Pliocene Exile - The Adversary Part 107

LeCocq replied. "Rather less than we antic.i.p.ated. And only a handful of Howlers and Tanu." He allowed himself a superior smile. "Most of the returning humans were bareneck, of course."

"Which leaves the two of us," said Burke. He looked up at the gazebo, which was now sheltered beneath a striped tent fly.

Over at the control console, Phronsie Gillis yawned. "Anyone got a ticket to ride better hop it. It's been a long, long trick and I'm ready for some rest and recuperation. Especially the latter."

Basil studied the Guderian device, frowning thoughtfully. "I could write a most amazing book if I went back."

Burke said, "I suppose young Mermelstein would take me into the old law firm in Salt Lake City."

Basil said, "But Commander LeCocq says there are some really remarkable peaks in the inner Pyrenees. One or two may exceed eight thousand metres."

Burke said, "But who needs the last of the Wallawallas shmoozing around the office, boring the pants off of everybody with fantastic stories that couldn't possibly have happened? And the kid doesn't even speak Yiddish."

"Shut it down, Phronsie," said Basil. "It looks as though we'll stay after all."

"Shall we see if Mr. Betsy's willing to fly the lot of us down to Roniah to my place for high tea?" Commander LeCocq suggested.

Phronsie flicked off the power on the Guderian device, extracted the electromagnetically encoded gla.s.s key, and handed it to the officer. "h.e.l.l, I think ol' Bets will be tickled pink at the suggestion!" She thought for a minute. "Pink-or maybe puce."

He said: We approach the superfices for the last time.

She said: Thank G.o.d. Seven of these giant steps and each one worse than the last even with the mitigator ... how Brede's s.h.i.+p ever managed the entire journey in a single leap is beyond my comprehension.

He said: Not mine. Brede's s.h.i.+p was attempting to avoid capture. Under the circ.u.mstances one is inspired.

She said: The s.h.i.+p ... it knew all along. About Earth and its people. It may have been instinctive for it to seek a world with compatible germ plasm and a similar metapsychic pattern but perhaps it really knew.

He said: Anatoly would say it was led. But his philosophy is rather simplistic. Appealing though and definitely anxietycalming.

She said: Anxiety? You?

He said: Even me. As your friend Creyn noted the challenge rather exceeds that of my Mental Man vision: reorientation of an entire Galactic Mind condemned to a dead end of mental evolution because of the golden torcs. It should occupy our attention for some time.

She said: Will we have it? Time?

He said: I trust so. Both of us.

She said: You're leaning toward the simplistic.

He said: Jack often remarked on it. But the mind-set of one's youth is not rejected with impunity. We were both taught to trust. Shall we Elizabeth?

She said: Yes. Yes Marc ...

He said: Come then. I'll support you as we make the penetration. Have courage. It's the last step.

She said: The first I think.

They emerged, and the Duat Galaxy swirled around them-smaller than the Milky Way, but still enfolding more than eleven thousand Duat daughterworlds in its far-flung starry arms. The two suits of black armour hung in s.p.a.ce and the enclosed brains saw a nearby expanse of nebulosity that glowed red and royal blue from the double star forming within its heart.

Those two stars were still without planets, mindless. But in every direction lay suns with living worlds, of a number too great to count.

"Listen!" Elizabeth cried. "It's not true Unity, but they're close, Marc. Really very close. Perhaps it won't be so hard after all."

"It will be hard, but we'll manage."

He called.

The star-strewn sky was suddenly alive with enormous crystalline creatures and the aether rang with Song.

THE END OF THE ADVERSARY.

Thus concludes The Saga of Pliocene Exile.

There are others, most notably the Milieu Trilogy, which tells the root-tales leading to this one, in books t.i.tled JACK THE BODILESS, DIAMOND MASK, AND MAGNIFICAT.

Gaudete.

Appendix

SOME ASPECTS OF HYPERSPATIAL TRANSLATION AND D-JUMPING In the Galactic Milieu, superluminal transport, or faster-thanlight travel, is accomplished through the "warping" of normal s.p.a.ce by means of an upsilon-field, one of the primary manifestations of reality. The field can be mechanically generated by a device called a superluminal translator (u-field generator, etc.) or-very rarely-by a metapsychic individual possessed of the "teleportation" faculty.

In a typical trip, a stars.h.i.+p generates a u-field to break through the superficies (boundary) between normal s.p.a.ce and the hyperspatial matrix.

The latter is also called simply hypers.p.a.ce, the "hype," subs.p.a.ce, the matrix, or the grey limbo. Sentient creatures experience varying degrees of pain during translation.

Once into the hyperspatial matrix, the stars.h.i.+p's navigation equipment programmes a hyperspatial catenary, or subs.p.a.ce vector (vulgarly called "limbo track", "slice of the hype", etc.).

For a period of subjective time, the s.h.i.+p and its riders can be said to move along the catenary. Their position at any specified subjective moment is called the pseudolocus.

s.h.i.+ps are quite capable of halting within the matrix or changing the catenary (with certain limitations) en route. When the catenary is fully described, the stars.h.i.+p has effectively reached its destination and once again breaks through the superficies into normal s.p.a.ce.

A power breakdown during the hyperspatial portion of the trip strands the s.h.i.+p in the matrix. Similarly, a person attempting a d-jump might be stranded if his concentration failed to maintain the correct vector, "visualizing" the intended goal. The rubberband effect is a complex phenomenon that must be neutralized, either mechanically or through mental programming, if the stars.h.i.+p or d-jumper is not to be pulled back to the point of origin at the completion of the translation.

Stars.h.i.+ps utilize superluminal translators of varying power.

For slower-than-light, or subluminal transport-and invariably within the atmosphere of inhabited plants-the s.h.i.+ps switch to inertialess drive, made possible by rho-field generators operating on gravomagnetic principles.* The upsilon-field is not usually generated within a planetary atmosphere. The "large aperture" u-field necessary to admit a stars.h.i.+p into hypers.p.a.ce generates collateral electromagnetic phenomena, especially ionization, that may const.i.tute a nuisance or even an endangerment to civilized ent.i.ties and their delicate contraptions. The much smaller u-field generated by the djumping individual mind would have a negligible effect upon the environment unless large numbers of people engaged in the activity. Since the faculty is so rare, the contingency is moot.

When a stars.h.i.+p captain undertakes a voyage he must consider (a) How far am I going? (b) How fast do I want to get there?

(c) How much pain am I, or my pa.s.sengers and crew, willing to tolerate in the process?

A "slow" translation, or deep catenary, takes the longest subjective time to accomplish and causes the least amount of pain in the breakthrough. A "fast" translation, or tight catenary, (called also the "fast track,"

"tight leash," etc.) gets one to the destination more quickly, but at the expense of wear and tear on the nervous system. Hotdog s.p.a.cers who habitually schuss must make use of medications or other anodynes to deal with the severe pain. Such stout hearts refer to slow-track travellers as bunny-hoppers. On very long trips, the ordinary pa.s.senger-carrying stars.h.i.+p would reach its destination via a series of slow jumps. The displacement factor (df. "speed,"

"warp factor,"