BooksBarbecue
Back Excession
Chapters (108)
  1. About the Author
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. 1 - Outside Context Problem
  6. I
  7. II
  8. III
  9. IV
  10. V
  11. VI
  12. 2 - Not Invented Here
  13. I
  14. II
  15. III
  16. 3 - Uninvited Guests
  17. I
  18. II
  19. III
  20. IV
  21. 4 - Dependency Principle
  22. I
  23. II
  24. III
  25. IV
  26. V
  27. 5 - Kiss The Blade
  28. I
  29. II
  30. III
  31. IV
  32. V
  33. VI
  34. 6 - Pittance
  35. I
  36. II
  37. III
  38. IV
  39. V
  40. VI
  41. 7 - Tier
  42. I
  43. II
  44. III
  45. IV
  46. 8 - Killing Time
  47. I
  48. II
  49. III
  50. IV
  51. V
  52. VI
  53. VII
  54. VIII
  55. 9 - Unacceptable Behaviour
  56. I
  57. II
  58. III
  59. IV
  60. V
  61. VI
  62. VII
  63. VIII
  64. IX
  65. X
  66. XI
  67. XII
  68. XIII
  69. XIV
  70. 10 - Heavy Messing
  71. I
  72. II
  73. III
  74. IV
  75. V
  76. VI
  77. VII
  78. VIII
  79. IX
  80. X
  81. XI
  82. XII
  83. XIII
  84. XIV
  85. XV
  86. 11 - Regarding Gravious
  87. I
  88. II
  89. III
  90. IV
  91. V
  92. VI
  93. VII
  94. VIII
  95. IX
  96. X
  97. XI
  98. XII
  99. XIII
  100. XIV
  101. 12 - Faring Well
  102. I
  103. II
  104. III
  105. IV
  106. V
  107. VI
  108. Epilogue

Nothing happened for a moment. Then there was an almost subsonic rumbling sound. Dajeil’s tower collapsed, sinking through the octagon in the board in a convincing-looking cloud of dust and the floor-shaking sound of grinding, crunching rocks. And more screams. A lot of the important moves seemed to be accompanied by those. A smell of turned-over earth and stone-dust filled the air.

Amorphia looked up almost guiltily. ‘Sappers,’ it said, and shrugged.

Dajeil cocked one eyebrow. ‘Hmm,’ she said. She surveyed the new situation. With the tower gone, the way lay open to her heartland. It didn’t look good. ‘Think I should sue for peace?’ she asked.

‘Shall I ask the ship?’ the avatar asked.

Dajeil sighed. ‘I suppose so,’ she sighed.

The avatar glanced down at the board again. It looked up. ‘Seven-eighths chance it would go to me,’ the avatar told the woman.

She sat back in the great chair. ‘It’s yours, then,’ she said. She leant forward briefly and picked up another tower. She studied it. The avatar sat back, looking moderately pleased with itself. ‘Are you happy here, Dajeil?’ it asked.

‘Thank you, yes,’ she replied. She returned her attention to the miniature tower-piece held in her fingers. She was silent for a while, then said, ‘So. What is going to happen, Amorphia? Can you tell me yet?’

The avatar gazed steadily at the woman. ‘We are heading very quickly towards the war zone,’ it said in a strange, almost childish voice. Then it sat forward, inspecting her closely.

‘War zone?’ Dajeil said, glancing at the board.

‘There is a war,’ the avatar confirmed, nodding. It assumed a grim expression.

‘Why? Where? Between whom?’

‘Because of a thing called an excession. Around the place where we are heading. Between the Culture and the Affront.’ It went on to explain a little of the background.

Dajeil turned the little tower-model over and over in her hands, frowning at it. Eventually she asked, ‘Is this Excession thing really as important as everybody seems to think?’

The avatar looked thoughtful for just a moment, then it spread its arms and shrugged. ‘Does it really matter?’ it said.

The woman frowned again, not understanding. ‘Doesn’t it matter more than anything?’

It shook its head. ‘Some things mean too much to matter,’ it said. It stood up and stretched. ‘Remember, Dajeil,’ it told her, ‘you can leave at any point. This ship will do as you wish.’

‘I’ll stick around for now,’ she told it. She looked briefly up at it. ‘When--?’

‘A couple of days,’ it told her. ‘All being well.’ It stood looking down at her for a while, watching her turn the small tower over and over in her fingers. Then it nodded and turned and quietly walked out of the room.