Empress of Eternity Read Online Free PDF

finished.
    “That’s why I’m here. The Stats center has calculated a ten percent chance that detailed study of the canal will reveal data or information not presently known.”
    “Based on what?”
    Helkyria smiled. “An array of inputs that would take far too long to even summarize over breakfast.”
    “How about one?”
    “The fact that the apparent density of the canal, as measured by indirect gravitational distortion, suggests a structure that could not hold itself together for more than fifty years, let alone millions.”
    “Indirect distortion?” He already knew the answer.
    “Do you know a direct way to measure something embedded in a planetary crust?” A faint twinkle of gold glittered from the tips of her eyelashes and eyebrows. “We did work out an even more indirect method, since the traditional means showed nothing at all.”
    “Indirection is everything,” bantered Duhyle.
    “No one’s ever measured the material of the midcontinent canal before,” Helkyria continued as if he had said nothing. “How could you measure or determine the properties of a substance you can’t sample? It’s essentially impervious to all forms of energy. It either reflects or scatters anything focused on it, or both, depending on the wave form and amount of energy involved.”
    “What did you discover?”
    Both her irises and the tips of her hair turned a blackish purple.
    Duhyle had never seen that, and he swallowed.
    A crooked smile followed. “The results were…mixed. It has no mass; it has the same average mass as the Earth’s crust; its mass is independent of the Earth.” She rose from the table.
    “How is your scanning project coming?” He also stood.
    “I’ll know when the last equipment arrives. It might work…and it might not. I’ll need your help with the equipment.”
    “You’re worried.”
    “They’re sending a spec-ops team and weapons with the equipment. They should be here tomorrow.”
    “Why?”
    “Several days ago, the Aesyr extremists launched a stealth submersible from Urda—that isle under the northern ice. They’ve learned about the project, and they’re afraid our probing will unlock immense forces and devastate the entire globe.” Her laugh was soft, ironic, and bitter, and the tips of her curls flickered cold silver. “That’s a cover. They think that we’re doing weapons research. As if the ancients would have made all the effort to create and plant the canal into the crust just to leave a doomsday weapon for the future. If they’d wanted to destroy the world, they had far better options.”
    “The Aesyr don’t understand,” he temporized.
    “Extremists never have. That’s because they don’t want to.” She shrugged. “Time to get back to work.”
    “Refining the control programming while you wait for the rest of the equipment?”
    She nodded, offered a brief smile, and turned.
    As she left, Duhyle wondered if he’d ever understand more than the basic theory of fermionic ghost diffraction imaging. He certainly had had more than a little trouble when Helkyria had tried to explain quantum ghost imaging and the differences between it and fermionic diffraction imaging. As for fermionic ghost entanglement…and he was an electrical engineer. He shook his head and picked up her dishes.
    He’d have to take a midday meal up to her. She forgot to eat when she immersed herself in the depths of her work.
    Still…an armed stealth submersible sent to attack or infiltrate and take over a research installation on an ancient canal that hadn’t ever done anything to anyone or anything over the millennia?

7
    35 Eightmonth 1351, Unity of Caelaarn
    Once more, Maertyn read over the dispatch that had come with the canal-runner that morning.
     
From:
Minister of Science
 
Unity of Caelaarn
To:
Maertyn S’Eidolon
 
Deputy Assistant Minister
Subject:
Pending Research on Climatic Impact of MCC
    I am looking forward to your presentation on the twenty-first of Ninemonth.
    You