This was not only on a different type of communication but a different philosophy of communication. Anyone sending a set of neutron particles in the proper and matching pattern against one or several of the signs or concepts imprinted on the surrounding spacetime would provoke a return pattern of symbols. It was like a chess-playing machine, or, more to the point, it was like one of the adventure cartoons he’d read as a child, where each different character choice at the end of each file opened a different story line. The Principality of Ain had written out every possible nuance of reply and response to any question he was capable of formulating according to the rule of Monument notation grammar. The moonlet was far more intelligent than any man and could pass any Turing test with ease, but it was a passive intelligence, a reactive consciousness, like talking to a sleepwalker.
Montrose himself could not stimulate the neutron particle pattern into motion, since he did not have a supercollider built into his Patrician body. Torment, however, did have a ground-based accelerator at her south pole that could generate the particle patterns and direct them in a sufficiently fine pinpoint pattern through atmosphere and vacuum to the moonlet to provoke the moonlet substance to react. Her puppet body here on the moonlet acted like a forward observer calling in artillery support.
The conversation was necessarily a very slow one. It was over a year before it was concluded.
But the Ain Emissary was surprisingly blunt and forthcoming.
5. The Artifact
A.D. 73724
The dialogue took place in multiple parallel channels, not in chronological order, with long digressions and dead-end loops and odd epiphanies that retroactively changed the several meanings written in the previous layers of neutrino patterns. And there were a frustratingly high number of miscues, when a stimulus from Montrose or Del Azarchel, speaking through Torment, would return a null response, due to grammatical or conceptual incompatibility.
Montrose entered the labyrinth of signs and responses several times, but the one time he penetrated most closely to the center was from a humble opening. He stimulated the signifiers to spell out the concepts. “What is the meaning of these events?”
The emissary pattern of the Principality of Epsilon Tauri replied in this way: The meaning you already have deduced. Events were arranged to summon you here.
To which Montrose added, “Why us?”
You two embody the most meaningful nodes of the probability wave of the undecided phenomenon which the close approach of Torment of Iota Draconis to Ain of Hyades, in all its multivariable complexity, soon will collapse into being.
Montrose said, “Phenomenon? Singular? You regard us as one system? Me, him, the planet, the mental ecology, everything? But we are independent! I am not part of no damned logic ball at the core of the planet.”
Ain of Hyades finds it convenient to regard the whole set of the information flows passing from your various nervous activities, to other humans, and up the scale of intellect to Torment, and from thence back to the Empyrean system from which you come, to be a unified web of meaning. Transmogrification enhances that meaning by turning inanimate aspects of your corporate body into self-aware aspects, each contributing to the whole. What was, what shall be: it is all one.
Del Azarchel said, “Even if we and the planet and all its servant minds are one brain to you, what could we two brain cells have to say?”
The sperm cell isolated by the horse breeder is the least part of the steed in being but greatest in potential and of more interest than the equine brain cells.
Del Azarchel said, “And why should I believe anything you say?”
You particularly know the duty imposed upon a being of greater intellect and power, a philosopher who is also the sole power, the monarch, to care for underlings. To deceive or omit needed information would be an abrogation of that duty.
Del Azarchel said to Montrose, “No shepherd lies to his sheep, I suppose.”
Montrose said back, “Or merchants to their customers, if they are square.”
“Merchants?”
“This is a trade,” Montrose said, “Ain’t you seeing where this leads? Ain’t you seeing what is being implied here? Mickey already guessed it.”
“Enlighten me.”
Montrose had Torment send another group of signals and sent this message: “You want to make a deal with us, don’t you? We give you the planet Torment, and in return, you send us on our way. Where?”
The answer was in terms of beam strength over time directed at the star Vanderlinden 133, also called 35 Cancri. It was a giant star in the Praesepe star cluster.
Your vessel requires a fuel which cannot be acquired nor reproduced at Ain, but can be acquired with the cooperation of the Domination of Praesepe. After refuel, you may then continue onward.
The next vector displayed was from Praesepe out of the galaxy, to M3.
The one you sent to vindicate you is still alive, or, at least, extant, at this location.
Montrose said, “The one … my wife?”
Yes.
Montrose said, “How do you know she is still alive?”
Energy entanglements on a fine level continue between the immediate phenomena you mistakenly call yourself and the remote phenomena you mistakenly call her.
Del Azarchel said, “What is the nature of these fine-level energy entanglements?”
But Montrose said, “Love. You are talking about love. Ain’t you? But how can you measure something like that?”
Timespace is a secondary phenomenon. What you mistakenly call love is an emanation of a primary noumenon, an object beyond the senses, beyond timespace. Noumena in manifestation can be measured by the distortions in timespace on surrounding phenomena.
Del Azarchel said, “What mistake do we make when we call ourselves ‘us’?”
A category error. The real you died long ago. You are the side effect of the passion which first set your identity into motion and maintains its illusion of self-being.
Montrose said, “Is that the same mistake we are making about Rania?”
No.
Montrose said, “What is our mistake with her?”
She is multidimensional where you are monodimensional. Energy entanglements on a fine level continue between her and ulterior locations.
Del Azarchel said, “Ulterior to what?”
Ulterior to the artifact called timespace.
Montrose said, “What the pox? You calling the universe an artifact?”
No. Only timespace and the matter-energy within it.
Montrose said, “Whatever. Why do you call it an ‘artifact’?”
Deliberate and volitional handiwork; a made thing; the product of design; artificial arrangements constrained by an external purpose or final cause, constructed out of simpler elements.
Montrose said, “What elements?”
Ulterior elements.
Montrose said, “Ulterior to what?”
Ulterior to timespace.
Montrose said, “What are they made of, these ulterior elements, if they are outside time and space? We are not talking about anything made of matter.”
No information concerning the ulterior is available to any observer confined within timespace, by the nature of the case. The boundary of timespace is a singularity.