in him."
"Perhaps," the other said.
He reached into Vitelus' mind again and found the neurons he sought. He adjusted one. The synaptic cleft grew in size and altered the memory he had.
Immediately, Gram stood up and clutched his head. "What the frak is going on?!"
The female stood beside the male. She had withdrawn her touch from the human's mind earlier. "It appears that our interference cannot be as direct as it was in other planes. These creatures are too fragile, as you said."
"Indeed." The male watched the professor move about the room, yelling into corners and out the window. "Nonetheless, our presence here has forced the future into focus somewhat."
"It has," she said. "His work plays no direct part in the death of this tree."
The pair drifted from the man's workshop in Nandia and south toward the mountains. "There will have to be guidance," the male said. "Subtle urgings."
"Agreed." She paused.
His form drifted by, then he stopped and turned. "Why do you hesitate?"
"I wish to study humans further. I feel the need to urge and guide in trivial matters before we attend to The One's tree."
The male paused and thought. "Practice?" She nodded and he answered, saying, "Very well."
The Messengers vanished.
X
DONOVAN
159 Years Before the End
The doctor traveled under an assumed name.
It was a vacation, he told the Caesar. He needed to rest. For nearly three whole years he worked on the program and he didn't feel any closer to a solution. There were advances, sure. Robotics made more precise. The minituarization of some elements and parts. But not the ones that would give the Caesar the freedom he desired.
"Is that your friend, mister?" the boat captain said.
Donovan looked over the side and shielded his eyes. He saw a blue sail a few hundred meters away. He nodded and said, "It is."
"I could drive you right there, if you want." The doctor was removing his shoes and he shook his head. "As you wish."
Donovan put one foot on the bow and his hand on the rail. He looked over his shoulder at the captain and said, "I'll be back in an hour or so."
"I'm not leaving," the older man said. "You've only paid half so far."
The doctor nodded and dove into the ocean. The water was warm, but the chill was still a surprise. He surfaced briefly and began to stroke his way toward the distant sailboat. As he brought each arm up in the air and in front of him, turning his head side to side, he thought.
Each point was carefully laid out in his mind. Each question. Each contingency. As he swam, he went over them again. When he was done and saw he still had some distance to go before he reached the boat, he ran down the list yet again.
"Greetings," the woman on board said. She braced her foot on the rail and reached down with her hand. Donovan crawled over the side and flopped into the plastic bench there. He was out of breath. "Welcome to Arba."
Ryall looked to his left and he could barely make out the tiny verdant island on the horizon. "Yeah, right."
Constance tossed him a towel blanket and he wrapped it about himself. "Drink?"
"Please."
She handed him a bottle of water and then a glass bottle. He took a few hearty gulps from the water first before drinking the alcohol. He winced and then nodded. "Fresh mulsum."
"Just made yesterday." The woman sat and asked, "How is my dear brother-in-law?"
"He is … well. Far better than I expected."
She inhaled deeply and said, "A pity."
Donovan looked Constance over. She was young; only in her thirties. The wind caught a strand of her strawberry blond hair and forced her to tuck it behind her ear.
"And your husband?" When he asked, she looked down toward the water. "I see."
Immediately, she moved toward the doctor. "He's not that bad. Really." He shook his head. "He could take office. I could help him. It's been done before."
Ryall nodded. "It has … but, for this to work out, the next emperor must be there. Fully present. Ready."
"He is."
Donovan looked into her eyes. They were light green and wide. Donovan's steely gray gaze pierced her quickly and she turned away.
He said, "That's what I thought."
She punched the side of the boat and rocked with the waves of the ocean for a few quiet moments. Finally, she said, "I'm pregnant."
The doctor nodded. "Good. We'll have to wait longer, but it's a start." She didn't say anything else. "Did you visit the doctor in Nandia I recommended?"
"Yes. He handled the fertilization. Made sure everything was fine. No congenital defects. Less than a five percent chance for schizophrenia."
"Considering his father, that's good." She whipped her head toward the doctor and nearly spoke. She stopped herself. "Constance, Faustus Valerius may be a kind man, but he is not fit to be Caesar."
She blinked once and nodded. "Tiberia could use a kind man from time to time."
"True. But in a coup, possibly with regicide, a kind man would be a detriment."
"My son," she said, "when can he be Caesar?"
Donovan's nostrils flared and he glanced toward his chartered boat. It still floated hundreds of meters away. "When he's of age."
"There have been empresses before. Even empress regents …"
"But again … in this situation, we need a Caesar who is ready. Someone the people can rally 'round." Ryall put the mostly undrunk mulsum in a cup holder and finished the bottle of water. "It will be some time. Many years." She inhaled and exhaled slowly before Ryall added. "And when that time comes, your kind man must no longer be with us."
"That won't be a problem," she muttered. "He's old. In another fifteen years, he'll probably be gone." The doctor nodded and tossed the towel aside. "What about Max's life project? How is that going?"
Donovan tilted his head and shrugged, "I've got my eye on things. It won't go well as long as I'm in charge."
Constance squinted as a cloud revealed the sun, "How can you be sure?"
"There are about a dozen different projects around the world working on it. Some are dealing with the mind, some with the body … none are working on both. Both will be needed."
"And you?"
"My expertise is in the mind, so I'm working on minituarizing the technology that's keeping the Caesar alive. A robotic body seems most likely for now."
He stood up and sighed as he prepared to re-enter the ocean. Before he did, she asked, "When will you contact me again?"
He looked back, said, "When I need to," and dove in.
XI
BARAZ
158 Years Before the End
"It's time." Karin turned away from the windows and followed Mione down the hallway. "You got another call from Governor Dwarrick."
"Anything special?"
"No," Mione said. "Just trying to get into your pants, I'm sure." She smirked. Baraz didn't find it amusing.
Her stride slowed and she turned part of the way toward her assistant, "Huban's launch today …"
"Yes." Mione pressed the screen on her wristband. "Went well. Spacecraft is in orbit now."
"As soon as you hear anything about our cellular growth lattice, let me know."
"I will."
Karin walked past a security guard and into the prep room. "Are you coming in?"
Mione pointed behind her, "I've got a load of things to do." Baraz nodded and began scrubbing her hands in the sink. "If you need me …"
"No," she said. "That's fine." As the younger woman left, Karin methodically washed her hands. She counted each stroke. She covered the same area the same number of times. A lab tech emerged and got her coat and cleansuit ready. She kicked her shoes into the bin, turned and put her left foot inside first. Then her right. She leaned forward as the tech pushed against her. Baraz's arms stretched th
rough the fabric and plastic and toward the gloves. She felt constricted as he pulled the left side of the rear flap against her right side and affixed all of the closures.
He stepped to her front and raised his eyebrows. "All good, ma'am?"
Karin nodded and moved toward the door. He pressed a button and it slid into the wall. She stepped forward and the door closed behind her. A blast of air and disinfectant mist filled the small chamber. The hatch at the other end opened and she moved through it and into the expansive laboratory.
"Good morning, Madam Baraz," another lab tech said.
"Good morning." Karin was still organizing her thoughts. She saw each of her questions and concerns numbered in a list. As the tech connected hoses to the side of her suit, she decided to see the items on the list with bullet points instead of numbers. She didn't want to ascribe more importance to one item over another. At least not yet.
"Ready."
Baraz nodded and moved between the empty desks and toward the exam tables and tanks on the far side of the room. Several researchers were there already, including her appointed lead on the project, Dr. Julian Hikka.
"Madam Baraz," he said. He stepped aside and the other scientists bowed toward her slightly. "This is an auspicious day."
"I hope so." Hikka turned toward the tanks but Karin spoke up, "Before we begin, I want to thank all of you for your work. I haven't been involved as I would have liked, given the company's move here from Attica and all the political dancing we had to do." There were a couple of chuckles. "Regardless, I am here now and eagerly awaiting the results."
Hikka nodded and he motioned toward a few illuminated jars. One held a heart, another some muscle tissue, the third part of a brain … "The donor gametes were thoroughly vetted for genetic