Summoning Light (18 page)

"Yes."

"You believe it may help you translate her spell for listening to the Shadows."

"Yes."

"She had great skill, for one so young," Blaylock said.

Galen was shocked to hear him speak well of her. "But she studied the tech, which you condemn. She sought to understand its workings. You denounced Burell for such research."

"As I would have denounced Isabelle, had she continued. What we have been given, Galen, is a mystery beyond our understanding, a true blessing. It taps into the basic force and fabric of the universe, into God, as some call it. Our place is to use that blessing in the best way possible, to be the best agents of the universe that we can. Is it an angel's place to dissect the genes that gave him wings? I think an angel who does so misses the point of his existence. His place is to generate awe and belief in God, to do good as he can, to try to understand and follow God's will. I believe we must try to learn as much of the universe as we possibly can, to understand and follow its will."

"In understanding the universe, can we not understand ourselves?"

"Throughout our history, many have tried to unlock the secrets of the tech, and all have failed. I believe our understanding of it, and of our relationship with it, will be the very last to come to us. I didn't want to see Burell and Isabelle waste their lives in that vain pursuit."

Anger quickened Galen's breath. He tried to keep his voice even. "It was not vain. They had learned much. And if that was what they desired to study, why should they be condemned for it? Why should they be denied access to the tech?"

"To dissect a thing is not to understand a thing. I can dissect a frog and record all of its parts. I may even deduce the absorption of nutrients through its digestive system, the passage of oxygen through its blood vessels. I may electrically stimulate a neuron in the frog's brain and make its leg jump. Yet what understanding do I have of the frog itself?"

"Science is part of our Code. How can you deny it?"

"In order to investigate things scientifically, we break them into parts. Yet some things cannot be understood in their parts but only in their totality." Blaylock paused, allowing the words their importance. "And to what end is this scientific investigation? We investigate things scientifically in order to learn how to control them. But control of the tech should not come from some artificial electrical stimulation. It is a cheap method, unworthy of us. Control should come from the perfect, transcendent joining of a mage and his tech. We control it so imperfectly now, struggling with spell languages, with discipline, with focus. Only through perfect discipline, through perfect control, though a perfect connection, can we truly understand it. A mage who forms a complete union with his tech will undergo an enlightenment in which he learns the will of the tech, and the universe. As one, they may carry out that will."

Galen knew that the universe had no consciousness, no will. And if it did, if it had willed all that had happened to happen, then the universe was vicious and cold. Rather than seeking to join with it, Galen would do everything in his power to fight it, to destroy it. He bit out the words. "And why would one want to carry out the will of the universe?"

Blaylock's gaze lingered on him. "We devote our lives to learning and understanding. What greater wisdom can we gain than this? If we can learn the will of the universe, we can bring greater understanding to all. We can break the cycle of war and chaos that has recurred so many times."

"What if war and chaos are the will of the universe?"

"Then the universe would not have embodied itself in matter subject to constant, physical laws."

"Then science can help us understand."

"Certainly."

"Then why was Burell reprimanded and ostracized for her work? Why was she forced to cripple herself in the pursuit of knowledge?"

Blay lock paused before answering, his expression unreadable. "I did not know that, though I suspected it." His gaunt face tightened. "You are not privy to all that Burell has done. Know that she committed unforgivable atrocities in her pursuit of answers. The tech is alive, though in a form we do not understand. To dissect it is no less a crime than flaying a mage."

Galen wondered how Blaylock could be so certain the tech was alive, if he had never studied it. Of course, the Circle must know something of it, in order to replicate it. "Scientific study can be done without dissection. Why is that, too, discouraged?"

Over the speakers, a voice announced in Interlac that they were arriving at the Thenothk system. Galen's heart jumped, his excitement echoed by the tech, and he suddenly realized that he had no interest in continuing the conversation. Let Blaylock believe they were connected to some great universal order – it no longer mattered. Though Galen hadn't known it, for the past eleven days, beneath the traveling and the studies, beneath the unrest and the scouring, he had been thinking of only one thing: of arriving at this place, of finding Elizar, and of killing him.

Blaylock stood. "Let us make ready."

Galen hesitated. "You haven't finished your lunch." Blaylock gave him a dour look. "If I had wanted Gowen with me, I would have brought him."

C
HAPTER 9

In his mind's eye, Elric watched as Vir stumbled through yet another dark passage in the section of Babylon 5 known as Down Below, searching for the techno-mages as his master had commanded. The Centauri attaché tripped over a pile of rags and discovered a sleeping figure beneath. Fed – for that was who it was – stumbled to his feet, his wild dark hair sticking out in all directions as he let out a mad howl. He chased Vir through several preplanned twists and turns before allowing Vir to "escape" him.

Vir stood with his back against the wall, gasping, his eyes wide with terror. He didn't yet know that today was his lucky day. Today was the day when he would at last find the mages. Because today was the day when it served them to be found.

Once they had arrived on the station, it had taken only hours for Londo to conceive the plan of seeking the mages' blessing. Obsessed as he was with power, he considered the arrival of the techno-mages only in how it might further his ambitions. He had told Vir of the important role techno-mages had played in Centauri history. Centauri history, however, was only distantly related to the truth.

One thousand years ago, a minor noble in the Centauri Empire had led his people in the extermination of the Xon, a sentient species who shared their home planet of Centauri Prime. To celebrate this great realization of their destiny, the butcher declared the beginning of a new era, that of the Centauri "Republic" – which was nothing but the Centauri Empire under another name – and appointed himself the first emperor of that republic.

This outrage was coupled with one of the lowest moments in techno-mage history, when Frazur and two other mages gave their blessing to the butcher's assumption of power. Their arrival on Centauri Prime was immortalized in a famous painting, a painting whose image Elric and the others had evoked with their arrival.

The three ancient mages had sought power for themselves, the power behind the throne. As Frazur said, "Magic enables clever men to dominate others." In short order they fell to fighting amongst themselves, until they destroyed each other in spectacular fashion. Some memory of this seemed to lie behind Londo's comment that seeing more than one mage at a time was a "very bad omen."

The debacle had occurred in the early days of the mages, before Wierden's Code was widely accepted. But this was the action for which the Centauri most remembered the techno-mages, this "blessing" that somehow justified all that their species had done, and all they might do.

Londo sought a similar blessing for his own atrocities and for the ascension to power he envisioned. It was clear now that Londo's ambitions stretched even to imagining himself emperor.

Though in many ways Vir was a fool, he had wisely feared seeking out the mages to request an audience. Yet every day he searched the station for them. Vir himself had no discernable desire for power, but he served his master loyally. Loyalty to a butcher was, of course, no virtue.

It had taken Vir a few days to discover that they were staying in Down Below, and since then he had each day descended to those lawless levels of the station with great trepidation, questioning any he dared about the rumored territory the mages had taken for their own. He had learned that it was large, large enough to house hundreds of them. Its location had been described to him several times, yet he had never been able to find it. Vir had tried to pay someone to show him the way, yet no one dared approach, even for a fee. Ing-Radi and the others had done an excellent job of instilling fear in the inhabitants of Down Below. If there was one thing at which mages excelled, it was that.

Fed followed Vir, remaining out of sight, manipulating his course. They had covered Down Below with probes, so they could observe his progress easily. Through illusions, passageways appeared or disappeared, obstructions blocked one path while lights revealed another to be safe.

Movement drew Elric's attention back to the silent grey room in which he sat, a dozen other mages with him, each observing different areas of the station.

Ing-Radi stood over him. The globes of magical light that floated above, illuminating the room, revealed that her orange skin had grown even more pale, the blue veins becoming more prominent, cutting across her face in an elaborate pattern. The slit of her mouth was dry and white. She leaned slightly to one side, as if her balance was off, and her four arms hung limply at her sides. Each day she grew worse. Elric knew she continued only through sheer force of will.

"I have intercepted a communication on Gold Channel you should see," she said. Her voice, at least, retained its rich, calming tone. With a slight motion of her hand, two frozen images appeared in the air between them. On Elric's left, a woman sat behind a desk in a richly appointed office. Behind her on the wall hung the seal of EarthGov. Across the front of her desk lay two matching metal sculptures, abstract twisted patterns. She appeared in her mid-thirties, with a self-assured expression. She wore a tan cashmere jacket with a black shirt beneath, the lines clean, forceful. Her wavy dark hair was pinned up, a single strand curling down each side of her face.

"That is Senator Norman," Ing-Radi said. "She is a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, as well as a member of the Babylon 5 Oversight Committee. A powerful person."

On the right was John Sheridan, captain of Babylon 5. Elric had first become aware of him during the Earth-Minbari War, and since then had followed his career. The captain was an energetic, charismatic leader – a good man, moral and loyal, though also a fierce and canny military strategist. He was a practical man who had not yet given up his dreams, a rare combination. Though he had risen far in his career and fought already in one war, he was just entering early middle age. In charge of this place devoted to good, he would be a major force in the great war, either fulfilling the promise of Babylon 5 or undermining it completely. He stood in his office, hands clasped behind his back, fit, young, ready, he believed, to face any challenge. He had no idea what would soon confront him.

Ing-Radi set the images into motion.

"Captain Sheridan," the senator said, her mouth sliding into a smile that somehow seemed condescending. "It's a pleasure to finally speak with you. Congratulations on your new post."

"Thank you."

"I'm afraid I have to keep this brief, though it is a matter of grave importance. It has come to our attention that a large group of techno-mages has gathered on Babylon 5."

John Sheridan nodded. "We're aware of the situation." His voice, though untrained, carried a compelling resonance. He had learned how to give orders and command respect.

"Do you know their plans?"

"Security tells me they may be leaving within a day or two, though we haven't yet confirmed that. They've acted peacefully." He hesitated. "May I ask what your interest is?"

She tilted her head, the vague smile remaining on her face. "The techno- mages aren't simple magicians, Captain. They're extremely powerful, and as such, their movements raise planetary security issues. Particularly such mass movements. We need you to look into the matter. Learn their plans. If they fail to cooperate, you'll have to detain them."

John frowned. "On what grounds would I detain them? They've done nothing."

Her tone remained mild, her expression friendly. "I hear they're staying in the sector you call Down Below, which is officially off-limits. You could hold them for that, at the least."

John gave a quick shake of his head. "But that will only create unnecessary hostility."

The smile faded from her face. "You may believe they're harmless, Captain, but they're not. Their plans are of great concern to us, and you're the only one in a position to discover them. I hope I don't need to remind you of your duties."

"No," John said. "You don't."

"Good." Her smile returned. "We will expect your report shortly."

Ing-Radi dissolved the images. "The Shadow influence is everywhere."

"How could we have been blind for so long?" Elric said. The assassination of the Earth President Santiago had revealed the strength of the Shadows' influence there. Elric should have realized that the Shadows would try to use that influence to compel the EarthForce personnel who ran Babylon 5 to detain them. If the mages would not be detained, then they would have to fight. The station and those on it would be endangered, and the mages could be drawn into the great war.

John had been posted to Babylon 5 only since the beginning of the year. How he would react, if given orders that conflicted with the purpose of Babylon 5, remained unclear. He would have to make a choice between loyalty and morality.

Elric considered creating a deceit that would trick John Sheridan into helping them. The mages not only required that John allow them to leave, their best chance of leaving safely would be with the active help of John and his security staff. But for some reason, Elric did not want to deceive the captain. He wanted to believe that John, given the chance, would act for good. Perhaps he simply hoped to convince himself that those billions of beings that the mages were leaving behind would have a good leader to follow, and a chance to survive. The Shadows planted the seeds of division and conflict; countless numbers would die unless the races could be brought together, united against the true enemy.