Dromie popped in beside me. “Azure! How did you do this?” He spread his arms out to indicate the time bubble. No one saw him but me. Now that I know I hallucinate real people, how do I know that all of ‘em are real, anyway?

  “We are all real. My people just look like your goblins, but we existed long before your people did.”

  Kia and Irdaktin had a group of people with Cubes in a big room underground, on Ye~.

  J~oie bowed to him. “How shall I call you?”

  “Kerponie, King Of Hy. Bponas tells me my people died, but they brought destruction wherever they traveled. I disagreed, and they killed me for it. My messenger to the Guaspesi was Bponas, but they intercepted her. I tried to send my research to Kaswpas. Did they get it?” This brown fella had four legs, not like a centaur, but like a barefoot human. He looked at Dromie. “What species are you?”

  His green skin went pale. “We are a new species. I think you are our father, because Kaswpas made us from his weapons.”

  “Kaswpas used my ideas to create a species?” He fell on the floor! “Surely you were like children. But you use my lens, so my genetics must be in you. Did anyone teach you to use it, or the consequences of using it?” His blue eyes glowed, and everyone in the room startled! His white hair also stood on end.

  Kerponie bowed and stumbled. “I think your species is too weak to control a Lens! To try to teach you would destroy you! Let me give the White Lens to Dromie. I will keep the Rainbow Lens. Rentappenen knows of us now, so let us fight! The Padrisa warns us they cannot help us. If we defeat Rentappenen, they will give me a seat on their Council. Wslarc can contact me. You will tell him, Prince J~oie?”

  Dromie took Kerponie’s hand and he lifted him onto Bponas’ back. “If I could leave you here, I would. We cannot win without your help.”

  The unicorn stared at the ceiling. “Get on with it! I’m not happy about going into war again, but it’s my destiny.” She had beautiful blue fur and a rainbow mane.

  Kerponie chuckled. “Just help the slaves. I won’t make you kill. You’re better at healing them. I sent crops to Dromie’s rock. They’ll grow by the time we get back.” He looked like Dromie.

  “Our world didn’t used to be a rock! War kills everything.”

  “Ah, but I’ll bring our people back who want to live peaceably—”

  Dromie shook his head. “The weapons they used destroyed it. I was only able to bring you and Bponas back.”

  J~oie startled. “That was ne a unicorn! Dromie brought a created species, as he is. Kerponie and his ba were the last of their species who ne sought war."

  Ir laughed. “But, she looked like Earthans think a unicorn should look! And Dromie’s species look like an Earthan thinks a goblin should look! I will petition Wslarc endlessly until he makes Dromie’s world filled with all sorts of fantasy creatures! I might try my hand at creating magic."

  But I saw why Dromie’s people are exiled. Most of them have a kind of computer virus. Zheien call them rogues, but these are more advanced than that. They target people with Cubes. Our Pirad here on Ye~ died of that.

  Dromie’s worried about that family that got exiled with him. If his cube—uh, lens, is keeping it livable, what happens if he gets too distracted? My Collective answered, and I didn’t want to hear it. Dromie powers life. If he cannot, all life there will end because a Lens must have a Host as a Cube must. Life he created there will die. Tech will end. Life he brought there will continue but they must have needs and there is no trade.

  Ir hugged me tighter. Now you know things I didn’t like about living on higher tech levels. I didn’t like having to keep worlds alive. One mistake, and your worlds die, and all the people on them.

  I gasped and looked at Dromie. “I gave them food, but it’s in the houses. Will Granny and her family find it before it spoils?”

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  He frowned. “Their food spoiled? But, I can’t watch them, I have to fight!”

  I looked, and all of it spoiled again. Stupid rogues! They’re all hungry. I slowed time down for their world, until Dromie’s people go back. None of my Collective knows about rogues!

  Dromie hugged me. “Thanks, Azure! Now they can last until this is over.”

  The date was the 31st, but the closer we get to time for Adia to fight Eriganh, the slower it gets.

  Ry’nao is barely alive and Ket, his healer, is frantic. He’s been using herbs to keep himself awake so he can heal him. Kia’s exhausted and can’t send us healing. Deb’s also exhausted, even though she doesn’t need sleep right now. She’s keeping Ty’nirrhan troops alive.

  Suma’s Collective, and Wally’s and Jarfus’, they are all getting depleted. Every person with a Cube is feeling this exhaustion that doesn’t go away.

  Pirad is worried about people with Lenses. There are only a very few, and they aren’t supposed to be on our Level. Dromie has one. And Irdaktin’s father, Tanirpahadachan, has one he had when his people were on a much higher Council. They aren’t bred to be able to use those, now. It was only supposed to be for an emergency like Rentappenen. Using them will bring vengeance from the 6th and the Padrisa Council. But, we have to stop Rentappenen.

  I hope I get to see Bponas before I die. I want to pet a unicorn.

  Then I saw the world as it was before Kerponie realized what their scientists were doing. They had a lush, beautiful world with oceans and all kinds of plants and animals. But, they complained that their lives had reached their biological limit. Kerponie’s brother had a Lens, which he was only supposed to use to contact the Padrisa Council.

  Rentappenen came to see him, as he did everyone with a Lens. “Do you always do what your Council tells you to do? Lenses are more powerful than you know.” He talked about how to unlock the potential. “Your people can live many more lifetimes if you give them xerthus.”

  He frowned. “Xerthus is only to replenish our Collectives in our Cubes—”

  “If you use more than a drop, you can make all your Cubes into Lenses! Think of what you can accomplish if your finest minds live longer!”

  Kerponie argued with his brother, but he made his Cube into a Lens. They only had one vial of xerthus, but he now knew how to make more of it. Kerponie wanted to study it before his brother Bponas made any more, but he gathered all the people with Cubes and made sure everyone on their world had a Cube. “The Guaspesi are coming to take our world! We can save ourselves with xerthus!”

  But, I studied the changes in him. Xerthus changed him. He became violent. Others used up our resources to create weapons against the Guaspesi. As they did so, they died. I watched in horror as even my brother died, in my arms.

  I created a new species, because there was no one else to send to the Guaspesi. I named her Bponas, and she carried my weapons as I defended myself against them.

  When I knew it was hopeless, I sent Bponas, but they intercepted her. I tried to send my research to Kaswpas, who lived on a remote mining world where they sent him. My creations did not live long, so I hoped this one would reach him. I was alone on my world, and buried all of our xerthus, in hopes the Guaspesi would not find enough of it to power their endless wars!

  But, hunger drove me to create plants. This is how I lived, alone, for centuries. I dared not contact anyone.

  A portal opened, and I thought surely Kaswpas found me. He did, but now I know he did evil!

  Dromie put out his hand, and Kerponie stood by him. He also looked like a goblin, short, neon green, with that huge mouth of flat teeth. He had brown eyes. Dromie’s are green. “Dromie changed me. Once, I looked like Kaswpas. I miss having four legs, and being tall. Then, I was handsome.” He frowned at Dromie.

  “You’re contaminated, can’t you see that? You look like us because xerthus got on you. But, now you can fight like us! We are using it like you wanted it used, one drop for a Collective, to give it more power.” Dromie giggled.

  “You don’t understand what xerthus does. Once you eat too much of it, you can’t put it into other Collectives. This is what the danger of using a Lens is.” His white hair stood on end. Those blue eyes glowed. Weren’t they brown?

  Dromie frowned up at him. He’s taller. “It gets used up. We won’t be powerful when that happens. Until it does, we fight.”

  “It’s not that simple! My people fought, but they still died. Their lifespans were a lot less. They used Lenses to fight the invaders, but they gave power and they lost it. The Guaspesi—”

  “They are dead! Not because they couldn’t use up their xerthus. Because they used it too fast. They wanted fast war! We brought back species we killed and they fought. We are using the xerthus in our bodies to create, not to destroy, and we are stronger because of it. You created things, and you lived, didn’t you?” Dromie blinked those huge blue eyes at him.

  His white hair laid down again. He blinked, and his eyes went brown. “Yes. I created, and I lived. That is how we lived, before we ate xerthus. We created—worlds.” His eyes turned blue, and I saw star systems form. Worlds came off the stars, cooled, and animals and plants grew on them. Millenia. Then, he blinked and stared at me. “What manner of creature are you, that you can make time less? You have a power that is forbidden on all levels! Only a hundred Lenses and a thousand vials of xerthus could create you!” His white hair stood up again, and his eyes went white!

  Then I saw how to defeat Rentappenen! I looked at his dead world, where Granny and her family lived. Turned back the clock. Lush plant life and animals lived again.

  People woke up and started creating worlds. Instead of listening to Rentappenen—he can’t go in their timeline again—they saw this future and decided to use xerthus to create more worlds! Galaxies grew where Rentappenen destroyed ‘em! This drained his Cube! And, mine!