As she flicked through his work, it became clear there were more than twelve crises originally, that Marcus had considered hundreds of different events, visited thousands of different points in time, trying to rationalise the visions he had seen from the talisman.
And what she saw, even though he wasn’t named, was Josh’s journey — a random sequence of events that only made sense in retrospect.
She opened the last page, simply entitled ‘The Eschaton’, and began to read.
112
Solomon's tomb
[Jerusalem. Date: 9.070]
Josh laid the body of the founder inside the sarcophagi. It seemed a fitting place to leave him. As Dalton had once pointed out, the Egyptians really did know how to plan a funeral. The chamber was nearly complete now; every wall and column was covered in gold leaf and surrounded by the treasures of the Pharaohs — thousands of years of history stored in one room.
His father looked peaceful lying inside the silver sarcophagi, like an old wizard in his long robes. He was nothing like the dad Josh had imagined for himself.
He thought back to all those times he’d laid awake at night trying to conjure up an image of his father. Sometimes he used to borrow other people’s, but most of the time it was an actor from the movies. Liam Neeson was a favourite for a few years, as he’d wanted a cool dad, one that would come and get him out of trouble.
Except he didn’t, and Josh got into a hell of a lot of trouble.
‘Josh?’ said a ghostly voice that made him jump.
‘What the hell!’ he said, turning to see the colonel’s ghostly image wavering at the bottom of the steps to the throne.
‘Where are you?’ the colonel continued. ‘Where is the founder?’
‘He died,’ Josh explained, his voice tightening as he choked back the tears.
The colonel nodded. ‘Joshua, we need you to come back. The Djinn have overrun the frontier, and the cascade is in full effect.’
113
War
Sim sat at the head of the table, the remaining commanders taking their seats around him. Alixia couldn’t help the pride she felt in the way they deferred to her son. Some of the hardiest Draconian commanders waited on his orders.
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ Sim began, his voice business-like and unwavering, ‘the collapse of the timeline is imminent, our forces are diminished, and the Djinn have closed off any chance of retreat.’
They all nodded gravely. They knew there was no way back into the deep past and the cascade had collapsed everything down to the seventeenth century.
‘And the founder is dead.’
There was a collective sigh. They’d all heard the news when Joshua had returned. Many of the council had openly wept when he’d told them, and those who had petitioned for a peaceful resolution were now openly criticising the leadership. Copernican and Scriptorian emissaries were already preparing to make a diplomatic mission to the Nihil blockade in the seventh. There was talk of surrender, of concessions and parlay, and nothing Alixia could say would change their minds.
Sim continued. ‘I have been studying their strategies, comparing it with the Eschaton Cascade, and trying to understand where their weaknesses are, looking for a potential resolution to our situation.’
He stood up and walked around the table, on which was spread his entire Eschaton map.
‘There aren’t twelve crises, as we’ve been led to believe, but two separate timelines of at least six, and neither show any direct indication that the Djinn are responsible for the collapse. They are merely capitalising on it.’
He picked up a chess piece that stood on the twelfth symbol and held it up. ‘The only certainty we have is the Nemesis, or Paradox, as the Augurs call him. The founder trusted him with the future of our Order, and we’ve reached the point where all we have left is faith. There is no way to know what the next few hours will bring, and for the first time in our history we are at the mercy of fate.’
The men and women around the table began to talk amongst themselves, and Sim let them. He walked over to his mother and put his hand on her shoulder, and whispered, ‘Mother, would you mind if I told them now?’
She nodded. His sense of timing was perfect.
‘So,’ Sim continued, raising his voice, ‘we have only one course of action, a King’s Gambit. We must offer up our most valuable piece.’ He held up the King. ‘And put our trust in him.’
114
The Witness
The knowledge the founder had passed onto him was vast; it was like having a thousand libraries crammed into his skull, and just as when they’d cured the colonel, the relevant information seemed to surface only when he needed it.
All the books the old man had ever read, all the strategies and theories to combat the Djinn, it was all there waiting for him.
‘The Djinn have taken the first seven millennia. A combined legion of Dreadnoughts and Augurs are holding them in the edge of the eighth,’ explained Sim, waving his hand in the air at the domed ceiling. The projection of the continuum was covered in marks where he and his team had been keeping track of the battles.
‘As for the frontier, everything down to the sixteenth century has gone now. The cascade is collapsing the timeline, and Dalton and the Nihil are sweeping up behind it.’
Josh stood and listened to the reports as they came in from the various divisions: one defeat after another, and nothing seemed able to stop them. Every one of their defensive strategies was failing. Josh could remember all of the founder’s plans, recall the conversations with Grandmaster Derado and Nostradamus, and amongst them all, was one that he’d discussed with the Grand Seer.
Sim looked frustrated. ‘Is any of this triggering anything?’
Josh wasn’t listening.
Lord Dee was sitting in his study with Edward Kelly years before, and they were talking about the presentation Marcus had given — the first time he’d proposed the Eschaton Cascade.
‘Do you believe it possible?’ asked the founder, taking a long taper from the fire and puffing away on a pipe as he lit it.
‘Like night turning into day,’ replied Kelly with a casual wave of his hand.
‘The collapse of the continuum initiated by a future event. The odds of that are astronomically small.’
‘Infinitesimal,’ agreed the seer.
‘How would we stop it?’
Kelly thought for a few moments, staring into the fire. ‘You would need to rewrite the future. Call back yesterday. Turn time on its head.’
‘Reset the timeline?’
Kelly nodded. ‘Indeed.’
‘We would have to start all over again, but what’s to say that the Nihil won’t find us in the next iteration?’
‘Something must survive to mark the restoration. A witness.’
‘And how do you suggest one might survive a temporal event of that magnitude?’
‘There is only one way. To create a Paradox.’
‘The first crisis of the Eschaton Cascade?’
‘And the last.’ Kelly held up a finger and drew an “O” in the air. ‘They must complete the circle.’
‘Let’s hope it never comes to that. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.’
‘Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.’
Josh looked at the Ouroboros on his arm, the dot standing out like an island in the middle of the ring of the snake.
‘I’m going to need the Infinity Engine,’ he told Sim.
115
Preparations
‘Are you seriously going to face them alone?’ Caitlin exclaimed.
‘Not completely,’ Josh said with a shrug. ‘I have a head full of other people’s plans. It feels as if there are at least half the high council in there.’
They were in the engineering bay of the Citadel; the Nautilus was in for repairs, its hull scarred and battered and one of the cannons was being replaced.
The timesuit Josh had brought back from the future was standing on a platform surr
ounded by excited techies trying to work out how to open it. They watched the Augurs of the eleventh fighting over it with the Draconian artificers as both were keen to examine its workings.
‘So the founder was your father?’
‘Yeah. From a genetic point of view anyway.’
‘Did he tell you why?’
Josh shook his head. ‘Not really. He dumped his entire knowledge base into my head, but didn’t really have time to give me any instructions on how to use it.’
‘So, basically, stuff just surfaces when you need it?’
‘Basically.’
‘And now you’re going to take on the Nihil single-handed.’
‘The colonel’s going to be there.’ He nodded to the old man who was busy helping with the installation of the new cannon and annoying Caitlin’s mother at the same time.
‘Why do you call him that?’
‘He used to wear this ridiculous old army coat,’ Josh said and smiled at the memory. ‘Even in the middle of summer.’ Josh realised then that the colonel had been there throughout most of his childhood, watching over him.
‘All the kids used to take the piss out of him, but he never seemed to care.’
Caitlin took his hand.
‘I’ve been reading Marcus’ original manuscript. It’s your story, all of the experiences you’ve told me; everything revolves around you.’
‘No pressure then.’
‘I’m not blaming you. I’m just worried how it’s going to end.’
‘And I’m guessing the book doesn’t say.’
‘Well, it’s obvious that Fermi’s experiment went wrong somehow.’
Josh thought it wise not to mention how he’d released Lenin and left him to take his revenge.
Caitlin hugged him. ‘I’ve got a really bad feeling about this.’
Josh wrapped his arms around her. ‘Sim has a good plan, and I’ve got the founder squatting in my head. What could possibly go wrong?’
116
King's Gambit
Dalton-jinn strode into the Star Chamber as if he owned the place.
Josh stood in the centre of the empty space, the walls of the auditorium shaking with the battle that raged outside. He held the Infinity Engine out before him, the shimmering orb floating in his open hand.
Behind Dalton came the other Nihil, each one hosted in the body of a senior member of the council; the ones that had tried to surrender and found that this version of Dalton had even less mercy than the old one.
‘Nemesis, ‘ Dalton said and sneered, stopping a few metres away from Josh.
‘Nihil,’ Josh said and nodded.
‘Do you still believe you can save them?’
Josh shrugged. ‘Can’t blame me for trying.’
The other Nihil were spreading out around him, forming a circle. Josh counted twelve, each one of them moving as if they were finding it difficult to contain themselves within their host body.
Just a few seconds longer, he thought to himself.
Dalton-jinn held out his hand. ‘Why bother? You have nothing left. Your timeline is collapsing around you and all those that you care so much for have deserted you.’
‘I still have this,’ Josh said, holding up the Infinity Engine.
‘It has brought you nothing but oblivion.’
Josh looked around the room, the Nihil now evenly spaced out around him.
He nodded to the colonel, who’d been standing behind the door. The old man slammed it and bolted it shut.
‘There were many reasons why we chose this place as our last line of defence,’ began the old man, walking into the centre. ‘It is, of course, a splendid debating chamber and capable of holding the entire membership in one sitting. But,’ — he paused, holding up one finger — ‘many are not aware of its rather interesting architectural properties.’
The Nihil screamed as a circle of energy burned around the outer edge of the floor.
‘I see a Dilatino field is not something that you were expecting,’ said Josh with a smile.
They writhed inside the field, their host bodies unable to contain the forces that were struggling to break free.
Josh stepped forward, the sphere of the Infinity Engine expanding as he focused his mind on channelling its power. He opened every one of their chronologies and unravelled them, breaking them apart like twigs. Just as the colonel’s had been corrupted, their timelines lost cohesion, everything they had ever been, ever experienced disrupted and decoupled. The creatures fell to their knees and howled as their lives were ripped apart.
All except Dalton; the ring was still protecting him. The Nihil leapt forward in an effort to take the Infinity Engine, but Josh was ready for him. As he reached for the device, Josh grabbed his ring hand and opened up its timeline.
117
Defeated
[Date: -654,000,000]
Dalton-jinn towered over Josh, his body twisting and distorting as the aetherium pushed its host to the physical limit. Black filaments threaded through his face, turning it to ebony, and his eyes glowed blue.
Josh was kneeling in the snow before him, the cold burning his face. They were surrounded by a gleaming white tundra, a snow-scape carved by freezing winds.
‘There is nowhere to go now, Nemesis. It’s just you and me,’ the Nihil taunted.
Josh could hardly feel his face and his teeth were chattering so hard that speaking was near impossible.
Cradled against his chest he could feel the heat of the Infinity Engine, and somewhere from the back of his mind he recalled what Kelly had said to the founder: ‘They must complete the circle.’
There was nothing to do now but restart the timeline — everything would begin again, and he alone would remember everything — he would have to become the new founder.
‘Give me the engine!’ demanded Dalton-jinn, leaning down and putting out a large, taloned hand, the ring glowing brightly on one finger.
And watch you destroy everything? Thought Josh, trying to stand.
Dalton laughed maniacally as Josh struggled to his feet.
‘Such a weak and feeble species! This world was never meant for pathetic apes; you’re nothing more than children playing with matches.’
He grasped Josh by the neck and lifted him out of the snow.
‘Just like your belligerent founder, you all seem to cling on to this hope of a better future,’ he leered. ‘But, there’s nothing but death and oblivion. When are you fools going to realise that chaos will always triumph? It’s the natural state of the universe.’
Dalton’s grip tightened, and Josh struggled to breathe as the pressure increased.
‘Your body is failing you, Nemesis. I can feel your tiny heart beating, such a delicate fluttering, like a moth. Wouldn’t you like me to end it now?’
‘No,’ croaked Josh.
He was close to Dalton’s face. His skull had elongated giving him a long, demonic jaw, and there were bony, horn-like growths developing across his forehead. His canines had pushed out through his lips. It was as if Josh was seeing the real Dalton for the first time, the monster that had been trapped inside him for so long.
There was a sound from somewhere below them.
Josh looked down to see a figure in a timesuit holding a Japanese sword, and knew instantly it was Caitlin.
She sliced into one of Dalton’s tree-trunk legs, and Josh felt his grip weaken.
‘Put him down!’ she barked, the suit’s intercom boosting her voice ten-fold.
‘Gladly,’ replied Dalton-jinn, throwing Josh at her.
She stepped aside gracefully, and Josh landed in a nearby snowdrift.
Caitlin crouched into a fighting stance and raised the sword above her head. Josh was half-blinded by the snow but could make out her tiny figure as she parried a mighty blow from one of Dalton’s hands.
She blinked in and out of existence, using vorpal combat to avoid his attacks. Striking from unexpected directions, Caitlin made him look slow and stupid. Each hit she mad
e seem to stun the massive creature for a few seconds, while he swatted at her as if she were an annoying bee.
Josh pulled himself out of the snow, his chest aching where the impact had cracked his ribs.
He took the Infinity Engine out of his jacket and held it up towards Dalton-jinn.
‘Take it!’ he screamed at the monster.
‘Josh. No!’ Caitlin said as she brought her sword down and sliced off Dalton-jinn’s ring hand.
Dalton looked at the stump and laughed. They watched as another grew back in its place, but this time instead of a hand his arm ended in a scythe-like blade. His body shimmered as his ebony shell of armour grew spikes.
On Caitlin’s next attack the sword simply glanced off the surface, causing her to lose her grip as the weapon span off into the snow.
Dalton swept her aside with one blow of his sword arm. Her limp body went flying into the white and out of sight.
‘You see?’ he said, moving towards Josh. ‘The power of the maelstrom knows no bounds. You cannot defeat me!’
Josh held the sphere out towards him.
‘But you aren’t in the maelstrom now.’
As Dalton-jinn reached for it, Josh opened his mind and connected with the Infinity Engine.
Time slowed.
He watched the individual flakes of snow, glinting in mid-air until they hung motionless between them. The Nihil’s breath billowed in a cloud of vapour around them, his black armour turning slowly white as the ice clung to it.
Josh let the power of the continuum draw him in, feeling the aeons of time at his fingertips, millions of years stretching back into eternity. There was so much still to understand about the device, what it was capable of and the other timelines it could take him to. It held the secrets of the universe, the very beginnings of everything.
The Infinity Engines Books 1-3 Page 93
