Giselle sat on a couch near the top of Golden Cherry Blossom Pagoda. A mechanism built to simulate celestial phenomena ran on gears all around her. The sky outside was cloudy. Despite that, skylights cast hard shadows across the chamber's floor. Five Adjunct Preceptors took notes of where the edges passed.
"The world is ending ahead of schedule," said the Grand Preceptor.
There was a touch of humor in his voice – but with it came several more touches of concern. The Grand Preceptor had called an emergency summit of Great Yao's intelligence community. Along with Giselle herself and Alistair, the Third Consort and her son were in attendance.
"How far ahead of schedule?" asked Consort Jin.
"As things stand, more than a year," said the Grand Preceptor, "and less than a decade."
"As things stand?" asked the Third Prince.
"Some parties might delay it," said the Grand Preceptor. "Other parties might accelerate it. We could end up in either camp depending on how many mistakes we make."
"Sometimes I think it's better not to know these things," said Giselle.
"I prefer to know," said Sand. "Who are the other parties?"
"Everyone with a gift for knowing what's best not to know."
"Such as the Princess?" asked Consort Jin.
The Grand Preceptor nodded. Alistair Sand inhaled, closed his eyes – and exhaled.
"We cannot move against her based on star charts and angels moving chess pieces," he said.
"I'm not suggesting we move against her," replied the Grand Preceptor.
"What are you suggesting?" asked Alistair.
"When clairvoyant techniques clash," said the Grand Preceptor, "all results are suspect. Because this event is cataclysmic, everyone capable of acting will. That means interference patterns, and the risk of misinterpretation will become high."
"Then we're all in the same boat," said Giselle.
"Can you be specific about any parties other than the Princess?" asked Sand.
"Tianming Duke," said the Grand Preceptor.
Giselle had wanted to kill Tianming Duke for some time. She wasn't sure why. It was just a feeling. But her feelings were usually justified.
"Is the so-called greater nobility finally making its move?" she asked.
"The risk of misinterpretation is high," repeated Consort Jin. "The ducal families are even more wary of one another than the crown. Tianming Duke and my father are particularly at odds. I have every incentive to catch Tianming Duke in an act of treason, but have seen nothing more than the usual jockeying."
"When I raised our plan to find relics with Father," said Third Prince Parsifal, "he said Eastern Duke wanted to marry one of my cousins to the Princess."
Consort Jin laughed.
"It's true your grandfather wants to do that," she said. "But it's an illusion."
"Father agrees with you," said Parsifal. "But only people familiar with the Princess realize it's an illusion. To those on the outside, the plan makes sense. Consequently, if Tianming Duke believed it…."
"He might try to act against the Princess," said Giselle.
"That would be stupid," said Sand.
"He may not realize how stupid," said Giselle.
"I agree that Tianming Duke will act against Eastern Duke's plan," said Sand. "To his own regret. But any such action would look more like the usual jockeying than ending the world. Grand Preceptor, in order to say the Princess and Tianming Duke are involved, you must have some idea about the nature of their involvement."
The Grand Preceptor sighed.
"Of course," he said. "But it's important not to put the wrong idea in play."
"Intelligence must be actionable," said Sand, "or it isn't intelligence."
"You like numbers," said the Grand Preceptor.
"Correction," said Sand. "I love numbers."
"Numbers are going to start changing," said the Grand Preceptor.
"Which numbers?"
"I don't know," chuckled the Grand Preceptor. "If I did, we wouldn't be in this situation."
"That is not actionable…," said Sand.
"I do know which numbers won't be a problem," said the Grand Preceptor. "If this event were anything we've seen before, we would already understand it. Numbers that make no sense are the ones to watch."
"That's better than nothing," said Sand.
"I'm not so sure," said Giselle. "Who do I kill?"
"Regarding the Princess and the Duke," said Consort Jin, "do you have any insights with respect to the time frame of their involvement?"
The Grand Preceptor considered the question.
"Actions create reactions," he said. "If we get caught in a loop of misinterpretation, everyone will be involved for the duration. We must also consider the significance of any actions taken. With respect to the Duke, I believe he has taken several actions. None were consequential enough to break through the celestial noise and alert us."
"The Princess punched through the celestial noise?" asked Consort Jin.
"It's what we should expect from our Princess," said Giselle.
"In fact," said the Grand Preceptor, "if she was going to act, but hadn't, the strength of her potential would create enough noise to mask everything else. I must reiterate, however, that while whatever action she took has revealed the danger, it cannot be conclusively stated that her intention is to cause the calamity."
Giselle considered all that a bunch of babble. She wasn't in the mood to take on a baby goddess, however, and let the Grand Preceptor's babbling slide.
"There hasn't been anything to provoke Iba Algi," said Parsifal.
"The Fourth Prince's incident?" asked Giselle.
"That provoked Renjie," Parsifal chuckled. "He wanted to depose the Emperor and install our brother right there. But Iba Algi considered it funny that Renjie got grounded."
"Should we be talking about a baby goddess so openly?" asked Giselle.
The Grand Preceptor waved at the planetary mechanisms.
"We have our own noise," he said.
"Right now," said Parsifal, "Renjie is with the Minister of Antiquities going over maps and getting fondled. He's as happy as he's ever been."
The Grand Preceptor stood and started looking at shadows on the floor.
"You've thought of something else?" asked Consort Jin.
"I was only considering the relics you're looking for in the context of attracting Dragon Turtle Society," said the Grand Preceptor. "However…."
"They relate to the coming cataclysm?" asked Consort Jin.
"Maybe," said the Grand Preceptor. "Maybe."
"If the Princess didn't approve," said Giselle, "she would have just sent Parsifal home."
"Relates to doesn't mean causes," said the Grand Preceptor. "It would be equally valid to say that finding the right relics may help avert the catastrophe."
Giselle had heard enough.
"Grand Preceptor," she said, "all this is unusually unhelpful even by your standards."
The Grand Preceptor chuckled.
"Blame the noise," he replied. "Fine. Yes, the relics are a connection."
"Tianming Duke is also looking for something under Jade Palace Mound," said Consort Jin.
"Do you know that for certain?" asked Sand.
"I do," she said. "It isn't that remarkable. Tianming Fortress connects to the eastern face of the Mound. In addition to the Necropolis Tunnel, dozens of minor tunnels appear all along the southern and southeastern edges of the monolith. My information is that the Duke wants to find an artifact from First Qianqiu Emperor, however, and not the giants."
"The First Emperor used the Arkhanate's tools for his own purposes," said Grand Preceptor.
Giselle felt a familiar irritation rising. Talking about problems this long usually resulted in letting the problems happen and then looking for fixes to what went wrong. In this case, it sounded like there wouldn't be anyone around to fix anything.
"Should we all just get together and talk it out?" she asked.
"No," chuckled Sand.
"Why not?" asked Parsifal.
"Without knowing the motivations of other parties…," said Sand.
"We'll be in the light," said Consort Jin, "and a bad faith actor will be in shadow."
"That," said Sand.
"I know I'll sound sentimental," said Giselle. "But you know I'm not the sentimental type. I don't believe the Princess is malevolent. Yes, Tianming Duke wants to be Emperor. Adding him to our group wouldn't work. But what about the Crown Princess?"
"When we know more," said Sand, "we can consider expanding our circle. For now, we should be able to find evidence of the actions taken by either Tianming Duke or the Princess."
"Given what we know about the Princess," said Giselle, "nevermind what we don't, she may not have left evidence."
"In order to disturb the future," said Sand, "something must have changed. We don't see it because, as the Grand Preceptor suggested, we're looking for evidence of disasters we've already seen. We can afford a temporary realignment in Tianming Town. Three days. Have our assets focus on the most ridiculous rumors and bizarre events. Don't give them any suggestions in advance that might color their interpretation."
"Will do," said Giselle. "Should we speed up the relic hunt?"
"We could ask Renjie and the Minister of Antiquities to pick a good start," said Parsifal, "instead of the best start. It's hard to tell Renjie how to do anything, however."
"Give it a try," said Sand.