"The cluster must recognize Arvor genetics to activate, and that requires a skin cell to read."
Sini tapped again. The effulgent circle appeared. Sini's eyes widened. "It worked," she whispered.
The light dissolved.
"This time open the portal and we'll transport through," Mom said.
"Is it dangerous?" Sini asked.
"Not to worry," Mom said. "Follow me and do exactly as I do. Step into the portal, take another step, and you're out the exit portal. Don't dawdle. The exit portal closes in fifteen lacti."
That bothered me. "Isn't that dangerous? Couldn't Sini could get trapped?"
"Don't be silly, Kuinsi," Sini said. "If I can't take two steps in fifteen lacti, I deserve to be trapped. What worries me is where the exit portal will take me."
That was my second worry.
"This portal and the one at Arvor Castel access the same exit portal," Mom said. "It leads to a place you'll always be safe. Follow me and see."
Sini glanced in the direction of the chamber door. "What if the Vhirko come in while we're gone?"
"We're only been gone a few lacti. Once we're on the other side, you can open the portal on that side and return here. The whole thing should last no more than sixty lacti."
I wasn't going to miss out and stepped behind Sini. "I'm coming too."
"That's Sini's decision, not mine," Mom replied.
"Of course he can. I have no secrets from him," Sini said without hesitation.
"Sini, first, then Kuinsi. I'll come last to make sure you move quickly."
Sini took a deep breath. She stared at Mhikhel's portrait. "I've heard so many stories that Grandfather's favorite saying was that he only trusted what his gut told him. Wouldn't he be shocked to know I aim at his gut to open a hyperportal."
"And I was the one he usually said it to," Mom said softly. She looked at Sini. "You ready?"
Sini walked closer to the wall with me and then Mom in her wake. She tapped the Ring. The portal glowed. Sini stepped forward and disappeared. Mom shoved me in the back and I stepped forward. A bitter cold enveloped me. The cold bit into my fingers and toes and climbed up my legs. I stopped to shiver. Mom's hand pushed me in the back and I remembered to step forward. A warm hand clamped my frigid fingers.
"Step toward me," a feminine voice said.
Warm air caressed me, and I blinked his eyes into focus. A young Sibyl in a hooded red robe stood in front of me, a smile on her face. "Lord Chancellor, welcome," she said.
The Sibyl reached out her hand and Mom stepped out of nothingness. "I told you not to stop. Always keep moving."
Mom didn't have to say the rest. If the portal had closed I would have been trapped in hyperspace.
Chastised, I glanced around. Sini stood next to the young Sibyl. We stood in a vast domed chamber that appeared to be carved out of black granite. "What is this place?" I asked.
"The Gathering Dome," Mom replied. "It can only be accessed via hyperspace."
Mom turned to Sini. "There is always a Sister on duty to help anyone who comes through. Sini, if you ever need refuge, you'll be safe here for as longs as necessary."
Sini glanced at the Golden Vine Ring and nodded. "How do I get back to the Castel?"
"The same process you used to get here." Mom pointed at a small red square painted on the wall we stepped out of. "Point the Ring there and activate it."
Sini pointed the Ring.
"Okay," Mom said, "Let's return."
-7-
Kuinsi's Chamber
Rwohn Compound
Planet Tirano
The hyperspace travel seemed to peel away Sini's fatigue. Her complexion showed some color for the first time in weeks and the bags under her eyes evaporated. Perhaps, her improved spirits would beat off the nightmares for one night, and with luck, hyperspace may have somehow magically effected a cure. I prayed so, because I didn't want to face the alternative. If I couldn't find any physical cause for her nightmares, I'd have to consider that the cause might be psychological.
I didn't want to explore that prospect tonight. Instead, I focused on Aos Whey-ki. Her description of hyperspace was identical to what I'd experienced today. I wondered how could an ancient archive be so accurate. It had to be a coincidence, but it heightened my curiosity to see what else the archive contained.
The archive remained in my reader on the table next to my bed. I stretched out on the bed and activated the reader. "Continue from where I stopped last night."
The rainbow coalesced. Aos Whey-ki's image appeared and she spoke in her lilting accent.
-8-
Royal Palace
Amphora, Gondwana
Imagine my shock - and elation. We would be saved from the cataclysm. The Imperatora wanted me and my children to be on the mother ship, the Gaea, to a new planet where we would help establish New Amphora.
The Imperatora had cleverly managed to keep the prodigious project from public disclosure. The Imperatorial Armada's probes had located a planet in orbit around Eridani that would support human life. At a space station in synchronous orbit with the dark side of the moon, the Armada constructed a ship the size of Mt. Erebus. The Starship Gaea contained everything needed to establish the colony: building materials, foodstuffs, animals, seeds and plants, and of course, dormant rootstock and grafts from Gondwana's finest vineyards.
The Gaea's crew consisted of Armada personnel, officer and enlisted; a handful of civilian scientists, which included me; and the Imperatora's most-trusted eunuchs, Grand Eunuchs Rohfek and Nhoth, who shared command of the Gaea as the Imperatora's voices. Each crew member was permitted to bring along his or her immediate family, even the eunuchs, who to my surprise each had a clone child.
After the Precession Cataclysm commenced, the Imperatora and her retinue would follow in a transport ship. Because of her transport's faster speed, she would catch up with us and assume personal command before we arrived in Eridani.
I was honored when the Imperatora asked me to create the computer research network on both the Gaea and Terra New. The Gaea would depart on the summer solstice, a mere two months away. Kwenerra, Ahrtzor, and I were transported to the Gaea where I spent the two months selecting and categorizing archives to download to the ship's computers. Kwenerra became my valued assistant while Ahrtzor attached himself to Rohfek and Nhoth's cloned sons, who he called the Dittos. I was glad he found friends who would some day assume important positions on Terra New.
Our departure was uneventful; the Imperatora didn't even attend so as to maintain the tight secrecy. We launched and for weeks I watched blue-and-white streaked Terra shrink as it grew more distant. Terra had become a glistening pinhole of light when catastrophe struck.
Kwenerra, Ahrtzor, and I were in our cabin eating our evening rations. "Cabin" and "rations" do not adequately express the quality of life on the Gaea prior to the catastrophe. Because of my position as head of computer archiving, our cabin was in the Archons Quarters on the upper most deck of the Gaea. In comparison to this cabin, our Amphora home seemed like a hovel. The cabin consisted of a spacious great room, a combined living room, dining room, and kitchen; and a separate bedroom and bath for each of us. Our rations were plentiful and consisted of fresh produce grown in the ship solarium and fish farmed in the ship's artificial lake. Ahrtzor had even began to gain some weight. We also received a monthly ration of wine from Gondwana's finest vineyards so we would have a supply of the sulfenols to prevent an outbreak of bubo-plague.
The Gaea's vid-communicator announced that Admiral Tani would address all ship personnel. The Admiral communicated ship-wide periodically to keep everyone informed of our progress. I assumed this would be the same. Unconcerned, we continued to eat.
The video-communication screen brightened and the Admiral's lanky image appeared. He stood at attention in the center of the command deck. Behind him several flight officers huddled next to the rear w
all's semi-circular control panels. The Admiral appeared calm, but several of the officers rocked back and forth on their heels and one waved his arms in the air.
"Thirty minutes ago our scans detected a previously undetected object that lies directly in our path," the Admiral said. "The object has not moved since it was detected. However, our probe waves pass through the its location, indicating no corporeal object is there. The consensus is that the object is a blind pinpoint on the scanner terminals caused by a scanning malfunction.
"In order to continue our progress to Eridani, Imperatora's Voices Rohfek and Nhoth have ordered us not to delay while we run diagnostics on the scanning equipment. Even though we will continue on our present course, prudence dictates caution. If the diagnostics have not succeeded in determining whether a malfunction exists, we will deviate from our path long enough to avoid the area the scanners indicate for the object.
"If we need to detour, we will commence our course change at," the Admiral glanced over his shoulder. Before he could turn his head back, the Gaea wobbled and began to spin. The Admiral's legs flew out from under him. He landed on his back. Our video screen blackened.
The spin picked up more and more speed and the Gaea seemed to sink as if it were sucked down a drain. I looked at Kwenerra and Ahrtzor. He pushed Kwenerra under the table. "Get under," he screamed at me.
I crawled under the table and huddled next to Kwenerra. She started to sob and I held her tight. Ahrtzor joined us, a defiant look on his face. "That idiot Voice Rohfek," he said through clenched teeth. "If we survive, he'll pay for this."
The further the descent, the faster the Gaea rotated. Every particle of the Gaea wailed in an effort to hold together. I fought the overwhelming vertigo. Our dishes flew off the table and ceiling tiles crashed. I counted the seconds and wondered how long until the ship broke apart and we would be sucked into the vacuum of space.
The Gaea's engine boosters began to reverberate. The spinning stopped, but our plummet continued unabated. The boosters reverberation turned into a groan that increased to a roar. The Gaea shuddered. The plummet slowed, then stopped. The Gaea wobbled, then listed to the rear.
I lowered my head. Silence had never sounded so wonderful.
"Do you think it's safe to get up?" I asked.
"Wait," Ahrtzor said. "Hopefully, the all-clear signal will sound."
The vid-comm crackled. We peered out from under the table. The Admiral's face appeared. Blood dripped from a gash on the side of his face. "The flight deck crew has managed to stabilize the ship." He grimaced. "We are unable, however, to engage thrust from the booster engines and cannot propel the Gaea. A crew has been detailed to inspect them. Please keep your vid-comms open. We will report to you as soon as we know more."
We crawled out from the table. Broken tiles littered the floor.
"Will they be able to repair the engines?" Ahrtzor asked.
"Oh, I'm sure they can," I said with more conviction than I felt.
"That was scary. I thought we'd never stop that awful descent," Kwenerra said. She walked over to her computer port. "I wonder how far off course we are."
"Me too," Ahrtzor said.
I picked up the shards of broken tiles and dishes. I headed toward the wasterator. "By the Goddess," Kwenerra shrieked.
I thought she must have cut herself on one of the broken tiles. I turned around. Kwenerra stood in front of the terminal, an ashen look on her face. Ahrtzor was clenching his fists.
"What is it?" I asked. "Did you cut yourself?"
"Mom," Ahrtzor said glaring at the terminal. "Come look at this."
I tiptoed over the shards. The screen contained two star maps, side-by-side. I recognized the one on the left. It showed our progress towards Eridani. I had no idea what the second was; I didn't recognize a single galaxy. Kwenerra pointed at the second. I leaned closer. Gaea's icon blinked in the center of the right map.
"Those idiots Rohfek and Nhoth," Ahrtzor said. "I knew they'd do something stupid just to earn the early arrival bonus. And they did. Now we're lost."
The hairs on my neck raised. "Early arrival bonus? They endangered us all for money?"
Ahrtzor snorted. "Something more important than money. The Imperatora promised them a drug that would re-grow their, their, ah," Ahrtzor paused, "you know."
Kwenerra's face reddened. "We're lost because a couple of eunuchs want to regrow their gonads. Men, with or without gonads, are so despicable. If we survive this, I swear by the Goddess that no man's genitalia will ever so much as touch me."
At that moment, I felt exactly the same.
-9-
Rwohn Compound
Planet Tirano
I stopped the archive and chuckled. Whoever wrote this archive had a great sense of humor (and courage) to write a story that made such a parody of the Rohfeks and the Nhoths. The Sibyls would also be offended by such a blasphemous use of the name Kwenerra. No wonder I'd ever heard of "Aos Whey-ki Journal: Terra New." The Archonan or the Sibyls probably managed to suppress any public release by paying off the author. Very interesting that Zhun'Mar had a copy. Knowing him, he probably found it as humorous as I have.
I fell asleep thinking about Kwenerra's vow of abstinence. I wondered if I was destined to be celibate even if I didn't make such a vow. The women I knew were either not to my liking (Archonan snobs) or Sibyls (who were sworn to a life of chastity).
I had no desire (prurient or intellectual) for any Archonan women, even if one of them would deign to have a relationship with a half-breed alien like me. They were uniformly dull-minded, and very few even approached being comely. On the other hand, the Sibyls were cute and intelligent (genetic engineering succeeded on that level), and I could always hope. After all, Mom broke her vow or else I wouldn't be here creating this archive. I'd really love to meet my dad and learn how he managed it; I could use some pointers.
I woke up clueless, both about any prospects on the female front and about any physical cause for Sini's nightmares. I doubted I'd solve the former soon, but I hoped for the best on the latter. Mom and I were to meet again with Sini this morning to practice accessing the hyperportals, and if Sini's nightmares had returned, I'd have to broach the subject of a psychological cause.
When the Vhirko opened the door to Sini's quarters, the familiar aroma of Mom's favorite green tea greeted me. Sini and Mom sat at the alcove table, each holding a glass of tea. Mom held her cup daintily with her thumb and forefinger and took a sip. Sini's back faced me, but I could see that her hand strangled her cup in a death grip. She raised it to her lips and gulped the cup dry.
Sini reached for the pot and refilled her cup before she looked at me. "That's the last drop. I'll send for another pot."
Her sunken and bloodshot eyes told me she'd spent another sleepless night. "No need. I've had some," I replied.
"I'm going to need more anyway. This tea is the only thing that jolts me alert in the morning and sustains me during the day."
Mom set her cup on its saucer. "Sini, do you think it's good to drink so much tea? Excessive tea alkaloid causes insomnia. Perhaps, that's why you're having trouble sleeping and are so irritable."
Sini's head jerked as if she'd been slapped.
"You shouldn't act surprised, Sini," Mom said gently. "With those bags under your eyes, your lack of sleep is obvious to anyone who's around you."
Mom raised her cup to her lips and blew on it. "And you, son," she said in a less gentle tone. "You're either oblivious or you're trying to hide from the problem. We both know you're not oblivious. So, do you want to tell me what's going on?"
Sini rose and stood next to me. "Have you figured anything out?"
I grimaced. "No."
Sini's hands grabbed mine. Her fingers were frigid. "Then, don't you think we'd better ask for some help from the only other person either of us trust?"
Mom hadn't lowered her tea cup and her eyes pee
ked at me over it. As much as I hadn't wanted Mom involved, I hadn't solved anything, and Sini was right. Mom was the only person we could trust. Better to eat some pride than to have Sini driven insane.
Still holding my hand, Sini sat back in her chair. She pulled me into the chair next to her. I'd no sooner sat than the vid-con beeped.
Sini gritted her teeth. "By the Belts! Does this have to happen every time I want privacy?"
She punched the answer icon. "Corporal, I told you. . ." Count Nhoth's pudgy face appeared. Sini's jaw dropped for a moment, replaced quickly by the reddening of anger. "How, how did you access my private line?"
He didn't reply immediately. His smug expression told me that Sini had reacted as he'd hoped.
"You've underestimated once again what the Assembly is capable of when you choose to challenge its prerogatives. You would have been much better off spending your time soliciting our advice," he glanced at me, "rather than closeting yourself with those who do not understand Tirano's heritage. Unless this budgetary impasse is resolved by close of session tomorrow, the Assembly will commence public hearings regarding the legality of your succession."
Sini laughed.
Nhoth pinched his double chin. "I assure you, this is no laughing matter."
Sini's laugh turned into a sneer. "Hold your hearings. We will see who's laughing when I publicly expose your budget during my response." She pushed the terminate icon and Nhoth evaporated.
"If only I felt as confidant as I talk." Sini's lip quivered. "People may care more about Mom's heritage and my gender than what Nhoth will portray as perqs of office."
Sini's words numbed me. All Tiranoan children, Archonan and KaNoa, were taught from the first day of school that the Sovereign's heritage had always been traced solely back to the leaders of the original ship, the Archonan. No prior Sovereign's genes had ever contained a drop of non-Archonan blood. Nor had a woman ever assumed the Golden Vine Throne.
"Do you really believe that?" Mom said softly. "Only a few Archonan reactionaries still care about the Sovereign being pure Archonan. Your Uncle Tarnlot changed all that when he defeated the Radani, and you reinforced it when you avenged your father's death by routing the Tamok. What's important now is that you're an Arvor."