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

It read the exchanges between the Serious Callers Only, The Anticipation Of A New Lover’s Arrival and the Shoot Them Later. It watched and it listened, it experienced a hundred pieces of evidence - it was briefly, amongst many other things, the ancient drone at the side of an old man called Tishlin, looking out over an island floating in a night-dark sea - and it understood; it put one and one together and came up with two; it reasoned, it extrapolated, it concluded.

The ship turned its attention back out to the Excession’s implacable advance, thinking, So now I find out; now when it’s too damn late . . .

The Sleeper looked back to its child, the Jaundiced Outlook, still curving away from its earlier course. The avatar was preparing the humans for the entry into simulation mode.

VII

VII

‘I’m sorry,’ the avatar said to the two women and the man. ‘It will probably become necessary to shunt us into a simulation, if you agree.’

They all stared at it.

‘Why?’ Ulver asked, throwing her arms wide.

‘The Excession has begun expanding,’ Amorphia told them. It quickly outlined the situation.

‘You mean we’re going to die?’ Ulver said.

‘I have to confess it is a possibility,’ the avatar said, sounding apologetic.

‘How long have we got?’ Genar-Hofoen asked.

‘No more than two minutes from now. Then, entering simulation mode will become advisable,’ Amorphia told them. ‘Entering it before then might be a sensible precaution, given the unpredictable nature of the present situation.’ It glanced round at them each in turn. ‘I should also point out that of course you don’t all have to enter the simulation at the same time.’

Ulver’s eyes narrowed. ‘Wait a second; this isn’t some wheeze to concentrate everybody’s mind is it? Because if it--’

‘It is not,’ Amorphia assured her. ‘Would you like to take a look?’

‘Yes,’ Ulver said, and an instant later her neural lace had plunged her senses into the awareness of the Sleeper Service.