Kapur turned the concept over in his mind. The Mach beam was spectacular, he decided. But the Universe was filled with spectacular weapons and technologies.

Godel's theorem, though. That was something else. That was truly terrifying. Mace, young, unimaginative, had responded more to the blazing of a zap gun than to the fact of a Universe without bottom or top, without meaning, unknowable. Kapur almost envied him.

"I think I've figured it out," he said to Mace.

"What? Their motivation?" Through his fear, Mace looked briefly interested. "Tell me, policeman. I knew there had to be something; every sentient species has goals."

"We had the pieces of the puzzle, almost from the start," Kapur said. "In their design of the 'Flake, the Snowmen had already made near-optimal use of matter, by recording information right down to the thermodynamic limit... which is set by the background temperature of the Universe. But they knew from Godel that there will always be more events to record."

Mace's face crumpled sourly. "Oh. Are you telling me that they are waiting for the Universe to cool down... just so they can store more data?"

Kapur smiled. "The idea is pleasing. In the aeons since the building of the Snowflake, they've already achieved a six-fold increase in capacity! And in another forty billion years the capacity will double again...

"Patience, Mace. That is the key."

Mace stared into Kapur's face, the lines around his Eyes betraying hostility. "Policeman, sometimes you frighten me."

Kapur, obscurely pleased by this reaction, did not reply. Mace said, "Do you think there'll be another attempt?"

"To Assimilate?" Kapur shook his head. "I doubt the 'Flake would let us come so close again."

He turned to face the emptiness of the viewport. With eyes no more than human he looked beyond the filmy sails of the laser yacht and saw the Spline coming to collect them. It moved cautiously, all weapons orifices open.

Over centuries and a million battles, mankind moved into a position of something like dominance over its peers. And it began to confront the Xeelee, who moved through space like ships over the surface of an ocean.

Gradually, slowly, humans probed the great projects of the Xeelee. A hundred epic quests were undertaken, a hundred names thrown up to resonate through the long afternoon of human history...

And over a hundred devastated human worlds, Xeelee fighters folded night-dark wings.

Vacuum Diagrams

Vacuum Diagrams

A.D. 21124

Paul opened his eyes.

His body ached. He lay facedown on a surface that glowed with white light. Grass, or fine hair, washed over the surface.

What is this place? How did I get here? And...

What's my name?

His face grew slick with sweat; his breath sawed through his mouth. He perceived the shape of answers, like figures seen through a fog. He writhed against the shining ground.

The answers floated away.

A meaningless jingle ran around his mind: "We're here because we're here because we're here because we're here..."