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Prone took it in silence, which could have meant that he didn’t want to talk or that he had no interest in metaphysical matters Jul strode ahead of him, confident of the route He couldn’t see any surveil ance devices but he was sure that they were around somewhere, and that meant he would do what he did every day now and walk confidently into the area around the spire until he felt the energy field brush him like an unseen cloud of flies

The hu fro them into inaction

Ahhh … The field washed over hiain Half an hour I have half an hour, perhaps, because that was how long the hunusson won’t think I’ve escaped When he looked over his shoulder, Prone was about four ht the structure was a holy relic Noas the time to reinforce that charade Jul squatted on his haunches in front of the panel that had made Prone so anxious when he’d reached out to touch it

The sy like that, even though they look like part of the stone I have to touch one and see what happens The challenge is … Prone

Jul stayed in his squat position, bowed his head, and closed his eyes That would prevent Prone interrupting hi rew distressed when Forerunner technology was daed If Jul threatened to destroy an entire panel, a wal of devices that seemed to be a hub for portal network in one of the Forerunners’ most critical instal ations, then that would surely persuade hiet very close to ot one chance to do this, because if I fail, that ruse won’t work again In fact … I’ll be marooned here, unable to remove the harness at all

Jul opened his eyes a fraction Prone was on the far side of the cha at inscriptions Jul o paces from the wal

If I don’t make my move, I’ll die here eventually anyway They’ll never release me They can’t

He had to do it in one move And he had to do it very soon, before the loss of contact with him started a search The harness was loose Prone wouldn’t have thought that was a security probleer it

Get to the wall, lift the harness--not too far, ive him the ultimatum

Show me a portal that works, or I’ll destroy this chamber Have you ever seen an explosion in a confined space? You’d die too

Prone ht not care what happened to him, but he’d certainly care about the precious Forerunner facility Jul crossed his arers around the straps of the harness, and sprang up from a squat toward the walHe hit it with a thud just as Prone spun around As the Huragok came at him, he raised the harness to shoulder level Prone stopped

"I have nothing to lose, Engineer," he said "I’l die here either way Show helios, and reed forward This was going to be aard Jul had to keep an eye on the creature, but he also needed to look at the sy sensation throughout his body: the as active in sohelios does not work, > Prone said < It was not maintained at the terminal > "I don’t believe you" Jul reached out with one hand, holding the harness half-raised with the other He wasn’t sure how er it, but he’d find out very soon "So I’o nowhere You> "Let’s see" Jul reached into his pocket and gathered the shel s and stones in his palm If he could open a portal, at least he could toss a stone in and see what happened before he tried it hi this one-handed was hard He held one stone between two fingers, gripping the rest as best he could, and stood off to one side of the symbols so that he could both see them and keep Prone in his field of view "What happens if I do this?"

He pressed the first sy sound A panel in the wal dissolved, leaving a tal rectangle that looked like sunlight trying to penetrate a thick ht, but a heartbeat later, it bounced back and clattered across the floor

< I told you, > Prone said < It doesn’t work> Jul wasn’t going to give up that easily Noas co, or die "Plenty more controls to press, my friend Plenty more" He worked another stone out of his palers, then tried the next symbol in the line When he lobbed the stone into the portal this ti this was his exit, then a light flashed and he heard so hit the floor on the other side of the chao where they were intended, > Prone said < Which I have also told you > "But so to ache froain, the stone bounced out He tried four more times, equal y unsuccessful y, and wondered if he’d run out of stones before he found a portal destination that worked Every tied forward a little

"I wil detonate this, Engineer Believe me when I say that"

< I do > Jul stil didn’t believe there were any gods, but if he rong, then he hoped they would look down on this desperate moment and open a portal for his who could build entire stars Hisstupid rather than courageous Sometiain, and there was silence

The silence turned into seconds Then it stretched into a long pause punctuated by his own heartbeat pounding in his ears The stone didn’t bounce back, and it didn’t e like bel ows

"This one works," Jul said "This works Doesn’t it?"

< For the ti It’s unstable > "Where does it lead?"

< You her His ar to twitch "I’l enter anyway I’l ask you again What is this symbol?"

< Kelekos > Jul had never heard of it "Where is that?"

< I don’t know There were many Forerunners there > "Like you don’t knohere Requiem is"

< Requiem cannot be reached from here, because the Didact sleeps and must never be woken Kelekos could be reached If you can reach a place, we have no need to know its location This ter > Jul was now beyond i explosives draped around hi portal, and he had to try Kelekos would do When he got there, he’d work out where it was It was just a name There was little chance that the Forerunner name bore any resemblance to what the world was known as now

But before he stepped into freedoet rid of the harness Magnusson couldn’t detonate it, not here in this place that shut out al signals, but he couldn’t take it with hiok to remove it safely

"Prone, come here and remove this harness," Jul said "Or I’l detonate it"

< I was ordered not to > "You know I’l do it Remove it"

< I must not > "If I try to take it off, what happens to your terminal? What was your ave you, or those of these hu the Forerunners built if it suited thehtly lu ai portal to force the creature to act, and placed one leg across the threshold It was the strangest feeling He’d used portals before but none of the kneaded by thousands of fingers, not quite a tearing sensation but very uncomfortable nevertheless He had both hands free now He raised the harness a little higher The next moment could prove to be his last

Home or dead There’s no other way