Mirrors of infinity, p.4
Mirrors of Infinity, page 4
Some of them got it into their heads, because of our powers of healing, soothing and being able to turn our reflections on and off, that we were some kind of deity or at the least magical beings. We never did convince them otherwise, but at one point when the violence was at its height, we fled through a portal that came out on Miriha’s world.
When Tarafau and Lizzie first visited Miriha, Lizzie was chosen to bond to Ynni. Ynni was with child at the time. She birthed in Tarafau’s grove. Ynni gave birth to twins. This was the foundation of the Linkling tribe which lives in his grove, of which I am a descendant.
The Groga have evidently kept legends of the Linklings alive in their lore. This may be helpful. For now, however, may I suggest that before you sleep you do your breathing and begin to recondition your mind? I have mended some things that were damaged. Do not try to communicate across dimensions at this time. Some healing must yet occur. I will be right here with you Jenny, and no one will disturb you.”
“Thank you, Chidwi. I am so grateful that we bonded that day. Was it only weeks ago? I feel as if we have been together forever.”
“Linklings believe that when we bond, which is fairly seldom, it is because there was always a bond there. We believe in the immortality of what you would call the soul. You have always been and always will be. We believe that you and I knew each other at an earlier time.”
“That might explain it. I have certainly learned that there is so much more to life and the multiverse than I ever expected.”
“Indeed, and now what I expect of you is to do your breathing and rest. There will be many opportunities for the advanced version of this conversation. You and I have all of the time that there is.”
And obediently Jenny began her breathing exercises. Her heart still hurt, but it was manageable as the medication had begun to take. There was time. Was there? She didn’t know, but she would take the time that was given her. She couldn’t give up yet.
Chapter 4: Dungeons and Dragons
Liliath finished her report to the main body of the Dimensional Alliance with a shake of her head. The voting had been unanimous that they do everything in their power to prevent the incursion of this new threat. The thousands of delegates could never be held in one room, so the meeting was attended via various communications devices tied into the Dimensional Alliance Communications Network. Voting was done electronically, even by those who attended in person.
She was nearly overwhelmed with the responsibility that had been placed on her by the untimely death of Ingot and the maiming and permanent loss of hearing of Myla, which had made him incapable of flying and had completely disrupted his ability to balance.
Their system of government allowed for replacement of one or all of the Chief Councilors out of a pool of pre-approved candidates. Each dimension was allowed to put forth a new candidate on a rotating basis, so that at any given time no single dimension could dominate the political structure.
The rule was that new councilors had to be chosen from one of the dimensions that had not been chosen in the previous 3 replacements.
Generally, barring death or disability, new Chief Councilors were chosen every five years. The Chief Councilor would retire from the post, the 2nd Councilor would rotate into that position, the 3rd Councilor would rotate into the position above him and a new member of the Chief Council would be chosen. Most of the time, this meant that during their term on the council, each Councilor served a total of 15 years.
They had been nearly to the end of the cycle and Ingot would have retired, something he had been looking forward to with great anticipation. He had missed his family intensely, not taking leave unless necessary. He had taken his responsibility very seriously, and Liliath had learned much from him over the years.
Each Councilor was provided with room and board and any necessities they might require, but it wasn’t a plush life by any extent of the imagination. True, Liliath’s quarters were more than adequate; meant to accommodate those of her kind comfortably. There were servants employed by the Alliance who took care of cleaning and maintenance. There were excellent healers on staff in the headquarters building infirmary, if they were ever needed. The cooks were nearly as good as Arvid and well trained in preparing food for any of the many species who frequented the building.
That being said, she and her fellow Councilors didn’t have a salary or any additional compensation besides the needs that were attended to here in the Dimensional Headquarters Building. And to Liliath’s thinking, that was completely appropriate. Although she acknowledged that their system of government was by no means perfect, she had seen few that compared with it, considering the resources they had been able to acquire over the thousands of years they had been doing this.
They didn’t tax the member dimensions. Each was asked to give of resources as needed and as they could afford to do so. In some cases, this meant abundance and in others, a seeming pittance was all they could give. None of the donated resources was “owned” by the Alliance. It was merely offered to aid the combined efforts of the dimensions, thankfully accepted, and used prudently.
As she contemplated the current situation, she knew there were a number of facts that needed to be faced. First, her new councilors were just that...new. They were both very capable beings, well-educated and well-versed in the needs and logistics of keeping the Dimensional Alliance Gate Network secure and functioning, one of their primary responsibilities. Or at least they were as knowledgeable as anyone could be. Not even their most competent and intuitive scientists truly understood how the whole thing worked.
There was, for instance, the issue of the conservation of energy that must have somehow been addressed to even make it possible to pass from one gateway to the next. Theoretically, it should have been impossible to open and pass through a gateway without the forces on both sides of the gates being balanced somehow.
Not something she needed to focus on right now, but it was a continuing fascination for her and all of those who pursued the sciences to contemplate. Mervin had been researching this for hundreds of years and kept running up against one dead end after another. Liliath thought he would have resigned his position to devote all of his remaining time to pursuing the path of those original scientists if he thought he could. For now, they still had his attention, but she couldn’t help but wonder if...no...WHEN they finally defeated the Insenium, if they would have Mervin much longer.
She had avoided the crowd in the council assembly room by ducking out a door designed for that purpose behind the podium. She heaved a sigh when the elevator doors opened into the private council room reception area. The white-furred receptionist sat in her usual place. She had survived the explosion that had killed Ingot and injured Myla with only minor injuries by ducking under her large, official-looking hardwood desk. It was comforting to see her there.
“Good afternoon, Chief Councilor,” she sent with a smile. “There is no one in the private council room yet.”
“Thank you, .Gissah. Please let my councilors know that I need their presence as soon as they can get away from the assembly hall.”
.Gissah nodded cheerfully and got the look of concentration that meant she was communicating mentally over a distance. It was one of the reasons they had hired her for this position; her kind could mind speak to specific people over impressive distances. Not like Jenny, across the dimensions, but she could reach nearly anyone in the Dimensional Alliance Headquarters building. She only knew one other person who could do that, and she was not available.
Liliath entered the private council chamber where she had already spent nearly ten years working with Ingot. It still seemed surreal to her. The maintenance people had cleaned up the debris and repaired the walls and ceiling, reinforcing the ceiling and replacing the lighting with a new style that simply emanated from the ceiling material. It would be unlikely to fall on anyone’s head ever again.
The room was the same, but again, not the same. Her special chaise had been placed in the preeminent position on the dais. Her two councilors’ chairs were just chairs. They were both humanoid bipeds, although one was covered with sleek, shiny reddish brown fur and the other was almost reptilian with slick skin that somehow managed to always look wet or oily. However, when he clasped hands with her, his palms were as dry as her own.
They were both extremely competent individuals from completely different backgrounds. Rilian was a well-beloved leader on her planet. Her furred species reminded Liliath of an Earth creature Lizzie had once told her about. She called it an otter. Rilian’s species, the Kaylats, were not aquatic, however, and much larger. Rilian was easily over six feet tall.
She was sharp and highly intellectual and versed in the sciences, although that was not her field of expertise. She was a professional mother. In her species that was as respected a title as the highest politician or celebrity in their culture, perhaps more so. Her children were long since grown and now she mothered her people, working in her community. In this case, she had been serving as a standing representative in the Dimensional Alliance Council before being chosen as first councilor.
Rilian was a good choice, Liliath thought. She was a stable being with a practical attitude and the respect of most of the other members of the Alliance Council. She had won Liliath over at their very first meeting and Liliath had often consulted with her on various issues after Ingot had chosen her as councilor.
Balth, on the other hand was a bit more quicksilver. He listened to all sides of an issue and then quickly formed an opinion, which he would stick to doggedly unless someone could give him a well thought out reason why he needed to change his stance. He was short, and a little round, his tummy covered by a black tunic. He would have probably come up to Jenny’s shoulder. His eyes were the most brilliant green and his slick skin the color of a ripe peach.
The three of them, side by side on the dais, were quite a contrast, as were their personalities. But experience had taught Liliath that she could work with them, and that was vital at this juncture.
Once they had settled into their seats, Liliath began. “So, we have mobilized the dimensions, and all have agreed to contribute to the cause as they are able. This is a good first step.
Now we must deal with the prisoner. I admit I am at a loss of how to deal with him. He has made claims and they contradict witnesses. But the little complication is that we have no way of discerning which to believe. We know for a fact that it wouldn’t be the first time that the Insenium had placed a red herring in the mix. Is he who and what he claims to be?”
“So far, with the exception that many people saw him die, all of the evidence he has presented has been credible. He feels trustworthy to me. Mind you, I never worked with him before or saw him other than in passing. I am not familiar with his mind,” said Rilian, spreading her four-fingered hands wide. “I am still uncertain.”
“The original was known to be wily and cunning,” Balth said, “but he wouldn’t use such guile on his friends. However, if the being in the dungeon is a copy, he is a good one. Many witnesses vouched for the fact that previous to his death a copy was created out of seemingly thin air, so not a clone and not any technology that we are familiar with. The DNA print, as analyzed by our lab, is identical to the original. There are no radiation markers or other telltale traces in the blood to say the being in our dungeon has been tampered with.
That being said, he has been throughout the dimensions on assignment, after all, so even if we had found unusual markers, we might still not have conclusive evidence of tampering. I am still undecided. Shall we invite our scientists in to see if they have found anything that will be useful in making this decision? If the prisoner is indeed who he says he is we might want him out of there and back on assignment. There is, after all the Gatekeeper who needs to be found and rescued.”
“As you say,” agreed Liliath. “This is only one of many priorities we need to address. So, I would have some suggestions from either of you of how we may test the prisoner to determine his status, so we can move forward.”
“Who knows him best?” asked Rilian. “Perhaps we are not the ones who should examine him. Perhaps there is someone who knows him well enough to be able to tell if he is lying.”
Liliath considered this. Her first thought was Tarafau, but he was embroiled in dealing with the rest of the aftermath of Gall’s attack and preparing his people for the next level of warfare with the Insenium. Of the council members, Ingot had been closest to him, taking him under his arm as a young agent in training years ago. But with him gone, there were few besides Tarafau who knew much about him.
Except...
“Let’s have the scientists in for a moment. Is Mervin here or is he off planet? I want him included in this discussion. I just had a thought, but I want to ask Mervin a few things first. I know Mervin wasn’t in Alliance Headquarters when we first brought him in, so now is a good time to brief him.”
The others nodded in agreement and Liliath gave the order to .Gissah. It was only a moment before she replied, “Done, Chief Councilor. Mervin actually just got into the lab about an hour ago from visiting with the Inseni scientists. He is eager to see you as well.”
The scientists sauntered into the council chamber in what couldn’t have been more than two minutes. They were almost humorous looking, the white lab coats contrasting with the jeans and assorted colorful t-shirts. Without the lab coats and seeing them on the streets, most people wouldn’t have thought much of them. However, these were some of the most brilliant minds across the dimensions.
Argent was absent. He had taken the death of Ingot harder than any had expected of the old curmudgeon. He had returned to his home planet to clear up Ingot’s estate and comfort his many living family members.
Liliath had only been able to send her condolences via messenger considering the urgency of the current situation, not to mention the fact that dealing with the newest developments had taken all the strength and time that Liliath had. Her heart still ached from the loss, but she knew she didn’t have the luxury of taking time out to grieve. It would have to wait. And what made it worse was that she was sure that when that time came, assuming she survived all of this, her list of those to mourn would have grown considerably.
“Your timing couldn’t have been more perfect,” Mervin said as soon as they walked in the door and before any of them could seat themselves. “We transported the rest of the Insenium scientists to your home dimension to work with Cornelium, Liliath. They bring with them a wealth of knowledge that not even their masters ever got out of them.”
He would have gone on, but Liliath cut him off more abruptly than was usual for her. “Mervin, that will have to wait. There is an issue that we have been dealing with secretly since the revolt, and we need your input. The other scientists are well aware, as we have briefed them, and they have been working with us.
Don’t look at them like that, Mervin. They haven’t exactly had time to tell you since you have been back, and we were not transmitting any of this information for fear of it being intercepted by the wrong people.
How well do you know the Dimensional Alliance Agent, Burt Scout?”
Mervin shook his head, confused. “Burt? He used to spend most of his off hours in the lab. He even has his own workspace there. I would say he and I were friends. I’m still reeling from his death. He will be greatly missed.”
“Hmm. So, you would say you know him pretty well?”
“I would say so. Tarafau asked me to take him under my wing, since he had such a curiosity about ‘sciency stuff’, as Burt liked to call it. He could never get enough of ‘dastardly alien tech’. Even the rest of us lab rats have taken to calling it that. Or DAT, as Bob had shortened it. He was a good kid; bright, quick and a real smart aleck. We will all miss the heck out of him. Why do you ask?”
“Did you read the report of the uprising and the appearance of Gall to the assembly in front of Peril’s palace?”
“I did. I remember it coincided with the disappearance of the Gatekeeper.”
“Did you see the part where the witnesses swore that just previous to his assassination, a duplicate Burt popped up in front of him?”
“Yes, I saw it, but I have a hard time believing it was more than a store front dummy or a hologram. No way they had time to clone him. The best they might have done was to make a stand-in by some kind of surgical techniques. Or at least, that’s my opinion lacking any information about tech to the contrary.”
“So, what if I told you that we have what appears to be, according to DNA testing, Burt Scout, being held in the high security detention area in the basement of this building?”
“I’d say, ‘let him loose’!” Mervin said, his fists bunched in frustration. “What are you thinking?”
“We’re thinking that the Insenium has fooled us, including Burt, more than once so far, and we aren’t willing to take any chances.”
Mervin took a few slow, deep breaths. “OK, I get it. What do you need from me?”
“We would like you to have a conversation with him. Observe him. You know his little physical quirks and natural body language. You’ve shared inside jokes and you know a lot of the same people. No copy could be so perfect, or so we think, that they could fool someone who knew him well. It is the one test we haven’t been able to run, and perhaps the most important one. We don’t think anyone besides Tarafau knew him better than you did.”
“OK, I’ll do it. The rest of these can brief you on some of our newfound tech resources. See ya in a bit. Tell security I’m on my way.” And he stomped out, obviously not looking forward to a chat with his friend under these circumstances but determined to do the job quickly and get it over with.
Liliath turned on the overhead screen and tuned it in to the security cameras in the cell wherein “Burt” was being kept.
