Attack on Thebes Read online

  Earnest’s eyes narrowed. “Are you Linked?”

  “We are.”

  Cary-Saanvi-Faleena watched the writhing mass within the sphere coalesce into a recognizable shape once more. She didn’t know what the shape was, no words came to mind to describe it, but she could see its edges, make out filaments.

  “You ready?” Earnest asked.

  Cary glanced back at her father, who nodded.

  “Might as well get it over with,” he sighed.

  “Do it,” Cary-Saanvi-Faleena said.

  Earnest activated the gamma ray, which resulted in a very anticlimactic, and almost imperceptible, click.

  The remnant, however, roiled inside the ball, pushing out in all directions, forcing Cary-Saanvi-Faleena to place more of the black bands around it.

  When they had first captured the remnant, they had not understood what they did to contain it. This time was different. Cary-Saanvi-Faleena could see other things all around herself now, extra planes and angles, as though another existence was encroaching on their own.

  There were light things and dark things, hot and cold things. The hot things were black, and Cary-Saanvi-Faleena could take them and wrap them around the remnant.

  In the other space, the remnant was larger, as tall as her father, but still somehow on the table and cupped in her hands. It seemed to rage, to exude a sense of purpose denied.

  “Stop,” Cary-Saanvi-Faleena said to the remnant. “Stop, or we will crush you this time.”

  “Do you really think you can?” The remnant seemed to hiss and steam as it spoke.

  Cary-Saanvi-Faleena nodded. “We do. We see through you. You’re just a shadow, not a real being.”

  “Real enough,” the remnant replied. “You won’t be able to hold me forever. I must find the others and expunge them. They no longer serve a purpose.”

  The more Cary-Saanvi-Faleena watched the remnant, the more she realized that it was little more than a memory, perhaps an ascended AI’s version of a non-sentient AI assistant.

  But it was smart and had wiles. It had to, for it to have hidden in Nance for so long—and to have escaped the notice of Bob.

  How could this thing have escaped Bob’s notice? Cary-Saanvi-Faleena wondered to themself. He is all but ascended himself. If he cannot perceive extradimensional entities such as this remnant, we would be surprised.

  “Cary,” her father’s voice broke into their thoughts. “What’s going on? It looks like the thing is going to explode.”

  “We’re talking to it,” Cary-Saanvi-Faleena replied, her voice calm and reassuring—at least she hoped it was. “It is blustering, currently. I think it’s an NSAI of sorts. It doesn’t have many tricks up its sleeve, so it’s attempting to use fear. But I think that it fears us. So much as it can.”

  “Well, whatever you’re doing is working better than the gamma ray. I’m getting excellent data.” Earnest had summoned a dozen holodisplays and was frantically working on them as he spoke.

  “Is it actionable data?” Joe asked.

  Earnest shot Cary-Saanvi-Faleena’s father a sharp look. “Joe, I’m learning about an entirely new branch of physics over the course of just a few minutes. I mean…we have theories, but we’ve never tangibly interacted with these other dimensions…not in real-time like this, at least.”

  Earnest’s voice grew breathless as he spoke. A combination of excitement and worry was clearly audible.

  Cary-Saanvi-Faleena realized that she could see Earnest’s physical presence in the additional dimensions as well, but not as a tangible thing. More like a shadow.

  She turned to see that her father and the medtechs—who looked more than a little concerned—had the same shadows. Nance’s stasis pod was a pocket of nothingness in the other dimensions, which was interesting in and of itself.

  “Cary-Sa…stars, your names are exhausting to string together.” Earnest peered at Cary, then Saanvi. “Mind if I just call you ‘CSF’?”

  “Not ‘FSC’?” Cary said, her voice sounding like her younger sister’s.

  “Whichever you prefer.” Earnest shrugged.

  “Call us ‘The Triad’.”

  Earnest laughed, and Joe sighed. “A bit pretentious, don’t you think, girls?”

  “Well, Dad, we are three. OK, how’s about ‘Trine’.”

  “Sure,” Earnest nodded. “Now that we have that out of the way, I want to stimulate it again with the gamma ray, but at a different energy level.”

  “I want to try something, first.” Trine-Cary splayed her fingers, and filaments of nano flowed out of them and onto the surface of the brane.

  “It has a body,” Trine-Saanvi said. “I can see it through Trine-Cary’s eyes, though to mine it is still a jumble. But the body we see here and the remnant’s real body are not the same. It is complete in other parts of space-time, while it’s a shadow here. No, that is not right. It is a shadow in others, too. Like it has shed much of itself to be what it is.”

  Trine-Faleena said.

  “I am no such thing,” the remnant retorted. “You cannot understand what you see.”

  Trine-Cary had deposited enough nano on the surface of the brane that it was visible as silver bands wrapping around the black ones. Then the bands began to glow brightly, and the silver sank into the black.

  “How is she doing this?” Trine heard her father ask Earnest.

  “I don’t know,” Earnest replied.

  “If you don’t know, how is it that she knows?”

  Trine watched Earnest peer into Trine-Cary’s eyes. “When you were a baby and you took your first step, did you know how your muscles worked? How your brain sent a signal through your nervous system?”

  “Are you saying this is some sort of innate knowledge, a reflex or something?”

  “Well, not a reflex, but yes, something that Trine knows how to do naturally.”

  “Where would Cary—”

  “Not Cary.” Earnest held up a finger. “When Trine merges, each brings themselves—or at least a part—into the whole. To be honest, what Cary instigates is something I barely understand to begin with. It is like she is able to effect the merger that her mother and Angela have, but at will, and with anyone.”

  “Not anyone,” Trine-Cary said. “I’ve tried it with others, but only succeeded with Saanvi, and then Faleena.”

  “Even so, Saanvi is not a blood sister, so whatever bond allows this is not biological. I suspect your inability to deep-Link with others is a mental block, nothing more.”

  Trine only grunted as she spun the silver bands around the remnant. In three-dimensional space, it seemed only to roil more violently inside the sphere. In n-space—a name she decided on for the deeper existence she could now see—it shrieked in pain. Or possibly terror. Trine wasn’t certain.

  “So you think this ability to see into other dimensions and manipulate matter there comes from Faleena,” Joe said after a moment.

  Trine wondered about that. It made sense. On previous deep-Links with Saanvi, there had never been any revelations about other dimensions. Nothing had ever looked different.

  Could it be because Moms are merging? Trine-Cary thought.

  Perhaps. Trine-Faleena replied, her thoughts feeling uneasy. Does that mean that moms are becoming something more, as well?

  Are we? Or at least you two. Trine-Saanvi sounded as though she didn’t know what to think of her place in Trine.

  Trine-Cary did not think that was the case. Seeing more of space-time does not mean that we’re becoming anything different—other than having other eyes, at least.

  You didn’t say anything about Moms, Trine-Faleena couldn’t help but comment.

  That’s because I don’t know what’s happening with Moms.

  Focus.

  Yes, of course.

  While Trine had been talking amongst herself, she had also been listening to Joe and Earnest discuss what they were seeing.

  “See there,” Earnest pointed at one of his holos. �
�When she twists that band, the thing emits shadow particles, mostly sleptons. I believe I can detect those under a variety of circumstances. They have a very unique signature; we’ll just have to figure out how to force it to emit those.”

  “There,” Trine said as the last of the black bands was fully coated in silver. “You now have a control interface for it.”

  In n-space, the remnant had ceased its struggles. It was now wrapped in the silver ribbons that Trine had created. Unlike the representation in three-dimensional space, where the bands wrapped around it and things looked neat, n-space showed the ribbons very differently. There, they mostly encircled the remnant, but in some places, they punctured it as well, passing through its body in some dimensions, but not others.

  The result was a being that was afraid to move, lest it cut itself apart. And because, for the remnant, thought was movement, it could barely form words.

  “Will. Be. Free.”

  “Keep dreaming,” Trine replied, her tone dismissive. Internally, though, she was not so sure.

  Can it?

  We don’t know…if it is NSAI, it is just acting out its programming.

  And if this shadow is sentient? Then it has a will.

  We must stay to watch it.

  So tired…

  Cary severed the deep-Link, feeling Saanvi fall away first, then Faleena—though Faleena did not drift far.

  “That’s…exhausting,” Cary said, leaning heavily on the table.

  “You’ve not slept for three days,” her father said, at her side in an instant with a gentle hand on her arm. “You need to eat, then sleep.”

  “Can’t,” Cary whispered. “What if it breaks free?”

  “I have a cot in the corner,” Earnest said. “I can have food brought down.”

  “Sleep.” Saanvi nodded in agreement. “I caught shuteye on the trip here, so I can stay up awhile. I’ll let you know if we need you.”

  Faleena added.

  “OK, just for an hour or so.” Cary nodded as her father led her to the cot. “Just a bit.”

  Cary didn’t even remember her head hitting the pillow.

  FAREWELL TO SCIPIO

  STELLAR DATE: 10.02.8948 (Adjusted Years)

  LOCATION: Imperial Palace

  REGION: Alexandria, Bosporus System, Scipio Empire

  Two months later…

  “You know, Diana, you’re not half bad.”

  Tanis nearly spat out her wine, wondering what had come over Sera to say something like that to the Empress. She gave Sera a stern look before seeing, to Tanis’s immeasurable relief, that the empress smiled.

  “The feeling’s mutual, Seraphina. I recall watching you enter my audience room and thinking, ‘Now there’s a woman who really thinks she’s more than she is.’”

  Petra sat down on a chair across from the empress. “I imagine Sera and Tanis are certainly more than you expected them to be.” She took a small sip of her wine before leaning forward to place it on the low table between them.

  Diana’s eyes twinkled, and her lips pursed for a moment before she responded. “I was thinking of you, Petra.”

  Petra’s eyes narrowed and her neck and shoulders tensed, but the ambassador held her tongue.

  Angela commented privately to Tanis.

 

 

  Tanis considered Angela’s words. If there was one axiom to live by, it was that if a person was cruel to their enemies, they could just as easily be cruel to you. Humans were excellent at rationalizing their behavior when it suited them.

  Tanis knew it was a weak argument, but she still had hopes for Diana. She’d changed over the past two months, had grown as a person. Tanis liked to think that she and Sera were positive influences on the empress, showing her how one could rule while being empathetic.

  Angela added.

  Tanis turned that idea over in her mind as she watched Diana, Petra, and Sera chat idly in Diana’s meeting lounge. Would Diana annex the Hegemony entirely? By the empress’s own words, she didn’t want to expand the boundaries of her empire any further.

  But would she feel the same way, once Sol was in her hands?

  Tanis hoped the woman would maintain her current stance. Scipio having control of its empire as well as the Hegemony of Worlds was too much. Too much for anyone.

  Angela’s voice was soft and encouraging.

  Tanis replied simply.

  Tanis felt Angela’s agreement fill her mind.

 

  Angela snorted, then began to chuckle.

  Tanis asked, feeling annoyed at her friend.

  Angela said after her laughter had died down.

  Tanis had a sharp retort ready, but then realized how right Angela was.

 

  Angela was still chucking softly.

 

 

  “You with us, Tanis?” Sera waved a hand in front of Tanis’s face.

  Tanis looked at Sera, then Petra and Diana—all of whom were directing unblinking stares her way. “Yeah, sorry, was just thinking about what’s stacked up ahead of us.”

  “A great list of deeds, I imagine,” Diana said. “The fact that I just have to contend with one enemy—provided you get Silstrand and that Rhoads mess under control—is a great relief to me.”

  Tanis nodded and reached for her wine glass. “I made the mess in Silstrand, I’ll fix it.”

  “And now you have the same nanotech that Tanis gave them, Diana,” Sera added. “So there’s no need to worry that they have an advantage you don’t.”

  “True.” Diana nodded with a smirk on her gleaming black lips. “So long as they keep their stretch of stars from becoming a problem, I don’t see a treaty being a problem.”

  “And the fleet you’d sent to take Gedri?” Sera pressed.

  Diana laughed and shook her head. “President Seraphina Tomlinson, do you not trust me?”

  Sera cocked an eyebrow. “Trust but verify. I have too many variables to juggle right now to worry about loose ends like this. Like Tanis, I feel partly responsible for the mess in Silstrand. I’d prefer to know that it’s taken care of.”

  “We received confirmation today.” Petra’s tone carried mild annoyance as her eyes locked on Diana’s.

  “Petra! You’re always spoiling my fun.”

  “Not everything needs to be a game of wits, Empress.”

  Petra and Diana stared at one another for a moment before Diana shrugged. “I suppose. I do need to learn not to needle my allies. I’m just not used to having people I can really trust.”

  you worry about Petra’s allegiance?> Tanis asked Sera.

  Sera asked.

  Angela joined in their conversation.

  Tanis asked.

  “We trust you, Diana,” Sera said aloud. “By your own admission, you don’t want to build a larger empire than what you have. Seeing proof of that is welcome.”

  Diana’s expression grew guarded. “True, but if I do advance into the Hegemony—which I intend to do soon; we won’t just sit here and let them build up for a crushing attack against us—I will need to give some consideration to governance of conquered territory.”

  “I’m in favor of vassal states with as much autonomy as possible,” Petra said. “Half of the Hegemony of Worlds is annexed territory as it stands. Many would welcome their autonomy back.”

  Diana’s eyebrows rose as she regarded Petra. “A desire for autonomy does not equate to the ability to effectively self-govern.”

  “Easy, Di. I did say ‘vassal states’.”

  Diana shrugged. “I suppose you did.”

  “So, how are you and Tenna getting along?” Tanis asked, seeking a new direction for the conversation.

  “Very well,” Diana replied. “I’d forgotten how nice it is to share one’s mind with an AI. We’re thick as thieves, as they say.”

  Tenna added.

  “You’re not running the empire, though,” Diana replied with a laugh. “Trust me, when the buck stops at your ass, everything is a lot different.”

 

  Diana’s laughter faded and she nodded soberly. “Welcome to my life.”