The Needs of the Many

by Christina McMullen

  “Trust me, I’ve wanted to hop in the first ship I saw and do just that, but I can’t. At least, I can’t without very likely losing myself.”

  Gri looked aghast. “Surely Julian wouldn’t…”

  “No,” Ellie said and shook her head hastily. “Even if he doesn’t know what you just told me, Julian wouldn’t take my life unless I commanded him to do so as my father had. No, the problem is that I am not sure I’m strong enough to resist the Kyroibi doing exactly that which it was created to do.”

  “Ah.” Gri nodded in comprehension just as the ship signaled they were reaching their destination.

  Moments later, the walls disappeared and Ellie found they were inside a hangar and not out on the dismal landscape of the outer perimeter.

  “We’re at the flight academy,” Gri explained as they exited into the hangar. “This was as close to the temple as I could bring us, but my personal transport is just down the hall.”

  Gri led Ellie down a series of steep ramps that would have given her pause if she didn’t already know about the gravitational anomalies of T’al Eidyn.

  “Here we are,” he said and opened the door to what looked like a parking garage filled with the weirdest cars Ellie had ever seen.

  “Is something wrong?” Gri asked as she let out a laugh.

  “No, not at all,” Ellie replied with a sheepish grin. “It’s just that I didn’t expect to see a car here. Especially not one that looked like it came out of the Flintstones instead of the Jetsons.”

  Indeed, all of the vehicles looked a bit like golf carts with open sides and a canopied top, but what made the design unusual was the two wide wheels that sat positioned out in front and in back of the main body of the vehicle, like the flattening wheel of a steamroller, but made from a soft and malleable substance.

  “I admit I know little of Earth, but I am familiar with the concept of the automobile. Personal ground transportation is a rarity, but being the elected leader of an entire people has its perks. Besides, it’s not far to the temple and trying to pulse across the training area is ill advised. But there’s no need to worry. We’ll be there in no time.”

  Ellie wasn’t worried, to be honest. In fact, she was quite happy to be traveling at what now felt like a snail’s pace, even if the sensation dredged up wave after wave of homesickness. Almost immediately her thoughts turned to her mother and Richard.

  “If you don’t mind, I’ve got a few personal matters to deal with before I head to the archive,” she said as they drew up next to the temple entrance.

  “Certainly,” Gri said with a smile. “I’ll inform the keeper of our return.”

  Forcing a smile of her own, Ellie made her way to her personal quarters and was grateful to see the small communications tablet was still on the desk. Sitting down, she drafted a letter to her parents. While there was little she felt comfortable divulging over the pulse mail connection, she made sure to let them know how much she missed them and that she was working as hard as possible towards the goal of returning them safely to the system.

  Even knowing as she did that she would not be making the same sacrifice as her ancestors before her, Ellie couldn’t help feeling a sense of finality and dread as she penned the letter. What she was about to do was dangerous in equal measure. That this could be her last message to her mother weighed heavily on her mind and try as she may, she couldn’t push the foreboding thought to the side. After sending the message, Ellie went immediately down the hall to the small utility closet where she’d returned from Androyo’s plane the other day.

  She thought for a moment about Scholar Reyessan and her promise that she’d show him how she traveled between planes, but decided to sneak quietly away, tamping down the swell of guilt that briefly flared. She was all for advancing the understanding of Transcendence, but she needed to speak to her great grandfather about a private family matter. The idea of the skittish scholar hovering about and taking notes did not sit well.

  Inside the utility closet, Ellie’s spirits sank. The room was tiny and crammed with boxes of bed linens and cleaning supplies. There was nothing that stood out as a mystical portal to another realm. She was about to give up and head for the trees in the garden when she bumped into a pile of boxes to her right. Unlike the others, these seemed to be stacked in something of a pyramid shape, almost mimicking the shape of the temple itself. She closed her eyes, took a breath to focus, and reached out her mind until she could feel something shift.

  When she opened her eyes, Ellie smiled. In front of her was a staircase leading upward into the unknown. She took the stairs as fast as she could, relieved when at last they gave way to a familiar corridor. She found her great grandfather once again in his small chamber, head bent over a single point of light. She hung back, not wishing to intrude, but almost as if he had sensed her arrival, Androyo looked up and caught her eye with a smile.

  “El’iadrylline, I did not expect you back so soon. Is there something you need?”

  “Hello, Great Grandfather,” Ellie replied with a nod as she entered the workshop. “I’ve spoken to our leadership and we’ve managed a way to travel to Helsyn unnoticed, however, we are going to have little time in which to look for the lost information. I was hoping you might be able to give me some clue as to where Dryova might have thought to hide it.”

  “I’m sorry, child. I must confess that I myself never traveled off-world with the exception of the temple Kyri. I of course have maps and academic knowledge of Helsyn, but little that would help you in your quest.”

  Ellie was taken aback. Nothing about Androyo suggested he was anything other than honest. Either he truly had no idea, or he was a very accomplished liar.

  “But your sister,” Ellie blurted out. “Anovoya. She lived on Helsyn, did she not?”

  “She did,” he replied with a wistful smile. “She may still. If you can find her, she may be able to help you, but understand, I cannot help you to find her. Back before the comingling of worlds, those who were found to have defied our laws of noninvolvement were exiled. Their public records were removed from all databases. I am guessing it was Ag’iazza who told you to ask about my sister. She was, after all, Anovoya’s best friend in childhood.”

  “It wasn’t Agi. Leader Ka’griannas was the one who mentioned the exiles.”

  “Well, yes, I do suppose the temple keeper’s son would remember Voya as she had been his standing ceremonial mother, though she left when he was young.”

  None of what Androyo imparted should have come as a shock, but Ellie was stunned into silence nevertheless. Agi had spoken to her father as one would a close family friend. And though she’d never seen the two together, Ellie could immediately pick out the strong family resemblance between Gri and Agi. But this was all information she could process in her own time. At the moment, there were more pressing matters.

  “But surely Dryova must have said something to give you the impression she hid the information on Helsyn. Did she perhaps give any sort of geographical clues.”

  “I’m ever so sorry, El’iadrylline.” Androyo’s smile was one of sympathy. “My only inference that she’d even left the information on Helsyn was simply that she told me Anovoya said she missed the family.”

  “Well, it was worth a shot,” Ellie said, but her shoulders sagged in defeat. “I suppose I should go see if I can find anything in the archives.”

  “Best of luck, El’iadrylline, but do not put too much stock in the stored knowledge of the past. Sometimes what we seek is much closer than we think.”

  She’d heard Ag’iazza say something similar many times before. Certainly, it had held true for finding the portal across dimensions, but she had to wonder if the platitude wasn’t simply a generic proverb similar to slow and steady wins the race.

  With a smile, she thanked her great grandfather for his time and left, determined to find something useful before they left for Helsyn.

  Chapter 12

  It was full dark when Ellie returned to her room. Her f
irst thought was to check the calendar on her tablet to be sure only hours and not years had passed while she spoke to her great grandfather. That there were wild fluctuations in the flow of time from one place to the next was more than a little unnerving and Ellie vowed to document everything she could, even if most Eidyssic refused to believe transcendence was real.

  Curiously, several hours had passed and it was well into the night cycle, despite her conversation with Androyo lasting only a few minutes. Her last trip had her returning just moments before she’d originally left and she’d spent hours with her great grandfather that time. Ellie thought about Reyessan’s theory; that she’d left a different version of herself in the other dimension. Now she wondered if that original version had returned, time deficit and all.

  She gave a shudder. Despite the late hour, she couldn’t sleep and this line of thinking was certainly not helping matters. Unfortunately, there was little of value she could do while most the temple residents slept, so Ellie headed up to the sky garden. If nothing else, she hoped a little meditation would help clear her mind.

  The heavens above T’al Eidyn at night were like nothing she’d seen before. Not even the Korghetian night sky was as clear. The only thing that came close was the experience she’d had when Julian showed her the vastness of open space for the first time. The memory brought to the surface the aching hole in her heart. She didn’t even need to reach out anymore. The bond between them had become something of a crutch for Ellie to lean on and she didn’t know what would happen if it were to disappear.

  She curled up on herself, staring into the inky void of space as she clung to the small hope the bond afforded. Her eyes scanned the sky and tried to locate the dying light of Eidyn, despite knowing the cold star didn’t produce enough energy to be visible here in the central galaxy.

  “I had a feeling I’d find you here.”

  Pulled from her semi-trance, Ellie turned with a start and chuckled at her skittishness.

  “I didn’t think anyone else was awake,” Ellie apologized. “I’m sorry if I created a disturbance.”

  Ag’iazza smiled up at Ellie, gliding her platform closer. “You are welcome to wander the gardens whenever you wish. Their design is such that your personal meditation will not be a disturbance to others.” She regarded Ellie with eyes that seemed to see right through her. “You disappeared for quite some time earlier.”

  “It appears the time irregularities between our plane of existence and my great grandfather’s are not uniform,” she said in a halting voice, pushing aside her unnerving theory with a suppressed shudder. “Without having much more to go on, I’m apprehensive about going back. Is… is that why you’re here?” With guilt, Ellie realized she hadn’t informed anyone as to where she was going and might have caused undue panic.

  “No,” Agi assured her. “Ka’griannas explained your reason for returning. I was merely curious when you didn’t return with the same swiftness. I’m afraid there is another matter that keeps open my eyes this night.”

  “Oh?” Ellie asked with a sinking feeling as she noted the agitation the old woman failed to hide.

  “Come,” Ag’iazza said, stepping down from her platform with the aid of an ornate walking stick and gestured at a nearby outcropping of large, smooth stones for sitting. Ellie followed, head bowed and mind racing, afraid to ask, yet impatient to know what the enigmatic keeper meant.

  For a few moments, they sat side by side in silence.

  “El’iadrylline, I have been keeper of the T’al Kyri temple for over three full ages. I became temple keeper not long before your great grandfather inherited the Kyroibi from his mother. My relationship with the knowledge is vastly different from yours, but in many ways, we are connected.”

  “You mean how we’re nearly related?” Ellie asked with a smile. “My great grandfather told me you were close to his sister.”

  “Anovoya was quite dear to me, yes. Her decision to leave T’al Eidyn hurt me almost as much as it did your family, but I knew she was following her heart. There was nothing I would have done to stop her.”

  “Have you spoken to her since?” Ellie asked with a small measure of hope, but Agi shook her head with a frown.

  “I’m afraid not. Prior to the war, we took noninvolvement very seriously. Well, from an official standpoint at least.” Her eyes took on a faraway look for a moment and Ellie wondered what kind of secrets the temple keeper held. Or for that matter if any of the Eidyssic truly stuck to the letter of the law on noninvolvement. Suddenly, she had the random thought that the crazy conspiracy shows claiming aliens built the pyramids didn’t seem so odd.

  “Should I leave you to your meditation?” Ellie asked after a prolonged period of silence.

  Agi turned her head downward and frowned at the soft moss below their feet. “I’ve likely exhausted all meditative options and perhaps you might be of some help as it involves you as well.”

  “Oh?” Ellie’s curiosity was piqued, but something about Agi’s posture brought about a sense of dread.

  “Before he left, Julian asked me if I knew of a way to override the restrictions keeping him from the archive.”

  At the mention of Julian, Ellie’s diodes flared to life. Embarrassed, she clamped down on her emotions. “Um… Is that why he isn’t… Why is he restricted from the archive?”

  Ag’iazza smiled. “I can’t be certain, but I believe in the archive lies the truth of Julian’s creation and the creation of the Kyroibi.”

  “No,” Ellie said, shaking her head. “If I am to understand correctly, that information was not archived. Ka’griannas and Bethany both seem to think there’s a good reason for this. That if the Kyroibi was to fail, we would not want the means to create another. Given what we now know about the sacrifices made, I think that was wise. If we finally figure out a way to destroy this, I don’t want anyone to have this kind of power ever again.”

  “Likewise, but I believe that while great lengths were taken to hide the information, it is most unlikely that we as a people have allowed it to be forgotten.”

  “That’s sort of the hope I’m going on,” Ellie said with a small sigh.

  “That you’ll find this information on Helsyn?”

  “This or something that will put an end to…” she trailed off and looked up at Agi in horror. “You think Julian knows. You think he plans to destroy the battalion and quite possibly…”

  Ag’iazza said nothing, but she didn’t have to. The tense sorrow of her diodes matched the panic in Ellie’s display.

  “There is something you are hiding, temple keeper.” Somehow, Ellie managed to keep steady her voice, but just barely.

  Ag’iazza stood up and began to pace, which did nothing to steady Ellie’s nerves. The typically placid keeper was not one to be so evasive. At long last, she came to a stop and took a deep breath.

  “What I am about to reveal was told to me with the strictest confidence. However, as I stated, I am old. And perhaps in my age, I have allowed some of the mysticism of my position to delude me into believing my intuition comes from a place more substantial than a feeling or whim. Regardless, my abstraction tells me to break my honor and defy Julian’s wish.”

  Ellie’s diodes flared in surprise.

  “What wish was that?”

  “Julian requested that you be kept busy, either here at the temple or with the war efforts on the inner Ghowrn planets. He stressed there would be irreparable damages should you attempt to join him on Ia’na Eidyn.”

  Ellie sagged momentarily in relief. “I know,” she said in a breathless whisper. “If I were to attempt to go to Ia’na Eidyn while the battalion is awake, I would be powerless to stop what the Kyroibi has started. We would bring about the end of all life in the galaxy.”

  “Perhaps, but I can’t help feeling the commander means to end the legacy of the Kyroibi himself.”

  “You mean…” Ellie’s blood froze. “No, I’d know. Our bond is there. Faint though it is, Julian lives and there is no da
nger. He believes he can stop the awakening, but surely he knows that an attempt to destroy the battalion would end in disaster.”

  “I did not wish to add to your troubles, child. For that I apologize.”

  “No,” Ellie assured the keeper. “No, Agi, your concerns are valid. I just hope that you’re wrong and if you aren’t, we’re not too late.”

  With that she gave a respectful bow and left the garden. Though sleep would be elusive, she returned to her quarters and penned a quick message to Gri and the rest of her trusted team. Long shot or not, getting to Helsyn was now their main priority. She only hoped they weren’t too late.

  Chapter 13

  “Well? What do you think?”

  Ellie had to admit, it was more than a little unnerving to hear Re’geya’s deep and melodious voice coming from her likeness. In turn, she activated her exo-shield and compared her appearance with that of the emperor’s guards.

  “Can you see through there?” Bethany asked, sticking her face up close enough to Ellie’s face to unbalance her.

  “Not with your nose blocking my view,” Ellie quipped, retracting the armor and steadying herself against the ship’s wall. “I can’t really explain it, but I’m not so much seeing through the shield as much as it’s as if my eyes are the shield. I’ve got a better range of vision with the shield on.”

  “Well keep it off and get over here for a minute,” called Mikk from the pilot’s chair. “We are being hailed by the guard station on Helsyn’s Bryn moon. If I am reading their cloaked signals correctly, they have an open link to the surface and I am betting the Emperor is at the end of that transmission. Likely he wants to see proof that we are not bluffing.”