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Grave end fears call from crowded skies, as the cacklers tremble behind their disguise.
Curses are thrown but the table is gone, wind stoppers attack rainmakers for
dancing too long.
A northeast tree catches fire from above, the river of truth drowns bitter winged doves.
Truth is the key, the iron cage is love. A blind man sings slowly, “Enough
is enough.”
Knowing in his heart only torture and blood, will ever satisfy broken winged
doves.
When the lightning strikes, she mourns the broken-curse.
Hoping in terror, it does not circle reversed.

Once in a world known long ago, silence brought peace to a thunderous flow.
Time took its toll in the coin of unknowns, eternally cloaked hatred of those who were slowed.
In the darkest long night it has a fiery glow, the nothing drains all: ravens, doves and crows.
Only the Owls, who listen, can keep what it knows.”
Eight jumps up and down stomping his feet hooting and howling, “Worth ten thousand listens.”
“Thanks Mr. Eight. What’s the verdict? What say you Michelle?” Bitterman briefly flinches.
““Requiem For A Vulture” might be a more apropos title, have you eaten dinner yet Bob?”
Michelle takes Bitterman’s guitar, setting it safely down, pulls him up; dragging him to supper.
A monumental walnut dining table, with twelve removable legs for storing it when the dining area is used as a ballroom, is seating the cooperating players.
Only the ailing Juzya Kydd and Azrok Steppe who is minding him are not present.
While the table
was being cleared RN6 leaders Moses and Maurice Abramson have been delivered to
the assembly by Aesop Mercurius and Friar Brian Dormante. Trevor is at the head
of the table with Danes and Pierce to either side.
Bob, Harris, Alex and Augustus are at the far end near the fireplace. Miss Faversham is on guard at the rope factory’s picnic area pond for the last fourteen months. The three lads are attentively seated at the mid-table with Lucian across from Maurice,
Moses, Aesop and Dormante. Lisa, Aurian and Michelle are moving about restlessly trying to stay occupied. Trevor clicks a glass.
“First order of business is to order the business. I’ll start and we’ll
move down the table. We accessed the doctor’s stronghold at great cost. The most sublime fact we acquired is the presence of an unwelcomed neutral third party indifferent
to Dr. Vulchario. The adjustments we have all encountered he has also encountered. So we all know what is at stake: Artrex open the display.”
The Player opens the vault setting it on the middle of the walnut table. The five disk array floats above the halved vortex paradome locker bathing the room
in amber yellow-gold ambience, reflecting a deep nimble discerning awareness through the room;
and bouncing of the cherry wood veneer paneling back to the vault. “The Intruder referenced these five disks, revealing that they must be allowed to confer with the old disks and endorse them,” Looking towards Artrex.
“How many RN6 style vaults are you in possession of?” The Player holds nine fingers aloft then flattens both hands sweeping them outward before holding four fingers pointing downward.
“For absolute clarity Artrex has indicated nine vaults, which includes this
living light, and four vaults not constructed by ALL BLACK.” Lucian leans away from the table sipping his water.
McBain holds both hands over each other turning them. Artrex secures the fountainheads.
“Through devoted application and extreme good fortune, Pierce was able to facilitate the exchange between the old system’s level one and the new system. It discloses, discerns, affirms
and finally approves. I have been led to understand it can do this automatically but not restart.”
Augustus calls out from the far end of the table, “I found the disk in one of the amber rooms about twenty thousand years of natural time ago. I have an active clock stored at the university rotary. It is very compact you’ll need the old disk and
the level one Prime Code to shut it off.
Some devices and inventions can only be closed by having both the disk and its master index.
If I should die Alex and Frank know how to open The Arboretum’s chamber and tunnels.”
Mathias and Harris had long ago restricted Augustus’s abilities to run amuck unchallenged.
Mr. Eight had believed Augustus’s tale of studiously decoding the disk over
great lengths of time and copes with the revelation by getting a smoke and light from Artrex who winks at him.
Trevor looks to Pierce and Danes to decide who wants to continue. Ted takes up the charge.
“Having accessed the Crystal Spring it is my belief that the original Ivan and Grigori do survive the stopping and starting of The Construct but they are no longer in charge. Null Vine or Vull Nine are both old terms used by NID computer specialists.
Library City as a system is trying to find and exploit flaws, if they exist, in
the most fundamental system. It is an organism trying to embed itself in another organism; in this case information systems of abstract intelligence that are at war with each
other. The Other as Vull Nine is a reflection of The Existent as The One.
There is a good possibility that what Frank Harris and Alex Mathias believe is true. A future experiment or potential experiment is either reaching backwards in time or a system is trying to
overcome another system and prevent an experiment.” All eyes were thoughtfully on Danes.
Pierce rose as Ted sat down satisfied there were no trivial or distracting misdirected questions.
“The representative at Vulchario’s made it clear that the old and new sections would interact or everything but those ten disks would be eliminated. He gave us a heads up not to ingest any of
The Essence, so it implied were cooperating and Vulchario isn’t. I don’t disagree with Ted, but my ability to model the system isn’t up to that level.
I’ll hazard a guess that The Zero Dome is a protection so that we won’t encounter multiple
versions of ourselves. Each of us trapped in there has only one “Other” but
everyone else would have up to eight living or dying others outside the boundary of the failed timestar if the fundamental system has tried to restart nine times.”
Pierce sat down as Alex jostled Gus who took the bait. “Disk-1 has a natural affinity for Disk-2. I tracked Ivan’s movement through the lightmach gates using it as a trace device. Holding it and easing your grip slightly allows it to pull towards
the next closest disk. He knows the same and has tried to acquire the other disks. Moving closer to another disk it vibrates softly; within a short range it stops humming. You can trace a circle by walking in and out of the humming range and pinpoint the
location as the center of the circle. Long ago I was friends and colleagues with Vlad Vulchario. I helped him design Misty Hob and the hidden aqueduct in the hollow wall system.”
Augustus sat back down each revelation deepening his weariness satisfied he had confessed all he knew to be of value to the surviving players. Mr. Eight stopped squirming and wiggling to smooth his black uniform and stood. “The goal is to acquire the
other four disks at least long enough to endorse them. In that light, military pressure, both as a distraction and diversion and to convince the enemy of our determination is required. Also the component of stealth must be in the forefront by refined
sophisticated incursions; hen pecking and rabbit holing enough scouting missions, until they are ignored. Then load in a high speed advance team and aim for the disk.”
Maurice coughs politely and holds his glass aloft. McBain holds both hands towards him palm upwards flagging him into the discussion. “RN6 has a lot of innovative defensive and offensive ordinance in need of battlefield verification. Owing to the
desire to be a part of the next version of The Construct, our consortium is situated similar to Lucians with almost unlimited numbers if the battles become
onslaughting waves and weapons of mass destruction bring enormously high casualty counts. Bill
Templeton asked me to relay that continued use of Oldham Air Force Base is a four year minimum commitment; which should allow the S.X. Artrex to remain a viable permanent platform.” Maurice sat down his brother Moses placing a hand
over his
reassuringly.
Lucian stood, “Mr. Eight has salvaged the ten ring origin system gates from
Deepwater Lake.
They remain in place for storage but are fully charged. We’ll bridge large equipment and troops forward using cached magna sleds. Small areas of flat ground to enter and exit the gates are required for the heaviest cannonades. We’ll be swapping the S.
X. Signet into The Octagon and moving S.X. Manta back to Oldham. The remaining section of The Core can function at fifty percent capacity in that configuration. Grigori Vulchario and The Ivan known as Morbiditus are to be courted and treated
deferentially by everyone in the hopes they can be turned toward early defection. If we should advance our standing; possessing disk one and disk two for even a brief moment, they are to be immediately used to summon the S.X. Rover while we have the
majority stakeholders vote over The Core’s remote navigation. If the holders of the other disk align as allies we could forever lose that quadrant of The Core. Does anyone have battle-intel questions?”
A long reflective silence accrues as the players search their thoughts. Brother Aesop Mercurius coughs raspily “Is Juzya Kydd going to survive the recent mission into the enemy’s stronghold?”
Augustus slides the open case holding the jeweled stiletto to mid-table, “I guaranty he survives.”
Alex, Harris, Lucian and the three boys help Michelle dismantle and store the
heavy walnut table in the wall cavity where it becomes a length of panel on either side of the central arch. Michelle pushing and pulling a dozen chairs and two couches into
a half circle; rolls the large television, on its heavy wheeled cart, into a leisurely angle for viewing the election results. Snack carts and tray tables in place for the guest’s food and beverages: she meets Mr. Eight in the rear pantry leading to
the northern screen porch. He reaches in several shelfs behind the stacked can goods taking Alex’s Arsenal 44. Magnum. He unloads the six spent cartridges giving them to Michelle, reloads the weapon and gives it to her. Taking a mason
jar from the
shelfs corner filled with sand. “There is a dynamo and three small diamond pyramids. If I die break the dynamo.”
Michelle already knows the jar and hidden dynamo are there. “Don’t be so morbid Mr. Eight.”
Eight cuffs into blue jeans and desert boots, Michelle gets their warm jackets as they exit to the screen porch. She stands behind him placing both hands on his shoulder and he targets the former OWL operative Stephan Barret and intersects him eight
feet in front of his line of sight.
The slight, intensely staring young albino speaks in a whisper. “The horses
are lined up.”
Stephan is a specialist virtuoso. His father Jack Barret is a captain on the Skyline Police force.
He is sitting thirty feet away across a well-lit bicycle path on a park bench just inside the lip of a shadow. Mr. Eight and Michelle silently follow Stephan
over; seating themselves on either side of Jack. Stephan squats in front of Mr.
Eight and then
Michelle, their eyes close as their presence exits and they leave on the bridging mount. Stephan carries them out of the park across the broad busy night traffic of the avenue. Autograph and memorabilia salesman Collin Hugh Outlier is waiting for Stephan
on the corner. The tall, chubby, dark haired Collin is smiling, anticipating a sale to young Stephan, who has become a regular customer over the past six months.
Opening his dark blue parker Collin moves away from the traffic light on the corner towards the nearby waist high planters at the buildings edge. Using the wide lip as a shelf he lays several items out signed by celebrities living in the Eastern
Protected States second largest city. Barret eyes a few items closely. “Can I
borrow your glasses I left mine at home?” Stephan asks quietly.
Outlier eager for the sale doffs his eyewear; handing them to him, presuming Stephan is nearsighted also, “I am only two degrees nearsighted they might help.” Barret examines several autographed items before removing the glasses and holding an
autographed Johnny LeMond album up by the corner between them. “Seventy-Five” Collin begins with an asking price.
Eyes fixed Mr. Eight and Michelle mount Outlier convincingly. “All set Stephan, the pistol.”
Stephan returns the 44. Magnum he received from Michelle. Barret calls ahead to a spotter on a handheld radio. Adam Cayhill is making his concession speech having failed in his bid to acquire
the presidency of The Protected States. “All three names spoken clearly is the escape hitch.”
Michelle turns the mount towards the turn of the century baroque Markham Towers; taking up a casual lounging spot ten feet away from the archway’s gated vehicle entrance, with several other fans. A police detective’s car is parked across the avenue
two blocks down. A modest stir of whispered anticipation develops as a black limousine carrying Johnny LeMond home from the nearby event at Adam Cayhill’s
campaign headquarters pulls up to the curb. Michelle relaxes slightly knowing she won’t have to
waste a round on the gate guard to get into position.
Lemond gets out of the car. Michelle and Mr. Eight feel Collin’s right thumb tip draw a straight line across the right eyebrow. Alex has jumped backwards and is signaled in. The left thumb tip traces across the left eyebrow. Pierce or Trevor has
jumped back to witness. Michelle waits to settle as LeMond signs autographs. Finished he passes into the arch hearing footsteps behind.
Michelle allows Alex to draw the weapon. LeMond turns, “Is that All.”
Collin Hugh Outlier replies, “I Am No One.” firing six rounds into his heart.
The second casualty in the battle between The Three Realms falls dead on the cobblestones.
Detective Russell McGilvray seeing the horse following Lemond into the courtyard pulls up across the street and confronts Collin. Michelle and Mr. Eight silently exit and McGilvray takes the emptied weapon from Collin’s limp
hand, radioing the shooting
to dispatch; he requests an ambulance. His partner Det. Sandra Rutledge handcuffs Outlier. McGilvray returns to the curb.
Stephan Barret approaches asking the detective for a cigarette. “Russell Allen McGilvray.” is the calm studied reply. Mr. Eight and Michelle leave Russell McGilvray and are returned by Stephan to the park and his waiting father. Jack Barret considers
these occasions a pure moment of truth.
Could he kill his own son to terminate a hijacked line originating from the past or the future?
The transposition of computation lines is unfettered and no accumulated assemblage of players is able to interfere. LeMond unlike Bitterman was not buried alive at the Crystal Skull staring up at a diamond dome for all eternity. The Origin managing The
Totality of The Construct was not a comprehendible reality implying grave responsibilities, including knowing when to walk away.

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