Farker was annoyed by Cheiron's smugness, but he wished that the centaur had stayed until Aes got back. It would have been interesting to watch them interact.
Aes returned while he was reflecting on this. The lower part of the healer's chiton was dripping wet. “You stopped for a swim?”
“To bathe. I have a sense of smell, Farker. What are you looking so thoughtful about?”
“Cheiron was here while you were gone. He seems to agree with your hypothesis, not that it proves anything.” Now it was Aes who looked thoughtful.
“It's kind of funny,” said Aes. “When I first saw him here, I didn't believe he was Cheiron. He was different than I remembered. Now, in view of my own growth, I'm more inclined to believe him.”
“He 'appeared' here shortly before your own arrival. Did Darla tell you that she met him and he told her you were coming...and that she would go to Egypt?”
“Yes. It was puzzling at the time.”
“But not puzzling anymore? How did he know?”
“Back in Hellas, I cured cases of insanity. Sometimes people appeared possessed; there was more than one personality inside their heads. These entities can be aware of each other, or not.”
“You're saying the hypercomputer is possessed?”
“If you prefer that term. I would rather call it inhabited.”
“By you, Cheiron, and Am-heh?”
“Certainly. And by millions of temporary residents that you call Players.”
“That's not the same thing at all!”
“The difference is only a matter of degree and origin, Farker. The link beds are not just remote controls for avatars. Surely you know that. Fiber optic cables are way beyond puppet strings.”
“You don't know what you're talking about.”
“Oh but I do. The neural link established by the beds is not a simple matter of conducting nerve impulses from a body to a computer. The technology establishes entanglement between processes in two quantum computers.”
“Hold on a moment.” Farker tried to think. “You can't be saying–”
“I am saying it. Please don't pretend you haven't thought about this. Deception is annoying and wastes our time.”
Farker had the feeling he was losing control of this conversation. “We're getting off-task, I think. You were explaining how Cheiron knew you were coming, and how he knew Darla would go to Egypt.”
“I already explained that,” Aes told him patiently. “The entities you call Players log into your system with carefully controlled protocols that help limit crosstalk. They can communicate with the equivalent of speech, but can't read each other's minds. Entities that arrive in your system by...other means have fewer limitations placed on them.”
“Stop!” Farker begged. “I need to process this.” He thought rapidly for a second or two. “You're saying...you can read minds?”
“Not in the real world. But ever since the first telegram and email were sent, your technology has been developing that possibility in the virtual world.”
“But you're implying you can read minds in PanGames.”
“If there were permission on both sides, certainly. But most minds would automatically resist it as an unwonted intrusion.”
“Cheiron can't read your mind unless you let him?”
“Unless we let each other. Such intimate entanglement could have its dangers. But entities such as he and I can sense each other's presence. That's how he knew I was in the process of manifesting in your tangled web of souls.”
“And Egypt?” Farker challenged. “Are you going to try to tell me he can see the future, too?”
Aes raised an eyebrow. “Of course not, Farker. But he could 'feel' Am-heh's arrival in the system, and he knew you were talking to Darla. It was fairly easy for him to extrapolate that you would become aware of the new 'anomaly' and ask her to investigate, rather than involve a complete stranger.”
“So you can feel Am-heh's presence...and he can sense yours as well?”
“To a lesser extent than Cheiron, since he arrived before both of us, and is therefore ahead of us on the learning curve. But, yes. I didn't know his name until recently, but I did feel a disturbing presence.”
“'There is a great disturbance in the Force',” Farker quoted. “It's from an old movie. What does he feel like?”
“Painful. Wrong. Intrusive. Like an itch that I can't scratch.” Aes paused and smiled grimly. “I can only hope my presence bothers him half as much as he irritates me.”
Chapter 42: Am-heh: laughing in the wind
Gamers and Gods: AES Page 49
