Cannibal World (Wine of the Gods Book 30) Read online

  A grim detachment was keeping close to Xen Wolfson. Yesterday they would have laughed at anyone claiming to be a dimensional explorer. Today only the vids of his deadly rampage through that horrible . . . place was keeping him unarrested. At the moment he was asleep, head leaned back against the wall.

  A new group of people approached him, and he blinked his eyes open and sat up straight. This was a mixed bunch of military and civilians.

  "Mr. Wolfson, how are we to swallow your presence here at the same time as this attack?"

  Xen frowned. "Sorry. I guess it's time for the long explanation. My nation is just one of several on a single World. We became aware of dimensional travel when we were discovered independently by two other advanced tech Worlds who were investigating the dimensions for resources and living space.

  "Both those polities were aggressive and possessive, taking resources even when they found people there. They weren't as bad as this lot, but they certainly did, both of them, set up second class worker programs.

  "We kicked both of them off our World, and set to experimenting. We were, as best we knew only the third World to develop dimensional travel.

  "While kicking them off our World, we damaged the Earth's facilities, and we've threatened them if they actually attack other Worlds. We have located an empty world to use as an meeting place where anyone could open an embassy. I don't know that it can really take the credit, but we haven't fought in the . . . well, almost two years since.

  "We have been exploring all the multitude of other Worlds since then. Your World we found when we detected transdimensional activity, and came to see if you were friendly or aggressive. This rift thing is nothing I've ever seen before. I sent the other agent back to raise the alarm and hopefully some experts are on their way back to us."

  Ben shifted and studied him. "You said you were a 'dimensional cop' or something like that?"

  He nodded. "My World—we call ourselves Comet Fall now, to differentiate us from all the other Earths—my World controls dimensional travel in our neighborhood, to try and prevent attacks across dimensions. I am Captain Xen Wolfson of Western Intelligence, seconded to the Department of Inter-dimensional Security and Cooperation. Exploration and jumping in to stop Earth or the Empire of the One from attacking other Worlds is pretty much my job description."

  "We're Earth." A military type with lots of fancy work was quite firm about it.

  "Yes, and so are several thousands of others that branched off after the term became common in the Anglish speaking parts of the World." He nodded. "Yep, splitting all the time, in theory, but most of the splits are too small to be the least bit important. You only get a major branch split with a spread probability astronomical event."

  "Astronomical . . . but what about cause and effect and multiple possible outcomes?" A civilian. Could the military have pulled in an expert this quickly?

  "Apparently it causes all sorts of little bubble separations that heal back over rapidly. Even nuclear wars all seem to blur back together. There's a whopping bunch of people studying that, you'd best believe. It's been fifteen hundred years since the first nuclear war, and the Worlds are falling back together now. It's very weird on an individual level, the people meeting and marrying similar people and having identical babies. Eerie."

  "The Earth that first discovered dimensional travel is the one everyone calls 'Earth'. Let's see. Hygeia, third largest asteroid, right?" Xen looked around at the group, most of whom were nodding. "A big branch split off sixteen thousand years ago when a collision broke it up and sent chunks all over the inner solar system. That is one major branch. Then there's another one, a mid sized Chondrite that hit Earth in 1908 over the Tunguska River in Siberia. Or Glasgow in 1940. Or Moscow in either 1940 or 1964. Or the Pacific Ocean in 2018. Whole fluffy branch of possibles there.

  "The Earth that got hit in 1908 was the one that developed dimensional travel. They started several colonies. They also did a lot of genetic engineering, got spooked by the results, and exiled all genetically engineered people to the Hygeia Branch, where continual bombardment has made life quite difficult. There's a reason my World is called 'Comet Fall'.

  "So. Our researcher reported what looked like dimensional activity, so I escorted her here. I'm the first 'dimension cop' to get here. Our gates are nice little things you can barely drive a car through. That rift . . . and those . . . cannibal merges are things that never been seen before. I think you'll find you'll have plenty of allies."

  "I certainly hope so. We've got them stopped, but we haven't backed them up and we have no idea what to do about that rift."

  "Frankly, sir, neither do I. With the permission of whomever is in charge, if I can eat and sleep, I'd like to go back and take a long hard look at it."

  "I'm in charge of you, at this point," the fancy work officer told him. "And not much inclined to let you out of our sights."

  Xen nodded. "General Jeffers, right? I understand, and I'm not terribly modest, nor picky about mattresses. Stick me anywhere. I'm afraid I really do have to recuperate before I'll be good for much more."

  "Right." The officer met the eyes of the guard detail. "There's a man at the front desk. Tell him General Jeffers wants a large suite for an important witness and his guards. Ask about how food is being delivered and get Mr. Wolfson fed and in bed. Don't take your eyes off him."

  "Yes, sir."

  They all headed out, the soldiers keen, the strange man sagging.

  Jeffers looked at the rest of them, then around at his assistant. "In fact, get three more rooms. We'll want you all on hand tomorrow. We'll be up all night- all the rest of the night – studying the vids, for which I very sincerely thank you, by the way."

  Ben helped Melody up and joined Gwen in following the assistant out. The sergeant at the desk handed over instameals with the keys, and warned that the doors unlocked every time they had a power outage.

  Ben managed to eat and shower before he collapsed in bed.

  Chapter Two

  28 Thargelion 4721

  Helios Shadow Zone

  The ArcHelaos of Helios got the pick of the first delivery of captives.

  Not that he was in any shape to pick. The last merge had been a bad one, and only the stalemate in the forum had kept him officially in office.

  Which suited DoHelaos Nikostratos fine. From the obscurity of a position known for its lack of power he had quietly accrued money and land and the best part, second pick of the captives.

  Technically. The first troops through the eye of the needle stage had merged almost randomly, so they could be recovered enough for the next stage. And the first doctor, to start the cycle of controlled merges they had to have. Once committed, there was no turning back.

  'Everyone' had agreed that what ArcHelaos Silouanus needed in a merge was a man as closely matched as possible to his own physical measurements, and the brain damage necessary to erase the personality of the Native was carefully planned to avoid the most damaged areas of the ArcHelaos's brain . . . The best match of the early indraw was a man of about thirty-five.

  Nikostratos, on the other hand, had dieted, nearly starved to get his weight down, and he matched well with a youth of perhaps twenty.

  So the ArcHelaos exited the merge facilities as a gray-haired, dignified man of perhaps fifty, while Nikostratos admired his thick blond hair in the mirror, the firm skin, and nodded in satisfaction. Only in the artificial shadow zone did they have the time to match up like this. Once the natural merge process overtook the artificial, everything would merge very fast. In minutes, not days.

  Everything merged. Not just their bodies. Everything. Down to the level of subatomic particles. The Earth merged, the atmosphere, and as the event edge migrated, the other planets, the Sun, the stars. Like to like, as much as possible in the immediate area. The more complex, the worse the potential problems. DNA was the worse. One did not want the random process to average out the difference between oneself and a dog. Or with a woman.

&nbs
p; Not that women weren't good technos. But averaging the private parts . . . One really did not want to think about it. The first accidental merge had been a disaster. Three fourths of the population had died, merged with something non-human. The quarter left had suffered from infertility due to cross-gender and cross-species merges, and DNA damage.

  But the people who survived were a blend of the originals who merged. The coincidence of the Senior Forum with a 'college prep school' for boys had resulted in a vital and energetic leadership with the sudden gift of decades of life and power ahead of them. The ones that survived.

  Nikostratos smiled into the mirror. They were Athanosos. Immortal. No one and nothing would stand between them and kleos.

  Human cells merged, and the DNA, where the base pairs differed, became – randomly – one or the other. Usually it didn't make a difference. One always felt sick after a merge. But by matching body sizes the organs matched up and were viable. There were roughly the right numbers of cells. Mismatched areas tended to result in the incorporation of inorganic atoms from whichever World was in deficit. Aching, sweating and fevered, pissing black . . . the body eliminated non-viable cells and either recovered or did not. In the merge zone, the effect was slow enough that drinking waters alternately from each world, and dosing with minerals and proteins from each world was able to compensate almost completely.

  But subtle problems did show up. Miscarriages were at epidemic levels, still births, malformed babies. Viable births were rare, and so they merged again, in search of youth, health, and yet another small adjustment of genes that, this time, might allow one to father a child.

  This fifth merge ought to go smoothly. They had the process down pat, had had thirty years to apply the lesson from the previous merge to this one. The new chaos gates that allowed them to spy out the worlds ahead of them and pick a target had made an enormous difference last time. This time he was sure they'd come through in great shape.

  The part of the World they would impact first contained ten times the number of Damos as there were Helaos who had survived their series of disasters. They could pick and choose, damage the Damos's brains enough to ensure the dominance of the Helaos personality, and when the over lap flipped and accelerated, the rest of the natives would die, merging painfully with whatever was near and came closest to matching their bulk chemistry.

  Nikostratos slicked back his newly blond hair and smiled in satisfaction. His initial blackout had been brief, and he had complete motor control. Still slow and heavy from the excess chaotic matter not yet shed.

  This excellent merge of his was exactly what he needed. The World was slowing with every merge. This one, or possibly one more, and they would stick. Become a part of that Universe forever. Youth and energy, to take over when the Mergers stopped. He glanced over at Silouanus. The doctors were guiding the ArcHelaos to a reclined bed.

  "He looks better. Steadier on his feet." He commended the physicians. They were both trans, more male than female now, but one bad field merger had ruined them, probably forever. The female parts had been surgically removed, and they'd merged with males ever since. But the genes were still mixed. No doubt they still hoped for anastasios. Ah, how the language was changing. No doubt the reacquisition of manhood would be a resurrection of the highest kind.

  Usirus staggered as he entered the room. Nikostratos could see him trying to not show any weakness, but the head of the Forum sat down rather quickly.

  "Your merge looks good, Usirus. I can recognize you, which augers well."

  "And you, Nikostratos. Pity about the pale hair, you look like a barbarian."

  "So long as my health hold up, I'll deal with it." Nikostratos nodded and walked out. As usual after a merger, he was hornier than all Hades. It took some people that way. He knew from experience that the next three days would, in the end be mostly forgotten as his brain adjusted and the slight changes in the paths of memory adjusted. But a few delicious tidbits sometimes remained. When he was completely recovered, he could get back to serious matters.

  He walked up to the women's floor, and looked around. They'd obviously caught some young ones this time. Excellent. He recognized the traces of the one he was looking for. "Parthenope."

  She looked up hesitantly. "Yes, I think that is my name." She smiled when he nodded and ran her hands over his newly young chest. He leaned in and kissed her, and she pulled him into her cubicle. The women were just as randy as the men, thank the devil.

  One advantage of being aware and active early after a merge was that one could screw one's rival's wives. Usiris's this time. And then the ArcHelaos's if there was time before his own wife merged.

  She'd be down there 'shopping' for a beauty. A very young beauty. She'd even talked about a merger with two young children. Fortunately she'd believed the doctors' predictions of a fatal outcome. So she'd joined Niko in his strict diet, and was hoping for a well grown preteen. One of these merges she'd wait too long and start sucking in inorganics from the air and water.

  He was still shedding mass in the form of chaos, the primordial dark matter. For two weeks he'd be able to travel about, go home, or view the new world. Once he was over the merge completely he'd have to remain within the shadow zone lest he be mistaken for unmerged matter when he returned. Although, if another good sized boy came along . . . dark-haired, perhaps . . .

  But they were on round three of the controlled merge. Five more cycles of enlargement and they'd all be merged and could just sit and wait for the process to complete. They'd finish merging the soldiers and the technos, then the women and children. It wouldn't take long.

  He'd return to his citadel and rebuild, as was always needed, outside the shadow zone. But he'd paid for, and received, the detailed plots of what was there, in the parallel World's equivalent space. A dairy farm to the north, several orchards. Small farms with horses, chickens and peacocks. So he'd bought cows and put them where the dairy cattle would hopefully over lap with them. Fruit and nut trees were as good a match as possible. Field grains. Small corrals and pens were located in the right spots, and contained the right gender of horse or hen. The peacocks . . . he could only hope for a viable merge with chickens. They'd lost peacocks altogether, several merges ago. It would be nice to get them back.

  He left Parthenope sleeping and sought out Zosime and screwed her too.

  He strolled back to the men's recovery area. More of the TraHelaos had merged, and they were all sitting around trying to look healthy and alert. They'd do no more than a third of them at a time, to keep a quorum in working order. He checked his wife. Hecuba was still waiting for a younger prospect. He shrugged. She had another day before the merging process began to speed up, before she started picking up significant amounts of inorganic matter from the air and water.

  The entire purpose of the Shadow Zone was to slow the merge enough to find a like person to merge with. And to move building material from the target into the zone, to merge with the Helios material. Like attracted to like. Not just person to person, but copper wire to copper wire, concrete to concrete. By moving the material of the target in front of the Shadow Zone to the place where it could usefully merge during the next stage, they could save a lot of infrastructure. Of course, the chaos gates allowed them to move critical materials out of danger of being damaged by the merge. Power generators, copies of the gate generators, the magnetics towers that created the shadow zone. They'd have their newly merged world back in working order quickly.

  He walked back to the women's quarters. The gradual merging of the mental processes resulted in a memory loss, combined with vivid dreams. Not only would these women not remember him screwing them, he wouldn't remember either. He remembered wondering just a few hours ago if he'd really done this thirty years ago. He laughed as he was drawn into yet another woman's cubicle.

  Chapter Three

  20 June 2051

  Pittsburg, PA

  In the morning Ben reluctantly climbed back into his filthy clothes, and stuck his head
out the door. A soldier in the hallway handed him a pass on a lanyard and suggested that the breakfast buffet would be a good place to start his morning, and gave directions.

  Ben followed them and found, as he'd expected, that they were the only option. Gwen was ahead of him, in the casual uniform they wore under the armor. She'd apparently rinsed it out last night. It was badly stained around the hole in the left chest.

  She waved him over. "Whatever was in the wine, it worked a treat. I feel great, and the doctors are drooling and want it. How about you?"

  "I was so beat I didn't even have nightmares. I suspect those will start soon enough. And I didn't have the sense to try and wash anything." He rubbed his nose. "I wonder where the front is? I might actually be able to get home and pack for the duration. Hesus." He broke off as the TV in the corner switched from discussions of yesterday's debacle switched to current action. "I didn't realize they'd destroyed the bridges."

  "We did that." A young bright-eyed officer sat down across from them. "Detective Goldman, Lieutenant North, I'm Captain William Holder, and I'll be your guard and flunky and everything else today."

  Gwen looked as cynical as Ben felt. "Military intelligence?"

  "Yep. And lots and lots of foreign relations as well, so tell me about your buddy Xen?"

  "He showed up out of nowhere while we were evacing, took out two tanks . . . I really have no idea how. He waved his hand, and they got these big slices in them. He wanted to go forward and take a good long look so we hot wired a car and did so, with what he called a multi-dimensional bubble over the car, with peep holes for us. They really couldn't see us. We followed a truck full of people through that rift and then circled the building they were being taken to and went in the front doors and found out what it was." Ben stopped, aware his grip on the edge of the table had gone painful. "And then he just freaked. He was throwing fireballs, and chopping things, when that one truck tried to drive away, he went howling after it . . . I feel silly calling it magic, has to be some sort of advanced tech. But whatever he had, he used it, got those people back."