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."ByGod!" he said."We'll celebrate! The City will never be the same!"His words, along with my mother's instincts, would prove to be curiously prophetic.(Sometimes Ithought my mother was a secret scryer.) Two days after my elevation, on eighty-fifth day, a day ofcold, mashy snow and deep irony, Leopold Soli returned from the Vild.He was enraged to find mealive - so it was rumored.Out of spite and revenge - Bardo told me this - he went to the Timekeeper todemand that my petition be denied.But the Timekeeper fooled him.The Timekeeper fooled everyone,and fooled me most of all.He granted my petition, but added a proviso: I could mount an expeditionto the Alaloi provided I took my family, my mother and Justine and Katharine, along with me.AndSoli, too.Soli, who was my uncle, must come or else there would be no expedition.And since Soliwas Lord Pilot, Soli must lead the expedition - this was Timekeeper's galling, ironic proviso.When Iheard this news I could not believe it.Nor did I suspect that Bardo was right, that as a result of ourexpedition, the City would never be the same.Chapter 7Rainer's SculptureI was an experiment on the part of Nature, a gamble within the unknown, perhaps for a new purpose, perhaps fornothing, and my only task was to allow this game on the path of primeval depths to take its course, to feel its willwithin me and make it wholly mine.That or nothing!Emil Sinclair, Holocaust Century EschatologistI spent the next few days sulking about my house.I am ashamed to admit this, but the truth is thetruth: I brooded like a boy upon learning of the Timekeeper's proviso.I told Katharine to stay away; Itold her I was angry with her for not warning me the Timekeeper would humble me with his proviso.(This was a lie.How could I be angry with a beautiful scryer sworn to keep her visions secret?) I readmy book of poems or split firewood or set up my wooden chess pieces, replaying the games of thegrandmasters, all the while cursing Soli for ruining my expedition.That Soli had persuaded theTimekeeper to allow him to steal the leadership from me, I could not doubt.Soon after his return, Soli came to visit me, to discuss plans for the expedition and to gloat - or so Ithought.I received him in the fireroom in front of the cold, blackened fireplace.He immediatelynoticed the minor insult of the unlit fire, but he could not appreciate the greater insult, that I invitedhim to sit atop the same furs on which I had swived his daughter.I shamelessly savored theknowledge of this insult.As Bardo often reminded me, I had a cruel vein running into my heart.I was surprised at how much Soli had aged.He sat cross-legged on the furs, touching the new lineson his forehead, pulling at the loose flesh below his long chin.He looked twenty years older.I hadheard that he had almost penetrated the inner veil of the Vild.But the price he had paid for attemptingthose impenetrable spaces was time, crueltime.His voice was older, deeper, cut with new inflections."There should be congratulations on your journey," he said."The College did well to make you amaster."I had to admit he could be gracious when he wanted to be, even though he was obviously lying.Iwanted to tell him not to waste his breath lying.But I remembered my manners and said, "Tell meabout the Vild.""Yes, the Vild.There's little to tell, is there? The stars flare, then die.The Vild grows.And the ratethat it grows, grows.What do you want to know? That it's impossible to map those spaces? That apilot must use slowtime almost continuously in the Vild? Look at me, then, and you'll see that that isso." We talked of our respective journeys; I thought he was bitter that I had succeeded where he hadfailed.And then he surprised me, congratulating me again for the mappings I had made through theEntity."That was elegant piloting," he said.Pointedly, however, he refrained from mentioning mydiscovery.I offered him coffee but he refused, saying, "Coffee speeds the brain, and there's been enough ofthat, hasn't there?""Would you like some skotch, then?""No thank you, Pilot," he said."There's no joy drinking skotch in front of a dead fireplace, is there?""I could light the fire, if you'd like.""Please."I heaped some green logs onto the grate and lit the fire, and he came to the purpose of his visit."Itseems there will be an expedition to your Alaloi after all.""And you're to lead it?""Yes."I ground my teeth, then said, "I understand.You want the glory.""Is that true? No, you don't understand.The Timekeeper orders me to lead it.""Why?""Who knows what his reasons are?"Liar, I thought, liar!"I'll speak to the Timekeeper," I said."You'd question him?""It was my discovery.The Alaloi.my plan.It's my expedition."He bowed his head and said, "Yes, it's clear, you want the glory.""No, I want the knowledge.""So you tell yourself," he said, and he sipped from the tumbler of skotch I had handed him."It would weaken the expedition if you come." I looked at his long nose, the nose I had broken."There's blood between us," I said.He rubbed the bridge of his nose.He said, "No, you're mistaken.There's no blood between us."I gulped a quarter of my own tumbler of skotch.My eyes were burning from the piney smokeescaping into the room.I said, "If the Timekeeper doesn't rescind his proviso, I'll withdraw from theexpedition.I won't go with you.Soli smiled and told me, "Yes, your pride is hurt.But you don't have a choice.""What do you mean?""This is the reason for my visit; you must be told: The Timekeeper orders you to come with me.""Orders me?" I half-shouted."Ten days ago, he wasn't even going to allow an expedition!""The Timekeeper," Soli said, "apparently has changed his mind.Don't ask me why
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