"If we had planet-sized ships like that," Clarity speculated, "we might be able to save enough of a remnant population to reestablish humanxkind somewhere else. Someplace out of the path of the monster."

"Next address, Andromeda." Flinx looked glum. "But we don't have any ships like that. n.o.body does. Even the Tar-Aiym could only build one, and it's not exactly programmed for shuttle duties."

"A course, Flinx?" It was the Teacher's Teacher's AI. Though his ship was perfectly content to sit in one place, it knew from experience that its human was not. Flinx forever favored moving forward. AI. Though his ship was perfectly content to sit in one place, it knew from experience that its human was not. Flinx forever favored moving forward.

"I have no idea," the master of the ship muttered. What should they do now? What should he do now? He might have lost a galaxy, but he still had Clarity. Should they look for a quiet place to settle down on another world, perhaps even on Moth? His homeworld might be obscure enough to allow them to avoid the attentions of the misbegotten members of the Order of Null. Should he try to embark on the halfway normal life he had often dreamed of?

It would be the sensible thing to do. It would be the easy thing to do. The Teacher Teacher was his ship and would follow only his commands. He could do as he pleased. was his ship and would follow only his commands. He could do as he pleased.

Instead of making a decision on his own he put the question to his mentors. Beginning with Mother Mastiff, he had always found it prudent to listen to the advice of his elders. He might not do as they suggested, but he always listened.

Though visibly disheartened by the failure of the Tar-Aiym weapons platform to destroy or even deflect the oncoming menace from its seemingly immutable course, the two scientist-soldiers listened sympathetically to Flinx's quandary. They were in agreement in their response.

"There is always time for mating and egg-laying," Truzenzuzex pointed out. "Or for its messy human equivalent." Antennae fluttering, he glanced at Tse-Mallory, who nodded, and then turned back to the attentive Flinx. "We would beg of you a little more time in this unique system, Philip Lynx."

Flinx looked over at Clarity, who shrugged. "It's your decision. Staying here a little longer won't bother me, as long as we're together." Turning, she smiled at the philosoph. "You want to carry out what studies you can in a place you're not likely to ever see again. I've known you long enough to expect that."

Truzenzuzex gestured second-degree grat.i.tude mixed with gentle appreciation. "Bran and I thank you for your understanding, Clarity Held. Our objective in remaining here awhile longer is not merely to indulge scholarly pursuits, however. We wonder if further study of the Krang and the ancient city that surrounds it might lead to a hint of another possibility for fighting the oncoming threat." Both truhands described opposing circles in the air. "We have nothing else to try, and are bereft of other ideas for defense."

"Expending one's efforts and energies on a long shot," Tse-Mallory added tellingly, "is better than doing nothing at all, even if the only eventual real benefit is psychological."

It was settled, then. Raising his voice slightly, Flinx addressed the Teacher Teacher.

"Did you hear that?"

"My aural sensitivity is acute. I hear everything," the shipmind replied tartly. "I continue to await a course-from you."

Flinx sighed. AIs were so literal. "Take us back to Booster. Prep the shuttle for another landing. Same surface coordinates as before."

"Complying."

They set up a sleep and study area just inside the entrance to the Krang. Returning to Booster after having communicated at length with the ma.s.sive and now-departed weapons platform, Flinx half expected the Krang to fill his mind with all manner of queries and thoughts as soon as he stepped through the alien edifice's lofty entrance. Nothing of the sort eventuated. Inside the great vaulting tower, the relentless winds of Booster were blocked, the soaring pipes and conduits silent and cold. Reaching out with his Talent, he molded a mental query. There was no response. He eyed the distant dais and its overarching domes. It was a lesser platform than the one he had made use of on the simulated methane dwarf, but more familiar.

The Krang was a device. For all its planetary dimensions, the departed weapons platform was nothing more than a bigger device. The Meliorare-engineered extreme multipolar neuronic connections within Flinx's telencephalon that gave rise to his singular Talent were not duplicated by alien hardware. To in any way match his abilities, complex instrumentation was required.

He considered placing himself once more beneath the domes-and demurred. In the absence of a specific reason, without a driving need, he saw no reason to subject himself to what was unfailingly an enlightening but always exhausting and potentially dangerous exercise. If consulted, Clarity would certainly agree with that conclusion. Subjecting himself to the domes and to intimate mental congress with ancient Tar-Aiym instrumentalities in hopes of saving the galaxy, or even just himself, was one thing. Doing so for purposes of asking general questions or just having a conversation seemed needlessly dangerous. So he avoided the beckoning platform and spent the ensuing days with Clarity, with whom he shared an entirely different and far less stressful mental connection.

They enjoyed their time together as best they could, given the stark solemnity of their surroundings. Meanwhile, Sylzenzuzex a.s.sisted her revered Eighth and the ever-stolid Tse-Mallory in their research. This often took the three of them outside the Krang and into the deteriorating city proper. Flinx and Clarity were left behind to admire their alien surroundings, the silent mist hovering high overhead, and ponder a future fraught with an ominous mix of problem and promise.

They spent a week thus. As a locale for what they half jokingly decided to call a pre-honeymoon it was decidedly out of the ordinary. Under such exotic conditions most men would have given little thought to anything but a.s.suring their own continued survival. With the weight of all of civilization pressing down on his shoulders, that was not a luxury that had ever been afforded to Flinx.

Clarity knew him well enough to realize that as much as they were enjoying having some time together without anyone trying to shoot, paralyze, or blow them up, issues other than their relationship were preying on her beloved's mind. One morning after the usual rudimentary early meal she determined to press him on it.

She found him sitting just inside the cavernous entrance, staring out at the decomposing metropolis of the long-vanished Tar-Aiym, looking lost in contemplation. In a way that was encouraging, since he so often looked simply lost.

Settling herself down beside him on the crest of the outermost arc of amphitheater resting slabs, she snuggled as close as she could. Outside the soaring portal, the ceaseless winds of Booster wept for a civilization long-gone and all but lost to memory.

"I'd ask if there was something on your mind," she murmured, "except that the answer to that question is always the same."

"What?" His surprised exclamation confirming her a.s.sertion, he glanced down at her and smiled. "You're what's on my mind, Clarity."

She grinned. "I'd better be. But I know there's something else. Something more than the usual restlessness has been bothering you these past couple of days."

He looked away. "It's just a thought."

"Uh-huh," she observed knowingly. "When you have 'just a thought,' there's no telling what's at stake. Empires could crumble. Worlds could stop spinning on their axes."

He grunted softly. "Might just be gas."

She shook her head. "Not this time, unless you're running a secret internal chemical a.n.a.lysis. I know you. You're too deep into whatever it is you're currently into."

He waved a hand at the silent city that was slowly succ.u.mbing to the ferocity of the relentless wind. "I've been thinking. Tru and Bran hope to find something here that might point them to another means of combating the approaching menace. They've had no luck. They don't expect to have any luck, but it's in their nature to keep fighting, to not give up. I'm kind of the same way."

She slipped her arm around his back. Mildly irritated, Sc.r.a.p slithered across the back of her neck to take up residence on the opposite shoulder. "I know. I understand."

"They're not likely to find anything," he continued. "I'm thinking that the only thing that might have a chance of working against what's coming this way is a completely different approach. Another way of thinking. An entirely different take on physical reality."

Drawing back, she frowned at him. "You think differently from most people, Flinx, but not entirely differently. Not enough to do what you say."

"Not me." Shifting around so that he was facing her, he said with a perfectly straight face, "Take out your gun."

Her expression was something to behold. "What?" "What?"

He repeated himself. "Take out your pistol and point it at me. Try to summon up some hate. Think of what you dislike about me. I know that you love me. The corollary to love is the ability to recognize the faults in whomever you love."

She pursed her lips. "When I said that you think differently, I didn't mean to imply that you'd gone completely over the edge."

He nodded. "I know what I'm doing-I hope. The only way this works is if there's a conviction that I'm on the verge of being killed." He stared hard at her, his eyes imploring. "You have to make it seem real, Clarity. You have to make it feel feel real." real."

She was shaking her head slowly. "Maybe if you'd explain to me what this is about, I might..."

"No!" The vehemence of his response startled her. It unnerved Pip as well and the flying snake took to the air. Concurrently, Sc.r.a.p unfurled his wings and lifted clear of Clarity's shoulders. "The more you know, the less genuine the effort will feel. Get mad at me, Clarity! You've had several opportunities to live a satisfying, normal life. I've taken all that away from you. I've exposed you to constant danger. Truly wicked people have tormented you, have tried to kill you. That's what you have to look forward to if you stay with me!" He leaned toward her and she drew back without thinking.

"Draw your gun!" Reaching up with a forefinger he tapped himself forcefully between his eyes. "Aim it here, right here! Here's where the source of all your troubles lie. Here's where the source of all my my troubles lie! Do it, Clarity! Put an end to it! Save us both!" troubles lie! Do it, Clarity! Put an end to it! Save us both!"

The pistol was in her hand, though how it got there she was not sure. What was wrong with him? Had he gone completely mad? Had the failure with the weapons platform driven him over the edge, unleashed something deep within him that was previously unseen and un-revealed? Though her fingers trembled slightly she had full control of the weapon. In a gesture of pure reflex, one finger was on the trigger. Looking on from above, Sc.r.a.p and Pip whirled about in utter confusion. Confronted by the conflicting emotions being projected by their respective masters, each was unable to decide how to react or what to do next.

"Shoot, Clarity! Finish this! Put an end to all your troubles! SHOOT, YOU STUPID b.i.t.c.h!" His fist came forward, aiming for her face.

Wild-eyed, she pulled back on the trigger.

Several things happened at once. An unbelievably deep rumbling echoed in her ears. To her left, a hole appeared in the air; a perfectly smooth, circular black disk. Something warm, heavy, and rife with musk slammed into her. Stunned, she felt herself tumbling. At the same time she heard a frantic Flinx yelling, "Don't hurt her, don't hurt her! It's okay, it's a sham! Pip, Sc.r.a.p-stay back!" On his feet, he was shouting and crying and waving his arms all at the same time.

Her vision blurred and her thoughts rattled from the force of the impact she had just absorbed, she retained consciousness just long enough to make out a shape standing over her. Enormous yellow eyes glared into her own. A muscular seven-fingered hand adorned with glowing rings was reaching down.

As she blacked out, it struck her that she had seen that same daunting alien visage somewhere before....

"Clarity. Clarity!"

She mumbled something incoherent. As consciousness slowly returned and she once more became aware of her surroundings, she realized that Flinx was holding her up with one arm beneath her back. Above him, Pip and Sc.r.a.p continued to circle in confusion, utterly bewildered by what had just transpired below them. Tears were running down Flinx's cheeks. He looked thoroughly, completely, absolutely miserable.

Good, she thought.

The first thing she did when she regained full control of her senses was to smack him across the face as hard as she could.

"What was that?" that?" she growled wrathfully as she sat up, pushing his arm aside. "Yelling at me like that, trying to get me to shoot you...." Furious, she looked around. "Where's that gun? Give me another chance...." she growled wrathfully as she sat up, pushing his arm aside. "Yelling at me like that, trying to get me to shoot you...." Furious, she looked around. "Where's that gun? Give me another chance...."

Her words trailed away. Searching for the pistol, her gaze encountered a third visage. Memory came racing back. Though the face she was staring into was not human, she thought she could put a name to it.

"Fluff?" she mumbled hesitantly.

The giant Ulru-Ujurrian smiled hugely, showing gleaming white teeth. His kind being the only true telepaths ever discovered, he replied to her straightforwardly and without hesitation.

"Clarity-friend! Good to see Flinx-friend's best friend again!" Paws that could pulverize rock embraced her, pulling her close to a furry chest and threatening to smother her. When Fluff finally let her go she was gasping for air. "Sorry hug you so hard." The Ulru-Ujurrian's mental apology reeked of genuine contrition. "Sensed life-danger to Flinx-teacher and had to come quicklike." Marvelously and quite unexpectedly, the huge ursinoid winked. "Always still keeping an eye on Flinx."

He stepped back and she saw that he was not alone. Flinx's hulking savior was flanked by three other familiar figures. She recognized them as well: the thoughtful Moam, the appropriately named Bluebright, and Softsmooth, festooned with more rings than any of her companions. A fourth stood off by himself, glaring at her.

"Interruptions. Always interruptions." An Ujurrian of few words, Maybeso promptly folded himself and disappeared into the hovering disk that const.i.tuted a dark hole in midair. Having done his job of locating Flinx, the most enigmatic of all the ursinoids had returned to wherever it was he went when he was not partic.i.p.ating in the communal tunnel digging.

Rising shakily to her feet, she extended an arm to provide a perch for a returning Sc.r.a.p. As soon as the poor minidrag landed and coiled around her extended arm, she began to stroke and rea.s.sure it. Her bewildered serpentine companion was trembling with insecurity.

"It's all right, Sc.r.a.p. Everything is all right," she whispered soothingly. Her gaze shifted to the watching ursinoids. "I'm fine, Fluff. I understand now what happened and why you did what you did." Turning, she glared at Flinx. "You I'm still mad at."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Clarity!"

She put her free hand to her head. "Okay, okay! Stop projecting on me or I'm going to start crying myself."

"It was the only way," he told her helplessly. "Remember how Fluff and his friends responded when I was in danger from Coldstripe's people, back when you and I first met? Fluff and the others reacted again when I was on Visaria recently and was threatened there. I figured-I hoped-they would come to my aid once more if I could initiate similarly threatening conditions. But," he mumbled contritely, "the threat had had to be real." to be real."

"Fooled us," Bluebright declared, her loud-thinking buoyantly cheerful.

"Fooled me, too." Clarity gazed across at Flinx. "What would have happened if your friends hadn't responded to the apparent danger and come to your aid? What would have happened if they'd been-late?"

"I would have projected onto you." His tone was as serious as she had ever heard. "Tried to deflect your intention, or at least affected your emotions enough so that your shot would have missed."

She was staring at him. "Are you sure that would have worked?"

"No," he told her quietly, "I was not. But when I commit to something, I commit wholeheartedly. I don't know how to do anything halfway." He paraphrased Truzenzuzex. "With all of civilization at stake, extreme measures are justified."

"You committed to me me," she reminded him forcefully.

He swallowed hard and looked away. "I said I was sorry."

She was quiet for a long moment. Realizing they had intruded on something profound, the normally inquisitive Ujurrians responded with uncharacteristic silence.

"I'm sorry, too, Flinx," she told him firmly. "Not necessarily about failing to shoot you. That remains to be determined." He stared blankly at her taciturn expression. She managed to hold it for a moment longer before throwing herself into his arms. "The galaxy may die, the galaxy may survive," she declared soberly, "but one constant remains unchanged throughout: the profound obtuseness of the human male."

The quartet of Ujurrians looked on as the two human-friends embraced.

Moam thought frankly at Softsmooth, who was standing next to him. "This is all part of the human game. Not civilization game. It is less important."

"No-more important." Softsmooth was insistent, and the four of them immediately fell to soundless arguing. important." Softsmooth was insistent, and the four of them immediately fell to soundless arguing.

With the traumatized minidrags once more put at ease and Clarity (more or less) reconciled to Flinx's desperate effort, he did his best to explain to the curious Ujurrians the rationale behind his ruse.

"I had to make you think my life was in danger." He tried not to lose himself in the plate-sized yellow eyes that were staring candidly back at him. "The last time that happened, on Visaria, you came through one of your tunnels in time to save me. You also did it years ago, at Coldstripe. Now I need your help again." He paused. "Everybody "Everybody needs your help." needs your help."

"The big danger is coming." Moam was making an observation, not asking a question. "We know. We showed you."

Flinx nodded. "There was a weapon devised by the people who once inhabited this world. I was able to convince it to attack the oncoming Evil. It did not have enough of an effect to deflect the danger. So I thought I would ask if there's anything more you can do." He tried to sound encouraging. "Maybe you could 'dig' one of your tunnels in front of it and it would fall in?"

A sequence of amused grunts emerged from deep within Bluebright's chest. Nearby, Fluff was apologetic.

"Cannot dig a hole that big, or at that distance, Flinx-teacher. Maybe in few billion of your years. But do not have that kind of time. Do not have enough minds or hands." The rings on his fingers pulsated softly, emanating subdued internal hues. "We have done all we can do by pa.s.sing along the warning, which we got from the dead people's alarm machine on world you call Horseye and local people call Tslamaina."

Stepping forward, Softsmooth loomed over the two humans. A ma.s.sive but soft seven-fingered paw came down to rest on Flinx's unoccupied shoulder. Huge eyes full of wisdom that were at once childlike and incomprehensible peered down into his own.

"We can do no more and there is no more we can do, Flinx-friend. Outcome of all games, end of biggest game, is in your hands now. You were the key, you are still the key."

Flinx suddenly felt both small and vulnerable, and not because the hulking Ujurrian was so much larger than he was. He spread his arms helplessly. "The key, the key! You keep telling me that, but I don't know what I'm supposed to be the key to to! Or the trigger: it's all chaotic and confused."

"Is usual condition of life and universe," Moam pointed out without hesitation. "You have seen and experienced enough of it to know that, Flinx-friend. Only help we can provide is keep you alive."

"That's not good enough." His frustration threatened to broker a return of one of his devastating headaches.

Clarity leaned toward him. "Be thankful for small favors, Flinx."

Fluff came forward. Standing side by side, the two ursinoids were a dominant presence. "We simple folk, Flinx. We play at our game. We keep you live. We dig our tunnels. That what we do."

A new thought caused Flinx to pause a moment before responding. "Maybe that's what happened to the Xunca. The race that built the alarm system that's centered on Horseye. You told me years ago that they 'went away.'" He eyed each of the Ujurrians in turn. "Maybe they made a tunnel similar to the kind you're digging, and they went 'away' through it."

The Ujurrians exchanged looks along with thoughts. "Our tunnels can go far places through interesting ways. Or interesting places through far ways. But not far or interesting enough to get away from evilness that is coming."

"If we could do that," Moam added, "we would already have made the going. And asked you to come with us," he added as an afterthought. "Would miss Flinx-friend, Flinx-teacher." Turning, he lumbered with great dignity toward the hole that was hovering in the atmosphere. "Cannot save ourselves, Flinx-friend. All falls to you."

"But I don't know what else to do," do," he wailed earnestly. Clarity put an arm around him while Pip snuggled closer against his neck. Each, in their own different and distinctive way, sensed and was reacting to the suffering he was undergoing. he wailed earnestly. Clarity put an arm around him while Pip snuggled closer against his neck. Each, in their own different and distinctive way, sensed and was reacting to the suffering he was undergoing.

Contrary to his hopes, the only thing the Ulru-Ujurrians had left to offer was compa.s.sion.

"Flinx-friend hurts." Reaching out, Softsmooth patted down his red hair with a paw that was large enough to cover his entire head. "We hurt for Flinx-friend. But this is a tunnel he must dig for himself." She shook abruptly, fluffing out the fur that covered her head and upper body. "You are the key. Find what you must unlock, or this game will be the last game. Ever."

Pivoting, she moved to rejoin Moam. Bluebright followed. Only Fluff lingered a moment longer. The thoughts he projected were tinged with heaviness and regret.

"So much burden for one small thinking fella-being. I sorry it you, Flinx-friend. I glad it not I. Try avoid situations like just now." Enormous eyes shifted to Clarity. "Next time maybe we not dig fast enough to save."