Read without ads and support Scribd by becoming a Scribd Premium Reader.
See Premium Plans
 
THE DANCE OF TIME
Eric Flint and David Drake
 
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book arefictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.Copyright © 2006 by Eric Flint & David DrakeAllrights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.A Baen Books OriginalBaen Publishing EnterprisesP.O. Box 1403Riverdale, NY 10471www.baen.comISBN-13: 978-1-4165-0931-8ISBN-10: 1-4165-0931-3Cover art byAlan Pollock Maps by Randy AsplundFirst printing, February 2006Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataFlint, Eric.The dance of time / Eric Flint, David Drake. p. cm."A Baen Books original"--T.p. verso.ISBN 1-4165-0931-3 (hc)1. Belisarius, 505 (ca.)-565--Fiction. 2. Supercomputers--Fiction. I.Drake, David. II. Title.PS3556.L548D36 2006813'.6--dc222005034212Distributed by Simon & Schuster 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020Production & book design by Windhaven Press, Auburn, NH(www.windhaven.com)Printed in the United States of America
 
Prologue
The Iron Triangle
 Autumn, 533 AD
Belisarius watched Eusebius and his crew as they carefully slipped the mine off the deck of the
Victrix
, using a ramp they'd set up in the stern for the purpose. Because of its design, it had been relatively easy to adapt the fireship to the task of becoming a mine-layer. Doing so with the
 Justinian
would have required a major reconstruction of the armored gunship.The sun still hadn't come up, but there was enough light from the approaching dawn for Belisarius to see. Quietly, almost soundlessly, the mine slid below the surface of the water.Eusebius measured off the depth of the mine's placement using the prepared lines, squinting atthe marks nearsightedly.A trio of ducks flew past swiftly, just above the level of the reeds. Their quacking soundedlike the slap of bamboo canes.
You are fortunate to see them
, saidAide, the crystalline being that rested in Belisarius'neck pouch.
Those are pink-headed ducks, very rare here in the Indus Basin. Indeed,they're not common even in Brahmaputra
.
When we've defeated the Malwa
, Belisarius replied silently to the voice in his mind,
 perhaps I'll retire to a monastery and write a treatise on natural history based on my travels. Of course, first we have to defeat the Malwa
.
We will
, said Aide firmly; and
that 
was not a joke.Aide had come—been sent—to Belisarius from the far future; from one of two alternatefutures, more precisely. Aide's purpose was to prevent the Malwa Empire from conquering theworld as it had already conquered most of the Indian subcontinent.The real horror of a Malwa victory would come tens of tens of thousands of years in thefuture, when the Earth was ruled by the so-called "new gods" that had evolved from men. Inhuman terms, though, what a Malwa victory meant in this 533rd Year of Christ was bad enough.Laying the mine took some time, because the crew had to lower it slowly and carefully.There wasn't really much danger of the charge going off simply due to a rough landing on theriver bottom, especially as muddy as the Indus was. But, understandably, no one wanted to takeany chances.Eventually, the lines grew slack. The heavy stone weight that had dragged the mine below
Search
Search History:
Searching...
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
  • p.
    • Notes
    Load more