Chapter Three: She
Ponder Stibbons had been up all night. He'd been messing around with an Omniscope fragment when he'd come across a younger version of himself. In another dimension.
"...so of course we panned through the past and found - me - being assailed by flying shrouds. This is very exciting! We've seen similar creatures flying around that big eye that kept bothering us through R&D. It implies further gaps in the space-time continuum, we noticed a huge amount of them around for a while and then they all suddenly closed up-"
"Stibbons!"
"Oh dear," said the Dean quickly, "It sounds like your expertise is needed elsewhere." He waddled away before Ponder could get started again.
"Stibb-" Ridcully stopped mid-roar as the young wizard scurried into the hall. "Took your time, didn't you? Get me one of those Omniscopes." The Archchancellor saw Ponder's worried glance at Vimes. "We're... helping the Watch with their inquiries."
"Really, sir? But we haven't done anything wrong!"
"Just- just do it, there's a good lad."
Ridcully tried humming a little, but that just seemed to make things worse. Wizards do not, of course, have children; they are instead attached to their badges of office, such as staffs or hats, but he quite liked the Commander of the City Watch. They shared a pragmatic approach to their jobs and, apart from that incident with the storm, generally didn't get in one another's way. But the man seemed crushed, somehow, by the very air. His angry energy had been used up in the sprint to the University.
"So, do you have anything belonging to young Sam?" he asked. "It tends to help the process along."
Vimes wordlessly patted his pockets, then produced a blue dummy.
"Wonderful."
This omniscope was portable, which merely meant it was of poorer quality, had a handle and was only slightly less heavy than other models. Ponder hefted it into the hall and placed it on a sideboard.
"And this thing will find my son?" asked Vimes doubtfully, as Ponder made a number of deft adjustments.
"It should," said the young wizard. He took the dummy from Ridcully and placed it delicately on a flat piece of copper at the base. He tweaked it some more, then said, "Right..."
The picture on the screen changed. A great eye, rimmed with fire, appeared. Ponder's had shot out and twisted an instrument on the screen.
"I thought we sent Collabone that ointment-" began Ridcully.
"That isn't Professor Collabone," said Ponder excitedly, "it's the being I've told you about."
"And what does this have to do with Sam?" Vimes interjected.
"Oh, yes, right." Ponder reluctantly turned the instrument again.
More images flashed by: rivers, waterfalls, vast tracts of grassland, forests, mountains - and finally, a small boy.
Vimes gasped.
"Is that him?" asked Ponder, somewhat redundantly.
"Yes! Now where the hell is he?"
Ponder twiddled a knob. The image zoomed out. This time, the wizards gasped. Vimes frowned. "Who's she?"
Ridcully cleared his throat. "You'd feel better not knowing."
"You wouldn't believe us if we told you," added Ponder.
But there was a glint in Vimes' eye as he said, "Try me."