فصل 46

CHAPTER FORTY SIX

Star-Child

Then it became silent, as it saw that it was not alone.

A ghostly, shining square had formed in the empty air. Moving across it were bars of light and shadow.

It was a sight to hold the attention of any child - or any man-ape. But, as it had been three million years before, it was only the outside shape of more complicated forces. It held the baby’s attention, while his mind was examined and explored, and changed.

With eyes that already held more than human intelligence, the baby stared at the glass object, seeing - but not yet understanding - the mysteries that lay beyond. It knew that it had come home, that here was the beginning of many races besides its own, but it also knew that it could not stay. Beyond this lay another birth, stranger than any in the past, and now the moment had come.

The metal and plastic of the forgotten vehicle, and the clothing once worn by David Bowman, flashed into flame. The last connections with Earth were gone.

But the child hardly noticed. He knew that he was still a baby, and would remain one until he had decided on a new form. Or he might pass beyond the need for any form.

And now it was time to go. He knew his destination, but there was no need to return the way he had come. With three million years of knowledge, he now understood that there were more ways than one to move through space. The ancient Star Gate had served him well, but he would not need it again.

Confident, because he knew that he was not alone, he travelled across the light-years. Stars slipped past on each side at unbelievable speed. The Milky Way became faint as it fell behind him.

Then he was back, exactly where he wished to be, in the space that men called real.

There before him, a shining toy that no Star-Child could ignore, floated the planet Earth with all its peoples.

He had returned in time. Down there the alarms would be flashing across computer screens as the human race prepared for its final war.

A thousand kilometers below, he saw that a bomb was going to explode in the atmosphere. It was no danger to him, but he preferred a cleaner sky. He held it in his mind, and it burned quickly and silently.

Then he waited, wondering about his other untested powers. Though he was master of the world, he was not quite sure what to do next.

But he would think of something.