“Thanks for getting us this far.”
“Your thanks will come when you bring an army to fight with us. All our hopes go with you. Please don’t desert us.”
“We won’t,” said Trae.
“I’m sure you mean that. We’re leaving two men by the door to see you to your departure lounge. Diplomatic servants such as you are accorded such a service. Have a safe trip.”
They shook hands. Darian’s eyes made him look sad, while Evan’s were hard, like his grip. Evan leaned forward at the last second, and whispered into Trae’s ear.
“Two years, maximum. We’ll be waiting.” The men left the room, and shut the door behind them.
There was a long silence. Petyr went to the bar, poured juice into two glasses and handed one to Trae. “Evan is an impatient man, but he’s a good soldier for The Church, and he’s right about one thing. Time is getting short for the Lyraens on Gan. I wish I could give them some hope.”
“They seem to think the hope should be coming from me , and I don’t even know where I’m going.”
“You’ll know how to do it. The method just isn’t conscious yet.
“We know little about what’s going on inside you, and your father isn’t here to tell us about it.”
“Because he ran away to save himself. That’s what they think,” said Trae bitterly.
“Maybe,” said Petyr, and put a hand on Trae’s shoulder. “Maybe not. I think your father has gone away to prepare for the freedom of all his people, not just the Lyraens on Gan, but other planets as well. Our Emperor Osman is certainly not the only tyrant in the universe, and I think we’re being sent to discover that. Your father has left you a mission to accomplish before our release can come, and you’ll know in time what it is. I can’t tell you, and neither can anyone else.”
“We’ve never talked about other planets,” said Trae. “I thought all Lyraens were here on Gan.”
“It’s our newest world, the one your father came to build. There could be many others, dozens, even thousands.”
“You’re speculating. you don’t know that for sure.”
“It’s logical. The Immortals have come from far away, and the Lyraen philosophy goes back before our history. My whole life has been on Gan, Trae. I’m speculating, but if I’m right the problem is much larger than that of a single planet.”
“In hours we head to Ariel II, Petyr. It goes around Bode, a ball of cold gases, no civilization, so we can eliminate that one.”
“Nobody told you that,” said Petyr, and raised an eyebrow at him.
It was the first time he’d experienced space flight, and Trae was thrilled by it: the explosive acceleration, ground dropping away, then the lesser yet steady acceleration at high angle until the sky outside was black and the great sea on Gan was shining blue far below him. In two hours they made rendezvous with Han, the interplanetary vessel with open framework and cylindrical living pods pushed by eight mammoth thermonuclear engines. There was a slight bump at docking; a young woman gave them their compartment assignment and showed them to a tunnel leading to it. Their luggage was being transferred as they spoke.
The accommodations were small, but luxurious: two beds, gimbaled to accommodate directional acceleration, pneumatic bath, a bar stocked with snacks and drinks, a television with a grand library of entertainment programs and books in core, and two chairs. Meals were taken in the central dining room at the hub of the living module array twice a day. There was a gym, and two courts for a game called Carrom, played with a hard rubber ball in a small, cubic space. Petyr played well with his cat-like reflexes, but Trae had several bruises to show for his efforts before the trip was over.
They were in transit at one gee acceleration for six Gan days and nights. Trae slept soundly each cycle, controlled by the light spectrum in his compartment, but the cycle before his first glimpse of the great pinwheel of Ariel II
“Your thanks will come when you bring an army to fight with us. All our hopes go with you. Please don’t desert us.”
“We won’t,” said Trae.
“I’m sure you mean that. We’re leaving two men by the door to see you to your departure lounge. Diplomatic servants such as you are accorded such a service. Have a safe trip.”
They shook hands. Darian’s eyes made him look sad, while Evan’s were hard, like his grip. Evan leaned forward at the last second, and whispered into Trae’s ear.
“Two years, maximum. We’ll be waiting.” The men left the room, and shut the door behind them.
There was a long silence. Petyr went to the bar, poured juice into two glasses and handed one to Trae. “Evan is an impatient man, but he’s a good soldier for The Church, and he’s right about one thing. Time is getting short for the Lyraens on Gan. I wish I could give them some hope.”
“They seem to think the hope should be coming from me , and I don’t even know where I’m going.”
“You’ll know how to do it. The method just isn’t conscious yet.
“We know little about what’s going on inside you, and your father isn’t here to tell us about it.”
“Because he ran away to save himself. That’s what they think,” said Trae bitterly.
“Maybe,” said Petyr, and put a hand on Trae’s shoulder. “Maybe not. I think your father has gone away to prepare for the freedom of all his people, not just the Lyraens on Gan, but other planets as well. Our Emperor Osman is certainly not the only tyrant in the universe, and I think we’re being sent to discover that. Your father has left you a mission to accomplish before our release can come, and you’ll know in time what it is. I can’t tell you, and neither can anyone else.”
“We’ve never talked about other planets,” said Trae. “I thought all Lyraens were here on Gan.”
“It’s our newest world, the one your father came to build. There could be many others, dozens, even thousands.”
“You’re speculating. you don’t know that for sure.”
“It’s logical. The Immortals have come from far away, and the Lyraen philosophy goes back before our history. My whole life has been on Gan, Trae. I’m speculating, but if I’m right the problem is much larger than that of a single planet.”
“In hours we head to Ariel II, Petyr. It goes around Bode, a ball of cold gases, no civilization, so we can eliminate that one.”
“Nobody told you that,” said Petyr, and raised an eyebrow at him.
It was the first time he’d experienced space flight, and Trae was thrilled by it: the explosive acceleration, ground dropping away, then the lesser yet steady acceleration at high angle until the sky outside was black and the great sea on Gan was shining blue far below him. In two hours they made rendezvous with Han, the interplanetary vessel with open framework and cylindrical living pods pushed by eight mammoth thermonuclear engines. There was a slight bump at docking; a young woman gave them their compartment assignment and showed them to a tunnel leading to it. Their luggage was being transferred as they spoke.
The accommodations were small, but luxurious: two beds, gimbaled to accommodate directional acceleration, pneumatic bath, a bar stocked with snacks and drinks, a television with a grand library of entertainment programs and books in core, and two chairs. Meals were taken in the central dining room at the hub of the living module array twice a day. There was a gym, and two courts for a game called Carrom, played with a hard rubber ball in a small, cubic space. Petyr played well with his cat-like reflexes, but Trae had several bruises to show for his efforts before the trip was over.
They were in transit at one gee acceleration for six Gan days and nights. Trae slept soundly each cycle, controlled by the light spectrum in his compartment, but the cycle before his first glimpse of the great pinwheel of Ariel II
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