Sofia didn’t answer at first, just looked back at Master George. “He’s right. It might be time to do something a little drastic.”
Their leader nodded slowly as he stared at the table. “I couldn’t agree more, Sofia. I fear we’ve come to a place in our journey where we need something a little . . . beyond the regular means. We know so little of this Void from the Fourth Dimension that I’m afraid we need your minds and skills more than ever. We can’t rely on Mistress Jane to teach us about the threat that churns inside the Thirteenth Reality. At least when we faced the Blade of Shattered Hope—and the Dark Infinity weapon before that—there was a path before us. Possibilities. Like I’ve said, this time around, I’m at a bitter loss. You two need to step it up.”
Paul couldn’t help the impatience that wanted to burst out of him at the seams. “So . . . then what are you saying?”
George pulled his hands up from his lap and placed the small metal box on the table in front of him. The green button was like a beacon, and Paul had to resist the urge to reach out and push it right that second.
“This is your assignment,” George pronounced. “But before I tell you about this box, we need to talk about a very important subject. Very important, indeed. It’s something that is almost as beyond our understanding as this Void that plagues us presently. And that subject is . . . Karma.”
He’d said that word earlier, but now it had a haunted, foreboding ring to it. Paul leaned forward, eager to hear more.
“There’s a reason talking about this makes me . . . uncomfortable,” George continued. “I’m a scientist, and I know both of you are well aware of that fact. I’m a scientist above all else. And that means that everything I live for is grounded in a solid foundation of tested theories, facts, and proofs. Many of the things you’ve seen and experienced since being recruited—goodness gracious me, that seems like decades ago—may appear to be magic to many people. To ordinary people. But my favorite two words, quantum physics, have always been able to explain it all. Kyoopy, I believe it’s been coined before.”
He paused, a look of blissful contemplation on his face. But then he shook his head and snapped out of it. His expression grew very serious. “But this . . . this is something that is a little less certain. A part of our cosmos that is beyond our capacity to comprehend fully. Or beyond mine, at any rate.”
“Karma?” Sofia asked.
“Karma,” the old man confirmed.
“Everyone knows what that means,” Paul said. “Basically, what goes around, comes around. Right?”
“To put it simply, yes.” George looked down at the box then back at Paul. “The notion that the universe pays back what people deposit is something that has been a part of human culture since the beginning of recorded history. Be a good person, do good things, and then good things will happen to you eventually. Be a bad person, do bad things . . . well, then quite the opposite. One way or another, your actions always come back to you. Repayment of what you’ve dealt. Almost every civilization has believed in the concept in some form. Karma is just the most commonly used word to describe the phenomenon.”
Paul was fascinated. “And this button has something to do with it?”
George nodded, holding up the box as if inspecting it for flaws. “Yes, it does. There have been those in our ranks who believe Karma is a scientific principle as rigid as gravity. And, like gravity, they accept it one hundred percent, even though they can’t quite explain why it happens or how it works.”
“They?” Sofia repeated. “You mean you don’t believe in it like some of the others?”
“It’s as I’ve said. I have difficulty accepting something that’s not grounded in solid scientific principle and analysis. But the gravity example is a good one. No rational person could possibly argue that gravity doesn’t exist, despite our inability to understand it fully. Likewise, evidence of Karma is rampant. And it’s possible—and strongly believed by some, in fact—that it can be gathered and manipulated, just like Chi’karda can be with the Chi’karda Drives we have inside our Barrier Wands that power them and make them work.”
“So that’s what this box is?” Paul asked. “A . . . Karma Drive?”
George looked at him, his eyebrows lifted in slight surprise. “Why, yes, that’s precisely what it is, Master Paul. Precisely. This box was built by a small group of Realitants, led by Gretel, with some extremely speculative and revolutionary technology. It took them a full decade—exhausting work. Two of the members of the team went mad and had to be discharged from our society. But Gretel believes strongly that she and her team were successful, and that they’ve created a mechanism that will harness Karma and concentrate it for one purpose. Just like a Barrier Wand.”