Late – sorry folks – real life distractions


“That’s the in-between. It’s been proposed that it represents the dark matter that physicists say makes up most of the universe but which they can’t actually find anywhere. People who can see the in-between are what we call dimensionals, and one of the attributes of that ability is that they cannot see through the natural, permanent gates. You two should come to Embassy and have Xen Wolfson or Destiny’s mother Q test your dimensional abilities.”

“Q?”

“Everybody calls her Q at her request. Technically, she is Quail Quicksilver. Although there is some confusion about where that name originates as it is not a proper name in the witch naming system.” He turned to the young woman next to him. “Do you know, Destiny?”

“I’m not exactly sure. Mother is a bit vague about it. I’ll have to ask my grandmother, Rustle. I think it’s something that happened on Arrival when she was there just after the near miss with the comet, but I’m not entirely sure. In Ash, she is officially Quicksilver Rustledaut. I’ll have to see if Uncle Xen knows. Otherwise, I’ll have to go to Ash and ask. I probably should take you to meet the grandparents sometime anyway.”

“I’m aware no one seems to know who your father is, and your mother isn’t saying. I overheard her reiterate that in the Kitchen one day. Do you know?”

Destiny shook her head. “He was one of the Helaos, as I understand it. You wouldn’t know about them. I’ll explain later, Roly.”

Andrew suddenly realized that when the lad had said partner, he’d meant these two were a couple, not just a team.

“So you only have one set of grandparents to introduce him to.” He couldn’t stop himself from saying, although he grinned to make it less offensive, hopefully.

The girl grimaced, her hands in the air, but Lord Roland laughed.

“Which is a good thing. At least for me. Only one disapproving parent and one pair of grandparents. I’m getting off lightly.” Destiny hit him in the shoulder. “So your grandmother is named Rustle? Who’s your grandfather?”

The girl seemed to shrink a little. “Wolfgang Oldham, the Auld Wolf. The God of War.”

This revelation actually caused the brash young man to pale.

“He is a God? Your grandfather?” Andrew found himself asking, although the name Wolfgang rang a bell for some reason. “He’s not a real god.” The girl replied disparagingly. “Our world was settled by genetically engineered refugees banished to the planet by Earth. Well, an Earth. The final thirteen who were the most powerful and the most dimensionally capable Tellies,” she paused and looked at Andrew, who knew exactly what she meant, having read that term in his grandmother’s journal, so he nodded for her work to continue. “They were wired into their gate machines somewhat like they do in the Alliance. When that Earth decided to banish all the genetically engineered people, somehow or other, they managed to escape to the planet the last fifty thousand genetically engineered people were being marooned on, destroying the gate complex in the process. Because they had been wired into the machinery, they were brain-damaged when they arrived, and they became the focus of the collective subconscious of the population.”