trigger. The scream around him rose in pitch. It felt as though his ears had started bleeding, maybe his very brain. The eggs seemed far away. His vision tunnelled. He desperately hauled on the trigger. It would hardly move. He began to black out, then, through it all, he heard the Minstrel Boy screaming.
‘Don’t! Don’t! For god’s sake don’t do it! They’re only trying to protect themselves.’
It suddenly all fell into place. Jeb Stuart Ho touched the half formed entities inside the gold shells. He felt the power of the scarcely developed minds. He felt their fear and their vulnerability. He was awed by what they might become. For an instant everything hung poised. The gun fell from his fingers. He sank, crosslegged, to the ground. He forced his mind to be calm. The beings’ fear still washed over him, but it was no longer aimed directly at him. He gathered all his strength and slowly directed peace and gentleness. He meant them no harm. He projected that as hard as he could. Veins pumped in his forehead as he tried to thrust his way through the fear.
He reached them. His thoughts penetrated through to the beings in the eggs. They seized on his projections as something new and strange. They dragged it out of him with a greedy hunger. They were insatiable. He hung on to stop his mind being dragged from him. He begged them to stop, but their infant greed demanded more and more. Jeb Stuart Ho reached his final limit. His consciousness was drained away.
The world went black. His body toppled, and rolled down the side of the cone like a discarded puppet whose strings had been cut.
He woke up to find the Minstrel Boy wiping his face with a damp cloth. He grinned at Ho.
‘Shit, Killer. I really thought you were dead for sure, this time.’
Jeb Stuart Ho raised his head.
‘How long have I been here?’
The Minstrel Boy shrugged.
‘Maybe a couple of hours.’
‘What happened?’
‘Don’t ask me. You were up there, you did it. One minute all hell was breaking loose, then suddenly it was beautiful, like the dawn coming up.’
Jeb Stuart Ho sat up. The landscape had completely changed. The ground was still grey rock, but it was broken up by clumps of green vegetation growing out of cracks in its surface. Tiny streams trickled into crystal clear pools. The sky was a deep even blue. It was as if the beings had taken apart his mind, and reshaped their environment according to what they found there. A little distance away, the lizards grazed happily on the vegetation.
Jeb Stuart Ho carefully stood up. He had expected his body to show some signs of strain after the ordeal. He was surprised to find there were none. He felt as though he had just woken from a comfortable sleep. He looked at the cone. It radiated a glow of benign contentment. His gun was still lying at the foot of the slope, where it had come to rest after he had dropped it. He walked over and picked it up. As he touched the weapon, the sky seemed to darken. The lizards looked up in alarm. He quickly dropped it into its holster and things resumed their previous calm. The lizards returned to their chewing.
The Minstrel Boy walked over to where Jeb Stuart Ho was standing at the foot of the cone. He was grinning happily. His friendliness was almost unnatural. He put his arm round Ho’s shoulders.
‘Looks like it turned out okay.’
Jeb Stuart Ho nodded.
‘It would seem so.’
The Minstrel Boy looked up at the cone.
‘I’m almost sorry to leave.’
‘We have to leave.’
‘I knew you’d say that.’
‘We should start.’
The Minstrel Boy stared at the ground. He seemed reluctant to start back into the nothings.
‘It’s like I’m thinking we ought to leave some kind of mark on this place.’
Jeb Stuart Ho looked at him in surprise.
‘Why?’
‘I dunno, just so we know we’ve been here.’
‘Surely we know that without leaving our mark here?’
‘Maybe we should give it a name or something?’
Jeb Stuart Ho gestured
‘Don’t! Don’t! For god’s sake don’t do it! They’re only trying to protect themselves.’
It suddenly all fell into place. Jeb Stuart Ho touched the half formed entities inside the gold shells. He felt the power of the scarcely developed minds. He felt their fear and their vulnerability. He was awed by what they might become. For an instant everything hung poised. The gun fell from his fingers. He sank, crosslegged, to the ground. He forced his mind to be calm. The beings’ fear still washed over him, but it was no longer aimed directly at him. He gathered all his strength and slowly directed peace and gentleness. He meant them no harm. He projected that as hard as he could. Veins pumped in his forehead as he tried to thrust his way through the fear.
He reached them. His thoughts penetrated through to the beings in the eggs. They seized on his projections as something new and strange. They dragged it out of him with a greedy hunger. They were insatiable. He hung on to stop his mind being dragged from him. He begged them to stop, but their infant greed demanded more and more. Jeb Stuart Ho reached his final limit. His consciousness was drained away.
The world went black. His body toppled, and rolled down the side of the cone like a discarded puppet whose strings had been cut.
He woke up to find the Minstrel Boy wiping his face with a damp cloth. He grinned at Ho.
‘Shit, Killer. I really thought you were dead for sure, this time.’
Jeb Stuart Ho raised his head.
‘How long have I been here?’
The Minstrel Boy shrugged.
‘Maybe a couple of hours.’
‘What happened?’
‘Don’t ask me. You were up there, you did it. One minute all hell was breaking loose, then suddenly it was beautiful, like the dawn coming up.’
Jeb Stuart Ho sat up. The landscape had completely changed. The ground was still grey rock, but it was broken up by clumps of green vegetation growing out of cracks in its surface. Tiny streams trickled into crystal clear pools. The sky was a deep even blue. It was as if the beings had taken apart his mind, and reshaped their environment according to what they found there. A little distance away, the lizards grazed happily on the vegetation.
Jeb Stuart Ho carefully stood up. He had expected his body to show some signs of strain after the ordeal. He was surprised to find there were none. He felt as though he had just woken from a comfortable sleep. He looked at the cone. It radiated a glow of benign contentment. His gun was still lying at the foot of the slope, where it had come to rest after he had dropped it. He walked over and picked it up. As he touched the weapon, the sky seemed to darken. The lizards looked up in alarm. He quickly dropped it into its holster and things resumed their previous calm. The lizards returned to their chewing.
The Minstrel Boy walked over to where Jeb Stuart Ho was standing at the foot of the cone. He was grinning happily. His friendliness was almost unnatural. He put his arm round Ho’s shoulders.
‘Looks like it turned out okay.’
Jeb Stuart Ho nodded.
‘It would seem so.’
The Minstrel Boy looked up at the cone.
‘I’m almost sorry to leave.’
‘We have to leave.’
‘I knew you’d say that.’
‘We should start.’
The Minstrel Boy stared at the ground. He seemed reluctant to start back into the nothings.
‘It’s like I’m thinking we ought to leave some kind of mark on this place.’
Jeb Stuart Ho looked at him in surprise.
‘Why?’
‘I dunno, just so we know we’ve been here.’
‘Surely we know that without leaving our mark here?’
‘Maybe we should give it a name or something?’
Jeb Stuart Ho gestured
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