The Thousand Emperors (47 page)

‘I regret the deception,’ said the Ambassador, a touch disingenuously.

‘Good old Coalition super-science, eh?’ Antonov said brightly.

‘I am sorry for being unable to meet with either of you before now,’ Sachs continued. ‘But I’ve been very busy these past few weeks, negotiating with the interim
government on Temur. They’re still fighting renegade Sandoz forces refusing to accept their authority, but they expect to overcome these sooner rather than later.’

‘So are you here, or there?’ asked Luc.

‘Both,’ Sachs responded.

Luc sighed. ‘None of this has been easy for me. It’s . . .’ he waved a hand.

‘Too much to take in, so soon?’ Antonov chuckled. ‘Entirely understandable. But allow me to thank you for saving my life.’

Luc shook his head. ‘I was too busy worrying over my own to worry about yours too much.’

‘Even so, you did what had to be done.’

‘I
destroyed a world
,’ said Luc.

‘In order to save the rest of the human race, yes,’ agreed Sachs.

‘Cheng had endless opportunities to change things for the better,’ said Antonov. ‘And few of the Council were willing to challenge his rule. They were seduced by the same
things that always seduce human beings; power, and privilege. A few amongst them will be missed, but not, I think, so many.’

‘But what about the threat of the Inimicals?’ asked Luc. ‘Nobody’s been able to tell me anything about that.’

‘I have news on that front,’ said Sachs. ‘Coalition forces have successfully wrested control of the Thorne transfer gate from the Sandoz forces guarding it. We will more than
likely seal it, hopefully forever.’

‘Destroy it, you mean.’

‘Better that, Mr Gabion, than risk the alternative.’

‘You still haven’t told me how you managed to build a whole new Antonov out of just that fragment I was carrying around in my head.’

‘You are not the only one the Ambassador tricked,’ Antonov explained. ‘He did the same to me on one of our last meetings, taking the opportunity to copy my mind-state to his
own lattice and then transmit it all the way to the Coalition. Then they combined my old memories with newer ones, some shared with you, following my placing a lattice inside your skull.’

‘Indeed,’ said the Ambassador. ‘Our lattice technology takes advantage of certain properties of the ultimately granular structure of reality at its most base level. Further,
when combined firstly with certain properties of superluminal communications, such as the ability to maintain constant contact between two points regardless of distance, and secondly with a memory
substrate that can . . .’

Luc groaned, unable to take it all in.

Antonov chuckled and clapped the Ambassador hard on the shoulder. ‘Yes, all very dry and dull. Much more fun to call Sachs a wizard, and say that he has stolen our spirits away to some
magical realm. But what he is trying to describe is the means by which we are able to witness Vanaheim’s destruction.’

‘All right,’ said Luc, ‘you’ve answered pretty much everything I wanted to know, except for one thing – why did you both want to meet me here, on this ship, so very
far from home?’

‘As Winchell pointed out, we do have a magnificent view of the Milky Way,’ said Sachs. ‘And besides, it feels appropriate to our purpose in bringing you here.’

‘Appropriate in what way?’

Antonov turned to the Ambassador, punching him lightly on the upper arm. ‘Go on, tell him, Horst.’

Sachs cleared his throat, regarding Antonov with a mixture of amusement and befuddlement. ‘There was, it turns out, some information of genuine value that Father Cheng recovered via the
Thorne gate,’ he explained, stepping closer to Luc. ‘Here.’

Sachs opened one hand, to reveal something very like a firefly, glowing with inner radiance, nestled on his palm.

‘What is it?’

‘Please,’ said Sachs. ‘Take it.’

Luc opened his hand, and the firefly hopped from Sach’s open hand and into Luc’s.

Luc closed his fingers, the light of the firefly fading away at the same moment that a torrent of information spilled into his conscious mind. A second later he regarded his two companions with
an expression of astonishment.

‘You discovered yet
another
race in the Milky Way?’ he gasped.

‘So it seems,’ Sachs agreed. ‘Naturally, we intend to be vastly more cautious in meeting with them than we were even throughout our initial encounters with the Inimicals. We
have, however, even in the brief period since making contact, experienced a level of communication with them that has proven to be far more than merely satisfying.’

‘And that’s why you’re here?’

‘That’s why
we’re
here, Luc,’ said Sachs. ‘All three of us.’

‘But – another race? Are you sure that’s wise? I mean, after everything that happened with the Inimicals?’

‘We have learned from our past mistakes,’ Sachs explained, ‘and have learned much about this new species already. Enough to be convinced that they offer no possible threat to
us. More than that, each has much to gain from the other.’

‘But . . . why bring
me
here?’

‘Our reward,’ said Antonov, ‘for services rendered.’

‘Few in history have had the opportunity to observe or indeed engage in a genuine first-contact scenario,’ added Sachs.

‘And that’s where you come in,’ said Antonov, his grin growing wide. ‘You
are
an information specialist, are you not?’

‘We have been given an opportunity to study this civilization’s history,’ said Sachs. ‘It’s an incredible opportunity, and one we hope to share with the citizens of
the Tian Di as our two societies become more fully reintegrated. But you have to tell me first whether you want to be involved.’

Luc gazed again at the sight of the Milky Way, a wreath of stars circling a stormy void.

‘Yes,’ he said.

Acknowledgements

This time, particular thanks go out to my agent, Dorothy Lumley, who was the first to believe there was potential in my ratty first-novel manuscript way back in the Nineties. I
should also take time to mention the sterling work done not only by beta reader
numero uno
, Jim Campbell, in helping get this manuscript into shape, but also by those hard-working people at
Tor who keep me from putting my foot in my mouth more often than might be the case otherwise. Thanks, guys.

Also by Gary Gibson

Angel Stations

Against Gravity

The Shoal Sequence

Stealing Light

Nova War

Empire of Light

Final Days

First published 2012 by Tor

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