Barrington Bayley SF Gateway Omnibus: The Soul of the Robot, The Knights of the Limits, The Fall of Chronopolis

Minister Ortok Cray glanced at Aton as if expecting to be introduced to him also. ‘I can assure you that there is no need to threaten us with your weapons,’ he told Haight. ‘It is not our intention to trick you or even to capture your ship. It is our wish that, after making the necessary repairs for which we shall offer every assistance, you should return to Chronopolis and convey our sentiments to your master.’

The Hegemonic spoke with a drawling accent. Haight, however, used to the variegated dialects and languages of the empire, scarcely noticed its strangeness.

‘Sentiments?’

Minister Wirith Freeling made an expansive gesture. ‘I don’t know if you are aware of how difficult communication between our two civilisations is made by religious differences. To a large extent our cultures are ignorant of each other – by far the greater ignorance, however, is on your side.’

Commander Haight was proud of, rather than insulted by, this ignorance. ‘It is no part of our habits to pander to heathens.’

Ortok Cray sighed. ‘But in the present circumstances, surely some intercourse would be advisable? As it is, the empire appears not even to know the elementary facts of the Hegemony’s history.’

Commander Haight’s opinion was that, once the Invincible Armada was launched, any conversation between the two would be extremely one-sided. It was true, of course, that no real study of Hegemonic culture had been undertaken, and such cultural contact as there had been had consisted of proselytising Church missionaries. He could not see that it was in the least important. But he laid down his gun.

‘Come to the point.’

‘We wish to end the war and come to an understanding based on co-existence.’

‘Hah! You fear the armada.’

‘Indeed. But do you not also have much to fear?’ The mildness disappeared from Ortok Cray’s face and Haight found himself confronting two men of steely determination.

‘We have shown that we are ready to risk all to defend ourselves,’ the Hegemonic leader continued. ‘You know what the time-distorter can do. It is a weapon so terrible that, if it is employed without restraint, then the user stands in as much danger as the victim. That, no doubt, is why you have not made use of it against us. But our situation is so desperate that we will stop at nothing.’

Aton spoke up from the other side of the room. ‘You had expected us to use the distorter?’

Haight glared at him in displeasure for the interruption. Ortok Cray turned to regard the young captain.

‘It is, after all, an invention of the Chronotic Empire,’ he said. ‘Our acquisition of it is quite recent.’

‘And just how did you acquire the distorter?’ Haight grated. He and Anamander exchanged puzzled glances.

‘That, naturally, I cannot tell you. The important thing is that we have it and will continue to use it. Furthermore, so far we have used it only at low power and with small aperture. If driven to it we will pull out all the stops. In no circumstances will we surrender. But we would prefer to live in peace. Surely you can see that this struggle is going to be a calamity for us both?’

‘And you, of course, try to place the blame for the conflict squarely on us. That, I’m afraid, won’t do. Long before the armada was thought of the empire was suffering from your armed incursions, your attempts to interfere with imperial chron integrity –’

‘And we were suffering from the impudence of your missionaries,’ retorted Wirith Freeling hotly. ‘You evidently do not appreciate what your religious aggressiveness means to us. And apart from that, there was always your patent desire to see us as a part of your territories.’

Haight shrugged gloomily. ‘Your intransigent attitude towards the true faith renders it a duty to bring you the light of the Church.’

‘We have our own religion, the religion of the Risen Christos! We want none of your – of your –’ Freeling was sputtering with indignant rage.

Ortok Cray raised a hand. ‘Patience,’ he murmured to his colleague. ‘This is not the time for quarrels and recriminations. This is the time for explanation.’

He turned to face Haight once more. ‘You complain of our earlier attempts to interfere with Chronotic history. But I wonder if you realise the reason behind those attempts? Our endeavours to make our case plain to your government at Chronopolis have always been thwarted, since your Church refuses to accept our representatives there.’

‘Well, now I am your prisoner and you can say what you like.’

‘Precisely. The point at issue concerns the Century of Waste. Our cultures are separated by a period of a hundred years when the Earth is uninhabitable. The origin of this is presumably known to you.’

‘Some war in the hinterland of Node Seven,’ said Haight reflectively. ‘Node Seven is the empire’s frontier. We have not yet consolidated ourselves in the stretch of time succeeding it. Indeed, it may be left for that to be accomplished by the natural advance of the node.’