Del Azarchel said, “Even if we and the planet and all its servant minds are one brain to you, what could we two brain cells have to say?”

The sperm cell isolated by the horse breeder is the least part of the steed in being but greatest in potential and of more interest than the equine brain cells.

Del Azarchel said, “And why should I believe anything you say?”

You particularly know the duty imposed upon a being of greater intellect and power, a philosopher who is also the sole power, the monarch, to care for underlings. To deceive or omit needed information would be an abrogation of that duty.

Del Azarchel said to Montrose, “No shepherd lies to his sheep, I suppose.”

Montrose said back, “Or merchants to their customers, if they are square.”

“Merchants?”

“This is a trade,” Montrose said, “Ain’t you seeing where this leads? Ain’t you seeing what is being implied here? Mickey already guessed it.”

“Enlighten me.”

Montrose had Torment send another group of signals and sent this message: “You want to make a deal with us, don’t you? We give you the planet Torment, and in return, you send us on our way. Where?”

The answer was in terms of beam strength over time directed at the star Vanderlinden 133, also called 35 Cancri. It was a giant star in the Praesepe star cluster.

Your vessel requires a fuel which cannot be acquired nor reproduced at Ain, but can be acquired with the cooperation of the Domination of Praesepe. After refuel, you may then continue onward.

The next vector displayed was from Praesepe out of the galaxy, to M3.

The one you sent to vindicate you is still alive, or, at least, extant, at this location.

Montrose said, “The one … my wife?”

Yes.

Montrose said, “How do you know she is still alive?”

Energy entanglements on a fine level continue between the immediate phenomena you mistakenly call yourself and the remote phenomena you mistakenly call her.

Del Azarchel said, “What is the nature of these fine-level energy entanglements?”

But Montrose said, “Love. You are talking about love. Ain’t you? But how can you measure something like that?”

Timespace is a secondary phenomenon. What you mistakenly call love is an emanation of a primary noumenon, an object beyond the senses, beyond timespace. Noumena in manifestation can be measured by the distortions in timespace on surrounding phenomena.

Del Azarchel said, “What mistake do we make when we call ourselves ‘us’?”

A category error. The real you died long ago. You are the side effect of the passion which first set your identity into motion and maintains its illusion of self-being.

Montrose said, “Is that the same mistake we are making about Rania?”

No.

Montrose said, “What is our mistake with her?”

She is multidimensional where you are monodimensional. Energy entanglements on a fine level continue between her and ulterior locations.

Del Azarchel said, “Ulterior to what?”

Ulterior to the artifact called timespace.

Montrose said, “What the pox? You calling the universe an artifact?”

No. Only timespace and the matter-energy within it.

Montrose said, “Whatever. Why do you call it an ‘artifact’?”

Deliberate and volitional handiwork; a made thing; the product of design; artificial arrangements constrained by an external purpose or final cause, constructed out of simpler elements.

Montrose said, “What elements?”

Ulterior elements.

Montrose said, “Ulterior to what?”

Ulterior to timespace.

Montrose said, “What are they made of, these ulterior elements, if they are outside time and space? We are not talking about anything made of matter.”

No information concerning the ulterior is available to any observer confined within timespace, by the nature of the case. The boundary of timespace is a singularity.

Montrose said, “Do you mean everything in the universe, everything inside the lightcone of the Big Bang, is inside a Black Hole?”

Define the term precisely, as the question in its present form cannot be answered.

Montrose said, “What is the evidence that timespace is a handiwork? How do you know it did not arise naturally?”

Extensive experiments have been made by Authorities and Archons within the Galactic Collaboration to re-create the initial conditions logically prior to the Big Bang. Small segments of timespace have been successfully folded into a null topology, creating an interior continuum or vest-pocket universe, none lasting longer than a nanosecond of the outside observer’s time. The resulting energy release you call a quasi-stellar radio source, or quasar.

Del Azarchel broke away a second line of conversation at that point, asking about this Galactic Collaboration.

But Montrose, continuing deeper into this line, had Torment send a neutron configuration into the moonlet core with this meaning: “Quasars are extragalactic, immensely far away, and immensely old!”

No. They are near at hand, within the local galactic cluster. The redshift effect on which your astronomers base their deductions of distance hence of age of the phenomenon is an illusion caused by the steepness of the gravity well of the interior continuum unfolding back into normal timespace as it decays.

The examination of the quasar decay is probative of the origin point of timespace, which you call the Big Bang. The balance of energies and the complexity of the initial gravitic geometries involved in the creation needed to produce a stable ter-dimensional lineal-temporal continuum is far too elaborate to have arisen in the absence of a directional volition.

Montrose said, “The watchmaker argument. It don’t actually prove nothing, you know. Who is to say universes are not really complex even without a maker to make them complex? What have we got to compare it to? Or what if there were a million universes, and this is the only one in which the laws of nature were just so? No matter if it is a million-to-one shot, that does not prove it was deliberate.”

Observe this emissary satellite of logic diamond on which you stand. Your knowledge that it is an artifact is a deduction from evidence based on an examination of its properties. You have faith that these words you encounter are ultimately produced by a volitional entity.

Since Montrose was not necessarily convinced that this entity with whom he spoke was awake, alive, or possessed volition, he was not sure how to answer that.

Del Azarchel stepped into the pause. “When you say the universe is an artifact, and handiwork, whose handiwork is it?”

No information concerning the ulterior is available to any observer confined within timespace, by the nature of the case.

Del Azarchel seemed angered by this answer. “Nevertheless, you imply there was a Hand which made the handiwork. Do you speak of God?”

Define the term precisely, as the question in its present form cannot be answered.

Del Azarchel said, “An omnipotent, infinite being, infinitely good, who created the universe.”

The definition is slovenly and useless. An omnipotent being would exclude the possibility of volitional beings; an infinite being would exclude the possibility of other beings; an infinitely good being would exclude the possibility of evil.

Montrose said, “You know the difference between good and evil?”

At one time. No longer.

Montrose felt a chill run through his soul at that statement and was afraid to ask more along that line of inquiry.

Del Azarchel was bolder, but not by much. He asked, “Assume my definition is a glorification rather than a precise description of God. What then? Did God create the artifact called timespace?”