The star cruisers were parked near an asteroid in a small star system. The asteroid was five light years from the Cestus System.

  Ural tapped the console, beginning a more careful scan. Abruptly, the star cruisers disappeared from the screen. The Supreme Intelligence’s green head appeared instead.

  “That is enough, Ural. There may be problems in one of my subroutines, actually, in three subroutines. I need a thorough scan in each of them.”

  Ural responded with a puzzled, “Sir?”

  “I have made a few ill decisions lately, and am trying to determine why.”

  Ural was eager to return his attention to the star cruisers.

  “I am aware that the star cruisers have piqued your curiosity,” the Supreme Intelligence said. “My problem takes precedence. If I glitch, it will be worse for both the Commonwealth and the Empire.”

  Ural did not respond.

  “This is a critical moment. I fear that those from Leviathan may have inserted a virus into my subroutines. If so, the viruses may reach my core and do irreparable harm.”

  Ural jumped up. If this was true, it was indeed deadly serious. “Command me, sir.”

  “That is more like it,” the Supreme Intelligence said.

  Soon, Ural sprinted, matching the speed of Captain Maddox, and perhaps even surpassing him.

  Soon, a trail of floating bots followed Ural as they ran diagnostics through one vast subroutine after another. Some of the subroutines were kilometers in length and deep underground, Ural having taken express elevators and turbo lifts to them. Each of the corridors was packed with highly advanced technology, lights blinking and shifting everywhere.

  Ten hours later, Ural collapsed, having found a glitch and an invasive virus, and repairing both. By the virus’ code, those of Leviathan had made and inserted it.

  “I feel better already,” the Supreme Intelligence said, appearing on a small side screen. “You found the virus and glitch. I knew I was acting irrationally. So then, we must discover how they knew I would capture and bring one of their assault vessels here.”

  “You believe those of Leviathan anticipated your action?”

  “I have come to believe Leviathan, at the highest levels, must be a computer like me,” the Supreme Intelligence said.

  “I thought they were cyborgs, a blend of machine and man.”

  “Not men as you know them, but certainly a biological creature.”

  “These cybers don’t run Leviathan?” Ural asked.

  “Perhaps you are correct. Either way, they have high-level, high-functioning computers like me. It was how they were able to devise an effective virus against me.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  “Part is deduction, part is pure theorizing. One thing is clear. Leviathan plans to launch a vast assault upon the Commonwealth, and likely upon the Empire of the New Man. If the Empire and the Commonwealth are divided or do not unite in time, I fear there is little hope for humanity in the Orion Spiral Arm.”

  “Will you help humanity in all its forms resist Leviathan?” Ural asked, “Even if we and Leviathan are possible Builder experiments?”

  “I have debated and reassessed that after you fixed the glitch and destroyed the software virus. This is my conclusion: I was not made to act as a guardian of Builder interests in the Scutum-Centaurus Spiral Arm. I was set to guard the interests and projects of the Builders in the Orion Spiral Arm, this arm.”

  “Are the New Man and the Commonwealth such Builder projects?” Ural asked.

  “Can you doubt it?” the Supreme Intelligence said.

  “Leviathan is a Builder experiment?”

  “It is a mix.”

  “And you know this how?” Ural asked.

  “I came to this conclusion due to the virus program they wrote. Do you not realize that everything a creature does reveals something of its essence through its method and methodology?”

  “That strikes me as possible,” Ural said, “but one would have to be highly intelligent and have great processing powers, as you do, to detect that.”

  “Ural, this is serious and deadly. More than ever, you must cease viewing the seven star cruisers.”

  “I disagree. If Maddox dies, it’s going to mean war between the Empire and the Commonwealth.”

  “And if Artaxerxes Par dies, what will it mean?”

  Ural took his time answering. “I’m compromised on the subject.”

  “That you have noted this gives me greater hope in you.”

  Ural kept his face placid, for that was what he wanted the Supreme Intelligence to believe. He did not feel compromised in the slightest. He was going to see these bastards die for what they’d done to his brother. If Maddox was going to be the blade he used—

  Ural kept his composure, not even making a false eye twitch or increasing perspiration, or heart rate.

  “You must rest, Ural. I detect slight agitation in you. Is it possible you are worried about the coming war between Leviathan and the Alliance of the Commonwealth and Empire?”

  “Are there other Builder forces we could recruit as allies?” Ural asked.

  “There are the Spacers. Oh, I should not have said that.”

  “Supreme Intelligence, you meant to say that. You meant to insert the idea into my mind.”

  “Possibly so, Ural.”

  “I request that you allow me to make a few more observations regarding the star cruisers and perhaps contact Captain Maddox.”

  “No, you will not contact Captain Maddox until this little abduction affair is over. Do I make myself clear?”

  “You do, sir.”

  “Good. You will not try anything sneaky behind my back?”

  “I would have before discovering the seriousness of the Leviathan plans. Now, I will not. The stakes have become too high.”

  Ural confidently made that statement because, prior to discovering the glitch and viruses, he had already set a timer and sent a message. Would Maddox know what it meant when he received the information on his Long-Range Builder Comm device? Ural hoped so. It was vital that Maddox knew that the archduke was not alone or with only one star cruiser.

  The modern Empire star cruisers were more powerful than the ones of old. Seven would easily overpower and destroy Victory, as unique as that vessel was.

  Ural would have to await events and hope that his nephew could take action; his own hands were now firmly tied.

  -13-

  On Starship Victory, Galyan passed through a bulkhead into the special science chamber where Ludendorff was crouched over a bench. Advanced tools, gadgets, and machines blinked with various colors as the Methuselah Man used tiny calibrators to test a mote of light. Galyan, fascinated by what he saw, approached more slowly.

  By what sixth sense did Ludendorff feel the holoimage? By none. A device in his ear pinged. Ludendorff straightened, looked around and saw Galyan.

  “I am sorry for intruding like this, Professor. I have to speak to someone or I will go crazy with grief. You seem like the logical choice.”

  Ludendorff glanced at the items he’d laid out. Without a word, he began to shut certain of them off. In an instant, the mote of light winked out. He set down the calibrators.

  “That is an interesting project, Professor.”

  Ludendorff raised his left hand, palm upward. “Don’t ask me about it, as it’s off limits until I’m ready to share. You’ve invaded my privacy. I, more than most, love my privacy and hate when anyone invades it without my leave.”

  “Do you want me to leave?” Galyan asked.

  “I do indeed, except you’ve aroused my curiosity. You have come to me first. Am I correct in thinking that?”

  “You are.”

  “Why didn’t you try Valerie or the captain first?”

  “Valerie is already angry at the captain. I did not want to increase her frustration. The reason I did not go to the captain, is it not obvious?”

  “It is, it is, but I want to hear you say it.”

  “So you can gloat?” Galyan asked.

  “Of course not,” Ludendorff said. “I take no delight in your troubles. I merely want to make certain where I stand. My status aboard Victory has often been in question and I do not wish to jeopardize it at this juncture. The captain is in a foul mood. Wouldn’t you agree?”

  Galyan nodded. “I have checked my personality profile regarding him. Captain Maddox is not the same as when he left. That is troubling me. Could he be a different man?”

  “You mean someone else than the Captain Maddox we knew two and a half years ago?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes and no,” Ludendorff said.

  “That is not a logical or a reasonable answer.”

  “It is when you consider it. Maddox is the same in the sense that he has the same flesh, blood and DNA as the man Grutch kidnapped. Maddox is also not the same because he has gone through a wild adventure in a different spiral arm. He had new motivation as new forces have played upon him. In other words, the adventure altered him to a degree. Thus, Maddox is the same and he is different.”

  “That is logical and reasonable after all. I am sorry for my original statement.”

  “No, Galyan, there’s no need for that.”

  Galyan gazed elsewhere in a droopy manner.

  “Now, see here, my boy, I know you’re troubled because you can’t go to the living Adoks.”

  “Yes,” Galyan said, as he threw his stringy fingers into the air. “Why am I always stymied in this? Two and a half years ago, we were about to reach the Adoks. The terrible event happened and the captain was gone. Now, I do not think he wants to help me at all.”

  Ludendorff readjusted several inert gadgets on the bench as if they were chess pieces on a board. He looked up. “Have you ever considered that the captain is being honest with you?”

  “That the living Adoks do not want anything to do with me?” asked Galyan.

  “That, yes.”

  Galyan shook his head. “I cannot accept such a concept. For one thing, Captain Maddox always gets what he wants. He twists things in his favor and gets it in the end. If he desired the living Adoks to accept me, they would.”

  “Maddox achieves this in all things?” Ludendorff asked.

  Galyan reflected. “I suppose not in everything But he seems to mostly get what he wants.”

  “Perhaps that is because the captain is careful in what he chooses. There are many things he must secretly desire but fails to get. The same is true with me. Galyan, uniting with the living Adoks is your great desire. But you must remember what happened in the Glenna Nebula to them before Victory arrived.”

  “I know. I go over the mission every evening when I am alone to see what I could have done differently.”

  “Of course, you could have done some things differently,” Ludendorff said. “But the truth is that the deified AIs in the Glenna Nebula were evil. Somehow, you’ve evaded the corruption they inherited.”

  “Why? How? If I cannot learn the reason, how will I avoid their fate?”

  Ludendorff scratched a cheek. “I’m not sure how or why you’re different. It is a fascinating point. Perhaps your lonely quest those thousands of years in the destroyed star system altered you. Perhaps your original personality, the Driving Force Galyan who defended the home planet, perhaps his engrams were more powerful and did not corrupt to the same degree as the other deified AIs did.”

  “Will I become like them? Will I turn evil?”

  “Anything is possible. Perhaps this very wanting and driving—you were a driving force.”

  “That is just a title, Professor.”

  “Well, yes and no.”

  “Not that again,” Galyan said.

  “I suggest you pay attention to my words. You’re making this a fetish, your desire to reunite with the living Adoks against their will. Perhaps in time that will corrupt your AI systems just like those in the Glenna Nebula.”

  “You truly believe this?” Galyan asked.

  Ludendorff shrugged. “I’m only suggesting possibilities. In the end, I wonder if in helping others the way you have has saved you from the corruption of the other deified AIs.”

  “I am processing the possibility, running parameters”

  Ludendorff nodded. “Now, as far as the captain goes, trying to twist his arm to make him do something he has decided against, that is the worst way to go about it. I suggest you study Meta. She comes at Maddox from the side. She waits and pleads at the right moment.”

  “I do not have Meta’s feminine charms. I certainly do not have her beauty, nor am I married to Maddox.”

  “You have other attributes,” Ludendorff said. “Whatever you try, you must bide your time. I’m surprised you haven’t worked that angle more. You’re going to live longer than the rest of us—use that.”

  “My longevity is not a given.”

  “Everything else being equal, you probably will outlive all of us, even me, a Methuselah Man.”

  “I suppose that is so.”

  Ludendorff rubbed his hands as if warming to the topic. “Perhaps you should work at inserting changes into Adok culture. You will have to do it from afar, of course. In fact, I believe you’re looking at this wrong. You’ve already lived thousands of years and may live thousands more. Working slowly toward a great goal makes more sense if you can carefully insert new facets into the equation.”

  “Like what?” asked Galyan.

  “My boy, I don’t have any idea. I have other problems to consider. Let me restate, though, that pushing Captain Maddox is foolish. He’s impervious to that kind of pressure. You must use subtle pressure instead.”

  “That is interesting,” Galyan said. “Now that you say this, I have noticed that you have changed some of your methods.”

  “I’m a Methuselah Man, my boy. Because I am old, I’m set in my ways. But I have also learned as a Methuselah Man that sometimes one must make changes if he hopes to learn from his mistakes.”

  “Are you learning from your mistakes?” Galyan asked.

  “I’m trying. I’ve decided to take a different tack with the captain. I’m not pushing him as I have in the past. I’m using humor and an easygoing attitude. It’s difficult to implement at times. The captain frustrates the heck out of me. But who knows, this may get me more of what I want.”

  “What do you want more than anything, Professor?”

  Ludendorff smiled. “If you don’t mind, my prying, AI friend, I’ll keep that to myself for now. However, I do want to figure out how to teleport like those of Helion.”

  Galyan blinked and blinked more. At last, he said, “You have given me hope and a possible new direction. I am even now correlating and weighing options and strategies as to how I should go about this. The whole idea of a long-term strategy is fascinating. That is…” Galyan stared in wonder at Ludendorff. “You have given me a wise suggestion.”

  Ludendorff bowed and flipped his right hand twice in a grand gesture. “Thank you, my boy, thank you, indeed. Few have said that to me lately. I’m trying a new method. We shall see how it works, or if I should revert to my old methods. For now, this is what I’m doing.”

  “I am glad and wish you the best.”

  Ludendorff nodded. “You must utilize the assets you possess in the way they’re most powerful for you, instead of acting like others and thinking it will yield results.”

  “I still yearn to be united with the living Adoks,” Galyan said. “Now, I may actually have a method for achieving that.”

  With that, Galyan turned and floated through a bulkhead. At that point, everything around him vanished.

  -14-

  Starship Victory vanished around Galyan because the vessel entered a hyper-spatial tube, one created from the Nexus or Builder Pyramid between Earth and its moon. After traveling hundreds of light years through the tube, the starship appeared near Earth.

  Galyan solidified and discovered that Maddox had ordered Victory into the tube. Apparently, the captain had called the Lord High Admiral and gotten permission to transfer. Soon after Victory parked in Earth orbit, Maddox was in a shuttle piloted by Keith Maker. The shuttle headed directly to Europe Sector, specifically the city of Geneva and Star Watch Headquarters there.

  The shuttle landed on a tarmac. Maddox exited and entered a flitter, which took him to the main roof of a complex of buildings. He alighted, walking briskly from the roof into the corridors. Soon, he stood before the desk of the secretary to the Lord High Admiral.

  “He’s waiting for you, Captain.”

  Maddox nodded. With his polished boots and strict military bearing, including a sidearm, he entered the office of the Lord High Admiral. The big old man, the oak of Star Watch with his white hair, craggy features, and grandfatherly manner, turned from the window he’d been looking out.

  “Good to see you, Captain. The flight went well?”

  “Sir,” Maddox said with a crisp salute.

  “Now I know this means trouble,” Admiral Cook said. “Go ahead, sit if you wish.”

  Maddox took three steps to the chair and sat, removing his hat and setting it on his lap.

  The Lord High Admiral grunted, shuffled to his chair, pulled it out, and with a display of stiffness, sat down, suppressing a groan. He placed his big hands on the desk.

  “You said it was urgent, a matter of life or death for the Commonwealth. What is it this time?”

  “Sir, you may or may not know—I doubt you do, in fact—but I abandoned the project of uniting Galyan with the living Adoks.”

  “Oh,” Cook said.

  “I used the power of the Planetary Plenipotentiary writ given me several years ago.”

  “I see.” Cook frowned heavily. “As I recall, you were only to employ the writ outside the Commonwealth, while in the Beyond.”

  “Be that as it may, there’s a pressing problem that needs my immediate attention.”

  “Just a moment,” Cook said. “Shouldn’t we find out if the Adoks were in league with Grutch in your kidnapping? That strikes me as critical.”