18_the_end_of_the_circle-第52章

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Pinwheels　of　ghostly　pastel　flame　swooped　and　buzzed　through　the　cavernous　partment　like　startled　birds；　the　mental　sounds　and　the　jarring　of　the　SDF…3　were　increasing。

The　children　had　formed　their　circle　of　power　once　again；　this　time　with　Aurora　as　a　link　between　Roy　and　Drannin。　They　were　situated　off　in　one　corner　of　the　partment　in　the　hope　that　they　would　be　out　of　the　way　of　danger。　The　parents　moved　back；　Lisa　releasing　Roy's　shoulder　only　after　Rick　put　his　arm　around　her。

Rick　tried　to　get　Jack　or　Karen　on　the　inter　to　find　out　what　was　happening　at　Lang's　sanctum；　but　all　munications　seemed　to　be　down。

The　children　had　taken　up　a　new　chant；　the　eerie　glow　of　their　eyes　brightening。　Rick　could　not　hear　it　over　the　astral　storm　that　blew　and　crashed　around　them；　then；　leaning　closer；　did　hear。

Ro…bo…tech；　Ro…bo…tech；　Ro…bo…tech　。。。

The　children　had　picked　their　mantra；　their　source　of　power　and　unity；　their　psychic　spell　word　and　focus；　something　about　it　made　the　parents；　the　techs；　and　the　rest　stand　a　bit　straighter；　hold　their　chins　a　little　higher。　Lisa　felt　Rick　squeeze　her　hand　and　saw　that　his　eyes　were　glistening　with　tears。

The　chant　became　louder　than　the　astral　storm　not　in　sheer　decibels　but　in　the　minds　of　those　gathered。　Their　physical　surroundings…the　drive　ancillaries；　the　bulkheads…fell　away　in　a　panorama　of　boiling　psi…stuff；　and　the　children　forced　back　the　curtain　with　their　unity；　searching。

Ro…bo…tech！　Ro…bo…tech！　Ro…bo…tech！

The　perceptual　mist　fell　away　and　they　saw　the　SDF…3's　drive　housing；　like　a　phantom；　translucent　and　insubstantial；　there　where　it　had　once　been。

Angelo　Dante　sent　up　a　cheer；　feeling　a　personal　stake　in　the　matter　of　the　drives；　and　was　the　first　one　to　grab　a　connector　cable　as　thick　as　his　own　upper　arm；　ready　to　hook　up。

But　Gnea　held　him　back；　just　as　Vince　Grant　and　some　of　the　others　called　out　for　everybody　to　keep　their　distance。　The　drives　were　still　insubstantial；　the　children　had　not　fully　materialized　them　yet。

The　chant　became　more　intense；　and　the　drives　took　on　solidity。　They　became　opaque；　then　substantial。

And　then　the　sky　opened　up。

The　Regis　looked　down；　anger　somehow　showing　forth　from　her　blank　mask　of　a　face。

I　HAVE　BROUGHT　YOU　HERE；　AND　HERE　YOU　WILL　REMAIN；　RAW　MATERIALS　FOR　MY　TRANSFORMED　NEWSPACE！

Long　cyclonic　whips　of　otherworldly　force　lashed　in　at　the　drives　from　everywhere；　striking　at　their　housing。　The　children's　chant　wavered；　became　unsure。　The　drives　lost　substance　once　more　and　faded；　the　ectoplasmic　storm　closed　in。

But　the　Regis's　face　remained　above　those　gathered　below。　I　WILL　BROOK　NO　MORE　INTERFERENCE！

Around　each　child　a　dark　corona　grew　as　the　Regis　sought　to　waft　them　away　into　her　own　zone　of　existence。　The　chant　faltered；　the　children　fighting　her　will；　but　the　coronas　became　darker　and　darker　still。

Like　dozens　of　others；　Rick　and　Lisa　leapt　forward　to　save　the　children　but　rebounded　from　a　barrier　of　force　that　enpassed　the　circle。　Lisa　watched；　helplessly　sprawled　on　the　deck；　as　Roy　and　the　rest　faded　from　view　into　night。

In　the　partment　holding　Lang's　vault　module；　Louie　Nichols　zeroized　his　goggles'　transparency　and　threw　his　forearm　across　them　for　good　measure。

The　brightness　was　too　intense　for　sight　to　have　any　coherence；　anyway。　At　the　ground　zero　of　Lang's　ultimate　Protoculture　act；　Louie　found　himself　perceiving　things　with　new　and　different　senses。

He　beheld　the　end　of　Lang　by　immersion　in　the　Protoculture。　In　the　end；　the　man's　expanded　intellect；　colossal　as　it　was；　was　overshadowed　by　his　boundless　delight　in　the　elegance；　subtlety；　and　mystery　of　the　universe　and　of　life　itself。

As　Jovian　as　those　things　were；　though；　Lang　had　been　right；　somehow；　Louie　sensed　that　Lang's　essence　was　no　more　than　a　single　snowflake　against　the　endless　winter　vista　of　the　Shapings。　The　single　particle　that　had　been　Lang　floated　away　to　bee　part　of　the　Shapings；　the　man　himself　lost　and　gone　forever。


Because　the　nature　of　Haydon　had　not　been　intended　for　the　transition　to　newspace；　the　sphere　ships　exerted　unique　adaptive　energies　to　the　transit。

Negotiating　perilous　intercontinua　missures；　they　endured　and　wended　toward　their　destination　but　accumulated　more　and　more　excess　psi…quanta　in　their　force　envelopes。　It　was　not　unlike　a　skier　building　up　more　momentum　than　was　desired　and　finding　himself　unable　to　shed　it。

The　sphere　ships　would　either　reach　the　bottom　of　their　hill　with　incalculable　mental　energy　potential　or　perish　in　a　failure　that　would　destroy　everything；　everywhere；　everywhen。


Lisa　watched　her　son　pulled　from　sight　without　even　the　hope　that　she　could　sacrifice　herself　to　save　him；　without　even　the　hope　that　she　would　have　his　body　to　mourn　over。

Then　something　changed　the　world　of　ectostorm　and　mind　blast　there　in　the　violence　of　the　drive　partment；　something　that　called　the　unleashed　fury　to　heel　for　an　instant　and　calmed　the　cataclysm　for　a　beat。　Lisa　knew　what　it　was；　but　it　took　her　a　moment；　in　her　stunned　state　to　fix　words　to　it。

Life　is　only　what　we　choose　to　make　it
Let　us　take　it
Let　us　be　free！


Lisa　heard　Rick　croak；　〃Minmei！〃

By　the　time　Lisa　had　levered　herself　up　and　looked　around；　there　were　indescribably　sweet　notes　backing　Minmei's　silvery　voice　and　other　voices　chiming　in。

Minmei　stood　near　the　hatch；　looking　scared　and　weary　and　haggard；　but　she　clung　to　Rem；　who　bore　her　up；　and　she　became　a　pure　instrument　for　her　song。

We　can　find　the　glory　we　all　dream　of；
And　with　our　love；
We　can　win！　

Musica　and　Allegra　wove　their　spell　behind　hers。　The　Cosmic　Harp　danced　like　a　starry　spiderweb　under　Musica's　fingers。　Giving　it　all　a　kind　of　human　interface　was　Bowie；　eyes　closed；　drawing　lofty　chords　from　the　synth…keyboard　slung　over　his　shoulders。

Scarcely　aware　of　it；　Lisa　also　took　in　Jack　and　Karen　and　Harry　Penn；　all　of　them　apparently　out　of　breath　and　hunkered　down　near　the　harp。　Of　course；　it　hadn't　just　levitated　itself　there。

But　her　thoughts　were　all　for　Roy　and　the　kids；　Lisa　looked　back　to　see　the　dark　coronas　fade　a　bit；　the　children　still　sitting　in　their　places。

As　Minmei　let　her　song　take　flight；　the　chant　came　up　beneath　it；　somehow　merged　with　it？

Ro…bo…tech！　Ro…bo…tech！　Ro…bo…tech！


CHAPTER　THIRTY？SEVEN

The　quick　and　the　dead…we're　both！
Remark　attributed　to　Rick　Hunter　at　the　Intersection

Rick　threw　himself　at　his　son；　dreading　the　barrier　that　would　hurl　him　back　again。

But　this　time　he　made　it；　passing　through　a　sort　of　resistance　area；　a　membrane。　He　went　down　on　one　knee　next　to　his　son。　〃Roy；　try　again。　Try　for　the　spacefold　drives　again！〃

Roy　left　off　the　chant；　though　the　others　kept　it　up；　to　look　at　his　father　with　glowing　eyes。　〃We're　trying；　Daddy。　But　that　lady；　the　Regis…she　put　them　someplace　that　we　can't　find　them。〃

〃Keep　looking；　they　have　to　be　somewhere。〃

God；　what　was　he　doing；　giving　psi…search　pointers　to　his　superkid？　But　he　couldn't　help　it；　he　had　to　do　something；　bed　to　keep　them　in　the　fight。

〃The　drives　might　be　anyplace；　Roy；　anyplace　in；　um；　space　or　time！　Look　everyplace。〃

Then　he　quailed　a　bit　as　tentacles　of　astral　malignance　and　and　quested　overhead；　the　Regis　trying　to　reach　the　children　again。　But　Minmei's　song　kept　them　at　bay。

Rick　realized　that　his　son　was　tugging　at　his　arm。　〃Daddy；　we　found　them。　We　looked　across　time；　'n'　we　looked　across　space。〃

〃What？　Buddy；　you're　beautiful！〃　Rick　didn't　know　if　he　was　laughing　or　crying。　〃Can　you　bring　'em　back？〃

As　an　answer；　Roy　pointed。　Outlines　were　appearing；　an　enormous　containment　casing　ing　into　existence。　Cheers　began　around　the　partment。

Rick　came　to　his　feet；　ready　to　start　lending　a　hand　hooking　up　the　fold　drives。　He　was　going　to　give　a　cheer　himself　until　he　realized　that　something　was　not　right。

Others　were　beginning　to　see　it；　too；　especially　engineering　types。　The　casing　took　on　more　and　more　substance；　and　one　by　one　people　in　the　drive　section　understood　what　they　were　looking　at。　Rick　had　never　actually　seen　the　object　he　now　beheld；　but　he　had　certainly　seen　enough　holographs；　schematics；　tapes；　and　such。

〃Christ；〃　he　whispered。

〃We　got　them；　Daddy！〃　Roy　squealed　delightedly。

〃Y…you　sure　did；　old…timer。〃　And　solved…and　created　one　of　the　great　mysteries　of　the　Robotech　Age。

We　will　win！　Minmei's　song　hit　a　crescendo　and　stopped。

The　original　fold　drives　from　SDF…1　sat　there；　big　as　ten　diesel　lootives　and　just　as　solid。　Lisa　was　staring　at　them；　speechless；　as　techs　approached　them　tentatively。　Then　she　blurted；　〃Careful！　They　may　still　be　hot。〃

She　meant　thermal　energy；　not　hard　radiation；　but　the　heat　was　quite　minimal。　Not　bad；　she　decided；　seeing　that　as　far　as　the　drives　themselves　were　concerned；　they　had　just　finished　taking　the　SDF…1　on　a　jump　from　Earthspace　to　the　orbit　of　Pluto。

They'd　been　snatched　from　that　instant　directly　to　this　one；　though　decades　had　passed　in　the　interim。

〃Oke…〃　Vince　Grant　finished　gulping；　and　tried　again。　〃Okay！　A　fold　drive's　a　fold　drive。　Let's　get　'em　hot…wired。〃　People　hopped　to　it。

Pursued　by　the　Zentraedi；　the　SDF…1　had　attempted　a　fold　jump　to　hide　in　the　lee　of　Earth's　moon。　A　miscalculation　or　so　it　was　said…had　sent　the　ship　to　the　edge　of　the　Sol　system；　where　the　drives　immediately　vanished；　leaving　behind　only　a　few　winking　luminous　particles。　Then　SDF…1　had　begun　her　years…long　odyssey　homeward。

Lisa　wondered　what　Henry　Gloval　would　think　of　all　this。　Maybe　he　already　knew。

The　design　of　the　SDF…3's　drives　was　based　on　that　of　the　original　Super　Dimensional　Fortress。　There　was　no　time　for　niceties；　and　there　was　every　possibility　the　ship　would　be　blown　to　nothingness；　but　the　drives　were　connected。　There　was　a　residue　of　First　Generation　Protoculture　left　in　them　in　the　wake　of　the　Pluto　jump；　but　the　instruments　showed　that　trace　vanishing…melding　with　the　Regis　and　newspace；　apparently…even　as　techs　were　charging　into　action。

The　psi…fog　the　Regis　had　manifested；　along　with　its　squall　effects；　had　retreated；　though　the　children　had　broken　their　circle　and　Minmei　was　no　longer　singing。　〃But　that　don't　mean　the　dame　is　gonna　leave　us　alone　for　long；〃　Angie　said；　frowning。

〃Has　she　gone？〃　Miriya　asked　Aurora。

Aurora's　brows　met。　〃Something　else　is　placing　demands　on　her　attention。〃

〃Haydon；〃　someone　said；　and　they　realized　that　Louie　Nichols　was　standing　there；　looking　like　he　had　been　through　hell。

There　wasn't　even　time　to　ment　on　his　exposed　bionics。　〃Are　you　sure？〃　Vince　demanded。

His　team；　who　had　stayed　in　the　background　through　the　Regis's　appearance；　closed　ranks　behind　Louie。　〃Ask　Marlene。〃

She　nodded　her　head　unwillingly。　〃My　instincts　tell　me　the　same　thing。〃

〃And　what's　going　to　happen　here　in　newspace　has　nothing　to　do　with　us　anymore；〃　Louie　added。

〃All　the　more　reason　to　haul　anchor；〃　Angie　snorted。　Indeed；　there　was　nothing　the　contingent　from　realtime　could　do　in　a　collision　between　such　entities。　But　while　the　preparations　for　the　jump　were　rushed　to　pletion…with　Louie　and　his　team　quickly　being　key　players…Lisa　turned　to　something　else　she　had　to　do。

Minmei　still　stood　with　Rem's　arm　around　her。　Li