Edda by Conor Kostick Read Free Book Online Page B

visitors, or the same person four times. When they step back through the portal, they take something with them. And this is what’s worrying me. They are departing with stolen guns.”
    Ghost backtracked through the recording for him and played it again.
    “Have you sent a device through, to see what’s on the other side?”
    “Yeah, we did put a camera in, a really small one, through the bottom right-hand corner. But as soon as it touched the surface, it stopped broadcasting.”
    “Could you pull it back out?”
    Ghost nodded. “And the camera was still working fine on our side.”
    “Very strange. I can see why you’re worried.”
    “Well . . .” For a moment Ghost hesitated, but if anyone could understand what she was about to say, it would be Erik. Odd that her most trusted confidant was a human. “I’m worried for the people of Saga. But for me personally? To tell the truth, it’s exciting.” There was a pause as though she was waiting for his reaction. But Cindella’s expression was fixed at “interested,” and it was impossible to see if Erik was shocked.
    “I haven’t said this to anyone else,” she continued, “but I think you’ll appreciate my situation. It’s ironic, given that you are a human, an alien. But with Cindella you must have felt a bit like I do. It’s like having wings, but never flying. Don’t you want to stretch yourself, see what Cindella could do with all her magic? Go exploring new worlds? Have adventures?
    Discover where her true limits are? Because I’ve always felt like that.
    “Remember my battle with the Dark Queen? I relished it. Once it was over, I knew I’d feel trapped here. The RAL”—she checked he understood the term, but of course, Cindella’s expression would not reflect the actual response of Erik unless he consciously chose to reset it—“the Reprogrammed Autonomous Lifeforms, those of us given the ability to alter the world around us, were all warriors, and some of that spirit—a lot of that spirit—has entered me. I’m restless here; I need a challenge. That’s why, if it was the only way, I was going to upload myself into a robot in your world and travel the stars. It was a path to freedom. But now I look at this and see something that is potentially even better. It means there is an electronic world beyond Saga. It may represent danger, but can you see what this portal means to me? It’s a way to go exploring while in my own body, perhaps with all my reprogrammed abilities.” Ghost looked again at Cindella, anxious for Erik’s response. Did he think her irresponsible for seeing the portal as an opportunity, not just a threat?
    “I understand.” Erik must have signaled for Cindella to give a nod, for his avatar gave a very lifelike gesture of approval. “Or at least, I think I do. It’s very different for me, of course. Back in New Earth we have a million challenges just getting our society moving forward again after years of stagnation. There are so many projects I could get involved in. And I’m just the same as everyone else, except when I’m clipped up to Cindella. But you are right; I enjoy being here as Cindella. Yet at the same time I feel constrained, not just by being human, but because in Saga there’s no need for all the skills or magic Cindella has inherited from Epic.”
    “Yeah, that’s it. Constrained.”
    For a moment they looked at the shining portal, which no longer seemed quite so menacing: it was a potential pathway to exciting new worlds.
    “You brought me here because you want me to go through it with you? Now?”
    This brought a short laugh from Ghost. “I’d love to, but no, I’ve still got my responsibilities as queen. What if we disintegrated or something? I mean, we know your avatar was able to go from Epic to Saga. But can you do it again? Also, before you offer to test it, we had a discussion. Some of the guild leaders are worried that this portal might represent a genuine danger to Saga. We have to