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Chapters (42)
  1. THE ARROWS OF TIME
  2. Note to Readers
  3. Contents
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. Appendix 1:
  39. Appendix 2:
  40. Afterword
  41. Also by Greg Egan from Gollancz
  42. Copyright

She waited; the stars moved by serenely.

A dark speck interrupted the blaze of the colour trails. Agata didn’t wait to guess its nature; she pushed away and let herself fall. As she plummeted beside the rock face she hunted for the occulter and found it again. It was almost level with her, hewing close to the rock just a saunter away. She started her jetpack and began arresting her fall, just in time – the thing was above her now. She drew an arrow on her chest, angled in anticipation, and rose to meet the machine.

She collided with it, her arms outstretched, grabbed it and held it fast. They tumbled together and struck the rock; the mountain scraped at her shoulder, shredding fabric and skin. Agata shouted from the pain and tried to form an arrow that would lift her clear, but nothing happened. Her jetpack was gone, smashed and torn away.

The half-circle of dawning stars wheeled around her. Agata looked directly at the thing in her embrace; she could feel its feeble puffs of air trying to get it back on course. All she could do was apply whatever muscular force she had left and hope that would be enough to propel it out of range.

Her left arm was useless after the blow from the mountain, but she managed to bring her legs up and brace her feet against the stone box. She watched the stars spinning, and thought her way into their cycle. Then she pushed her legs out and drove the occulter away.

The recoil slammed her against the rock. She closed her eyes as the mountain tore into her body.

A light appeared, penetrating her eyelids, filling her skull. Agata embraced the radiance and vanished.

33

‘One day there’ll be a whole set of synthetic influences that we can administer with a photonic device,’ Maddalena predicted. ‘There’ll be tools for every occasion, but the best will be the one that forces the recipient to tell the truth.’

‘That’s your vision of the future, is it? That’s what you’ve taken away from all this?’ Ramiro stopped himself; whether she was goading him deliberately or not, he was wasting his energy. ‘Just sign the release form and I’ll get out of your way.’

‘There’ll still be a trial,’ Maddalena insisted stubbornly. ‘You know we can implicate her in the sabotage.’

‘Whatever you say.’