in evolutionary synthesis or neo-Darwinism, stuff like that. I’d rather fly starcraft.”
“I take it your sister is not much like you,” Crater murmured.
To his surprise, the man grew somber at that assessment. “Ri... is driven. I don't know exactly what sort of manic fever drives her or why. She's so unbelievably brilliant, a genius. I can't imagine what that must be like. And she pushes herself so hard that others naturally want to do the same. She earned that nickname — the Iron Lady — five years ago when she was executive officer on the Defender Armstrong, caught up in that mess at Arcturus.”
Crater checked the details in his database. “She engineered a ceasefire with the cyberterrorists that lasted a full year, the longest period of peace in that conflict. Her commander was injured and she took over for him, right?” The business with the Muphroi who had created havoc at Arcturus Community had been mostly over these past two years, but dangerous episodes still occurred once in a while. The fact hadn't escaped anyone that Muphroi dallying with the Taree could signal a resurgence of their efforts.
“She strong-armed them into submission, you mean,” Rand murmured with a sigh. “By the sheer force of her personality. She has that effect on people.” He sighed again, sinking deeper into the couch. “It’s no wonder she’s being considered for Chief Negotiator. That’s the third top position in the Agency. Everyone thinks she'll be Commander General someday. I just wish...”
When the pause lingered, Crater gently prompted him. “What do you wish, Rand?”
The pilot shrugged. “I want Ri to find love,” he said simply, startling the cybernism.
Crater found himself completely at a loss for words. For a long moment he diverted his attention to the Starlock computations that another compartment of his mind was continually refiguring, picosecond by picosecond. But that was too boring. He wanted to ask the man more, find out what he meant by that statement.
Of course he knew what love was, even romantic love, having a wealth of Human literature available from a few thousand years and many cultures. He'd read a little, but had soon dismissed it as being overly sentimental, escapist, and fraught with difficulty. To bond in love with another person sounded wonderful but the reality was fairly painful, from what he could tell. And of course, his creator had suffered terrible emotional trauma from the dissolution of his marriage.
Ria Vorclif — another Medea? I find it difficult to understand Medea’s drive for revenge against her cheating husband. She was a passionate character, certainly. And here is another individual who stands out, a powerful woman. How does someone like that find love?
Finally he found something to say. “You want her to find love in order to find a balance?” he asked, wondering.
Rand glanced up. “Hmm?” Then he smiled sadly. “Yes and no. I don't suppose something like that makes much sense to you, eh? It's all right; it doesn't make much sense to anyone else.”
“Er, do you have someone?”
The pilot chuckled. “Just my sweet Beacon! Her name is Alamyna, and I imagine she's my lady. We pilots don't normally have romantic relationships outside of the Fleet; it'd be too hard to be apart so much.” He shrugged. “I haven't bonded with any other pilots like that, though some do pair up.”
A relationship with your Beacon-class scout craft? Crater felt a rush of bewilderment, but shrugged it off and concentrated instead on something else. Bonding... with other pilots. Then, who can I bond with? Like Medea, there is no one like me. He remembered that the Crater 0002 was probably no more. He'd seen plans for the 0003 and 0004 but didn't think they'd been developed yet.
He caught Rand’s curious glance; surely the man wondered what the cybernism could possibly be thinking about his silly words about romance. “Never mind, it's foolish to think about such things,” he said quickly.
I'm supposed to be a Human-analogue, Crater was ruminating. Can I bond with Humans? Not of course in anything like a romantic relationship, but certainly friendship? Then he remembered; he'd already felt a closeness with his creator and the Rentclifv children. He felt a pang at that unwelcome reminder of their possible loss. So there are bonds. And there was his growing friendship with Vekta's niece, Rose-rea.
“Do you have a lot of friends, Rand?” he asked the man suddenly.
Rand blinked, then grinned. “Hey, all pilots are tight with one another, you know.”
“But you didn't seek out their company,” Crater pointed out. There were ten Beacon pilots assigned to the Andromedea, plus their leader, Captain Jan Inhelder. They were involved with surveillance and rescue activities, not combat. Other Defenders had the Scorpion fightercraft, useful in dealing with pirates and rogue troublemakers.
“Ah, you caught me,” Rand murmured with a wry smile. “I'm the only Dracon. It's enough of a difference. And there's my famous sister. So while I'm close to the other pilots, sometimes those differences seem to loom large. I have to tell you that after participating in that merge, I could tell the others were wary of me. They don't like reminders that I'm a High telepath. Makes them nervous. Most of the time they forget that, but that was right in their faces, so to speak.”
“I'm stranger than that,” Crater admitted, approximating a sigh of his own. “Even if I were Human, I sound like a Dracon but I'm not even telepathic. I think I confuse a lot of people. With Colonel Rentclifv gone, I think they think I'm just a computer.”
Rand cocked his head at him. “The Starlock... you're doing those computations even now, aren't you? You can multitask. All comps can do that, but none of them can carry on a conversation. Give them time. You're a lot to get used to.”
So he's shunned for being a High telepath? And I guess I am a lot to get used to... like Medea, Crater ruminated. “I hope you're right,” he murmured.
*
Commander General Peter Cenntl was shocked when no one bit his head off after he delivered his report to Fleet General Staff. There was a stunned silence, which was expected, but no immediate retort or protest. Even from the tall Dracon slumped deep into her chair, feigning inattention, eyes closed.
No one thought Ria Vorclif wasn't paying attention.
She did speak, finally. “So the whereabouts of Colonel Rentclifv and his children are unknown and there is some interdimensional interloper who has absconded with them — apparently. Let's pretend for a moment that it's even possible for any entity to reach across universes, or even teleport. Yes, let's pretend that could happen. Isn't the question here, why?” One dark green eye opened to regard the assembly. “Why would such an entity bother with children? I have no doubt that Vekta Rentclifv is capable of stirring up enough trouble all by himself, but I can't see how involving his offspring—”
Ria Vorclif stopped and took a deep breath, then pressed with two fingers on the bridge of her nose. “Ah, you mean blackmail. So are they in league with the Muphroi as well? His Starguard version a few years back there did prevent him from making friends in that direction, I suppose.”
“We have no evidence of any connection between these energy creatures and the Muphroi,” Peter said evenly.
“Intergalactic tricksters, you say?” Ria said dryly, causing a ripple of nervous laughter to go around the hall. “Right.”
“Interdimensional—”
She wagged a finger at him indulgently. “No, I'm not going to accept that. Can you be sure they're in a different universe?” When Peter opened, then shut his mouth, she pressed on. “I thought so. Maybe such entities could be Level 8 High telepaths and therefore capable of autoporting to
nearby planets. You've searched the Gozgazel System thoroughly? No hidden, secret bases on an outer moon? It's a crowded system; there are all those dwarf planetoids cluttering up the circumstellar debris disk. They've been searched already?”
Peter threw a glance at his brother, who cleared his throat and stood up to speak. “My dear General,” Jaime began, knowing full well what her reaction would be. He nodded in respect.
“Starguard,” Ria fairly spat his title, and did not return the nod. “You're claiming the Guard decided to intervene here. I don't believe that either, but go ahead, say something.” The derision in her voice crackled and more than one General listening shifted position uneasily.
Jaime Cenntl ignored the veiled insult. “When the Andromedea shifted into Gamma Universe between the Pollux and Vega systems, we could sense unmistakably the mental signatures of the Rentclifv twins, but they were no longer there.” He waved that off, plunging on despite Vorclif's clear fury. “We could not sense them anywhere in space. But there was another entity we could barely detect. We believe that entity sent them somewhere else. So Major Kvaan volunteered to stay behind in my starcraft, hoping to find them and make contact with them.”
Ria sat up at that, a sudden movement that made those sitting closest to her flinch. “Why didn't you stay behind yourself? You said this was a Guard action!”
Jaime took a deep breath. I can either say what I'm thinking, or keep this diplomatic, he mused, then decided to throw caution to the wind. Someone has to tell her what they're thinking to her face, might as well be me! “Because, my dear General, I knew you'd be spitting mad to hear that a Perseus Starguard threw his life away on a suicide mission like this. We all know too well that if the entity had taken Stander Kvaan somewhere else, too, there would be no returning... just like the twins are probably lost forever, too. There is no way to find out what universe they may be in.”
She leaned forward, her dark green eyes narrowed dangerously at him. “You said Kvaan was in Gamma Universe.”
Jaime glanced at his older brother, who nodded with a sigh. “As a matter of fact, as the Andromedea just a while ago was leaving for Chalawan, they first went to check on Stander... and he is no longer in Gamma. They informed us just minutes ago, having arrived at Chalawan Community now.”
*
Ria Vorclif sat back at that, bewildered, dismayed, and still angry all at once. Around her the hubhub of speculation from the other Generals rose, but she did not seek to quiet them while she thought. Damn Cenntl! Damn Rentclifv! she thought, grinding her teeth. They really believe there are such entities that can travel between universes! I just can't... they can't be...
She knew that such creatures probably would be designated as beyond Level 8 in telepathy, a conclusion she dreaded more than anything. They all dreaded it, finding beings more powerful than their own telepaths. The Sdaldi were bad enough, but this teleportation across dimensions; it was too unbelievable. She still was having trouble wrapping her brain around the magic of the Starlock; it was already a lot to accept that there were alternate universes. And she was painfully aware that there were likely things about Vekta Rentclifv's latest cybernism that she was not going to like at all. Or believe.
For once there was something here to trump her suspicion and distrust of the Guard.
“Starguard Cenntl, what do you suggest we do beyond waiting?” Ria asked quietly.
Jaime raised an eyebrow, trying to take her measure. Coming from this General, speaking softly could be a dangerous thing. Or she could actually be asking. He threw a hand up. “There has been no communication from any entities outlining a threat. No warning, no ultimatum, no further activity. Since their involvement seemed to have started in the Gozgazel System, it's possible that they're connected to what we're calling the Eye of the Gazelle. We know absolutely nothing about that. Guard, Fleet, it doesn't matter who, but someone needs to find out about it before it gets bigger... or worse. Or before the entities do something else. If I may speak candidly—”
Ria Vorclif snorted. “Do you ever not?”
Jaime grinned suddenly. “Heh, I guess so! Well, then let me say, it's too early to count Vekta Rentclifv out just yet. He may have disappeared at Gozgazel, but we don't know that it wasn't of his own doing, right? I think he could be back with some answers, and probably soon.”
Damn Starguards... eternal optimists, Ria thought, groaning internally. “Don't forget he's Fleet now and has responsibilities!” she retorted. “Commander General Cenntl?”
Peter jerked minutely at the abrupt inclusion. “I think he could be right, General Vorclif,” he said quickly. “I think we should all continue to study the situation. Maybe Major Aurand will have more insights. She's given a full report on the Tarees, of course, but maybe she knows something she hasn't revealed yet about where Rentclifv is.”
“Tarees,” Ria said with a resigned sigh. “No one will miss Korgovax. I don't think anyone of us will mind if they abandon their Gozgazel outpost either. They only had it to spy on us, anyway.”
“I'd like to move to a vote,” spoke up Major General Detrus Hyder on the other side of the long table from Vorclif. “That we wait and see on both the Gozgazel situation and these other entities. And petition the Guard to maintain their watch on same.”
The vote was unanimous — but Peter Cenntl didn't relax.
17: The Return
The Attitudes of Consciousness: (Note: abilities are enhanced, deeper, going over vastly greater distance than before.)
Being — perception
Communication — menttransing
Compassion — higher level emformation
Equilibrium — mattforming (mattmorphosis)
Freedom — autoport/mattporting
Powerlessness — mentshielding to the point of impenetrable transparency
Unity — enduring deepmerges for a longer period
Vitality — energy renewal (no more merge depletion)
*
Everything in me has changed, Vekta Rentclifv considered soberly, sitting with his back against the cave wall, arms folded about his knees. I don't know myself anymore...
His greatest fear had been that he wouldn't be able to control the immense new powers now awake in his mind. Thho had had utterly no sympathy for him there; she had stated flatly that he was all about control now. Vast the Attitudes may be, but they were completely his slaves. And if emotion threatened to tear apart his sanity, he had but to disappear into the Attitude of Compassion — autoemforming — until he got himself together again.
Thho didn't understand Human emotion very well. But she was right.
That was the first fear and the biggest hurdle, but once Vekta had integrated his powers, he understood why Thho was unconcerned about his control. Slaves of my will, and my will solidified with my intentions... and being Dracon, my intentions are toward the good of all. Then I am Starguard again after all, always with the broadest scope of interest, to work for the peace and prosperity of all, not even solely the USC.
It was an aspect of being a Perseus Starguard that was not written in their Guard code but was implicitly understood by all. That their emphasis was not confined to the interests of the USC.
The second fear was no less serious: that he would become a monster in the eyes of his children, his family, his colleagues. And in the eyes of Novella Aurand. Vekta now understood the significance of his mental matching with her. But despite Thho's intentions, he did not think he wanted to share this hard destiny with anyone, did not want to doom anyone else, especially Novella Aurand, to having to carry power such as he now possessed.
If I don't even feel like me anymore, he thought morosely, how will anyone even stand to be around me? Of course something like this was going to have to be kept secret, hence the inevitability of going back to the Guard.
“You are still you,” Thho insisted stubbornly. “You love your technology, you love creating new things, you care for your—” The word
left off was “children” but Vekta knew what she meant. “I saw in your mind that you want to continue to develop your intelligent Constructs. Think how much more efficient that will be.”
“Enough,” Vekta murmured. “It's bad enough that you had to pick now to start all this in me. I should have been there to prevent the abduction of my children.”
They'd had a few of these arguments already. “There has been no harm to them and they have had quite the adventure. The group of beings needs to be relocated and now.” Thho, he knew, was referring to the Xandee. “The little ones have gained their trust. They also have the aid of one of your High telepaths. Of course you'll engineer the rescue and relocation.”
Vekta knew all this already. The situation there was still grave, however, which put additional pressure on him to get over his reservations and return to his people. And start using the Attitudes. “There was a sacrifice. The mind of the Crater Trizero-Two cybernism is gone. It's not going to be a simple matter to deal with. Even if a whole new HAGE unit is installed, there are the residual memories to integrate. We've never done that before.”
“Details,” Thho reminded him rather cheerfully. “You are stalling and you know it.”
“But you'll be alone again.” Vekta felt a sharp pang of desperation.
“I have achieved what I wanted, to share the Attitudes,” the Pelan replied, her snout nosing out of the water from the pool in front of him. “There will be others now. Some you may send to me, or develop yourself. In time you can do that, too, once you have integrated your powers even more deeply than now.”
Vekta didn't reply to that. He was as yet loathe to draw anyone into this fate he now possessed: to be a High telepath far, far beyond a Level 8, to be beyond all classification. While the Guard and ultimately Fleet General Staff may be thrilled to gain his abilities, those powers would keep him forever apart. He himself could potentially come to be feared.
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