CHAPTER THREE: LITTLE VISITOR
"A loved one goes away, and my heart wanders to another."
Kati thought of this old Tumatsin saying when Yesugen called to her from the gong-shi-jie and said that Mandughai was also there.
It was late evening, and Huomeng had not returned from his work on the shuttles. In only a week, he planned to pilot one of them in making the first rendezvous with Shanji's great, orbiting mother ship in over a thousand years. The idea of his flight terrified her. Dispite his skill and confidence, there were so many things that could go wrong, and she would only be with him as a phantom presence.
Mengmoshu had joined them for a light meal in her suite, bringing along a large, stuffed Shizi toy for his granddaughter's second birthday. Yesui loved the toy, attacking them both with its cloth fangs and growling fiercely, then running off again. She had gone straight from crawling to running, falling often, but never with so much as a whimper. Mengmoshu called her "little darting one" in conversations with others, but now Yesui was in his lap, drowsy from the day, and he held her as gently as if she were a fragile porcelain treasure.
Kati watched them from her desk, but still managed to get some work done, reading new bills submitted to the People's Congress and writing her opinions of them.
Yesui nose, said Mengmoshu without words, and he touched her there. Yesui smiled, and her eyes glowed green. She reached up with a tiny finger, and returned the touch. Gong-Gong nose.
Yesui chin—head—hand—tickle! Mengmoshu tickled her under the chin, and Yesui squealed out loud with delight.
Don't get her excited, Father. She's nicely sleepy now.
Mengmoshu hugged the child tightly, and she was quiet again. It's my privilege, he said, and wrinkled his nose at Kati. Besides, I'm inexperienced with little ones. My own daughter was seven before I found her. I'm making up for those lost years with you.
Kati smiled serenely at him. You've done that many times over.
Mengmoshu smiled back, a thing that had recently become easier for him and seemed to soften his rugged face. Among the Moshuguang, the scowl of the Chancellor was still a sight to be feared, but he could not scowl at the little treasure in his arms. He was Gong-Gong or Jofu to her, and only he and Kati knew the legitimacy of his title as a grandfather. Yesui closed her eyes, and was now dozing again.
We should put her to bed soon, thought Kati.
In a little while, Kati. You have work to—
The matrix of purple stars was suddenly there, and one glowed brighter than the others.
Kati, Empress of Shanji, I feel your presence here, but I cannot find you. It is Yesugen, and my mother has left me here to talk privately with you. She says you will see the signature of my presence, and when we are finished she also wants to speak with you at another place. Kati, are you there? I don't see your aura!
Kati was startled, eyes widening, and Yesui stirred in Mengmoshu's lap. You must go quickly, before she wakes the child. I'll wait with you, said Mengmoshu.
Kati nodded to her father, put her hands flat on the desk, and closed her eyes. There was the sight of a rugged face hovering near, and a stuffed animal growling at it, and then she was rushing towards the brightest of the purple stars and down into it, coming out into the infinite expanse of swirling purple clouds dotted with the vortices of billions of stars and their worlds making a presence known in the gong-shi-jie.
I am here. She could feel a presence, but saw no manifestation of it.
Behind you. I could not find your aural signature, but now I see it. I didn't realize it was so faint, but it's much brighter now that you're here.
Kati turned and saw Yesugen's mental image of herself floating towards her. At their first meeting, Yesugen had shown her the image of a warrior slouched in an arrogant pose on a throne. Now she stood erect, clothed in a golden robe like Kati's, and a long mane of black hair covered her shoulders.
It is a lovely image. I remember you with armor, sitting on horseback with a sword in your hand.
Yesugen actually smiled at that, showing her short, white tusks. I gave that sword to you, and the image is my mother's idea. She says we should come together as equals in this place. You are as I remember you, and now you have a child.
You know about Yesui?
My mother speaks of her. Perhaps she will speak to you about her future at a place she says you remember, a place at the rim of our galaxy you have visited before. You must find it again when we're finished here. We must talk, now. I have needs you can help me with, and I bring knowledge that will help you achieve your goals on Shanji. I hope you still feel there can be relations between our worlds. We have not heard from you.
Kati felt Yesugen's concern about making this contact with her without invitation. I apologize for that, Yesugen. I've become so involved with my child and the affairs of Shanji I've neglected everything else. What is it that you want from me?
Relative to real space, time did not pass in the gong-shi-jie, for there was no space, or mass, or time there, only the swirling energies that had created those things at the beginning by pushing hot light through ten-dimensional anomalies small beyond imagination. But because time is perceived as a span of consciousness, it did pass for Kati as Yesugen gave her a long litany on the materials needed for surface construction on the inner planet orbiting Tengri-Nayon. Finally, she was finished, and Kati's mind whirled with numbers.
Your needs seem immediate, and our warehouses are indeed filled from overproduction. Much of the steel you require is available, but it will take years for delivery. My husband plans a first shuttle flight to our mother ship in a week. We're just taking our first step into space, and have only the fuel you left us. We have no delivery capability for even small loads, let alone the tonnages you require.
We have foreseen that problem, said Yesugen. We have taken the liberty of sending five freighters to Shanji. They left us a year ago, and should arrive in a few months. One freighter and several shuttles come to you as payment, and will be left behind. The shuttles will ferry materials to the freighters, and we're also bringing you the science and detailed plans for the cryo-generators you need to manufacture fuels. The rest will have to come from your own manufacturing.
Your payment is quite generous, said Kati. I would say it's excessive. We should establish a currency between us, a rate of exchange, and put a price on everything, even your science and our investment in that science. I want an equal balance of trade between our worlds, to avoid any exploitation of each other in the long-term.
Yesugen seemed pleased by that, even relieved. You deal with us in good faith, even though we warred against you. I'm encouraged by that.
The war is over, said Kati, and I don't want a repeat of it. We're neighbors, Yesugen; let's help each other grow from this beginning.
Agreed, said Yesugen. And now my mother is waiting for you. She lifted her arm, and pointed over Kati's shoulder.
My mind is a blur with all the figures you've given me. I'm not sure I can remember them all. Kati watched Yesugen drift closer, and turned, thinking they would go together to where Mandughai was waiting.
Now that we've met, our freighters will send a message to the Moshuguang, with all details, including minor ones I haven't given you. You should have it in a few weeks. I will not go with you to meet my mother, Empress of Shanji. I do not know the way to her, and will wait here until you return together. She has just begun to train me in the gong-shi-jie, and I need to remain here to memorize the aural signatures of this region. Mother simply left me here, and you were not present for me to target as in our first meeting. Without your presence I was totally lost, but I'm learning quickly.
Kati sensed excitement, even joy in Yesugen, not the hardness and hostility of their first encounter. Perhaps it was because Mandughai now shared Kati's training with her own daughter. It is such a beautiful place, here. Perhaps, when our duties allow it, we can travel leisurely together, and see things only your mother has seen so far.
Yes, said Yesugen, now openly excited, but now you must go. She gave me one bearing, that deep, red vortex straight ahead. Her place is in that general direction, clear out to where the vortices end, and the light becomes violet. She is there.
So Kati left Yesugen behind, and drifted past the deep red vortex that Mandughai had once warned her about attempting to enter, for the real space there had been pinched into a singularity, and re-entrance to the gong-shi-jie was impossible. She searched her memory for familiar signs from a trip years in the past, and began to see them: a cluster of three, green vortices, close together, a pattern of closely-spaced spirals of vortices fanning out before her in whirling clouds of blue, then purple, and beyond that a quiescent background of violet. When she saw the distant disk of colors in the violet fog, she moved faster, for it was the place Mandughai had once visited and so often loved to look at from afar. They had talked about going there together someday.
Now she hurried, and ahead of her was only a sheen of violet, until suddenly a single spot glowed brightly in emerald green, and they came together with a thought.
Kati, dear. At last you've arrived.
The spot became a fan, then an image: the serene, motherly face, the highly arched nose, the glowing eyes and smile. They came together, arms outstretched, their images melding together.
It is not the same. I cannot touch you here, but it's so good to see you again.
I've missed you terribly, Abagai, but my life has been such a whirl I've been negligent in communicating with you. Please forgive me.
Abagai smiled slyly. I will, if you forgive an old woman for her tricks, and for already knowing the news you're bursting to give me.
You know about Yesui?
Yes. I knew her before she was born, Kati. I watched her magic in this place, and talked to her, but she will not remember me. I could not intrude on that precious moment you had with her here, and I was also amazed beyond belief. Surely you know that she is The One.
There have been signs, Abagai. She is beyond me in her movement of mass, and the slowness of her transition, but I don't know if she remembers doing it. The visions she gives me are of the people and objects around her. I will wait until she can speak more than a few words before I bring her here again.
Abagai nodded, then pointed out towards the twinkling colors of a distant, galactic aura. Travel with me aways, dear, so we can look back at this place.
They drifted in a mist of violet. When they stopped, Kati turned and saw the great wheel that was their own galaxy: four spiral arms separated by swirls of violet and purple, and dotted with the colorful auras of countless stars. The violet you see is a special kind of energy I've yet to understand, said Abagai. Here it is light; in real space it is mass, and invisible. The energy is constantly moving back and forth between the two forms at incredible speed. Perhaps Yesui can learn how to harness it. I cannot.
I see it, now, a kind of flickering in and out, but very rapid, said Kati. But it was dust and gas from Tengri-Khan that Yesui moved through the gong-shi-jie. It could not have been my doing.
Perhaps, said Abagai. I will be interested in seeing what you can do together. You're thinking very strongly about her, now. I feel her presence through you.
She's always in my thoughts. I left her asleep in Mengmoshu's lap.
Abagai looked wistfully towards the distant galaxy that was only an instant away from them in the gong-shi-jie. She pointed at it, and said, I will take you there soon. You and I are two generations, Kati, and now there is Yesui, who will exceed both of us. Each goes beyond the other, and sometimes I wonder if there's an end to it. I wonder if there are others out there who are like us, or beyond us, beings who move the energies to make worlds and living things. Sometimes I think I hear them calling me, from way out there.
Kati felt uneasy, sensing a sadness in the woman she'd once thought of as a kind of goddess. Do you want to go further?
No, not this time, dear, but someday there's a place I'll show you there, a place where twelve stars have melded their vortices into one colored the red of blood, so bright it can be seen from the galactic edge. Forgive my reverie, Kati. I watch you, and Yesugen, and now Yesui, and I think about the diminishing time remaining to me. The three of you are the future of our worlds.
Yesugen seems changed, said Kati. There was no hostility in our conversation, and we've taken a first step in trade between us.
You are useful to her, and have powers she has tested. She will be polite. Her jealousy of you has softened, now that I'm training her in the gong-shi-jie, but her father's hardness is deeply ingrained in her and she still sees force as the solution to all problems. I've placed a man second to her in command, a man of moderation in thought and actions. Yesugen seems to respect him, and so far his influence on her has been positive.
Abagai again looked wistfully at the rainbow colors of the distant galaxy. Sometimes I think Yesugen's methods are more correct than mine. We are indeed overwhelmed by the flow of migrants from Lan-Sui, yet I've allowed them to come until recently. Now I have been forced to deny them entrance, and still they come, smuggled in by private ships, giving up all they own for passage to a planet that doesn't want them. They starve to death in our deserts, or suffocate in the sand storms there. The few who find their way to our surface settlements are placed in holding camps. We do the best we can, but the living conditions are terrible in those camps: overcrowding, inadequate food, aimless hours with nothing to do, and the constant storms. We simply don't have adequate resources to care for them properly.
Then why do they come? asked Kati. Conditions must be better for them on Lan-Sui.
They are, but only for the near future. Lan-Sui is a dying world, a gaseous giant that has suddenly grown cold. When I was a child, we called it "Ruby," for it glowed deep red, and the people there lived in palatial cities floating in the eyes of ancient storms in the upper atmosphere, basking in red light at a temperature only slightly less than what you enjoy on Shanji. Our civilization began there, Kati. The grandmother of the first Mandughai only fled from there to escape a purge by a political family more powerful than hers. She was royalty, forced to flee to an inner planet used for the mining and smelting of metals, a planet of underground cities, a barren surface scoured by terrible solar winds, a population of rough miners, metal workers, and the criminals who preyed on their earnings. My planet had a hard beginning, Kati, and its people are hard. Yesugen is like them, and I am not, but still I am Mandughai.
Abagai turned to look at Kati. You think about Yesui again, dear. Do you feel she is somehow with us now?
I'm feeling something, yes. A kind of anxiety.
I'm also feeling some distress from Yesugen. Perhaps we should go back to her. But the next time we meet here, we will journey far—out there. Abagai pointed to the distant galaxy, and smiled.
They drifted back to the rim of their own island universe and entered it, moving leisurely. Kati thought for a moment, then said, If Lan-Sui has grown so cold, can the people survive there? Do you worry about an invasion by them?
Oh no, it's not like that. The floating cities are still there, but their transparent domes are gone, replaced by shuttered metals. The liquid water on the moons has frozen, and the cities there have moved underground. Expansion has ground to a halt, but the population continues to grow. The people know we are expanding to the surface, beginning a new life in the light of a warm sun. It's the light they seek, an atmosphere that isn't artificial, and space in which to raise their families. They seek a new beginning. It is the common people who come to us, Kati. Those with wealth and comfortable quarters in the floating cities are quite content to remain where they are. But they resent the loss of their work force. Their governor has threatened me with economic sanctions if I don't stop the flow of migrants from Lan-Sui. It's a serious threat, since he provides the gases and liquid fuels we need for our reactors and conventional power systems. He thinks I encourage migration to build a work force for our surface construction, and I cannot convince him otherwise.
Kati tried to mask a sudden thought, but Abagai saw it anyway. No, dear, the governor's threat came after our return. If we had known it beforehand, Yesugen and her supporters would not have pressed so hard for Shanji as a place to send our migrant population. But the war was still necessary to place you on the throne. Remember that. I can only hope the leadership of Lan-Sui will be satisfied with my closing of migration through normal channels, and that they'll cooperate with me in shutting down the smuggling traffic. But I will continue to oppose sending back the migrants already with us. I think they have the right to choose a new beginning for their lives, but I simply can't handle more of them now. With the materials you're providing for us, our construction will move faster and there will be more than enough work for everyone, including our guests. They will remain with us. Lan-Sui will continue to cool, and has no future. Our future is hard, but it's there.
You are very convincing, said Kati, and I will help where I'm able to. In many ways, the solutions to your problems are the solutions to mine. Your material requirements will put many people to work on Shanji, and soon we'll be able to have regular trade because of the technology you're sharing with us. Can we move faster, now? The anxiety I was feeling is getting stronger. I should return to Yesui; perhaps she's having a bad dream.
I feel it also, dear, but I do not think it's a dream. And Yesugen is becoming rather frantic. Do you remember the way?
I think so.
Then I will follow you. Consider it a continuation of your training.
Kati willed calmness to avoid rushing blindly ahead, for some aural markers she used were subtle, many of them patterns rather than individual vortices. Anxiety boiled within her and she felt drawn to the vortex of herself, intending to enter it as soon as she reached Yesugen. Something was wrong with Yesui, yet Kati had left her daughter dozing peacefully in a grandfather's lap. Kati looked around to see Abagai following her, hands crossed over her chest, a faint smile on her serene face as if she were amused by a private thought.
Ma!
The call startled her, and now she was rushing past the signatures of stars and planets, their colors blurring together, and ahead was the manifestation of Yesugen, a misty cloud of emerald green. Yesugen hurried forward to meet them, her eyes wide.
Ma come! Yesui want Ma!
Kati went right past Yesugen, heading straight towards the deep purple vortex leading to herself. I must go to Yesui. Wait for me, and I'll return soon.
In a moment, Kati. Please, wait just a moment. Yesugen, what is wrong? You look frightened, said Abagai.
Kati stopped just short of her own vortex, and looked back. Abagai hovered near Yesugen, arms stretched out as if to hold her.
There is a strong presence here. For an instant, I thought I saw something, a flash of green, but then it was gone, and I was suddenly afraid. It began shortly after Kati left, and has been building since then. Don't you feel it? Fear and anxiety. I feel threatened, Mother, but there's nothing here!
Abagai smiled at Kati. Nothing we see, but she is here, hiding. Call her, Kati. Yesugen and I are strangers, but she will come to her mother. Call our little visitor out from her hiding place.
Yesui? Here? She was asleep when I left her.
A part of her still sleeps. The Mei-lai-gong does not. Call her, Kati.
Kati concentrated hard to crush her own anxiety, her own fear spilling over her like great waves. She suddenly realized that what she felt was coming from Yesui, not herself, but from where?
Come to Mother, dear. These people are friends.
Nothing happened for a long moment.
Ma come Yesui. The cry was soft, and plaintive.
I can't see you, Yesui. I can't find you unless you show yourself to us. You belong here with us, dear. The woman in the black robe is like your grandmother, and the other woman is her daughter. Come out from your hiding place, Yesui. Please! These people want to meet you.
A tendril of green emerged like a flame from the vortex of Tengri-Khan, and wavered there uncertainly near where Abagai and Yesugen hovered.
There you are. Now come to me, Yesui. It is dangerous where you are now. There is a big ball of hot gas there.
The flame withdrew slowly from the vortex, and hovered there. Pretty. Yesui touch.
Kati was shocked, and looked at Abagai.
She has re-entered real space, and touched her star. Are you surprised, Kati?
As Abagai spoke, the green flame darted past her in a flash, and went straight through Kati's manifestation before turning to hover close to it. Ma! Ma go! Leave Yesui! Ma no go!
You were asleep, dear. I didn't think to bring you with me. We should go back to your grandfather, now. He will miss us.
Abagai and Yesugen drifted closer, and the little flame melded itself with Kati's manifestation. Abagai smiled sweetly, and said, I am Mandughai, Yesui. I talked to you before you were born. Do you remember me?
The flame buried itself deep within the image of Kati's robed form. No. Yesui go, see Gong-Gong. Ma!
This is my daughter, Yesugen, Abagai said patiently. We will visit with you often in this pretty place, and become your friends if you want us. Can you show us what you look like, Yesui? Just think it, and we will see.
No! See Gong-Gong!
She's upset, said Kati. We must go, now. Do you mind if I bring Yesui with me when we meet again?
Yesugen looked amazed, but Abagai only smiled serenely. She is already one of us, dear. We will learn from her as she learns from us. Even the Mei-lai-gong must be trained, Kati. We must begin immediately, and I hope you will allow me to participate in it.
Of course, said Kati. Your knowledge and experience far exceed my own.
Abagai nodded in satisfaction. Then we will see you both again. I will call on you personally in a few weeks to see if our freighters have arrived safely. Goodbye, Yesui.
I will also be here, said Yesugen firmly. We have much to do, and quickly.
Always business, thought Kati. The emotion of the moment seemed to be beyond Yesugen's perception. I look forward to our times together. Stay close, Yesui. Now we go back to Gong-Gong. Kati drifted to the vortex of herself, and dropped into it with a flash.
Silence, except for a faint creaking sound. Kati opened her eyes, and saw Mengmoshu scowling at her from his rocking chair, Yesui nestled asleep in his lap. The child murmured something, turning to press her little cheek against his chest.
"I felt her go," whispered Mengmoshu. "One minute she was dreaming, and then she was gone. I dared not move until your return, and then I felt her come back with you. I was frightened, Kati."
"So was I," said Kati. She told him what had just happened in the gong-shi-jie.
Mengmoshu rocked gently, and stroked the black hair of his granddaughter. "I think there will be unusual problems in the upbringing of this child," he said.
During the weeks following Yesui's visit to the gong-shi-jie, Kati awoke each morning with a vague nausea that made concentration difficult during early meetings. Finally, she'd had enough of it, and consulted with her physician. He examined her thoroughly, and made some tests. And when he called the next day, he told her that his Empress was not only in good health, but was, in fact, quite pregnant with her second child.