Firstworld Read online

  ‘I don’t know.’ Kambisha strode toward the mass of dots. ‘I just wonder why this thing, this map is here. I...’ A loud, unnatural voice in her mind interrupted her.

  ‘Attention, techneer. I have an unresolved emergency at Mathras. Your team fits the required qualifications. Prepare for transit.’

  ‘What...’

  Again there was the brief flash of airless dark of the Intermedium.

  Cold. Stale air. Utter silence.

  CHAPTER 2 – UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

  They emerged in a chill room, barely large enough for the three of them. On the ceiling, a green light bathed everything in a cold, hostile glow.

  ‘What the heck is this again?’ Kyrus said angrily, staring round at the four almost identical blank walls.

  ‘I think it’s an airlock,’ Kambisha said. ‘It looks like that undersea pump room at Port Naar they built for the town’s cooling system.’

  ‘Welcome, techneer,’ a tinny voice said from a hole in the wall. ‘This is Realmfleet Outpost 1148’s Emergency Operator, under lockdown. An unpredicted incident overloaded all channels and forced the brain to shutdown. The danger has passed, but the station requires human assistance to restart. Licensed techneer required. Kindly follow corridor lights and switch on the flashing buttons. The last button is on the station hull; personal forcefield is needed. I repeat. Welcome, techneer...’

  ‘What is this? Another tower?’ Odysson whispered.

  ‘Who would build a tower like this?’ Kambisha looked around at the metal panels, the lights; the complete strangeness of it all. Would it...? But how? She felt strange, both anxious and excited. She and Ky had been brought up on their parents’ stories and the great deeds of their grandparents, but now she had fallen into one herself, she wasn’t sure she liked it. Quickly she checked her mind; all her portal coordinates were still live, so she could get them out of here. A glance at Ody revealed he wasn’t exactly happy either. Her twin—no need to look; Ky wasn’t afraid of anything.

  ‘That’s a door,’ she muttered, turning her attention back to wherever they were. ‘I see no handle; how does it open?’

  Silently, a section of the wall slid away and showed a dimly lit corridor.

  ‘Looks grand,’ Kyrus said in a low voice. ‘Like a rich man’s mansion.’

  The walls, floor and ceiling were of beautiful dark red wooden panels, with inbuilt lamps and many brass fittings gleaming in what light there was. Colorful paintings showed unknown lands, and there was a faint yet pungent smell of old mana in the air.

  Kambisha stepped from the portal room and another lamp flickered on ahead. ‘Follow the lights,’ she said and moved forward. Behind them, the glow from the little room went out as other lamps ahead came alive.

  ‘Who are those voices?’ Odysson said as they walked. ‘Are we sure we shouldn’t just... You know, pop home?’

  ‘No!’ Kyrus said a little loud. ‘We must discover what’s going on.’

  ‘Those voices are mechanical,’ Kambisha said. ‘They are machines. They must be mindreading, to know I am an engineer mage.’ She nodded at Kyrus. ‘You’re right; we must learn more.’

  Odysson sighed. ‘All right. At least it’ll make my brother sit up and take notice.’

  After a few yards they halted at a brass panel with several red lights and one button flashing.

  ‘This must be one of those switches the second voice mentioned.’ Kambisha took a deep breath and pressed the button with her thumb. Nothing happened.

  ‘What’s wrong?’ Odysson said.

  ‘I’m not thinking,’ Kambisha said with a flash of irritation. ‘That voice in the temple must have picked my training from my mind.’

  ‘How?’ Kyrus said quickly. ‘Mindspeak?’

  His sister nodded grimly. ‘A telepathic machine is not impossible. But one that can evaluate my knowledge and apply it to a task is extraordinary. I never heard of such a thing, not even as an echo of a possibility. It is very much a human capability a machine isn’t able to imitate.’

  ‘That’s what they say.’ Kyrus frowned. ‘There wasn’t a living soul in that temple place who could have read us.’

  ‘No.’ Kambisha studied the still flashing button. ‘Licensed techneer required, that second voice said. Most high-level buttons and levers are protected behind glass, to insure no one touches them by accident.’

  ‘Oops, BOOM,’ Kyrus said.

  ‘Yeah. That’s why we engineers are taught to manipulate controls with our mind.’ She directed a mental command toward the button. It moved. All red lights turned to green and behind the panel something whirly-buzzed. She turned to the others. ‘That’s it!’

  ‘I hope whoever built this place uses the same color code as we do,’ Kyrus said.

  ‘It may be strange if it were,’ she said. ‘But it would be ruddy awkward if it weren’t.’

  Odysson didn’t say a thing, but the expression on his face told her the thought didn’t make him feel any better.

  Without further talk they went on until a discrete lever worked into the ceiling blinked red at them.

  ‘Cross your fingers, guys.’ With a delicate touch of her mind, Kambisha flipped the lever over. Immediately, a klaxon went off, lowing like the unmilked cows at their early-morning Kalbakar home.

  ‘Divine Lumentis!’ Odysson said, shocked.

  Kambisha kept her face impassive as she watched how one after another, a row of green dots sprang alive on the wall. With the last one, the far-off clamoring died.

  ‘Done.’ She was glad the others couldn’t see the mad racing of her blood through her veins. ‘I must’ve done the right thing, but...’ She fell silent, listening. ‘I just woke something up.’

  ‘Something friendly, I hope,’ Odysson said.

  ‘We’ll find out.’ Kambisha glanced at him. The guy must be feeling very much out of his depth, she thought. He normally isn’t this nervous. ‘It was just some machinery.’

  ‘Sorry.’ Odysson looked both angry and ashamed. ‘I have no control over what’s happening. I hate that; it makes me feel helpless.’

  ‘You’re not helpless; you are a mage,’ Kambisha said.

  ‘Mage trader, and more the second than the first,’ he said sourly. ‘Let’s go on.’

  They came to another door and at a touch of her mind it opened onto a dimly lit room. The walls were brass panels full of dials and gauges, most of them dead. To one side was a table-like control panel with a tall swivel chair, dominated by enormous windows. Overhead, there were several large mirrors that were dark and didn’t reflect.

  Odysson gasped at the outside view. ‘We’re in... space?’

  Kambisha nodded slowly. So it’s true... She walked to the control panel and stared out at the endless blackness, painted with many unblinking pinpoints. To the right, a broad band of light filled the window. ‘That’s Otha’s Highway?’

  ‘It must be,’ Kyrus said. ‘It’s not a way at all; they’re stars; millions of them.’

  Kambisha exhaled. ‘I wondered, given the star map. The gods don’t speak of them, but they have never denied there are other peoples beyond our world, so living in space had to be possible. But they didn’t tell us aliens built portals on our world.’

  ‘Well, we surely didn’t build them ourselves,’ Kyrus said. ‘Not even the Qoori got space technology.’

  A strident sound tore her mind away from the view. Right in front of the pilot’s chair, three more red buttons screamed for her attention, and she pressed them one by one. An overloud ding-dong almost made her jump.

  ‘All primary handlings completed,’ the tinny voice said. ‘Proceed to the airlock behind you for the out-of-station task. At the tail end of the station is an antenna. Buttons are in its base. Re-activation sequence three, six, four, two, five, one. Repeat...’

  ‘Out-of-station?’ Kyrus demanded. ‘Does that mean you have to go into space?’

  Kambisha felt a rare spasm of fear gripping her. ‘It sounds that way,’ she said, forci
ng the words to come out calm and adult.

  ‘Outer space,’ Odysson said. ‘I don’t want to be a spoilsport, but...’

  When the twins looked at him he colored hotly. ‘Forget I spoke. Do... do we all go?’

  ‘We do not,’ Kambisha said. ‘That would serve no purpose.’

  Kyrus clapped his shoulder. ‘Cheer up; it’s an adventure. Think of the chance! All of space to discover, and your mother doesn’t own a cubic fingerprint of it.’

  Odysson managed a smile. ‘It sure is an adventure. Of course I can always yell my family for help, but I’d rather not.’

  ‘Don’t even try it!’ Kambisha said. ‘You know the true hero’s motto: “Better be dead than embarrassed”.’

  This made him laugh. ‘You nailed it.’

  ‘I’ll do the next task,’ Kyrus said.

  Kambisha sighed. ‘Don’t be silly. You’re not an engineer; what would you do out there?’ She looked round the bridge. ‘Airlock?’

  As before, a door opened silently. She gave the others a firm smile, went inside and as the door clanged shut, she sagged. Was she only half as confident...

  ‘Don’t be an ass,’ she muttered and looked around in the small, all-brass closet. Behind a panel a pump started up, and she supposed it would remove the air from the room. Quickly she called up a mage shield that would protect her outside. She then expanded it as far as the airlock would hold, got her broom from its sheath and waited.

  Divine Bodrus, by the love you bear for us — please let the broom spell work in outer space!

  There was no answer. Allfather Bodrus had been a fixture in their lives. Their dad was his disciple, and in a way his son; she had always known their god was only a prayer away. Now there was nothing. She bit her lip, suddenly she felt vulnerable. Then, breathing easily to use as little air as possible, she waited until the outer door swung open.

  She ordered her broom out and sighed with relief as it obeyed. Then she rode along the station’s hull as easily as if she were riding over Kalbakar Keep. Thank you, dear god, and you, blessed genius who wrote the spell!

  From all sides, the universe stared at her in silent splendor, and she would have loved to stay and gape at the wonder of it all. But she had no time; her shield held only so much air, and once it was gone, she’d have to give up and port inside.

  The antenna was easily found and there were the buttons. Now the tricky part. Those buttons reacted on thought, and her shield blocked everything but sight. She had to use a trick.

  She closed her eyes and thought of the lock on the tower door. Using the same technique, she projected her mind through the dimensions of the Intermedium, circumventing her shield. Then, working through this smallest of shortcuts, she pressed the neatly labeled buttons. Three... Six... Four... Two... Five... One. The antenna swung, and she backed away just in time. As it directed its length at a spot in space, Kambisha took a deep breath. Her lungs protested at the foulness and she nearly blacked out. Holding her breath, she ported inside.

  Back on the bridge, she dissolved her shield. Clutching the commander’s swivel chair, she coughed and gulped the air into her lungs.

  Kyrus went up behind her and sent a short burst of energy into her body, to help her recover.

  ‘The station resumed operation,’ a well-modulated male voice cut through her daze. ‘Energy and contact have been restored; Realmfleet Outpost 1148 is alive again after... Recalculating the date.... Recalculating the date... Checking with NavBase... Out of contact. Checking with Moigar... Out of contact. This cannot be! According to my calculations this station has been on lockdown for a thousand years. All my systems are fully operational, yet I am out of contact with our civilization. As the malfunction is not on my side that can only mean...’

  ‘A thousand years! A lot can happen in that time.’ The audible shock in the station’s voice surprised Kambisha. ‘Perhaps your people changed technologies, and they simply forgot you?’

  ‘I am a very expensive station.’ The voice managed to sound hurt. ‘They should have sent a ship the moment I lost contact.’ There was silence. Behind the gleaming brass panels Kambisha heard whirring sounds and faint beeping, and now and then a light flashed green.

  ‘At least we understand each other. The language didn’t change,’ Odysson said. ‘I know the gods made the Vulgar tongue so all in the universe could understand each other, but that it works over a thousand years is pretty good.’

  ‘What’s a thousand years to a god?’ Kyrus said. ‘It’s their language, and they don’t change either, do they?’

  ‘Techneer,’ the station operator said. ‘How is the situation on your world? Wait... You arrived from Firstworld, Flor 3, restricted zone. I see I received confirmation of your coming from that planet’s headquarters.’

  ‘Firstworld?’ Odysson said quickly. ‘We never gave our world a name. First of what?’

  ‘I have no further information, sir,’ the operator said. ‘Your star chart designation is Flor 3, third planet of the star Flor. The name “Firstworld” is mentioned in the Realmfleet Directive declaring your solar system a restricted zone. Again, there is no reason given for the restriction. Perhaps the Realmfleet base on Flor 3’s moon knows more.’

  ‘Strange,’ Odysson said..

  ‘Very unusual,’ the operator agreed. ‘Unique, really. When you visited your planetary HQ, who did you meet?’

  ‘Nobody.’ Kambisha felt both her breathing and the beating of her heart return to normal. ‘There was this big empty building with a star chart and a portal, and nothing else. If that’s a headquarters...’

  ‘Empty?’ the operator said. ‘No staff? Then who sent you here?’

  Kambisha told of the tower in the Peaks and the transferal, and the voice in the temple that had ported them here.

  ‘Most remarkable,’ the operator said. ‘Though you are locals, the HQ AI brain deemed you of sufficiently advanced level for this task. You succeeded, of course; even so this is unheard of. Kindly turn your faces to the nearest view screen.’

  ‘View screen?’ Kambisha thought of those dark mirrors. As she turned, she saw the nearest one now showed their faces, strained, and covered in dust from the empty temple.

  ‘We’re not looking our best,’ Kyrus said coolly, acting not awed at all.

  ‘Aren’t you always like that?’ Kambisha said. ‘At least Mother says you’re habitually scruffy.’

  Kyrus pulled faces, and so did his image. ‘I don’t notice a bit of dirt,’ both said. ‘But there are limits.’

  ‘Strange,’ the operator muttered. ‘Visually, I would classify the gray male as a Mo, my people, who built this station. The two brown same-born—you are same-born, aren’t you?’

  ‘Twins, yes,’ Kambisha said. ‘Born at the same time.’

  ‘Then at least that observation fits. I cannot match you two with a known people. Let’s see your minds...’ He hummed and hawed and then whistled. ‘Top of the chart! A genius brain!’

  Kyrus snorted. ‘You obviously don’t mean me.’

  ‘No, no,’ the operator said hastily. ‘Both male minds are competent, well in the higher regions and would earn you a top techneer’s wages. But the female brain is exceptional. Your strength of mind makes you a chartbuster, ma’am. Who are you?’

  ‘I’m called Kambisha. My brother is Kyrus, and the mage is Odysson. Do you have a name, Operator?’

  ‘A name?’ The voice sounded surprised. ‘Well, you could call me Athelstan; Major Athelstan, formerly of the Realmfleet Engineers.’

  ‘Pleased to meet you,’ Kambisha said. ‘We have a lot to discuss, Athelstan. But before we can sit down and talk, we must know how we get back. I wonder if I could teleport all that distance...’

  ‘Teleporting knows no distance, ma’am,’ Athelstan said. ‘That is something our scientists discovered long ago. Our ships port all over the galaxy and they never ran into limits. Do you have the ability, ma’am? It is very rare among regular humans.’

  ‘I know,�
�� Kambisha said. ‘It runs in our family.’ She sought the familiar locations in her life; their home at Kalbakar Keep, Odysson’s parents in Seatome, and finally the Locked Tower. They all were live and looked within reach. ‘We should go back and close up a tower.’

  ‘Mountains’ Breath, yes,’ Kyrus said. ‘Else anyone can pop up inside this place.’

  ‘You will return, ma’am?’ Athelstan said carefully.

  ‘You bet we will,’ Kyrus said. ‘It’s getting interesting.’

  ‘Are you sure you can do it?’ Odysson said carefully.

  ‘Very sure,’ Kambisha said with more confidence than she felt. She reached for a mental image of the Locked Tower outside and teleported.

  The tower was as they had left it, cold and silent, and deserted.

  ‘You see?’ Kambisha said. ‘I brought you out smooth as a triple dose of ice cream. That must have been the farthest port ever, but I noticed no difference.’

  ‘Sorry I doubted you,’ Odysson said. ‘It’s one thing listening to our parents’ wild tales, and something else being flung head first into one. Now, the door.’ He walked into the tower and the others followed. ‘I’ll close it with a seal on the inside. That is, if you plan to port us back again.’

  ‘I will,’ Kambisha said. ‘It’s easy; I didn’t use any more energy to cross the galaxy than I would porting back home.’ She sat down on the edge of a heavy table. ‘I still don’t understand why not.’

  ‘Don’t ask me,’ Odysson said. ‘I can’t self-port.’ Then he turned to the closed door and waved a hand. A wriggle of green energy appeared on the wooden panel and with his fingers he used it to draw an intricate picture.

  ‘And I can’t make beautiful seals like yours,’ Kambisha said. ‘Ky, what the heck are you doing?’

  ‘Searching the tower,’ her brother said. ‘You never know they left something behind.’

  ‘They,’ Kambisha said. ‘Whoever they are.’

  ‘The same guys who built Athelstan’s outpost, I suppose. If that temple place in the Greenwall Jungle is supposed to be those guys’ local HQ, this building and its portal were connected.’ Kyrus said. ‘This tower and Athelstan’s outpost are both a thousand years old.’