The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series) (81 page)

Annata had moved to stand beside her. “That’s right.”

“How many people live here?” Keris asked.

“Two million, four hundred and seventy-three thousand, eight hundred and twelve, according to the latest figure on the date my program was stored.” She pointed out across the cityscape. “There is the great Ardath Spire…and over there, the Tellyn Carillon…and there is the Institute where I work.” She turned, and Keris noticed for the first time that the other woman’s eyes were a soft shade of green. She had never seen anyone with eyes that colour before. “How has my city fared in your time, Keris?

It’s nothing more than a massive ruin of abandoned buildings, broken down walls and encroaching vegetation.
She scrabbled to think of something positive to say. “There was a moving display that came on when I passed through one of the public squares.”

Annata chuckled. “So the only thing to survive of the mighty Kelanni civilisation turns out to be the automated advertising hoardings. I’m sure comedic artists in the theatres on Dalantyne Street would have a field day, if only they knew.” Her face grew serious once again. “To be truthful, I chose this setting for another reason, Keris. I wanted to show you not only your past, but your future as well. This is what your people–the Kelanni–have built through hard work, ingenuity and enlightened thought. This is what our people were and can become again. Only this time, it is my hope that you may go on to even greater things. If not you, then your children or maybe your children’s children’s children. To that end, we must defeat the Unan-Chinneroth. Together.”

Patris was standing behind them. He seemed to have recovered from his initial shock. “So you really do exist. They said you were an old friend. I see they weren’t exaggerating. Did you know they named a ship after you?” Annata looked puzzled. “Never mind,” he said.

Keris could hear the faint hustle and bustle of the city far below; the heartbeat of a living thing, dead now for three thousand turns and more. “I’m not sure I understand. Annata sent a machine to the Chandara in order to communicate with us from the past. I certainly didn’t expect to find you here. How…”

“I was created as a failsafe, after your first contact at the Great Tree,” Annata said. “Time slows down in the vicinity of the White Sun relative to time here. A message sent from our time around the white sun can be received by you. But the signal has to move a tremendous distance in space as well as time, which in turn takes a great deal of energy. There was a considerable degree of uncertainty as to whether we would be able to sustain the necessary power requirements for open communication with the future. So if the link failed, then Boxx was instructed to bring you here, as soon as the conditions had been met.”

“Conditions?” Keris queried.

“At the Great Tree, Annata told you that four were needed to operate the instrument we have designed for you, and that those four would need to face a test of suitability. The reason is that the instrument is very dangerous in its own right. Too dangerous for any one person to control. And for the same reason, it must be destroyed as soon as it has been used. The four controllers must each be trusted to do that. To that end, Boxx has been…collecting data. Information on you and your companions.”

“What sort of information?” Patris demanded.

Annata looked down at the floor of the patio. “I’m sorry, I cannot tell you that. If I did, it could taint the results. When it has sufficient data, Boxx is to bring a minimum of four candidates to Drani-Kathaar. It means ‘proving ground’. It is the place we have designated where the final testing will take place.” She looked up and smiled. “And to answer your next question, no, I cannot tell you anything about the testing either, because in truth I do not know. We have built and preserved the place we call Drani-Kathaar, but I cannot say what manner of trial you will face there. That will be up to Boxx.”

“The Chandara?” Patris said in disbelief.

Annata strolled to a table near the balcony and sat on a silver metal stool, inviting the others to join her. “When we created the instrument you would need to counteract the Prophet’s weapon, we knew of its potential for harm, and that if it fell into the wrong hands, then the results could potentially be worse than the weapon itself. Kelanni are emotional creatures. The judgements they make are not always rational. Chandara are different. Boxx is flesh and blood, but in many ways it is more like me. Its chemical makeup allows it to record information and assess it dispassionately, so that its assessment is always accurate. At the same time, its nucleotide chains cannot be altered or falsified, unlike a computer program. So it was felt that the only safe course was to entrust our future to them.”

Keris frowned. “If the Chandara are more trustworthy than Kelanni, why not ask four of them to operate the device?”

“I did not say that Kelanni were not trustworthy,” Annata corrected. “It’s just that the consequences of failure were so dire, there could be no room for error. But to answer your question; first, getting to the weapon will not be easy. Chandara do not have the physical capabilities or the manual dexterity that Kelanni do. Second, they are taking a great risk by helping us as it is. If their actions were discovered, the Unan-Chinneroth could choose to eradicate them, and they would be defenceless. We cannot ask them to do more on our behalf. And third…well, if we cannot find four trustworthy people among our own kind, do we deserve to survive?”

Keris went over the woman’s story in her head. “You said Boxx was to bring us here, if the machine you were using to communicate with us failed.”

Annata nodded. “That’s correct.”

“Why?” Keris asked.

Annata smiled beatifically. “I am to give you your final instructions for the testing.”

~

“May I offer you some refreshment? Do you like karel juice?”

Keris and Patris exchanged a look. “I thought you said we were still in the library building,” Keris said.

Annata had a faraway look, as if she were considering some abstract problem. “If I were to combine the molecules necessary to produce karel juice, would it be any less real than if I had picked the fruit and squeezed it out with my own hands? A question for the sages and philosophers at the Institute, perhaps. As for me…” The air above the table swirled, and there was a bright flash of light. Keris and Patris flinched. In its place stood a pitcher filled with a bright blue liquid and three tumblers. “…I just enjoy the juice.” Annata lifted the pitcher with a delicate hand and began pouring.

Keris took up the tumbler and cautiously brought it to her lips. It was cool, with a delightful sweetness. She had been living on short rations for the past several days. She thought of asking Annata if she could whip up some raleketh steaks and a side order of baked moba, but decided against it. There were more important things right now. “You spoke of final instructions?”

Annata looked from Keris to Patris and back again. “There should be four of you.”

“The others stayed behind in Kieroth, trying to fix the machine,” Keris said.

Annata looked undecided for a moment, then appeared to come to a decision. “Well, it doesn’t matter, provided you are capable of relaying the instructions accurately. Really, there are only two things you must know. The first is that from the moment you enter Drani-Kathaar, you must do exactly as Boxx tells you without question.” The woman from the past did not know–could not know–that Boxx was gone. Should she reveal that particular truth? Better to wait until she had extracted the information she needed.

The second,” Annata continued, “concerns the trials themselves. You will be tested individually, but whatever happens, you must not under any circumstances discuss your experiences with each other until the trial is concluded.”

Patris had not touched his drink. “May I ask why?”

“Again, it would taint the results,” Annata said. “I must ask you to trust me on this. If one of you reveals the nature of their trial, then the entire testing will be compromised–with disastrous results.”

Patris looked distinctly unhappy. Keris had to admit that she shared his misgivings. But there was no turning back now. “Assuming we pass your…Boxx’s tests, then we will gain access to the instrument we need?”

“The instrument has been divided into four. The four parts are…linked. When four individuals have passed, then one component will be given to each. Those four must then find the Prophet’s weapon and hold their respective parts against its outer casing. When all four components shine red, then the weapon will have been neutralized. Once you have accomplished that task, the components must be destroyed. After that, you can use the vacuum hole transporter to return to your side of Kelanni. That must be at least ten days after your arrival. The power source at the base of each tower draws on vacuum energy, but they are currently working only at low power, so it will take at least that long for the tower to store sufficient energy to enable a person to make a successful transport.”

“So, where is this proving ground of yours?” Keris asked.

Annata cocked her head slightly. “I do not understand.”

Keris drew out each word. “The proving ground. Where is it?”

“Boxx was to be told the location of Drani-Kathaar as soon as you arrived at the vacuum hole displacement tower on this side. Where is the Chandara?”

Keris took a deep breath. “We lost Boxx in…an accident.”

Annata’s mouth opened and closed. In an instant she seemed to have been transformed from an all-powerful being into a forlorn child. “How…?”

There seemed little point in concealing the truth any further. “The tower you sent us to was destroyed before we could use it. We had to cross the Great Barrier by ship. Boxx was swept overboard during the crossing. I’m sorry.”

“Then all is lost. I have failed,” Annata said.

Keris stood up suddenly, knocking her stool over in the process. She glared at the woman in white. “You are right. You’re not Annata.”

Annata’s eyes were pleading. “I don’t…”

“I know Annata,” Keris declared. “She was prepared to risk everything while her people were dying to give us this chance. She would never just give up. You are a coward. You’re not worthy of her name.”

The other woman’s face became impassive. “I’m sorry. This scenario is beyond my programming.”

“Tell us where the instrument is hidden,” Keris demanded.

“It would not do you any good,” Annata said. “Access to it is only possible with the help of the Chandara. We designed it that way so that the instrument could not be appropriated by anyone else.”

“Then tell me where the Chandara are in this world. I have been to their Great Tree near here. There has been some kind of disaster; the entire forest is dead. Do you know of this?”

Annata nodded. “I know of the tragedy, yes. But we have no idea why the forest died in your time. Sadly, our biologists have been too caught up in their own problems to address the issue. But we believe that it was not a natural occurrence.”

Her instincts were right. It seemed inconceivable, but by some Machiavellian means, the forest had been murdered. “Do you know where the rest of the Chandara went?”

“Yes,” Annata said. “But it is a closely guarded secret. No Kelanni of your time are permitted to know their location. It is the only way we can guarantee that they will be safe.”

Keris leaned forward. Her white knuckles rested on the table. “You have to tell us.”

Annata shook her head. “You do not understand. Boxx has been accumulating the necessary data. It was…designed for that very purpose. To designate another Chandara as Key would take far too long.”

“We have to try,” Keris insisted.

“I cannot tell you their location.” Annata’s expression was going through rapid changes, as if there were some titanic inner struggle taking place within her. She looked up at Keris, her face in earnest. “No Kelanni of your time are permitted to know it. That is the override condition.”

She is trying to tell me something.
Keris came to a decision. She turned to Patris. “You need to leave. Now.”

“What?” Patris said.

“Can you send him back to the library?” she asked Annata.

“Yes,” Annata replied.

Patris stood up. “Now wait a moment–”

A section of air shimmered on the patio and an opening appeared. Through it, the atrium could be seen. “Please leave,” Keris’ voice was level. “It’s for your own safety.”

Patris’ eyes narrowed. “Why? What are you going to do?”

“Just get out of here,” she ordered. Patris looked as if he were about to say something, then clamped his mouth shut and walked through the open portal. It closed behind him and vanished, restoring the unbroken view of the patio and the bustling city beyond. Annata was looking at her expectantly. “Do you believe that the Unan-Chinneroth are responsible for the destruction of the forest?” Keris began.