Ipseity (The Stork Tower Book 5)

by Tony Corden

  “Yes, but I thought my way sounded easier.”

  Billy said, “It can’t be done, Charlotte. People have tried, and to my knowledge all of them are dead. Most did not pass quickly.”

  “True, I did read the reports and suppositions. What I think is that most people don’t look deep enough. Very few people, even those who step outside the law, can think like a burglar. They plan for what they think a burglar will do, not what she does. If it weren’t that way, then people’s goods would usually be safe.

  “Frank is a bully. He resorts to force whenever and wherever he can. Each report I read outlined the numerous defences he has in place to stop someone from taking his ill-gotten gain. Loot which he got by being stronger and bloodier than the people he took it from. People see the defences and they work to overcome them. The thief who succeeds notices the defences and then bypasses them. That thief looks instead for advantages, even advantages hidden within the defences. Every defence does not only limit the thief, but it also limits the defender. Use the defence, don’t simply try and overpower it.”

  Billy said, “I considered visiting the manor unannounced a year back. Lord Emerson built the Manor two years ago on uncleared land. He cleared the area and built on solid bedrock. His plans were clear that he would not connect his manor with the city in any way, neither to the water nor the sewer system. He has no gardens close to the house, and the open land is patrolled by large well-trained wolfhounds. The wall itself was set into the bedrock and is taller than two men. The walls lean outward on both the outer and inner edges. On the top of the wall, there is a wire barrier which is covered in sharp blades. No houses or other establishments have been built within forty paces of the wall. Guards patrol inside the fence and outside throughout the day. Even the roof has a walkway built upon it and is guarded day and night, and they have some cannon in case an airship should seek to attack.

  “Even if someone did get inside the compound, they would still need to get inside the manor itself. Each window has a set of steel bars across it, and they are too close together for even a child to pass through. Each door to the outside has its own security team. If I had been able to get inside the building, then each room would have been locked at sunset, and the buildings cleared of staff. More wolfhounds and Lord Emerson's elite guards are tasked to patrol until the family awakes. Then, if someone were to move even the smallest piece of the collection, that room is sealed by metal plates which rise from the floor and drop from the ceiling. Only Lord Emerson himself has the code to shift them back into place. Not that anyone would get that far.”

  “So if we ignore getting inside the house, because I want to play a hunch on that and if I’m wrong then nothing is lost, we can just turn up and annoy the Emerson’s at the party tonight—which was my original plan. If we get inside the house, then the house is almost certainly open enough during the day that two trained sneaks could make our way to the private wing. The family, housekeeping and the elite guards are the only ones allowed in the wing. From what I infer from the descriptions you provided, both the housekeepers who work in that area and all the Elite guards are aether worlders who’ve offered themselves completely into Lord Emerson’s service. I’ve some friends who I’ve asked to arrange a possible means to get them out of the way. The remaining problem will be getting out of the room.”

  Paris said, “It may be the only problem, but it isn’t a small one. How do we do that?”

  “Unless something unexpected happens, then I don’t plan to. There are some strong materials which could possibly keep an escape route open, but I doubt what I’ve planned to bring with us will be strong enough. The person who trained me taught that a strong person will make sure they can’t be beaten by strength and a smart person won’t let themselves be tricked. Therefore, to overcome a strong person you have to be smart and to trick a smart person you have to be strong.”

  Paris said, “What do you mean ‘unless something unexpected happens’ then ‘you’ don’t?”

  “I don’t get out of the room. If my hunch pays off, then this is probably the only time we’ll be able to rely on it. Therefore we want to take as much of Frank’s stuff as we can. Everything we can carry. If by some oversight, the obstacle we’re bringing works then we might have time to empty some of the room and clear out. Most likely, and what I am probably kind of counting on, is that the obstacle works just a bit. Frank, if he is in the wing, will rush to see what is going on. His guards will be gone so he’ll get some others before he opens the door. In that time, I’ll fill some bags with as much as I can and wait until Frank opens the doors. As he rushes off to catch the crook who has escaped, that’s when I’ll leave.”

  Billy asked, “Why will he think the crook has escaped?”

  “That’s what I need an assistant for. I need someone to leave a clue. To make it realistic, it has to be done after the trap springs shut. I’m going to leave my waistcoat just straddling one of the entrances. It should get caught between the two pieces of metal. Katherine will pull away as much as she can, thereby tearing the material. The tear pattern is too difficult to easily fake. I also want her to leave a small ripped piece of paper as a clue. How much and where will have to be decided by her after she tears the waistcoat. It’ll be the corner or edge of my invitation to the ball tonight. That paper is unique enough that Frank will recognise what it is and go hunting.”

  “What makes you think he’ll even open the door once he finds it?”

  “He’ll need to find out what’s been taken. Some of the pieces are valuable but won’t ruin him. The ones I’m looking for could, and even if they don’t, they will put a real crimp in his plans.”

  Paris asked, “Where will you hide everything and yourself so quickly?”

  Billy said, “Ah, I understand now the purpose of that cloth and the frame you had me have constructed.”

  “Yes, the plans and the descriptions you’ve collected all describe the roof as plain white. Four brackets affixed to the roof and with me and the plunder all on board the frame can be reeled up to fit against the ceiling. It’s a high ceiling and will pass a cursory look. If not, I’ve arranged for some small bladders of sleeping potion which my physician on board the Tempest has made for me previously. If I am discovered then I’ll drop those and leave.”

  Paris asked, “Why not just put them to sleep?”

  “I like the mystique of a disappearing treasure, and it’s always harder if they find you.”

  Billy said, “I suppose you plan on getting out the way you got in.”

  “That is the plan. Now, we don’t have too much time, so I’ll need to know if you’re going to come with me. Katherine?”

  “I told you before, ‘you’re not alone’.”

  “And you, Billy, are you willing to support this endeavour?”

  “There is no risk to me and everything to gain. Nothing could hold me back.”

  “Good, I’ll need about ten minutes to get changed and arrange my gear. Billy, you need a place to store my clothing for the party. We’ll need a place to bathe. Please arrange a carriage to take us to the corner of Belladonna Avenue and Chamomile Street in Verdant Hills near the mansion. There is a small lane just near the corner down Chamomile toward the city.”

  Billy said, “The invitation I arranged was one of three I was able to have added to the list. I have already sold one of the others, but would accompany you to the party if you desire.”

  “I don’t think so, Billy. It’s best for you to remain in the shadows at the moment.”

  Paris said, “I’ll take it, Billy, there is no way I’m sitting this out.”

  Billy looked at Leah and asked, “Are you comfortable with that, Captain Charlotte?”

  Billy’s return to formality was his way of putting his game face back on, and so Leah responded in kind, “Indeed Mr Bartle, Katherine has become a confidant, if not a friend. I would no more wish to restrict her ability to control her destiny than I would yours. If perchance I spoke in haste when s
eeking to protect your anonymity, I ask that you would forgive me. Your destiny belongs to you.”

  “Thank you for that reminder, Captain. Yet there are those of us who understand we will become more, if for a season at least, we allow ourselves to be propelled along by another’s wake.”

  Leah bowed her head slightly and disappeared into her room to get dressed. She dressed in what she termed her ‘steampunk ninja’ gear. It consisted of a dark, almost black, grey skintight pair of soft calf-leather pants. A close-fitting long-sleeved linen shirt of the same shade of grey went under a gothic style corset made of the same softened calf-leather. She had knee-length boots made from a much hardier, and thicker, black leather. She had matching gauntlets. Buckles of blackened steel mottled the pattern somewhat. She took a black leather knee-length fitted trench coat and placed it in a bag with a bandoleer complete with knives, lock-picks and other sundry items. She also put in the bag an attachment Thomas had constructed. It was a half-face mask which hid her appearance and gave her intact eye a similar suite of enhancements as her prosthetic. Before leaving the room, she covered her outfit with a full-length deep red and black brocade tapestry cloak.

  As she entered the lobby, Albert took one look at her and stepped forward to get her attention. “Captain, I know it is presumptuous of me, but I would wish you a safe journey and a successful hunt.”

  “Why thank you, Mr Lincoln, I am always thankful for the kind wishes of friends.”

  At that, she continued through the door and into the waiting carriage.

  22

  December 16, 2073 - Part 4

  PNEUMATICA

  Twenty minutes later, Leah and Paris said farewell to Billy and got out of the carriage, sans cloaks, and stepped into the small lane which was overshadowed by several two-story buildings. Leah waited until the carriage had moved on before moving further down the laneway toward a door at the rear of one of the buildings. She listened for a moment using the amplification provided by an attachment clipped to her new upper ear and then as she picked the lock said, “Paris, what would you rather be called? I only ask because I’m most familiar with Leah but answer to Atherleah and Charlotte readily enough.”

  “My close friends call me Kate. I’ve always thought my parents a little pretentious and creepy when they followed a trend telling everyone where kids were conceived. Seeing as how I’m hoping we’ll end up as close friends, let’s give Kate a go.”

  As the door clicked open, Leah said, “Kate it is then.”

  Once they’d brought the heavily laden duffles that had been dropped off with them inside Leah re-locked the door and led them down to the basement where she proceeded to pry loose a rusted manhole cover.

  Kate said, “I imagine this leads to the sewers.”

  “It does, which is one of the reasons I really hope Billy secures us a place with a bath.”

  Kate peered into the hole, and then with practised ease she lowered herself into the hole and climbed down the steel bars, which served as a ladder, before finally dropping lightly into the shoulder-high arched tunnel which formed the sewage network around the city. Leah used a rope and lowered both the bags down to Kate before pulling the cover closed as she descended down to join her companion.

  Leah opened her small backpack and clipped the half mask in place. She then removed a small folded piece of paper from a pocket and after glancing at it, turned to look along the tunnel and said, “This way four hundred paces, there should be a junction with a branch leading off to the left. It’s the first one we come to, but if we both try and keep a rough count, we won’t be surprised and end up in the wrong place.”

  Leah stepped forward and grabbed the front handles of both bags, one in each hand. She said, “It’ll be easier to balance the bags this way.”

  Kate grabbed the rear handles, and they moved off. Four hundred metres later they turned right down the branch which was located just where Leah had said it would be. Putting the bags down, she said, “They’re heavier than I thought they’d be. We’ve another mile and a half before we get to the place I’m looking for. The next turn is three hundred and fifteen paces, and we need to take the right fork. Do you want to change places for a bit?”

  Kate answered by stepping forward and taking the front handles. Forty minutes, and three turns later, they still had five hundred paces to go, but both needed a break. So far they’d been walking in silence. Kate said softly, “So what’s the hunch, Leah?”

  “Can you wait just a bit longer? It's the sort of hunch which mightn’t happen if I say it aloud. Kind of like a birthday wish.”

  “That sounds really superstitious and vague. The times Thad talked about you he always said you were highly intelligent and the most practical person he’d ever met.”

  “He talked about me?”

  “Only when it was just us. I’ve a twin, but I’ve always gotten along best with Thad. Karine and Harry always jelled best. I hoped for a long time that I’d really get on with my sister but it never really happened. I’d like to say it was her fault, but when Amy had my world cleansed, I learned that I’d often been told to leave her be and to stay away. I was ordered to treat her this way or that way. They didn’t want me getting too close and distracting her from becoming what they planned for her to be. I imagine it was the same with Harry and Thad. I think they really stepped up their influence on his life to keep him away from you.”

  “It’s strange, but I’d told him heaps about my family, but he was always reticent to talk about his. I thought it was a guy thing but maybe not.”

  “You are great at deflection, Leah. I only just realised you took us off topic. I’ll wait till you're ready, but I am curious.”

  Leah nodded and picked up the front end before moving off. Both of them had sore arms and backs from the continual crouching while carrying the heavy bags, but they kept a good pace. Finally, after another two junctions, Leah said, “Somewhere in the next hundred or so paces I’m hoping we’ll find a tunnel off to the right that isn't on the plans.”

  After eighty paces, Leah picked up the pace when she saw an opening up ahead. When she got there, she stopped and gave Kate a hug and said, “OK, three hundred or so paces and there should be an overhead access chimney with a ladder. As soon as we get there, we can rest, and I’ll explain my hunch. If you take the front, I’ll find it easier to keep my attention on the roof.”

  Kate moved forward, grabbed the handles and started off. Three hundred and eight paces later they finally stood under the access hole. Kate sat on one of the bags and leant against the side of the tunnel and said. “OK, give it up. Where are we?”

  “If I’m right, and I almost have to be now, this leads to the lowest level of Frank’s manor.”

  “But he built on solid rock. There is no sewage to and from his house. There is nothing in the plans.”

  “Yes, no, and I’m not sure.”

  “Huh!”

  “Yes, he built on solid rock. No, this access way says there is sewage to and from his house, and I’m not sure if these are in the official plans or not. No one has copies of the city's plans for this area because everyone knows he built straight on the bedrock. Look, what does every house, home, hotel and even shop have in the real world that this one, and most virtual worlds, don’t have?”

  “Stop with the questions and just tell me.”

  “Toilets. They have bathrooms, showers, mirrors, powder rooms but there are no toilets because no one has to poop. People here eat and drink, but they never have to stop because of dysentery or to run behind a bush. One of the reasons is because it is a very complicated process to factor into a world. Gèng has been trying a whole variety of ways to make the world seem more natural or real. She created deer to eat the grass, but as soon as she made them poop, she needed bacteria and worms and a whole ecosystem to deal with it. There are some systems and some scenarios where they add in the waste of a particular animal. For example, one of the healing potions in a book I have in Dunyanin needs a teasp
oon of dragon dung. Now, I have a dragon, and I’ve seen her poop on occasions, but it just disappears, there is no need for a sewer.

  “But every town and every city has a system of sewers. Why? Let's face it, this place has a layer of slime, and it smells. But where has it come from? It could be from showers and washing dishes but I’ve seen some stuff float by that just isn’t from the houses. Sewers exist because they are just one of those things that make towns interesting. They are great for dungeons and for inconspicuous travel by spies and thieves. Just like everyone else, I saw the plans for Frank’s mansion, and there was no sewage access. Then, I looked at the plans for the Herrington, and it didn’t have the sewage access either. I looked it up in the Pneumatica handbook and reviewed the forums, and there hasn’t yet been a mention of a sewer system designer or builder. There are sewage system controllers and guards, but they don’t have NPCs or people designated to build them.

  “I met an NPC yesterday in Dunyanin, she was the Minister of Waste, and I shared my ideas about dealing with waste and not causing offence. She just let it fly past and started talking about money. I really think she had no idea what I was talking about. The smell near a renderer is modelled, but there isn’t any place the real waste ever goes. Sure, sometimes the developers create a slime pit or poisonous trap, but they are specially constructed, not naturally-occurring in the overall game design. The sewage tunnels are simply placed under the city to match the building footprint.”

  “So it’s a glitch in the system?”

  “I see it more like an opportunity to exploit an unintended loophole. It’s happened to me before, and Dunyanin tightened up some things afterwards. I doubt the NPC builders in Pneumatica even think of a waste system. It just joins on, as does the water. By this time tomorrow, I’d imagine someone will be working through all the player designed buildings and double checking no sewage tunnels run under them if it wasn’t a design detail. At the top of this access, we can both see a metal cover, but I wonder what it looks like on the other side.”