The smaller presence rattled off a reply. “Impossible. We all agreed that there were enough of us and then we rewrote ourselves so that there wouldn’t be more. We’d all know it if they changed it back—if it’s even doable—which I doubt.”
Though there was no air to breathe, I heard the larger presence sigh, “Nevertheless, there was a child.”
“Impossible—” the smaller presence began.
“I know. That’s why I didn’t tell anyone then. I knew everyone would get anxious and then angry. I think we need to think before we act. It seems like it should be connected to the futures we’ve seen, but we haven’t seen any future where there are children.”
Sothing made a clacking noise and the smaller presence said, “There were the first futures anyone saw, the ones where we expanded too far and devolved into different creatures—”
Interrupting, the larger presence said, “Which we prevented by changing ourselves.”
“Except for the Cosmic Ghosts.” The smaller one spat it out quickly as if expecting to be interrupted again.
“They took their own path, but one that still keeps them stable.”
The smaller one replied to that, but I missed it. I’d begun to consider the larger problem of how to get out of here again. anwhile, their discussion only beca louder. If I wanted to get away, taking advantage of their distraction seed like a good idea.
Having made that decision, I was left in the sa spot I’d been in before Big Thing and Small Thing showed up—not knowing where I was, how I’d gotten there, or how to contact anyone for help.
A gut feeling told that if I tried to “talk,” I’d attract both of their attention and maybe even more Artificers that I wasn’t currently sensing. I ruled out talking for the mont.
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Considering the place a little further, I rembered my speculation that it might be a different location in the sa “plane” that the Cosmic Ghosts used to communicate. It seed possible.
Related to that, I thought about the ansibles used in interstellar society. Much like this place, they enabled instantaneous communication. Knowing that Artificer technology threaded its way through Galactic tech, it wasn’t a huge leap to guess that there might be a way to do private ssages. The best idea I could co up with was to think at soone rather than talk.
It wasn’t a deep insight, but it was better than nothing. It left with a direction to go. With that decided, I only had to figure out who to call for help. It didn’t take long before I decided to think at Lee.
Trying to put myself into the sa ntal state I’d used while learning from the Cosmic Ghosts, I thought at Lee, “Help? I sohow managed to get myself into the Artificer version of the Information Superhighway and I can’t find an exit. I can’t find much of anything except for two guys that think I’m a child Artificer, one of whom happens to have been at that battlefield that we flew through on the way to K’Tepolu.”
Then I waited for a reply. When I didn’t get one, I started thinking, “SOS. Stuck in a place that isn’t in the actual universe I’m from. Hiding from two Destroy faction mbers. Send help!”
I stopped and waited, this ti checking in on Big Thing and Small Thing again. They appeared to be talking about the Cosmic Ghosts.
“… The Ghosts are basically our kind—”
“No. The list of their deviations is too long to count—”
A quiet voice spoke in my head, “Nick.”
I knew that voice. I’d last heard it in the Ghosts’ version of this place, but before that it had been on the planet Hideaway. “Kee?”
“Yes. Lee got your ssage, but between the two of us, we decided that I’d be much more likely to handle your problem without having to fight anybody. Well, I decided that. Lee wanted to co, but you know him. Before eting up with he ran into a forr friend of ours nad Halas who brought in Bakanan—a mber of the Destroy faction who we never liked. I think Lee might have touched off a supernova during a fight with them.”
She had a point. Even though Lee was a good teacher when it ca to fighting, I’d trust Kee more when it ca to sothing technical. Teaching how to use Artificer resources qualified—though I did have one other thing on my mind.
“One of the guys out there thought I was a child from your species. I know I appear that way, but why?”
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