The Thousand Emperors

‘You said,’ Jacob commented, ‘they didn’t appear to be human.’

‘They came to us in disguise as animals.’

Jacob smiled to himself. ‘Animals?’

‘You think I’m naive and foolish,’ said Kulic, his tone defensive, ‘but I’m not. We know how powerful the people in those cities are, and how lucky we are that they permit us to live our lives the way we choose; we know they can take any form they wish. One of Bruehl’s disciples came back with stories of multi-legged things that flew and crawled, of tiny darting machines that spoke with the voices of men.’ Kulic’s tone had become hushed, full of wonder and fear.

Mechants, in other words, thought Jacob. Or possibly extreme body modifications of a type not permitted within the Tian Di.

‘They’re not really people any more,’ Kulic continued. ‘Not in the way that you or I understand them. Villagers tell stories of walking through the woods and encountering beasts – sometimes just deer or birds, except that they have an uncanny intelligence about them that betrays their otherness. Sometimes the beasts are nightmarish things that have little to do with anything in God’s Creation, things that glow or fly or crawl on the ground.’

‘So why do they come?’

Jacob laughed, the sound harsh and bitter. ‘They are spectators come to gawk at the exhibits in a circus,’ he said.

The woods had become denser, the path veering off from the river, which had slipped between tall, crag-like rocks so that its passage could now only be distantly heard. ‘Did any of your people communicate with them, or them with you?’ asked Jacob.

‘No.’ Kulic shook his head. ‘Too many people in the villages are frightened they’d be carried away to the cities, which is silly, of course. There are regulations preventing any interference with our communities. Should any one of us make the free choice to leave the villages and make a new life in the cities, that’s another matter, but we can’t be forced to make that decision against our will.’

Kulic turned to look back at him. ‘If I may ask – is your mission to destroy the Coalition? Is that why you’re here?’

‘No,’ said Jacob, ‘that’s not my mission.’

Kulic turned back and said nothing, but Jacob could sense the old man’s frustration. Here he was, Jacob Moreland, a mysterious stranger from another world, full of answers to questions that must have been stirring through the old man’s thoughts ever since his father’s deathbed revelations.

Despite himself, Jacob felt a touch of pity for Kulic, and decided there was probably no harm in telling him a little more than was strictly necessary. Besides, he had come to a decision after catching the old man trying to prise his case open.

‘However,’ said Jacob, ‘I am here because of the threat of war between the Coalition and the Tian Di.’

Kulic stared round at him, suddenly desperately fascinated. ‘You mean like what led to the Schism?’

‘That wasn’t really a war,’ Jacob replied. ‘It was more of a standoff. Severing the transfer gates linking our worlds to yours prevented an outbreak of war.’

‘Then . . . where’s the danger?’ asked Kulic. ‘If all that either side needs to do is shut down the new transfer gate linking Darwin to Temur, then there can’t be any war.’

‘At the same time that Father Cheng has been ordering agents such as myself to Darwin,’ Jacob replied, ‘the Coalition have been sending their own secret missions to the Tian Di at sub-light speeds. There are offensive machines lurking in the cold outer reaches of our star systems, ready to strike if we do not agree to certain demands on the Coalition’s part.’ He had received this newest information from the transceiver hidden in Kulic’s basement.

Now that he had started, Jacob found it very nearly impossible to stop the flow of words pouring from his mouth. Even though only days had passed from his subjective point of view since he had been first loaded on board the tiny starship that brought him to Darwin, it felt as if it had been much, much longer than that. In truth, it felt as if he had not spoken with another human being for years. He knew this was ridiculous, a kind of delusion. And yet he could not help himself.

‘What kind of demands?’ Kulic asked in horrified yet fascinated tones. The path took a sharp turn downwards and the old man was forced to duck as they passed beneath low-hanging branches. They were entering the valley now.

‘The Temur Council has enemies, even amongst its own people,’ Jacob explained, ‘that want to bring chaos and anarchy raining down on all of the Tian Di. To prevent this happening, the Council’s wisest minds decided to seek out the means to defend themselves. And that means I must . . .’

Stop. You’re telling him too much.

Jacob felt abruptly ashamed of himself. ‘The details aren’t your concern,’ he said, quickly changing the subject. ‘How long before we reach this well?’

‘We’re just about there,’ said Kulic, leaning forward to mutter in his nag’s ear as the road took another sharp turn.

Jacob sat up as they turned into a clearing, at the centre of which stood the ruins of a stone building that surrounded a flag-stoned courtyard on three sides. A decrepit-looking well stood at the courtyard’s centre.

The courtyard, like the ruins, had become overgrown with bushes and weeds that pushed through cracks in the flagstones. Jacob walked around for a bit after climbing down from the cart,