The Ascendant Stars - Michael Cobley [114]
‘A somewhat limited range of options,’ Harry said.
‘That’s because as a Construct machine I’m not a Glow native – it’s not a natural environment for me. Which is why you are going to have to acquire the services of a denizen, one of what they call the wire-born.’ The drone rose a little and a pencil-thin beam of sparkly blue light flicked out at the big holoplane. ‘Like this fellow. He calls himself Nicodemus and he usually wears this exter.’
On the holoplane stood a tall skinny man in a long dark coat and wearing a pair of black, mirrored goggles.
‘So if you really want to try and stop that fleet, he’s the one to talk to. His services are expensive but my credit reserves are more than ample. My tac system searched the infobases in the Underglow and came up with a few contact strings and shadowy contraservers, so while I’m setting it up with him you’ll be on your way into the Glow. The idea is to arrange a rendezvous, probably in one of the sagaverses – I’ll send you a Glownote as soon as it’s settled.
‘And now you should leave. I have got a pair of good exters ready for you, both configured with coil-encrypted archives of the Farag report – if one of you ends up in a netlaw cage, the other might be able to carry out the mission.’
‘Right, I’m ready to go,’ Julia said.
Harry regarded her for a moment, then shrugged and laughed.
‘Well, I’ve come this far, balancing insane risk against my inveterate curiosity. It would be a shame not to find out how much more trouble is lying in wait for us, hmm?’
‘Subjective time compression in the Glow is about eight to one,’ Reski Emantes said. ‘But do not fall into the trap of thinking that you’ve plenty of leeway. Keep the urgency of the situation in mind at all times.’
‘Urgency and the fate of my homeworld,’ said Julia.
‘And will you be multitasking while we’re off into the Glow?’ Harry said.
‘Of course,’ the drone said. ‘Tracking Talavera is a priority, as is establishing contact with the Construct, a somewhat challenging task to undertake from the prime tier. Now, remember – the Glow is a fabulously seductive continuum so stay sharp.’
‘You can count on it,’ said Julia.
Harry nodded. ‘What the lady said.’
CATRIONA
Through the web-vein-circuits of the ancient forest she was able to flit from place to place, from shadowy wellspring to bright and breezy canopy, throughout the length and breadth of Segrana. The flowery dream-palace with its soaring blue pillars and drifting veils of mist was always there for her, a sanctuary, a resting bower, a reminder. And as she darted here and there she saw new fresh growth, green sprigs sprouting from charred stumps, torn ground levelled and giving forth grass and fungi and teeming with natural wildlife. The damage she had caused during her undisciplined defence against the Brolturans was being steadily healed. She also saw how the Uvovo worked with spirited direction, a consequence of the Zyradin’s effective takeover of the great forest.
Or was it more to do with Segrana’s abdication?
Greg brought the Zyradin to Nivyesta and Catriona as the Keeper was turned into a conduit for its permeation throughout the continental forest, and since then there had been a schism at the heart of things. For a time she had felt the strains and dark moods of disagreement between those two inhuman forces, like the sound of thunder filtering