Maxine was getting fitted into her Harvester's Rig in the sterile prep-room next to the Anatomical Forge. A starlight-steel exoskeleton, this rig would not only double her physical power, control and most importantly, her psychic resistance. There were wires running from its backbone to a newly implanted graft on her neck, connecting her to the divine thread.
While mechanics were tightening the straps and checking the gauges, Lucien Gray came along, looking like a vulture in scholar's robes, and hovered about.
"Graft readings look good," he said while looking at a wireless data-slate. "Symbiosis at 73%. The divine thread is changing with your nervous system as a heat-sink. Your pain-labyrinth is coping. Excellent."
Maxine just kept on with her own work and didn't pay any attention to Lucien. As a matter of fact, with the help of the rig, she could actually see the god's pain as a very detailed map in her brain. She could even feel the Spine Mountains stressing, the Sea of Sighs going very slowly, and the Tongue Altar burning. Before her, past psychic barriers that looked like walls of crystal, was the Cerebral Vault. The Core Memory Lobe there was shining like a dark sun.
"The Thalamic Wardens are first," Lucien said, giving his slate a tap. "They're not physical – just psychic constructs of 'self' and 'other.' Your graft could make you 'self,' but if you take something, you become 'other.' Follow the god's rhythms. Be a nerve, not a surgeon."
"I'm always a surgeon," Maxine replied through her vox-grill.
"Not this time. Be a gentle thief." He glanced at her helmet. "Keep in mind, Sharpe. I need it to be intact. Wilder's people are watching. They expect a survey, not a theft. Your time is limited."
The main door opened. Arch-Cardinal Wilder entered with two Taste-Guards in armor. He smiled, but after that, he looked at Lucien's data-feeds.
"The explorer is good to go," Wilder said. "Do you feel it, Maxine? The last mystery? The dream's source?"
"I feel a complex organ," she said. "With defenses."
Wilder laughed. "Always the doctor. That organ is not only the source of our world but soon it will be our way to ascension." He came closer and told her softly, "The survey is the most important thing. Chart the defenses and find the Lobe's frequency. The Final Digestion ritual has to be flawless. Not a single note can be off."
He was deceiving her. He wouldn't wait for a ritual based on her data. What he really wanted was the frequency so he could use it to break the Wardens with the Heartforge, melt the Vault and start a chain reaction. Lucien's theft plan was a fantasy. Wilder's glance revealed the craving that he had shown before.
"I'll give accurate data," Maxine said.
"I know." He moved his hand on her armored shoulder. "We're all part of the same digestion, Maxine. Soon, we'll be One."
He left, taking with him the scent of ozone and ambition.
Lucien mocked him. "He thinks in soup. We think in anatomy. Don't forget whose side you're on."
Maxine didn't respond. She picked up another signal from the graft – a wave from the Silent Sea. Not a pain, but a memory of being whole. Although very faint, it still conflicted with the continuous agony and thus it created a blind spot of peace.
It was confusing, but data.
A tech said, "Conduit to the Vault Entrance is pressurized. Dampening field is at its maximum. You're clear to go, Chief Carver."
The wall irised open, revealing a tunnel of wet neural tissue. The air smelled of lightning and old books.
Maxine Sharpe entered the mind of God.
The Rig whirred. The graft thrummed.
Lucien whispered, "Bring me the library, Maxine."
The Thalamic Wardens felt her presence. They challenged her with a psychic riddle:
WHAT ARE YOU?
The suit lessened the impact. Maxine didn't answer verbally but with the graft. She directed a thread of the god's rhythm back through the connection.
The pressure withdrew, then examined her. The Wardens detected "self," but small, unusual, and with intent.
The humming altered. The way hadn't been opened, but it had become safe.
She moved forward. The tunnel bent, and the light was getting stronger.
The memory from the Silent Sea came again, a sorrowful tune beneath the drone of the Wardens.
Maxine put it in her file. Anomaly. Check later.
She had a lobe to map.