The Shattered Sky

by Paul Lucas

  The helistat that now lay alongside our Tower was just as monstrous as the one that had brought Lerner to us, with the odd name of Venia's Betrayal. The previous one had come specifically to investigate the Tower and contact my people. This one, however, was heading further out into an extended eighteen-month-long loop through unexplored wilderness that Lerner's people called the Outlands. The Tower and my people were but one stop on their incredible journey.

  My people handled this visitation much more stoically than the first. The presence of these magical humans and their enormous sky-ships were quickly becoming just another aspect of the world, like rain clouds and sunlight. Flier talked animatedly with their captain, a tall, statuesque male with raven-dark hair.

  In some ways, Cloud was right. The humans could well change everything eventually, in one way or another. Flier, despite his friendly overtones, was obviously beginning to feel a little uncomfortable about the humans' technological power, which seemed to have few limitations.

  Our Shaman was another story. Windrider loved the humans and was especially fond of talking shop with the human Magi. She had learned much new magic from each visit. The other day, they had showed her a spell that would allow her to see the heat of things as light. She was flabbergasted and awed, casting the spirit-calling continuously all day until she fell into an exhausted swoon. I helped tend her as Flier chided her continuously for taxing herself like that. What if she were to die from spell fatigue because of her foolishness, leaving our people with only myself, her half-trained apprentice, as Shaman? It was an argument a chieftain would use, but I knew it was only a thin disguise for a heart heavy with concern for a reckless Mate.

  Pfah, she had said, dismissing her husband's words. Gossamyr could easily become Shaman now. Or better yet, Lerner. He with his human technology would be the greatest shaman our people had ever known.

  Flier huffed, very disturbed by her answer. He turned away, unsure of how to respond. Windrider snickered at his back. She loved poking at the armor of his carefully-wrought chieftain dignity.

  The taking of my blood lasted only a few heartbeats, but it seemed much, much longer. At last the human doctor withdrew her metal proboscis, removing the last of the interchangeable vials from the syringe. The small cylinder sloshed with red liquid. "Is that really my blood?" I asked.

  She nodded, all smiles. "That’s right, honey. We’re going to do a complete DNA and biochemical analysis on your people once we get back to the KN. Lerner explained what all that is, right? After its done we’ll know a lot more about where your people come from and what makes you tick. And don’t worry, sweety. This is actually very little blood compared to what you have in you whole body, and your system will replace it all in a day or so.

  Lerner was suddenly slapped on the back by one of his fellow humans. "So, are they done sucking the life from you two yet?"

  I gulped a breath. "L-life...?"

  "Louis!" Lerner snapped. "I told you she was nervous about this. You don’t need to come here and..."

  The other male held up his hands placatingly. "Hey, sorry! I was joking!" He turned to me. "Just joking, I swear."

  Lerner shot him a stern look, then arced concerned brows at me. "You okay, Goss?"

  I carefully examined my recently-punctured arm. Nothing seemed amiss. "Yes. Ha, ha. Funny joke."

  "See? No harm done." Louis had returned on the new helistat, and I must admit it was pleasant seeing a familiar face among the sea of strange humans. "I came by because you said you two had something to show Rumiko and me."

  "Oh! Right," Lerner said, his irritation quickly forgotten. "Where is Rumiko, anyway?"

  "She was going to requisition some lunch. Ah, here she comes now."

  A human female trotted toward us, carrying a large knapsack. She seemed a bit small for an adult human, almost Myotan-sized. She possessed long, dark hair that swung around her shoulders and a round face highlighted by almond-shaped eyes and a rich complexion. I learned later that she was of a certain genotype, called 'oriental', that existed many millennia ago on the legendary world called Earth, before the various breeds of humans on that world intermixed and interbred into one over the millennia. However, even many of thousands of years later, genetics occasionally conspired to allow ancient features buried in the gene pool to resurface in certain lucky individuals. Rumiko’s unusual features made her exotically beautiful to many human males, at least according to Lerner, who stared at her standing beside Louis with a no small glint of envy in his eyes.

  "Hello," Rumiko said through her translator-box.

  Lerner spoke up. "Gossamyr, I'd like you to meet Rumiko Rhiannon, a distant cousin of the Sword of Thorena’s captain, which was the helistat I originally came on. She’s a xenotech, an expert in non-Known Nations technology. Both Louis and her are friends of mine from college. Rumiko, this is Gossamyr. She's been an invaluable assistant and a very good friend to me this past half-year."

  “It is nice to meet you, Rumiko,” I said. “And a pleasure to see you again, Louis. Lerner told me something of you I wish I had known when we first met when we explored the upper Tower together. You are a Shaman, yes? I mean, Mage, as you humans say?"

  He shrugged. "It didn’t seem important to mention it when I was here before. I’m still just an assistant, anyway. I’m still a couple of years away from getting my full Mage certification."

  "Are you actually being humble? You, Louis?" Rumiko said. “You say you can cast some pretty impressive spells.”

  Louis shifted uncomfortably. "A few low-level ones, and I’m lucky I don’t turn everyone around me into a frog when I do."

  The female human rolled her eyes. "Lollipop, don't exaggerate."

  Lerner smirked. "‘Lollipop?’"

  Louis and Rumiko looked at each other, grins growing broad as the male drew the female to him by the hip. "Oh, yeah. By the way, former bunkmate, while you were out here having all kinds of adventures, Rumiko and I got together. As a matter of fact, we’re kind of engaged."

  Lerner gaped for a few seconds, then laughed, slapping Louis soundly in the back. “What? That’s great! When’s the date?"

  "Not for a couple of years, yet. We want to get a few more expeditions under our belts, build up our financial base a bit more. But you’re invited, of course."

  "Ha! I wouldn’t miss it for anything."

  "Excuse me," I said. "But what is ‘engaged?’"

  "I guess that didn’t translate well," Lerner said. "It means they're, um, what’s the Myotan word, betrothed. They’ve declared publicly their intentions to Mate."

  "Oh, we got the 'mating' part down pretty well," Louis blurted. Rumiko shot a painful elbow into his ribs.

  "So," Rumiko said hastily as Louis wheezed for breath. "What did you want to show us?"

  "The gliders."

  * * *

  We were in the cave where we were worked on our secret project. The cave overlooked a wide, steep slope, an eighth-day's walk away from the Tower in a very hilly part of the surrounding forest that was rarely visited, even by the hunters. Louis crinkled his nose as soon as Lerner removed the barrier from the entrance and we stepped inside. "Whoo! What’s that smell?"

  "We’ve been treating the hides for the wings to make them more supple," Lerner said. "We’ve been trying a bunch of different concoctions, including some mixtures with urinary components."

  Rumiko nodded sagely. "I see. The uric acid would have a variety of effects, depending on the nature of the animal skin. Hm. But wouldn’t the urine eventually break down into an ammonia component? That’ll bleach the hide out, and you said you didn’t want to draw attention. White wings on a glider would be very noticeable."

  "Yes, of course, which is why we combine it with other stuff to counteract that. At least in theory. The juice from these berries, for example, when combined with Gawrsh tree sap creates a counter-agent. Actually, the main reason I asked you out here, Rumiko, is that we could use some advice."

  Lerner and Rumiko wander
ed further into the cave, lighting an electric torch and talking chemicals and torque and line tensions. Louis grimaced at me, exhaling low as we found ourselves left behind. Apparently he found all the technical talk wearying. He ran a hand along one of the partially-completed glider’s wooden struts, looking over the half-dozen smaller models we had already made. "So, why are you guys keeping all this secret from the rest of your people?"

  I sighed. "Lerner does not want anyone to get their hopes up in case it does not work. He is adamant that the gliders be something my people can create on their own once they’re shown how, and not something they would be dependent on human materials for."

  "But Lerner let you in on it. Last night when he and I were having a few shots of your Myotan apple wine he said you’d been in on it from the beginning."

  "Of course. Lerner is my friend. Why wouldn’t I help him?" But to be honest with myself, it was more than that now, more even the prospect of one day being able to fly again. Ever since I saw that thin sheet of folded paper flutter by me months ago, as I held the odd triangle of stiff paper in my hand, I had also realized I wanted so much more out of my life than the mundanities I was formerly content with. The humans had opened my wings to the winds of so much more, that I wanted to be part of their world of magical science as much as I could.

  Louis nodded, a wistful thought suddenly lowering his eyes half-way and spreading his lips into a smile. "Lerner mentioned you a lot, last night. Hm. You two spend a lot of time together, don’t you?"

  “We do. Lerner has been such a boon to our community that Flier has excused me from food-gathering duties so I may assist him full time. Beside the glider project, I help him transcribe texts from his wristcomp into our Myotan pictograms, teach him Myotan without his translator, gather local flora and fauna for your people’s helistat visits, survey the Tower, and conduct all kinds of experiments with local materials. Through Lerner and his books, we have learned better techniques for woodworking, metal smithing, and weather-predicting. At night sometimes he teaches me to read and speak Borelean, your language. He says I have a strong talent for languages, that I pick them up quickly, but I think he just says that at times to make me feel better. We’re working our way through this wonderful human book called Robinson Crusoe, which I guess comes from your Great Library--" My words guttered to a stop as I saw Louis tilt his head at me, affecting a sly smile. I was no expert at reading human expressions--I had only Lerner, really, to learn from--but I recognized the wistful, knowing eyes, the shallow nod of his head as he hung not on the meaning of my words, but on my enthusiasm as I uttered them.

  Then it struck me. He thought that perhaps Lerner and I were more than just friends.

  My nostrils flared. It wasn't a completely preposterous assumption, I suppose. I mean, Lerner was a good friend. He shared so many things with me, not just his people’s knowledge and writings but his own personal feelings and opinions on things. And I often reciprocated, such as my trust in him had grown.

  Truthfully, not since my parents were alive had I enjoyed myself as with my time with Lerner, learning of worlds and concepts I have never before had thought possible.

  But before I saw Louis’ suspicious smirk, I never really considered Lerner as anything more than just a human. But he was a male human, was he not? A very kind, smart, and exciting male.

  I shook my head to clear my mind, ruffling my wing membranes. Entertaining an honored guest was no time to have such--unusual thoughts. "So," I said, eager to change the subject. "You are a Mage?"

  "Like I said before, a very minor one," Louis said. "I didn’t discover until half-way through my apprenticeship that Nanotech Matrix Manipulation was never going to be my strong point."

  “I have heard that word used a number of times by your people when they talk about magic and spirit-callings. ‘The Nanotech Matrix.’ What is that, exactly?"

  Louis stole a glance at Lerner and Rumiko, still locked in their own animated discussion, which had moved on to wingspan and lift ratios. Louis said, “I’m not sure I should say anything."

  "Please," I said. "Lerner has taught me much, and I can guess at some things. This Matrix, whatever it is, is how Windrider and myself and other Shamans can call spirits. But Lerner has said he knows next to nothing about that, but you should know. Please, tell me."

  "Well . . .okay, but only because you’re Lerner’s, ah, friend." Briefly, that look returned to Louis’ face. "We’re not supposed to tell this to cultures like yours because it might upset some of their deeply-held beliefs and that might lead to inquisitions and witch hunts and other nasty stuff. But here goes. Do you know what nanotechnology is?"

  "Lerner mentioned it a few times, but I must admit the concept escaped me. It has to do with very small things, yes? He has told me of microbes and cells and what causes diseases, and I understand that well enough."

  "Good, that’s a start. The important thing to understand is that microbes are made of smaller materials yet, called molecules and atoms. These are like the bricks in your baking ovens. The bricks can be taken out of the oven and reshaped into many different things, like huts or walls or wells and so on. Well, like bricks, molecules and atoms are the building blocks of everything we see in the world, including cells and microbes and every other living thing. Understand?"

  I nodded. "I think so."

  “Okay. Nanotechnology is like the machines you see Lerner and I and the rest of my people use all the time, except they are much, much smaller. So small, in fact, that they use individual molecules and atoms for working parts. And even with a million such parts, they will still be no bigger than one of your blood cells, which are of course too small to see without a microscope. The prefix ‘nano’ means billionths, which is the scale on which nanotechnology works--billionths of a meter. The most useful kind of nanotech machine is a nano-sized robot, or nanite. Do you know what a robot is?"

  I shook my head. He explained. Apparently it was a kind of animal that was made up of machines instead of blood and organs and skin. At least that’s how I understood it. That was good enough for Louis.

  He went on. "Okay. These nanites that make up the Nanotech Matrix are extremely complex and versatile. In fact, we think that there might be hundreds of different makes and models of them, all corresponding to different eras in which they were incorporated into the Eden Sphere by the Builders. These nanites can manipulate molecules and atoms the way we manipulate bricks, assembling and disassembling them into almost any kind of pattern. And they are smart enough to allow not only for some independence, but to reproduce themselves when they wear out. Get enough nanites acting together and they can perform incredible feats. They can disassemble whole mountains and rebuild them. They can store energy and release it in a wide variety of ways. They can act like a gigantic computer, each nanite able to hold hundreds of bits of information and networking together.

  "Got all that? Good. Now imagine that these nanites are everywhere, in every rock, every plant, every creature, every drop of water, every cubic inch of soil, all over the Shard, quietly replicating themselves by the billions and quadrillions until called on to do something by an intelligent user."

  "They are everywhere?" I asked with a start, looking around me as he nodded. "You mean they are in the cave? In us? In me?" I unconsciously began running my tool fingers through the fur of my arms, as if I were checking for bugs. But these bugs were much smaller than I could ever hope to see.

  "Yeah. Don’t worry, though," Louis said. "The nanites are mostly harmless. Most of the time they act just like any other microbe, and have very little impact on the environment at large. The Builders designed them that way. But they can be called upon to perform a wide variety of acts by a user, what we call Magi and you call Shamans. There are nanites in your brain, you see, and they constantly monitor your thoughts. When your thoughts align in a certain way, the nanites in your head will transmit instructions to the nanites in the environment, who will combine work together by the billions and trill
ions to perform whatever you want."

  "And this alignment of thoughts," I said. "Those are spirit-callings?

  "That’s right! Well, we call them spells, but yeah, they're the same thing. Different combinations of thought allows a Mage to give the Matrix a wide variety of instructions. Kind of like a computer programming language. Of course, the thought patterns must be very exact and in precisely the right order, and the more complex the spell, the longer and more complex the thought-string of commands must be. It takes a lot of concentration and a lot of study to do it right. I found out I simply don’t have the temperament for such things."

  "So magic is really just another form of technology? I don’t really call spirits at all?"

  Louis shifted uncomfortably. "Uh, yeah, something like that. The Nanotech Matrix is Builder technology, meaning it’s millennia beyond what we have in the Known Nations. I've always been taught that its the ultimate tool, the most powerful single form of technology ever created. Most of the original thought-programming language was lost in the Great Cataclysm, and what cultures like ours have been able to re-create is just a drop in the bucket. We figure there are spells that can reconfigure the entire Shard if need be, but those are way beyond the KN’s knowledge right now."

  Lerner and Rumiko ambled toward us. "Of course that's the biggest challenge," Lerner was saying to her, "Making everything out of local materials. I don’t like the idea of them becoming too dependent on KN technology for anything."

  "That may not be avoidable," Rumiko said. "You know the OEC’s plans for this place." Snatching a glance at me she quickly changed the subject. "So what are you two talking so vigorously about?"

  "Louis was telling me about the Nanotech Matrix," I said.

  Rumiko shot a venomous glance at her future Mate. "Louis! You aren’t supposed to do that!"

  "It’s okay," Lerner said. "Goss is smart enough to handle it. Right, Goss?"

  Lerner’s expression was filled with bright eyes and an easy smile. My earlier thoughts about him suddenly came bubbling back. He was quite homely by Myotan standards, with his flat-faced, furless features, but somehow that seemed to matter less and less the more I came to know him.