The Trimorphs (The Ammonite Galaxy , book 7)

Chapter 26

THE IMPLOSION OF the Enaran astrand caused a shock wave which hit the sumand, on Pictoria, with all the weight of a megaton bomb. The trimorphs inside the sumand threw up all their defenses in the split second's warning they got, barely aware of their reaction.

The two energies collided above the beautiful cool air of the Pictoria morning, where they hovered for a moment, each vying with the other. An ominous, heavy silence engulfed the whole planet in the femtoseconds which ticked by endlessly before they met.

Then they clashed together with a force that blinded the planet. It was far, far worse than the very worst expectations of the trimorphs forming the sumand. They were forced to call in every last available packet of energy within the intricate shape. They were suddenly joined in such a desperate struggle for survival that they were blinded to everything else in the universe, aware only of this moment, and this epic duel of minds. Flare upon flare of smouldering potential flashed across from one side to another, slamming into the barricades thrown up hastily in the domain walls.

For more long seconds, there seemed to be an impasse between the two. Then, as the Enarans were slowly transformed back on Enara to stopped light, the surge of pure energy collapsed in on itself instantaneously. The trimorphs gave a collective gasp of dismay as the opposition to their own pulse of extreme energy suddenly met only the implosion of the Enaran energy.

The result was brutal. The immense power emanating from the sumand, with nothing to counter it, raced outwards in a wave of destruction, a concentric circle of high energy propagating at the speed of light outwards from the place where the Enaran astrand had decomposed and vanished.

And this was not an ordinary pulse of electromagnetic radiation. It was specifically designed to close quantum channels.

The trimorphs followed its progress with some agitation. The enemy they had been facing was no longer there, and they had no wish to cause damage to other organisms. They were relieved when they saw that the shock wave was dissipating; it would not reach other worlds.

But there was still one thing in its path.

The Dessite mindwall.

The trimorphs and the lost animas stared as the shock wave powered into the vast wall of billions and billions of Dessite minds. They seemed strangely unprepared for what was about to hit them. The trimorphs were surprised that their leaders had not given the order to withdraw from the mindwall; it was obvious that the sphere of pure energy exploding out towards them would cause damage. Perhaps they had not had enough time.

The trimorphs in the sumand gave a mental shrug. There was nothing more they could do. It had not been their intention to go on the offensive, but they felt no remorse. It had been their duty to protect the canth astrand, and they did not regret doing so. The Dessites had brought whatever was about to happen to them on themselves.

The canth keeper, who had been only peripherally aware of what was happening, suddenly found himself transported to the New Independence, in orbit still around Pictoria, though he knew that the transport was not made by Arcan; it felt completely different. This was like the trial journey the sumand had treated him to. They had brought him to safety, up on the space trader. He landed near to the visor, and had just got to his feet when Bennel and Tallen, together with Temar and Raven arrived next to him, transported in by Arcan. They all ran to the rexelene visor beside him, and then stared. They were no longer in any mental merge and Pictoria looked just the same as always. There was no outward sign of the intense reactions going on around it. They looked at each other.

For the first time Arcan instigated a mindmerge himself. He had never attempted it before, but Diva had explained to him that the morphics were able to form one, and, to his surprise, he now found it relatively easy to dissociate his mind from the other cells. Once that had happened he was able to float mentally over to the others and encompass them in the newly-formed aura.