69

"Bold and to the point," Dr. Sabbatine says. "The truth is, I don't know. But I do have a plan—you must restore the Specular."

Stralchus seems to have gone catatonic at the revelations, so the doctor addresses you. There's a brief pause, the sound of a distorted transmission like a botched transcription onto a waxed cylinder, and then the doctor resumes speaking, her tone hesitant.

"There is, um, a slight problem," the doctor says. "The Empress herself is aware, to some extent, of this misadventure. Her government is threatening to shut me down, and all my guards are—as you know—dead or in the past. The imperial bureaucracy doesn't understand the danger, and they want something to show for all the money they've given me. A return on investment.

"We can easily repair the Specular enough to allow for transmission of small items. But—" Her tone is coldly furious. "—I regret to inform you that payment will be required for the continued operation of this channel."

Stralchus looks at the gold and copper adornments of the Apostolic Mound and says, "Of course. If this world has any reality to it, its gold will be real. There is still a Byzantium out there, and it can make better use of gold than these savages."

"If there were another way, I would take it," the doctor says, "but the Empress and I do not, um, get along. If she shuts me down, it's all over.

"So the plan is this—you will stay here for the night while the Apostolic Mound, with my help, records my repair instructions for the Specular. Then you will return, effect basic repairs, and begin a more extensive restoration. Once you're safely home, we can pinpoint the exact temporal location of the False Icon and…hmm. We radio the true Icons? Stralchus can pray? I'm not sure how it will work after that! But we will recapture the False Icon, and we will then be able to resume our studies."