Kai's thin retreating figure. 'Although I didn't realize it'd do that to him.'
'He must have been blasting it at them,' she shuddered. 'I wish I'd had the wit to see how unstable Zhen had become.'
Elra's face betrayed all. A grimace, if there ever was one. Strangely, Olympia was almost pleased that she'd neglected to foresee that, while being so preoccupied with the imminent threat. In a way, it reassured her that she was still human.
Forty
Later, while Kai was inside being recuperated, Elra, Olympia, Singoro, Morwen and Tsonge were sitting round the low-burning fire, hearing Elra's account of events. She'd just finished telling them how it felt to open rifts, and how it came so naturally, especially given her past experiences.
'We knew something was up when that rift occurred, about a decade ago,' Olympia explained. 'Exciting times. I don't think any of us had experienced something like that before.' There was a general murmur of assent from the group.
'Why didn't you contact me back then?' Elra asked.
Olympia smiled. 'Because back then it wasn't you who actually created it. It was your future self. And the only way your abilities managed to manifest themselves...'
'Was because I lived the life I did,' Elra finished.
'Well, hard to say for sure. But either way, had we contacted you then, you’d be a different person now. Make sense?’
Elra nodded.
'Still,' Singoro continued darkly, 'I don’t like the way the rifts are unstable, how they keep on zeroing in on this desert...'
'It was because she didn't know how to control them properly,' Tsonge replied. 'Those desert people were able to exploit that. Now she's got it under control...'
'Because of her lack of control they've been able to get a foothold in our universe,' Morwen finished neutrally, as if just stating a plain fact.
Olympia felt a creeping insight sneak up on her, but it evaporated before it could fully form. It left a sense of purpose in its wake, a confirmation that, contrary to everything both she and modern science held dear, these events weren't purely random, that there was some intrinsic meaning behind them.
'While that's true, it isn't Elra's fault,' Olympia continued, brushing her thoughts aside. Morwen just half-smiled, so she continued. 'They clearly have the ability to manipulate rifts, regardless. Maybe not form them, but they can alter them once they're open. We know this, because how else could they have targeted Cali?'
'Cali?' Singoro asked.
'Elra's friend who they captured.'
'Of course. Silly me.'
'We also know they have Knowledge, or a variant of it.'
'And they're human, or near as damn,' Elra added.
'Yes, but what do they want?' Tsonge asked.
'Well, all the evidence suggests they want Elra,' his brother replied.
'They want Elra, but she isn't their end goal,' Olympia conjectured. 'I think they want her rift-making Knowledge. We know they can control them, fine. But they can't create them, otherwise they'd have got her by now.'
'You said they can manipulate them,' Singoro began. 'So why didn't they just target her instead of Cali when the chance arose?'
'Protection marks,' Morwen conjectured. 'In the Tower Bridge hideout.'
'No, it's not that.' Olympia explained. 'They're worried she'd try to wrest control of the rift from them. You forget: they tried to target her directly already. Look how that turned out. They won't risk another direct attack, especially now she can control them better. Their only hope is to lure her, hence why they captured Cali.'
'This is making more sense now,' Singoro said.
'If their only way to access our universe is through wresting control of Elra's rifts,' Tsonge began, 'and she's now got her ability under control... well, they won't be able to come back unless we actively go to them, will they? So what are we worrying about?'
'Because that means leaving Cali behind,' Elra explained coldly. 'And that's not an option.'
They were silent for a moment. None of them for a second doubted Elra's resolve to go ahead, with or without their help. Was it selfish of her to want to do this, and potentially put the whole world in danger? Then again, is it really ever selfish to want to save your friends?
'The way I see it,' Tsonge began, grimly looking at each of them in turn, 'is that we wouldn't even hesitate if this was one of our own.'
'Exactly,' Singoro continued. 'And supposing they do want Elra for her rift Knowledge, like Olympia suggested. What if they come after Morwen next? Or Rania? Or anyone else? We need to assess their aims, their motives, their beliefs. This is the first time we've made contact with another group with Knowledge since - '
'This is the first time humans have made contact with others from a parallel universe!' Olympia exclaimed. ‘This is bigger than the Marked community. Bigger than all of us. This is history. We must go, one way or the other.'
'But it would be suicide to just run in there, unprepared,' Morwen warned.
'Yes, we'd need access to deep, powerful Knowledge,' replied Singoro.
'Ancient Knowledge,' Tsonge affirmed.
Olympia's eyes widened. 'You aren't thinking of - '
'Why not?' The brothers said in unison.
'What?' Elra asked.
Olympia looked at her, eyes wide. The brothers smiled.
'We are in a unique position,' Tsonge began, 'a position to kill two very important birds with one stone. This moment was surely written. This happening, all this happening, is truly serendipitous.'
His brother took up the thread. 'Your rifts can take us to the time of the Founders, the prehistoric humans whose minds, in this place in the distant past, first awoke to the power of Knowledge. And with their ancient, fundamental, powerful marks, techniques and skills - '
'...we can be well-prepared to get Cali back, and to see what these desert people are really made of,' the other finished.
'This... we have to be careful.’ Olympia warned. ‘Very careful. We'll have to make sure we can get back.'
'What do you mean?'
Olympia grimaced. 'This isn't going to be easy to understand. Through the very act of going back in time and seeking out the Founders, we will be creating a new, tangent universe. We will have to make sure that when we go forwards to our own time, we go forwards in our universe, not the one we've created.'
'I can make anchor Marks,' Morwen offered. 'Unique, entangled, identical marks which Elra can use to bridge her rifts. Just like when she came here from London. If I create one here, and then a copy at the other end, it will ensure we return to our own universe.'
'I'm willing to take the risk,' Elra confirmed.
'Morwen, I assume - ?' Olympia began.
'I'm going,' she confirmed.
'Well, I'm not going to let you ladies have all the fun,' Singoro announced. 'Count me in.'
Olympia looked uncertain. 'Some of us should stay behind, just in case...'
'We don't make it back?' Morwen finished.
'Yes. There need to be some Wise left alive, if this all goes pear-shaped. So, maybe just Elra, Morwen - '
'And Kai,' Elra added. 'He'll kill me if we go without him.'
'And Kai,' Olympia continued, ‘will try to make contact with the Founders. When they come back, with new Knowledge, we'll gather some more people, train them, and go get Cali.' Everyone looked pleased with that arrangement; even Singoro, who'd just been disenfranchised from the expedition.
Olympia then looked at each of them in turn, determined. 'So as soon as Kai's back on his feet, so to speak, it's go-time.'
Forty-one
By the time the rosy fingers of dawn crept over the savannah, it was just Elra and Olympia left round the fire.
'Who were the Founders? Exactly, I mean?'
Olympia smiled the smile of someone who didn't know the exact answer herself. 'Good question. All we know is that they were the people who first discovered Knowledge, or developed it. They are the ones who made those cave paintings you saw earlier: so, judging
by when the paintings have been dated to, they probably lived about 40,000 years ago.'
'Forty thousand?'
'Yep. Long ago, but actually very recently compared to the full depth of the human past. Of course before then people could have just made marks on their skin, or in the earth, or on wood: so Knowledge could be far older than we currently reckon. Human ancestors have been living in this part of the world for millions of years.' She looked pensive. 'In fact, do you want to see something truly magical?'
'What?' Elra asked, apprehensive.
She rose to her feet, suddenly excited. 'It's about a mile from here. Come on!'
They walked up towards the hills, the same hills that nestled the cave they'd arrived in. Night was rapidly disappearing, and the combination of the full moon and the brightening dawn lit their way admirably.
After about ten minutes of ascending they came to a small plateau of smooth dark stone.
'Over here,' Olympia gestured, pointing at the ground.
At first Elra didn't quite know what she was supposed to be looking at. There were grooves in the stone, notches... were these marks?
And then she saw them.
Footprints. A bit worn and rough around the edges, but unmistakably human. Set in stone.
'This rock was molten over a million years ago. 1.2 million, to be exact. As it cooled, it would have retained some of its flexibility for a while, before setting completely.'
'So, these are 1.2 million year-old footsteps?'
'Yes – yes they are. The person who made these was a lot like us. They would have had loved ones, would have made tools, would have felt the satisfaction that comes after a good meal, would have looked out at the stars and