There was a wrench and twist through every atom of Hanson's body. The
universe seemed to cry out. Over the horizon, a great burning disc rose
and leaped toward the heavens as the sun went back to its place in the
sky. The big bits of sky-stuff around also jerked upwards, revealing
themselves by the wind they whipped up and by the holes they ripped
through the roof of the building. Hanson clutched at the scrap he had
pocketed, but it showed no sign of leaving, and the tiny blob of
sun-stuff remained fixed to the awl.
Through the diamond lens, Hanson could see the model of the world in the
orrery changing. There were clouds apparently painted on it where no
clouds had been. And there was an indication of movement in the green of
the forests and the blue of the oceans, as if trees were whipping in the
wind and waves lapping the shores.
When he jerked his eyes upward, all seemed serene in the sky. Sunlight
shone normally on the world, and from under the roof he could see the
gaudy blue of sky, complete, with the cracks in it smoothing out as he
watched.
The battle outside had stopped with the rising of the sun. Half the
warlocks were lying motionless, and the other half had clustered
together, close to the building where Hanson and Sather Karf stood. The
Sons of the Egg seemed to have suffered less, since they greatly
out-numbered the others, but they were obviously more shocked by the
rising of the sun and the healing of the sky.
Then Malok's voice rang out sharply. "It isn't stable yet! Destroy the
machine! The egg must hatch!"
He leaped forward, brandishing his knife, while the Sons of the Egg fell
in behind him. The warlocks began to close ranks, falling back to make a
stand under the jutting edge of the roof, where they could protect the
orrery. Bork and Ser Perth were among them, bloody but hopelessly
determined.
One look at Sather Karf's expression was enough to convince Hanson that
Malok had cried the truth and that their work could still be undone. And
it was obvious that the warlocks could never stand the charge of the
Sons. Too many of them had already been killed, and there was no time
for reviving them.
Sather Karf was starting forward into the battle, but Hanson made no
move to follow. He snapped the diamond lens to his eye and his fingers
caught at the drop of sun-stuff on the awl. He had to hold it near the
glowing bit for steadiness, and it began searing his fingers. He forced
control on his muscles and plunged his hand slowly through the sky
sphere, easing the glowing blob downward toward the spot on the globe he
had already located with the lens. His thumb and finger moved downward
delicately, with all the skill of practice at working with nearly
invisibly fine wires on delicate instruments.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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