Pathspace: The Space of Paths by Matthew Kennedy Page B

such as this one, and the Fall
referred to the collapse of the old civilization that had existed
before the coming of the Tourists.
    “ I still don't
understand,” he complained. “If the Ancients were so wise, with all
the wonders you've described, then how could they have let it all
go? How could they have fallen so far, just because they saw that
some things could be easier?” He wanted to pound the table. “There
has to be more to it than simple laziness!”
    “ Don't underestimate the
power of shattered pride, lad.” Xander closed his eyes, then opened
them. “For those who walk in darkness,” he said, “a little light
can be blinding. The technology of the Ancients was difficult and
wasteful and often poisonous. When they built their machines, the
process generated some nasty by-products. I've told you about
electricity, their tamed lightning that ran through metal wires to
light their cities.
    “ But the electricity
didn't make itself, like the wind. It came from other sources of
power that they set to turning wheels called dynamos. Some of them
were turned by waterfalls. Some were turned by the wind. But some
were turned by steam-power that came from nuclear energy. And the
strange metals they used to power their nuclear power stations grew
ever more deadly as they burned, producing a slew of other elements
that were both poisonous like snake venom and hot like cold fire
that could burn for thousands of years.
    “ And when they saw that
the alien technology wasn't just different, but actually better,
cleaner, and safer, well, it broke them. Some of them just gave up,
like children who have seen adults do things in a better way than
they can. When they saw that the aliens had a way of magicking a
wheel so that it turned without a power source, they stopped
learning how to make motors and engines.”
    Xander reached into a pocket and held out
something for his inspection. It was a gold coin, recently struck,
with the image of the General on one side and the words “ONE
DOLLAR” on the other. “Do you know what the value of this is?”
    Les frowned at him. “Everyone knows that.
It's worth a dollar. A dollar's worth of food, or leather, or
wood.”
    Xander shook his head. “You're wrong,” he
said. “Some ancients would agree with you, and say because it is
gold, a precious metal, that it has intrinsic value. But suppose
you were out in the wilderness, with no food or water, no animals
or streams, and had this. What would it be worth, when there is no
one who will trade you food for it?”
    Les shrugged. “In that case, I guess it
wouldn't be worth much, then.”
    “Wrong again. You have to learn to think of
it as not just a lump of metal. All matter is made of whizzing bits
of energy, and can be used to interact with energy. Especially good
conductors like gold.” The wizard placed the coin on the table top
and leaned forward. “Now pay attention. I'm about to make it more
useful, more valuable than just a shiny lump.”
    Les wasn't sure what he expected. Perhaps
some magical words, or else mystic passes over it. But Xander did
none of that. He closed his eyes. “I want you to try to feel what I
do to it,” he said. “Close your eyes and open your mind.”
    “I know how to close my eyes, but how do I
open my mind?”
    “That's something I can't teach you. You'll
have to find your own way. Try to imagine something in your head
expanding outside your own skull, and reaching toward the coin as I
work the change upon the space around it.”
    He tried. But he didn't seem to feel much of
anything, and told the old man as much.
    Xander opened his eyes. “No matter. It was
only your first attempt. You would have to be quick, anyway. I've
done it so many times that I can almost do it in my sleep by
now.”
    “Do what?” said Les, although he was
beginning to suspect.
    Xander slid the coin under the bowl of water
on its stubby tripod legs and regarded it.. “Make it an everflame,”
he said.
    His