Chapter 24

Archer, Anka, and Sol returned through the portal to Pogrimar Castle.

It was late evening.

In the now-empty throne room, King Akbert the Universal assembled his chief advisors and received the three Ankarians.

Sol played a holographic recording of his conversation with the Dreurg for the King.

Then, at Akbert’s request, he played it again.

The King listened carefully to every word the Dreurg had said.

“In a single day, you have uncovered more information about our enemies than we have in a decade,” the blind King said.

“This is the first known instance in history of a Dreurg speaking openly with an outsider.

“In the past, we sent numerous diplomatic missions to the Dreurgs, composed not of humans but of representatives of other races.

“We offered the black creatures various gifts and bargains, but none of it interested them in the slightest.

“Now, with the information you have obtained, we can see our enemy in an entirely new light.

“They are not mindless madmen after all.

“Yes, they are bloodthirsty and merciless, but they are driven by a rational motive.

“The prophecy.

“And one question frightens me: what if the prophecy is true?

“What if there really is a magician among humanity who will cause the destruction of all life in our world?”

The King fell into thought.

Then he turned to the advisors gathered before him.

“What do my advisors have to say?”

“Your Majesty,” the military advisor began, “our first priority must be stopping the Dreurg invasion by destroying their fleet as it approaches Arkonia.

“Nothing is more important than eliminating this existential threat.

“Once the Dreurg threat has been dealt with, we can devote the necessary attention to this prophecy.

“But while their imminent invasion hangs over us, we cannot afford to be distracted by the speculations of our enemy.”

“Thank you, Master Venbarg,” the King said. “And what say you, Master Kronveld?”

“Your Majesty,” the magical advisor said, “this news of a prophecy troubles me.

“If there truly is a person somewhere among the humans of Arkonia or Frinian capable of bringing an end to all life on Planet, then we are obligated to act immediately.

“Let Master Venbarg continue preparing to repel the Dreurg invasion at sea.

“In the meantime, allow us to reexamine the archives of magical history and perform the necessary rituals to search for this prophesied individual.

“Perhaps now that we know what we are looking for, we will find answers.”

“You’re asking me to withdraw mages from our logging efforts?” Akbert asked.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” said Kronveld, the magical advisor. “I believe several thousand mages will be enough to investigate the prophecy properly.”

“And what about the Dark Archive?” the King asked.

“I think it is too early to consider such radical measures,” the archmage replied.

“Master Rutkin, what do you think about withdrawing a thousand mages?” the King asked.

“That is for you to decide, Your Majesty,” said Rutkin, the economic advisor. “Withdrawing a thousand mages from the logging effort would slow our shipbuilding by perhaps twenty percent. Possibly more.

“But if I may say so, I believe we may be having the wrong conversation.

“From what we’ve been told, our new friends from Ankarian possess technology and manpower capable of solving the problem of the Dreurg invasion with ease.

“I don’t understand why we are still discussing how to stop the invasion by ourselves.”

“Archer, Anka, Sol—what do you say?” King Akbert asked.

“We are the founders of civilization in Ankarian, yes, but we don’t possess unlimited authority,” Archer said. “Formally, we are ordinary citizens of Trinity.

“We can raise the question of providing assistance to Arkonia, but the decision won’t be ours to make. It will be made by the political institutions of Ankarian.

“And as far as they’re concerned, Arkonia is still a complete unknown. There is no alliance with Arkonia. There aren’t even diplomatic relations.

“I think we need to begin there and only then ask for assistance.”

“Perhaps we don’t need large-scale assistance from Trinity at all,” Sol said. “We can act as private citizens.

“We could create a project to help Arkonia and use social media to attract the necessary support.

“The more citizens of Trinity who sign on to the project, the more public reputation points we’ll have at our disposal.

“With enough reputation points, we could use Trinity’s industrial resources to produce the military equipment necessary to repel the Dreurgs.”

“Military equipment?” Rutkin asked. “What do you mean?”

“War machines,” Sol replied. “Artillery. Ships. Rocket-propelled mines.

“We could spend reputation points to acquire enough military equipment to stop the Dreurgs.”

“Why haven’t you done that already?” Rutkin asked.

“Because we’ve only been in your world for a couple of days,” Anka replied. “We still don’t fully understand the situation here.

“And apparently, neither do you, considering that in a single day we managed to discover something you hadn’t been able to learn in a decade.”

“Then what do you intend to do?” the economic advisor asked.

“We intend to continue gathering information,” Archer said. “We wanted to ask you about the race the Dreurgs were unable to defeat.

“Perhaps it would be worthwhile to make contact with them.”

“Master Ubos,” the King said, addressing his cultural advisor, “would you kindly tell our new friends what we know about the Erians?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Master Ubos said.

“As far as we know, the continent of Dalektis is inhabited by only two races: the Dreurgs in the south and the Erians in the north.

“Both races differ greatly from the peoples and species found on the other three continents.

“And while the Dreurgs still bear some resemblance to humans, the Erians are an entirely different form of life.

“Imagine stone golems—but instead of a humanoid body, they have a single core at the center surrounded by hundreds of limbs.

“In its basic form, an Erian resembles a sphere. A sphere made up of all those limbs.

“But Erians are rarely encountered alone.

“More often, we find dozens or even hundreds of them joined together into a single composite creature.

“To an outside observer, these groups of Erians resemble a mass of living rock that has shattered into thousands of fragments and now moves through the world like a rolling, shapeless ball.

“We might have regarded them as a lower form of life—little more than primitive animals—if not for their art and their language.

“They communicate through rapid sequences of loud tapping, striking one stone limb against another.

“Many scholars of morphology and linguistics have attempted to understand their language, but unfortunately, Erian communication is so fast and compact that the human mind cannot distinguish its individual components quickly enough.

“And their art deserves particular attention.

“The Erians love carving engravings into flat rock faces.

“They engrave all manner of things: plants, trees, animals, insects, even other Erians.

“And because naturally flat rock faces are rare, the Erians spend a great deal of time grinding cliffs into broad, smooth surfaces upon which they can create entire pictures.

“As a result, the northern part of Dalektis is visually extraordinary.

“A traveler there might feel as though they had entered another world.

“Another reality.

“And that, in brief, is everything I can tell you about the Erians.”

“Do you think,” Sol asked, “that the Erians might know something about the Dreurgs?

“Something we don’t know yet?”

“Without question,” said Ubos, the cultural advisor. “A considerable number of their relief carvings depict Dreurgs and battles against them.

“The Erians and Dreurgs are believed to have shared the same lands as neighbors for thousands of years.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if the Erians know far more about the Dreurgs than we do.”

“Then we should make contact with the Erians and see whether we can decipher their language,” Sol suggested.

“I agree,” Archer said.

“Master Archer,” Rutkin, the economic advisor, said to the Painter, “before you spend any more time gathering information, I ask that you create a portal for us to Ankarian.

“Allow us to send official diplomatic missions to Trinity and the Four Crowns.

“Let those nations decide for themselves whether they wish to help us.”

Archer looked at King Akbert.

“I support Master Rutkin’s request,” the blind King said. “You yourself said that you are no more than ordinary citizens of your country.

“So why, I ask you, should three ordinary citizens decide when Arkonia is worthy of contact with Trinity?

“Consider this: our side immediately brought the three of you directly to the highest authority in Arkonia—me.

“You, in turn, have not extended us the same courtesy by putting us in contact with your own government.”

“They’re right,” Anka said. “The three of us can’t make decisions for Arkonia or Trinity.

“These countries deserve direct contact with one another.”

The Painter considered this.

“Yes. You’re right,” Archer said after a moment. “We’ll arrange a meeting for you with the governments of Trinity and the Four Crowns.”

Rutkin bowed in gratitude.

“Then we’ll begin with that,” Archer said. “We’ll create a portal to Trinity, in our capital.

“We’ll... Sol, is there room in our skyscraper for an Arkonian delegation?”

“Yes,” Sol said. “There are vacant floors beneath our apartments.”

“Good,” the Painter said. “We’ll provide accommodations for your diplomats there. Consider it your temporary embassy.

“And we’ll submit a petition to the Trinity authorities requesting the establishment of diplomatic relations with Arkonia. That should speed things up.”

“There will be no need for a petition,” Sol said. “I have connections within the Trinity government.

“You’ll receive an official audience upon arrival.”

“Excellent,” King Akbert said. “You have my deepest gratitude.

“We’ll prepare a delegation as quickly as possible.”

“Then, Your Majesty, please show us somewhere I can create a portal to Ankarian,” Archer said.

King Akbert the Universal ordered his servants to escort the trio to one of the castle’s inner courtyards, where there was enough room to create a portal to Ankarian.

The courtyard was enclosed by stone walls on three sides and by the castle itself on the fourth.

There, Archer took out the brush and painted a large stone arch—a portal to Ankarian.

The arch materialized, and the portal filled with brilliant white light.

Sol told the servants that the diplomatic delegation could pass through the portal and that an artificial person would meet them on the other side and show them to their residence in City O.

Archer, Anka, and Sol mounted their flying motorcycles and passed through the portal back into Trinity, emerging at the spaceport of their skyscraper.

“Sol, will you arrange everything for receiving the delegation in Trinity?” Archer asked.

“One moment,” Sol said.

He froze for several seconds.

Then he returned to the physical world.

“Done.”

“What’s done?” Archer asked.

An artificial person stepped out of one of the transporters in the skyscraper’s spaceport and took up position beside the portal.

“The Trinity authorities have been informed that a delegation from Arkonia will soon arrive through this portal,” Sol said. “I’ve also sent the governments of Trinity and the Four Crowns everything we know about Arkonia.”

“That quickly?” Archer asked in surprise.

“There are certain advantages to being an artificial person,” Sol said. “We’ve done everything that depends on us. Now it’s up to the authorities.

“They should reach a decision within anywhere from a few hours to a few days.”

“What do we do next?” Archer asked.

“It would be advisable to provide the diplomatic mission to Arkonia with several universal translators,” Sol said. “Otherwise, the entire process could take much longer.”

“Yes, you’re right,” Archer said.

He took out the brush and painted five scrolls—five universal translators.

Sol handed them to the artificial person who had stepped out of the transporter a minute earlier.

“The scrolls will be given to the diplomats,” Sol said.

“Anything else?” Archer asked.

“No. I suggest we stick to the plan,” Sol said. “We’ll travel to the continent of Dalektis and attempt to establish contact with the Erians.

“Master Ubos said they communicate through sound—sequences of tapping.”

“We could assemble a team of scientists who specialize in nonverbal languages,” Archer suggested.

“No,” Sol said. “That won’t be necessary.

“I’ll install research modules in our motorcycles—small supercomputers capable of analyzing the Erian language and proposing possible translations.

“Besides, I suspect our Scrolls of Universal Translation will be able to interpret even a language as unconventional as the tapping of the Erians’ stone limbs.”

Archer sighed.

“In a way, I’m sorry,” the Painter said. “I’m sorry that scientific problems are so easy to solve now.

“In the past, we assembled entire teams of scientists. We conducted tests, research, experiments.

“We recruited brilliant minds like Marv Galsius, the smartest man in Ramman.

“We painted the basic technological set for the metafactory with the brush, piece by piece.

“And now...

“Now I don’t even know.

“Everything is too easy.”

“We could invite Galsius,” Sol said. “Bring him along for the experience.

“I’m sure he would be delighted to witness the deciphering of the language of a species as unusual as the Erians.

“But, Archer, you should know that Marv Galsius has not been considered the smartest man in Ramman—or anywhere else—for a very long time.

“With a population of one and a half trillion people, Galsius isn’t even among the thousand most intelligent people in the Four Crowns.

“Today, his name appears most prominently in the names of certain traditional educational institutions and in Four Crowns history books.”

“I almost feel sorry for him,” Archer said.

“Let’s take him with us,” Anka suggested.

“At the very least, we’ll offer,” Archer said.

“Communication with the Four Crowns isn’t instantaneous,” Sol said. “Messages have to be carried back and forth through the portal on physical storage devices.

“So communicating with Marv would probably mean exchanging a series of video messages.”

“To hell with video messages,” Archer said. “Let’s go see him in person.”

“I support that idea,” Anka said.

“As you wish,” Sol said. “But keep in mind that Marv Galsius hasn’t left his living pod in several decades.

“I’m not sure he’ll appreciate our visit. I think he would prefer receiving a message in the virtual world.”

“How is that even possible?” Anka asked. “Why did he shut himself away in the virtual world?

“And doesn’t the Four Crowns have the same mandatory real-time quota system?”

“No,” Sol replied. “Their policies are more liberal when it comes to an individual’s choice between spending time in the real world and the virtual world.”

“Then we absolutely have to bring him back into the real world,” Anka said.

“No, Anka,” Sol said. “It isn’t for us to decide how another person spends their life.

“Marv Galsius is a free citizen of the Four Crowns, and he has the right to choose how he wants to live.

“All we can do is visit him.

“But don’t expect Galsius to be thrilled about us interfering in his life.”

Using the brush, the Painter altered the portal in the spaceport so that instead of transporting travelers to the forest and green meadows as it had before, it would now take them directly to Pogrimar Castle.

The trio then boarded a standard transporter and traveled to the Four Crowns.

When they passed through the portal and arrived in Ramman, a representative of the Four Crowns government contacted them once again.

Once again, he offered to arrange a ceremonial reception for the three distinguished guests and asked whether they required anything.

Anka replied that they were planning to surprise Marv Galsius.

The government representative gave them the scientist’s address, but warned that they would first have to speak with Galsius’s personal secretary, who decided who was permitted to see the scientist and who was not.

Their transporter parked on one of the spaceport balconies of the skyscraper where Galsius lived.

They found the correct apartment without difficulty and pressed the call button bearing Galsius’s name.

The portrait of a young man appeared on a small video screen.

It was Marv Galsius’s personal secretary.

“Good afternoon,” the man said. “You’ve reached Marv Galsius. I’m his personal secretary. How may I help you?”

“Hello,” Archer said. “We’ve come to visit Galsius.

“We’re old friends.”

Archer removed his helmet to reveal his face.

Anka and Sol followed his example.

“My scanner says that you are Archer, Anka, and Sol,” the secretary said. “The founders of Trinity. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s us,” Archer replied.

“I see. I see,” the secretary repeated. “Yes, according to Galsius’s profile, you’re on his priority contact list.”

The secretary paused for a moment.

“Listen, Galsius has been inside his living pod for a very long time, and he has no intention of coming out.

“I think it would be better if you met with him in the virtual world.”

“No, listen,” Anka said. “We didn’t come here for an ordinary visit.

“We came to invite him on an important assignment.

“An important scientific assignment,” she clarified. “I’m sure he’ll want to hear about it from us in person.”

The secretary remained silent for quite some time as he reviewed information on his screen.

“All right,” he finally said. “You’re on his priority contact list, so I’ll let you into the apartment.

“But keep in mind that Galsius probably won’t want to come out of his pod.”

“Thank you!” Anka said.

The apartment door opened.

When the three stepped inside, they discovered that these were not private apartments at all, but a standard multi-pod residence.

Marv Galsius had nothing more than a single living pod to himself.

They approached Galsius’s pod and pressed the call button.

The scientist’s face appeared on the screen.

“Archer?” Galsius asked, his voice filled with astonishment.

Anka and Sol moved closer to the communication screen.

“Archer, Anka, and Sol,” Marv Galsius said. “Am I hallucinating?

“Or is it really you?”

“Come out of the pod and find out,” Archer said with a smile.

“All right, then,” Galsius said thoughtfully.

The communication screen went dark.

But nothing happened.

The pod’s hatch remained closed.

The trio waited for nearly a minute before it finally opened, revealing an emaciated scientist with long hair and a long beard.

Galsius struggled to climb out of the pod.

He could barely stand, but there was a genuine smile on his face.

And when he realized that it really was Archer and his companions who had come to see him, the scientist burst into tears.

“Archer,” Galsius finally said. “How many years has it been since we last saw each other?”

“Four hundred and thirty,” Archer said.

“Has it really been that long?” the scientist asked.

“Four hundred and thirty years...

“Yes. I suppose I got a little carried away in my virtual worlds.

“It’s been a long time since I came out into the real world.”

Galsius placed a hand on Archer’s shoulder, more for support than as a gesture of friendship.

“Forgive me. I can barely stand.

“Let’s sit down,” the scientist suggested.

Archer carefully helped Galsius over to one of the couches in the common room.

Archer and Galsius sat down while Anka and Sol remained standing nearby.

Galsius wiped away his tears.

“What brings you here?” he asked.

“A scientific question,” the Painter said.

“What kind of question?” the scientist asked.

“We opened a portal to a new world,” Archer said. “And there’s a species there completely unlike humans—the Erians.

“They communicate through sequences of stone tapping against stone.

“We want to try to decipher their language and speak with them. We have some questions we need to ask.”

“Millions of lives are at stake,” Anka added.

“Ah. I see,” the scientist said with a smile, wiping away fresh tears.

“Yes...

“I’d almost forgotten what that feels like.”

“Will you come with us?” Archer asked.

Marv Galsius took a deep breath.

“Archer, my presence won’t be of any use to you,” the scientist said. “You could take any AI supercomputer with you, and it would replace a hundred people like me.”

“I understand,” Archer said. “But we were thinking of bringing you along more for the company.

“We thought you might find a project like this interesting. You could participate. Observe.”

“All of this is happening in the real world, I assume?” Galsius asked.

“Yes,” the Painter replied.

“Yes,” Galsius said. “As you can see, my body isn’t exactly suited to spending extended periods in the real world.

“For that reason, and many others, I’m afraid I’ll have to decline.”

“There are exosuits designed specifically for situations like yours,” Sol said. “A suit that would essentially become a second living pod for you.

“Even with severely atrophied muscles, you’d be able to move around the real world normally.”

“Yes, Marv, come on!” Anka joined in. “It won’t be the same adventure without you.”

Galsius smiled and fell silent for a moment.

“You probably already know that I’m no longer the smartest man in Ramman,” he said.

“To hell with all that!” Anka said. “We didn’t come here looking for the smartest man.

“We came here for our friend, Marv Galsius!

“So stop feeling sorry for yourself, Marv!

“Sol, get him that exosuit.

“Marv, come with us.”

Marv lowered his head and thought again.

“Order placed,” Sol said. “The exosuit will arrive in seven minutes.”

“Marv, tell us. How have you been?” Archer asked.

“To be honest, I haven’t,” Galsius said. “I retired from scientific research more than a hundred years ago.

“Everyone I knew in Ramman during the age of the monarchies is dead.

“Every single one of them.

“They died of old age.

“I’m the only one who still receives the rejuvenation serum. My body is young.

“But my soul has been ready to die for a very long time.”

Silence filled the room.

“I distract myself with games in virtual space,” the scientist continued. “Puzzles. Simulations. Things like that.

“I tell myself that I’m an honored historical figure who needs to be preserved.

“But whenever I stop distracting myself and really think about it, the truth becomes obvious.

“I no longer need anything from this world.

“And the world no longer needs me.”

“Marv,” Anka said.

She sat down beside him and placed a hand on his knee.

“Listen. Back home in Trinity, in Shod, we have our own apartments—four identical apartments.

“And there are only three of us.

“Come be our fourth.”

Galsius gave a weak laugh.

“And what would we do?” he asked. “Explore new worlds?”

“Not just that,” Anka said. “We have the magic brush.

“We can do things no one else can.

“And this time, when we created the portal to a new world, we specifically asked for a world that needed us.

“And that’s exactly where we ended up.

“You should hear the story of this place!

“You should have seen Sol talking to the Dreurgs!

“And now we’re going to make contact with an entirely different species—creatures made of masses of living stone that carve reliefs into cliffs.

“Can you imagine?”

“Yes,” Galsius said. “That does sound interesting.

“Perhaps an excursion into the real world really would do me some good.

“Maybe becoming your fourth is exactly what I need.”

“There!” Anka said. “Keep thinking like that.

“You’re needed.

“You matter.

“You’re interesting.

“And you have friends.”

“All right,” the scientist said with a sad smile.

Anka continued telling Marv Galsius about the world of Arkonia: the felled forests, the blind King and his adopted daughter, the mages flying on stone disks, the four continents—only two of which remained free—and the Dreurgs with their strange ritual of concentric circles.

Before long, two robots arrived carrying the exosuit.

It was a modified version of space armor in which some of the protective components had been replaced by mechanical servomotors that gave the wearer enhanced strength.

Before Galsius put it on, Anka insisted that the hygiene machines wash him, cut his hair, and shave his beard.

A very different man emerged from the bathroom.

He still had difficulty standing and walking, but without the long hair and beard, he at least looked like his old self again.

The trio helped Galsius into the exosuit and activated it.

After that, he could move with ease.

He walked back and forth across the room, did a few squats, and jumped several times.

A genuine smile appeared on his face.

“Well?” Anka asked with a smile. “Can you feel the spirit of adventure?”

“Yes,” Marv Galsius said.

“I can.”

They went downstairs and climbed into their four-seat transporter.

After returning to Ankarian, they showed Galsius his new apartment. A monochrome portrait of him had already appeared on the floor beside the entrance.

Sol ordered a fourth flying motorcycle for the scientist, spending some of his public reputation points on the purchase.

He also installed AI supercomputers in two of the motorcycles.

Marv Galsius was given weapons, and Archer painted an Amulet of Return and a universal translator for him.

Then, without delay, they prepared to leave for Arkonia.

In Pogrimar, beside the portal to Ankarian, they encountered the King’s adopted daughter, Vidya, and the ambassador Dola Ray.

“Guests! Guests!” Vidya exclaimed happily.

“Yes, Vidya,” Dola Ray said.

She pointed to each member of the group in turn, naming them.

“This is Archer, Anka, Sol, and someone fourth whom we haven’t met yet.”

“Hello, Archer, Anka, Sol, and Fourth!” the cheerful girl said, running up to the four travelers.

“Guess what?” Vidya asked. “Dola and I went through the portal, and we ended up on top of a tower so tall that it was above the clouds!”

“Yes, we live in that tower,” Anka replied with a delighted smile.

“And who’s your friend?” the girl asked, staring at Galsius.

“This is Marv,” Anka said. “He’s our fourth companion.

“He’s a scientist. One of the smartest people in the world.”

“Hello, Marv.”

The girl curtsied before the scientist.

“Greetings,” Galsius replied with a bow.

“We brought Marv with us to help study the Erian language,” Anka said.

“Oh! Cool! Can I come with you?” the girl asked.

“Vidya,” Dola Ray said, walking over to her, “don’t forget that Dalektis is a dangerous place, even in the company of four brave heroes.”

“Yeah...

“That’s too bad,” Vidya said.

“Maybe we’ll manage to establish contact with the Erians and reach a peaceful agreement with them,” Anka said. “Then perhaps their part of the continent will become safe for all of us.

“Maybe you’ll be able to visit someday.

“Would you like to meet the Erians?”

“Yes!” the girl said with a smile.

“Good!” Anka said happily. “Keep your fingers crossed for us, and we’ll make it happen!”

“Dola Ray. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Dola Ray approached Marv Galsius, looking as extraordinarily beautiful as ever.

“Marv Galsius,” the scientist introduced himself, slightly mesmerized by her beauty. “The pleasure is mine.”

“Be careful,” Dola Ray said. “The northern part of Dalektis may belong to the Erians, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe.

“There could be Dreurgs there as well.”

“Yes, of course,” Galsius said. “We’ll be careful.

“We have to make sure we come back and see you again.”

“Dola,” the Painter said, turning to the ambassador, “I want to create a portal to northern Dalektis.

“Where can I put it so that it won’t be in anyone’s way and no random passerby can accidentally walk through it?”

“There’s a large mountain range northwest of the city. You can’t miss it,” Dola Ray said. “The mountains are uninhabited.

“You can safely create the portal there.”

“Understood. Thank you,” Archer said.

“Let’s go!” he told his three companions.

The four mounted their flying motorcycles and headed northwest.

They found the mountains Dola Ray had described without difficulty and confirmed that the area was indeed deserted.

Using the brush, the Painter created a medium-sized stone arch containing a portal to northern Dalektis.

They flew their motorcycles through it and emerged into the evening air of Dalektis.

Northern Dalektis was a landscape of sharp black cliffs, glaciers, and rocky expanses. Everywhere were broad, flat surfaces created by the Erians, covered in beautiful relief carvings.

The four climbed high into the air to survey the landscape.

Almost immediately, they spotted a group of Erians joined together into a single mass.

The Erians were moving their entire collective body in circles, grinding a smooth, even circle into an existing rock relief.

“Incredible,” Galsius said. “What an extraordinary creature.”

“Let’s get closer,” the Painter said.

“Wait,” Sol said.

The Painter stopped, and the others stopped behind him.

“Sol?” Archer asked.

“I suggest that I make first contact,” Sol said. “We don’t know what to expect from the Erians.

“If anything happens, my body is considerably less fragile than yours.”

“I agree,” Galsius said.

“All right,” Archer said. “Go ahead, Sol.”

“I’ll transmit everything as it happens,” Sol said.

He turned his motorcycle toward the mass of Erians and flew toward them.

Sol flew to within about thirty feet of the Erians and stopped his motorcycle in midair.

The Erians immediately stopped moving and went still.

Then the mass spoke.

“Who are you?” the Erians asked, tapping one stone limb against another.

“I understand them,” Sol reported over the radio. “I can hear stone tapping against stone, but in my mind, I understand what they’re saying.”

“Yes, Sol. So can we,” Archer said.

“I’m activating the research module in my motorcycle,” Sol said, “and connecting my interface directly to it.

“That way, the module can learn their language as they speak.”

“Understood, Sol,” Archer said. “Go ahead.”

“I’m an artificial person,” Sol told the Erians.

Suddenly, the entire Erian mass began to vibrate.

It trembled as waves of vibration traveled through the great cluster of stone limbs.

Then the mass became still.

“We understand you,” it said.

“And I understand you,” Sol replied.

The mass of Erians began vibrating again, waves of movement rippling across its entire form.

Before long, the Erians became still once more and continued the conversation.

“Let us introduce ourselves.

“Our names are Stone Os, Stone Ra, Stone Po, Stone Ni...”

The Erians continued listing the names of all forty-three stones.

It took nearly three minutes.

“What is your name?” they finally asked.

“Sol,” he replied.

“Sol,” the stones repeated.

“How do we understand each other?” the Erians asked.

“Magic,” Sol said.

“Magic,” the stones repeated.

“We like your magic.

“Sol, where did you come from?”

“I came from another world called Ankarian,” Sol said. “My world is home to one trillion humans and one trillion artificial people.

“I am one of the artificial people.”

“One trillion is many,” the Erians said.

“Very many.

“There are few of us Stonewalkers.

“Fewer than a thousand.”

“You call yourselves Stonewalkers?” Sol asked.

“Yes,” the Stonewalker replied.

“I and three humans—my friends—came here to speak with the Stonewalkers about an enemy we call the Dreurgs,” Sol said.

“Do you understand who I mean?”

“We have only one enemy,” the Erians said. “The creatures with black blood.”

“Yes,” Sol said. “Those are the Dreurgs.”

“Dreurgs,” the Stonewalker repeated.

“They killed many Stonewalkers.

“And the Stonewalkers killed many Dreurgs.

“But then the Dreurgs stopped. They retreated and went away.

“Now the Dreurgs appear only rarely, and they leave the Stonewalkers alone.”

“The Dreurgs went south, to the other continents of this world,” Sol said. “They intend to kill millions of humans.

“We want to stop them.”

“Stop them?” the mass of stone asked.

“Or kill them?”

“Stop them,” Sol said. “We came to learn everything the Stonewalkers know about the Dreurgs.

“Help us understand them.

“So that we can stop them.”

“There are two trillion of you,” the Stonewalker said. “You could simply kill the Dreurgs.”

“We don’t want to spill blood,” Sol said.

“You are strange,” the Stonewalker said.

“The Dreurgs are strange too.”

“What makes them strange?” Sol asked.

“They came from another world,” the Stonewalker said.

“But they hear our world better than even we do.”

“Explain,” Sol said.

“They hear the language of nature,” the Erians said. “The trees. The grass. The animals. Perhaps even humans.

“They would not hear you, Sol, because you are not part of nature.”

“And what does nature tell them?” Sol asked.

“Nature says: I am in danger. Protect me,” the Stonewalker replied.

“Why did the black-blooded creatures go to war with the Stonewalkers?

“Because the Stonewalkers erased all nature in their path.

“Now there is no grass. No trees.

“Only bare rock and our reliefs.

“The Stonewalkers like such a world.

“The Dreurgs do not.

“The Dreurgs want to protect nature.”

“Do you know anything about the Dreurg prophecy?” Sol asked.

“What is a prophecy?” the Stonewalker asked.

“A prediction,” Sol said. “The Dreurgs have a prophet who can predict what will happen later—in the future.

“And their prophet says that a human mage will cause the death of every living thing in this world.”

The Erians went still.

For a while, they said nothing.

“Their movements are part of their language too,” Galsius said. “Pay attention to the way they move—and to the fact that they’ve gone completely still.”

Before long, the Stonewalker began moving again.

“What is a mage?” it asked.

“For example, someone capable of performing the magic that allows you to understand me,” Sol said.

“A special human,” the Erians said.

“A special human will cause the death of all nature in this world?”

“Yes,” Sol said. “That is what the Dreurg prophet says.”

“The Dreurgs are mistaken,” the Stonewalker said.

“Their prophecy is wrong?” Sol asked.

“No,” the Erians said.

“They are mistaken in believing that this prophecy—this message—was given to them by nature itself.

“We hear the voice of life too.

“But we know that it comes not from nature, but from somewhere much deeper.

“From the earth itself.

“The spirit of the earth says that soon, everything will change.

“And one being will be the cause of it all.

“You call this being a human mage.

“We call it the Last Catalyst.”

“Can you tell us how to find the Last Catalyst?” Sol asked.

“Learn to hear the spirit of the earth better than we do.

“And better than the Dreurgs do,” the Erians said.

“I think I understand,” Sol said.

“Sol?” Archer asked over the radio.

“Archer, I think I know our next step,” Sol said.