VII

"You're a J.I. secret agent?" said Bernard Baal to Chernobog. "Cool!"

"Not yet, she isn't," said Mirabi. "So the I.I's had something stolen and they don't know who did it. Brilliant. I can't wait to tell everyone back at HQ about this."

"Don't you dare. It's classified," said Chernobog. "And I am going to be an agent. I'm sorry if this is inconvenient, Detective Arjuna, but you're not the only person here with a job to do."

"That does not give you permission to be playing around with the university's environmental systems," said Ra, who was examining her palmcom. "ChronOps is authorised, but the Jupiter Imperia is not. Tranquillity is the capital of the Solar Union, let me remind you."

"Yes, and you should have told us you were working for the J.I," said Zeus. "I know we probably wouldn't have believed you, but still..."

"You can look at disciplining her later, Doctor," I said. "There's something slightly more important we need to talk about."

"Really? What?" said Zeus.

"The illegal backsteps to 2500BC, 1581 and 1607AD," I said. "What exactly were you doing at those times?"

While I'd been checking Wei'To's office, and then fighting with Chernobog, most of the suspects, except for Anubis's team, had taken an opportunity to start on the food laid out for the party. Zeus dropped the plate he was holding, which smashed loudly on the floor.

"What?! How did...? You... You can't prove it was me!" he said.

"So it was you?" I said.

"What? No! Yes! I mean, no!" said Zeus.

"You do realise we have polygraphs built into these?" said Mirabi, tapping her helmet. He had just scored -98%

"You...? Oh, Shav! I..." said Zeus. He looked around, trying to find somewhere to look that wasn't at us and failed.

"It was you?" said Ra. He and Baldr both stared at Zeus.

"Oh, Thank Darwin! I told you it wasn't me!" said Max Ishtar.

"I can explain!" said Zeus. He looked at me. "How... How did you know?"

"You gave yourself away," I said. "When I asked what was going on at those three dates, you gave more examples than anyone else. Which isn't surprising considering that you've got books on Ancient Egypt, Ivan the Terrible's Russia and Elizabethan England in your office. You've been researching all three time periods in detail. Why have you been going back there?"

Zeus's shoulders sank. He sighed, but he look more annoyed than defeated

"Hax it," he said. "OK. Fine. It's for the project."

"What?" said Ra.

"No, it isn't," said Baldr. "We have no libraries to rescue in those eras..."

"Yes, we have," said Zeus. "Just not officially. But they should have been on the list from the start. I found the legendary libraries."

Ra and Baldr opened their mouths, but then stopped. They both stared at him.

"You did what?" said Baldr.

"You actually found them?" said Ra. "They were real?"

"All three?" said Chernobog.

"Yes, they were. The Hall of Records in Ancient Egypt, Ivan the Terrible's library in Moscow and Dr. John Dee's library in London," said Zeus. "They were all real."

"What is this about?" I said.

"He... He suggested we should go back and look for them when we first started," said Baldr. "When we were planning the project. But... they weren't real. They were just myths."

"Their existence isn't historically verified," said Ra. "There are stories of these libraries, but no one knows if they really existed. They're legendary. We had libraries that we knew had been real to save. The professor decided we shouldn't devote time and resources to trying to track down libraries that might never have existed. Especially when we had no idea where to look."

"It wasn't that hard," said Zeus. "We had a general location for each one. Egypt, Moscow and London. And it was well worth it. I found samples of the oldest writing systems in history in the Hall of Records, older than anything we saw in Alexandria. There was nothing from Atlantis, disappointingly, but the Hall actually is hidden under the right paw of the Great Sphinx at Giza. It might still be there today. Czar Ivan's library was even better. I found scrolls and papyri there that I'd actually seen before in Alexandria. Some stuff survived the burning after all! And there were all sorts of Byzantine books, manuscripts from Astrakhan and the Kazan Khanates, lost Buddhist scriptures, loads of stuff about sorcery. I found the formula for Greek Fire there..."

"And you've copied all of this and brought it back?" said Ra.

"Of course I have. It's all on data crystals in my safe deposit box," said Zeus. "And Dr. Dee's library was the best. It was one of the largest in England at the time. Absolutely fascinating Hermetic texts, lost Greek plays in Arabic translation, books on alchemy. And Dee was a great guy, though he did go on and on about all the angels he was talking to..."

"OK, I think we get the idea," I said.

"I don't! Why in Darwin's name didn't you tell us about this?" said Baldr.

"Because we'd already agreed that we couldn't spend time and resources on looking for "legendary" libraries, remember?" said Zeus.

"If you'd told us that you'd actually found them, we would have come around very fast!" said Baldr.

"Exactly," said Ra. "If you'd informed us, we would have helped. Never mind why you've been backstepping illegally, David. Why have you been so secretive about this?"

"And how long did it take you to scan three entire libraries by yourself?" said Baal.

Zeus looked away for a second, pursing his lips. Then he sighed again.

"OK. Fine," he said. "It's my entry for the Wells Prize this year."

"Devious Darwin!" said Baldr. "Oh, wait. What am I saying? You dishonest, underhanded, conniving son of a Martian! No offence, Captain Anubis."

"None taken," said Anubis, who glaring at Zeus. He clearly wasn't pleased to learn that the other person who'd been outsmarting his security system was the TV personality.

"I see. You wanted all the credit for yourself," said Ra, folding his arms. "Let me guess. Your producer's already on board to film you excavating underneath the Sphinx's foot in that ridiculous 20th century film archaeologist's hat of yours."

"No, he is not!" said Zeus. "We've just... discussed it as a possible future project. And there is nothing wrong with my hat. It's both traditional and practical and a valuable Hollywood antique. And I did find them by myself. I'm entitled to the credit. And I'm also completely entitled to enter for the Wells Prize. I am a recognised historian, after all."

"You're a glorified television presenter with a PhD you barely passed," said Baldr.

"Oh, yeah? What have you done recently that's so impressive?"

"You're entitled to enter, David, but you're not entitled to use project resources for your own interests," said Ra. "This is completely against the regulations."

"I haven't," said Zeus. "I used my own document scanners and paid the electricity bill for my jumps. Check the budget. I haven't used any project funds. I even wore my own tunics going back."

"You've still been using a time teleporter without clearance," I said. "But we can discuss that later. In the meantime, I imagine the other illegal jumps to the project's official dates were you as well?"

"If you think you're using anything we've saved in your entry, you can..." said Baldr.

"No, I'm not!" said Zeus. He turned to me. "Sorry, Detective. I was going to mention that. They weren't."

"What?" said Mirabi.

"What?" I said.

"The other jumps weren't me," said Zeus. "I only made backsteps to the legendary libraries. I was as shocked as you were when the captain found them. I haven't been near the official destinations. Except when I was there officially. Too much risk of getting caught."

There was a pause. Everyone looked at everyone else again.

"If it wasn't you or Max, who the hax was it?" said Chernobog.

"It genuinely wasn't me," said Max Ishtar.

"Oh, Gentle Darwin," said Mirabi, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. I couldn't believe it either. We had yet another unauthorised backstepper.

_ _ _ _ _

"So you actually met Ivan the Terrible?" said Ishtar.

"Yes, and he really wasn't as bad as he sounds," said Zeus. "Very gruff and serious and a bit paranoid, but otherwise quite a nice guy. And a very good chess player."

"Well, I suppose this explains why you've been looking sleep deprived so often over the last few months," said Ra.

"Scanning an entire library by yourself is hard work," said Zeus. "And I haven't been neglecting my duties here. You should be thanking me."

"Don't push your luck," said Baldr.

"Back to square haxing one again," said Mirabi to me as they started arguing. "Why is every murder we get half investigation and half snakes and ladders?"

"Don't worry. We're not quite back at the start," I said. I lowered my voice. "I found something in the Professor's office. Mr Xibalba!"

Domingo Xibalba, who was showing one of the replica Mayan folding books to Megan Uzume, looked up and came over. My Helmcom's auto-translation program had wormlinked to the hypernet by now and downloaded written Yucatec Maya. It translated the book title as The Story of the Heavenly Twins.

"How can I help, Detective?" he said.

"Would I be right in guessing that you've spent more time interacting with the locals in Tutal Xiu than anyone else?" I said. "I mean, I saw you playing the ball game with them."

"Of course," said Xibalba. "They're not strangers to me, Detective. They're my people. We may be separated by centuries - and I have been raised in the decayed remnants of our culture and religion - but I am still pure-blood Maya. I may well have walked with my own direct ancestors."

"Not just the remains anymore, I'm sure," said Mirabi.

"Of course not," said Xibalba, smiling. "In the four shorts months we've been backstepping, I've found the answers to all my questions. I know the names and stories of all the Gods now. I've recovered all of my people's history, traditions, philosophies and laws. The project is just interested in rescuing the books, but I've rescued everything that was lost to us at the hands of the Spaniards; may they suffer forever in the underworld. It's why I agreed to join the project. I could never pass up such a Heaven-sent opportunity."

"Congrats," said Mirabi, nodding. I knew why she approved. The extended Arjuna family stayed very close to their Indian sub-continent cultural heritage and Mirabi had been raised with their history and traditions. Despite her constant battles with her female relatives, she was very proud of her ancestry.

"Yes. Congratulations," I said. "But tell me about the other project members. How did the locals - your people - react to them? Did anyone upset anyone?"

Mirabi nodded beside me as she saw where I was going. We had been assuming so far that whoever had killed the Professor had to be someone from the present, which did make sense as we'd found the body here. But there was a whole city's worth of other potential perpetrators in the past.

"Well, apart from when that young fool Bernard washed his hands in the purified water in the Snake temple, no," said Xibalba. "And we made the proper reparations for that. The matter was settled. Professor Wei'To got on well with my people. All the teachers are intelligent enough to treat everyone we met there as equals - and the students aren't idiots either - but the Professor went further. He always made it clear he wished to learn from them. To be honest, he got us access to the books faster than I could."

"So he didn't make any enemies?" I said.

"No. No one did," said Xibalba. He shrugged. "Dr. Baldr did irritate a few of the musicians, but that was mostly because he kept them interrupting them while they were playing to pester them with questions. That was the only thing."

"I see," I said. That might possibly be related.

"I don't believe any of my people would have done it, Detective," said Xibalba. "Even if they had somehow come to the present. I can't imagine Professor Wei'To would have given anyone any reason to."

"You'd be surprised what some people will kill for," said Mirabi.

"Indeed," I said. "Thank you, Mr Xibalba. Miss Uzume!"

Megan Uzume looked up and instantly looked worried. I mentally cursed myself again for how I'd reacted earlier. I should have apologised. Some of this must have shown on my face as well, because Mirabi noticed and raised an eyebrow. But Uzume came over to us as Xibalba left.

"Yes, Detective?" she said.

"The professor was your mentor," I said. I pulled out the single document I'd found on Wei'To's desk in his office before the incident with Chernobog. "Can you tell me if this his handwriting?"

"What? Oh. Yes," said Uzume, looking at the paper. "Yes. That's definitely his."

"You're sure? No chance of it being a fake or tampered with?"

"Oh, no," said Uzume, shaking her head. "He always curved his t's like that when he was writing with a fountain pen. And this is his. I was there when he wrote it this morning.

"You actually saw it?" I said. That was good news.

"Yes, I came in early to return a book he'd lent me," said Uzume. "Nicholas Nicolby. He was introducing me to Charles Dickens. He was horrified that I'd never heard of him before."

"You hadn't?" said Mirabi.

I almost raised an eyebrow myself this time. Uzume may have been from an asteroid, but she was now at Oxbridge Luna, which was not somewhere where you got close to the admissions office without a particularly well-rounded education.

"We never had that many books when I was growing up on Ceres," said Uzume.

For a moment, I was genuinely surprised. Even if the moon was one of the most egalitarian parts of the Solar System, it was very unusual for someone from a hellhole like Ceres to make it to Oxbridge Luna, even on a full scholarship. While it was one of the largest and most habitable of the Independent Asteroids, Ceres was mostly famous for its poverty, corruption and space pirates. The young Megan Uzume had probably been lucky enough to have enough food, yet alone enough reading material, and I instantly felt worse about being short with her earlier.

"That's where you're from?" said Mirabi, who also looked surprised and appalled.

"Only until I was eleven," said Uzume. "When Mum and Dad died. I lived in an orphanage in Tranquillity City until I came here."

"I'm sorry," I said. I felt worse yet again, which shouldn't have been possible in such a short space of time.

"Oh, no. Please. Don't be," said Uzume. "It was never too bad. And I would never have had the chance to come to Oxbridge if it wasn't for the school there."

"Oh. Good. I'm glad it worked out," I said. I quickly studied the document again, just as I'd done the last time I desperately needed to change the subject.

"It has," said Uzume, quietly. "And Professor Wei'To helped me so much."

I nodded. It was easy to see that he had and that the Library Project wasn't going to be the same without him. It certainly wasn't judging by the replacements who were waiting in the wings. I glanced over to where Zeus, Ra and Baldr were comparing copies of the project regulations, the university's code of conduct and the H.G. Wells prize entry rules and arguing over them.

"He must have. Is this thing even going to survive without him?" said Mirabi.

"Oh, yes. We'll keep it going," said Uzume. "He wouldn't want us to stop. It was really important to him. He... He used to say that history is built on what people in the past left behind. Even if we can't save them, we can make sure what they created doesn't get lost. I really think it's a good thing to be doing."

The paper creased in my hand. I breathed out through my nose, forcing myself not to hold it so tightly, and tried to relax and hide how I'd just stiffened. Uzume noticed anyway and her face, which had been growing more relaxed and less illogically guilty, suddenly looked nervous to the point of frightened again. I felt like a complete daxer for the second time. It wasn't her fault. She hadn't said it deliberately. But she'd done it again.

"It is. We'll recommend you get the projects' time license renewed when we report," I said, as naturally as I could.

"Uh... Yes," said Uzume. "Excuse me."

She quickly fled and I felt worse yet again.

"What's going on?" said Mirabi, lowering her voice.

"Nothing," I said. "See for yourself." I handed her the document and turned around. "Dr Baldr?"

"The judges will never to stand for that and that's final!" said Baldr to Zeus. "Yes? What is it now, Detective?"

"Just one quick question, sir," I said, as he came over. "Did you ever notice Professor Wei'To having