Grandpa wore the late 50s and 60s version of the Rocket suit. Giles Hardwick wore the final version of his costume—red with a lightning bolt under an arch decorated with hieroglyphics. He’d always been fascinated with Egypt.
Captain Commando’s blue costume with a US flag on it echoed Cassie’s, or more accurately, vice versa. Grandma wore a white jumpsuit, which seemed closer to skintight than I imagined for that era. Night Wolf’s black-accented grey costume with wolf head symbol had been the model for both Haley and Travis’ designs. Continue reading The Core: Part 3→
She shrugged. “My apologies. I have to follow the rules set out for me by the system I exist within. I think you’ll understand what that means and how to work within it.”
“I get it,” I said, and I did. “You’re a thinking being, but you’re also a program running on a kind of hardware, not so deeply integrated into it that you can reconfigure every piece of it at will. So… What can you tell me? What resources do I have access to by default?”
“You have access to this construct’s life support systems and certain informational resources. There are triggers set up that give you limited control of the device.”
The fall felt both endless and instantaneous. Darkness surrounded me, and it went on forever, except for the glowing opening to the room I’d left.
As the opening and the portal on the other side grew larger, I saw myself in the Rocket suit flying out of nowhere toward the portal. We were close enough to collide as I fell into the space, and I wondered if I’d screw all of it up.
What if we both went through to wherever Govan sent me? Some new alternate universe, or maybe a time loop? Continue reading The Core: Part 1→
I don’t know how long I talked. He’d ask questions on human culture and sometimes small details about Lee or Kee’s actions or statements. When I did remember them, he’d nod slowly as if it meant something to him.
I couldn’t be sure that was a good thing.
He’d found the story of The Thing That Eats particularly interesting, both because I’d been able to tap into Lee’s power when creating a sword and because of Amy’s spear. She’d stabbed the Thing and seemed to be at least as responsible for killing it as I was.
He’d been at least as interested in the fact that the Bloodspear could absorb me, asking a series of questions that amounted to, “But how much of you do you think it could absorb? Do you think it could reach into other universes?”
I held up my hands, “I have no idea. I’m not in any contact with other versions of myself except when I meet them.” Continue reading The Portal: Part 10→
“Now,” Govan continued, “how are Lee and Kee? Those aren’t their real names, by the way, but I know who you mean. Is Kee still pushing the younger races to develop while Lee does… whatever he does? I haven’t seen him in quite some time.”
Here’s a funny thing: Stapledon had a track meant for street-level heroes and for those heroes whose strengths lent themselves to espionage. I’d taken exactly one class in that track—the required one: Managing Dual Identities.
From what Haley said, higher-level classes focused more on skill development in reading people, verbal misdirection, and extracting information from conversations.
I could hear nothing. I could see nothing. Even the Artificer connection, the in-between space Artificers and Ghosts used to communicate across interstellar distances, was quiet.
I sensed only motion, and that it was downward.
It may have lasted only moments, but it felt longer. I checked my suit’s CDPS (Cross-Dimensional Positioning System) stats and found nothing. Zeros showed in every box where it didn’t instead say, “Error!” Continue reading The Portal: Part 8→
Melisende’s expression changed, her smile widening. “Nick, I didn’t expect to see this version of you ever again. I know you told me I would, but with alternate universes, it’s not that simple.”
It was still Melisende’s voice, but the accent had changed. Amy’s held a hint of the Florida woman whose blood she’d used to learn English.
Darkness surrounded me, and I felt myself drop. I knew the feeling from my lessons with Kee and from just a second ago—I was changing universes again.
Except that I then received another communication, this one from Hal.
[That’s not where I put you. You’re slipping through the multiverse. Please stop.]
A rainbow glow surrounded me again, yanking me somewhere new as the connection with maybe-Govan ended with him saying, “What is this?” Continue reading The Portal: Part 6→
The presence of Artificers pervaded everything. Though the Ghosts might have confused my senses, I doubted it. The Ghosts remained unnoticed unless they wanted to be. Artificers, except for Lee, Kee, and other members of the Live faction, had no reason to learn stealth.
Too powerful to be threatened by most beings, they emanated power without hesitation.
Okay. I knew when I was and where I was. Next problem? Getting to Mars or Earth and getting back home. I might make it to Mars, but given that something had smashed a space station and burned enough of the planet that I could see the damage from space, Mars might not be the best place to be.
Artificers or one of their creatures would be able to do that.
Lee had once said that he hoped to have 10,000 years with Earth before the Artificers realized he was here. This was about 8000, give or take a few centuries.
