Chapter 21

When the time came for Anka to travel to Ramman to testify on behalf of Baroness Fridiana Otu, Archer and Sol offered to accompany her, and Anka agreed.

The three of them boarded a transport and flew to the border checkpoint beside the portal to the Four Crowns.

The border guards gave Anka and her companions priority clearance because the purpose of her visit was connected to an ongoing trial. But Archer was astonished by the almost incomprehensible volume of traffic flowing in and out of the enormous portal.

Hundreds of vehicles passed through it every second, streaming in both directions along multiple lanes.

Their transport joined one of the priority lanes and quickly entered the portal.

Soon after they emerged in Ramman and headed toward the courthouse, their transport received a call from a representative of the Republic of the Four Crowns.

“Welcome to the Four Crowns, Archer, Anka, and Sol,” a voice said. “A visit from any one of you is a great honor for us. A visit from all three of you at once is a major event.

“We would be delighted to welcome you with a delegation of senior officials from the Four Crowns government. Would you be willing to meet with us?”

“No,” Anka said. “Thank you, but no.

“I came here to attend Baroness Otu’s trial. Archer and Sol are only here to keep me company.

“Today, we’re here as ordinary citizens of Ankarian.”

“Very well, Anka. I understand. If there is anything the Republic of the Four Crowns can do for you, please feel free to contact us at this number.

“Take care.”

The voice disconnected.

“Anka, did you ever consider asking the Four Crowns government to pardon the baroness?” Archer asked.

“Of course I did,” Anka replied. “But if I make some kind of backroom deal or use my political influence to get my friend released, that wouldn’t be fair.

“It would be wrong.

“I want Fridiana’s trial to be fair.”

“I understand,” Archer said.

They flew through a transformed Ramman.

The beautiful old city Archer remembered had become a forest of skyscrapers disappearing into the clouds.

Archer looked at the towers and thought about the people living inside them—people who spent only two hours a day outside their pods.

Soon, their transport landed on the roof of the courthouse.

Anka, Archer, and Sol entered the building, found the appropriate courtroom, and sat down on the spectators’ benches.

Witnesses were testifying on the baroness’s behalf.

The current witnesses were servants of House Otu.

“I registered through the interface,” Anka said. “I’m next to testify.”

When Duchess Maia Tulitskaya noticed Anka in the courtroom, she came over and sat beside her.

“Anka. You came after all,” the duchess said.

“Of course,” Anka replied.

“The verdict won’t go her way,” the duchess said. “The prosecution presented strong evidence. The only question now is what the sentence will be.

“Our testimony may help reduce it.”

The court dismissed the servant who had just testified, and the robotic judge addressed the courtroom.

“Am I correct in understanding that all three founders of Trinity are present in this courtroom?”

Anka stood.

“Yes, Your Honor. My name is Anka. I was a friend of Baroness Otu for seven years, and I’m here to testify on her behalf.

“My friends Archer and Sol are accompanying me.”

“Very well,” the judge said. “Please take the witness stand.”

Anka walked to the front of the courtroom and took her place on the stand.

“You may begin,” the judge said.

“Thank you, Your Honor,” Anka said. “I’m going to read a statement I personally prepared for this court.”

Anka paused.

Then she began reading the statement displayed through her neural interface.

“It is difficult for me to imagine anyone kinder, more compassionate, more caring, or more empathetic than Baroness Fridiana Otu.

“During the seven years of our friendship, I saw again and again that she possesses a genuinely kind heart and a beautiful soul.

“She often got me out of difficult situations, protected me from people who meant me harm, and served as the voice of reason when my own judgment failed me.

“I can say with confidence that my life became significantly better because of Fridiana.

“And I want you to know her as well as I do.

“So I would like to share several moments from our past that I believe will show you Fridiana at her best.”

Anka paused again, then continued reading her statement.

“Baroness Fridiana Otu and I were friends for seven years during the Restoration of the Four Crowns—”

“Wait,” the judge interrupted. “Am I correct in understanding that your testimony regarding Baroness Otu’s character is based on events from the distant past?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” Anka said. “It has been four hundred and twenty-three years since the time when the baroness and I were friends.”

“And you believe the defendant’s character has not changed at all over the course of those four centuries?” the judge asked.

“I visited Baroness Otu a month ago, and we spent several days together. She seemed to me to be the same person she was four hundred years ago,” Anka said.

“No,” the judge said. “The court will not admit your testimony.

“Several days of contact with the defendant are insufficient for you to provide a meaningful assessment of her character. And the seven years of friendship you describe took place more than four centuries ago.

“Your testimony therefore has no legal standing.

“The court thanks you for your honesty, Anka. You are dismissed.”

Anka stared at the judge in confusion.

She fought back tears. The realization that she could do nothing to help her friend was bitter beyond words.

“But, Your Honor,” Anka said, “she’s my friend. I want to help her.”

“You are dismissed,” the judge repeated.

Anka stepped down from the witness stand and began to cry.

She left the courtroom, and Archer and Sol followed her.

“Anka, I’m so sorry,” Archer said, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Then he embraced her, and she broke down in his arms.

They returned to their transport and flew back to Ankarian, returning to their apartments.

The following day, Anka received a notification informing her of the verdict.

Baroness Fridiana Otu had been found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.

The message arrived while Anka was talking with Archer and Sol about the possibility of colonizing other planets.

She read it.

Then she fell silent.

Her expression changed before their eyes.

It was as though the life had gone out of her.

Anka sank into melancholy.

For days, she lay in bed staring at the ceiling. She wanted nothing. Nothing interested her.

Sometimes she talked to herself, replaying what had happened in the courtroom or reliving old memories of Fridiana and of her friendship with Maia and Lida.

Archer and Sol visited her and tried to lift her spirits, but Anka simply couldn’t come to terms with the loss.

She asked them to leave her alone.

She needed time by herself.

After a week of living this way, Anka came to Archer.

“I want to run away to a new world,” she said.

“All right,” he replied. “We’ll create a portal.”

“A world that needs us,” Anka said.

They called Sol and told him they had decided to open a portal to a new world.

“On that subject,” Sol said, “I suggest we proceed more cautiously than we have in the past.

“For example, Archer, it would be wise to create a magical artifact capable of returning your brush to you from any distance. That way, you can never lose it again.”

“Yes,” Archer said. “I agree. We need that.”

“Also,” Sol continued, “I suggest that we enter the new world on vehicles rather than on foot.

“There are three flying motorcycles at the spaceport. They have a safe-flight mode, autopilot, and geolocation.”

“Perfectly reasonable,” Archer said.

“And one last thing,” Sol said. “I suggest we take more weapons than we actually need. The purpose of the additional equipment would be to restore the brush’s charge if we expend it.”

“That’s what we’ll do,” Archer said. “Anka, do you have any suggestions?”

“Yes,” Anka said. “I need a universal translator like the ones you and Sol have.”

“Right. Of course,” the Painter said. “Anything else?”

“It would be good to have some kind of magical teleportation stone so that, if anything goes wrong, each of us can easily teleport back home.”

“We’ll make those too,” Archer said.

They put on their space armor. Each of them strapped two automatic rifles across their back and holstered a pistol on each thigh.

Archer drew the brush from the mechanical compartment on his left thigh and thought for a moment.

Then he painted two broad, flexible white rings.

He slipped one ring around the brush and placed the other on the middle finger of his left hand.

He set the brush down on the kitchen table, walked about fifteen feet away, and pressed the white ring on his middle finger with his left thumb.

The brush instantly vanished from the table and appeared in the Painter’s hand.

Satisfied with the solution, he smiled.

Archer recharged the brush by erasing modern weapons from their arsenal, then used it to create a Scroll of Universal Translation for Anka and three Amulets of Return—magical stones, one for each of them.

If the wearer closed a hand around the stone, it would instantly return them to their apartments in city O.

They tested the amulets.

Each time one of them closed a hand around the stone, they were immediately teleported back to their apartment.

Once all their preparations were complete, the Painter asked:

“Sol, where in this building can we create the portal?”

“I think the spaceport would be the best place,” Sol said.

They went to the spaceport.

Anka and Archer practiced flying the motorcycles. Once both of them were comfortable with the controls, they landed back at the spaceport and prepared to open the portal.

“I’m creating a portal to a world that needs us,” the Painter said.

“Do it,” Anka said.

Sol nodded.