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“And just what—if you don’t mind me asking—kind of emergency do you envisage might arise?” Again Gunnar sounded insincere. This time Athena glanced away from Gunnar toward Ghost, who gave the slightest of shrugs. The two women understood one another. It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with the question; it was the manner in which he talked, as if interrogating them. The hint of suspicion in his voice was consistent with B.E.’s warning that Gunnar did not have the same outlook as Erik and the others who had come to help out their friends.

All the same, Athena answered the handsome soldier in the same steady, matter-of-fact tone as her previous response. “Our current theory is that the aliens are scouting the city in preparation for an attack of some sort. They seem to be interested primarily in our weapons and have taken several back with them through the portal. When they move around the city, they seem to linger at our higher-technology factories and our strategic facilities, such as the telecoms tower, the spaceport, and so on.”

“Interesting, and worrying,” said Harald. “You must have thought about simply getting hold of one of these men, to ask him what he was doing?”

Ghost nodded. “We’ve thought about it, but that would mean revealing that we know they are here. At the moment, observing them is pretty useful. The other thing is that I don’t think we would learn a lot by attempting to converse with these scouts. These creatures aren’t like living people. They don’t seem to need to eat or drink, or sleep, and they also don’t seem to function like a person. I mean, they are more like robots.”

“Look.” Athena turned to an adjacent desk. On the screen above it flashed a still of a cloaked figure whose face was made up of large gray polygons. “Bachelor number one.” She changed the view, to an identical figure. “Bachelor number two. And here’s three. Now, take your pick.”

“Odd, all right,” mused Anonemuss.

“Yeah, and watch this.”

The image jumped forward to show one of the humanoids outside of a toy shop. He stared through the window for a long time. Then, having looked slowly up and down the street, he pointed a finger at the glass.

“You can’t see it at this resolution, but he’s just extended a glass cutting blade from his finger,” Athena explained.

Now able to reach inside to the display, the humanoid took out a model pulse rifle that had an extra-large barrel.

“Water pistol.”

The scout held the toy up and rotated it efficiently, until, apparently satisfied with its studies, it then twisted and pulled at parts until the gun was dissembled. The parts were placed in the creature’s large backpack, before the humanoid raised its flat gray face and once more looked slowly around the street.

“What do you make of that?” asked Harald.

“I think it is searching for weapons, but wasn’t able to distinguish a toy from a real one.” As Athena answered, she rewound the film and showed it again. It really did seem like the scout couldn’t tell the difference.

“Which one of you is on communications?” Athena switched off the recording and looked at the group.

“Me,” answered Inny, raising her hand.

“Here.” Athena handed her a device with a small screen. “This was tracking the last alien before it went back through the portal; perhaps you’ll pick up the signal once you go through to the other side. It’s pretty crude, a relatively powerful but short-range radio. There was no point making it satellite based because obviously we don’t have any satellites over there. But it was working well enough here.”

“All right.” Having examined it for a moment, Inny took the device and put it in a small bag at her waist.

“Do you have gear for the rest of us?” asked B.E.

“We certainly do. Follow me.” Ghost took the group across the warehouse to where tall racks of metal shelving had been bolted to the wall. The shelves were laden with weapons and high-tech equipment.

“For the troopers, we have the Atanski Two-Six-Six. Then, in case pulse weapons don’t work beyond the portal, a Higgs sidearm that fires these.” Ghost held up a small white plastic sphere. “They explode on impact. And finally, for hand-to-hand combat, a tooth-bladed dagger.” She pulled one partly from its sheath. “You all get one of these. Be really careful with them. Don’t even try to test the edge with your finger; they are incredibly sharp.” Rather proud of this equipment, Ghost must have sounded too enthusiastic, for she prompted Erik to speak up in a hesitant voice.

“Ghost, you know we agreed to explore for you. But we aren’t going to fight. We don’t believe in harming anyone.”

At this there were a few nods from the rest of the human group.

“I understand you have a philosophy of non-violence in your society, and I respect that,” replied Ghost, and she was sincere in her admiration for how humans seemed to be able to live together without harming one another, “but what about non-sentient opposition? Suppose you have to fight to avoid being killed by a bunch of these robot-type things?”

“I don’t know. If we could be sure they were non-intelligent. What do you think, Inny?”

“I agree; we could fight, but only if we are certain they are NPCs.”

“NPCs?” Ghost was unfamiliar with the term.

“Non-Player Characters. We had them in Epic. Killed them a million times over, but it didn’t matter; they were just game-generated creatures with no consciousness,” B.E. explained for them all.

“We thought you were all NPCs when we first logged into Saga,” added Erik. “That’s why I killed that policeman, but it was a terrible mistake and it’s one that I’m not going to repeat.”

“I see.” Ghost shrugged. “But anyway, take the weapons along. You don’t have to use them. Same with this, for you, B.E.” She hefted a large rifle with a long telescopic sight from its resting place and handed it over. “The IVB Pulsar One-Eight-Five: the most accurate pulse rifle in Saga, with an effective range of two kilometers. And again, you should also take the sidearm and the knife.”

“Nice.” B.E. checked the sights, looking through them toward the far side of the warehouse. “Very nice.”

“For the medics, we have these packs. It’s pretty obvious how to use the stuff in there. And for the scout”—she looked around questioningly at Anonemuss, who nodded—“we suggest taking just the smaller weapons that can be concealed and a few neat devices for looking around corners, recording images, that kind of thing. They are all in that bag there. Finally, what about you, Erik? Want any guns or a kit?”

For a moment everyone’s attention was drawn to the incongruity of Cindella, a bright fantasy swashbuckler standing among these modern, darker figures.

“I’ll take one of those Higgs handguns, but I’m hoping that my magic items will work on the other side of the portal. If they do, and it comes to fighting, I’ll rely on them.”

It didn’t take long for everyone to gather up the gear that had been assigned to them. Then the team moved toward the exit of the warehouse. As they did so, a wave of applause from the people in the building—hesitant at first, but then surging up strongly—accompanied them. It was a good moment, and Ghost felt proud of the people of Saga; they were showing the humans just how much their assistance was appreciated.

The portal was only two blocks away from the warehouse. When they got within a hundred meters of it, the whole group paused. There it was again, shimmering and mysterious. A rectangle cut out of the air. It was inviting, too. For all the seriousness of the moment, Ghost found herself enjoying the situation. Here was her chance to move on to a new challenge. A whole new world, in fact. Perhaps a new species of people to befriend. Or destroy.

Chapter 7

A VOTE FOR WAR

Milan led the
way through empty streets, thoroughly enjoying himself. After Ghost had defeated the Dark Queen there had been some pretty awesome parties. And it was kind of cool being a celebrity. But in the last few months, Milan had felt, well, bored. Now this gate shone before him with an air of menace, true, but also with the promise of some serious action.

“Well, I guess I’m up.” Anonemuss stepped forward, looking for all the world like an ordinary office worker from Saga taking a casual stroll along the street. He walked over to the flickering gateway, a tall silhouette against the silver light.

“Just a moment there, please.” Gunnar turned and faced the group with his hand raised, which seemed to be as much of a surprise to the humans as it was to Milan. “I would like to draw attention to the risk we are taking. It is no small act of bravery on the part of those of us in Saga this morning. It is a potential sacrifice of a very few, not for the good of our own community, but for the sake of those electronic beings who inhabit this world. Since we are clipped up, we are potentially vulnerable to contamination feeding back into our brains from Saga or the mysterious new environment. To keep such risks to a minimum, I would remind everyone that you can and should pull out of the system as soon as you sense something is not right. This is not just a case of personal security; it is a case of keeping information about New Earth from those who might harm us.” Gunnar paused. “Thank you.”

“Thank
you
,” answered Anonemuss with more than a hint of sarcasm.

This seemed to infuriate Gunnar, and Milan shook his head, partly to show how unimpressed he was by the human team, but also in disbelief at the experience of hearing the tremulous and husky voice of an angry middle-aged man coming from the youthful figure of his avatar.

“Let me remind you of the primary concern of our government. Whatever happens through there, we must not, I repeat, NOT bring to the attention of electronic intelligences the existence of our colony! The slightest slipup might one day lead to armed satellites appearing at our world, controlled by EI. Look what happened on Earth, where they destroyed the human population: billions of us! Look what nearly happened to the people of New Earth at the hands of the Dark Queen. It might not be our generation who suffers; it might not be for a hundred or a thousand years. But we will be to blame if we make a mistake now, in the next few hours or days.”

No one spoke in response to this speech, and the street was silent but for the drone of a distant helicopter. Only the faintest rumble from the spaceport suggested that they were in a large, thriving city.

“All set, Erik?” Anonemuss pointedly ignored Gunnar, much to Milan’s amusement. The human scout seemed like a sound guy.

“Go ahead.”

It was impossible to judge Erik’s tone, but perhaps a hint of impatience was there in those two words. Milan looked at Ghost and pulled a face, as if to say the team of humans was messed up. And from the dark expression on her face, Ghost agreed with him. It was idiocy to have such divisions, or more than one leader, in a situation that might need sharp tactical decision making.

Shortly after he reached his hand up to the surface of the portal, Anonemuss looked back at them over his shoulder.

“I can put my fingers through and draw them back. I’m going in.”

Two steps forward and he was gone.

For a moment everyone concentrated on the portal, as if expecting Anonemuss to come straight back out.

“Rather him than me,” said Gunnar abruptly. “That does not appeal to me at all. It’s like putting your head in the water of a black lake or something. You know, the cold you would feel when it fills your ears? And what if it never stopped—the cold? What if something flows into you and you can never get rid of it again? What if it’s like the poison the Dark Queen used on us? Perhaps he can’t come back. Perhaps he can’t even unclip.” He paused for breath. “How long should we give him? Before we get out of here, that is?”

“Everyone please stay as you are. I’m being asked to unclip by Hope Library. I’ll be back soon.” Cindella abruptly stiffened and a moment later Erik was gone.

Athena, who along with Milan had come to watch the humans go through the portal, leaned in to whisper to him. “I bet that means Anonemuss can’t come back and he’s unclipped in order to talk to Erik.”

Milan gave her a slight nod. Erik’s team had agreed to all clip up from the same place, a library, rather than enter into Saga from their own homes. This way they were close to each other if they needed to talk person to person.

For a while, everyone waited in silence. With the sun on the other side of the blue glass building, it felt as though they were deep underwater. Impatient, Milan started to toss small stones toward the portal, each one getting a little closer to the gray surface. When he caught Ghost’s disapproving stare, Milan gave a shrug and brushed the remaining gravel from his hands.

“Perhaps I should go back to Hope Library to hear what is going on,” said Gunnar, the face of his avatar calm and serene, the tone of his voice anything but.

“Wait here.” B.E.’s assassin avatar shook its head.

“No, I’d better go.” And freezing in place for a moment, the handsome trooper disappeared.

“He’s going to be a problem, Ghost. Sorry.” B.E. was leaning on his pulse rifle.

“What’s going on?” she replied.

It was Erik’s girlfriend, Inny, who answered her. “When Erik made public your request for assistance, it started up a massive debate, all across the planet. There are a lot of people who think we humans shouldn’t have anything to do with electronic worlds; that intelligent life like you represents a danger to us.”

Harald stood up from where he had been sitting on the curb. “Yeah. The government was thinking of imposing a ban on clipping up to Saga. Erik and I had a plan, though: we were going to take portable sets and go camping somewhere isolated where we could come join you undisturbed, regardless of what was decided.”

“But in the end,” Inny continued, “a compromise was agreed on. We were allowed to come on this mission if we took Gunnar along. He’s one of the leaders of the anti-EI faction. His remit is to look out for any dangers this situation might pose to New Earth.”

“And he’s afraid of being in Saga, let alone whatever place exists beyond that portal,” observed Ghost.

“Right.” You could hear the discontent in B.E.’s voice. “The rest of us are here for you, though, and if Gunnar becomes too much of a problem, I’m simply going to shoot him.”

“B.E.! Don’t you dare!” cried Inny. Milan, however, chuckled aloud and held out his fist. B.E. shifted his rifle and the two of them bumped knuckles. The human team would be much better off without Gunnar and if, as he intended, Milan went with them, he might shoot Gunnar himself. That way, the decent humans could be rid of his unwanted presence, but they wouldn’t be blamed by their own parliament.

If anyone wondered why Milan was now smiling, no one asked.

All at once, Cindella appeared among them again.

“It’s a new world through there, all right,” said Erik. “According to Anonemuss, it’s sunny, about midafternoon. We come out to a grass-covered hill and a modern-looking road leading directly away from the portal. All around their side of the portal are army vehicles, tanks, and soldiers, of the bland gray sort. Hard to judge their era or level of technology. As soon as Anonemuss arrived they started to raise their weapons. He managed to lift his hands and say, ‘I come in peace,’ or something like that, before they all opened fire. Their weapons shoot tiny sharp missiles in large numbers, with a great deal of noise. Not that they are particularly accurate or powerful; he says the ground was torn up for about five meters all around him and that his avatar took a dozen hits before its life points were all gone.”

“Did you see what the people were like?” While Milan was impressed with the terse accuracy of the report, it meant trouble. Whoever was using the portal was ready for war with the people of Saga—and, more indirectly, with those of New Earth. The people beyond the gateway hadn’t made any effort to communicate but had opened fire on the first person to approach them.

“He doesn’t think they were people, but fairly crude NPCs like those scouts you recorded. Very simple constructions.”

“Any idea what we should try next?” asked Athena.

If Erik had thoughts on the subject, they were checked by the return of Gunnar’s striking blond avatar to Saga.

“This appears to be a very dangerous situation.” He spoke as if everyone had been waiting for his opinion. “There is no question about the hostility of the EI on the other side of the portal.”

It did not escape Milan’s notice that while Gunnar was speaking, B.E. had moved to gain a clear line of sight to Gunnar’s trooper. Milan couldn’t help being amused, although it must be a real downer for Ghost that the humans were so divided. This wasn’t what she had hoped for when she’d asked for help.

“So what are you saying, Gunnar?” asked B.E. menacingly. “Are you saying we should halt the mission?”

“I’m saying . . .”

“First things first,” interrupted Erik, Cindella looking directly at Ghost. “Can you send a vehicle to pick up Anonemuss from the newbie square—I mean the Grand Plaza—to bring his next avatar back to us?”

At this Ghost glanced to Athena, who nodded, tapped a device fixed to her ear, and turned away from them to talk into her coms unit.

“Well, what’s the plan?” B.E. was toying with the sight of his sniper’s rifle, still squared off as if addressing Gunnar.

“Anonemuss thought they were NPCs and that we should rush them right away in order to get in.” Cindella moved to stand in front of the portal, hands on sword hilts. “He reckons we have a good chance of taking them down.”

“They might be NPCs,” observed Gunnar, “but as I was about to say, presumably there is an intelligence behind these hostile troops. If we go in, guns blazing, we will be alienating ourselves irretrievably from that EI.”

Cindella walked over to the shimmering rectangle and stood there in contemplation; it seemed to Milan as though Erik were deliberately snubbing Gunnar. But his next words made it clear that Erik’s focus was less on the potential conflict between B.E and Gunnar than on the options available to them.

“I was thinking that I have a few drops of invisibility potion left. If that works, we could perhaps just slip past them.”

“Oh man, I love that stuff. It’s so awesome.” Remembering the time he had drunk from Cindella’s bottle, Milan spoke up with sudden animation. “There I was, thinking we were totally doomed, and the next minute we strolled out right under the guns of the police.” For a moment no one spoke, and sensing their confusion, Milan continued, “That’s what we did when we first met Cindella. We were in prison and the police brought her in to the cells. She got us all out of there with that potion.”

It was Erik’s dad, Harald, who now addressed one of the core principles that the humans lived by: that violence was never justified. “It’s not a bad idea, Erik. But I’d really like to know what we are dealing with before we go through. I mean, if we are attacked by conscious beings, we will just have to bear it and try to reason with them. But if it is NPCs that are being used against us, we can fight back if necessary.”

Milan didn’t much care for the pacifist philosophy of the humans of New Earth. Not when an unknown enemy stood poised to attack and had already demonstrated a complete lack of desire to enter into any kind of dialogue.

Having sat patiently on her airboard as it hovered above the ground, Ghost now stood up.

“As far as I’m concerned, the gray people now know that we’ve discovered the portal. So I don’t think there is anything left to gain by letting their scouts roam the city. It’s time we took them in.” She surveyed the response of the entire group, but it was the nods from Milan and Athena, that settled it. “Will you pass the order, please, Athena? Take them into custody.”

Once again Athena walked a few paces away and talked in a low voice, as if addressing the floor at her feet.

“So, who,” mused Inny aloud, “would open a portal to Saga, send in scouts, and set up a fighting force with orders to kill anyone coming through from Saga?”

Milan nodded. “Yep. That’s the question all right.”

“That and the related one: what do they want from us that they couldn’t get simply by asking?” Ghost was grim. She must have also sensed that war was coming to Saga. With a feeling of pride, Milan followed Ghost up to the gateway. Whatever lay in store, Ghost had the skills to deal with it and the people beyond the gateway were going to be sorry they ever came to Saga.

“Perhaps the defenses on the other side are precautionary?” Gunnar offered the point, but B.E. had a quick response for him.

“What, shoot to kill as soon as you see someone, even if they have their hands up and are saying they come in peace? I don’t think so. If that had been someone from Saga, they would be dead now, which is beyond precautionary; it’s callous and brutal.”

“You know what my feeling is?” Ghost raised her voice. “My feeling is that something out there is preparing to attack us, and when it comes, it will be terrible. What if there are a lot of these portals? What if they pour into our world all at once? We disbanded the army and a lot of the security forces after the Dark Queen was . . . died. We stopped producing weapons in the factories. You know what’s ironic about this? The people of Saga might have been better equipped to resist invasion if the Dark Queen were still in charge.”

Harald’s avatar gave a shrug. “But she wouldn’t have us on her side. And that has to be a major asset, having people who don’t stay dead.”

“Totally. We really appreciate you being here. But your belief in non-violence also limits your assistance,” observed Milan, “because it’s not like you can form an army and fight them for us.”

“Unless their troops are NPCs.” It seemed as though B.E. was always the first of the humans to see the opportunity for battle, and Milan gave him an approving smile.