‘Logic indicates that the disrupters are a product of the sickness infecting the sphere.’
‘To survive it is necessary to heal the sphere.’
She/They began to float purposefully forward. She/They directed Her/Themself to pass between the bands of corruption. Before She/They had covered half the distance between Her/Them and the sphere the beams of energy suddenly went out. She/They again halted.
‘Could the sudden disappearance of the beams be a result of our approach?’
She/They pondered the problem.
‘If our arrival had been detected the disrupters would surely have moved towards us.’
‘It is possible the disrupters are in a dormant state.’
‘Such speculation is superfluous. We have no option but to go on.’
She/They once more drifted forward. She/They constantly adjusted Her/Their motion to avoid the outer clouds of black droplets. She/They was well aware that Her/Their finely balanced consciousness could not stand up to any contamination by the sickness that flowed from the sphere. Such an infection would so damage Her/Their functions of perception that it would destroy Her/Them. It would be death.
A larger globule of the black liquid detached itself from the sphere. It wobbled slowly towards Her/Them. She/They altered direction, taking evasive action. The globule also seemed to change its erratic course. It was homing in on Her/Them. No matter how many moves She/They made the globule continued to meander closer. As it drew nearer, She/They calculated that it was big enough totally to engulf Her/Them.
The globule was on a collision course with Her/Them. It was coming up fast. It was about to spread its clinging black ugliness over Her/Their triple form. At the last moment She/They jerked to one side. The globule passed with only centimetres to spare. As it shuddered by, She/They heard a high pitched song of wordless evil coming from deep inside it.
It continued on, deep into the nothings. She/They quickened Her/Their motion towards the sphere.
Two more globules detached themselves from the sphere. She/They once again moved into a pattern of evasion, only managed to dodge them by the slimmest margin, and again She/They heard the hideous singing.
Four of the globules came against Her/Them. Her/Their logic made it plain that She/They would not manage to avoid them this time. She/They ran through a complex series of manoeuvres, but still the globules homed in on Her/Them. Despite their ungainly shape and far from smooth motion, they seemed to have the ability to pre-guess every one of Her/Their moves.
She/They found Her/Themself bracketed. By expending every particle of Her/Their energy and intellect, She/They managed to avoid contact with both the first and second of the globules.
The third came so close that She/They assumed contamination was certain. By a last frenzied twist She/They managed to miss touching it by the width of molecules.
Even with all Her/Their massive triple form intellect, there was no way to avoid the fourth globule.
The last moments before the impact were stretched into an intolerable age. The singing grew louder and louder. The surface of the black globule pressed against Her/Their three bodies.
Then it burst.
Insanity flowed over Her/Them in a procession of swirling, dancing, twisted images. Foul creatures leered and postured in Her/Their field of vision. Her/Their reason fled. The contact between the threefold minds was swamped and broken. The bond between Her and Them dissolved. The three figures cringed away from each other, twitching in time to the terrible singing and desperately clawing at the black liquid that covered them.
Bit by bit they began to fold in on themselves. Slowly they were consumed until there was nothing left but a gently twisting cloud of black droplets. The three identical women with the single mind no longer existed anywhere in the damaged world.
She/They was gone.
***
‘Eli eli rama fa fa!’
The Minstrel Boy screamed and sank to his knees.
‘How can it be?’
Billy, who had been walking a little way ahead, turned and hurried back. He knelt down beside the Minstrel Boy and put a supporting arm round his shoulders. The Minstrel Boy began shaking uncontrollably.
‘Brings … out… the … b-best… in …’
‘What’s the matter? Are you getting sick? What happened?’
The Minstrel Boy’s back arched in a convulsive spasm. Billy lost his hold on him and his head hit the road. He went on jerking and muttering to himself while Billy watched in horrified amazement.
‘Doesn’t … it? Doesn’t … it? Doesn’t …? Doesn’t …?’
‘What in hell’s happened to you? What’s wrong?’
Billy looked up and down the road helplessly. There was no one to give him any assistance. He and the Minstrel Boy were quite alone on the road. The Minstrel Boy’s muttering gradually died away. He rolled over on his side, slowly and painfully drawing his knees up to his chest until he was curled into a foetal position.
Billy had no idea what to do. He was alone on an empty road in the middle of the nothings. The bright greyness twisted all around him and his partner lay either unconscious or dead at his feet.
Billy felt for the Minstrel Boy’s pulse. His muscles were rigid and his flesh had become very cold. Billy started to panic. Then he felt the faint murmur of the Minstrel Boy’s heart. He quickly stood up and pulled off his fur jacket and covered the Minstrel Boy with it. Then he slowly straightened up and looked round again. He could think of nothing else to do.
He shivered. The silence became oppressive and the air started to turn cold. Billy couldn’t even remember how long it had been since they’d left the Inn. The nothings had had their effect on Billy. He had lost all sense of time. Billy had never felt so alone in his life.
The Minstrel Boy groaned. He moved one leg, and then the other. His body began to straighten out. With what seemed like a monumental effort he pushed Billy’s coat to one side and sat up. Each movement seemed to cause him great pain.
‘I wish I was dead.’
‘What happened?’
‘The whole fucking universe blew up inside my head.’
‘What do you mean?’
The Minstrel Boy tried to get to his feet. He winced and sat down on the road again. The effort had proved too much for him.
‘I mean exactly what I say.’
‘I don’t understand.’
The Minstrel Boy scowled.
‘No. You wouldn’t.’
‘I thought you were going to die.’
‘I wish I had.’
‘But what caused it?’
The Minstrel Boy waved an impatient hand.
‘Just wait a while, will you? I hurt … all over.’
Billy silently picked up his jacket and resentfully put it on. The Minstrel Boy got to his feet, elaborately demonstrating his suffering with every movement. He seemed to be recovering very fast. When he was satisfied that his legs would support him, he faced Billy.
‘There’s no reason to get sullen.’
‘I’m not getting sullen. You really scared the shit out of me.’
‘I didn’t enjoy it myself too much.’
‘I just wish you’d explain.’
The Minstrel Boy dusted himself off.
‘Okay, okay, but let’s walk. It may not do us much good, but it’s better than standing here.’
The Minstrel Boy strolled off down the road, and Billy quickly fell into step beside him. He waited quietly for the Minstrel Boy to begin. The Minstrel Boy seemed in no hurry. He stretched his arms above his head and let out a deep breath.
‘I sure wish I had a drink.’
Billy said nothing.
‘I suppose you’re waiting for me to start.’
Billy still said nothing. The Minstrel Boy shrugged.
‘Alright, you win. I’ll try and explain. Only I’m not sure I even have it clear myself. All I know is that I was doing a spot of wayfinding, just checking we were headed up right for Litz. There seemed to be too few people travelling on the ground, and I didn’t want to make no kind of mistake.’