"I cannot know, but I suspect they would reanimate the machine for you."

"Exactly."

"But they are gone. And they were an aberration in our true line of evolution."

"Your inaction means you'd be killing trillions of living things. Doesn't that bother you in the slightest?"

"It is a cause for concern."

The Delivery Man stiffened. That was the first time the slightest concession had been made to reasonableness on Tyzak's part. Reasonableness on human terms, anyway.

"The s.p.a.ce fortresses that guard your solar system, the cities that never decay, this machine beneath our feet which slumbers, all these things were left behind by the ancestors you dismiss. They wanted you to have options; that is why they bequeathed them to you. So much of what they had is now dust." Gore's hand waved loosely up at the l.u.s.trous band of debris...o...b..ting the planet. "But these specific artifacts remain because they knew that one day you might need them. Without the fortresses many species would be here plundering the riches your ancestors left behind. A large part of evolution is interaction. Isolation is not evolution; it is stagnation."

"We are not isolated," Tyzak answered. "We live within the planet's will; our every second is determined by the planet. It will deliver us to our destiny."

"But I've shown you what will happen to your planet if the Void's final expansion phase begins. It will be destroyed, and you with it. That is not natural; that is an external event of pure malice, the cessation of evolution not just here but on every star system in the galaxy. Such a thing cannot be factored into your belief of planetary-guided evolution, for it is not inborn. If you truly wish to continue your evolution on this world, you have to protect it. Your ancestors left you the ability to do that, to ward off the unnatural. You don't have to do anything other than ask the machine to awake. It and I will do everything else."

The Delivery Man held his breath.

"Very well," Tyzak said. "I will ask."

Gore tipped his head back to look the old Anomine directly in the eye and sighed. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

The Delivery Man hurried over to the two of them. Dusk had fallen now, its fading light bathing the plaza in a cool gray illumination. All around them the imposing city buildings were responding to oncoming night with their own internal radiance. Pale colorful streaks shimmered over an igloo-style shelter they'd expanded close to the parked starship where the replicator had been set up. The second, smaller shelter housed the intrusion apparatus Gore had created in case the elevation mechanism proved reluctant.

Last Throw's smartcore reported that it was initiating a deep field function scan of the elevation mechanism, mapping out functions and control pathways. The Delivery Man couldn't help the ridiculous burst of optimism lightening his heart as he drew close to the two figures profiled by the harlequin glow of a deep city canyon on the other side of the plaza. It was almost symbolic of the moment, he thought, the two wildly different species finally coming together in the face of adversity. If only I wasn't such a cynic If only I wasn't such a cynic.

Just as he reached them, he saw something move down the glimmering canyon beyond. Retinal inserts provided a clearer resolution. "No b.l.o.o.d.y way," he grunted. It was a Silfen, riding some huge quadruped animal with thick scarlet fur. The Silfen himself was clad in a long, magnificently gaudy honey-colored coat decorated with thousands of jewels that sparkled energetically in the city's luminosity.

"Gore!"

Gore turned around. "What?"

But it was too late. The Silfen had ridden off down an intersection. "Doesn't matter."

Tyzak had become very still. When the Delivery Man concentrated on his own diminutive awareness of the city's thoughts, he could just make out another stream of consciousness out there somewhere. Like the city's, these were precise and cool. Not quite aloof, though, for there was definite interest in why they had been roused.

"I feel you," the elevation mechanism said. "You are Tyzak."

"I am."

"Do you wish to attain transcendence from your physical existence?"

"No."

"I exist for that purpose."

"I wish to transcend," Gore told the mechanism.

"You are alien. I cannot help you."

"Why not?"

"You are alien. I exist to lift Anomine to their next stage of life."

"Our biochemistry is essentially the same. I am sentient. It would not be difficult for you."

"No. Only Anomine may lift themselves through me."

"Are you sentient?"

"I am aware."

"There is a possibility that an event at the heart of the galaxy may destroy this planet and with it all the surviving Anomine. If I am elevated to the next stage of life, I will be able to prevent this from happening."

"Should such an event occur, the remaining Anomine will be a.s.sisted to transcend if that is what they wish to become."

"Do you still have the power to do that?"

"Yes."

"And the rest of us? You would abandon every sentient in the galaxy to death?"

"I lift Anomine. I cannot reach the rest of the galaxy."

"You can reach me."

"You are not Anomine."

"Are you unable to rise above your original constraints?"

"I am what I am. I exist to lift Anomine to their next stage of life."

"Yeah. Got that."

The elevation mechanism's thoughts retreated, shrinking its consciousness back to the somnolence where it spent the centuries that pa.s.sed it by.

"You were not given the answers you were hoping for," Tyzak said. "I feel sorrow for you. But the machine's story is an ancient one; it will not change now."

"Yeah, I know. See you in the morning." Gore rose to his feet and headed back to the Last Throw Last Throw.

It took the Delivery Man by surprise. He got up and hurried after Gore, wishing in vain he didn't feel like some pupil bobbing around his all-wise guru master. "So now what?"

The city's shifting opalescence produced strange reflections across Gore's golden face. If his expression did possess any emotion, it wasn't anything the Delivery Man could read. "We got a pretty good functionality schema, which thankfully included a route into the wormhole when it checked its main power supply."

"Ah. So you can hack it?"

"I don't know. It's extremely complex, which is what I expected from a machine which has its own psychology. But at least we know how to attempt it. There are physical junctions which are critical to its routines; they can be breached."

"So are you going to start that now?"

"Certainly not. The other systems on this planet share an awareness of each other. I doubt I'd have more than a few minutes' primacy before they put a stop to my evil alien incursion."

"Oh, right. So we do need to reactivate the siphon first?"

"Siphon and wormhole. How long until the modified force field generators are finished?"

"A few days," the Delivery Man said reluctantly.

"Good. We need to be ready to launch this part of the plan as soon as everyone in the Void is in place."

"Everyone in the Void? You mean the Pilgrimage ships?"

"No. I'm expecting an a.s.sociate to arrive."

"An a.s.sociate? In the Void?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"Justine will let us know."

The Raiel warship was big big. Aaron studied the return that was coming from the hysradar. Most of the image was fuzzed, denying him any details. Some small part of his mind wasn't sure he wanted details. Which is hardly strong of me Which is hardly strong of me, he thought with a cool amus.e.m.e.nt. That part of the Knights Guardian has obviously been lost That part of the Knights Guardian has obviously been lost. Again, that wasn't something that disturbed him. Even the name Lennox meant nothing, which he knew on an instinctive level was a good thing: He wanted to be free of what was. She She dwelled there in the past, slithering though the banished memories, taunting, bleeding poison, leaving only shadow in her wake. It was the only place she could hurt him now. dwelled there in the past, slithering though the banished memories, taunting, bleeding poison, leaving only shadow in her wake. It was the only place she could hurt him now.

He recalled Cheriton's last terrified thoughts. The pleading.

Not relevant. A definitive conclusion that gave him a great deal of confidence in himself. I'm still here, still me I'm still here, still me.

The warrior Raiel ship was matching course with Mellanie's Redemption Mellanie's Redemption now. Ten light-years ahead was the fringe of the Wall stars, the closely packed mult.i.tude of globular cl.u.s.ters throwing out a screen of blazing light that blocked any glimpse of the Gulf beyond and the true dark core of the galaxy. now. Ten light-years ahead was the fringe of the Wall stars, the closely packed mult.i.tude of globular cl.u.s.ters throwing out a screen of blazing light that blocked any glimpse of the Gulf beyond and the true dark core of the galaxy.

"What now?" Troblum asked.

His remaining pa.s.sengers appeared uncertain. Oscar and his Knights Guardian team had gone into suspension, though Corrie-Lyn refused to leave Inigo, and as Aaron suspected, the Raiel might need proof from the original Dreamer. That left five of them still awake and moving around, which, even with the medical capsules all installed in the forward cargo hold, still made for cramped conditions. It didn't bother Aaron, but he could see how the others were getting agitated. Troblum's nonexistent personality didn't help, and as for the amount the big man ate at every meal ...

"They haven't blown us to s.h.i.t yet," Aaron said. "That's got to be good. So we'll ask them if they'll let us go through the Wall and into the Void."

"What are you going to say to them?" Corrie-Lyn asked. The presence of the warrior Raiel was having quite an effect on her. The tentative relief she'd shown after they came through the wormhole had shrunk away as soon as the warship had rendezvoused with them.

Aaron ignored her. "Inigo, Araminta, I think this one's for you."

The two Dreamers exchanged a what-the-h.e.l.l look.

Araminta-two sighed. "I'll do it."

Aaron opened his gaiamotes to sense the Second Dreamer reaching for the giant warship. Riding pa.s.sively in conjunction with Araminta's thoughts was making him aware of whole aspects of the gaiafield he'd never known before. There was certainly some kind of consciousness registering out there, and it was not a human one. It was too composed for that. He also felt the first direct touch with the Skylord, which sent a chill firing along his nerves. So close now So close now.

"We are the human Dreamers," Araminta-two told the Raiel.

"Yes. You are two Dreamers. The third of your kind is a long way from here. And part of you is elsewhere."

"That's correct," Araminta said, mildly surprised by the summary. "We seek to travel into the Void. We believe we may be able to prevent the final devourment phase."

"We know this. Qatux has spoken with us. You may pa.s.s through."

"I thank you."

"You understand that the ships which you also lead will be intercepted."

"Yes. I understand this."

"If we succeed, then millions of your kind will be destroyed. Why do you not cease to appease them?"

"It is not that simple. However, I believe in what we are doing. I believe this will resolve the threat which the Void holds over this galaxy without any loss of life."

"As you wish."

"I would ask one other thing. There is an ent.i.ty called Ilanthe traveling with the Pilgrimage fleet whose nature is uncertain. If there is any way it can be prevented from reaching the Void, I would urge you to implement it."

"We are aware of Ilanthe. We remain vigilant for it."

"Thank you."

The warrior Raiel ship slid away.

"It's fast," Troblum said admiringly. "Faster than we are. I wonder what kind of drive theory they have."

Inigo put his hand on the big man's shoulder. "When this is over, I'm sure they'll be delighted to give you a full tour."

Troblum's face produced a grimaced smile. He clearly wanted to wrench himself away from the hand.

An awkward Inigo quickly s.n.a.t.c.hed it back. His thoughts were apologetic even though he said nothing.

Corrie-Lyn gave Aaron a shrewd look. "So now do you know what happens in the Void?"

He grinned back as annoyingly as he could. "We're not there yet."

"We will be soon," Araminta-two said. "And the Skylord knows that."

Oscar and the Knights Guardian were brought out of suspension for the pa.s.sage itself. The cabin once again was crammed with too many people, but this time it wasn't so bad. This time everyone was jokey and excited, eager to see what lay outside the fuselage, eager to be inside the obdurate, mysterious boundary.

The Mellanie's Redemption Mellanie's Redemption was slowing as it approached the black wall. It dropped out of hypers.p.a.ce fifteen light-years away, the same distance the was slowing as it approached the black wall. It dropped out of hypers.p.a.ce fifteen light-years away, the same distance the Silverbird Silverbird had been when the distended cone opened for it. had been when the distended cone opened for it.

Radiation alerts sprang up in everyone's exovision. Far behind them the loop burned a dangerous burgundy as high-energy photons smashed relentlessly through the clouds of dark ma.s.s swirling through the plane of the Gulf. All around the starship streaks of irradiated matter swarmed in toward the boundary like a particulate ocean with a solitary eternal tide.

Araminta-two actually looked nervous even though he was in constant contact with the Skylord. Still entwined with the Second Dreamer's thoughts, Aaron could sense the great creature's interest and expectation growing.

"Remember to ask it to pull us through somewhere close to Querencia," Tomansio said. "We don't want a forty-year voyage like Justine." He didn't actually give the cabin a pointed look, but everyone knew his opinion of the starship's reliability. Perhaps it was the proximity of the Void, but they were now sharing quite intimately.