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conceivable sides?"
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Sindri stopped his pacing and speaking. After a long moment of silence, as if
he were pondering a truly weighty problem, he announced somberly, "The answer,
said the Danaan and their descendants, the so-called Archons, lay in the
mystery of entropy. That was the method used in crossing time, and of the
principles that were rediscovered here."
Grant massaged his temples. With his eyes closed, he intoned, "Sindri, if you
don't get to the goddamn point, you'll be rediscovering a principle of my own
creation. How a size-14 foot can fit into a size-2
rectum."
Sindri smiled without mirth. "Very humorous, Mr. Grant. Droll and vulgar at
the same tune. But I
doubt Oakshott would allow you to put it into practice. The least you can do
is not to interrupt. If you don't have the intelligence to follow my
reasoning... very well then, that is not your fault. But will you please
refrain from making impotent threats and allow me to continue? Thank you."
Anger stirred in Grant's eyes, and he clenched his fists. Shizuka noticed and
laid a hand on his arm, saying quickly, "Let's not argue the point. Let's hear
him out."
Sindri looked at her blankly and said, "Entropy describes a process by which
the universe is slowly running down, so slowly that it can only be measured in
terms of aeons. Every particle of matter is losing energy, and this energy in
the form of heat and light gradually accumulates throughout the universe. The
rate at which bodies lose their energy is the entropic gradient. It appears
that this process is also part of the process that we call the passage of
time, or our perception of its passage. The entropic gradient is steady,
incessant and inexorable."
Kane thought about asking for a clarification about the difference between a
perception of time passage and the passage itself, but decided to let the
little man continue. This was Sindri's show, and he liked nothing better than
to strut in the spotlight. Such dedication to being the center of attention
would eventually make him careless.
Sindri went on, "The physical constituents of the universe oh, let us say in
the year from which Oak-shott was trawled, 1899 were quite different than
those constituents at any other time. That's a fundamental bit of physics,
both quantum and relativ-istic."
"In other words," Brigid commented, "you can't step into the same river
twice."
Sindri clapped his hands together. "Exactly! The implications of that old
bromide are clear enough it means there's a difference in entropic
measurements in regard to capacity for energy. And the differences between the
universal constituents in 1899 and 2199 add up to a substantial amount. Now we
reach the truly fun part what entropy means to me."
"Whatever it means," Grant grunted, "it can't mean anything good at least not
anything good for the rest of us."
His lips stretched in a grin, displaying his perfect teeth, Sindri said, "You
could be so wrong, Mr. Grant, that you would cease to be even pathetic. If the
entropic gradient of any piece of matter can be reversed, either organic or
inorganic, if it can be restored to the status of matter of say, three hundred
years ago, we don't just have a temporal dilator."
He wheeled toward Brigid, stabbing a finger at her. "Quickly, Miss Brigid what
would we have?"
She frowned and unconsciously nibbled at her un-
derlip. Kane watched her face and was surprised by the expression that
suddenly crossed it. It wasn't only comprehension; it was horror. Her lips
moved, and it took her two attempts before she was able to husk out,
"Immortality. You would have, for all intents and purposes, a machine to make
anything or anyone immortal."
Sindri nodded in smug triumph. "Precisely, Miss Brigid. A god machine."
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Chapter"! 9
Sindri's pronouncement brought all conversation to a complete halt. A number
of things popped into
Kane's mind to say, but he knew Sindri wouldn't appreciate any of them.
Shizuka broke the silence by demanding, "Why should we believe anything you
say, particularly an
insane boast like that? You're not only a madman you're a liar."
Anger made a mask of the face of the dwarf. He turned as if to summon
Oakshott. Ever so slightly, Kane shifted position, readying himself to kick
the little man full in the face before he could verbalize an order.
With a visible effort, Sindri regained control of his temper. "Immortality is
the one dream that always haunted man yet eluded him. He has hungered after
immortality in the same way he hungered after great power." He waved toward
the forked pylon. "That is the source of both."
"I won't dispute you on one score," Brigid said. "But how do you know entropic
reversal works on organic matter? The physical body is a chemical ma-
chine. It wears out. Corrosion eats away .at cell structures, at the nervous
system, at the marrow of the bones. Going back in time a thousand years, and
then returning to this time period won't insure you'll live for a millennium.
There's no way you can prove your theory."
"Actually," Sindri said with a sly smile, "I have empirical evidence...but I
need more. That's where you three enter the equation. I'd hoped you'd bring
your little pet albino with you, since she has already been exposed to the
chronon radiation, but I can make do with the material I have here."
Kane, Grant and Brigid gaped at him as Sindri pointed a finger at them, one by
one. "You I'll send to the
Triassic Age, you to the Bronze. And you " he chuckled, a sinister rattlesnake
laugh that stood the short hairs on everyone's neck at attention " you, Miss
Brigid, I owe a bloodletting and therefore a lesson in humility. Perhaps I'll
send you to Caligula's Rome or inject you into the fall of Troy. If you
survive, you'll have some interesting tales to bring back."
With a whir and a click, Kane's Sin Eater sprang into his hand. Coldly, he
stated, "Perhaps I'll send you to hell, Sindri. And you won't have any
interesting tales to bring back."
Grant flexed his wrist tendons and his own auto-blaster slapped into his
waiting palm. Sindri regarded both weapons with inscrutable eyes. Sar-
donically, he murmured, "I suppose now would be the best time to play my ace."
"You'd better do something," Grant said grimly. "I know I've run out of
reasons to keep you alive."
Oakshott lumbered forward, aiming his wooden pistol at Grant. "Bang, bang.
Behave yourself, sirrah.
Bang, bang."
Grant grimaced in annoyance, lifted the Sin Eater and squeezed off a single
shot. The cracking report was painfully loud. The round centerpunched Oakshott
in his exceptionally broad chest and slammed him backward. He dropped his toy
gun, and his huge arms windmilled hi a clumsy attempt to keep his balance. He
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