by J. J. Green
“You okay? You look like you’re gonna faint.” Phelan was looking at her, worried.
She took a deep breath and exhaled, releasing the memory of the time someone else had left her abruptly and without warning. “I’m okay. Let’s get these Paths. The sooner the Council figure out what they can tell us, the sooner we can all move on.”
Phelan opened the airlock and they went inside the small shuttle. The Paths were, unsurprisingly, exactly where they’d left them. They so closely resembled large bag-shaped fungi, it was hard to believe that it was only through their enigmatic activities at the Valles Marineris Spaceport that Jas, Sayen, and Sparks had escaped Mars.
Jas’ mood lifted as they approached the Paths. Though she knew her feelings were influenced by emotions radiating from the empathic aliens and were a reflection of their reaction to her appearance, she was glad of the effect.
She and Phelan gathered up the brown sacks. Their arms full, they returned to the waiting Transgalactic Council officers.
Chapter Three
Dr. Sparks had explained his experiences with the Paths in detail to the officers by the time Jas and Phelan returned with them. Jas hoped that the officers were telepathic and could speak with the aliens, but after a lengthy pheromone exchange, Rahul announced that this was not the case.
“We appear to only sense their emotions,” he said. “It is most frustrating. These creatures do not appear to be very skilled at telepathic communication.”
“Flahive didn’t seem to have much trouble speaking with them,” Sayen said. “In fact, he said they were so loud he had to ask them to whisper.”
“You have a companion who is able to communicate with these beings?” Martha asked.
“Had,” said Jas. “He was killed on Mars.”
“Oh dear,” said Rahul. “That is sad and most unfortunate for us. May I ask where this person originated?”
“He was Cruthian,” Phelan replied. “He was my engineer. The Bricoleur has an Oootoon engine.”
“Ah yes,” Rahul said. “Everything becomes clear now. High-gravity planets such as Cruth tend to promote the evolution of exceptional telepathic talent.” The insectoid alien waggled his head, causing his antennae to wave around. More odors emanated from the Council officers as they continued their discussion in silence.
Jas had been standing since she and Phelan brought the Paths to the meeting room, but suddenly exhaustion threatened to overwhelm her, and she sat down. It seemed that every muscle in her body was aching.
The Council officers began questioning Dr. Sparks about the Paths once more, but Jas barely listened to the conversation. Memories of Carl occupied her thoughts. She remembered the happy-go-lucky co-pilot of the Galathea, the tetchy friend on Dawn, his sleeping form at her place on Earth, him driving Ozment’s truck. How long would it be before she would see him again? How would she find him among the thousands of pilots fighting in the Shadow battle?
Sayen interjected loudly into the Council officers’ conversation with Sparks, telling them they needed to hear what Flahive had told them in the bar after meeting the Paths but before the doctor had caught up with them. The pheromones of the Council officers faded as Sayen related almost word for word what Flahive had told them about the Paths existing in another realm outside the physical universe, and how the Shadows also existed there.
“This is truly remarkable. Incredible, in fact,” exclaimed Peter. “What you are telling us is the stuff of mythological tales and beliefs. We simply must find out more. These Paths may not only be our key to defeating the Shadows, they may enlighten our understanding of the very nature of existence itself.”
“Look,” Jas said to the aliens. “That might be true, but I don’t think we can tell you any more than we already have. What happens now? Are you taking the Paths with you? Can I join in the fight against the Shadows? I was a security chief aboard a starship.”
“If you do not mind waiting a few more hours,” said Peter, “I would like to—”
“I do mind,” said Jas. “Whether the Paths have secrets to the universe to reveal or not isn’t relevant to us. We’ve told you about what’s happening on Earth and we’ve brought the Paths to you. There isn’t anything else we can do. It’s past time that we went into battle.”
“Now wait a minute,” Sparks said. “Speak for yourself. I’d be very happy to help the officers for a while longer.”
“You would,” said Jas.
“Jas,” said Sayen, frowning.
“Please, please,” said Martha. “Do not argue. We wish to resolve the question of what the Paths can tell us as quickly as you do. Unfortunately, the high-gravity civilizations where empaths who could speak with the Paths live are within the section of the galaxy currently controlled by Shadows. Though we could open a Gateway to one of those planets to try to recruit an individual to help us, the likelihood that we would encounter a Shadow is high. We must find another way to communicate with them. But I have an idea.”
Once more, the Council officers exuded odors as they talked among themselves.
“For krat’s sake,” Jas said in an undertone to Sayen after a short while. “How much longer do you think they’re going to keep us here?”
Before Sayen could reply, Martha spoke. “We would like to try something that could be a little dangerous. I am afraid that our physiology prevents us from performing this experiment ourselves, but we believe a human would be highly effective.”
“What? What are you talking about?” Jas asked. Her patience had entirely dissipated and any effort at civility had gone with it.
“You are familiar with the equipment the Council uses to test the presence of Shadows?” Rahul asked.
“You mean Shadow scanners?” said Jas. “Yes. I already told you that we stole one from a spaceport. What have they got to do with this?”
“Our fight against the Shadows was greatly aided when we discovered the one difference that distinguished them from their victims,” Peter said. “A Council operative who was coated in invisibility spray—a human invention, I believe—saw an aura around Shadows that no other things living nor inanimate exhibited. Through a series of experiments, we discovered that it was the tiny amount of mythranil included in the invisibility spray that enabled the wearer to identify Shadows in this way. Using this knowledge, we incorporated similar trace amounts of mythranil into prototype Shadow scanners and found this made them foolproof at detecting the Shadows’ auras.”
At Peter’s revelation, Jas’ mind flew back to what Carl had said when they rescued Sayen from the Shadow holdout in Antarctica. He’d mentioned seeing that same aura. “So, what are you saying?” she asked. “I still don’t get how that’s going to help you find out more about the Paths.”
“We are, of course,” continued Peter, “perfectly aware of the illegal uses and effects of this powerful narcotic. It sends the user into a euphoric, trance-like state lasting several hours.”
Sparks, who had been sitting in a corner of the room, his chin resting on his hand, apparently thoroughly bored now that the conversation had turned from him, suddenly gasped and stood up. His eyes popping, he pointed a trembling finger at the Paths. “I understand,” he exclaimed. “I know what you mean. Of course. Of course. It makes perfect sense. That was where I went. That was where they sent me.”
“What are you babbling about, Sparks?” Jas asked.
“When the Paths are threatened, they defend themselves by sending the thing threatening them to another place mentally,” the doctor replied. “The body remains, but the mind of the attacker has departed. The place they send their attacker’s mind is the place the Paths come from. The effect is to make the threat go away temporarily. If they feel sufficiently threatened, they send their attacker away permanently, and the attacker dies. I see it now.”
“Does anyone here have the faintest idea what he’s talking about?” asked Jas. “And if so, could they please explain it to me?”
“I think I understand,” said Say
en. “The Paths have no physical power here, but their mental power is strong. They can control our minds and transfer them to another plane, where the Paths and the Shadows come from. But I don’t understand the connection with myth.”
“Let me explain,” Martha said. “The narcotic mythranil is well known for its ability to transfer the mind of the user to another place, figuratively speaking. But from what we now understand about how the trace presence of myth in an observer of a Shadow confers the ability to see their aura, we can speculate that the drug’s effect is not figurative, but literal. The user mentally travels outside the physical universe to the realm where the Paths and Shadows exist.”
“So...” said Sayen. “You’re thinking if someone goes to this place, they could connect with the Paths on their home territory?”
“That is indeed our conjecture,” Martha said.
“Sorry,” said Sparks, “I’m not threatening them again. It’s out of the question. Besides, I don’t remember noticing anything resembling the Paths while I was in my trance.”
“It would be foolish for the Paths to approach a threat within their own domain,” Rahul replied. “But we are not proposing that anyone threatens them. That would be unethical. We have a different method in mind, but unfortunately we are unable to do this ourselves. We require a human volunteer.”
“I’ll do it,” Jas said. Whatever it was, she didn’t care. Nothing seemed to matter much anymore.
“Excellent,” Martha said. “We will send for the mythranil immediately.”
Chapter Four
The conjoined Shadow minds rippled as their thoughts spread out across the Void. More and more victims in the physical realm had wandered or been driven into traps, and more Shadow replicants were created and crossed over. The small trickle of movement had become a flood.
In the place where spacetime existed, mental contact between Shadows remained difficult. There, they were confined to solid bodies, separated from each other and shaped by—haunted by—the memories and personalities of their victims, which they retained from the copied brain matter and coding of their cell structures.
Their numbers had grown so great that extensive coordination was vital, now more than ever. This need had been identified and was being addressed as they moved toward the final stage of their plan: domination. When spacetime prevented efficient contact, they used the technological communication systems of the beings they had destroyed. It brought great pleasure to the Shadows to operate the marvelous contraptions of the physical plane, especially the vessels that carried solid bodies from place to place. They had gathered a great number of these. Battle upon them, and they could use the vessels to good effect.
On worlds where the Shadow presence was sufficiently large, they had seized control of the planet and hastened the destruction of the remaining sentient beings. Among other civilizations, where their numbers were yet inferior, the Shadows bided their time. They had strategized their victim selection so that, though Shadows were not the majority on these worlds, they held key positions within powerful organizations. When the battle was won, these planets would also fall under the weight of the victorious invaders, undermined from within.
The alliance led by the Transgalactic Council had vastly underestimated the extent of the Shadow presence. It would have a surprise waiting when the worlds it was supposedly defending rose up against it; when the friends they did not suspect turned upon them. But until the right moment, the Shadows had to operate carefully.
Meanwhile, though the physical realm was falling quickly under their attack, opposition within the Void was growing stronger. It was inevitable. Their presence was reduced as more and more Shadows split from the fusion and crossed over to the other side, while the might of their Void opponents remained the same, immensely strong and fighting the Shadows’ efforts at every turn.
When a few parts of the opposition had managed to slip through and emerge in a trap, the Shadows had feared that they would also have to fight them on the physical plane. But there, the opponents were weak and ineffectual. Though the Shadows could not force them to return to the Void, they did not have anything to fear from them in the physical universe.
Unlike the victims the Shadows took. They had much to fear.
Chapter Five
“Don’t do it, Jas,” Sayen said. She’d caught up to her friend at a Ganymede Outpost airlock. Jas was already wearing an environment suit and she was getting ready to go outside.
Jas lifted the visor of her helmet. “Huh? I’m only going for a walk. I hate being cooped up in here with nothing to do while we wait for the myth to arrive.”
“That isn’t what I meant,” said Sayen. “You shouldn’t take that drug. You’ve never done it before. Some people die when they take that stuff. You don’t know what could happen. What if they get the dosage wrong?”
Jas shrugged. “Someone has to take it. If the Council officers are right, I might be able to find out the Shadows’ weaknesses.”
“Then let me do it,” Sayen said. “My augmented body’s more robust than yours. I can probably tolerate the myth better.”
Jas shook her head. “Phelan has already lost both his parents. It isn’t fair that he should risk losing you too. I don’t have anyone who’d be too bothered to lose me.”
“That isn’t true, Jas, and you know it.”
“Isn’t it?”
“Of course not. Phelan and I couldn’t bear to lose you, but more than that, what about Carl?”
“What about Carl?” Jas’ gaze turned to the wintry landscape through the airlock window. “I thought he cared about me, but he didn’t hesitate to leave me when he had the chance. I guess I was wrong about him.”
“Oh, Jas.” Sayen sighed.
“I’ll be outside for a while,” Jas said. “Could you tell them to radio me when the myth arrives?” She snapped her visor closed and pressed the airlock’s inner door.
“Wait,” Sayen exclaimed, but the door slid into position and Jas turned her back while waiting for the atmosphere exchange to take place.
Sayen hadn’t donned an environment suit in years, not since her safety training to become a deep space navigator. By the time she’d zipped up and snapped everything into place and passed through the airlock herself, Jas’ long legs had already carried her more than a hundred meters away from the station. Sayen hailed her friend over the radio, and Jas paused and turned. She waited as Sayen made her way carefully over the frozen ground, strewn with ice boulders. In the low gravity, she found she could bound over quite quickly.
Jupiter hung threateningly in the sky above, its bands of color interspersed with angry swirls as massive storms tore through its atmosphere. The gas giant’s presence was so close, Ganymede seemed constantly about to fall into it, inexorably drawn into the gravity well. Sayen shivered, though her suit’s heating was making her feel toasty compared to the chilly station. She withdrew her gaze from the moon’s overbearing master as she reached Jas.
“It’s a bit much, isn’t it?” came Jas’ voice over her radio.
Sayen could barely see her friend’s lips move through her darkened visor.
“Jupiter?” she replied. “Yeah, just a little.”
“It reminds me of K. 98352g. Do you remember? Only there it was the system’s sun that took up most of the sky.”
“I remember the planet but not the view. I never used to go down to the surface in those days.”
“Oh yeah. That’s right,” said Jas. “You didn’t like to, did you? You told me once that while you were on a prospecting mission, you used to pretend you could step aboard the shuttle and go right down to Earth if you wanted.”
Sayen chuckled. “Did I say that? It was true. I did used to pretend I was only a shuttle ride from Earth.” Sayen swung around to view the desolate gray-white, cratered scenery that stretched monotonously to the horizon. “Were you headed somewhere in particular?”
Jas’ laugh sounded in Sayen’s helmet and she saw the ghost of her fri
end’s wry smile. “No. Nowhere in particular. Want to come along?”
“I was hoping for the invitation,” Sayen replied. As they set off, Sayen imagined how they must look: Jas inside a environment suit large enough for a tall man, and herself, slim and petite, toddling and bouncing alongside her. They crossed the barren ground, passing eons-old ice rocks for a while in silence.
“You know, Jas, I feel like such an idiot,” Sayen said.
“Huh? How come?”
“Those Council officers...I think I met some of their species not long ago. I keep thinking that if I’d said something to them at the time about the Shadows invading Earth, maybe it would have saved us a lot of trouble. Some people might still be alive.”
“You met those aliens before? How’d you manage that? It couldn’t have been on a prospecting mission.”
“No, it wasn’t. Do you remember when we went to steal the Shadow scanner from the spaceport? With Ozment?”
“Yeah, of course I do.”
“We stopped at a park in the mountains overnight. Erielle was still weak and in a lot of pain from the wounds on her legs. I couldn’t sleep, and I went for a walk. I ran into some of those creatures.”
“You did? I don’t remember you saying anything about it.”
“There was so much going on, and I was worried sick about Erielle...and I didn’t think it was important. But maybe if I’d told those tourists what we knew...”
“No, don’t beat yourself up, Sayen. Just because they’re the same species, that doesn’t mean the ones you met had any connection to the Council. They probably wouldn’t have had any idea what you were talking about.”
“Yeah, maybe. I hope so,” said Sayen, then, after a moment, “Jas.”
