WORLD THAT FEEDS THE WORLD

The ground trembled faintly beneath. The air was still oppressively hot, though the magma of the chamber had begun to cool. Alhalu groaned off to the side where he crouched, holding the Thing at arm’s length.

“Shut up,” Seah hissed. “Pathetic excuse for a Toa. If it hasn’t done anything to you yet, you’re fine. Be happy it didn’t evaporate you like it did Ekket. Bad intel, I say . . .”

Toa Jovan ignored them both. He focused his mind through the mental aperture of the Kanohi Suletu, sending out another telepathic burst into the empty shell of the Toa of Stone that sat cross-legged on the volcanic stone before him:

“Report. Satha, have you found it yet?”

The reply was somewhat faint, preceded by a burst of static. The connection of Satha’s Iden was being stretched, it seemed.

“Jovan . . . I am far . . . traveled . . . <Static> . . . Layers of magma . . . earth below . . . <Static> . . . Strata of the Great Beings . . . <Static> . . . Dark . . . almost there I think.”

“How far?”

“<Static> . . . Kio downward . . . sending data . . . <Static> . . . Seah can interpret.”

A set of calculations and numbers washed through Jovan’s mind. He printed the figures magnetically onto the metal datapad in his hand.

“Check the tether,” Jovan sent. ”This mask is risky.”

“Affirmative . . . <Static> . . . Tether is thin . . . still secure. I’m passing through . . . <Static> . . . Wait, there’s a barrier here.”

“What kind of barrier?”

“Physical only . . . <Static> . . . Should be fine . . . I think this is it, Jovan—pushing ahead.”

“Proceed with caution.”

Jovan raised his head and glanced around the dull red chamber. Seah was watching him from several bio away, tapping her foot impatiently. Jovan signaled all well, resting back on his heels.

There was a sudden telepathic shriek that made Jovan wince. He blocked the mental aperture for a moment to let it pass, then opened it again:

“What is it, Satha?”

The reply was even fainter now. Worrisome.

“Brother . . . <Static> . . . Can see . . . vast hollow beneath us . . . the air glows . . .”

“You’ve made it through? Good. That data is all we need, now—”

“. . . such power,” Satha continued, as if he hadn’t heard Jovan. “<Static> . . . power for the whole world . . .”

“Satha, confirm my message. The data is sufficient.”

“Light is fading here, Jovan . . . <Static> . . . It’s dying, and the world . . . <Static> . . . Fading out . . . No time to waste.”

“Turn around.”

Silence.

“Turn around, Satha.”

“<Static> . . . barrier . . . can’t . . . <Static>”

“Say again.”

“Jovan, the tether . . . <Static> . . . Too thin . . . too far . . .”

“Satha? Pull back; that’s an order. It’s time to turn around. We’ve already lost one Toa today.”

“Too far . . . <Static> . . . this barrier . . . <Static> . . . Strange interference, can’t . . . <Static> . . . losing resolution.”

“Hold on.”

Jovan dove into the mind-space of his comrade, and his vision of the world went fractal, crystalline. He groped with psychic fingers, seeking his goal. He had to find it. There! The psionic tether was stretched taut, but still holding. They had been warned that this method of astral projection was dangerous, but it was the only way they could probe so far so quickly, and there was so little time . . . Still, he wished now that they had chosen another way.

Jovan readied himself, as he had been trained, and then took action, pouring his psychic energies into the link, to fortify it and give Satha the strength to overcome whatever strange obstacle he had encountered deep below. Fragments of words came through the link as he worked:

“Tearing at me . . . It’s strong . . . storm of energy . . . almost . . . no . . .”

“Keep going!”

“Trying to . . . tether is decaying, Jovan . . .”

“You can do it.”

“I . . . yes, I’m almost . . . <Static> . . . The barrier . . . no!”

A psychic shock echoed along the link, stunning Jovan. He let go, and for a moment an insane roaring filled his brain—a roar of energy, of measureless power. A storm of cosmic fire that rent and fused the fabric of the world, of the body, of the mind.

Jovan snapped back to his physical senses.

“Satha!”

Silence crackled in the mind-shell of Toa Satha.

“Satha, pull back . . . please . . .”

Nothing, and then, very faintly:

“Jovan . . . Jovan do you read? <Static> . . . I’m unmoored, Jovan . . . <Static> . . . No control . . .”

“I . . . I hear you,” he replied, helpless. ”Can you still hear me?”

“Can hear, but fading . . . I’m moving rapidly, Jovan . . . <Static> . . . Interference here.”

“You’ve got to try on your own then. Try to get back.”

“I’m trying, but there’s too much . . . <Static> . . . Gone too far.”

“Don’t tell me that.”

“Jovan it’s no use . . . <Static> . . . I’m weary . . .”

“Unacceptable.”

“I know, but I think . . . <Static> . . . I’m adrift, Jovan . . . moving faster every second . . . <Static> . . . I’m falling.”

“I said that’s unacceptable, Satha!”

“Will report what I see . . . <Static> . . . More intel for you . . . to finish this . . . <Static> . . . All I can do.”

Jovan did not reply. He cursed quietly. The mind-voice continued:

“Something’s pulling me in . . . vortex of energy . . . hard to see beyond. I’m moving through . . . It’s spinning . . . bright—”

Static.

“I’m through. Would’ve made me sick if I wasn’t just a spirit . . .”

Static. A long pause.

“There, I can see now . . . By Mata, I can see it all . . .”

Static.

“It’s a sphere . . . a great sphere. Beneath the foundations of stone . . . to think I would look upon it . . .”

Static.

“Like the oracle said: the core of universes . . . the World That Feeds the World. Ah, I understand—”

“Stop, Satha. I’ve heard enough.”

Static.

“I can’t stop, Jovan. I’m sorry . . . Not in control. This is destiny, my friend—Destiny takes everything from us, in the end. Remember that.”

“Yes. It takes all.”

“. . . I’m heading further . . . deeper . . .”

More static. Another long pause.

“It’s dark now . . . Moving faster . . . Caverns and empty spaces . . . I see—”

“. . . huge beyond imagining . . .”

“. . . there are machines . . . vast, empty . . . They move . . .”

“. . . I’m falling . . . can you hear me?”

“I’m here, but Satha, please—”

“I’m sorry, brother . . . I’m falling . . . <Static> . . . Can’t hear you . . . <Static> . . . Oh! By Mata . . .”

An interminable moment passed. Jovan waited, waited.

Waited . . .

And then, weakly:

“Endless . . . endless dark and cold . . . there are . . .”

Static.

“There are stars!—”

The voice cut off. The aperture snapped shut. Jovan trembled and released his clenched jaw slowly, expelling a shuddering sigh. The body of Toa Satha sat before him, peaceful.

Toa Seah was at his shoulder.

“So, what’s new?”

A moment passed.

“How’s Alhalu?” Jovan asked.

“Terrified,” Seah said. “How’s our old Toa of Stone? He’s been out for a bit.”

“He found what we were looking for. Had to go a bit farther than expected, but it’s there. I’ve got the data.” Jovan handed over the datapad. “We’ll go immediately.”

“Shouldn’t we wait for him to . . . get back to his body?”

“He’ll be fine. He said it was urgent for us to go. The others on the surface will be down soon to watch over him.”

“He’ll be fine, huh?”

“Yes.”

Seah smiled. “Liar.” 

She straightened up and walked away. Jovan rose slowly to his feet.

“Alhalu,” he called across the Chamber of Life without looking. “It’s time. Your task is next. I expect you to acquit yourself like a Toa of the Great Spirit, as have others today.”

The eyes of Toa Satha were blank, staring at Jovan from that accursed Iden.

“Seah,” Jovan continued. “Ready the Olmak. Start your calculations.”

“Already started, boss. Do you know where we’re going, exactly? Hopefully a cooler climate.”

“Farther than we’ve ever been,” Jovan said, “or ever will go.”

In his mind the words echoed:

A great sphere . . . the core of universes . . . the World That Feeds the World . . . Ah, I understand—

What did you understand, my friend? Perhaps you can tell me one day, if we meet again.

In the endless dark and cold.

Where there are stars.

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