The Evolutionary Void

TWELVE

THE RAIEL WARSHIP slipped out into spacetime above Icalanise, dwarfing the High Angel five hundred kilometers away. Qatux and Paula teleported over, materializing in a circular compartment over a hundred meters wide. Like the Raiel quarters on the High Angel, the ceiling was hidden from sight, giving the impression the compartment extended upward forever.

Paula regarded the waiting warrior Raiel with interest. She’d assumed they’d be bigger than Qatux. Instead they were only two-thirds his size, but where his hide was leathery, theirs was made up of hard neutral blue-gray segments. Small lights twinkled under the surface, making her think it was artificial armor. Or perhaps by now it was sequenced in like macrocellular clusters in humans.

Neskia stood between them. Her neck waved fractionally from side to side like a snake rising vertically, its casing of gold rings sliding over one another without revealing any human flesh. The metallic-gray surface shimmer of her skin was subdued. Big round eyes blinked once as Paula appeared. That might have reflected puzzlement; Paula wasn’t sure. She had certainly been startled by the news that the Accelerator agent had surrendered herself to the warrior Raiel without any fuss.

“You were complicit in the establishment of the Sol barrier,” Paula said.

Neskia said nothing.

“I would like the deactivation code now, please.”

“And then what?”

“You will face an inquiry into your actions.”

“By ANA itself. So there’s really not much of an incentive to hand over the code, is there?”

“A memory read is never pleasant.”

“A mild discomfort. But you would never be able to extract the code. I have several self-destruct routines embedded in my biononics.”

“So you are in an invincible position. Congratulations. Curious, then, that you allowed yourself to be intercepted. Your ship has a superb stealth capability, yet you chose not to use it. Why?”

Neskia’s neck became rigidly straight. “I have nowhere to go.”

“She didn’t take you with her.”

“Obviously.”

“But then, ascension to postphysical status through Fusion was never her aim.”

“I am aware of that now.”

“What deal are you looking for?”

“Total immunity. The right to settle on whatever world I select. And I retain ownership of the ship.”

“No to the ship. You are forbidden from taking part in any subversive activity ever again. You will permit removal of all combat-enabled biononics. You will not reinstate them or any further weapons enrichments. You will report any contact by criminal or proscribed organizations to my office immediately.”

“Free political association is the fundamental right of the Greater Commonwealth.”

“Without ANA, the Commonwealth as we know it cannot exist. I fully intend to protect it from extreme ideologues.”

“Will it ban the Accelerators?”

“I suspect those members involved with illegal activities will be suspended. The rest will be free to pursue and continue lobbying for what they believe in. As is their right.”

“Very well. I agree.” Neskia’s u-shadow sent the code to Paula, along with instructions for applying it to a specific coordinate outside the Sol system.

“Thank you,” Paula said. “So you’re pissed at her, then?”

“To put it mildly. I risked everything, devoted my life to the cause, and now I find it never actually existed.”

“What will you do?”

“I will found the real Accelerator faction. I still believe in human evolutionary destiny.”

“Of course you do.”

The Elvin’s Payback sank down out of the low gray clouds that were drizzling steadily across the rumpled verdant countryside. Oscar directed it to land on the grass next to the spinney of gangling rancata trees. He floated down out of the airlock and looked around contentedly. Seeing the raised circular house just as it always was kindled an unexpected bout of homesickness. While he’d been away, he’d thought of it and Jesaral and Dushiku and Anja less and less, so much so that he’d started to believe he didn’t care about any of them anymore. Now he was here, and he didn’t want to leave again.

Wild emotions of surprise and trepidation burst into the gaiafield. Oscar grinned wryly as Jesaral charged down the spiral stairs in the house’s central pillar and ran across the lawn.

“You’re back,” Jesaral yelled. He flung his arms around Oscar and began kissing him with youthful eagerness; rampantly erotic thoughts came percolating out through his gaiamotes. “Oh, Ozzie, I missed you.”

“Good to be home,” Oscar admitted.

Dushiku and Anja hurried up.

“I couldn’t believe it when you showed up in Gore’s dream,” Dushiku murmured as he hugged Oscar tight. “You were in the Void! That was you in Makkathran right at the end.”

“Yeah, that was me,” he admitted. It actually felt good to boast about it for once.

Anja finally got her moment with him. “So this is what you really are? Some kind of galactic superagent?”

“Some of the time,” he admitted. “Not very often, thankfully.”

The other starship dropped through the clouds and came in to land next to the Elvin’s Payback.

“Who’s this?” Dushiku asked in a resigned tone.

“And why does a starship need wings?” Jesaral asked.

“They’re not wings, they’re heat dissipaters, and this is my new partner.”

Anja recoiled slightly. Dushiku merely gave a disapproving glance, and Jesaral was already powering up his outrage.

“Business partner,” Oscar assured them hurriedly.

The Mellanie’s Redemption landed smoothly The airlock opened, and a set of aluminum stairs slid out.

Jesaral gave Dushiku a meaningful glance that ended as a pout. Oscar put his arms around both of them, enjoying the flashes of jealousy.

The aluminum steps bowed as Troblum came down, raindrops trickling quickly down the worn fabric of his old toga suit. He gave Oscar’s startled life partners a brisk nod and quickly looked away.

“What sort of business?” Anja asked curiously.

“Exploration,” Oscar said contentedly. “The Commonwealth has sent out a lot of colony ships over the centuries. We thought it was about time we found out what happened to some of them. And who knows what else is on the other side of the galaxy? Wilson never did have a proper look.”

Anja raised her eyes skyward and produced a sigh of disapproval in that way only she could. However, she stepped forward and held her hand out to Troblum. “Good to meet you.”

“Uh, thank you.” He gave her hand a frightened look. By then it didn’t matter; Anja was looking up at the second figure to appear at the top of the stairs. She was so surprised, she forgot to prevent the emotion from revealing itself through her gaiamotes.

“This is my fiance,” Troblum announced.

“Pleased to meet you,” Catriona Saleeb said. She smiled nervously as she came down the stairs and fumbled for Troblum’s hand.

Oscar knew he was leaking out all the wrong thoughts, but he just couldn’t help it. He’d been the first to support Troblum when Catriona was made real. Troblum had seen that one last slender chance in the time after the Heart had decided to follow Gore and before the moment when it elevated itself. He hadn’t analyzed it or paused for doubt; he’d simply gone for it, using the Void’s creation layer to turn his solido into flesh and blood, an act that was perhaps the most human thing Troblum had done in his life.

Oscar was also pretty sure that it wouldn’t last, that Catriona would soon outgrow her initial thoughts. But then, ephemerality was the summation of most human activities. The trick was to enjoy the time when things were going right.

The Silverbird alighted gently outside the Tulip Mansion, its landing legs barely making dents in the gravel drive in front of the grand entrance portico. Justine floated down out of the airlock, taking a wonderfully reassuring breath of Earth’s old air once again. There had been moments when she thought that might not happen ever again. Kazimir whooped joyfully as he followed her down to the ground. Manipulated gravity was just one of the delights he’d discovered in the short time since she’d summoned him back out of the Void’s creation layer.

He stood perfectly still, allowing his mouth to open wide as he stared up at the preposterously extravagant building. “This is your home?”

“Yes, this is where I was born and lived ever since.” That was almost the truth. She didn’t want to spoil things. It was going to take this naive Kazimir a while to adjust to everything the Greater Commonwealth offered. And who better to act as his guide and tutor?

“Would you like to look around?”

“Oh, yes!” His arms flapped around for emphasis. “Who else lives here?”

“Ah, no one at the moment. It’s become a bit of a museum, I’m afraid. We’ll find you a bedroom, a suite, actually. There are some excellent ones in the west wing.”

He caught hold of her hand and gave her that beseeching look with his lovely big adoring eyes. “Will you be nearby, Justine?”

“Um.” She was blushing again. Come on, girl, get a grip. “I will stay for a while to make sure you’re all right. I’m going to be quite busy. There’s a lot to sort out right now.”

He grinned. “You have saved the galaxy. People will allow you time for yourself now. I am sure of it.”

“Probably.” The entrance doors were huge jet black slabs of glossy stonewood inlaid with a gold-leaf vine pattern. She paused as they swung open. I never noticed before; that’s so similar to the gates of the Sampalok mansion. Oscar had sworn his first voyage of exploration would be an attempt to find the previous occupiers of Makkathran. She still couldn’t quite get her head around that partnership. But then, in the Void, anything is possible. Kazimir was witness to that. And Catriona.

Kazimir peered in curiously as the lights came on along the length of the cavernous hall. “How old is this palace?”

“Over a thousand years,” she said with pride.

“Dreaming heavens,” he murmured as they walked inside.

“I used to rollerblade in here,” she said fondly. “That’s when I was your age or maybe a little younger. Dad would scream at me and-” She stopped dead. A shiver ran up her body, strong enough to cause her to clutch at the door frame for support. Shock that only a genuine flesh-and-blood body could know was threatening to reduce her to tears.

Gore was standing in the doorway to the white room. As always, his solido was the twenty-fourth-century version of himself, gold skin body wearing a black shirt and trousers.

“Dad?” she gasped. In her nice rational tidy mind she’d known all along that he would be waiting here for her, that ANA would have reanimated his personality as soon as it confirmed his bodyloss on the Anomine homeworld. But back in Makkathran his transcendence had been so real, so vivid. Her meat body and brain knew her father’s mind and body had gone on to something better, that Daddy had died, that everything afterward was just the result of clever technology.

Sometimes basic human flesh and blood was far too painful.

“You did a great job out there,” he said. “Not everyone operating in a meat body would hold it together under that kind of emotional stress. Thanks.”

“My pleasure,” she said weakly.

“So how about that-my original body finally gets fried up in a nova. Goddamn Marius, he’s actually worse than Ilanthe in his own pathetically petty way. Funny thing, I didn’t imagine I’d get nostalgic, but I think I’m going to miss it. The damn thing was like a psychological final safety net. I suppose I ought to clone another. Not that I’ll ever use one again.”

“Good idea.”

“And I’m going to have to have a long talk with the Delivery Man; he can fill in the missing details. I accessed the kubes in Ozzie’s asteroid as soon as ANA brought me out of suspension storage; they updated me back to the point I left on the Last Throw. But there’s no accurate record of what happened on the Anomine homeworld between then and when that old Tyzak guy switched on the elevation mechanism. The way it played out, I’m guessing there had to be some serious problems back there.”

“Yeah, that’s how I read it, too.”

“Right. Well, you wouldn’t believe the fuss the Radical Darwinist Faction is kicking up in here. Conniving little shits. I could do with some help slapping them down. Are you coming back home now?”

Justine draped an arm around a very silent Kazimir’s shoulders and gave the golden man a defiant look. “Not just yet, Dad. There’re a few things I have to finish off out here. They might take awhile.”

The ultradrive starship hung in transdimensional suspension five million kilometers out from the Leo Twins. Marius wasn’t quite sure why he’d chosen this as his destination. Presumably, his subconscious had identified it as the last place anyone would suspect him of fleeing to.

As to what he should do now, he had no idea. The one time scrutineers he’d inserted into the unisphere were supplying a comprehensive picture of the political fallout from the Void’s elevation and the fall of the Sol barrier.

ANA had carried out its threat and suspended the Accelerator Faction. Instructions were being issued to ANA representatives to locate and arrest the remaining Accelerator agents. The list was very comprehensive. He was at the top, charged with genocide. That wasn’t something the authorities would quietly downgrade and forget after a couple of decades or even centuries, certainly not if Paula Myo was involved. That meant he would have to leave the Commonwealth entirely.

His options weren’t good. He didn’t know where any of the colonies were or what kind of societies they’d developed. Conceivably, he could start rescuing the other Accelerators on the list, form some kind of resistance. It would be dangerous, but he was more than capable of working in such an environment.

Alarms flared-

His ship was wrenched back into spacetime before even his accelerated thought routines had truly grasped what was happening. Sensors revealed nothing except a minuscule spatial anomaly directly in front of the fuselage. Then they failed, along with the drive. The starship’s network crashed. Gravity cut out, leaving him in free fall. Cabin lights died. He couldn’t access his u-shadow. A biononic field scan revealed that the life-support system was off line.

A link opened to his macrocellular clusters. “You’re under arrest,” Admiral Kazimir informed him.

“For now,” Marius retorted. “She’ll be back.”

“She won’t. None of them ever come back.”

As Araminta landed the big passenger capsule outside the sprawling white house, her confidence suddenly deserted her. Even the little surprise she’d prepared for him seemed feeble. There was absolutely no way of knowing how he’d react. Sure, he’d helped her before, but that was when the Living Dream maniacs threatened his homeworld and his lives.

They were gone now, thanks to her and the deception he’d helped her with. Now Ellezelin would be paying compensation for all the physical damage its troops had caused during the invasion. Inigo had promised that as he went back there to assume the presidency she’d abdicated. It was going to take a long while to dismantle the Living Dream movement, but he was the best-the only-candidate for the job. After the Void’s elevation, he was the person everybody trusted to do it right.

Two of hers stepped out onto the grass: her original body and Araminta-two. She looked around with all four eyes, relishing the familiarity.

Mr. Bovey had been busy since she’d left. The house had been repaired and painted. But then, if anybody could do a fast, quality refurbishment, it was going to be he with all his contacts in the business.

Several of hims were coming out of the house, running toward her, and they were all smiling, which brought a lump to her throats. He does care still! Now that she thought everything might be all right, after all, she thought she might cry-that would be a lot of tears. The gaiafield was abruptly full of the relief hes were broadcasting loud and clear into the gaiafield.

Eight of hims surrounded the two of her. The young blond one gave her a tentative look. “You came back.”

His uncertainty was too much. She just flung her arms around him. Then they were kissing.

“What you did was unbelievable,” the Asian him was saying to Araminta-two. “You never backed down, not for a second. Ellezelin, the Lady’s Light-you kept on and on. It was awesome.”

“They made me do it,” she told him. “It was the only way I could survive.”

“I was frantic when the Raiel blew up the link. Then Gore started dreaming, and you were on Makkathran. It was …” All of hims on the lawn started laughing in amazement. “Ozzie, you were unbelievable. For a while there you were in charge of the whole universe.”

Araminta gave him a demure smirk. “Did you think that was hot?”

The blond youngster cleared his throat. “Could have been.”

“Let me give you back. Hang on.” She closed her eyes, concentrating on the way her thoughts were spread out through the gaiafield. Slowly and carefully she withdrew herself from the body she’d borrowed. When she opened her eyes, he was right in front of her, that oh so familiar smile on his face. Then he looked down at himself. “Thank you; you took good care of him.”

“Certainly did.” Araminta let go of the blond youngster one and went over to the original-she could never stop thinking of him in those terms. It was only slightly weird kissing the body she’d been a few seconds earlier. “It was interesting being a man for a while,” she said in a teasingly husky voice.

“Really? Why?”

“I learned about … reflexes.” She was still pressed up against him. “Specifically, the involuntary ones.”

“Uh huh.” His voice had become hoarse.

“And I was bad, too, while I was away.”

“That’s always been one of your best qualities.”

“You don’t understand. Once you learned how to use it, the Void could make all your wishes come true. It really could. Anything. And I wasn’t strong enough to resist temptation. Mind you, I wasn’t alone. Most of us were at it at the end there. It was quite the little fantasyfest we had going on in the Sampalok mansion.”

“Oh.” He sounded disappointed. “Well, you had just saved us all. I suppose that entitled you.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Araminta had forgotten how much fun it was to tease Mr. Bovey. But the poor man was suffering, which he didn’t really deserve; he was far too noble for that. “I watched Justine and Edeard and Troblum all pulling lost loves out of the creation layer like rabbits from a hat.”

Mr. Bovey frowned. “Er …”

“So I thought: I haven’t lost anyone I love, but someone I love might appreciate a lot more of me.” She gave him a wicked smirk and glanced over at the capsule. The rest of hers were emerging.

Mr. Bovey watched with incredulous delight as fifteen identical Aramintas walked across the garden to hims.

“That conversation we had about what types of mes I’d have when I was multiple?” she said. “I decided there’s not much wrong with this one.”

“This one is absolutely perfect.”

“Good. So now all of yous can take all of mes to bed.”

“Oh, yes!”

“Now, please.”

Last Throw fell smoothly through the miserable winter weather to land at the house in Holland Park. The Delivery Man didn’t waste time walking; he teleported straight into the lounge.

“Dadeeeeie!” The girls flew at him. Small arms clung with surprising strength. Wet sticky kisses smudged his face. Little Rosa was bouncing around, yelling for attention as her elder sisters wouldn’t get out of the way. He scooped her up for big cuddles.

Lizzie was standing in the door, her eyes damp as she smiled at him.

“I’m back,” he told her.

“Yes,” she said. “And boy, have you got some explaining to do. Don’t you ever, ever-”

The Delivery Man kissed his wife.

Inevitably, the world was a pleasant one. The temperate zones where Araminta walked had vast rolling grasslands, tall snow-cloaked mountains, and extensive forests.

The three of them had been there for a couple of days, making leisurely progress along the narrow path before she heard the singing. “They’re here,” Araminta told Aaron. He didn’t react. Tomansio gently urged him forward toward the haunting nonhuman melodies. Aaron didn’t protest, just went with his guides as he’d done ever since they’d left Makkathran, saying nothing. He didn’t have nightmares anymore. He didn’t have anything; his mind had shut down of its own accord.

The Knights Guardian had wanted to take him back to Far Away, where there would be the best clinics and doctors and medical modules and memory edits. Lennox the Mutineer would be reassembled, they said. Araminta had said no, Aaron had suffered enough technology; he needed real healing. And she would take him to the one person who would grant that. Tomansio had been startled by the suggestion and very quick to agree.

Several dozen Silfen were camping in the broad glade. A semicircle of wide marquees had been set up, with long heraldic flags fluttering from the tips of tall poles. A huge fire was blazing in the middle of the semicircle. Some Silfen sat around it, playing flutelike instruments. More were dancing.

Araminta wasn’t entirely surprised to see a human woman among them. She was dressed in Silfen clothes: a simple white shirt with intricate dragons embroidered in gold and turquoise thread, a loose petal-layered cotton skirt that swirled and flared out as she danced. Her face was rapt, lost in the enjoyment of the music. Wavy golden hair swished around her head. Araminta could just glimpse a long chin and well-defined cheekbones-similar to her own.

“Ozziebedamned,” Tomansio muttered. He was staring around at the scene as if the elves had enchanted him.

Then Clouddancer and Bradley were walking toward them. Araminta hurried over. The dancers encircled her, warbling approval and greetings.

“You did well,” Bradley said.

“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you for believing in me.”

“In your case it came easy,” Clouddancer said, his circular mouth fluting out to laugh.

“I’ve brought somebody,” she said.

“We know.”

“Please help him. He suffers from terrible demons in his head like you once did,” she told Bradley.

Bradley’s wings spread wide. “And if the Silfen can cure me …”

“That’s what I hoped.”

“He can walk with us,” Clouddancer said. “Where he will go can never be foretold.”

“He’s sure-footed,” Araminta promised. “Look what he did for everyone.”

“Oh, how you have grown. You are a wonder, Araminta. Mr. Bovey is a lucky man.”

She grinned back, slightly abashed.

“I think I’d better go and speak to your other friend before he explodes,” Bradley said.

Araminta laughed at how scared Tomansio looked as Bradley went over to him. The toughest superwarrior humbled by his idol. Speaking of which … She slithered through the dancers, finding herself swaying in time to the rhythm. Somewhere by the end of the marquees two of the biggest Silfen she’d ever seen started drumming, pounding a compulsive beat.

The woman beckoned her over with both hands. “I’m Mellanie,” she called above the music.

“Yeah, I know.”

“Of course you do. I’m proud of you, Araminta.”

“Thanks. That really means a lot.”

“It’s all over now, so let’s dance.”

They came from across the galaxy, the Raiel arkships and warships, congregating in orbit around the star where Centurion Station was based. From there the starscape was unchanged. The Wall stars still shone with their normal intensity, giving no hint of the endeavor they had just driven. It would be centuries before their leap in luminosity would be visible to any observer standing beside the ruins of the observation outpost.

Paula accompanied Qatux as they teleported into Makkathran. They arrived in Golden Park, where Querencia’s seabirds were still flapping above them, calling out in confusion as they hunted their missing sea. Paula turned a full circle, as admiring as any tourist as she took in the tall white pillars and the sweeping domes of the Orchard Palace.

“I never expected to stand here,” she admitted.

Qatux was staring out over Paula to the towers of Eyrie beyond. “Nor I,” he said. They made their way together through the overgrown park, following the curve of Champ Canal until it took them to Birmingham Pool. Paula was only too well aware of all Edeard’s gallant events that had played out around the pool and down the canal, yet she kept her silence, knowing Qatux was here for only one thing.

As they started along the side of Great Major Canal to High Pool, Paula looked over the weed-saturated water to the unmistakable Culverit ziggurat. That was when she finally appreciated Justine’s melancholia at how empty the city was. She was thrilled just to make this visit, but to have seen it during the Waterwalker’s heyday, watching the intrigues unfold and meeting people she knew only from dreams-that would have been glorious.

There was a bridge she didn’t remember across Market Canal, taking them into Eyrie itself. When she glanced up at the crooked towers, she could see past the crystal dome to the vast constellation of Raiel ships gathered protectively around their ancient comrade.

“What’s going to happen next?” she asked.

“We will decide together,” Qatux told her. “The change will come hard for us, I expect. The Void gave us purpose for so long; it is a part of what we became.”

“You know you will always be welcome in the Commonwealth.”

“Your kindness does you credit. However, we do have a responsibility to the other species living in the High Angel and all our other arkships.”

“Will you take them home?”

“Possibly. Some no longer have homeworlds they can return to. It has already been suggested we accept our original undertaking and spread out to new galaxies to begin again.”

“And you, Qatux, what about you? Do the Raiel still have a homeworld?”

“Yes. But it is not one any of us recognize. Two other species have come to sentience there in the time since we declared war on the Void. There will be no going back for us.”

“Perhaps that is for the best. I tried going home once. I had grown too much while I was away. We all do.”

Finally they stood in front of the Lady’s church. Qatux hesitated on the steps leading up to the entrance.

“You don’t have to,” Paula said compassionately.

“I do.”

The church was silent inside. Light shone through its transparent central roof to illuminate the center, leaving the vestibules in shadow. Right on the edge of the silver-hazed light, the Lady’s white marble statue stood resolute. Paula gazed up at the solemn well-crafted face, and the corners of her mouth lifted in an appreciative smile. “She looks so different here,” she said. “But then, I only ever met her once. We parted as soon as we got to Far Away.”

“I remember,” Qatux said. “It was the day I first met her.”

“I disapproved.”

“I loved her even then. She was so colorful, so flawed, so imbued with life. She taught me to feel again. I owe her everything.”

“How did she wind up here?”

“She was re-lifed, of course, after the Cat had finished with her. I supplied the memories for her new body, for I shared everything she felt right up until the last. That was why we parted. There was nothing left for us to know.”

“So she boarded a Brandt colony ship to start a new life. So many Brandts were disillusioned with the Commonwealth after the Starflyer War, they say almost a fifth of the senior dynasty members left. They would have welcomed her on board. She must have been quite solitary, poor thing.”

“It was for the best. Then Makkathran must have heard her as they flew around the Wall-somehow. It mistook her for a Raiel, for our minds had shared so much, and it called out.”

“And the Void did the rest. As it always does.”

“Yes.” Qatux extended a tentacle and stroked the statue’s cheek. “Goodbye, my beloved.” He turned and left the church.

Paula couldn’t resist one final over-the-shoulder check just to make sure she wasn’t mistaken. For an instant she could’ve sworn the statue was grinning in that ridiculous carefree way Tiger Pansy always had when she was happy. But it was only a trick of the light.

From the switchback road high in the foothills, Salrana looked out across the Iguru plain, not understanding what she was seeing. But then many things were puzzling her this day.

Someone coughed behind her. She turned nervously. “Edeard!” she cried, for it was he … but different, older. There was no mistaking that shy hopeful smile, however. Try as she might, she couldn’t sense him with farsight, and he wasn’t five yards away. Nor did she have a third hand anymore. “What’s happened?” she implored.

Edeard glanced down at the small boy whose hand he was holding. The boy looked back up adoringly. There were several shared features on their faces.

“Edeard!” she implored. She thought she might cry.

“This is so hard,” he said. “I know. I have undergone this myself, but if you ever trusted me then, please believe you are all right. Nothing is going to harm you.”

She took a tentative step toward him. “Where are we? Where’s Makkathran? Was there an earthquake?” She turned back to stare at the terrible devastation that had befallen the Iguru plain. The farms and orchards and vineyards had vanished, wiped out by a smoldering desert of gray rock that extended out to the shoreline. But stranger than that were the ships. At least that was what she thought they were, for what else could they be? Twelve metal monsters lying around the edge of the destruction, though to imagine anything of such a size flying was impossible.

“We are home,” Edeard said. “Though it is not home, not truly, not anymore. Makkathran is gone. But nobody died. They all lived, Salrana; they lived such amazing lives. And now we have a chance to live our life. Together.”

“Us?” she asked, still hopelessly confused.

“Well, actually, the three of us.” He ruffled the boy’s head. “This is Burlal, my grandson.”

“Grandson? Edeard, please, I don’t understand.”

“I know. Perhaps I was wrong to do this, for the Lady knows it is a very selfish act. But sometimes to do what’s right-”

“-you have to do what’s wrong.”

“Yes. You have just finished your training in Ufford Hospital, haven’t you?”

“I was due to leave tomorrow, but I woke up here.” She frowned. “No, I arrived here somehow. Edeard, do I dream this?”

He took her hand, which made her ridiculously grateful. But then the touch of him had always done that, and she’d missed him terribly these long months away from Makkathran.

“We are no longer dreams, my love. We are as genuine as can be. And out here, in this time, I chose you over everyone. I chose the you from now because you are still the real you. My brother taught me that trick.”

“What brother?”

He laughed. “There is so much to explain, and I’m not sure how to begin. I never told you, did I, that I had dreams? Every night of my life I dreamed of life outside the Void. Well, that’s where those ships have come from. Outside, where the universe goes on forever.”

“Like Rah and the Lady?”

“Yes. Just like them. And the three of us are going on one of those ships. It’s going to fly away, fly out of here. We’re going to live out there, Salrana, out among the stars.”

She grinned, for he was being so foolish. But she could see how happy he was, which she liked.

Edeard’s arm went around her shoulder, and it felt fantastic. For so many years now she had waited for such a sincere open gesture. Then she saw a tall, strangely dressed man coming down the road. He was wearing some kind of skirt with a colorful square pattern on it and a bright scarlet waistcoat. Slim, curving lines of silver and gold light shone through his thick brown hair.

He stopped in front of them, looked them up and down, and promptly grinned broadly.

“I know you,” Edeard said in amusement. “You’re the Lionwalker. You were in charge of my brother’s science station when first we dreamed of each other.”

“Aye, that I was. Good morning to you, Waterwalker. And young Salrana, of course. And I think you must be Burlal. Am I right?”

The boy gave a cautious nod, clinging tighter to Edeard’s leg.

“Well, congratulations and then some. Waterwalker, that was quite a sight. I’ve just spent the night up on top of the mountain where the air’s clearest. Didn’t want to miss anything. After all, it’s not every day you get to see an entire universe evolve, is it?”

“My first time, as well,” Edeard told him.

“Aye, well, it’s over now.” Lionwalker Eyre gave Salrana a roguish smile. “It’s nice for an old romantic like me to see you two back together.” A finger wagged at Edeard. “Don’t you go messing it up again, lad.”

“I won’t,” Edeard said quietly.

“Well, I’d best be off. I expect you two have a lot to talk about.” He started walking briskly down the road.

“Wait,” Edeard called after him. “Where are you going?”

“Onward,” the Lionwalker replied with a wave. “Always onward.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

PETER F. HAMILTON is the author of numerous novels, including The Temporal Void, The Dreaming Void, Judas Unchained, Pandora’s Star, Fallen Dragon, and the acclaimed epic Night’s Dawn trilogy (The Reality Dysfunction, The Neutronium Alchemist, and The Naked God). He lives with his family in England.

The Evolutionary Void is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.