by Pam Uphoff
Warric could see the man's mental hook, stronger and harder than Brekley's, reaching for him.
Brekley snarled. "Kill him."
Warric threw the fireball. The priest waved a hand to slap it away. Warric made it dip and arrow straight into the priest's eye.
"Lie down and sleep."
Warric folded up. Thank you master. I'll be a good monster until I kill you.
The Exalted High Priest arrived an hour later.
With five priests, a company of militia, one major and eight minor gods.
Warric stayed on the floor and kept quiet as Brekley spewed a tale of woe.
"I poured the containment and control circles. It was all my fault, Exalted. I was frightened by the New God's potential. He killed eight men with fire. If I hadn't been in such haste, Shelby would have had to take the time to do them himself, or have me do them, more likely . . . then he would have waited for you. He didn't tell me you were so close behind, or I would have . . . I don't know what I would have done."
Brekley hung his head. "I told him how dangerous the new god was. Not a child, but a man at the height of his strength. He said, then best bind him while he's exhausted by the breakthrough."
Warric watched through slitted eyelids as this "Exalted" approached. Huge and fat, old. Waves of . . . hunger . . . lust . . . anger . . .
"Head injury, I see. No doubt what sparked the breakthrough." The Exalted frowned at Brekley. "You hooked him."
"I had to, Exalted. Or die and let him escape."
"Yes . . . Well. Under the circumstances, well done. I may even let you keep him." The evil man lumbered past Warric and out of his limited field of view.
"The Sun . . . interesting . . . this will be a challenge. The heat, the sunspot patterns, the coronal eruptions, the loops . . . yes . . . Let's just see how a heat effect will work . . .
The shock of the first spell, the burning heat . . . Warric shrieked, scrambled on hands and knees to get away.
"Keep him down Brekley, prove you have control."
Warric forced himself to drop back flat on his stomach, but couldn't stop the screaming.
Until the next spell. Something crunched in his throat and he choked, screamed but no sound emerged. Tried to beg but no words formed.
He faintly heard Brekley suggesting a heat shield so the god didn't burn himself. Patches of heat and cold chased themselves over his skin, like bugs crawling across his face, down his arms . . . His arms were yellow white, glowing. Irregular dark spots oozed down his arms. The Sunspots of 3514. Some of the best known sequential pictures of sunspots. He clawed at his arms . . . felt Brekley try to stop him, and stopped.
Another spell hit. He curled up and closed himself up as hard as he could, and failed to scream.
Many times.
Chapter Four
Astronomers
Marius boggled at the priests and eyed the minor gods askance.
"Of course, certainly you may come in . . . Warric actually . . . Gods Arbol . . . " Marius felt flat and shallow, so closed up. "Well, well . . . at least that will clear up any doubts about the inheritance."
The older man eyed him. The other one, in the yellow robe, looked to be about Marius's age. His attention was all for the little gods who were peering about warily.
"I mean, such a great honor for, for my elder half-brother. Incredible news. Please, sit . . . sorry this is poor accommodations for men of your eminence . . . Trill, wine and cheese, now." Yelling down the stairs gave him an excuse to step away, to turn his back for a moment.
"You have a servant?"
"Two. The girl's brother is somewhere about. Lazy sod." Marius tried to keep tone and expression lofty and superior. "Dependents of my father's."
Trill trotted up from the basement and slid a tray onto the scratched side table and fled.
The older priest strolled over and eyed the bottle. "Hardly the starving student, are you?"
"No sir, father is generous in his allowance . . . this bottle he sent six months ago, so I could toast his birthday next week. I'm sure he'll understand my opening it now." Marius managed to open the bottle without messing up the cork and dropping bits into the wine. He poured a few sips, for the initial tasting . . . Trill had sent up three glasses. He eyed the little gods, only two of which were actually little. The other two . . . one very nearly touched the ceiling, the other's face was twisted, deformed about the lips. At least he was normal sized.
"None for Initiate Herbah. He has to maintain control of the little gods."
"Oh. Right." Marius ignored his headache, and made a show of breathing the heady fumes, and rolling a sip of wine over his tongue.
The priest took the other glass. A thump at the back door. Trace lumbered in, arms laden with sacks from the grocer. He stopped and boggled at the little gods, the priest in his red robe, the initiate in yellow. The closest dwarf lifted his nose and sniffed.
The initiate stiffened. The dwarf stepped closer, sniffing at the bags. "Sausage . . . "
A snort from the priest.
Marius swallowed. Hoped he wasn't sweating too noticeably.
The priest sipped wine. Nodded. "Nice, very nice." Sip. "But I'm afraid we must be going now, having delivered the good news." A larger mouthful to finish it.
Marius recorked the bottle. "Please, do take the rest. Father will be pleased to hear you liked it."
Trace had pulled out a paper-wrapped bundle from a bag. At Marius's nod he handed it to the dwarf, who snatched it and retreated, snarling at his fellows as they all started jostling to get closer.
The priest sniffed disdainfully and walked out without another word. The initiate herded the little gods out and followed.
Marius closed the door behind them and wiped tears from his cheeks. "A major god. They said Warric is a major god."
Trace sat down abruptly and stared down at his arms full of sacks. "I should have stayed with him. Dammit, he always thought of other people first."
"Yeah. And keep your shield up. You can't trust them to really be gone."
Trill hustled up the steps from the kitchen. "Shh! Say nothing the least bit suspicious." She raised her voice a bit. "The lord and lady, I suppose they told them first. They'll be . . . very . . . proud." Her voice squeaked up at the end and she thumped down on the floor and started bawling.
Marius looked at Trace. "And . . . we're going to have to act like everything is normal. I'll have to go to classes tomorrow."
"Yeah. Good thing I gave away the sausage. I don't think I can eat anything tonight."
And they did carry on.
Stunned, wondering how to rescue Warric, and finally acknowledging that they could not.
"We don't know where he is . . . probably somewhere in that Temple . . . I think it's bigger than the University grounds, and packed tight with buildings." Marius looked away. I can't think of anything to do.
Trill sniffed behind him. "No telling what they've done to him. I never believed those stories, about the major gods being normal looking children."
Marius was only a few months behind Warric, in his astronomy degree. And if his doctorial thesis wasn't as brilliant as Warric's, it did gain him his doctorate.
With his degree, came an appointment to the Imperial Observatory on the island volcano off the east coast. Where Warric ought to be working. After much consultation with his parents, Trace returned home and Trill traveled as Marius's technical aid to his new posting.
'If they won't hire her, I'll pay her. It's quite clear from all your letters how much she does for you.' Trill blushed as she read Lord Menchuro's letter over his shoulder.
Mount Olympus was impressive, its position well south of the equator gave an excellent view of some of the most interesting phenomena, and its remote location ensured the darkest skies.
Doctor Alder Jinkin welcomed him, raised an eyebrow at his 'assistant' and put him to work. Within a week he'd apologized to Trill for his misapprehension of her position, and was paying her to do most o
f his photographic developing as well. With three astronomers on staff, plus half a dozen short-term researchers coming and going, it was a busy complex, and Marius easily talked the doctor into adding Trace to his staff to manage the operations, living quarters, and supplies. Their ability to jury-rig, repair and overcome obstacles were declared invaluable and they settled in for a very comfortable two years.
Marius kept up to date on a number of things, especially multi-dimensional phenomena. And news.
"They've got an Embassy Planet. With gates everywhere." Marius looked up from his newspaper to meet Dr. Jinkin's gaze. "We need a mobile telescope that we can take to other Worlds, for comparisons."
The proposal was written up, and submitted. By the time it was approved, the main mirror had been ordered from the Church, and the tube and the wagon mount built. They shipped it all to Norton Harbor, and bought a team of horses to pull it to Paree.
Lord and Lady Menchuro and Tras met them there. Grey haired, all of them. With a hint of sadness they tried to conceal. "You three be careful, out there. Losing one of you was bad enough." Lord Menchuro cleared his throat. "I understand they're building an embassy there, with a Senior Priest going, with all of his entourage."
They all three froze for a moment.
"I don't know. I doubt they've trained him well enough yet." The old man looked away, blinking away a wetness in his eyes.
Trill heaved a shaky sigh. "Three years. They've probably killed everything we loved in him. I don't know whether I want to see him again or if I'm terrified to see him again." Her mother hugged her.
"In any case," Lady Menchuro straightened. "You will be cool and controlled and pretend you don't recognize him, if you do see him. Because he may well have been driven so insane that he's dangerous even to you three. And if he showed any sign of recognition, they'd probably take him away and torture him until that was gone too."
Trill winced and nodded. "We're just the assistants to Doctor Menchuro, the well known astronomer. We don't have anything to do with the priests, and certainly not with their gods, major or minor."
Marius had an accumulation of mail from the Church and the Foreign Ministry. They all ganged up on it, and organized the rest of their preparations. Trace and Trill collected and mounted the lens and oculars, and they tested the focus with and without the photographic equipment. They were tentatively planning on a six month stay, their first expedition. Trill packed enough chemicals for twice that. Marius met several times with the Foreign Office, and also with the Priests. He reported their discussions, and they talked over the ramifications.
Marius was cynical. "They'll find a way to shoehorn this into their cosmology so that they stay on top. They're just a bit unsteady because they haven't quite figured out how to yet. Little gods! I am so glad Warric dragged me into science, so I can ignore politics."
The next day he returned home pale and silent. Lady Menchuro took a long look at him and sent the servants out. "I think you saw him today." It wasn't a question.
Marius jerked his head up. "I almost didn't recognize him. They've . . . he's glowing, and has little loops of light like solar prominences and flares all over him, and, and knobby things like a wart hog here and there. No hair. He didn't make a sound the whole time, never glanced my way. Then, then, when I was sort of near, his hand, he made an okay sign, then walked away following his Priest. He didn't even look at me. Didn't look at anything." He sunk his head into his hands. "The Head Priests were very pleased with the god's demeanor, told the Senior Priest he'd be the one assigned to the embassy."
Trace and Trill brightened. The adults looked alarmed.
"I knew you'd take it like that." Marius eyed his friends. "If we try, we'd better succeed. And we'd better have someplace untouchable to run to. Because we'll never, ever, be able to come home."
Lord Menchuro looked old and tired. "I don't think Arrival would give you asylum. They would have to know it would mean war."
Marius nodded. "It'll have to be one of the other Worlds. Maybe Earth itself."
Chapter Five
The Multiverse
They passed through the Gate for the first time a week later. Just to look around, to scout around for a good site for their temporary observatory.
They stepped from a walled, guarded compound. An arch of rock held a whirlpool of brilliant fog. Marius looked at it dubiously.
"We Priests can see the energies of the Gate. The Power is invisible to you Normals. " Their guide was a middle-aged man, fortunately with no gods in sight.
"That's an impressive fountain." Trill was looking through the Gate, and practically scurried to hide behind Marius when the priest looked her way.
"Was it actually necessary to bring your woman along?" The Priest looked contemptuously down at him.
"Trill is one of my technical staff. Unusual, I know." Marius tried for haughty and noble. "But developing the photographic plates is rather like cooking, it seems to need a touch of the artistic as well as a solid foundation in the craft. Are we waiting for anyone else?"
"No. No one. Come, then. Do not stop walking until you are well clear of the Gate. To recoil is to be thrown back through. I understand it's especially painful if someone is coming the other direction. With the mechanical Gates Earth and One are able to make, it's generally fatal. These so called Permanent Gates are weaker, and more flexible."
He walked forward and stepped confidently into the blinding fog, and Marius strode after him. Keep walking, keep walking, keep walking. A split second of feeling like falling, then he was blinking at a warm sunny plaza. He stumbled forward, then stepped aside. The fountain was indeed impressive. Pulling his eyes away from it, he looked back at the gate. Trill walked through, unconcerned, followed by Trace, looking a bit green.
Marius looked around. "Nice and flat, good sight lines. We'll need to get a bit away from these buildings, especially if there are lights at night." Five buildings in sight. Only one with no signs of construction. He pulled out his compass and frowned as the needle pointed at the Gate. He stepped around and the needle held steady on the Gate. "Huh. Which way is north?"
The Priest smirked at his compass. "The Gates are a highly charged phenomenon. That way is north."
Marius walked away from the gate, eyes on the compass. Fifty feet away the needle swung around and pointed in the direction the ambassador had indicated. Not highly charged.
The ambassador pointed across the plaza. "That is the Comet Fall Embassy. The black edifice to the right belongs to the rather quaintly named Department of Interdimensional Security and Cooperation Organization. That girl walking across from there is their Director of Research. She will be the person who will, or will not grant you access to various Worlds for your research."
Across what must be nearly a quarter mile of plaza, Marius could only guess that the figure was female from the slenderness. Certainly there was nothing feminine about the movement.
"The Ambassador has spoken to . . . them." The priest turned his back on her. "Our Embassy building will be ready for habitation in another two months."
Marius followed his gaze. The building under construction was going to look like a small version of the Temple on the outside. The inside was hollow, stepped back as it rose, like the inverse of a pyramid.
Marius saw the logic of it immediately. "Ah, letting in the sun for you priests and any gods, while keeping out all prying eyes."
The priest shot him a stern look. "You will not mention our need of sun to anyone."
Marius bowed. "No sir. And in any case, I shall be a brief visitor and I firmly intend to stick to science and avoid politics."
"An excellent attitude for a scientist." He scowled over his shoulder and turned around again. "That towering mess over there is the Earth Embassy, and on the west side, the One World. The Earth is a Godless wasteland. The One World a heretical mess, with their weak 'One' Power being worshipped as some disembodied spiritual God. And Comet Fall. Where Gods walk the streets committing may
hem without constraints." By the end of his speech the approaching 'girl' had crossed the last stretch and stopped.
"Good afternoon, Priest Kessler. Your construction goes well." If she had overheard that last, she ignored it.
Marius eyed her dubiously. 'Girl' wasn't far off. She looked younger than Trill. Tall, light brown hair, dark blue eyes.
"Thank you, Doctor Quicksilver. May I introduce Doctor Marius Menchuro and his staff?"
"Quail Quicksilver, a pleasure to meet you."
Marius shook her hand. Her grip was strong, her hands calloused. "Umm, yes. Trace of Breesdon and Trill of Breesdon."
The Priest curled a lip at the low class place names, the alien girl simply shook hands.
"So, you want to compare what, exactly, from World to World?"
"Oh, exact locations of everything we can think of. Once we find some differences, we can refine our targeting. But to start with, we need to not limit the scope of our endeavors."
"I see. Do you need to be in the same place on every World? That could get difficult, what with the geologic differences."
"It would be easiest if we were at the same latitude every time. It would make some of the close comparisons easier. The distant stars we won't have to worry about that, but asteroids and planetary studies. . . well it really is too small an angular difference to matter."
"Well, in case it does, sticking to the same latitude is simple enough. This World is currently in an ice age, so despite the nice weather we're just a few degrees north of the equator. If this is a good starting latitude, we should be able to be consistent from World to World."
"Oh, excellent. Now, for the exact spot to work from," Marius nodded to what was roughly north west. "Something like that bare hill would be ideal."
"By all means, use it. Would you like a corridor to it?" He must have looked blank because she explained immediately. "Corridors are like weak gates. They link between places on the same World. One will save you a ten mile trip each direction."