<1 guess not,> Maii admitted. <But I’ve never known anyone to be able to visualize n-space who wasn’t able to access it too.>
<So I’m a freak?>
<A fluke, perhaps,> said Maii.
<Sounds better.>
<Where’s Ansourian?> Roche asked, curious to see a mind with a shield.
Maii guided her to the spot where the man’s mind should have been. All Roche could see was a steep, circular lip, like the edge around a very deep crater. No matter how Maii tried, she couldn’t get inside or even look over the wall.
<It’s like a fortress,> Roche said. <This is fascinating, Maii. Keep going, please.>
Maii took her on a whirlwind tour of the habitat, showing her shielded and unshielded minds, minds with epsense powers and no epsense at all, minds that had been damaged by epsense attacks and minds that possessed strange outgrowths into n-space that the reave couldn’t explain, except to say that she had seen their like before and that they didn’t seem to serve any purpose. Roche tagged along for the ride, an eager student delighted to have discovered a new skill.
<Could this have anything to do with you?> she asked the Box, explaining briefly what she was experiencing.
<Impossible, Morgan. AIs, no matter how sophisticated, have never been able to master epsense to any degree.>
<Could the Crescend have knocked something out of whack when he was installing you?>
<Unlikely. I’m sure he knew what he was doing.>
<But—> Roche stopped, feeling a new pressure on her mind.
<Who are you talking to?> Maii asked. Roche went cold. She hadn’t thought that the link with the girl might expose the existence of the Box inside her.
She was unable to think of anything even remotely convincing. <No one,> she said lamely.
Roche felt a short, sharp probe penetrating deep inside her mind—then abruptly the girl was gone.
Roche rocked back into her chair, stunned by the girl’s absence. The real world flooded her senses, dispelling the gray clarity of n-space.
<I’m sorry,> Maii said, reaching out and taking her hand, gripping it tightly through two layers of hazard suit glove. <1 shouldn’t have looked. But when I felt you talking to it...> A profound sense of remorse came with the words. <Oh, Morgan. I won’t tell anyone—I promise!>
Roche didn’t know what to do. Although the girl hadn’t actually said it, there was no doubting that she now knew about the Box. That went against everything Roche and the Box had arranged; it could even jeopardize the Box’s mission for the Crescend.
But it didn’t have to be a problem. If Maii told no one, the secret stopped there—and unless Roche told the Box, it would never know either.
The simplest thing, she thought, might be to trust the girl.
<It’s okay, Maii,> she said. <Keeping the Box a secret is only a precaution. As long as you don’t tell anyone about it, it’ll stay a secret until we’re ready.>
The girl nodded. <But it’s inside you!>
<Yes.> Roche couldn’t put the girl’s mind at ease on that score, <It’s been inside me all along, Maii. I just didn’t know. The valise was a backup, and a decoy.>
<You mean you dragged that thing from one end of the COE to the other for no reason?>
Maii’s thoughts were tinged with an annoyance Roche could relate to. But that was all history now; the present had given her a whole new set of problems to deal with.
<It doesn’t matter anymore,> said Roche. There was a long stretch of silence which she ended with: <Are you okay about all of this, Maii?>
<Yes,> said Maii eventually. <Just... surprised, I guess.>
<I know,> said Roche. <But for now I don’t want the others to know, okay? Even Ameidio.>
<1 understand, Morgan,> said the girl. <And I am sorry for looking without—>
<Shall we continue, Maii?> she said.
Maii hesitated for a second, then diffused once more into Roche’s mind. This time they headed in a different direction, outward and away from their current location. As they traveled, the number of minds they passed slowly increased, then abruptly fell away to virtually nothing, until they were left facing just four anomalies in the n-space plain.
Three of them she wouldn’t have recognized, but the fourth one she knew immediately. It was a sudden hole in n-space, as though someone had dropped a ball bearing made of neutronium onto a rubber sheet.
<That’s Cane, isn’t it?> she said.
Maii seemed momentarily taken aback. <How did you know that?>
<Just a hunch,> Roche said. <He looks so different from everyone else.>
<Different? How?>
Again Roche struggled for words. <He’s not the way you describe him. I see him as empty and very deep—perhaps even bottomless.>
<Maybe you’re seeing the hole the irikeii saw.>
<Or maybe I’m just imagining things.>
<Either way, it’s strange.> Maii thought for a moment, then said: <From what you’ve said, I gather we don’t see things the same way in n-space. You know how I saw Cane: like a complicated machine moving too quickly for me to grasp; to you, he’s a hole. It’s the same with Ansourian: to me he’s a slippery rubber egg, while you see him more like a cup. This isn’t unusual; all people view n-space differently. And we do see some things the same way. Those odd outgrowths, for instance; I knew exactly what you were talking about when you mentioned them. And n-space itself; I also view it as a gray, smooth plain. So I wonder why the extreme examples should be so different?>
<It’s what comes from being a freak, I guess,> said Roche. <Sorry, ‘fluke.’>
<The irikeii called you an enigma,> Maii said thoughtfully. <It was curious about you. Maybe that means something.>
Roche nodded to herself, thinking: An enigma... <Do you think I could learn to do this on my own?> she asked.
<I doubt it. Your talent is reactive only. You can’t see n-space on your own; a reave will always have to show it to you secondhand. Just like when we converse by epsense; it’s not so much you talking as me hearing.>
<But why would I be able to see it at all?> Roche wondered, thinking aloud. <It seems a pointless talent to have.>
<Perhaps.> Maii drifted away for a second as she concentrated on something else. <Unless... Morgan, maybe now’s not the right time to let you talk to Haid and Kajic. I’m taking you back to the habitat instead to have a proper look around. There are a lot of minds here, and you’re new at this, so you’re going to find this hard. But I’m going to sweep across as many as possible as quickly as possible. We won’t be looking at individual minds, but rather at the landscape they create when combined—a bit like ignoring the trees in order to admire the forest. Let yourself drift with the flow, and let me know if you see anything at all that stands out.>
Roche did as the girl said, guessing immediately what she was after. If Roche could see one clone warrior so clearly, why not another? Ansourian had seemed so certain that there was another one on board the habitat....
They swept rapidly over the population of the habitat. Minds blurred and merged into a strange landscape that dipped and fell around Roche. As she became accustomed to it, she started to find a sort of coherence to what she saw: there were few sudden dips or highs, as though minds that were alike tended to congregate even without being aware of it, or else individual minds were influenced by those around them. Only a few stood out, and then only because they were so tall among the others. She didn’t know what that meant; possibly nothing. It wasn’t what she was looking for, anyway.
She didn’t know how much time passed before she saw something. Time seemed meaningless. Likewise, she had no idea where her mind might have been in the real world....
<
Wait!> she suddenly shouted. <I see one!>
Maii brought them to an immediate halt. <Where?>
<There.> Roche, unable to move of her own will, could only describe what she was seeing as best she could. <See that group of minds over there? A lot like Ansourian’s all in a bunch? There are three in a line to one side. Next to them—yes, that one. It looks just like Cane.>
And it did. The same abrupt drop in n-space to a depth she could neither see nor imagine.
<This one?>
<Yes. And... Wait, pull back a bit—no, more...> Mail’s mind roamed across the gray vista. <That knot of people. In there.>
<Another one?>
<Yes.> Roche’s stomach fell at the sudden realization: there were two clone warriors on the habitat!
Maii seemed to be having trouble deciding which mind to look at. <1 can’t pin them down as well as you can, Morgan. Wait a second.> They headed back to the location of the first one. <No, I still can’t see it. Here?>
<Close. Across a bit—yes! There.>
<And it’s the same as Cane?>
<Exactly the same.>
<I can’t imagine what else that could mean,> said Maii, <except that this person is a clone warrior.>
Roche’s concern slipped back a notch as another realization hit home: <This is it, Maii! We can find them!>
<Maybe,> Maii said, jumping back to the place where Roche had spotted the second clone warrior. It had moved, and Roche had to keep giving Maii directions so they could keep up. <I can’t enter this mind, Morgan, so we can’t tell who it belongs to that way. Can you tell where this person is, precisely?>
<1, uh...> Roche realized then that it wouldn’t be so easy. N-space bore little relation to the real universe, except in the broadest terms. She could tell that the clone warrior was one of many in a group of people, and that that group of people was a subset of the larger group that comprised the population of the habitat. But beyond that...
<Hang on.> Maii let go of her for a moment. When she returned a second or so later, she explained that she’d been exploring the scene more closely on her own. <Dragging you around can be a strain if I move too quickly.>
<Sorry, Maii. I didn’t realize.>
<No. This is interesting—and maybe important.> The girl sounded alive in a way that Roche hadn’t heard before; maybe the thrill of guiding someone around on her own turf for a change accounted for that. <It’s hard to tell for sure,> she said, <but the first mind you pointed out seems to be in an audience of some kind. There are lots of important people nearby, most of them with shields like Ansourian’s. I touched a couple of ancillary staff members who weren’t as well protected. The audience seems to be the one the administer is holding but I can’t be absolutely sure.>
<That would make sense,> Roche said. <That’s where the clone warrior would want to be—as close as possible to the center of power. Can you determine which one of them is the clone warrior?>
<No.> There was both excitement and frustration in the reave’s voice. <To be honest, I can’t even tell myself which one it is. When you pointed it out, I could tell it looked different, but not so remarkably different that I couldn’t lose him in a crowd.>
<But I could spot him,> Roche said, confident in this newfound sense. Cane’s mind had been as different from the others as a crater was to a mountain.
<I don’t doubt that, Morgan,> Maii said. <But the other ones you spotted could be unrelated. We need to get you face to face with another clone warrior, alone, so there won’t be any doubt at all...> She sent a mental shrug. <Until then I guess we won’t know for certain if it really will work on the rest.>
Roche accepted that. The hope she had felt a moment before was tempered by the thought that her gift might prove too unwieldy to rely upon. But it was a step in the right direction. If the difference was a real one, and she could detect it, there was always a chance that there were others like her who also had this ability. Out of all the high-power reaves on board the Phlegethon there had to be at least one who would replicate it.
The only trick would be proving it, and that meant coming into contact with another clone warrior.
As she and Maii lingered around the impenetrable mind in the administer’s audience, Roche couldn’t help but feel a little apprehensive about that.
8
Perdue Habitat
955.1.32
0330
Roche took the chance to speak to Haid and Kajic once she and Maii had tested her vague ability to its limits.
<Part of me still thinks you should tell the Ulterior to go to hell,> Haid said when she had finished bringing them completely up to date on the situation.
<Part of me agrees,> Roche replied. <But this is about more than the Ulterior. What’s happening here could have a bearing on every habitat, every station, every ship throughout Sol System—throughout the galaxy. If we don’t understand why and how it’s happening here, we’ll never be able to stop it elsewhere. Slowly, but surely. In that sense, I think Nemeth has done the right thing in sending us here.> She added: <Even if it does put us in the line of fire.>
<And I guess we’re always going to be in the line of fire until this is over,> Haid said. <Or we leave the system.>
<Exactly.>
When she asked Kajic about the status of the ship, he was more relaxed. <Everything here is fine, Morgan. The repairs are complete, and we are completely restocked.>
<What’s Vri up to?> Roche asked.
<Both he and Cane are keeping a very low profile,> said Haid. <Cane just watches the habitat. Vri just thinks. I suspect he’s wishing he was with you, so he could keep an eye on Maii. I have to admit, though, he’s a lot better at this waiting game than me. He stays in his ship at all times, always alert, always... poised, I guess.>
Roche pondered Haid’s choice of word, and found it apt. He might exude calm and patience, but she knew Vri was wound like a spring. She wondered what it would take to make him snap.
<I’ll see if I can convince Maii to send him some words of reassurance,> she said, knowing Maii would overhear. <1 don’t want him rushing in with guns blazing because he thinks I’m up to no good.>
<Good idea,> Haid said. <1 imagine your radio silence isn’t helping any.>
Roche dropped back into the real world while Maii conversed with the Surin warrior. They didn’t talk long, and Maii’s expression was sour when they were finished.
<He doesn’t like my attitude,> she said. <He thinks I should be more responsible until I come of age.>
<How many years would that be?>
<Three. It’s irrelevant, anyway. As far as I’m concerned, I became an adult the day my mother sold me for medical experiments.>
Roche didn’t want to intrude upon that pain. She and Maii sat in silence for a long while, thinking private thoughts. It was odd for Roche after such mental intimacy to be alone again in her skull.
Or nearly so...
<Have you found a way to identify the enemy?> the Box asked.
<Not really,> she said. <I could probably pick them out face to face, with Maii’s help, but that doesn’t help us very much here.>
<It’s something, though,> the Box reassured her, echoing her own thoughts.
<1 guess so.> She was glad to be reminded that epsense gave her a way to converse with the others without the Box overhearing—especially at times like these, when she didn’t feel like talking to the AI. She was afraid of letting slip that Maii knew about the Box’s survival. The Box probably wouldn’t approve, and she couldn’t help but wonder whether it would take any steps to ensure the girl’s silence.
Very little time had passed when Maii lifted her head and said: <Ansourian is on his way back>
<Alone?>
<Yes>
Roche stood and shut the helmet to her suit. Maii did likewise. A minute later, the door clicked and opened.
“I’m sorry I took so long,” he said as he entered, his voice loud as it filled the quiet of the room. “Pacecca’s kept me busy, and Inder
deep is running behind schedule.”
“Are we going now?” Roche asked.
“Yes.” He started to lead the way, then turned back. “I do understand your need for security,” he said, “but it would attract a lot less attention and suspicion if your visors were open.”
Roche did as he suggested. The risk of physical assault was small, and the hazard suits wouldn’t be as effective as combat armor anyway. If they were recognized, so be it; as it was, she had made no attempt to hide her identity when they arrived at the station. Someone looking for her would have found her regardless of an alias, or a visor covering her face.
Maii did likewise, and when Ansourian caught his first glimpse of her face, he smiled amicably.
“It’s nice to see you properly,” he said. “You have a very strong mind.”
<You too. Where did you learn to shield like that?>
“The Vax were taught the technique by a senior adept passing through from Guo.” Seeing no sign of recognition, he explained: “The Guo Sodality is dedicated to epsense training and study in the Middle Reaches; its senior adepts are renowned throughout our region for their strength and subtlety. The technique they taught us has been handed down along certain family lines in order to secure their places in the hierarchy of our culture.”
“We noticed a lot of shielded minds in one particular spot in the habitat,” Roche said.
He nodded. “That would be the audience chamber,” he said. “That is where they would gather at this time.” He half smiled. “Sometimes I wonder if there are any actual thoughts going on behind those shields.” He shrugged. “But that’s politics for you.”
Roche debated whether to tell him about the two clone warriors, but decided to wait until she was sure. “Shall we go?”
“Yes, of course,” he said, leading them out the door and into the corridor.