The Dance of Time

Anastasius' huge shoulders moved in a shrug. 'Wasn't really that bad, General. For starters, we didn't have to protect you. Mindouos and Anatha were worse-not to mention the battle at the Pass.'

Valentinian grinned, in his savage way. 'Way worse,' he chimed in, reaching up and running fingers through his coarse black hair. For a moment, a long scar was visible-the scar Sanga had given him in their famous duel. 'We'll ask you to remember that, though, when it comes time to figure out our retirement bonus.'

Even with an emperor waiting, Belisarius would deal with this first.

'Just tell me what you want. If I can manage it, I will. The two of you long ago stopped being in the category of 'common soldiers.' '

The tall Rajput king standing a few feet away issued a snort. 'The truth, that!' He gave the two cataphracts a look that Belisarius couldn't quite interpret. Deep respect was there, obviously, but there was something else. Not derision, exactly, but amusement of some kind.

For the first time that day, Aide's voice had a trace of his usual good humor. I still don't understand how a man as smart as you can be such a dummy about some things.

What do you mean?

You didn't figure out what Agathius was doing, either, until your nose was rubbed in it. I figured it out right away. But I'll remind you that there's an emperor waiting, here-and the Malwa empire is still probably the most powerful empire in the world. Will be for sure, in a few years, once Damodara gets settled in. Best to stay on good terms with him.

That was good advice. Belisarius turned to face Damodara and bowed.

'You asked for me, Your Majesty. How may I be of service?'

A quick smile flashed across Damodara's face. 'Well, starting tomorrow, you can be of service by providing all of us with your good sense. We have a complicated peace settlement to make, you know. And we're already arguing over where to hold the conference. Fortunately-so far-it's been mostly an argument over the radio and telegraph.'

The Malwa emperor lifted his hand. 'But that's for tomorrow. Today, there's a different decision that faces us. Probably a more important one. And it's not a decision I feel anyone but you can make.'

Belisarius took a deep breath. 'You found Link. And its lair.'

'The first, yes. The second-' Damodara shrugged. ' 'Found' is hardly the word. I already knew where it was. All the members of the dynastic clan-boys, at least-are taken to it at least once. I was there several times.'

'Take me there,' Belisarius said. Commanded, rather.

Belisarius could make no sense at all of the machines in the chamber far below the palace. The problem wasn't so much that, in their gleaming blankness, they seemed more like magic artifacts than what he thought of as 'machines.' It was that he knew he would never understand what they did or how they worked.

I don't understand them either, really. I don't think even the Great Ones do, except in general terms. The new gods developed cybernetics far beyond any other branch of the human race. The Great Ones took a different direction. One that led to us crystals. And while we share some of the characteristics of computers, we are very different in other ways.

How could they bring all this here, through time, when all the Great Ones could do-and that, barely-was send you as a semi-conscious thing? Apologetically, he added: When you first arrived, I mean. You're hardly 'semi-conscious' now.

For one thing, the Great Ones aren't as ruthless. The energy expenditure required to send these machines back through time destroyed the new gods' own planet. Along with most of their people. Sub-species, it would be better to say. There were not many survivors.

Sensing the question before Belisarius could ask it, Aide added: Yes, they knew that would happen. The ones who managed it, at least. Most of their people didn't, the ones who were destroyed. Even the new gods have factions. The faction that did this-which is all that is left-are. .

Fanatics, Belisarius supplied. Fanaticism carried to the extremes you'd expect of 'supermen.' I understand.

But it was time, now, to ignore the machines. Damodara had not brought Belisarius here to deal with them. Not principally, at least.

He turned and studied the small female shackled to a chair. He couldn't see much of her, since there was a hood over her head.

Don't look, said Aide.

No. I must.

Three strides and he was there; a quick movement of the hand, and the hood was removed.

It was the face of a young girl, perhaps seven or eight years old. All but the eyes that stared up at him. Those belonged to no human being at all. Their brown color was irrelevant. The emptiness within overwhelmed it.

The girl was gagged, too.

Don't listen to it.

No, I must.

It took longer to remove the gag. The knot holding it in place was very tight. As he worked at the task, he could hear the indrawn breaths of the people behind him.

As ever, Aide's ability to enhance Belisarius' senses was handy. There were five other men in the room, and four of them were holding their breath. The fifth one was breathing the same way he always did.

Belisarius had known he would be. Had that man not been present, he might never have dared to do this. Belisarius was probably as great a general as Alexander the Great, but he never thought like Alexander. He was who he was because of the men he knew how to lead-and rely upon-not because he thought he was the son of Zeus.

The gag came off.

'LISTEN TO ME, BELISARIUS. THERE IS STILL TIME-'

Quickly, he replaced the gag. 'Shut up, monster. I just needed to hear that voice. To be sure.'

He stepped back and drew his spatha. Guide me, Aide.

Were any other girls found?

He passed the question along. Damodara answered: 'One. She's not more than two years old. I think she's the daughter of one of the provincial governors. I have her in a chamber upstairs. I haven't known what to do with her, either.'

Destroy the machines first. Without the machines, Link is trapped in this body sitting before you. The little girl upstairs will be. . probably not a very normal child. But a harmless one.

Again, Aide anticipated the next question:

These are just machines, Belisarius. No different, in the end, than a simple pottery wheel. In some ways, in fact, even more fragile. Anastasius and a big hammer will do fine.

That required a delay, to have a maul brought down. But, eventually, the maul arrived and Anastasius went to work.

With a vengeance, as the expression went-and no expression here. Not even in the battle in the tight confines of Great Lady Holi's cabin had Belisarius seen Anastasius swing a mace with such violence.

In three minutes, it was done, and Anastasius stepped back.

Throughout, Link had simply observed. There had been no expression at all in the girl's face. The eyes had neither narrowed nor widened. There had been no frown. No tightening of the jaws.

Nothing.

It is simply a calculator, Belisarius. Even now, when the probabilities within which it moves are a tiny fraction of one percent, it is still calculating. It will never stop calculating. It cannot. It. .

There came the crystalline equivalent of a deep sigh. It is really, really not human. Not even in the way we crystals are, or the Great Ones. It is just a machine itself. Programmed to do what it does-can only do-by monsters.

Yes, I understand. Belisarius stepped forward, within a pace of the girl bound to the chair. His grip on the spatha was tight, much tighter than he would have held it in an actual fight.