The boy Rael was giving a series of completely unnecessary instructions to the drach, who were largely ignoring him and setting about the business of unpacking and erecting their tents. Keris waited for the others to gather around her and Boxx. They all looked much as when she had last seen them: Lyall the self appointed leader, willing to sacrifice himself to atone for past mistakes; Alondo the loyal follower, hiding his fear of failure behind a light, breezy façade; Patris the principled thief, with a fierce desire to protect those who were his own: Rael, a boy born of this world, who seemed to carry the entire weight of the knowledge of his world on his narrow shoulders; and Shann. Shann, the orphan. Shann the child. Shann the fighter. Shann, whose eyes filled with hatred whenever they looked in her direction. No. None of you are ready for what awaits you. But it was too late now. All of them, herself included, were committed to a path. They could not turn back.
“I am pleased to see you all made it here safely,” she began. “This place was called Drani-Kathaar–the ‘proving ground’–by the Ancients who built it. I have been told that each of us will be tested individually.”
“Tested how?” Lyall asked.
“I do not know. Patris has no doubt told you that he and I found a message from Annata in the ruins of Kynedyr, the ancient city that was once her home. She left it for us in the event that she was unable to communicate with us through the machine. It gave instructions as to how the testing here is to be conducted. The first thing she told me is that from this point on, each of us must follow the instructions that Boxx gives us to the letter. The second is that we must not discuss our individual experiences with each other until the testing is concluded.”
“And what happens if we do?” Rael inquired.
“Then Annata said that the whole test would be invalidated–I’m not sure how, but she was very insistent on that point.” Each of them nodded in turn. Finally, Keris looked at Shann, who nodded and looked away. “Good. Boxx, what should we do?”
The Chandara raised its round head. The diminutive creature was dwarfed by the Kelanni standing around. “Trials Commence Tomorrow At Suns Rise. Four Must Pass. I Am The Key. You Are The Key. Four Must Pass.”
Rael moved forward. “Boxx, is it permitted to ask questions?”
“Rael, what are you doing?” Shann hissed.
“I want to try something...call it a line of deductive reasoning. Boxx, may I ask?”
Keris stepped between him and the Chandara. Her cloak whirled about her. “No.”
“No? What do you mean, no?” Rael said.
Her eyes were flint. “This is not the time for your foolish questionings. The risk is too great.”
“You said that we were to follow Boxx’s instructions,” Rael reasoned. “You said nothing about questions.”
Keris stood immobile. “No.”
The boy was almost as tall as she was. He stood his ground and spoke quietly. “Do you speak for the Chandara now?”
Shann had moved next to the boy, willing him on as if she had found a new champion. Patris stood off, seeking an opportunity to turn to his advantage. Alondo merely looked upset and confused. Here was the only group that had a chance of stopping the Prophet. And it was fracturing before her very eyes. Not ready. Not by far.
Lyall stepped between Keris and Rael. His tone was carefully weighted. “Maybe we should ask Boxx?” The tension held a moment longer. Finally, Keris gave the briefest of nods and moved back. Rael relaxed. The moment had passed, but the emotional dynamic had not changed. Each of them was hostage to their own feelings, prejudices, resentments. How long would it be before these spilled out into a new conflict? Keris was struck by a new and troubling thought. If they could not find a way to work together, then it really did not matter what happened here. In the end, they would surely fail.
Lyall addressed the Chandara. “May Rael ask you a few questions?”
“You May Ask. I May Answer,” Boxx chirped.
“What is ‘the key?’” the boy began.
“I Am The Key. You Are The Key.”
Rael turned to Shann. “You said that Boxx would only reveal the key to Keris, and when it did, it quoted a string of numbers.”
“Yes, that’s right,” Shann confirmed.
“Boxx, please state the key.”
“I Speak The Key Only To Keris.”
All eyes turned to her. Reignite the argument or co-operate? Keris pursed her lips. “Boxx. Please state the key.”
“Two One Zero One Zero Two One One Two Two Zero One Two Zero Two…”
Rael had pulled a tablet from his jacket and was scribbling as Boxx spoke. “Pause,” he commanded. The boy ran his marker up and down the figures, deep in thought.
“Do you know what it means?” Lyall asked.
“What it means?” Keris echoed. “It doesn’t mean anything. They’re just numbers.”
Shann leapt to the boy’s defence. “You don’t know Rael. He has a special talent when it comes to numbers. Numbers can be significant.”
“Shann is right,” Rael declared. “About numbers having significance, that is. In this case, I am fairly certain that these numbers represent information.”
Alondo frowned. “Information about what?”
“Not what,” Rael replied. “Who. It’s collecting information about us.” Boxx has been collecting data on you and your companions. Annata had said as much when she appeared to her and Patris at Kynedyr. She did not understand the boy’s reasoning, but she could not deny the depth of his insight. “Boxx told us, ‘you are the key,’” he continued, “and we are the ones who are being tested. It’s the only reasonable explanation. Still, let’s try something. Shann, can you lend me your staff?”
A flicker passed over Shann’s face, as if she were concerned that he might poke someone’s eye out. “All right.” She pulled the weapon from its sheath and handed it to him.
Rael walked over and took up a position behind Alondo. Then without warning, he grabbed the musician in an arm lock and put the diamond blade to his throat. Shann gasped.
“What the…let me go.” Alondo pleaded.
“Rael, what do you think you’re doing? Put that thing down, now.” Lyall ordered.
Rael complied at once, ignoring the furious stares and turned his attention to Boxx. “Did you observe?”
“Yes, Rael,” it said
“Is the key affected?”
“Yes, Rael.”
“This action was a test only. No serious attack was intended. Do you understand?”
“I Understand.”
“Are you able to reset?” Rael asked.
“Test Affirmed. Condition Reset,” it said.
Shann closed her eyes. “Excuse me. What just happened?”
Rael smiled at her. “I just conducted a little experiment, that’s all. I think there can be no doubt. Boxx is observing and recording our reactions toward one another.”
“To what end?” Patris demanded.
“That I cannot say,” Rael admitted. “It may be assessing us for a particular quality or set of qualities. Exactly what will become evident over time, I would imagine.”
“Couldn’t someone disguise or falsify their actions as you just did?” Lyall suggested. “Create a false impression?”
“Possibly,” Rael acknowledged. “I suspect that’s where the tests we’re due to face come in.”
“But…how can a string of numbers carry information about us?” Shann queried.
Rael turned to face her. “Do you remember back at the tower in the Cathgorn mountains? There were machines there called computers.”
She looked up at him. “You said they were used for counting, right?”
“That’s right. Hannath and I have designed rudimentary versions of them. Computers generally count in zeros and ones, because that’s the easiest way to build them. It’s called binary code. It signifies two states–on and off, yes and no, like a simple language.”
Keris had a detached look. “At the library…Annata
used the word ‘computer’. I remember now. She compared Boxx to it, although I didn’t know what she meant at the time.”
“Boxx is doing something similar,” Rael said, “although in a more sophisticated way. It’s recording zeros, ones and twos in a form known as a ternary code. In theory, ternary code can record more complex actions, particularly those involving uncertainty. Think of it as yes, no and…maybe.”
“How does that relate to us?” Alondo asked.
Rael put a hand to his chin, making him appear far older. “If I was a member of a technologically advanced society and I wanted to record something as complex as Kelanni interactions, I might well use a program based on ternary code.” He regarded the Chandara. The small creature cocked its head to one side, but its expression was unreadable. “It has three digits on each hand…I think it naturally counts in base three. And I think I can solve another puzzle now. Boxx, how old are you?
“I Am One, One, One, Zero, Two, Two, Zero, Zero turns.”
Rael’s lips moved as he made a mental calculation. “That’s three thousand, two hundred and thirty-one in base three.” Keris looked round and saw her own confusion reflected in the eyes of the others. “We count in tens–one, ten, a hundred, a thousand. It counts in threes–one, three, nine and so on.”
A thought was lurking somewhere in the back of Keris’ mind, a distant memory. Suddenly it jumped out and hit her like a slap in the face. “You said three thousand, two hundred and thirty-one turns…that’s the exact age of Annata’s first message to me. She told me that she was speaking to me from three thousand, two hundred and thirty-one turns ago. That can’t be coincidence.”
All eyes turned to the little creature that was watching them with its tiny black eyes. “It Is Not Coincidence,” Boxx said. “She Is My Mother.”
Patris threw his hands up in the air. “How can Annata be its mother? It’s a Chandara. Annata was Kelanni.”
“Actually,” Rael commented, “It kind of makes sense–if you define a mother as the person that gave you life. I would guess that Boxx was hatched or maybe cloned, and then programmed to do what would be needed in the far future. Observe and record us. Boxx is a living biological computer. Think of the possibilities.”
Keris could not think of one. Rael’s analysis was interesting, even insightful in its own way. But it did nothing to alter their current situation. “Boxx has told us that the testing is to begin first thing tomorrow. We should all rest and prepare ourselves.”
“So, which of us is to go first?” Shann inquired.
“Alondo Will Go First,” Boxx announced.
The musician looked as if he had just been struck in the face. “Wh…why me?”
Lyall stepped forward. “It’s all right old friend.” He turned to face Boxx. “I’ll go first.”
The Chandara looked past him. “Alondo Will Go First,” it insisted.
“We must do exactly as Boxx says,” Keris reminded them.
“It’s all right,” Alondo said. “Maybe the test will involve singing songs and telling stories. In that case, the rest of you are in big trouble.”
~
Dawn leeched slowly into a sky burdened with low-lying clouds. The atmosphere felt thick, oppressive. Shann stood with Rael and Alondo contemplating the view across Akalon. The tower rose like an obelisk from a bank of low-lying mist.
Alondo had been concealing his apprehension behind a ready smile and a breezy manner, but she knew him too well to be fooled. “So, you think there’ll be some monster for me to fight?” he speculated.
“I doubt it,” Rael assured him. “There aren’t too many dangerous creatures in these parts that I know of.”
“You can borrow my staff if you like,” Shann offered.
“No thanks,” Alondo said. “I’d probably just trip over it.”
Shann rubbed his back. “You’ll do fine.” She glanced behind her. Their small encampment sat in the shadow of the parked flying machines, an untidy scattering of tents marring the flat perfection of the great metal platform. The three blue-coated drach formed a loose guard near their transports. Protection from wild beasts seemed unnecessary this high up; Shann put it down to old habits. She turned back to Alondo. “Boxx will make sure you are safe.”
“You seem certain of that,” Rael remarked.
Shann smiled up at him. “Yes I am. Because whatever Boxx is–a Chandara, or one of those computer things you talked about–he is also our friend.” She stared out at the patchy fog which rolled across the undulating plain. “On the Reach, when the huge wave swept me over the side, I must have hit my head or something, because the whole world went dark. The next thing I remembered was waking up on the beach, with Boxx’s face looking down at me. I don’t know how, but it got me to the shore. It saved me. Then there was the time when we were attacked by the Kharthrun Serpent. Alondo, you were badly injured, but Boxx wouldn’t let you die. It nearly exhausted itself bringing you back to health.
“Boxx left its Great Tree–the Tree it depends on for its life–to help us. It may even die as a result. I don’t believe it would allow any harm to come to us now.”
Lyall emerged from one of the tents, followed by Keris, Boxx and Patris. Lyall called Alondo over. Shann made to follow, but felt a pressure on her arm. Rael whispered in her ear, “…if it’s in control of what happens.”
Shann turned toward him. “What are you talking about?”
“All I’m saying is, a computer can only process the information that is put into it. If I’m right, then the input that these tests are based on comes from us–from our interactions with each other. Boxx may have no more idea of how things are going to play out than we do.”
Shann shook her head. “That’s absurd.” Yet even as she said it, she had a worrying feeling that he could be right. In that case, there was no way of telling what kind of danger Alondo might be facing. She hastened to join the others, with the boy in tow.
Boxx was standing on its hind limbs facing Alondo. “Are You Ready?”
“Ah…I suppose.” He shuffled from one foot to the other. “Sure, let’s get it over with.”
“Wait a moment,” Lyall intervened. “Is Alondo allowed to take anything with him?”
“He May Take Anything He Can Carry,” Boxx trilled.
“Why not take your vortex arm?” Lyall suggested. He addressed Boxx. “Might that be of help to him?”
“I Do Not Know,” Boxx replied. Shann glanced at Rael. The boy returned her look, but said nothing.
“I’ll get it.” Lyall disappeared into a tent and returned bearing Alondo’s instrument.
The musician accepted it gratefully. He ran his hand over the curved body, the taut strings, the fluted neck, and smiled to himself. He slung the vortex arm over his shoulder. “Ready,” he announced. He accompanied Boxx toward the middle of the empty metal platform, the others following close behind.
Boxx stopped short of the centre, raised a three-fingered hand and spoke in a clear high pitched voice. “Drani-Kathaar.” Shann stepped back instinctively as a crack appeared in the seamless surface of the Dais and a pedestal rose silently, stopping at a point just below the height of the Chandara. There was a large convex bulge on the top of the pedestal. Boxx placed its hand on the bulge and it began to glow a dull red. As the colour deepened, the air in front of them started to thicken and swirl, like a mist forming before their eyes. Rael stared open-mouthed as the amorphous mass slowly congealed and became completely opaque. The centre of the Dais was now occupied by a grey dome of fog, about five times head height. Yet this was like no fog Shann had ever seen. Its surface was flat, but with an undefined quality, so that the more you tried to look at it, the more your eye seemed to slide off it. It reminded her of the whorls and eddies that moved over the fuliginous surface of lodestone as you changed perspective.
Rael began walking toward the apparition. He stopped before it and reached out a hand to touch its surface. “Rael. No,” Shann shouted. “Boxx, tell him to stop.”
/>
“I Cannot,” it replied.
“Rael, get away from it, it may be dangerous,” Lyall warned.
The boy stood for a moment with his hand outstretched, as if mesmerised, then slowly withdrew his arm and stepped back. Shann clamped a hand around his arm to hold him in place.
Lyall addressed Boxx. “What happens now?”
The Chandara turned to Alondo. “You Will Come With Me.” It waddled toward the dome of fog without waiting for a reply. Alondo looked at Lyall, who nodded gravely; then he started after Boxx.
Shann released Rael and ran toward the musician, throwing her arms around him. “Be careful,” she said.
Alondo smiled warmly. “I’ll be fine, remember?”
She returned his smile. But what if Rael was right? What if Boxx really has no control over what happens? He could be walking into…
Alondo turned and followed Boxx. Shann blinked away a tear and watched helplessly as the two of them carried on walking until they were swallowed by the forbidding mist.
<><><><><>
Chapter 30
Grey. Alondo’s eyes darted up and down, right and left, but all around him the view was the same. The sky and the Dais had somehow disappeared and been replaced by a world of uniform greyness. There was no distance, no perspective. Already, he was completely disoriented. If there was a way out, then he had no idea in which direction it lay. The only single feature was Boxx. The Chandara was looking up at him like a small child waiting for guidance.
Alondo flashed a smile. “Wow, I love what you’ve done with the place. Minimalist, you know…not too much clutter…very nice. Actually, the decor it reminds me of an Inn at Sakima that I played once. They had just opened and were supposed to get new furniture, but-”
Boxx’s wide mouth rippled one word. “Begin.”
The grey world shifted. Alondo found himself standing in a cobbled street. People and carts rumbled on by. He could feel something in his hand. Reins. They were attached to a morgren that blew and stamped its feet impatiently. He could smell the beast’s fetid breath. A second morgren stood close by. Its reins were held by a small figure, her head covered by a cowl. Shann. This was Lind. Alondo’s mind reeled. It was impossible, but somehow he was back home. They were standing just outside the stables. He remembered this day. It was just before they had set out on their epic journey. Lyall had sent him and the girl into Lind to obtain supplies. He had just purchased two of the disgusting beasts from Fudoro, the stableman, for half an astria. It was to be their last stop. Except that Alondo had one more call to make. Alone.
The Lodestone Trilogy (Limited Edition) (The Lodestone Series) Page 61
