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| - Sybil dozed off then woke up to the sound of voices. Bahney was talking to someone. Sybil got off of the bed and her movement woke Portia. Sybil opened the door to Bahney's room. Bahney said, "Ah, Sybil is now awake. Norshe, this is Sybil, from Sakkara. Sybil, this is Norshe, from Jemini." Sybil and Norshe examined each other. Portia came through the door behind Sybil. Portia asked, "What's going on?" Sybil introduced Portia, "This is Portia, my assistant." Norshe looked past both Sybil and Portia and saw Glen. Norshe asked, "And what is that?" Sybil explained, "That is Glen, my gardener." Norshe laughed, "You bring your gardener along when you travel around the galaxy?" Sybil replied, "I fled Sakkara in fear of Set. Soon after I left Sakkara, Set abducted Portia and Glen from my home." Norshe asked, "Abducted? By Set? And yet here they are. I don't understand." Sybil shrugged, "I suspect that Set really wanted to get his hands on me. He let Portia and Glen go free." Norshe looked suspiciously at Glen, "Hmm...I've seen this kind of trick before. A robot is altered so as to act as the eyes and ears of a spy." Sybil wondered if Set could implant spy devices in Glen that would evade the diagnostic scan she had performed on the robot. "If you are reluctant to speak in front of Glen I'll send him away." Norshe shrugged, "I've given up taking security seriously. I'm here on Ketar's orders." Sybil wondered what Norshe meant about not taking security seriously. She asked, "You work for Ketar? Are you an Antiquist?" Norshe shook her head and laughed. "No, I'm a member of the Haldus Order." Sybil was surprised. "How did Ketar come to be giving you orders?" Norshe explained, "Like you, I'm Ketar's prisoner, although he speaks of an alliance. He says that you are also a member of the Haldus Order and that you have been trying to form an alliance with the Antiquist Party to protect Sakkara from Set. Is that true?" Sybil nodded. "But I do not understand why Ketar has brought us here to Earth. I sought an alliance with the Antiquists for the purpose of protecting Sakkara from Set, but now it appears that Set is here on Earth." Norshe nodded. "So I was told. Everyone seems to be looking for a Haldus Order base on Earth....something I know nothing about. Why would anyone want to live on a Green planet?" Bahney said, "Norshe, all this idle chatter and speculation is useless. Ketar sent you here so that you can look at the Haldus Order shrine." Norshe shrugged, "Lead the way." Bahney led the three women to the shrine. Norshe insisted that Glen be ordered to remain in Sybil's room. It was only a short walk from the Lodge to the Haldus Order shrine. They crossed the central square of the small settlement that was home for the workers who maintained the mass driver. The village was designed to look like a particular town of Earth in the days before the green nanite fog, but it was all enclosed in a large chamber inside a hill. Norshe looked up at the synthetic "sky" and could see what looked like triangular structural elements. The shrine was at the end of an alley off the central square, just beyond a taylor's shop. During the five minute walk they only passed a few people and about a dozen robots who appeared to be out shopping. Bahney pulled open the large door to the shrine and held it open so the women could enter. Portia and Norshe wondered around the interior of the shrine as Sybil had done the previous day. Bahney reminded them, "We are looking for clues. This Haldus Order shrine was built here after the mass driver went into operation. Ketar believes there is also a Haldus Order Temple somewhere on Earth, also built after Earth became a Green planet. There must be clues to the location of that Temple." Sybil remarked, "I still do not understand why Ketar thinks there is a Haldus Order base on Earth." Norshe was squatting down so that she could examine a vase on the floor. She looked over her shoulder at Sybil and commented, "Ketar followed Kalid here." Sybil had been worrying about Kalid. Where had he gone after leaving Esclagon? She asked, "Kalid is here on Earth?" Norshe laughed in surprise. "I did not say that." She let go of the vase and brushed flecks of dried vegetation off of her hands. It seemed the vase had once contained flowers. Apparently nobody ever removed the old offerings from this shrine. It appeared that they had gradually accumulated over decades and now clogged most of the floor space. Norshe stood up and turned towards Sybil. "Ketar told me that Kalid is dead. I meant that Ketar followed Kalid here to the Solar System. Ketar told me that you came here with Kalid. If any of us knows what is going on it must be you." Sybil could see some of the colors of Norshe's soul, and the pattern of those lights suggested to Sybil that Norshe was not being honest. She knew more than she was admitting. However, Sybil was also carefully limiting what she said in front of Bahney. There was no doubt that Bahney was Ketar's spy, so Sybil was only discussing matters that Ketar already knew about. Sybil confirmed that she had jumped to this system with Kalid, "Yes, I came here in Kalid's spaceship, but Kalid did not even tell me that this was the Solar System." Sybil asked, "How did Kalid die?" Norshe shook her head, "Don't ask me. Something Ketar told me seemed to imply that Kalid is dead. If true, I would morn. Kalid initiated me into the Order." Norshe had quickly examined the interior of the small shrine and now she came back near the entrance where Sybil and Bahney had remained. "Well, most of the clutter in here seems to have been left by pilgrims. Judging by the diversity of offerings, they were left by people who came from here from off world while on a visit to Earth. I do not see how this odd assortment of trash can tell us much." Portia, at the other end of the shrine, was still looking around. She said, "This tetrahedron is very ornate. Much fancier that any I've seen in Temples of the Silver Tulipan Order." Norshe walked over by Portia and she looked closely at the tetrahedron. Embedded within the main tetrahedron were many smaller ones. "This sculpture is rather amazing in the intricate details of its fractal structure. I wonder which fractal this is...if it represents a well-known mathematical structure." Bahney asked, "What is the significance of fractals to the Haldus Order?" Sybil replied, "None that I know of, but tetrahedrons and triangles are common decorations in Silver Tulipan buildings. I was taught that they represent the atomic volume, the most fundamental closed space. When I was in school we were taught mold our minds into the strong pattern of the tetrahedron. It is a symbol of strength." Norshe continued, "Right, strength and the security that comes from compartmentalization." Portia asked, "Compartmentalization?" Sybil had always been careful to shield Portia from knowledge that was only for those of the Inner Circles, but did all that secrecy matter any more, now that Ketar understood so many Haldus Order secrets? She explained, "The Haldus Order is divided into compartments for security reasons. For example, members on Sakkara and Jemini are in different compartments, so Norshe and I never met before today, but we both know Kalid." Sybil would have said more but she was certain that Ketar was spying on them. She did not want to tell Ketar anything beyond what he already knew. The group left the shrine and walked back to the Lodge. While she walked, Sybil was still thinking about the role that symbols played in the Haldus Order. There was much that could be traced back to ancient Earth, but Sybil had been taught that superstition had completely dominated the Order until after the dawn of the space age. There were many myths and pseudosciences that incorporated Platonic solids as symbols...the Haldus Order was only one of many. They entered into the high-ceilinged lobby of the Lodge and Sybil looked around, admiring the finely crafted wood and stone. Then she noticed that the light fixtures high above were tetrahedrons. Portia followed Sybil's gaze and also noticed. Portia smiled and said, "Strange coincidence." Sybil wondered....was it coincidence? Ketar was bored and frustrated. Was there no way to get his hands on Haldus Order technology? He felt like he was being run around in circles by some unseen prankster. Ketar was watching Sybil, again using Bahney as his eyes and ears. And he was not far away. Ketar had landed his spaceship at the docks and invited Set to come over from his ship. Ketar and Set sat together, watching Bahney's view of Norshe and Portia exploring the shrine. Sybil stood close to Bahney and her profile could be seen to one side of Bahney's visual field. When the women started discussing triangles and tetrahedra Set was reminded of the perfect triangular relationship between the locations of the three T-particle emitting beacons on Earth. Set exclaimed, "Of course!" Ketar was intently examining Sybil's face and comparing her features to those of his third wife. Ketar was home sick and tired of the green clouds of Earth. When Set shouted, Ketar turned his head and looked at Set. Set had a glowing look of revelation on his face. Ketar turned back to the display screen and saw Portia closely examining the tetrahedral sculpture. Ketar turned back to Set and demanded, "What? Is it something about that sculpture?" Set nodded. "You noticed it yourself...the three locations I led you to yesterday." Ketar knew that those three locations on the surface of Earth were arrayed like the vertices of a triangle. A regular triangle with three equal sides....but could there be a fourth vertex? If those beacons were part of a tetrahedron then where would the fourth vertex be? Ketar muttered, "In orbit?" Set understood Ketar's question. He laughed. "You have it backwards. 180 degrees backwards. Look..." Set began to use the computing interface, but then he paused. It would be easiest to have the ship's AI do it. Set asked, "Can I have your ship's AI solve the riddle?" Ketar opened a comlink to the spaceship's artificial intelligence. "Go ahead." Set spoke to the machine. "Computer, do you have the locations of the three beacons?" The machine asked, "What beacons are you talking about?" Ketar explained, "Just pull up the coordinates of the three sites we visited yesterday. Remember the triangle? Yesterday you found the center of that triangle." Set asked Ketar, "What about the center?" Ketar waved his hand, "Oh, nothing. I had a hunch that the Haldus Order Temple might be located right in the middle of that triangle. My survey team searched there and found nothing." Ketar did not tell Set the entire truth. The survey team was still out there, carefully scanning the middle of the Pacific Ocean for any sign of a hidden base. Set observed, "Well you had misdirected them by 10,000 kilometers. Computer, show us the position of the point on the surface of Earth that is equidistant from the three sites I found yesterday." The wall display showed a view of Earth with a blinking marker over a particular location on Earth. It was just a blinking spot on the green face of Earth. Ketar ordered, "Overlay this image with a map of the surface." The ship's AI superimposed a map that showed the continents of Earth. Ketar said, "Oh, no." The spot was at the location of the blast crater that had destroyed Egypt. Ketar assumed that meant that the pattern of T-particle beacons did show the location of the Haldus Order Temple on Earth, but that Temple had been destroyed. However, just as the Order had rebuilt on Flammis, had they also rebuilt their Temple on Earth? Would they rebuild it in the blast crater, even though that crater was now filled with water? Set saw that the position of the fourth vertex was inside a crater, a raw, ugly wound on the surface of Earth. He commented, "That explains why I only sense three beacons on Earth. It looks like the fourth beacon was destroyed." Ketar realized that Set had no understanding of the geography of Earth or what had produced the crater. Most people in the galaxy did not know the truth about Earth. Set only thought of the position of the blast crater as the location of a fourth beacon, but more important was the fact that it was the location of Egypt, the historical origin of the Haldus Order. Well, there was no reason to explain that to Set. Set had served his purpose by detecting the beacons. Ketar was now desperate to get rid of Set so that he could re-direct his search team to search the crater. Yes, Set was right...the frustrating search of yesterday had just missed the target...Ketar had searched the wrong side of the planet. Ketar wondered: was now the time to eliminate Set? Ketar was still having regrets about having ordered the death of Kalid...no, it was safer to keep Set around until Ketar was sure of what was going on. Ketar wondered: what is a good way to keep Set busy? Ketar had been carefully keeping Set away from the Sakkarans. His whole strategy had been to play them off against each other, and that had worked perfectly. But now there might be benefits from letting them pool their knowledge. Ketar said, "I think we should bounce your tetrahedral revelation off of some other folks...we might be missing something." Set asked, "What do you mean? Missing what?" Ketar explained, "You and I now know the relevance of tetrahedrons to the Haldus Order, but there might be even more meaning in this geographical discovery for members of the Order. I can see this Haldus Order tetrahedron on Earth, but I still do not understand why they constructed it." Set nodded. "Yes, I think you are right. You have Sybil nearby, at your disposal." Ketar suggested, "Why don't you take care of this. I'll get my survey team to search the bottom of that crater." Set asked, "Do you expect to find the remains of the fourth beacon? Surely it was obliterated when that crater was formed!" Ketar shrugged, "I think it is worth looking. You share this insight about the location of the fourth vertex with Norshe and see if she has any deeper insight about the meaning of the tetrahedron. It might be best if you avoid Sybil, she despises you as a murderer." Set did not doubt that Sybil shared Portia's hatred for him. However, Set still felt that he had been justified in taking justice into his own hands. His hunting down and killing of conspirators could have been avoided if the Sakkaran Justice Department had done its job and fully investigated the elevators disaster. Set knew that something was rotten in the Sakkaran government. The Sakkaran government was dominated by the Antiquist Party. And Set now found himself working elbow to elbow with the head of that Galactic Antiquist Party! Still, as long as Ketar seemed to be leading Set towards more Haldus Order secrets, Set was happy to make use of Ketar. Set reflected on Portia's hatred for himself....when they had gotten to know each other the fire of her anger seemed to cool. Maybe Sybil could also be made to see the logic of Set's past actions. Set said, "I tried to go with Portia to the Lodge, but I was turned back. Apparently I'm a wanted man in this system." Ketar chuckled. "Indeed." Ketar almost suggested that Set return to his spaceship and wait there for Norshe, but Ketar was not sure he wanted Set returning to his own ship. The time might be near when Set could be eliminated. There was another ship available....Bahney's. Ketar said, "Go to the front office of the docks and wait there for Norshe. Put your heads together and see if you can come up with any new ideas about where the Haldus Order might have hidden its base." Set warned, "The guard there already threatened me with arrest by the Martian Militia. I'm not sure its safe for me out there." Ketar nodded and tried to put Set at ease, "Don't worry. Government structure in this system is rather lax and fragmented. As head of the Antiquist Party I have more power and authority here on Earth than does Mars. My ships in orbit are watching for any interference from Mars. The Martian Militia can make all the threats they like, but they have taken no action." Set had long wanted to speak with Sybil and learn what she knew about the destruction of the elevators. He was just not sure that it would be possible to get any cooperation from Sybil. Set left Ketar's ship and headed for the dock offices. After Set departed, Ketar quickly called Bahney's ship and ordered it to drop down from orbit and land at the docks on Earth. Ketar then called Bahney and told her to bring Norshe and Set to Bahney's spaceship. He instructed Bahney to encourage them to share information and brainstorm about the location of the Haldus Order base. Bahney said, "Norshe just sat down to eat in the dinning hall here at the Lodge." Ketar was tired of having to explain every detail to Bahney. "Hurry her along. Set will be waiting for you at the docks." Ketar terminated the call to Bahney. He then ordered his survey team to join him at the blast crater. They had already performed a preliminary scan of the crater two days earlier, but now they would do a more thorough job. Ketar felt he was finally closing in on the location of the Haldus Order Temple.
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