“You could ask Blackie to dope me up again,” snorted Montrose. “But of course I’d bite. Where y’all keep the ketchup?”

“I have a question for the Learned Montrose,” Narcís D’Aragó broke in. “The difference in what we can call the racial intelligence quotient defines the relative utility of the Client species, Man, to the Patron species, the Hyades Domination, is expressed in this formula.” A touch on his bracelet made certain of the floor symbols brighten for emphasis. “The delta of the relative utility defines the curve expressing minimal–maximum cost-efficiency for dispatching the World-Armada. That is expressed here, the political game-theory expressions. The Beta Section of symbols which describes the galaxy, apparently has additional figures, a type of star-map, showing the lines of communication, the orbits of incoming fleets or travel routes or something of the sort, reaching from Epsilon Taurus in Hyades to Sol. The value—if we are translating the figures correctly—equals the mass of the gas giant astronomers detected in orbit there. Perhaps that is a vessel, not a gas giant. Or perhaps the gas giant was to be totally converted to fuel to launch flotillas of smaller vessels this way. The symbol did not distinguish between mass and energy. I am wondering on what grounds you concluded their launch date? Apparently there is a formula in here determining not just the date, but the composition of the Armada, its acceleration—how did you deduce it?”

“The composition? That I don’t know. One of those expressions is their launch-energy calculation. We can deduce the energy-volume and intelligence of whatever is being sent against us. A small flotilla of very large ships or a very large flotilla of small ships, it is all the same as far as the total mass-energy of useful weaponry is concerned. It could be a gas cloud or a dirigible gas giant. Doesn’t matter. We know the total. The number is large.”

“And the launch date?”

“It can be calculated from their expression controlling our value to them.”

“What is our value to them? What do they want with us? Do you remember?”

“No, I—wait—” He started to speak, but stopped. Because he did remember.

His eyes grew round.

4. Memory Fragment

He would have expected their symbol for the Milky Way galaxy to be a double spiral. It was not. The position of the visible suns in the arms of the galaxy was not what the Monument Builders had emphasized as the identifying symbol: Instead it was a Cartesian square of text, showing the black-body radiation wavelengths of the gravitational centers of the galaxy, with an additional ring of symbols which could deciphered into the absorption characteristics and geometry of the gas cloud surrounding the Milky Way and her gravitationally-trapped neighbors. In his mind’s eye, Montrose converted the glyphs in the Zeta Segment into a map that could visualize in crisp detail. To the Monument Builders, the galaxy was not a double spiral of light, but a black doughnut with a dark heart.

It was easy to assign a fragment of his mind to the task of detecting the pattern in the strings of number-symbols. The fourth degree expressions were the six parameters of orbital mechanics, which identified specific stars. The fifth degree gave not orbits, but acceleration and decelerations of moving bodies.

The stars of the Hyades Cluster were shown swinging along in the great orbits around the core of the galaxy. Here was Sol, tracing out another orbit. Chains of acceleration and deceleration, like threads of a spiderweb, reached through the diagram. A set of lines connected the two: the path elements of a coming armada.

Other mathematical expressions described volumes of spheres, expanding from certain centers over time. Here were equations he recognized as hierarchical cascade functions.

Even in his superior state of mind, he was not immune to fear. If anything, the sensation was sharper, more precise, scalpel-like, because he saw more of the implications, more possible dangers, than his sleepwalker mind.

That equation was divarication function applied to governing systems, to prevent orders from being mutated and misinterpreted when passing from decision-centers to action. The theorem could apply to any information system, the core in a computer, the brain in an organism, the court of a sovereign …

It was a pantomime in mathematical sign language to show the size and boundaries of the movements of human populations into the stars, the degree of control.

The equations taken all together, smaller symbols insider larger ones which in turn were written in lines and shapes to form larger symbols yet, all were rich with meaning. If put into words, it would have said:

THE MATTER-DISTORTION PROCESS KNOWN AS LIFE WHEN FOUND DISQUIETING THE MAGNETOSPHERE OF THE ANTIMATTER STAR AT V 886 CENTURI TO BE RESTRICTED TO THE STATUS OF NEGATIVE-POWER IMBALANCE, HENCE ARE CLIENTS (PASSIVE RECEPIENTS OF ACTION) OF THE ACTIONS OF DOMINANT POWER (HYADES CLUSTER). IF DETERMINED TO POSSESS SUFFICIENT UTILITY TO BE HELD IN INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE TO THE IMPERATIVES DESCRIBED IN THE FOLLOWING EQUATIONS … ALL OTHER OPTIONS ARE SUBJECT TO RETALIATION OF THE FOLLOWING MAGNITUDES … PAIN IS THE DETERRENT OF NONCOMPLIANCE, INCLUDING CESSATION OF MATTER-DISTORTION PROCESS KNOWN AS DEATH …

Then came a group of symbols he could not read. But the next group after that he was able to convert into a star-chart using the same semi-automatic “idiot savant” segment of his mind as read the greater galactic map. He could read the star-chart and accompanying legend.

DEATH … CASUALTY RATES OF NINE OUT OF TEN ARE EXPECTED AND ACCEPTABLE … FIRST DERACINATION SWEEP … SOL, ALPHA CENTAURI, 36 OPHIUCHUS, OMICRON ERIDANI, 61 CYGNI, 70 OPHIUCHUS, 82 ERIDANI, ALTAIR, DELTA PAVONIS, EPSILON ERIDANI, EPSILON INDI, ETA CASSIOPEIAE, GLIESE 570, HR 7703, TAU CETI …

5. Deracination

That was what he remembered. But nothing was clear. He could not summon back the equations themselves. Inside the hollow circle of the Table Round, the Monument underfoot remained meaningless to him, a chaotic fractal pattern triangles and curves, sine waves and Celtic knots. The crystal clarity of thought could not come back to him.

And he was thinking: Sleepwalker mind? Is that what you think of me? Damn you. Come out of my skull and say that to my face! Our face … um. Aw, pox on it.

Montrose repeated to the Hermeticists the message he recalled, the stars from the star-map. The dark chamber was as silent as a winter morning. They listened without moving.

He said, “They mean to sweep us up like seeds and plant us as colonists on other worlds, places we now know there are semi-earthlike bodies. It is forced migration on a massive scale: The figures involve populations in the billions … but the whole thing is crazy. I must have read it wrong! Why not use their own people? What advantage be there to them to move us to other worlds? It would be like the British transporting Australian Aborigines to Ireland.”

Del Azarchel said, “You said they were machines. Do you remember why? What part of the symbolism shows that?”

Montrose shook his head. “I ain’t sure. I reckon that was just me trying to simple-up things for the yahoo in the room. The difference between biological, biochemical, electronic, or neuro-electronic information systems, at that level of civilization—no difference, is it? Once you can rebuild yourself from the molecular level up, and out of any substance you fancy, soft or hard, stored as a pattern in a mainframe or spun out into any form of matter need calls for—no such thing as machines you can properly call by that name. It’s all alive. Or all dead.”

Del Azarchel said, “Is that something the Monument says? Or is that your speculation?”