Chapter 7

Cornelos

Inside the base, eyes pure pupil, Cornelos moves without reason and smokes without a care. The night before he sent two men to retrieve the data, but they returned covered in ash, yelling something about the desert on fire. He saw it later himself, how past the Pian river, at the end of the district and the new market, the wild desert still unconquered had become hell on earth.

‘What is she thinking?’, he says to himself, all angry with a face turned red. ‘She must be starving right now, that is, if she didn’t burn herself to death’.

He goes outside. The sky is getting darker as the day leaves, but he can’t call it a day still. Far away over his head, the Indirian Station watches, fixed by the tall helicoidal hose they imbued with magic to transport the ether across space. The plan is to stamp it onto the surface and connect the other side of the planet with another one, turning the galaxy into a neural pathway of ether.

The aircraft is cooling on the landing station. The deck opens, and someone gets down.

Seven stripes, he thinks. This is bad.

Surrounded by his guards, a big man in a uniform walks down to the platform. He looks like a big ape stuffed in military robes.

Cornelos recognizes him immediately.

‘Major Renegat’, he welcomes him. ‘Its such a pleasure to have you here.’

The man looks him down.

‘I heard you lost some data. They sent me to oversee the retrieval. Inform me while we eat something.’

‘Can we go inside?’, Cornelo points at the ship.

‘No way. This horrid tin can is so hot I almost cooked myself.’ Major Renegat points at two of his guards. ‘You stay here.’

They have some catering in an improvised dinner table on his lab. They are military engineers, far from the aristocratic delights Renegat has surrendered to the past few years.

‘This is what you get’, says Renegat, talking about his life as a nobleman, ‘for serving the Indirian Monarchy. You must be dying to get over with this canal section and get your promotion.’

Cornelos nods silent.

‘Not if I do not retrieve this data’.

‘I’ll give you two more days. You where advanced on schedule so almost no one noticed you halted like this. But you need to get it now. What will you need?’

‘A scan-wing would be nice. We could do a thermal-track on the desert and find this girl in no time. I would much prefer if she was kept alive. She is just a girl and could prove useful.’

Renegat laughs.

‘You certainly don’t know anything about Indirian Judges. They are the most powerful and ruthless beings below the Kings.’

‘Then what is expected for her?’

‘For high treason and rebellion? You know what.’

‘The Ether?’

‘Unless they want to make an example out of her. So many millions of rebels must have ended in the Ether that no one believes them to exist. But I think I would prefer the Ether myself before being an example.’

‘Why is that?’

‘Death by scaphism. You know it. You’ve seen it yourself. Nasty business.’

Cornelos’ face turns white.

‘Yeah, right. Poor girl… I would prefer the Ether myself.’

‘Then I suggest you find her soon-

A giant blast of light behind the windows.

They run outside.

They can’t believe it.

‘Is this…’

The aircraft is melting. The metal frame turns liquid.

They circle around it until they realize it is now a flat surface in the ground, preserving the silhouette of the vehicle.

‘What on earth-

‘Magic’ Cornelos looks around. ‘Stand back. This is her doing.’

‘That little girl you talked about?’

‘Someone must have coached her. She couldn’t do anything like this, before. Maybe she was able to do it, but she didn’t know how.’

‘It looks like a plain in a rhizomatic space.’

‘This is what she wants to achieve.’ Cornelos nods ‘but if we are not careful enough we can get sucked into it. Someone must have taught her that she can move certain layers of reality. But something is wrong. If she wanted to steal or damage the aircraft, this wouldn’t work. What is she up to?’

‘Maybe arson? We need to catch her right now, anyway. Where is she?’

Only one possible way. When using reality spells, the unanimated space around the wizard is affected. She envelops her perceived surroundings with her consciousness. How come is she able to put this off…?

‘Inside’ Cornelos cries. ‘She is inside!’