18_the_end_of_the_circle-第74章

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Roy　II　put　his　head　on　his　father's　shoulder　and　took　it　all　in　wordlessly；　saw　his　father　as　a　much　younger　man；　too。　At　length　he　said；　〃Was　he　really　your　big　brother；　Daddy？〃

〃No。　He　was　a　lot　more　than　a　brother。〃

〃Will　you　teach　me　to　fly？〃

〃Yes。　I　will。〃

For　Minmei；　as　for　many　others；　there　was　a　certain　relief　in　the　faces　she　did　not　see　in　the　timestream。　Her　parents　and　cousin　were　absent；　and　so　she　felt　she　could　hope　they　were　still　well　back　on　Earth。　She　feared　at　first　that　she　would　be　forced　to　review　the　terrible　things　she'd　seen；　people　and　creatures　shed　encountered；　but　this　side　effect　of　Lang's　final　act　was　not　connected　to　that　sort　of　thing。　Of　Edwards　there　was　no　sign。　Surely　the　evil　moments　endured　in　time；　too；　but　the　point　seemed　to　her　to　be　that；　abandoned　to　themselves；　they　lost　much　or　all　of　their　power。

Mad　Khyron　and　Azonia；　the　Regent；　and　all　of　that　stamp…let　them　stay　encysted；　shunned；　and　unvisited　in　their　various　pigeonholes　of　time。　She　turned　her　eyes　elsewhere。

It　hurt　to　look　at　the　painful　parts　of　Lynn…Kyle's　life；　but　she　also　saw　the　fine　parts；　the　heroic　and　idealistic　side。　She　saw　again　that　he　had　died　trying　to　save　her　and　end　the　war；　the　love　for　him　that　she　had　suppressed　was　free　to　find　its　rightful　place　in　her　now；　with　no　power　to　do　her　harm。

She　renewed　her　affection　for　Janice　Em。　Android　or　no；　Lang…agent　or　no；　Jan　had　perhaps　been　her　truest　friend　and　best　song…soulmate。

Looking　in　on　the　SDF…3；　Haydon　found　what　he　had　been　searching　for。


Minmei　had　no　idea　how　long　she　had　been　watching　the　flow　of　scenes　when　another　voice　reached　her；　and　somehow　she　knew　it　was　not　a　part　of　her　Intersection…generated　views　of　time。　It　was　Rem。

She　turned；　somehow　breaking　the　trance；　to　see　that　he　was　being　swallowed　up　in　white　translucent　banners　of　force。　She　tried　to　move；　rooted　to　the　spot。　〃No！〃　He　began　to　fade　from　her　sight。

She　cried　the　word　like　a　plaintive　song…〃No…ooo！…and　somehow　its　power；　the　power　her　voice　had　always　had；　overcame　whatever　was　immobilizing　her。

Minmei　threw　herself　at　Rem；　feeling　the　energy　discharges　around　her；　clinging　to　him；　and　together　they　vanished　from　the　starship。


CHAPTER　THIRTY…EIGHT

The　music　plays；　and　everyone　must　dance。
Twentieth…century　song　lyric

At　the　intersection　the　Robotech　Elders；　in　their　smaller…model　sphere　ship；　shrieked　their　outrage　and　despair。

We　had　an　agreement！

Haydon　answered；　THAT　MEANS　NOTHING　TO　ME

Free　us　with　the　Protoculture　as　you　abandon　your　sphere　ships！

What　they　said　was　true；　the　individual　simulacra　of　Haydon　were　vanishing　from　sight。　Somewhere　beyond；　they　sensed；　the　One　Haydon　was　ing　into　being　again。　He　had　no　further　use　for　the　ships　or　the　Protoculture…indeed；　He　released　them　to　meet　their　own　discorporation。

But　the　Elders'　sphere　He　kept　under　his　mental　control。　YOU；　I　WILL　BRING　WITH　ME　INTO　MY　NEW　DOMAIN；　AS　I　SHALL　BRING　ONE　OTHER　CONTAINER　FROM　SPACETIME。

You　struck　a　bargain　with　us！

DID　YOU　THINK　I　COULDN'T　SEE　BEYOND　YOUR　WORDS？　INTO　YOUR　THOUGHTS？

Then　the　Robotech　Elders　wailed　in　truest　fear；　they'd　planned　to　betray　Haydon　at　the　earliest　juncture　if　the　opportunity　arose。　Instead；　they　saw；　He　had　brought　them　along　until　he　could　exact　a　satisfactory　revenge。

He　was　immortal　but　mortal　enough　to　feel　that　urge。　The　venue　known　as　newspace　was　empty；　the　stuff　of　conventional　spacetime　banished　back　to　the　place　from　which　it　had　e。　Haydon　wanted　no　part　of　it；　that　was　the　entire　point　of　His　great　effort。

Instead；　He　discharged　into　newspace　all　the　accumulated　energies　of　His　crossing；　giving　Himself　unending　raw　material　with　which　to　work。　Haydon　willed　new　and　utterly　alien　physical　laws　into　being　and　set　out　to　explore　and　shape　His　new　domain。

Except；　that　is；　for　two　bubbles　of　normality。　The　first　among　those　was　the　prison　of　the　Robotech　Elders。　He　imprisoned　them　once　more　in　the　hated　thrones；　in　the　bondage　of　systems　that　would　ensure　their　survival。　They　perceived　that　some　of　the　substance　forming　their　bubble　was　the　stuff　of　their　Protoculture　cap　itself…depleted；　reshaped；　used　in　irony　by　Haydon。

Then　Haydon　accelerated　the　flow　of　time　within　the　sphere…to　ensure　its　passage　there。

Tens　of　thousands　of　years　might　pass　while　Haydon's　attention　was　elsewhere　for　an　instant；　but　every　so　often　Haydon　would　look　in　on　them　and　see　how　His　little　experiment　was　going。

The　Robotech　Elders；　imprisoned　in　the　hated　circle　in　which　they　had　started；　had　their　Immortality　at　last。


Perhaps　the　best　summation　of　subsequent　events　is　found　in　Recollections：　Peacetime　by　Admiral　Lisa　Hayes…Hunter。

So　those　glorious　old　drives　brought　us　home　at　last　in　grand　style。　Some　people　griped　that　it　was　a　near　thing；　pointing　out　that　the　drives　were　about　to　blow　when　we　came　crashing　out　into　Earthspace；　but　take　it　from　me；　they'd　have　done　whatever　they　needed　to；　to　get　the　job　done。

Of　course　by　〃home；〃　I　mean　conventional　spacetime；　the　Sol　system　wasn't　exactly　the　old　neighborhood　for　the　XT　Sentinels；　the　Zentraedi；　and　so　forth。

That　didn't　matter　much　at　the　time。

The　pure　joy　of　getting　back　to　Earthspace　was　dampened；　of　course；　when　we　realized　that　Minmei　and　Rem　had　disappeared。　This；　even　though　the　pilots　originally　〃kidnapped〃　from　Red　and　Blue　teams　were　miraculously　put　back　aboard　SDF…3；　Veritechs　and　all；　at　the　Intersection。　As　of　this　writing；　there　is　no　indication　whatsoever　of　what　happened　to　them；　and　all　efforts　to　locate　them　or　establish　their　fate　have　been　fruitless。

The　second　great　shock　of　our　arrival　was　the　calculation　（by　astronomical　Ads；　from　the　positions　of　planets　in　the　Sol　system）　of　the　elapsed　time　since　the　departure　of　Peter　Pan。　Foldspace　had　played　another　joke　on　us。

More　than　ten　years　had　passed。

But　that　wasn't　enough　to　dampen　our　morale；　not　after　what　we'd　been　through。　I　think　that　those　on　board　SDF…3　during　that　moment　of　Intersection　will　always　be　different。　We　were　given　a　new　perspective　on　life　and　death　and　our　place　in　the　scheme　of　things；　that　left　its　mark　on　us。

And　so　SDF…3　started　for　Earth　one　last　time；　driven　by　auxiliary　power。　Somehow　the　transit　from　newspace　had　drained　away　all　our　Second　Gen　Protoculture；　even　what　was　left　in　the　various　mecha。　We　shall　not　see　its　like　again；　as　the　saying　goes。

There's　no　denying　the　sheer　joy　of　homeing；　though。　The　Earth　below　us　was　the　first　and　best　surprise：　pristine　and　beautiful；　her　surface　restored；　her　ecosystems　flourishing　with　a　vitality　they　hadn't　known　in　a　century　and　a　half　and　more。

Maybe　it　was　some　kind　of　payback。

We　arrived　to　find　that　Earth　had　muddled　through　the　multiple　crises　that　had　beset　her；　largely　with　the　help　of　exotic　new　technology　developed　from　information　brought　home　by　the　Angel。

But　largely；　it　was　a　matter　of　humanity's　being　sick　of　war。　I've　heard　of　old　soldiers　retiring　from　the　carnage　to　create　and　retreat　into　a　beautiful　garden　somewhere。　I　guess　that's　more　or　less　what　happened　to　the　entire　species　Homo　sapiens。

Water　ice　had　been　brought　in　from　offworld；　pollution　damage　cleaned　up　through　bio…remedialism　and　other　newly　devised　techniques。　The　drifting　space　junk　from　the　Robotech　wars　had　all　been　removed；　or　burned　itself　up　in　atmospheric　entry。　The　planet　started　getting　better　simply　because　people　stopped　placing　impossible　demands　on　it　and　began　giving　something　back。　Too；　the　population　had　been　drastically；　catastrophically　reduced。

Besides；　there　was　aid　from　the　Local　Group　worlds　that　had；　by　that　time；　reached　Earth　via　the　new；　non　Protoculture　Pseudojaunt　drive。　（What　beautiful　starships　the　new　technologies　make　possible！　Earth　looked　like　she　had　magical　treasures　in　orbit　around　her　when　we　arrived。）　The　old　government　had　been　swept　away；　what　had　replaced　it　was　benign；　democratic；　and　very　participatory。

We　weren't　surprised　that　Louie　Nichols　and　his　byte　punchers；　in　particular；　saddled　up　and　threw　themselves　right　into　that　new　ferment。


I　got　a　sense　of　how　much　things　had　changed　when　we　（the