Was that cause or effect? Vanguard or whoever was behind this could have simply recruited whoever was convenient, but a truly random sampling would have resulted in mixed-species groups. The exclusion of vampires seemed odd as well. They were one of the most widespread inhuman groups, and many vampire species would have done a far better job at killing and terrorizing their targets.

I rubbed my eyes and turned away. Glaring at the screen wouldn’t force it to produce the answers I wanted.

Instead, I skimmed my list of potential Gateway Project books, reviewing the combinations I’d tried so far. Anything more than five texts together was too much for me to control or manipulate. The few times I’d tried, the magic had promptly fizzled, and I ended up with the twenty-four-hour migraine from hell.

I picked up Through the Looking Glass and The Mirror of Her Dreams. The mirror theme of the two books should help them work together, and might add stability to the portal. Eventually, I added Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. I’d read it two weeks ago for part of my research. It was incredibly popular, with some very passionate readers. The belief and power in this paperback should provide a good boost to the overall magic. Outlander’s portal used standing stones instead of a mirror, but I could work with that.

“A mirror mounted within some kind of standing stones,” I muttered, pacing a tight circle. I debated adding Catherynne Valente’s Palimpsest to the mix, but the last time I’d used that book, I ended up with a tattooed map of Las Vegas covering my skin. It had taken a week to get rid of the thing.

My original timeline would have had us using Gateway to transport supplies to the International Space Station by the end of the year. It shouldn’t have taken more than an additional six months to adapt the Gateway Project for space exploration, assuming I could figure out some sort of magical valve to keep the vacuum on the other side from sucking all the air out of the room . . . or we could just build the portal in an airlock. If I figured out how to miniaturize the portal, there were surgical applications as well. Not to mention routine trade and travel.

I retrieved a compact mirror and a pouch full of gravel from a table full of miscellaneous supplies—Talulah called it the Junk Desk—and spent the next half hour using a glue gun to affix pieces of gravel to the edge of the mirror. It was hardly the stones of Gabaldon’s Outlander, but it would do in a pinch.

I switched on the cameras and sat down on the floor. I opened each of the books and set paperweights on the edges to hold them in place. One at a time, I touched the books’ magic, drawing that belief into myself, then pushing it into the mirror.