Kazimir tried to be polite as he stared round the circular compartment, but he clearly wasn't adept at shielding his thoughts. Fortunately, she recalled several techniques Edeard had employed in Inigo's dreams.
'You travel in this? he asked cautiously.
Justine clicked her fingers as she told the smartcore to extrude a couple of chairs.
'Ah! Kazimir watched them rise up, happy again. She switched on a holographic projection, displaying status graphics in the air in front of him.
Seventeen is such an easy age, she thought with a pang of resentment at his fascination. 'I'd like to run some scans on you, she said. 'It might help me understand more about this place.
'Of course.
She used her biononic field function to examine him in detail, shunting the results into the smartcore. He was human, every organ where it should be. When she touched a sampler module to his skin he smiled at her again, emitting a strong sense of longing, of willingness.
Out of those two days an awful lot of the time had been spent in bed making love.
She raised an eyebrow in surprise as the sequencing results rose up into the holographic display. 'Your DNA is… Real? Proper? Fully human? 'Okay, she concluded. And how did the Void pull that stunt?
'I'm glad, he said simply.
The smartcore ran a comparison against a medical file she carried: her son's DNA. This Kazimir didn't share any genetic markers with the man whose child she'd borne twelve hundred years ago. She didn't know if she was disappointed by that or not. So it's not omnipotent, then.
'Shall we see if the culinary unit is working? she asked.
She didn't really have to ask what he wanted. Cheeseburger with bacon, fries, sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream. Chocolates and champagne. All part of the decadent life she'd corrupted him with first time round.
The culinary unit managed to produce them, though she thought some of the tastes were a bit strange.
It was all strange and good to Kazimir's palate, he wolfed the lot down.
'Have you seen anyone else here? she asked as she sipped her own champagne.
'I thought you said I didn't exist before today, he said, only half teasing.
'I don't know how long you've been here, actually. It took the Void four years to create this world. I think.
He sat back in the chair and thought hard. 'I have memories, or notions of my life before today. That life I had back with my clan isn't real, I see that now, nothing about that time is substantial. It is a notion of what should have been. And yet I remember setting out on my groundwalk a couple of weeks ago.
I'm sure the last few days were real. Today is. Today has you in it. I remember waking and enjoying the clear sky.
'So you didn't see anyone on your groundwalk?
'No. But the idea of the groundwalk is to be on your own.
'Of course.
He shivered, looking round the cabin again. Apprehension was creeping into his thoughts. 'I am nothing. I am a toy some alien has built to amuse you. What kind of being has such power?
'Hey, she said soothingly. 'You're certainly not nothing. You're you. It doesn't matter why you are, only that you're here now. Life is to be lived, I told you that the first time we met.
Kazimir sniffed suspiciously. 'Did I believe you?
'You took some convincing. You were just as stubborn then.
That seemed to satisfy him.
'What are you going to do now? he asked.
'I'm not sure. I came here to try and talk to the nucleus. That's looking quite difficult now. It thinks I want to be here with you instead. She reviewed the Silverbird's status again. None of the drives were operational, and the smartcore didn't know why. The generator was producing some power, enough to maintain basic life support. A majority of cabin functions were running, though she wasn't sure she'd want to use the medical cabinet. What vexed her most was the reason for the failures and glitches. There wasn't one.
Willpower, she thought, that's the governing factor in this universe. The power of mind over matter. Thoughts can affect reality. So the Void doesn't want the Silverbird to fly. It's as simple as that.
'And you don't want to be here with me? he asked.
'It's enjoyable, she told him. 'But it's not why I'm here. His face was so crestfallen she immediately felt guilty. 'Kazimir, I apologise, but there is an awful lot at stake. More than I expect you to believe. I have to do whatever I can to help.
'I understand, he said gravely. 'It is an honourable thing that
you do. My mind may be false, but I believe in honour. It is a universal truth.
'You're very sweet, she said. 'I remembered that part of you perfectly. She yawned. 'I'm going to try and get some rest, it's been a long stressful flight and that champagne has gone straight to my head.
'I will keep watch outside, he announced gravely. 'If this is a whole real planet there might be something hostile out there.
'Thank you. Damn, my memory's a dangerous thing. The cabin extended a large bed as Justine stripped off the one-piece suit; then the replicator produced a thin duvet. It had peculiar hard lumps in it, but she shrugged and pulled it up anyway. She fell asleep straight away.
And dreamed. Dreamed of her own bed in her own home, where she was warm and safe and life was comfortable.
Someone pulled the drapes back, and sunlight streamed in through the tall windows. Justine yawned and stretched. It was cosy under the duvet.
'Hello, darling.
'Dad, she said drowsily, and smiled at the gold-face looming above her. 'Is it time to get up?
'It's time you and I had a talk.
Full awareness hit her like a plunge into ice water. Justine yelped and sat up straight. It was her room in the Tulip mansion, the one she'd spent her adolescence in, therefore ridiculously purple and black as she merrily ploughed her way through her retro-Goth phase mainly to annoy her parents. Her T-shirt and baggy flannel pyjama trousers were black cotton. Toe- and fingernails were black, with embossed blood gems. She looked at them, mortified by the fashion. Fingers heavy with silver skull rings hurriedly pulled a string of hair in front of her face to check: yes, black.
'Jesus, she muttered.
'You always looked cute no matter how bad the fashion, Core said. He was standing at the foot of the bed, arms folded as he leaned against the post. (Four-poster with black gauze drapes — of course.) His handsome gold face grinned down.
'What? I… Am… Is this the Void?
'You're still in the Void, Gore said. 'I'm back in the Commonwealth thinking up cosy environments to amplify our rapport. And there's nothing cosier than a childhood room.
'Rapport?
'I'm hugely embarrassed to say I've become the Third Dreamer. And guess whose life in the Void I'm dreaming.
'Oh shit.
Gore produced an evil grin. 'Could be worse, you could have slept with him. And I'd be the one relaying it into the gaiafield.
'Shit!
'That nobility of yours will get you into real trouble one day.
Justine stood up carefully. 'What's been happening out there? Did the Pilgrimage make it through?
'You mean in the four days you've been inside?
'Four days? she asked incredulously.
'Coming up on five.
'But it's been…
'Four years. Including the interlude with the Skylord.
'You got that part?
'Oh yes. That little shit Ethan is making a lot of capital out of its refusal to take you to the nucleus. A real big boost to the cause. The Clerics from his jumped up Council have been all over the Unisphere ever since, ranting about destiny. It's almost enough to counter the fuck-up they've made on Viotia.
'Viotia? she asked in a daze.
'They're turning the planet upside down looking for the Second Dreamer. Don't worry about it. We've got to concentrate on your problem.