by Moulton, CD
There would be a major surprise when they tried to use these units! There would be another if they managed to charge this one sphere and tried to transmit its charge along that buried cable!
Ehrak retraced his steps out of the tunnels, retrieved his personal floater, recalled the smaller machines and headed to meet Kurk.
That was a strange one! Kurk seemed almost amused by the idea the omniverse might end at any moment. He certainly had no fear of the consequences of their failure here.
Ehrak liked the big ... demon. The term fit him. He was what could be honestly called terrible even more than the Feach, but while the Feach were terrifying to look at in their own way they were soon shown to be a caring, even loving people. They weren't prone to violence. That was one trait that showed very quickly and one felt very quickly at ease among them.
Kurk wasn't that way. There could be no real doubt that Kurk would think little of the most horrible violence. He would think nothing about literally breaking another person in half. One could feel underlying violence in the big demon. It was there and waiting to be released.
Kurk didn't brag about his violent nature in any way, merely taking it as a part of things as they are, but it was there. He was perfectly truthful about his penchant for violent answers to a challenge. We're all capable of violence of the most vicious kind. Even Ehrak had no sense of hesitation under certain circumstances. Should Maita determine it was the only realistic way to protect the empire, the omniverse and most particularly Zeena Ehrak would not pause to think before personally shooting down every one of those Jornians and their otherplanal friends where they stood and without warning!
"If it's to be you or me I'm gonna SEE that it's YOU!" he muttered under his breath.
Well, that was – more or less – the way Kurk looked at it. Ehrak could say very honestly he liked the big demon. He was always aware of the enormous potential for mayhem when they were together, but he also knew no fear whatever.
He didn't kid himself, either. If the question ever arose Kurk would break him in half and throw the bloody pieces in opposite directions even though he was sure Kurk liked him, too. Kurk lived in a much simpler universe than did Ehrak, to put it bluntly. Very different things found importance in Ehrak's mind than did in Kurk's.
Was ANYthing important to Kurk?
Certainly! How stupid! They just weren't the same kinds of things that were important to a Zeenan – and why SHOULD they be? They weren't even from the same dimensional plane!
Things were either right or wrong to Ehrak. There was a very strong moral sense as well as an ethical one.
That was it! Kurk had no moral sense whatever. Things were neither right nor wrong to him, they simply were.
Was it reasonable that anyone with such strong ethics had no morals?
Obviously.
There was Kurk, waiting for him.
Kurk was totally amoral, but was as ethical as anyone Ehrak had ever known.
Odd. Ehrak would have thought he would become fond of Z before anyone else, but here he was knowing what he was now feeling for this monstrous demon was fondness. He liked Z and respected him, he even understood him, but there was some measure of distance between them, a wall that didn't exist with the Pluton.
He shook his head.
"What's the matter?" Kurk asked.
"I was thinking deep philosophical thoughts to keep my fear at bay," Ehrak replied. "It just occurred to me that as different as you and I are I feel quite close to you. As much the same as Z and I are I don't feel any closeness. I like him, but I'm not at all close to him. I don't really understand myself at times."
"I don't see why you should feel any fear," Kurk said. "If it's this planal distortion thing you mean, that is. It'll come out as it comes out.
"Z doesn't allow people to become too close. He reserves his closeness to Thing, Maita and his machine friends. That's defensive, I think. One doesn't become too close to people one must soon part from. It's too painful to him. He's the type who gets emotional so he's the type who gets hurt. If he was here two hundred years ago I guess he's seen a lot of people he liked ... die.
"You aren't the same Extrx who was here before are you?"
"No," Ehrak answered. "That was my great great grandfather. Thing, or Maybe, was here and Z was here. Maita will offer his crew life for as long as they want it. He has machines that can do that. My ancestor elected to refuse the treatments because he wanted a family so didn't want to watch his own children grow old and die while he stayed the same. I agree with that."
"I wonder if the treatments would work on me?" Kurk asked. "I don't plan to have anymore family. I have a son on Hades who has no intention of ever having anything to do with me. I'm sort of weird there, you know. Coming to live on a primitive world without all the pollution, crime and such that Hades has to offer."
*Yes. Perhaps I could extend your life,* came from the floater's radio. *It will be interesting to discover. Boss and Maybe have just completely grounded the power from that ship so we have time to work this out. They're on their way back to the rendezvous point so if you'll meet them there you can come back to Teeme to work out our next move. I know Kurk will wish to simply have the empire take the ship from Tlorg, close the portals and maybe eliminate Nrkll and Krll. There are reasons we can't take that kind of chance.*
"Nrkll and Krll?!" Ehrak exclaimed. "They've come out into the open? The otherplaners?"
*Boss and Maybe had a serious discussion with them about energy and planes. They're most interesting. We'll have to work something out.*
"We're on our way back," Ehrak replied. "I can't tell you how relieved I am! I want to hear all you’ve found about the otherplaners.
"Let's go, Kurk!"
*
On their return trip to Teeme Thing stayed close to Kurk, learning to use its empathic talent on this strange being from another dimensional plane. On the one hand Kurk was a very simple person. The emotions were there, just as real beneath as they first seemed on the surface. Kurk knew no shame, but that was a statement of fact, not a figurative one. Kurk recognized no wrong. Right, either. Those weren't pieces of his beliefs, yet he was most careful to not mistreat others, to lie nor to steal in any way – not because it was wrong, but because it was wrong.
How odd! Looking at it another way Kurk simply felt life was hard enough and fair or unfair were no part of the equation of how things are. They ARE, so why make it worse?
Ah! So that was it! Kurk was a strong believer in revenge. If someone deliberately causes you pain retaliation in the form of causing them even MORE pain will make them stop so it's basic logic to stop it as quickly and positively as you can. Conversely, if one makes the association as pleasant as he can for those around him it is reasonable to assume the favor will be returned.
The big demon was capable of great love and great hate. Kurk was very highly sexually driven and had no least societal inhibitions. He was absolutely against force with it. Seduction was acceptable. The act was pleasant but meaningless while having deep meaning on another level. Love or affection had no connection with sex – but he was aware that was a personal reaction.
How confusing, but Thing knew Kurk had a true affection for it and for Ehrak along with a respect and liking for Z and Maita. He had some real fondness for TR.
There must be some misreading of Kurk. All of this seemed to be contradictory.
Thing moved close to Ehrak, noticing the great fear was much lessened now. Ehrak took these things as personal dangers and threats – anything that threatened the Zeenans in any way was a personal threat to him. He was fighting his growing fondness for Kurk on one level while encouraging it on another. He deeply admired, was almost in awe of Z. He was fiercely loyal to Maita and Z and even to Thing itself, was fondest of Thing, confusing that fondness for respect.
It was good in Thing's estimation that it was so radically different from these peoples. They were all aware of its mental abilities, but somehow that didn't really regi
ster on their consciousness. All these large beings seemed to feel protective of it. That wasn't so bad!
It was really sad that even after three hundred years Z couldn't truly allow himself to become emotionally involved with anyone – though he sometimes did anyhow. The love he shared with Thing and Maita was always strong. He couldn't really accept the fact that those he had loved in the past all died of old age while he chose to live on. Thing had learned early that life was choices. It was often "either-or" and could seldom be both.
Z had slowly become more able to share love with those who wouldn't give up the right to die to be with him. He had first learned that he could love another being from another race with the Zeenan girl, Etel. They had grown away from one another, but that wasn't a painful thing. The Maitan girl who bore his son (Which he knew nothing about) was a bit more painful, but that was because of the obvious fact the races were, sociologically, vastly different ones, though the Terrans were of Maitan stock (How else could they have interbred?). Z didn't know the students Hofulnike and Karltomater Helniften studying xenobiological science right there on EC were his own grandson and granddaughter.
The trouble with all this was in these three hundred plus years there was no true constant among the various peoples Thing used its talents in studying.
No objections from here! That was what made life interesting!
Z and even Maita seemed to think people had basic ways of reacting to situations and that those "rules" fit any race anywhere, but they were very wrong! Perhaps these otherplanal beings would point out to them how wrong they could be. Thing had spent the time in the presence of those two indistinct, spiky, nul-colored beings using its basic talents. It admitted it had been inaccurate to suggest they were evil. They simply didn't recognize those not from their plane as having any importance whatever. That was certainly understandable. They "looked" out from their semi-stasis chamber to see what must look like printed comic page characters moving around, like two dimensional characters look to us. It wasn't easy to take them seriously.
There was Loosta below. The team would stop to tell King Dihn the problem was under control, but not by any criterium finished. Not yet.
Later they headed on toward Teeme where the golems and the four Fromes met them upon landing at the castle with hundreds of questions. Maita had used the demons to good advantage while the crew was busy on the dark continent. There were now records of exactly where all the sorcerers and sorceresses were and what they were doing. There were quite a few who had been recruited to work on power generation.
Well, it would be nice to be able to relax for a few days, to enjoy Tlorg as a vacation.
*
Maita carefully checked through its records, communicated with the main machines running the empire, crossreferenced everything, checked the sensors left on the dark continent and did a few thousand other operations while welcoming the crew back. This was far from over. The others didn't realize this must be stopped for all time right now. If there was even the least small possibility these people could do this again they would eventually do so. The differences in the math on that plane would never let them see what could happen. If there was only some way to move something, somewhere – but what? And where?
There was no way to move Tlorg.
There was no way to move either black hole.
There was no way to move the world in TTH19, though it would be possible to annihilate life on that planet, but even to save the omniverse Maita could be no part of such a monstrous plan even though those people planned fully to do that to this planet right here.
Z or Thing might have some ideas. Thing's logic and Z's lack of that process often made rather short work of what first seemed insoluble predicaments to Maita. Sometimes they didn't.
Well, there was still time. They had a whole twenty eight to thirty days for them to save the omniverse! That should be time enough to relax and enjoy a little vacation!
One thing was certain. It was a damned good thing a machine couldn't panic!
Unreal Realities
*I don't think you understand the seriousness of this situation, Z.*
Z was lazing around the pilot's seat in Maita's control dome with Thing curled in his lap. Kurk and Ehrak were off exploring the mountains, the golems were down in Teeme helping with the courts, the Fromes were dispersed back to their normal places and all seemed well with the world.
"I tend to agree with Kurk in one important way," Z responded. "If it happens we won't know a thing about it. I certainly don't WANT it to happen! I'll do all I can to prevent it. I do agree with Ehrak that it would be an unbelievable waste."
[ I would be saddened by it if I were to somehow escape the overall fate of the omniverse. This CAN'T all be for nothing even though we are all perfectly well aware it IS. The universe, as well as the omniverse, is a great uncaring thing. Philosophers are so very wrong to look for deep meanings because none of it HAS any meaning, deep or otherwise. ]
*On the largest perspective that may be quite true. That's something that's entirely relative. It has meaning locally in that we can affect this one galaxy in such a profound way. Perhaps it's simply a personal thing, but I want someone to look back a few millennia after I'm gone, after we're all gone and remember the history of the Maitan Empire. I want it known for the time that remains in this plane that what we accomplished was good. We've accomplished so much! We've freed peoples of an entire galaxy, on thousands of worlds, to know one another without fear or suspicion! THAT is worthwhile regardless of the overall picture!*
"I don't regret a minute of it, Maita," Z agreed. "It DID happen. That can never be taken away. Remember the Ithians (Settling In)? The people on Kroon who said that there may or may not be gods, but should they exist they're irrelevant?
"Maybe there are gods – and maybe the Ithians were wrong. Maybe they're relevant – in that they'll remember after all of this is gone. Maybe that's a god's function."
[ That would be to speculate that gods are outside of the omniverse. We would be too small to notice in this one little galaxy. ]
"Not necessarily," Z argued. "Maybe the gods aren't outside of the omniverse at all. Maybe they're between universes, between the planes."
*Between planes? Where the transmats work? On the interface? Interesting theory. Stupid, but interesting.*
Z grinned. Such rough statements were actually affectionate in their strange relationship.
"Why stupid?" Z asked. "Solely because you have no imagination doesn't mean anything depending on it's stupid."
[ Sheesh! This whole conversation is stupid. If the omniverse is gone the interfaces are gone. Who cares about supposed gods? We'd all like to be remembered, but a little bit of math will show the attempt to shunt power will be made again among the billions of galaxies. The conditions simply couldn't exist only in this one. It doesn't make any difference at all which one does it, it'll be done. ]
*When you consider there's only this single point in this galaxy where this is at all possible – all other angles from the black holes are in unusable places – this galaxy has one chance in sixty billion stars. If we consider that alone there should be one point in each galaxy on average. That’s seventy four billion plus chances for it to happen. This galaxy is maybe twelve billion plus some years old. Assuming it will happen once in twelve billion years among all of that means we have almost twelve billion years to go, which is enough.*
"Except the odds aren't all that well spaced," Z pointed out. "It could be fifty billion years or it could be tomorrow."
[ You're overlooking something else. Consider that the point in TTH nineteen must be occupied. If the same stats hold true in TTH nineteen that hold here that means one world in thirty two point seven three nine five one so we have only three percent possibility or two point two chances in twelve billion years. They must also have a race on the planet at this point who can open a portal to show them the way. Remember – the two points must be at rest relative to one another because of
the drift factor. They have to have a second point to grab a large power source or they’ll have to find one already on the point that corresponds to Tlorg. The chance of finding a race capable of opening such a complicated portal is diminishingly small. Earth never had the ability to go beyond Hades and Targ. It never reached Frome. I doubt there's another race in this galaxy who could open that portal. It's at the limit of this race's abilities. I would tend to believe there would be only one chance in ... mmmmmmmm, say seven hundred nine trillion, four hundred forty three billion, eight oh four million, two hundred ninety six thousand, eight hundred one and two third years, give or take a couple of days. The omniverse can't sustain that long. It'll become unstable due to dimensional compression physics in about two hundred thirty billion years. That would be long enough to be remembered, eh, Maita? ]
*Well, I'd hoped for more, but you take what you get. You're sure of the math?*
[ Certainly! ]
"Now I'm really scared!"
[ NOW..?! Why?! I'd think you'd be relieved that it can be effectively stopped here! ]
"BECAUSE if we can stop this the danger is as much as gone forever! Don't you see? I always thought that if it can happen here it can happen a hundred million other places so we're only buying a little time. We've saved worlds and even the galaxy, in a way – from slavery or worse. Those were things that could be stopped, that would crop up again now and then, but that we could do something about. I was going on the theory this was some inevitable thing so I could be flippant and could agree with Kurk's viewpoint. Now it comes down to the simple fact that we're successful here or the omniverse dies. It's up to us alone. It won't ever happen if it doesn't happen here. That, as the popular hippie expression was when I was kidnapped from Earth, is HEAVY!"