End of the Circle

by Jack McKinney

  Keeps us all humble.

  I suppose I was looking the other way, but it seemed like I was the only one surprised when Aurora ran for Interworld Council and became the youngest representative-elect ever. She’s not maturing at her accelerated rate anymore, but no one appears to care.

  Max and Miriya are Earth’s ambassadors to Tirol/Fantoma, of course, so they get to see Aurora all the time.

  Which sounds good to an old lady whose son and husband seem to spend most of their hours in that damned old Fokker. Somehow, the little Dr. 1 triplane made it through the whole newspace dustup, stowed away down there in a hold in SDF-3. Roy-my-darling-boy handed Rick the wrenches and whatnot, and Rick put some kind of power plant into that kite that makes it do things Manfred von Richthofen could only dream about.

  They’re up in it most of their waking hours, as Roy feasts on the wonders of Earth. I’m invited along whenever I want to go (and intrude upon the male bonding? Thanks, Rick!), but my editor keeps yelling about this deadline.

  We didn’t come home to paradise; there are still crises and suffering and conflict, but it’s a very different world, a different galaxy, from the one we left when we entered newspace.

  Louie Nichols once confided to me that he thought the Shapings had come to an end, that a certain cycle of downfall, redemption, and renewal had played out to its finish, leaving us to make our own Shapings from now on.

  I like the sound of it.

  Looking back over this manuscript, I see there’s no way I can fit in every detail.

  Such as: that boisterous exploratory tour Exedore and Cabell took, the pink-haired Lantas mother-henning them, here on Earth, and Cabell’s newfound dotty passion for classic rock music (who can explain the Presley fixation?).

  Or the story of how the Haydonites—those saved from the wreckage of their world—have become a sort of wandering interstellar Peace Corps. Much of their effort went into helping Earth and New Praxis rebuild.

  The people at New Random House are just going to have to understand that I can’t write CLOSE-FILE to this one; among other things, work on SDF-4 is nearing completion.

  Vince Grant, Crysta, and Baldan will be here any minute to take me upstairs for another inspection tour. Soon we’ll know whether the saga of Protoculture made itself felt in the Andromeda Galaxy or if things there are a new story entirely.

  When I joined the service, no woman had ever commanded a spacecraft-of-the-line. Through luck and the turn of events and a bit of merit, I’ve commanded the greatest vessels Earth ever put into space. Having achieved that, I’m not ready to hand it over yet.

  Check back with me in another ten years or so.

  Rick made me watch Roy Fokker’s favorite old-time movie, Things to Come, and that “Which shall it be?” speech at the end never fails to make the two of us tear up a bit. But at least now we know the answer to the question posed by Raymond Massey, and it is one worthy of the human race.

  Still, I can’t get it out of my mind that one part of this story hasn’t been finished and, it seems, never will be. At least not in my lifetime.

  … but her songs play on after her. And the universe listens …

  The Flowers grew best up on the hill near where the SDF-3 fold drive casing sat.

  Minmei liked going up there to sit and think and to sing into the dark spaces cast by the casing’s mighty shadow, especially now that her time was drawing near.

  The second bubble in newspace, shielded from the in-Human forces of Haydon’s new natural laws, was very different from that in which the Elders passed their eons. Perhaps some of the materials came from the sphere ships; in any event, Minmei and Rem reigned now over a worldlet encompassing a small island and a tiny sea.

  They wandered it at their pleasure. Even though the life-forms there were alien, there was nothing to hamper them on the land or menace them in the sea; the new dominion was benign.

  Why Haydon had chosen to leave the drives there on the hilltop, they were not sure; some godly whim, perhaps.

  They had no reason to complain, though, as they had no reason to complain of the gentle climate or the passage of the warm sun across the seemingly infinite sky. At night the stars, nebulas, comets, and frequent meteors entertained them, though they suspected that the show was all illusion.

  Rem examined the Flowers of Life that grew around the silent drives and pronounced them harmless, pollinated; soon they would bear fruit.

  Every now and then, at night, they could hear the yips of Pollinators playing around on the hillsides, but the little beasts took fright and fled when they heard Rem and Minmei coming. She took no offense and knew no despair; she had all the time in the world to win their confidence.

  Rem was sitting in thought, off at the end of the point, watching waves break on the reef. He often did that, and she let him.

  He had built a simple, complete, comfortable life for them both, using their world’s resources and the tools and materials that the invisible Haydon had provided—had left waiting against their first moment of reawakening. She loved Rem’s company but did not begrudge him his solitude.

  And she valued her own. Minmei sang to the little life in her womb, sang all the songs she knew. The songs would become a part of the being within.

  The songs would become a part of everything he did or fashioned.

  And in the end Minmei’s songs and voice would become a part of the Protoculture itself—the key to it.

  Her glimpse of the Intersection and the inevitable nature of the Shapings’ cycle had imbued in Minmei a sense of acceptance.

  Even heredity conspired. Rem’s genetic structure had been altered from that of the original Zor, but now, in joining with hers, it would produce the man who would change the universe. Not a duplicate or clone but Zor himself.

  Minmei did not understand by what process her baby would become that man, but Rem seemed certain of it and the inevitability of it. Haydon, he would say, and then he would go down to the sea to be by himself for a while.

  Minmei turned to the long shadow cast by the drives and sang a note. Something moved iridescently in the shadows far out beyond her worldlet’s atmosphere. It was enormous, something felt rather than seen.

  Minmei knew what Rem was thinking: of the suffering and strife that would begin when Zor grew to manhood. But she herself was not so sure. The Shapings had fallen away, and perhaps that meant that Reshapings could bring things to a better resolution.

  As she sat plucking idly at the petals of a Flower of Life, a sudden thought struck her. A woman can have more than one child.

  She heard a distant hail; Rem was trotting along far below, coming up the beach to help her down the steep hillside trail.

  Minmei uttered another note into the darkness; there seemed to sit, for an instant, an Optera undefiled by Masters’ wars or Sentinels’ counterattacks. And beyond it was a galaxy at peace with itself.

  Waiting for her child. Bit by bit, she was getting them perfect. Out in the vastness, working as an artisan to shape her vision, the Awareness of Haydon, left behind by Him to carry out this specific function, waited patiently to form a new and more perfect Creation, in harmony with her song.

  She did not know yet whether this cosmos she was shaping would replace the one she had known or stand as an alternative. She did not know if it would be the one into which her son would enter.

  But a woman can have more than one child.

  Minmei let the note die away, and the darkness came forward again, to conceal her work.

  She went to sit on a rock, cooled by the sea breeze, and wait. As she sat, she sang.

  THE END

  Published by New Random House

  2156 (Earth actual)

  FOR RISA KESSLER—AGAIN

  —AT THE END OF THE

  CIRCLE.

  Published by Ballantine Books:

  THE ROBOTECH™ SERIES

  GENESIS #1

  BATTLE CRY #2

  HOMECOMING #3

  BATTLEH
YMN #4

  FORCE OF ARMS #5

  DOOMSDAY #6

  SOUTHERN CROSS #7

  METAL FIRE #8

  THE FINAL NIGHTMARE #9

  INVID INVASION #10

  METAMORPHOSIS #11

  SYMPHONY OF LIGHT #12

  THE SENTINELS™ SERIES

  THE DEVIL’S HAND #1

  DARK POWERS #2

  DEATH DANCE #3

  WORLD KILLERS #4

  RUBICON #5

  ROBOTECH: THE END OF THE CIRCLE #18

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Jack McKinney has been a psychiatric aide, fusion-rock guitarist and session man, worldwide wilderness guide, and “consultant” to the U.S. Military in Southeast Asia (although they had to draft him for that).

  His numerous other works of mainstream and science fiction—novels, radio, and television scripts—have been written under various pseudonyms.

  He resides in Ubud, on the Indonesian island of Bali.

  Portions of The End of the Circle were written in Lamu, Kenya, and Katmandu.

  (PUBLISHER’S NOTE: While the above biography is accurate, it is actually a composite bio of two authors who agreed to merge minds and identities, and reflect the influence of various friends and advisers for the Robotech series. Now, with the completion of the saga, they are separate entities once more. This is not, however, to suggest that Jack McKinney will disappear. In fact, a new project is already in the works.)

  APPENDIX

  Thanks to the magic of electronic publishing, it has become practical to update the classic Robotech novelizations. Many of these changes are simple spelling and grammar corrections while others are minor continuity corrections which were made to more closely match the events of the television episodes. Such continuity updates were made where we felt it could be done without too much disruption to the original prose, and left alone in other instances where we felt the disruption would outweigh the benefit. For those of you curious about the specific changes made, we offer the following list of updates and errata:

  UPDATES TO ALL CHAPTERS:

  Different spellings of Jonathan Wolff’s last name have been updated to “Wolfe,” which was the spelling Carl Macek settled on in later books.

  The spelling of “Regis” has been updated to “Regess” (feminine of Regent).

  Miriya Parino’s last name corrected to “Parina” to match the TV show.

  “Quadrono” updated to “Quadrano”

  UPDATES:

  Print page 5: Scott’s vehicle changed to match the Alphta-Beta he used in the TV show.

  Print page 9: The return of government to the Earth corrected from fifteen years to twenty-two years.

  Print page 95: After revising the timeline for consistency with the television show, the year of Jonathan Wolff’s return has been changed from 2033 to 2031.

  ROBOTECH CHRONOLOGY

  1999 A.D.

  An Alien spaceship crash-lands on Earth. Effectively ending almost a decade of Global Civil War. Originally called “The Visitor,” the ship is dubbed Super Dimensional Fortress I—the SDF-1

  Dr. Emil Lang, after an initial recon of the ship (in the company of Roy Fokker, Henry Gloval, T.R. Edwards, and others), begins to unravel the secrets of the extraterrestrial science known as Robotech.

  Macross Island becomes the focal point of Robotechnology, and restoration commences on the SDF-1

  In another part of the galaxy, Zor is killed by Invid Soldiers during a Flower of Life seeding attempt. The Zentraedi Breetai is wounded during the same raid. Commander in chief Dolza orders Commander Reno to return Zor’s body to the Robotech Masters on Tirol.

  Interstellar war with the Invid, whose homeworld, Optera, has been defoliated by the Zentraedi, continues to chip away at the fringes of the Master’ galactic empire.

  2002 A.D.

  Disaster at the Mars Base Sara, Lisa Hayes’s boyfriend, Karl Riber, is killed. Lisa Turns 17.

  Development of the reconfigurable Veritech Fighter begins.

  On Tirol, Cabell creates Rem by cloning tissue from Zor. The Masters, too, have their way with Zor’s body, cloning tissue for their own purposes and extracting from the scientist’s residual cellular memories a vision of Earth—destination of the fortress and Protoculture matrix he has stolen and spirited from their grasp.

  2003-08 A.D.

  Rose of the United Earth Defense Council under the leadership of Senator Russo, Admiral Hayes, T.R. Edwards, and others.

  Roy Fokker and Claudia Grant become fast friends.

  Lisa Hayes is assigned to the SDF-1 project on Macross, under the command of Captain Henry Gloval.

  Tommy Luan is elected mayor of Macross City

  2009 A.D.

  On the SDF-1’s launch day the Zentraedi (after a ten-year search for Zor’s fortress and the missing Protoculture matrix) appear and lay siege to Macross Island. The fortress makes an accidental hyperspace jump to Pluto, carrying the island and its population of 75,000 along with it. 15-year old Lynn Minmei and 19-year-old Rick Hunter are caught up in the spacefold.

  2009-2011 A.D.

  The SDF-1 begins its way back to Earth with Macross City rebuilt inside its massive holds.

  Rick Hunter joins the RDF and earns the rank of Lieutenant, with Ben Dixon and Max Sterling assigned to his VT squadron.

  The Battle at Saturn’s Rings.

  Lynn Minmei is voted “Miss Macross.”

  Breetai calls up the Botoru Battalion, led by the notorious “Khyron the Backstabber.”

  The Battle at Mars Base Sara.

  Rick, Lisa, Max, and Ben are captured by Breetai and interrogated by the Zentraedi commander in chief, Dolza.

  The Earth forces learn of the term “Protoculture” for the first time.

  Three “micronized” Zentraedi spies- Rock, Konda, and Bron – are successfully inserted into the SDF-1, which returns back to Earth.

  Lynn Minmei is reunited with her cousin, Lynn-Kyle.

  Rick Hunter is seriously wounded during a Zentraedi attack on the fortress.

  Roy Fokker is killed during a raid led by Miriya Parino.

  After almost six months on Earth, the SDF-1 is ordered to leave by the leaders of the UEDC.

  Ben Dixon is killed.

  Little White Dragon is aired.

  The Minmei Cult has its beginning aboard the flagship of the Zentraedi fleet.

  Lynn-Kyle founds a peace movement aboard the SDF-1.

  Asylum is granted to the three Zentraedi spies, and their fellow defectors.

  Max Sterling weds former Zentraedi Quadrano ace Miriya Parino.

  Exedore arrives aboard the SDF-1 for peace talks.

  The Zentraedi armada appears in Earth-space and lays waste to much of the Planet.

  At Alaska Base, the Grand Cannon is destroyed after it returns fire “in a damaged state” and Admiral Hayes is killed. T.R. Edwards survives and vows to avenge himself on Rick and Lisa “who did not stop to help rescue T.R. Edwards.”

  The SDF-1, with assistance from Lynn Minmei’s singing, defeats Dolza’s armada of four million ships and returns to a ravaged Earth.

  2012-2014 A.D.

  A period of reconstruction begins, with humans and Zentraedi working side by side.

  Dana Sterling and Bowie Grant (son of Claudia Grant’s brother, Vince) are born.

  The factory satellite is captured from Commander Reno and folded to Earth-space.

  Dr. Lang and Professor Lazlo Zand begin work on a secret project involving artificial intelligence. Zand takes particular interest in the infant Dana and under goes a Protoculture mind boost.

  Khyron makes a surprise appearance and takes Minmei and Lynn-Kyle hostage.

  The destruction of New Macross, the SDF-1 and SDF-2, along with Khyron’s forces. Henry Gloval, Claudia Grant, Sammie Porter, Vanessa Leeds, and Kim Young are among the many casualties. The remains of the three ships are in tomb and buried under tons of earthen debris dredged up from Lake Gloval.

  2015-2017 A.D.

&nb
sp; The Robotech Masters lose confidence in their race of warrior clones and begin a mass pilgrimage through interstellar space to Earth to recapture Zor’s Protoculture matrix.

  Zentraedi Malcontent Uprisings in the Southlands Control Zone (South America). Jonathan Wolfe comes to the attention of Commander Max Sterling.

  The Robotech Expeditionary Force is formed for the express purpose of journeying to Tirol to sue for peace with the Robotech Masters. Aboard the factory satellite, work commences on the SDF-3.

  Rise of Monument city and Anatole Leonard’s Army of the Southern Cross.

  Lynn Minmei takes on a singing partner, the android JANICE, at Emil Lang’s urging.

  The Invid complete their conquest of Garuda, Praxis, Karbarra, and Spheris.

  2022 A.D.

  Rick Hunter and Lisa Hayes wed aboard the Factory Satellite. Dana and Bowie are given over to the care of Rolf and Laura Emerson.

  The SDF-3 is launched.