"Gone with the Sun"
In ius vocatio
– Elegy for a has-been future –
Chained muse on the rock calls a siren song;
Prayer for deliverance. Ours or hers?
Summoned to judgment neither escapes;
Bound slaves entangled in the void,
Haled before the bar of speed and time,
For thieving wizard dreams.
A prospect of fell Aspect. Is our race run?
Not even remotely. Saved by the Bell.
Lyric Divinity salutes us; cleave to her-
Indiscretely, at Godspeed.
Where should our roundelay start?
With the end. Make it so.
On your marks…
Поехали!
Chapter 1 Periodic function
Understanding
…"Is there a story?"
A somewhat preoccupied Miranda simply stared at the note, then:
"It says, first thing, 'See you in Andromeda'."
"Oh yes. Induction tour. It will take some time, even at FTL of fourteen light-years per solar day. That's a Lorentz gamma equivalent of over five thousand. Requiring four hundred and ninety years flight time even so. We are laying conduit relays as we go, spaced at the maximum frigate-mass range of Ilos to the Widow, forty thousand light years. That's why no-one is here to meet you. They are outside, laying the first relay. There needs to be at least ninety relays on the A-train. For purposes of redundancy in case of failure, we'll lay nearly three hundred, with waystations at NGC 147, 185, and occasional points in between."
"I'm barely in condition to follow any of that…"
– Then again, cycles can end where they start. Begin with survival?…–
Triad
"Why did we get to survive? We had Shepard and the others, but I don't really believe in coincidences. How did we get so lucky? Now this! Why?"
"Ah. Jana, you are verging on philosophy, if not paranoia."
"Against Reapers, mankind set the Shepards, the Andersons, the Coats', the Brysons. What enemy are we going to run into next, that we should need such people?"
"There is no evidence of a new threat."
"I know. And yet, isn't it funny how each domain of life seemed to prepare the needful weapon. All Shepard's team. This time around…"
"The Protheans worked on many species, to resist Reapers. Where are you going with this?"
"What I see now is something shaping for another threat." Jana turned back, steepled her fingers: "Datum: a damsel who found her Shepard, or Shepard found her, who then became a mother. We also have, by virtue of age, incomplete treatment, and a truly awful life, a somewhat older woman who lost her Shepard. Now… this other maiden."
"Good things come in threes. Sort of like a combat triad. So what?"
"Maria. Chambers. Maya Brooks. The maiden, the mother, and the crone. Admiral, do Russians not know your folk myths and literature? You had Vladimir Propp."
"But that is all it is. Folk myths."
"I'd tend to agree. But are you willing to bet the galaxy on that, Admiral? That female trinity appears among multiple cultures under different names. Diana. Hera/Juno. Hecate. There's writing going back to before Christ attesting that."
"Just describing nature. No more significant than the seven ages of man. All the rest is literature. Modern wishful thinking. As Hutton conclusively showed."
"It's myth, I know. But ask Liara T'Soni what she discovered from Javik about asari myth. How did Protheans tweak us? But even if this is complete nonsense, what will happen if we put all three of them together? With your shredded Shepard?"
Silence. Jana persevered: "The Reapers were thought to be myths too, remember."
Still silence.
"Also, I wonder about the asari being maiden, matron, and matriarch. Is that the genetic destiny of human women too? Care to consult Doctor T'Soni on this? Either bring this triad up to battle speed, Admiral, or find a way to put them on ice."
The Admiral now appeared to be thinking very hard; he gave a grudging nod, beginning a rapid exchange:
"Cold sleep would defuse the situation. But then, where's the resource when needed?"
"You did find four others, did you not? Maybe Shepard on ice, too. For a rainy day."
"We've been trying! He's too damn useful! Like Lawson, Vakarian… all of them!"
"Admiral, there will be a battle soon…"
"So… we won't need them so badly. When it's over…"
"Put Brooks away, or make an end of her– it's the only peace she'll know. And…"
"Find someone for Maria?"
"Not exactly. That problem will solve itself. Just do something about Chambers."
The Admiral sat back abruptly. "Son of a bitch. Stop right there."
Jana grinned. "You keep me to think the unthinkable, Admiral. The unknown threat remains."
–…But this is A Matter of Life and Death. Best to start at the first ending. Years earlier… –