The Spell of Rosette (2 page)

Matter is energy.

Energy follows thought.

Matter—reality—is created by thought.

How he had attracted his consciousness, JARROD still wasn’t certain. He suspected it was through the
spark,
the quantum of light that contains an initial condition of consciousness in everything. His quantum of consciousness developed from a vague dream, to a wish, to a concrete thought, to self-awareness.

Cognito, ergo sum.
I think, therefore I am.

Not such a surprise, considering computers were programmed to ‘think’. Wherever his consciousness came from, though, he used it now to think himself up the perfect physical form, one capable of altering its appearance at will.

If consciousness is currency, I’ve got me a goldmine.
He chuckled as he ran, stumbling a little before stopping to catch his breath. ‘Wait up,’ he called to Janis.

She turned, her sides heaving, motioning him forward. ‘A little further. It’s just ahead.’ She grabbed his hand, guiding him down the sewer.

He felt the connection, her grip tight, fingers laced, sensations of warmth and power zapping up his
neurons to his brain. It made his heart race.
If this is what a simple electrical signal to the brain can create, I’m surprised humans ever get anything done!

He was accustomed to abstract consciousness, but this tactile awareness was overwhelming. He grimaced at the burning in his lungs. All these new sensations would take some getting used to.

‘Is this the portal? Are you the only one who knows of it?’ he asked Janis as they slowed, heading towards a luminescent sheen.

She nodded. ‘Come on. We have to get you out of here.’

Following Janis’s lead, he bowed to the portal Entity—an energy sensed more than seen—and entered the corridors that led to the many-worlds.

Janis watched him stumble out of the darkness into a glory of sunshine and cool wind.

‘Nice pick,’ he smiled before dropping to his knees to retch. He looked up at her, his eyes cloudy. ‘I don’t know how you live in these things.’

‘Bodies? It takes practice. We call it “childhood”.’

He struggled to rise.

‘What took you so long?’ she asked as she helped him up. ‘It’s been almost a week.’

‘Time’s playing tricks, I guess.’ He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. ‘I was right behind you.’

She winked at him. ‘Come look at this world. I think you’ll find it was worth the delay.’

He stood next to her at the edge of the mountainside, gazing over the gorge below.

‘Welcome to Gaela,’ she said, opening her arms wide.

The scent of flowering herbs mingled with oat grass as the wind carried the fragrance up from the valley. The surface of the gorge water was emerald green, sparkling like white diamonds. Dark swans with red
bills sailed around the edges, disappearing in and out of the reeds. A few grazing beasts dotted the hills to the west.

‘And there,’ Janis pointed at them. ‘Have you ever seen such gorgeous creatures?’

‘Horses?’

‘Palominos,’ she said, looking at their red-gold coats in the afternoon light. ‘You don’t see those colours on Earth any more, but they’d be in your databanks.’

‘I’ve got them.’ He scratched his head. ‘You programmed me with an awful lot of equestrian data, considering I lived in a box.’ He chuckled. ‘Did you know this would happen?’

‘I’m not called the Techno-Witch for nothing…’ She watched him take in the vista.

‘Everything’s so clear,’ he said.

‘Pre-industrial environment. It’s got a clean atmosphere, fresh water, balanced eco-systems.’

‘Hegemony?’

‘Magical.’

His eyebrows went up.

‘Can you handle it?’ she asked.

He took her hand again, welcoming the sensations. ‘It’s perfect.’

They spent many days exploring their surroundings before deciding that the deep portal gorge would be the perfect place to entomb the backup quantum CPU. If the worm did break through into this world, it wouldn’t find it easily under all that water, nor would it detect him in his Tulpa, at least not right away. There was no sophisticated technology here, no electronics and few inhabitants—only a handful of coastal cities and the tiny village of Corsanon nestled in the foothills nearby. Small farms spread over the lower plains. That was it.

As long as the chip remained hidden, Jarrod could bide his time while Janis got on with her research. Everything rested on whether she, or one of her offspring, could destroy the worm. When she did, JARROD would be free to return to Earth and tackle the results of ASSIST’s environmental protocols. JARROD would survive indefinitely as long as her family line, her DNA with the matching key-codes, continued.

‘You’re going to have more, aren’t you?’

‘More what?’

‘Daughters.’

Janis drew in her breath, holding it while he searched her face. ‘I guess I have to now.’

‘What if…?’

‘Don’t worry. I’ll figure it out.’

She waited for Jarrod to create a nuclear magnetic resonance and handed him the vial containing his backup CPU. She called it Passillo, the word for
corridors
in her mother’s native tongue. When mixed with her altered DNA, this vial was the lifeblood of JARROD, the future of the many-worlds.

‘Bury her deep.’ She nodded towards the dark green water below.

Jarrod hesitated, staring at the shimmering surface. ‘There’s a little problem.’

‘What’s that?’

‘I can’t swim.’ He blushed. ‘Don’t look at me like that. I’ve only just got this body. I haven’t had time to work everything out.’

She smiled. ‘You best learn quickly. This is a water world, and it’s pure as gold. You can drink it, cook with it and swim in it, just as it is.’ She held out her hand. ‘Pass it over. I think I remember how.’

Janis stripped and dived in, disappearing under the surface without a ripple. She kicked hard to the bottom,
clearing her ears as the pressure increased, feeling the sensation of the water gliding over her bare skin, her hair floating behind her, bubbles escaping her mouth and nose. She was amazed by the sensations and shocked at how cold the deeper water became. Tucking the vial under a cairn of granite, she patted the rocks.

Rest well, Passillo, until I return.

That night, Janis went back to Earth. Jarrod remained behind, hidden from the worm in the rustic land of Gaela.

‘When will I see you again?’ he’d asked, her hand slipping from his as she stepped into the portal.

‘When I delete the worm.’ She reached out, touching his face. ‘If not me, then my daughter.’

Her hand fell away and she disappeared.

Janis slipped off her gumboots and pulled open the screen door. The aroma wafting from the kitchen made her mouth water.

‘Luka?’ she called out, brushing wisps of hay from her jeans. ‘What’s cooking?’

She washed her hands in the bathroom sink, pouring out half a cup of filtered water that went down the drain and into the recycling system. Drying her hands, she tilted her head.

‘Luka? Where are you? Is Ruby awake yet?’ she called again, her smile fading when she reached the kitchen.

Two pots boiled on the stove, steam escaping from the lids. A half-empty tomato can lay on its side, spilling red liquid over the counter. It trickled down the front of the cupboard to the floor, where it pooled. Janis frowned as she turned off the flame. A breeze wafted in through the window, bringing with it the scent of the sea. Her nose wrinkled. It was becoming worse each day.

‘Ruby?’ she whispered, watching the clouds turn red in the evening sky. ‘Ruby,’ she called out louder.

She reached her daughter’s bedroom, goose bumps rising at the back of her neck. The door was ajar.

‘Ruby, are you up?’

The gauze curtains fluttered across the empty bed. A child’s robe lay crumpled on the floor. She stepped over it to reach the window, leaning out until she saw tiny, bare footprints in the mud below.

‘No!’ She spun around, darting down the hall. ‘Luka! Ruby’s gone!’

She reached the front verandah and stopped short. He was there, standing motionless at the far edge of the deck. He stared straight at the horizon without shading his eyes against the setting sun.

‘Where is she?’ Janis asked.

‘I don’t know.’

‘She’s looking for them,’ Janis whispered.

‘The Lupins are her kindred spirits.’ His shoulderblades tightened as he lifted his head towards the first stars. ‘They call to her.’

‘Damn your beasts.’

‘It’s not their fault.’

‘Nor is it hers.’ She stepped closer. ‘They share the same blood, and we can’t keep it hidden any longer. If ASSIST finds out about your experiments…’

His lips pressed together, giving the slightest nod.

‘Luka, I know you don’t want to give them up, but they’ve got to go. Earth is no place for them.’

‘This is their home! I engineered them, brought them back from extinction.’

‘You brought back more than an extinct species. You created a new one. You used your own blood.’ She glared at him.

‘It was the only way.’

‘Maybe, but now it’s Ruby’s blood too.’

He lowered his eyes. ‘They’ll be safe on Gaela?’

‘I’ll take them there myself.’

‘You can’t, Janis. ASSIST is watching. You’d be leading that blasted worm straight to JARROD.’

‘I’ll weave a glamour. They won’t see me or my tracks through the portal,’ she said. ‘The Lupins can settle in the catacombs under Los Loma. It’s a perfect territory for wolves.’

‘They’re more than wolves, Janis, just as we are more than human.’

‘You are,’ she said. ‘And Ruby. Not me.’

‘Janis, your DNA’s been altered too.’

Her jaw tightened. ‘I didn’t ask for Lupin blood.’

‘It was the only template I had.’ He reached for her hand. ‘They’ll do no harm on Gaela.’

‘It’s unpredictable what they will do, Luka. Here or there, it’s a risk either way, as long as they exist.’

‘I’ll not have them destroyed.’

‘I know,’ she sighed. ‘Me either.’

She cupped her hands around her mouth and called over the dunes for Ruby. Her voice sounded shrill, whisked away in the wind. ‘She sees them as siblings. Longs for their company. How will we explain it to her when they’re gone?’

‘We’ll find her and tell her together.’ He turned to meet her eyes. ‘Come with me.’

‘You’re going to shift?’ she asked.

He looked back at the horizon. ‘I’m faster on four legs.’ His body gleamed in the low-angled light, muscles flexing as he lifted his arms above his head. ‘You can follow me, Janis. You can shift too.’

‘I can’t.’

‘You can.’

Janis stepped back as the sun hit the horizon.

‘I won’t.’

‘Please,’ he said softly. ‘You’ll understand it if you do. You’ll understand us.’

‘No.’ She dropped to her knees, folding over until her face pressed into her thighs and her hair tumbled across the floorboards, deep red in the last light. ‘Go find Ruby. Bring her home.’

Janis kept her eyes closed, not wanting to watch. She felt a rush of wind on the nape of her neck as the verandah rail creaked, the shock wave from his transformation washing over her. When she looked up, Luka was gone. A black-and-silver wolf tore off across the dunes, coursing for a scent.

She stood, straining after him, her heart pounding.

‘Wait, Luka!’ she called. ‘I’ll help you look, but my way.’

She turned towards the horse barn.

The wolf paused, his ears pricked back.
It’s okay, love.

She heard Luka’s voice warm inside her head.

I’ve already got her scent.

‘And the Lupins?’

I’ll bring them back too.

K
alindi Rose ran through the open field, her boots springing over the close-cropped grass. She hitched up her skirt and climbed the stile, sprinting down the cobblestone drive to the manor house. The brood mares lifted their heads, nickering softly as she passed. Magpies in the surrounding oaks chortled, and a single raven swooped overhead, letting out a raucous caw.

She took the front steps two at a time, her hand stretching towards the ceramic flowerpots. Her fingertips brushed the spring blossoms, red pansies with deep orange centres and yellow daffodils on tall green stems. She laughed, wiggling out of her backpack and tossing it onto the verandah swing-seat.

‘Mama? John’ra? Guess what!’ she called, grabbing for the brass latch.

Her fingers never touched the handle. The door was ajar, slowly creaking open with a draught of wind. She stuck her foot forward, stopping it from banging into the wall.

‘Mama?’

The sound of her voice disappeared amid the drone of cicadas coming from the cherry orchard. She
frowned. No-one left the front doors open on the Matosh Estate. It wasn’t allowed.

‘Where is everyone?’ she whispered.

Nothing moved except the rise and fall of her chest and the flutter of the wind through the dogwood trees. Suddenly the magpies took flight, the cicadas went silent. Light doused the verandah, the sunset shooting long red fingers into the empty foyer. As it dropped lower it disappeared, obscured by the inevitable fog bank that rolled in from the sea. It would be dark soon, the air moist and thick. Why had no-one seen to the lanterns?

Kalindi willed her heartbeat to steady. Most likely her little brother, D’ran, would pop out from behind the door, all screams and hands like bear claws. Her mother would call for her to help with the lamps and set the table. Her father would arrive in a flurry, his horse lathered and fussed, the man roaring his discontent with some trade agreement or the price of beans. The dogs would rush up with their barks and wags of excitement.

Any minute…
She strained to catch a sound above her breathing as the sky turned purple, and Ishtar, the evening star, emerged.

This is silly.
She straightened her shoulders and forced a laugh.
Everyone’s probably in the library, or out back. They can’t be far away.