The Dreaming Void v-1

by Peter Hamilton

  'I have to work later tonight, she said. 'Can't afford lack of judgement from alcohol.

  'Good self-control. I like that.

  'Thank you, she said levelly.

  'I got the impression you weren't impressed tonight.

  People nearby were discreetly looking their way. Likan's voice was as forceful as it had been on the podium. That at least gave the impression of a strong personality.

  Araminta sipped her pear water, wondering how to play this. 'I was hoping for more detail, she told him.

  'What kind of detail? Come on, you paid for your ticket, you're entitled.

  'Okay: small company, doing well. Needs to step up a level. Do you re-invest profits and ride a gradual expansion with each project slightly larger than the last, or do you take the bank loan and jump ten levels.

  'How small a company?

  'One woman band, supported by some bots.

  'Company product?

  'Property development.

  'Good choice for a start up. High profitability relative to scale. There is a ceiling, though, especially with one person. After the first three properties there should be enough profit to take on more staff. With that you move on from one property at a time, and start multiple developments. Timing for that has never been better, property is the hot item here today thanks to Living Dream.

  'Everything is relative. With that demand, a developer has to buy high.

  'Then this developer should buy a whole street that's in decline. It's a profit multiplier, the individual unit prices rise because you've taken the entire street upmarket and made it desirable.

  'That's a big step.

  'The level of risk you are prepared to undertake is proportional to your growth potential. If you don't take it you are declaring this far and no further. That will define your life. I don't think you want that.

  'Question: would you advise the staff expansion be accomplished by becoming multiple?

  'No.

  'Why not?

  'Going multiple only seems like a solution to a solo act. Ultimately it's a lifestyle choice rather than a business one. Ask yourself what you can accomplish by being multiple that you can't by good aggressive management. As you came to listen to me tonight I know you're already thinking ahead, thinking big. Property is a foundation stone for a corporate empire. A good one, I still have a vast property portfolio, but to achieve real market dominance you must diversify and interlock your interests. That's what Sheldon did. He used his interstellar transport monopoly as a cash source to fund industrial, commercial, and financial enterprises on a hundred worlds. At the time of the Starflyer War he was effectively Emperor of the Commonwealth.

  'Do you want to be our emperor?

  'Yes.

  Araminta was slightly shaken by his bluntness. She thought he was somehow calling her bluff. 'Why?

  'Because it's a position where you can do whatever you want. The ultimate freedom. Isn't that what we all strive for?

  'With power comes responsibility.

  'That's what politicians tell you when they want your vote. There's a difference between political power and financial power, especially out here in the External Worlds. I'd like to demonstrate that to you.

  'How would you do that?

  'Come and stay with me at my home for a weekend. See first hand what I've achieved. Decide if that's what you want for yourself.

  'What about your wives? It was common knowledge just how staunchly committed he was to replicating his idol's ideology and life, including (or perhaps especially) the harem.

  'What about them?

  'Won't they mind my visit?

  'No. They'll be joining us in bed.

  That'll teach me; you can't be more direct to my face than that. She was pleased with the way she kept her reaction in check, no startled expression, no give-away body language — squaring the shoulders, straightening the back. In effect telling him she could hold her own against him any day. 'I accept, she said as if it was some kind of request to review finance statements.

  'I knew I was right about you, he said.

  'In what way?

  'You know yourself, you know what you want. That's always dangerous.

  'To whom?

  'To everyone else. That's what makes you so desirable.

  'Win-win, then, she mocked.

  * * * * *

  The Alexis Denken slid comfortably into the big airlock at the base of the Raiel dome stalk. Behind it, the stars vanished as the wall materialized again. Paula stood up, pulled wrinkles out of her suit jacket self-consciously, and straightened her spine. The High Angel teleported her into Qatux's private chamber. Raiel homes were traditionally split into three sections: public, residence, and private. You had to be a very good friend indeed to be invited beyond the public. The circular chamber had a pale-blue floor while, in keeping with tradition, the ceiling was invisible somewhere overhead. Around her, silver and grey walls rippled as if water was flowing down them, yet there was no sound, no dampness in the air. Beyond the cavorting surface, images of planetscapes and strange galaxies writhed insubstan-tially. However, one image remained firm and clear, a human face that Paula knew only too well.

  She inclined her head to the big alien who occupied the centre of the chamber.

  'Paula, I rejoice you are here.

  'It's been a long time, Qatux. How are you?

  'I am well. If I were a human, I would be fit.

  'I am glad.

  'I have risen to the High Angel's fifth echelon.

  'How many are there?

  'Five.

  Paula laughed, she'd forgotten Qatux's sly humour. 'So you're the captain, then.

  'I have that honour.

  'Congratulations.

  'And you, Paula, do you continue to prosper?

  'I continue to be very busy. For me that's about the same thing.

  'That is to be expected. There are few of your species who remain in their bodies for as long as you have.

  'It's also why I'm here. I need information.

  'Just like the good old days. How intriguing.

  Paula cocked her head to one side as she regarded the big alien. That phrase was slightly out of kilter. Qatux's eye clusters remained steady on her. Long ago it would never have been so bold as to tease her. But then long ago it had been something of a wreck, until the Far Away mission came along. Of course, she'd been very different then, too. 'The starship Alini has just visited the Raiel dome. Can you tell me if these people were on board. Her u-shadow retrieved image files for Aaron and Corrie-Lyn.

  'They were, Qatux whispered.

  'What did they want?

  'I believe their mission was confidential.

  She gave her old friend a shrewd glance, not liking the conclusions she was drawing. 'It was you who saw them, wasn't it?

  'Yes. The bottom set of tentacle limbs shivered slightly, the Raiel equivalent of a blush.

  'Qatux, did you review Inigo's memories?

  'I did.

  'Why? she asked, genuinely concerned. 'I thought that had stopped centuries ago. Tiger… She couldn't finish. Her gaze was drawn to the face suspended behind the wall. Tiger Pansy's silly carefree grin looked hauntingly back at her, obviously captured at a moment when the woman was blissfully happy.

  'I know, the Raiel whispered. 'It is not a return to my addiction, I assure you. There would be few Raiel indeed who could refuse the opportunity of experiencing Inigo's mind. He dreams the Void, Paula. The Void! That evil enigma bedevils us to a degree which humans will never appreciate.

  'All right, Paula ran her hand back through her hair, making an effort to ignore the uncomfortable personal side effects which the case was kicking up. 'Inigo's memorycell was stolen from a clinic on Anagaska. Why did you help Aaron?

  'I did not know the memories were stolen. He arrived in an ultradrive starship. It was intimated that he was a representative of ANA: Governance. In truth, he never confirmed that. I am sorry. I believe I was had. How stupid, me
of all Raiel. The deception was quite simple.

  'Don't beat yourself up over it. Happens to the best of us. So what did he want to know?

  'He asked me to guess where Inigo might be.

  'Clever man. Which is curious in itself. There aren't many humans who knew of your little problem. One of them must have joined up to a Faction. So what did you tell him?

  'I guessed Inigo might be on Hanko.

  'Hanko? But it's just a radioactive ruin. She stopped, examining the idea. 'But, Earth aside, it is his ethnic birthworld. Still, an odd choice.

  'Are you aware he was born Higher?

  'No I was not! That has never been on any file. Are you sure?

  Qatux's biggest tentacles waved in agitation. 'I am forty years of his early life, Paula. Through me you are talking to the young Inigo.

  'If ANA: Governance and I didn't know, then its pretty certain very few other people did, either. That changes his whole profile. No wonder nobody could ever find him. As a Higher he has much greater personal resources.

  'Will you go after Aaron and Corrie-Lyn?

  'I'm not sure. I hadn't envisaged Aaron being so close to finding Inigo. But even if he is on Hanko it'll take Aaron a while to actually track him down. I need to consult with ANA: Governance on this. Thank you for helping, Qatux.

  'You are welcome, Paula. Always.

  She was on the verge of asking to be teleported back to her ship when she hesitated. 'What do the Raiel think of the Pilgrimage?

  'That it is incredibly foolish. Opening the Dyson Alpha barrier was one thing, but this takes your obduracy to a whole new level. Why does ANA: Governance allow it?

  Paula sighed. 'I have no idea. Humans always want to test their boundaries, it's an instinctive thing.

  'It is a stupid thing.

  'We're not as old as you. We don't have species-wide wisdom, let alone responsibility.

  'Higher humans do.

  'The tenet of universal responsibility is the root of their culture, but as individuals they have a long way to go. And as for ANA, it's like the intellectual equivalent of primordial ooze in there; who knows what's going to come wiggling out triumphantly at the end of the day. I'm beginning to doubt ANA: Governance's ability to keep order.

  'Are you serious?

  'I don't know, she admitted. 'This whole event has me badly troubled. There are too many people playing with catastrophic unknowns. Part of me, the old part that worships order, wants to shut down the entire Pilgrimage project. It's obviously a monstrous folly. Yet the liberal side of me agrees that these people have a right to seek happiness, especially when nothing in the Commonwealth appeals to them. It's indicative of our cultural heritage that we cannot provide a home for everyone.

  'But Paula, their «right» to seek the solution of perfection in the Void will endanger the rest of the galaxy. That right cannot be permitted.

  'Quite. And yet, we don't have conclusive proof that the Void will respond the way you claim.

  Qatux was silent, as if startled. 'You doubt us, Paula?

  'Humans need to know things for themselves. It is our nature, Qatux.

  'I understand that. I am sorry for you.

  'We're being too melancholy. I give you my word I'm working to try and sort out this mess.

  'As always you are honourable. I hope you succeed. I would not like to see our two species fall into conflict.

  'We won't.

  * * * * *

  The High Angel teleported Paula back into the cabin of the Alexis Denken. Like all modern starships the cabin could provide her with every physical necessity; like a hotel room with a particularly bad view. She ordered up a plain chair and took her guitar out of the storage locker. Music was something she'd come to late in life. As her genetically ordained compulsions were slowly erased, so she found her cultural horizons expanding. Art was a whole area she could never quite appreciate, she was always looking for rationalist explanation in every work. Literature was a lot more satisfactory, stories had a point, a resolution. Not that there were many books released into the Unisphere these days, current writers tended to produce outlines and scripts for sensory dramas.

  But the classics were enjoyable enough; the only genre she tended to shy away from was crime and thrillers. Poetry she ignored as an absurd irrelevance. Music, though, had something for every mood, every place. She took a great deal of pleasure from it, listening to everything from orchestral arrangements to singer songwriters, jazz to gaianature tonality, choral to starsphere dance. The Alexis Denken would often streak between star systems reverberating to the sounds of Rachmaninoff or Pink Floyd or Deeley KTC.

  Paula sat back and started to pluck a few chords at random, then gradually dropped into Johnny Cash's 'The Wanderer'. She didn't try to sing; there were some limits in life you just had to accept. Instead the smartcore projected the Man in Black into the cabin, and he started to croon along to her melody.

  The song helped her think.

  She knew she should be heading straight for Orakum or even Hanko, but she was feeling a lot more troubled by Qatux's last comment than she ought to have been. It seemed as though this whole Pilgrimage situation was designed to disrupt her judgement and objectivity.

  That, or I'm just getting lonely and uncertain in my old age.

  Paula finished strumming. The Man in Black gave her a forlorn look, and she waved her hand dismissively. The smartcore cancelled the projection.

  Her u-shadow opened a link to Kazimir — someone who did have empathy for her position.

  'What can I do for you? he asked.

  'I'm at the High Angel. Aaron gave Inigo's memorycell to Qatux. Someone knew about our friend's predilection.

  'Did Qatux review it?

  'Oh yes. Qatux told Aaron that Inigo was probably hiding out on Hanko.

  'Interesting. Presumably that's where the Artful Dodger aka the Alini is heading?

  'Yes.

  'Another ultradrive ship arrived in system just before the Artful Dodger departed. The Navy commander at High Angel said it stood off in the cometary belt, and left in hot pursuit.

  'Does every faction have ultradrive ships? she asked indignantly. 'Justine caught the Delivery Man using a Hawking m-sink on Arevalo.

  'So she told me. I consider it significant that the Factions are openly using such technology. This whole Pilgrimage event could well be the trigger for an irreversible culture spilt within the human race.

  'Whose side will you take?

  'The Navy was created by ANA to protect humans from stronger, hostile aliens. That is what it will continue to do until I am removed from my position. If ANA chooses to leave the physical universe, I will stay behind and ensure that whatever sections of us remain continue to receive that protection. Is that a side, do you think?

  'No. But it's certainly a plan.

  'Are you going after Aaron?

  'Not immediately. Can you provide some protection for Hanko and Inigo, if he's there?

  'I will observe and advise you of developments; but you know the Navy cannot intervene directly in the internal affairs of Commonwealth citizens. Despite the scale of the problem, that's what this is.

  Paula was thrown by the answer. She was expecting Kazimir to be a lot more helpful. 'A thousand years ago I stuck to the rules, too. No good comes of it. You need to bend a little, Kazimir.

  'You and other representatives exist so I don't have to. You handle the grey areas, while I deal in black and white.

  'There's no such thing.

  'Nonetheless, I operate within a set of rules that I will not break.

  'I understand. Just do what you can, please.

  'Of course.

  * * * * *

  The Artful Dodger dropped out of hyperspace five thousand kilometres above Hanko's equator. Sensors examined the surrounding environment, bringing up several amber warning symbols, and even a couple of red ones. The local star had an abnormally large number of sunspots chasing across its surface, producing a dangerously thick solar
wind. Below the starship's metallic purple hull, a global cloud blanket reflected the star's sharp white glow back into space, its uniform glare broken only by the vast aural streamers that lashed across the stratosphere. Above the atmosphere monstrous arches of violet fluorescence soared out far beyond geosynchronous orbit, engorged Van Allen radiation belts that choked the planet with a hurricane of high-energy particles. The Artful Dodger s hull sparked with a corposant discharge as it slid across into a high inclination orbit.

  'Welcome to hell, Aaron muttered as he monitored the images from outside. The ship began to probe through the clouds with high-resolution hysradar sweeps, standard radar, magnoscan, quantum signature receptors, and electromagnetic sensors; revealing the lay of the frozen land underneath. Several com-beacon signals appeared on the emerging cartography, the only indication of activity on this bygone world. They broadcast the official channels of the Restoration team, asking all arriving ships to make contact.

  Corrie-Lyn watched the images in the portal with a mournful face as the starship flew round and round the planet, building up a detailed survey of the surface. Twelve hundred years after the Prime attack, glaciers were still advancing out of the polar regions. 'I can't believe Inigo was ever attracted to this place, she said.

  'You heard Qatux; he enjoyed the idea of an ancestral homework!.

  'Even if he came here, he'd take one look and leave. There's nothing here.

  'There are Restoration teams down there, even today, Aaron said, waving at the little scarlet lights dotted across the map. The beacons acted as crude relays across continents, the only communication net on the planet.

  'That's got to be the biggest lost cause in the galaxy, she said.

  'You're probably right. Seventeen of the Second47 worlds have officially closed their Restoration projects, and the remainder are winding down. Budgets get reduced every year. Nobody kicks up a fuss about it any more, not like the first couple of centuries after the War.

  After ten orbits, the smartcore had mapped all the exposed land lurking below the eternal cloud. Sensors had located twenty-three centres of dense electromagnetic activity. The largest was a force field dome in the centre of Kajaani, the old capital city. All the others were little more than clumps of machinery and buildings scattered across the dead tundra of three continents. No thermal sensor could begin to penetrate the cloud, so he had no way of telling if any of the outposts were occupied. There didn't seem to be any capsules in flight. Electrical activity in the air was strong, interfering with several sensor fields.