Another long pause.
The Witness’s gray beam again swept the chamber. As it passed through the angelin, Ghentun observed a lattice of internal process—the highly refined, jewel-like structure of sapphire-grade noötic matter. The angelin oscillated before Ghentun’s face. Its lips did not move but its bubble of cold shimmered. “Induce an individual affected by these dreams to accompany you to the Broken Tower.”
“When?”
“You will be notified.”
Ghentun felt a flush of frustration. “Do you understand urgency?” he asked.
“No,” the angelin said. “You can either stay and explain it to me, or carry out these instructions. In seventy-five years there will be an interview with the Librarian. Is that soonenough?”
“It will have to do,” Ghentun said.
“Peace and permutation be upon you, Keeper.”
The angelin darted off, leaving a trail of silvery vectors that quickly summed and vanished. Once, the vector trail of an angelin would have been a glorious thing to behold. Now it seemed pale and constricted.
Reduced fates, narrowing paths.
Ghentun gathered up his cloak and departed Malregard. He had not answered the angelin’s question about dreams, because he needed to hold back as much as he could, to be revealed only later—to the central mind of the Librarian himself, he fervently hoped. At any rate, his level of optimism about this whole endeavor had never been high.
The end of all history, of everything human and worthy—consumption in the malign insanity of the Chaos that had been looming for ages—was now upon them.
After a hundred trillion years, it was likely that the Kalpa was beyond saving.
PART ONE
FATE SHIFTERS
PART TWO
BROKEN LOGOS
PART THREE
TERMINUSAND TYPHON
CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE
DEDICATION
THE KALPA AND ENVIRONS
A. FOURTEEN ZEROS
PROLOG
PART ONE FATE SHIFTERS
TEN ZEROS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
FOURTEEN ZEROS
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
TEN ZEROS
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
FOURTEEN ZEROS
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
TEN ZEROS
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
FOURTEEN ZEROS
CHAPTER 23
TEN ZEROS
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
CHAPTER 26
CHAPTER 27
CHAPTER 28
FOURTEEN ZEROS
CHAPTER 29
CHAPTER 30
TEN ZEROS
CHAPTER 31
CHAPTER 32
CHAPTER 33
CHAPTER 34
CHAPTER 35
CHAPTER 36
CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 38
PART TWO BROKEN LOGOS
FOURTEEN ZEROS
CHAPTER 39
CHAPTER 40
CHAPTER 41
CHAPTER 42
CHAPTER 43
TEN ZEROS
CHAPTER 44
CHAPTER 45
CHAPTER 46
CHAPTER 47
CHAPTER 48
CHAPTER 49
CHAPTER 50
CHAPTER 51
CHAPTER 52
CHAPTER 53
CHAPTER 54
FOURTEEN ZEROS
CHAPTER 55
CHAPTER 56
CHAPTER 57
CHAPTER 58
CHAPTER 59
PART THREE TERMINUS AND TYPHON
CHAPTER 60
CHAPTER 61
CHAPTER 62
CHAPTER 63
CHAPTER 64
FOURTEEN ZEROS
CHAPTER 65
CHAPTER 66
TEN ZEROS
CHAPTER 67
NO ZEROS
CHAPTER 68
CHAPTER 69
CHAPTER 70
CHAPTER 71
CHAPTER 72
CHAPTER 73
CHAPTER 74
CHAPTER 75
CHAPTER 76
CHAPTER 77
CHAPTER 78
CHAPTER 79
CHAPTER 80
CHAPTER 81
CHAPTER 82
CHAPTER 83
CHAPTER 84
CHAPTER 85
CHAPTER 86
CHAPTER 87
CHAPTER 88
CHAPTER 89
CHAPTER 90
CHAPTER 91
CHAPTER 92
CHAPTER 93
CHAPTER 94
CHAPTER 95
CHAPTER 96
CHAPTER 97
CHAPTER 98
CHAPTER 99
CHAPTER 100
CHAPTER 101
CHAPTER 102
CHAPTER 103
CHAPTER 104
CHAPTER 105
CHAPTER 106
CHAPTER 107
CHAPTER 108
CHAPTER 109
CHAPTER 110
CHAPTER 111
CHAPTER 112
CHAPTER 113
CHAPTER 114
CHAPTER 115
CHAPTER 116
CHAPTER 117
CHAPTER 118
CHAPTER 119
CHAPTER 120
CHAPTER 121
CHAPTER 122
CHAPTER 123
CHAPTER 124
CHAPTER 125
CHAPTER 126
CHAPTER 127
ENTR’ACTE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ALSO BY GREG BEAR
COPYRIGHT
About this Title
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