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  Split Infinity

  Tony Rattigan

  Book One of The Londum Series

  Split Infinity

  Tony Rattigan

  Copyright 2003 Antony Rattigan

  A sweeping melodrama, full of romance, passion, death and betrayal. A country, torn apart by divided loyalties as great armies battle each other. The story of a woman’s struggle against overwhelming odds. Yes, what a great book “Gone With The Wind” was.

  However, about this book …

  In an alternate Victorian England named Albion, Rufus Cobb, part time private detective, full time drunk, is having a rough time. Once a respected police officer at Caledonia Yard, he is now reduced to tracking lost dogs and unfaithful spouses to make ends meet. And just when he thought things couldn’t get any worse, they did.

  Hired by his old enemy Marcus Quist to find his missing daughter, before the case is through Cobb will have to face witches, immortals, oriental bodyguards, dangerous foreign monks and mythical monsters. Oh yes, and his cat hates him, as well.

  Destiny conspires to saddle Cobb with the most important case of his life, well anybody’s life come to that. The fate of the Universe may depend on Cobb. Good job the pubs stay open late.

  And who is killing all the clowns?

  What others have said about this book …

  ‘Very educational. Uses all the letters of the alphabet … and some punctuation too!’

  - Schoolteachers Weekly.

  ‘Best book I ever read. Why do you never write to me?’ – Author’s Mum.

  ‘Wonderful book. Makes great toilet paper and if you cut it up really small you can roll cigarettes with it.’ – Recyclers Monthly.

  ‘Exciting new talent. Please buy this book.’ – The Author.

  ‘Perfect bedside table book. One of the legs is too short and it wobbles. This is just the right size.’ - Handyman Gazette.

  ‘Why do you never write to your Mum?’ – Author’s Auntie.

  ‘This guy’s a nutter!’ – Sigmund Freud.

  ‘Four letters … rhymes with TRAP!’ – Crossword Monthly.

  Contents

  Prologue

  Sausage and Tips

  It’s More Than Just a Job, It’s an Adventure

  The Divine Mrs. Stiverley

  Low-Lifes and High Principles

  Harlequin

  Caledonia Bound

  Loch Dupp

  The Plot – Pay Attention!

  Cantonese Takeaway

  Friends in High Places

  Endgame

  Chickens, Coming Home to Roost

  Epilogue

  Prologue

  Everyone wonders how the Universe started. How it all began.

  Before the Beginning there was nothing … well nothing physical that is. Just long endless nights of stygian blackness with no sound, no warmth, no life.

  But there exist other realities, other levels of existence (some even with adequate parking).

  In one of these realities, the total blackness, the total nothingness coalesced here and there into, well … less than nothingness. In certain spots the darkness became slightly less dark, the emptiness became … slightly less empty. There was a long pause and then, where there had never been any sound before, there was a whisper …

  ‘What’s the hold up?’

  ‘I’m just reading the instructions.’

  ‘It says … light the blue touch paper and retire!’

  ‘All right, all right, don’t rush me. Okay, who’s got the matches?’

  There was a course of muttering before some … er … thing produced a box of matches from its sleeve.

  ‘Okay, everyone stand well back, it’s meant to be a Big Bang!’

  Every … thing present put fingers they didn’t have, into ears they didn’t have, and moved well back.

  There was a brief pinpoint of light then everything went BRILLIANT WHITE! There was a huge ear-splitting explosion.

  In that moment Existence was created. Life, the Universe and … (oh no, that’s been done hasn’t it?). But, well … basically, Creation as we know it, began. From nothing, the Universe sprang into being. All the matter that was to become the planets and the stars and the comets and asteroids and all the empty bits in between, came into existence in that single nanosecond.

  Somewhere in the background, the things that weren’t there, rubbed hands that they didn’t have, together, with satisfaction. But … as the Universe had only just been invented, none of them had heard of Robbie Burns’ saying, ‘The best laid plans of Mice and Men … and er, Things, often go awry’.

  No one quite knows why, but suddenly there was a second huge, ear-splitting explosion.

  This second explosion caused the newly born Universe and the freshly created Space/Time Continuum that it resided in, to be shattered into countless streams, each one almost identical.

  The result was multiple parallel Universes, each one subtly different from the next.

  That is what reality is like. There are multiple Universes … a Multiverse, with streams that exist parallel to each other, almost but not quite, the same as the one either side of it. History, as you know it, will have been played out somewhat differently in those alternate Universes, although they may contain the same basic elements that you would recognise.

  For example … there are worlds where Elvis really is dead, worlds where England really did win the Second World War and became a prosperous and powerful nation. Worlds where the MAN NEXT DOOR DOESN’T PLAY HIS STEREO LOUDLY AT 2 O’CLOCK IN THE MORNING WHEN I’M TRYING TO WRITE! (Sorry … sorry … got carried away there.)

  Anyway, the point I’m making is … these multiple Universes exist, they are there, you are living in one now. So are countless other versions of you in countless other Universes. All living out their lives determined by how they react to the multiple chances and choices that are open to them.

  In one Universe, a version of you pulls up to the traffic lights in an expensive car, somewhere else; you are the bum washing the windscreen on the expensive car that has just pulled up at the traffic lights. One of you turns left and finds a five-pound note, another one of you turns right and gets arrested for jaywalking. One of you gets married; another one of you lives a happy and purposeful life.

  Myriad Universes, myriad possibilities, and you are living all of them. So am I. Even the guy next door with the ster … oh, never mind.

  This story takes place in one of them. It may even be your Universe. Who knows? See if you recognise it.

  Sausage and Tips

  Let’s take a look at one of those Universes. In it there is one particular solar system that we are interested in. Nine planets circling a medium sized sun.

  Moving in closer still we focus our attention on the third planet from this sun. In any decent science fiction series it would be called “Sol 3” or “Terra” but here the inhabitants came up with the startlingly unimaginative name … “Earth”. (Must have taken them weeks to think of that one!)

  But, despite the uninspired name, this is an interesting planet. Maybe the walls are thinner between dimensions in this Universe. Maybe this is where all the clean, tidy, sensible Universes dumped all the odd bits they didn’t want from their own Universe, but whatever the reason, this is a place where Magick exists, where supernatural forces have power, where strange beasts live.

  Perhaps this is the place that people’s dreams visit when they write stories of elves and dwarves, trolls and vampires. This is the sort of planet where, when the ancient mapmakers wrote “Here Be Dragons” on the unknown bits of their maps, they weren’t being entirely fanciful.

  Let’s take a closer look at this Earth. There is a large continent in the middle, over on the right of that continent is a
n area known as Asya. Running across Asya, standing proud above the surrounding countryside, there is a range of mountains known as the Hermesetas. It is here that our story begins, high in those mountains, in a secret valley. Hidden for thousands of years, it harbours a deadly secret.

  ***

  It was a clear, cold night in the Hermesetan Mountains. There was not a cloud in the sky and the full moon shone brightly, illuminating the whole valley.

  Although it was winter in the Hermesetas, it hadn’t snowed for a couple of days and the surface snow had hardened, so it crunched under the feet of the monk as he made his way up the narrow mountain path. It was a well-trodden path, as it led to a narrow pass through the mountains, the only way in and out of the hidden valley. The outside world was entirely unaware of the secret valley and its inhabitants and they had dwelt there peacefully, undisturbed for thousands of years.

  The monk paused at the entrance to the pass, to get his breath. He was standing on a large flat outcrop, jutting out from the cliff face. He pulled his robes tight around him to try and counter the bitter winter cold.

  He looked out across the valley. With the covering of snow and the canopy of stars, it looked just like a Christmas card (not that he knew what a Christmas card was, that was a different religion). Down in the valley, the lights of the village gathered around the temple from which the monk had come, as if they were huddling together for warmth.

  It was an incredibly calm night, not a breath of wind. It was so quiet you could have heard a Yeti fall down a mountain miles away and the monk fancied he could hear voices floating up from the village on the still night air but that was probably just wishful thinking, a subconscious desire to maintain some contact with the home that he had left for the last time. It had never looked so beautiful to him.

  He stood there, drinking in the picture and it wasn’t just the cold that made his eyes sting.

  ‘Have you got it?’ said a voice behind him.

  The monk turned round slowly, ‘Yes, I’ve got it’. He looked at his questioner; the man had a Mediterranean complexion and dark, slicked back hair. He was quite a handsome chap and was dressed in a clown’s costume made out of red and white diamond patches. The jacket he wore had ruffled collar and cuffs, the trousers came down to just below his knees and on his legs he wore long, white stockings. Completing the ensemble was a pair of black, silver buckled shoes. Totally unsuitable clothing for this kind of weather and terrain but the wearer did not seem the slightest bit bothered by the sub-zero temperature.

  ‘Let me see it.’

  The monk noticed that when the man spoke no cloud of vapour came from his mouth, as it did when the monk breathed out. The monk reached into his robes and withdrew an ornately carved, wooden box, some six inches long. He flipped open the lid and held it out.

  The man reached out to touch the object contained in the box but hesitated before making contact and then withdrew his hand completely, as if afraid. ‘It’s beautiful,’ he said.

  ‘Yes … why is it that the most beautiful things are sometimes the most dangerous?’ replied the monk, philosophically. They both stared silently into the box for a while.

  Finally the monk broke the silence, ‘You do realise that by stealing this, I am betraying everything I’ve ever believed in, everything I’ve ever stood for? My good name, my honour will be shattered. I can never go back to the village, so my family will have to bear the shame of my guilt, without ever understanding why I did it.’

  ‘I know,’ said the other man gently, ‘but you have to believe me, I wouldn’t ask this of you unless it was absolutely necessary.’

  ‘So you said, I just hope you’re telling the truth.’

  ‘I have a feeling that it won’t be long before you find out the truth for yourself and then you will understand that your sacrifice was not in vain.’

  ‘Let’s get this over with then,’ said the monk, closing the box and putting it back in its hiding place, inside his robes.

  ‘I’ve checked, they are waiting at the other end of the pass for you,’ the man informed him. ‘Don’t forget to get the gold from them.’

  ‘I’ve already told you, I don’t want the gold, I’m not doing this for the money.’

  ‘I know, I know,’ said the other man, soothingly, ‘but it’s important that they think you are. Otherwise they may get suspicious.’

  ‘Very well then, lead on.’

  ‘I’m not going with you. They may have lookouts and I can’t risk them seeing me. They’re expecting you to be alone.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll be going then. Will I see you again?’

  ‘Soon … soon. Good luck!’

  The monk took one last look at the village in the valley and headed into the pass. It was about a mile long, just a deep crevasse between two vertical walls. At some point in the distant past, a geological upheaval had split one of the mountains surrounding the valley in two, leaving this narrow passageway between the two halves, barely wide enough to drive two carts through, side by side. Not that you could drive a cart through it, as it was littered with broken rocks and the only way to transport anything in or out of the hidden valley was by the use of pack animals.

  He picked his way between the rough, snow-covered rocks until he reached the other end of the pass.

  They were waiting there for him, a small group of men gathered around a fire that had been built at the entrance of a large, open-fronted tent. The tent allowed the heat from the fire to build around them but still enabled them to watch the entrance to the pass. The monk could see four men but he reasoned there were probably a few more hiding in the rocks, watching the proceedings. As he approached the tent, the occupants picked up their rifles and casually pointed them in his direction.

  The monk could see that three of the group were local mountain men. Their facial characteristics and clothing gave away the fact that they were native to the Hermesetan Mountains, as was the monk. He had seen men like this before on his secret forays into the outside world.

  The fourth man, obviously the leader, stood and went forward to meet him. He was only of medium height but a barrel of a man. Wrapped up in the layer of furs that he wore, he was almost as wide as he was tall. He was Cantonese, with a round, moon shaped face. His slit of a mouth was topped off with a small, toothbrush moustache.

  ‘You have item?’ asked the Cantonese man.

  ‘Do you have the gold?’ asked the monk.

  The Cantonese waved to one of his associates who came forward carrying a leather satchel. He opened it up and the gold coins glittered in the moonlight.

  ‘Very well then,’ said the monk and withdrew the box from inside his robes. He handed it to the Cantonese then held his hand out to the other man for the leather satchel.

  The Cantonese opened the box and checked the contents. Satisfied, he nodded to his associate, who handed over the satchel of gold coins to the monk.

  As the Cantonese shouted to his men to pack up the tent and break camp, the monk backed away slowly, wary of treachery.

  One of the other members of the group came forward and raised his rifle, drawing a bead on the monk. The Cantonese saw what he was doing, grabbed the rifle and twisted it, forcing the rifleman to his knees in agony, as his index finger was still trapped in the trigger guard. ‘We do deal, he honour deal,’ he said pointing at the monk, ‘you no kill.’

  ‘But he’s getting away, with the money! We shouldn’t leave any witnesses!’ gasped the man.

  A hefty boot caught him in the side of the head and knocked him unconscious. The Cantonese stood over him and although he could not hear, hissed at him, ‘We do deal, he honour deal. You no kill!’

  When his men had finished packing up the camp, they came to him and when they looked down at the unconscious man questioningly, he indicated they should load him onto one of the pack animals and take him with them.

  The monk made his way slowly back through the pass until he reached the entrance to the valley. He looked around him, the man he
had spoken to earlier was nowhere to be seen. With a heavy heart the monk stood on the edge of the outcrop, looking down into the valley. He took in the view of his home village one last time. He had been born and raised there. Apart from occasional visits to the outside world, he had lived his entire life in that valley, protecting a sacred trust. As his father had before him, and his father, and his father, and so on. And now he had betrayed that trust.

  When the spring came they would probably find his body, he just hoped that they would have the sense to take the gold and put it to good use. After all, some good might as well come of this shameful episode.

  After a few moments spent kneeling in prayer the monk stood up, took a deep breath and then stepped off the edge of the outcrop.

  The man in the red and white costume materialised on the outcrop and looked over the edge. ‘Ouch,’ he said to himself, ‘that’s gotta hurt.’ But he wasn’t really as cynical as he sounded, because he knew that very soon now, the monk would be in that place where all questions are answered, where all truths are known. Where all crimes are punished ... and where all debts are re-paid.

  The monk would indeed understand the necessity of what had occurred tonight and the importance of his role in it. Hopefully that would be some small consolation for what he had given up, for what he had been asked to do. ‘I guess we owe him one,’ said the man. He took one last look around the valley and then disappeared.

  ***

  Six months later in Londum, the capital of Albion

  Rufus Cobb reached consciousness and opened his eyes. AND IMMEDIATELY SHUT THEM AGAIN!! The pain was unbelievable. He tried to remember what had happened to him. He remembered being in a public house, The Rat and Trumpet, where he had been asking questions about a case he was working on. Now he was lying here in agony.

  What had happened? He could only imagine that his questions had annoyed somebody and ruffians had set upon him as he left the bar. They had left him for dead in the alley that ran down the rear of the pub.