Alesia raised her gaze to meet his and felt a tear trickle down her cheek. Gil brushed it away with his thumb.
“What’s wrong?”
She sniveled a little and cleared her throat. “How could you see that?”
“I—I’m not sure I could, it just felt like the right thing to do. Why are you crying?”
“I wish I could feel you for real, touch your skin. My God, Gil. This is so unfair. How could fate be so cruel to bring us together in this hopeless situation where we can’t even get to each other?”
“I’ve asked myself many times what I did wrong to end up in my current situation, but I have no answers. When we first discovered what this place is, everyone was so full of hope for the future. Junctions opened onto countless worlds. Some in the middle of huge cities, some in barren wastelands, others in uninhabited wilderness that was teaming with animal life. We thought we could go anywhere and start fresh. We decided that starting from scratch in the wilderness would be too difficult, but the inhabited worlds didn’t want a huge influx of refugees. It took years of contacting thousands of governments before we finally found an Earth that would take us.”
She rested her head on his chest and listened to his heart beat for a few moments. “I suppose we should quit stalling and continue our search. What should I be looking for? I’ve never seen a doorway between Realities.”
“It won’t manifest itself as a visual phenomenon. Our Window is invisible in its natural state, but if you are the cause of the interference, I should be able to pick it up on my Locater.”
Alesia spotted a room with a narrow entranceway she hadn’t noticed before. “Come on, Gil. Let’s look down here.” She tugged her hand free of his and bolted down the corridor.
“Alesia...” was all she heard.
She spun around, looking for him, but he was gone. “Gil! You can come back. I wanted you to chase me. I wouldn’t have pulled away if I had known I would lose you.” With the sun well below the horizon, the castle was very dark. She remembered that their connection between Realities had been providing light. Alesia felt her way along the walls, backtracking her steps to the corridor outside the dorm rooms, but he wasn’t there. No visible trace of the Window remained, either. She called to him for a while but got no answer. The twinge between her shoulder blades grew into a knot as the darkness amplified the profound emptiness surrounding her.
Chapter Five
A spray of sparks erupted from the Alternate-Reality Junction Locater as Alesia’s hand slipped from Gil’s grasp. The kinetic energy released by the rubber band–like snapback had been too much for the delicate instrument to handle. With any luck the fuse had protected the irreplaceable tuning circuits and the power supply had taken the brunt of the overload. I should have told her not to let go. How could I have been so stupid?
He made his way toward the control room to disassemble the damaged instrument and see if anything could be salvaged. Violent crackles sliced the air outside the Barrier Sphere, each one ending in a deafening boom that echoed through the castle. The Brotherhood was increasing the intensity of their attacks. Apparently, they could detect the weakened state of the protective system.
If he had never met Alesia, Gil would have been tempted to surrender in order to have the opportunity to thumb his nose at them, but that was out of the question now. She was there, somewhere, in a distant Reality, waiting for him to help her escape her grievous fate. She had been in his arms, close enough to hold, but too far away to reach. He had felt her through the fabric. She was all woman, soft and sensuous, a delight to embrace, wonderful to touch. She had a smile in her voice as bright as day and warmth in her heart that thawed his frozen soul. And now that she was gone, he wished more than anything to have her in his arms again.
All the years Gil spent working on the escape project, he had followed the rules and denied himself the luxury of female companionship. The entire community taking refuge inside the fortress had done the same. Their survival depended on completing the project as quickly as possible, and things like love affairs were deemed as too much of a distraction. Amanda had been there from the start, but they kept their relationship strictly professional, waiting for the day they could be together. Amanda was gone forever. He didn’t expect to get involved with the first woman he had seen in more than a year. All he wanted was to enjoy her company and assist her with her dilemma. With so little time remaining before his impending death, he needed the distraction.
Alesia had all but given up hope of finding a solution to her problem that didn’t end in suicide. She needed someone to offer her encouragement, help her to see her own self-worth, and assist with devising alternatives she hadn’t considered. Even if he couldn’t get her off her world, there had to be something he could do to help her save herself. Despite the madness of her situation, for the brief time they were together, he found her attitude positive, like hope was still alive in her deep down somewhere. Suddenly losing contact with him could have robbed her of that hope. At any rate, he needed to reestablish communications with her quickly before she did anything drastic. Another violent boom reverberated through the castle.
Gil flopped down onto a stool at his workbench and began the process of removing the instrument’s cover. The large display with a graphical representation of the Barrier Sphere sat where he could see it as he worked. A particularly hard hit warped the energy shield severely and allowed a minute amount of charged particles to penetrate. Static electricity danced across the panel of the surviving electrical grid circuit box. If you burn, it’s all over. Gil hurried to the control station and tweaked the settings to shore up the weak spot.
Eventually a shot would penetrate, the protective system would go down, and that would be that. During the time he had spent with Alesia, hundreds of Emitters had weakened considerably and begun to lose their ability to maintain focus. Too many of them needed replacing for one man to accomplish the task. All he could do was swap out the weakest to buy a little more time.
Gil hurried out to the Barrier Emitter Housing Facility. The situation looked far worse in person than it did on the computer graphical display. Black and blue smoke from burned-out components poured out of the heat exhaust vents running along the top of the walls. Heavy weapon fire continued to pummel the protective energy shield. It was all over now. Penetration of the Barrier Sphere was imminent. With little more than brute force and dumb luck, the Brotherhood had won. Gil worked as quickly as possible, changing the most critical components and ignoring the rest. With luck he could stall his impending demise long enough to say good-bye to Alesia. After everything he had been through, the universe owed him that. More importantly the universe owed that to Alesia.
He rushed back to his workbench, removed the last of the screws, and popped the cover off his instrument. Every component on every circuit board was charred to a crisp. There was nothing left to repair. The universe had thumbed its nose at him, once again. Alesia was lost to him on the other side of eternity. She could be standing in the same room right beside him or even occupy the exact same spot, no physical distance from him, but he couldn’t get to her.
Gil slogged to the Barrier control station and took a seat. He opened the application to power down the system and sat with his finger hovering over the button to shut it off. Might as well get it over with.
The dot on the display across the room indicating the Transuniversal Locater Beacon pulsed brilliant red. Gil strolled over and took a closer look. The graph on the screen charting the level of energy translating through the Window had peaked at four times the previous average and was holding steady. You’re still not sending any sort of message, so why have you ramped up your power level so high? Unless—your output hasn’t changed, but I’m receiving all of it. God, we’ve ruptured the Window. If energy can flow through unimpeded, matter can pass as well. I’m getting out of here after all! Oh, Alesia, please be there waiting for me.
Finding the exact spot without a Junction Locater would be nea
rly impossible. Theoretically, the rupture could be located virtually anywhere, but he had a suspicion that the corridor outside the dorms where the junction points had always been centered was where it would be. If Alesia was still on the other side, she could help him pinpoint the spot. Slipping through would require precise orientation. The rupture, like a Doorway to another Reality, would have no physical dimension. If she could find it from her side, she could show him the way. Both of them searching would increase the odds of finding it.
The most logical thing for her to do after their connection had been severed would be return to the corridor where they had first met. That’s where he would have gone if he hadn’t known what happened. The chances of her still being there were almost nonexistent, but if he had any hope of escaping death and seeing her again, he had to search.
Gil rushed down the corridor to the spot where their Realities had been closest and called her name, but got no answer. He wandered back and forth for a while, calling and contemplating his next move. The heavy bombardment continued to overwhelm the noise-canceling system. Given the battered state of the defenses, any shot could be the one to destroy the Barrier. Something brushed his shoulder, and he spun to see, but nothing was there.
“Alesia?”
It happened again but felt more solid the second time. He stepped slightly toward the place the contact felt the strongest, and Alesia’s face appeared as if looking through a porthole. He extended his hand to touch her, but she was no more solid than vapor.
“Alesia!”
Her lips moved, but no sound reached him from her Reality. He raised his palm and waited. She brought hers to the same spot, but rather than touch their hands merged together occupying the same space at the same time in two different universes. She withdrew her hand, but he shook his head and motioned for her to raise it again. He stepped a little more toward her, trying to find the exact spot of the rupture. They maneuvered slightly around for a moment. Suddenly Alesia intertwined her fingers with his.
“Gil! That’s it. I feel you. Oh, I see your face clearly. You’re not shimmering, and your hand feels real. Is this a Doorway between our Realities?”
“No, it’s—” Gil laughed bitterly. “It’s a slight tear. I thought—oh, God.” He sighed heavily. “I thought we had caused a large rupture. One of my systems gave me reason to believe that’s what had happened. I thought I could come through.”
She gazed curiously at him. “How did we cause this?”
“It happened when you let go of my hand.”
Alesia clasped his hand tightly. “Then I’ll never let go of your hand again.”
“This tear will repair itself soon, but it’s wonderful to be able to touch you for real. I can hear your voice much more clearly as well.”
Alesia stroked his fingers with hers. “Do you mean there is no fabric between us?”
“There is nothing separating us, Alesia.”
“Well, I’ll come through. I’m much smaller than you. I’m sure I can fit, but you’ll have to help me. It’s up too high.”
“It’s too small, Alesia. This tiny hole we’re gazing through is all there is.”
“Will anything bad happen if I let go of your hand?”
“No.”
“Okay. You wait right here, and I’ll run into the forest and find something to stand on. I’m quite limber. I’m sure I can climb through if I can reach it.”
“No, you couldn’t. It’s much too...” Gil let his last word drop. “Is there nothing in the castle for you to stand on?”
“No, the castle is completely empty. It always has been.”
“Ours was initially empty as well. When we installed the black box, all the furnishings and equipment showed up.”
Alesia shook her head, looking totally bewildered. “What black box?”
“It was the only thing left in the castle that wasn’t stone. When it’s disengaged, the inner workings of the castle are hidden in the space between Realities. We thought of it as sort of an antitheft device, but I’m reconsidering that idea.”
“I know of no black box, but surely I can find something to stand on.”
“This tear is closing rapidly. You don’t have time to search for a step stool, and I wouldn’t let you come through if you could. It’s imperative that you install the black box at once. Ours was hidden quite well. I may be the same case with yours. There is a barely noticeable slot inside the control room.”
She glanced down the hall toward the dorms. “Which room is that?”
“Go to the end of this corridor, then up two flights of stairs. It’s the first room on the left. When you enter the door, turn right and go all the way to the corner. It’s the third row of stones from the floor. Look at the first joint from the corner. You should see a slight vertical split. The slot is only the width of your thumb. Depress it at the top and bottom simultaneously, then release it. It should open on its own. Give the black box a push into its slot until it seats firmly. You’ll know when you have it because all sorts of things will appear.”
“Okay, got it. Don’t go anywhere. Oh, wait. Come closer to the tear.”
Gil leaned down slightly, put his face directly beside their clasped hands, and Alesia kissed his lips.
“For good luck,” she said, then disappeared.
Gil stayed as still as possible to make it easier for her to find him when she returned.
A few moments later, her face appeared in front of him. “Oh, there you are. I’ve been looking for a while. It’s difficult to find the exact spot.”
“Yes, the tear is growing smaller.”
“I should have kissed you longer. Perhaps I would have had better luck. I found the slot, but it’s empty. There’s no black box.”
He let his shoulders slump and nodded, unable to keep his disappointment from showing. “Well, I guess all that we can do is wait until the tear closes. And say good-bye.”
Alesia gazed at him with determination in her eyes. “Come on, Gil, there has to be something we can do to make this tear larger. If we do, you could come through to my Reality and live in my village. The elders would gladly welcome a new man.” She grasped at the edges of the tear, but there was nothing to grab hold of.
“If I came to your village with you, would you still have to marry the baron?”
All the joy drained from her face. “I am legally bound to marry him, but there are so many single women, you could easily find one who would happily be your wife.”
“I could never accept that.”
She raised an eyebrow as a devious grin spread across her lips. “We could run away and make a home in the forest, just the two of us. It would be a difficult life. We would have to hunt wild game to survive, like my ancestors who first established our village, but we could do it together.”
“That, I would accept.”
Her face lit up with delight. “You would spend your life in the wilderness with only me?”
“Yes, Alesia, if it were possible, I would.”
She raised her hand and offered it to him. “Hold on tightly, and we’ll walk farther away. Maybe if we let go that will make a larger tear.”
“My device is destroyed. We can’t manipulate this tear without it. If I had the time I could build another one, but the Barrier is failing. I estimate it will last a few more hours at most. Alesia, I want to tell you while I still have time, I wish with all my heart this was only our beginning, not our end. You’re an exceptionally beautiful woman and a wonderful person. I’m sorry we didn’t meet under better circumstances, but I’m glad we met. I wouldn’t trade these few hours we’ve spent together for an entire lifetime where I never met you.”
“So that’s it, you’re giving up?”
“When this tear closes, I want you to run away. Find another village and a good man who will love you. You deserve that, Alesia.”
She shook her head, frowning at him. “There are no other villages. The war destroyed everything. Only a handful of humans survived. All
that remains of humanity is here. Our ancestors traveled to this location after the war, from all over the world. For hundreds of years this was the only place on Earth capable of sustaining life. There are only thirty thousand of us now. Some biological agent left over from the war caused a Great Epidemic. We lost so many that our numbers have never recovered. Every year fewer and fewer male babies are born. The village elders say that if the trend continues, we’ll reach a point where everyone will be too closely related to sustain a viable population. That’s why the rich old men cast aside their wives who have only given them daughters and purchase the debts of orphan girls. They’re hoping to find one who will produce sons.”
“Alesia, the male determines the gender of his offspring, not the female. If the women of your village are not having sons, it’s most likely because the men have some problem related to producing the Y chromosome. This epidemic you spoke of could have played a role.”
“Vast sums of ancient knowledge have been lost. There may have been a way to treat this condition at one time, but not anymore. The general consensus in my village is, a war that ended nine centuries ago destroyed the human race. It’s just taking a while for us all to die out.”
“Humanity is brilliant at destroying things. The government of my Earth wanted to destroy this junction point because of its technological nature. They feared it was created to facilitate an invasion by some highly advanced group. When the intellectual community protested, the government used it as an excuse to begin systematically exterminating scientists, engineers, and academics. All of us who were able retreated here and erected the protective Barrier Sphere in hopes of surviving long enough to find a way to escape. The human race has no need to fear enemies from outside. The ones we should fear are already here: ourselves.”
The Fabric Of Reality Page 6
