Page 42 of Butterfly Effects

“The universal-translator foliage the Kairos were using,” said Thomas. “Given that they claimed the flowers rendered infants capable of speech, I’m not sure they know any actual language any longer. They’re just relying on translation of intent, rather than intentional vocalizations.”

“Huh,” she said. “Fascinating. I’ve seen similar in the Johrlac cities, but the Johrlac do have a language, which they speak readily. I suppose they keep the flowers around for visitors. And I have absolutely no idea why they work. That’s a question for the family scholars. I am not among them.”

“You’re smarter than you act,” said Thomas, and she laughed.

“Visitors?” I asked. “Who would want to visit this place?”

Alice shrugged. Her stromopod was moving faster than we could, and she kept having to pull it to a stop so we could catch up. “Johrlar produces the best mathematicians in the known multiverse, and they’re always generous with their calculations and their time. They want to help everyone else understand math as well as they do.”

“Well, maybe not as well,” said Thomas. “I’m not sure they’d like it if everyone else could start bending space and time by doing algebra.”

“Please don’t introduce time travel to this situation,” said Sam. “I really could not deal with that right now.”

“No time travel, just personal tesseracts,” said Alice. “They have fine universities here, and living libraries made up of people who are happy to discuss scholastics with anyone who asks. I visited several times to consult with their cartographers. I’m hoping we’ve landed reasonably near to Ka’krin. That’s their capital city. The climate is correct for Ka’krin, and my location tags were originally designed there, which would imply a close arrival.”

“If these folks are all that friendly, why are we skulking around and stealing livestock, instead of heading straight for the nearest train station and just getting ourselves to town?” I asked, sourly. “This is starting to feel like a big waste of time.”

“They’re friendly, but they’re … insular,” said Alice. “The Johrlac believe they have the best way of doing everything, via their collective. You don’t establish a world-spanning hive mind without developing at least a slight superiority complex.”

“And given that they just abducted two members of our family, we can’t assume they’d be happy to see us at the moment,” said Thomas.

“We think they’ll be happier to see us after we steal a bunch of their stuff?”

“They respect problem-solving, especially when performed by members of what they perceive as limited species,” said Alice. “As long as we don’t harm their animals, they’ll understand we were only doing what was necessary to achieve our goals. And they’re not likely to be happy in the least after we free Arthur and Sarah from their custody. Johrlac don’t put a lot of weight on family.”

“Who needs family when you have a hive mind?” asked Sam sourly. He looked surprised as Alice nodded agreement.

“Oh, I’m so pleased that you understand,” she said. “That makes this all so much easier.”

We had left the jungle behind, and were now following her massive stromopod across open field. Not far in the distance, two more of the creatures were peacefully picking through the grass, using their claws to pull it out of their way as they dredged squirming things out of the soil below. They didn’t appear overly picky about whether they wound up eating clods of dirt and plants at the same time, but kept on grazing without pause regardless of what they shoved into their mouths. Alice pulled hers to a halt and slid down its carapace. “Sam, you’re with me,” she said, and trotted toward the others.

Sam shot me a helpless look before following her, looking about as enthused about the idea as I felt. Alice waited patiently for him to catch up, then led him on to the waiting stromopods, reaching out to touch their sides while waving for him to do the same.

Thomas watched fondly. I shook my head.

“I don’t mean to speak ill of my elders, but I think Grandma’s off her rocker,” I said.

He glanced at me, smiling. “Isn’t it wonderful?”

I blinked. “How is my grandmother having the survival instincts of a puppy wonderful?”

“She’s not like us, Annie. She can’t call down fire or burn away what frightens her. She has no connection to the pneuma. She’s not even like your beau—Samuel may not be a sorcerer, but he can protect himself easily when the need arises. Alice is just a normal human woman with a broad streak of good luck and excellent aim with a pistol. And she spent decades roaming dimension to dimension, refusing to let go of the idea that I was somewhere out there to find. She never lost hope. She still believes things can be better.”

“I’m not sure that’s always the best thing to believe,” I said.

“Maybe. Maybe not. But at the end of the day, I’d rather have someone who remembers how to hope at my back than someone who’s completely given up on the idea of things getting better.”

As I watched, Alice boosted Sam up to sit astride the stromopod’s back. He didn’t need the assist, but was clearly trying not to startle the creature, and accepted it willingly. She waved her hands, apparently instructing him to grasp the antennae, and I saw him gasp and smile as the creature turned to trundle back in our direction. Alice trotted alongside, keeping pace easily.

When Sam reached us, he pulled on the antennae, and the stromopod stopped. I pulled myself up the side of the creature, sliding into position in front of him and leaning back against his chest.

“You want the reins?” he asked.

“Nah. This way, if anything comes to bother us, I can set it on fire while you handle the driving. Besides, you know I don’t like the idea of operating a large motor vehicle.”

“This is more like a horse than a car.”

“Same deal.”