The Timeweb Chronicles: Timeweb Trilogy Omnibus (35 page)

Chapter Seventy-Two

It is said that success in life is about focus, and lacking that, nothing meaningful can be accomplished. But is that old adage really true? Can’t the wandering heart, the questing soul, achieve even more? Aren’t the highest achievements in God’s universe the simplest, the most pure?

—
The Holy Writ
of the Mutatis

From the open hatch of the grid-plane, Eshaz had been watching Tesh and Anton as they engaged in an animated conversation, and saw Noah Watanabe with them. Despite his injury, Noah was showing grit and tenacity, a desire to continue his life and not complain about his personal misfortune. He had lost his foot, but thanks to the healing nutrients of the timehole, he was out of his coma.

The man had come back from the dead.

But if the Council of Elders ever discovered what Eshaz had done, he would be in a lot of trouble. His mission was to repair timeholes and no more, using proven methods of patching up damage to the sacred web, anywhere in the galaxy. He was not authorized to go beyond that, not sanctioned to use any ancillary skills he had developed over the nine hundred and eighty thousand years of his lifetime. The reason was clear, and he understood it well. Primarily, it was all about concentration, about adhering to priorities. If he did other things, by definition that meant he was neglecting his essential Timeweb maintenance duties.

But Eshaz was, among other things, a timeseer, one of the few Tulyans with the ability to see—though imperfectly—into the future, and into the past. If ordered to do so by the high council, he used that skill for the benefit of the Tulyan race and Timeweb. On occasion, he even did it for other galactic races, for the sometimes-arcane political purposes of the Tulyan Elders. One thing in exchange for another.

Eshaz also knew how to draw beneficial nutrients from a rip in the web, as he had done for Noah’s sake, but this was one of the greatest infractions a Tulyan could commit. Only the most ancient of the ancients were authorized to do that, Tulyan sorcerers who were much older than he was, and who knew much more. He had learned the skill from one of them, with all of the dire warnings that went along with it. A mistake, holding the web open improperly, could result in a huge cataclysm, the collapse of an entire galactic sector.

Thankfully, that calamity had not occurred in this case, and he had repaired the web defect after the healing procedure, along with others he found in the vicinity of the planetary explosion. Still, he could not conceal his transgression from the Elders. The next time he visited the Tulyan Starcloud, he would have to tell his superiors what he had done, and face the consequences.

After healing Noah with the Timeweb connection, Eshaz had noticed a change in his own body, as the aches and pains in his muscles and joints diminished. Physically, he began to feel more like his old self again.

Following the radical procedure, Eshaz had tried to take control of the podship himself, by gaining entrance to the sectoid chamber and merging into the flesh of the creature in the way of his people, but he was prevented from doing so. A Parvii already had it.…

Now, as he stood watching the argument between Tesh and Anton, he noticed that Noah was leaning against a bulkhead, and not looking at all well. His eyes were closed, and he seemed about to fall over.

Eshaz ran to help his friend.

Chapter Seventy-Three

By deeds does a man measure his own personality, and his own worth.

—Anton Glavine,
Reflections

Following the harrowing escape of the treasure crew from the Adurian planet, Acey and Dux gambled their remaining bonus money, and lost all of it to their more experienced mates. Even so, the young men didn’t feel they had lost anything at all. They had begun the space adventure with no assets, only their lives and the clothes on their backs, and now they were distinctly ahead of that. They possessed a newfound wealth of experience, something that could not be purchased at any price or found in any treasure chest.

On the bridge the
Avelo
, the crew huddled around Captain Yuell as he examined one of many parchments in his possession. In his early years the gray-bearded old man had been the heir to a great merchant prince fortune, and had used much of his money to purchase old documents, especially galactic treasure maps. Eventually, his family had fallen into political disfavor and had lost their property and fortune. So, in his middle years, he had run off to space, taking his precious charts with him. He had spent the decades afterward exploring the galaxy, following the documents and discovering that most of them were either erroneous or fraudulent.

But a few were accurate. He had already proven that at Wuxx Reef, and at other spots around the galaxy, according to stories the teenagers had heard about him.

“There,” the old adventurer said, pointing at a star system at the top right corner of the parchment. “We go there!”

* * * * *

On the way, a two day journey to a region where podships supposedly did not venture, Captain Yuell regaled the crew with tales from his own treasure trove of lore. He told of the most unusual aliens in the “wide, wide galaxy,” of Wolfen midgets and lighter-than-air creatures, of humanoids five meters tall, and of the renowned mind-readers of Eleo.

Then, just as the battered but venerable
Avelo
entered a small solar system whose red dwarf sun glistened off the craft, the captain said, “But none are more unusual than the Gamboliers of Ovinegg. That’s their primary planet,” he said, pointing to a world that glistened a dreary shade of brown in the diminished light. Moment by moment, the oval shape of Ovinegg drew closer.

An air of anticipation filled the passenger cabin of the ship. Thus far, however, as the world loomed larger and larger, Dux was less than impressed. Through the hazy atmosphere he didn’t see any bodies of water down there at all, and wondered if they were brown and polluted, like the seemingly treeless landscape. From the edge of the atmospheric envelope, he didn’t see mountains or any other topographical features, either.

“It looks like a misshapen rubber ball,” Dux said.

“Is that why the people are called Gamboliers?” one of the men asked, “because they bounce and jump around on the surface?”

“Nice guess,” Captain Yuell said, “but that’s not even close. The Treasure of Ovinegg awaits us, lads, but the question is, which of you are brave enough to go get it.?”

“I am, sir!” Acey said. “And so’s my cousin Dux.” The two of them stepped forward, but Dux did not feel as enthusiastic as his cousin. He hoped Acey’s bravado didn’t get them into trouble.

“I’m ready too, sir,” the Hibbil Mac Golden said, pushing the youngest crewmen aside. “Just tell us where to find the goods, and we’ll bring ‘em back.”

“Well,” the captain responded with a broad smile, “the goods are just lying down there for the picking. Piles of priceless gems, and they don’t even need to be mined.”

“If it’s that easy,” one of the crewmen said, “why haven’t we heard of this place before?”

“Because you’re stupid,” one of the men shouted.

Laughter ensued. But all around, Dux heard his mates talking about how none of them had heard of the Treasure of Ovinegg, or the Gamboliers, or this solar system.

“Here’s how it works,” Captain Yuell said. “The Gamboliers don’t allow foreign spacecraft to land on their homeworld. All visitors must leap from a shuttle no closer than two thousand meters above the planet.”

He paused, and looked from face to face. “Without parachutes,” he added.

“We just jump like rocks?” Mac Golden asked in his squeaky voice. Nervously, he adjusted his eye patch, and inched a couple of steps back.

“They’re supposed to catch you. The Gamboliers are quite expert at catching people as they fly out of the sky, with fire rescue nets and other techniques. After you land, they bestow great wealth on you for your bravery.”

“Why don’t we just sneak down there and gather treasure?” Acey asked.

“Because they’ll catch us and kill us. They promise a horrendous death for anyone who doesn’t follow the rules. Oh, one more thing. I didn’t mention it before, but I never got any money from being in a wealthy merchant prince family. I made my whole life story up. Actually, I got my money here, on Ovinegg when I was a young man, not much older than you two. I earned it and spent it, and now I need to replenish my stockpile.”

“And the rules are still the same down there?” one of the crewmen asked.

“Those rules have been around for millennia, and when I was there I saw no sign of anything changing. That was forty-four years ago, not long to a civilization like theirs.”

A palpable, worried silence filled the cabin.

“I’d like to see us all go home rich,” Captain Yuell said, “but if I’m the only one going, that’s fine, too. In case something goes wrong, you’ll find my will on the ship’s computer, with my virtual signature. I leave the
Avelo
to all of you equally.”

Again, he looked from face to face. “Are any of you still with me?”

At first, no one answered.

Then Acey said. “I’m with you, Captain. And so is my cousin Dux.” He looked at Dux, and smiled. “Right, buddy?”

Reluctantly, Dux nodded.

There were no other volunteers.

At Captain Yuell’s command, the pilot steered the vessel into position, cutting down into the atmosphere, a couple of thousand meters above the surface. Then Yuell and his two young devotees jumped into the hazy sky and plunged downward.

Chapter Seventy-Four

No matter the excellence of your skills, no matter how superior you think you are, there is always someone who surpasses you, and there is always be someone to outdo him as well. It is this way across the entire galaxy, and throughout every eon of time. Most of us think there is only one zenith of attainment, in God Almighty. But is he the supreme being of only one galaxy? Or are there other galaxies, and superior gods?

—
Scienscroll
Apocrypha

Probing with his mind, Noah determined that someone had sealed the entrance to the navigation chamber, undoubtedly the mysterious, barely discernible adversary who had taken control of the podship away from him. He remembered being inside the core room, and now his memory scanned over every feature he had seen in there earlier, the glowing, pale green walls, with veins of gray and black, and a small, bright green patch high on one wall.

During the struggle for control of the vessel, his tiny opponent had moved with blurring speed, climbing a wall to the bright green section, and had done something there to take control away from him. But what had been done there?

As he continued to probe now, he could not see that section, or anything at all inside the navigation chamber. His thoughts moved around the outside of the sealed enclosure, and he noted how it was connected by a thick membrane to the rest of the sentient spaceship. Finally, he noticed that a small portion of the mottled gray exterior of the chamber was a slightly different color, a shade of bright green.

Could this be the other side of the green patch on the other side? He wasn’t certain. Previously, the spot had been high on a wall, and this was lower. But could it have shifted position?

Focusing all of his energy on the bright green section, he tried to use it as an entrance to the chamber. He visualized penetrating it and going through, as if his thoughts were a laser cutting device.

Moments passed, with no apparent effect.

Then, abruptly, the thick flesh began to pulse and throb, and Noah heard a squeal, as if from a yelping animal. The flesh quivered, and parted to reveal an opening. Noah shot through, into the interior of the navigation chamber.

I’m in!
he thought.

But looking back at the patch, which was also bright green on this side, Noah saw to his dismay that he had injured the creature. The flesh was torn and oozed clear liquid, giving the surface a sickly sheen. Cautiously, Noah’s shadowy, remote-controlled form floated back to the spot and placed a hand over the wound. He felt moisture, a bit of warmth, and the agitation of the podship.

I’m sorry,
Noah thought.

The creature shuddered. Then, as if able to read the intruder’s thoughts, the podship grew calmer. In a few seconds, the wound began to heal, and the injured tissue faded, closing the opening.

Cautiously, Noah withdrew his ghostlike touch, and drifted back to the center of the chamber. There could be no more exotic control center in the entire galaxy than the one he occupied now. All his life he had wondered how these sentient space vessels operated, and now he felt the mystery revealing itself to him, opening up like the petals of a magnificent flower.

Physically, he knew he wasn’t really inside the navigation chamber at all, and that he still stood beside Anton and Tesh in the cargo hold of the podship. He had extended himself to the chamber by what he could only call mental projection, an expansion of his mind that permitted him to travel telepathically, just as he had previously journeyed across vast stretches of the galaxy. All of it had all been very real, not a dream at all.

The days when Noah had performed ecological recovery operations with his Guardians seemed like long ago to him, but they weren’t, really. Only a matter of weeks, or perhaps months. He had lost track of time, at least the way he had measured it previously. That all seemed like a prior incarnation to him, operating under different, less meaningful, parameters.

He sensed something around him now, the powerful psychic presence of very alien creatures who had been inside this chamber before him … commanding the mysterious podship, piloting it across the galaxy. Then a powerful thought projected itself into his awareness, overwhelming all others.

I am the first of my race to accomplish this
.

He found the realization exhilarating, and something else even more so. He didn’t understand how he knew it, but he had an eerie, undeniable sensation that his power to command podships was greater than that of any other pilot in history. For awhile—as he developed his extrasensory ability—an unknown adversary had been able to keep him at bay and maintain control of the vessel. But that time was gone. No one could ever do it to him again.

The sensation gave him pause. He needed to use his new power well, and carefully.

His vision clouded over, then cleared. In his mind he held the image of the podship’s interior, from bow to stern, as if he could see through the creature’s tough skin. He felt his power and dominance permeating the entire vessel, entering every cell of the sentient creature.

He saw Tesh running across the cargo hold, then into a passageway.

What is she doing?
he wondered.

Abruptly, she seemed to disappear.

Refocusing, he saw her in a much smaller form, climbing walls like an insect, frantically looking for something she could no longer find. The entrance to the navigation chamber. Now he knew the identity of his adversary.

And he smiled to himself.…

* * * * *

Noah’s mind controlled his body.

In itself, this was not a revolutionary concept, since the minds of all creatures controlled their bodily movements. But in Noah’s case, his cognitive center could roam great distances beyond his corporal form, and still move the body by remote control. After Tesh ran off, he sent a telepathic command, causing his physical self to walk calmly to the grid-plane and climb the short staircase into the craft. It was a peculiar sensation, like a puppet master operating strings.

Then, filling the navigation chamber with his mental energy, he set the podship into motion. Following his thought commands, the vessel hyper-accelerated onto the podways.

* * * * *

Another extraordinary event was about to occur.

Thinking back on it afterward, Noah would not recall being aware of the crisis beforehand. Perhaps the temporary fusion of his mind with the consciousness of the podship had caused a state of hyper awareness, an ability to see something far away and react to it in a fraction of a second. Maybe time stood still and permitted it all to happen, something to do with the vast galactic web and the space-time continuum. In his mind, the possibilities were as limitless as the stars in the sky.

Anyone looking at a chart of the galaxy would see that the remote region where Tesh had taken the podship was a long way from the scene of the crisis. But podships could cross great distances in little more than the blink of an eye, so the customary ways of thinking were not always useful. Alternate thought processes were required, different ways of looking at things.

Certainly, all was not as it appeared to be, and Noah was not the only one to notice it, and wonder at the possibilities.

According to Eshaz, Noah Watanabe was the most remarkable human being ever born, and his life had been well worth the risk the web caretaker had taken in saving it. Only a short time after receiving the mysterious healing treatment administered by the Tulyan, Noah had been able to take a fantastic mental journey across the galaxy … and perhaps that continuing ability, combined with his innate sense of goodness, led to the remarkable events that took place in the hazy atmosphere over a remote planet.…

Ovinegg.

A world where the inhabitants used to wait for treasure hunters to fall out of the sky and save them with nets, had become a ghost planet, its population devastated by plagues. But many of those facts would not surface until later. Still, on some level Noah, and perhaps the podship to which he was linked, might have had this information, at some level of consciousness.

Or, in a universe of chance, that’s exactly what it was. Mere happenstance.

But no matter the reasons, which were always debatable, the reality could not be denied. Only seconds after three people tumbled out of a spacefaring vessel that had entered the lower atmosphere of Ovinegg, a flash of green split the sky beneath them, and the daredevils never reached the ground.

The podship absorbed them into its skin and dropped them gently into its passenger compartment. Then it continued on its way, leaping back onto the podways and accelerating.

* * * * *

Noah could not explain what had happened, but in the moments after the rescue he felt that he again had control of the vessel. With uncertainties and questions swimming through his mind, he directed the podship across space to the pod station orbiting Canopa—a cross-space journey of only a few more minutes.

Inside the grid-plane, Noah sat in one of the passenger seats, with his eyes closed. He felt an odd sensation as his thoughts occupied two places at once, and he sensed that even more was possible. The idea amazed and frightened him. In the passenger compartment of the podship, he saw two young men leaning over a gray-bearded man who lay on the deck, tending to him. Something seemed to be wrong. The image faded.

Opening his eyes, Noah saw Tesh seated beside him. She was saying something to him but he only saw her lips moving, and didn’t hear her voice. She seemed upset. Something clicked in his ears, like a pressure change, and he heard her.

“Why aren’t you answering me?” she demanded.

“What?”

“What do you know about this?”

“About the trip to Canopa, you mean?”

“That’s where we are?”

“We’ll discuss it later,” he said. Then, looking at Dr. Bichette, he said, “Go to the passenger compartment of the podship and see what you can do. A man needs your attention.”

Bichette frowned. “But all of us are aboard this grid-plane, in the cargo hold.”

“It’s someone else. Go! Now!”

Looking perplexed, the doctor hurried away.

Turning to his rotund adjutant, Noah said, “When Bichette returns, Subi, I want you to off-load this grid-plane from the podship.”

“Are we going down to Canopa, sir?” The big man slipped into the command chair, began checking the controls.

“That is my intent,” Noah said.

“But it’s too dangerous down there,” Tesh sputtered.

“I need to check on the Guardians,” Noah said. “They’re at risk because of me, and I need to go to them. The Doge and my sister have captured some, and others have taken refuge in the forests near our compound.”

“How do you know all that?”

Without answering her, not telling her what he had overheard Francella and the Doge say during Noah’s own fantastic mental journey through the galaxy, he said instead, “Maybe I can find enough of our people to organize a resistance movement. This may be too dangerous for the rest of you, so you can leave anytime you wish.”

Noah’s companions fell silent, as his comments sank in.

Presently, Noah took Tesh and Anton aside, and said to them, “Remember, you told me the Diggers had made a tunnel system that honeycombed much of my compound? Could you draw me a map, using the ship’s computer system?”

“Maybe,” Anton said. “We’ve been in those tunnels chasing the Diggers and shutting them down, but they were just burrowing in all directions, without any organized plan.”

“If you could recall the main passageways, including any beneath my old administration buildings, that would be a big help.” It occurred to Noah that he might journey there mentally, but he did not feel entirely comfortable—or safe—in that realm yet. The rapid growth of his paranormal powers opened up an exciting new realm to him, but it was also terrifying, like walking a tightrope between extreme mental clarity and complete lunacy. For now, he preferred to obtain the information this way.

“I think we could do that,” Tesh said. “Between the two of us.”

“All right,” Noah said. “Get to work on it.”

Presently, Dr. Bichette returned to the grid-plane, accompanied by two teenage boys. “We’ve got a dead man in the passenger compartment,” the doctor said. “These young people were with him, and are telling a fantastic story, that they were plucked out of thin air and taken aboard. It sounds like a lot of gibberish to me, but I want you to hear it for yourself.”

Gazing beyond the doctor, Noah met the gazes of the two youths he had previously remote-viewed in the passenger compartment. They appeared to be confused, and were obviously quite upset at the death of their companion. They exchanged introductions with Noah and the others, then repeated their story for Noah, adding details.

After listening intently, Noah had little to say in response. He decided privately that the matter would require more thought and analysis, in a manner that he could best do on his own.

“You’re free to go,” Noah said to the boys, “or we can take you into our organization.” He identified himself and provided them with basic information about the Guardians and their ecological mission, but didn’t mention what he had in mind yet, an attempt to reestablish his operations on Canopa.

Acey Zelk described again how he and his cousin had jumped out of the treasure ship with the captain, and asked what had happened to them, how they had been pulled out of the air.

“We’re not sure,” Noah said, and this was mostly true. He saw no benefit in speculation, or in saying anything more about the matter.

“We’re treasure hunters,” Dux Hannah said, “but I’d say we’re out of a job now. Speaking for Acey here—and he’s gotten me into trouble by speaking for me—I’d say you have two new recruits, Mr. Watanabe.”

“First I need to tell you more about what you’re getting into,” Noah said. “I’m heading into real danger, going after the people who stole my property and killed the Guardians who worked for me. Our enemies are powerful, the Doge Lorenzo himself, and my own turncoat sister.”

Acey whistled. “Sounds worse than jumping out of a ship with no parachute.”