The Myst Reader

by Rand; Robyn Miller; David Wingrove

  Gehn studied his son a moment, taking in the situation, then took a step toward him, putting out a hand. “Please, Atrus. There is still a chance for us.”

  “No, Father. Whatever linked us once has been destroyed. You burned it with those books you burned. You erased it along with those phrases in my book. Little by little you destroyed it. Don’t you see that? Well, now you’ve got the justice you deserve. You can stay here in the little haven you’ve created for yourself, in your tiny island universe, and play god with your ‘creations’.”

  The word was firm and final, and as he spoke it Atrus stepped back, out over the lip of the fissure, falling, tumbling down into that great expanse of stars, his hands gripping the book, opening the cover as he fell into the darkness.

  What do you see, Atrus?

  I see stars Grandmother. A great ocean of stars…

  Epilogue

  ~~~~~~~~~~

  Sunlight winked through the tall pines, casting long shadows on the lawn in front of the library. It was late now, but the boys were still out, playing in the woods that covered the south end of the island. Catherine, standing on the porch, listened a moment, hearing their distant shouts, then shaded her eyes.

  “Can you see them?” Atrus asked, stepping out from the library, his pale eyes squinting in the sunlight.

  She turned, the hem of her dark green dress flowing over the polished boards.

  “Don’t worry so,” she said, her green eyes smiling back at him. “Anna’s with them. They’ll be in before it’s dark.”

  He smiled, then came across and placed his arms about her.

  “Have you finished yet?” she asked softly, wrapping her own arms about him and pulling him closer.

  “No…” Agrus sighed wearily. “I’m close though.”

  “Good.”

  He kissed her gently, then, releasing her, went back inside, taking his seat at the desk that he’d made for himself. For a moment or two he looked out through the brightly-lit rectangle of the doorway at Catherine, drinking in the simple sight of her, then, taking his pen, he looked back at his journal and began to write:

  It is strange now to conceive that I could have doubted her, even for a second, and yet in that moment when my father surprised me in the cave, I was certain beyond all doubt that she had betrayed me. Certain, yes, and at the same time heartbroken, for I had transferred to her person all of that love, all of that natural affection that my father had so unnaturally rejected. Love given freely and without hope of repayment. Yet how was I to know how kind, yes, and how cunning, too, my Catherine could be. My savior, my partner, yes, and now my wife.

  Atrus paused, recalling the shock he’d felt, that moment when Catherine had revealed to him that Anna was behind it all; the feeling, the overwhelming feeling he’d had, of having stepped into one of Catherine’s dream worlds. But it had been true. Without Anna’s forethought he would have been trapped on Riven still. That was, if Gehn had let him live, after what he’d done. He dipped the pen and wrote again:

  Only a remarkable woman would have done what Anna did, following us down through that labyrinth of tunnels and broken ways, into D’ni. She had known, of course, that Gehn would not keep his word. Had known what I, in my innocence, could not have guessed—that my father was not merely untrustworthy, but mad. All those years I spent on K’veer she had kept a distant eye on me, making sure I came to no harm at my father’s hands, while she awaited the moment of my realization.

  Atrus looked up, remembering that moment; feeling once more the weight of his disillusion with his father. Such things, he knew now, could not be passed on like other things, they had to be experienced. A parent—a good parent, that is—had to let go at some point, to let their children make choices, for choices were part of the Maker’s scheme, as surely as all the rest. He dipped the pen then wrote again, faster now, the words spilling from him:

  Anna saw me flee K’veer and sought to find me in the tunnels once again, but Gehn had got there first. Even then she would have intervened, but for the mute. Seeing them carry me back, unconscious, to K’veer, she had known she had to act. That evening she had gone to K’veer and, risking all, had entered my father’s study, meaning to confront him. But Gehn was not there. It was Catherine she met. Catherine who, after that first moment of shock and surprise, had chosen to trust and help her.

  So it was that Catherine had known me even before she met me in the hut on Riven; like an Age one has first read in a descriptive book and then subsequently linked to.

  I should have known at once that Myst was not Catherine’s. But how was I to know otherwise? I had thought Anna lost. Lost forever.

  And how was I to know that, just as I made my preparations, so the two of them made theirs, pooling their talents—Anna’s experience and Catherine’s intuitive genius—to craft those seemingly cataclysmic events on Age Five, in such a way that after a time they would reverse themselves, making Catherine’s former home, now Gehn’s prison, stable once more.

  …And the Myst book?

  Briefly he looked about him at the room he’d made, pleased by his efforts, then, picking up his pen again, he began to write, setting down the final words. The ending that was not a final ending:

  I realized the moment I fell into the fissure that the book would not be destroyed as I had planned. It continued falling into that starry expanse, of which I had only a fleeting glimpse. I have tried to speculate where it might have landed, but I must admit that such conjecture is futile. Still, questions about whose hands might one day hold my Myst book are unsettling to me. I know my apprehensions might never be allayed, and so I close, realizing that perhaps the ending has not yet been written.

  MYST

  THE BOOK OF TI’ANA

  RAND MILLER

  with david wingrove

  TO DEB AND THE GIRLS

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  It’s amazing how little we know. After all these years, about the history of D’ni and the story surrounding MystIsland. Over the years the story is revealed piece by piece, like a large puzzle waiting to be put together. It’s only with the continuing effort of a core group of people that the pieces are uncovered and assembled to make a book like this possible.

  It has been my pleasure to uncover the past events in D’ni history even as Robyn continues to bring the events surrounding MystIsland to its final chapter. Not having Robyn’s help for this translation, the burden of discovery was taken up by Chris Brandkamp, Richard Watson, and Ryan Miller working closely with David Wingrove. Our task was large and yet the results are stunning, as for the first time the public gains a glimpse into the richness and complexity of the D’ni civilization.

  So it is to these four close friends (particularly David and Chris for their long hours of work) that I extend my sincerest thanks and admiration. This story reaches you because of their dedication and brilliance.

  RAND MILLER

  PART ONE: ECHOES IN THE ROCK

  The sounding capsule was embedded in the rock face like a giant crystal, its occupants sealed within the translucent, soundproofed cone.

  The Guild Master sat facing the outstretched tip of the cone, his right hand resting delicately on the long metal shaft of the sounder, his blind eyes staring at the solid rock, listening.

  Behind him, his two young assistants leaned forward in their narrow, metal and mesh seats, concentrating, their eyes shut tight as they attempted to discern the tiny variations in the returning signal.

  “Na’grenis,” the old man said, the D’ni word almost growled as his left hand moved across the top sheet of the many-layered map that rested on the map table between his knees. Brittle.

  It was the tenth time they had sent the signal out on this line, each time a little stronger, he echoes in the rock changing subtly as it penetrated deeper into the mass.

  “Kenen voohee shuhteejoo,” the younger of his two assistants said tentatively. It could be rocksalt.

  “Or chalk,” the other added uncertainly.
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  “Not this deep,” the old man said authoritatively, flicking back the transparent sheets until he came to one deep in the pile. Holding it open, he reached beside him and took a bright red marker from the metal rack.

  “Ah,” the two assistants said as one, the carmine mark as clear an explanation as if he’d spoken.

  “We’ll sound either side,” the old man said after a moment. “It might only be a pocket…”

  He slipped the marker back into the rack, then reached out and took the ornately decorated shaft of the sounder, delicately moving it a fraction to the right, long experience shaping his every movement.

  “Same strength,” he said. “One pulse, fifty beats, and then a second pulse.”

  At once his first assistant leaned forward, adjusting the setting on the dial in front of him.

  There was a moment’s silence and then a vibration rippled along the shaft towarad the tapered tip of the cone.

  A single, pure, clear note sounded in the tiny chamber, like an invisible spike reaching out into the rock.

  §

  “What is he doing?”

  Guild Master Telanis turned from the observation window to look at his guest. Master Kedri was a big, ungainly man. A member of the Guild of Legislators, he was here to observe the progress of the excavation.

  “Guild Master Geran is surveying the rock. Before we drill we need to know what lies ahead of us.”

  “I understand that,” Kedri said impatiently. “But what is the problem?”

  Telanis stifled the irritation he felt at the man’s bad manners. After all, Kedri was technically his superior, even if, within his own craft, Telanis’s word was as law.

  “I’m not sure exactly, but from the mark he made I’d say he’s located a patch of igneous material. Magma-based basaltic rocks from a fault line, perhaps, or a minor intrusion.”

  “And that’s a problem?”

  Telanis smiled politely. “It could be. If it’s minor we could drill straight through it, of course, and support the tunnel, but we’re still quite deep and there’s a lot of weight above us. The pressures here are immense, and while they might not crush us, they could inconvenience us and set us back weeks, if not months. We’d prefer, therefore, to be certain of what lies ahead.”

  Kedri huffed. “It all seems rather a waste of time to me. The lining rock’s strong, isn’t it?

  “Oh, very strong, but that’s not the point. If the aim were merely to break through to the surface we could do that in a matter of weeks. But that’s not our brief. These tunnels are meant to be permanent—or, at least, as permanent as we can make them, rock movement willing!”

  Still, Kedri seemed unsatisfied. “All this stopping and starting! A man could go mad with waiting!”

  One could; and some, unsuited to the task, did. But of all the guilds of D’ni, this, Telanis knew, was the one best suited to their nature.

  “We are a patient race, Master Kedri,” he said, risking the anger of the other man. “Patient and thorough. Would you have us abandon the habits of a thousand generations?”

  Kedri made to answer curtly, then saw the look of challenge in Telanis’s eyes and nodded. “No. You are right, Guild Master. Forgive me. Perhaps they chose the wrong man to represent our guild.”

  Perhaps, Telanis thought, but aloud he said, “Not at all, Master Kedri. You will get used to it, I promise. And we shall do our best to keep you busy while you are here. I shall have my assistant, Aitrus, assigned to you.”

  And now Kedri smiled, as if this was what he had been angling for all along. “That is most kind, Master Telanis. Most kind, indeed.”

  §

  The excavator was quiet, the lighting subdued. Normally, the idle chatter of young crewmen would have filled the narrow corridor, but since the observers had come there was a strange silence to the craft that made it seem abandoned.

  As the young guildsman walked along its length, he glanced about warily. Normally he took such sights for granted, but today he seemed to see it all anew. Here in the front section, just behind the great drill, was the Guild Master’s cabin and, next to it, through a bulkhead that would seal automatically in times of emergency, the chart room. Beyond that, opening out to both right and left of the corridor, was the equipment room.

  The excavator was as self-contained as any ship at sea, everything wtored, each cupboard and drawer secured against sudden jolts, but here the purpose of the craft was nakedly displayed, the massive rock drills lain neatly in their racks, blast-marble cylinders, protective helmets, and analysis tubes racked like weaponry.

  The young guildsman stopped, looking back along the length of the craft. He was a tall, athletic-looking young man with an air of earnestness about him. His dark red jumpsuit fit him comfortably rather than tightly; the broad, black leather tool belt at his waist and his long black leather boots part of the common uniform worn by all the members of the expedition.

  His fine black hair was cut short and neat, accentuating his fineboned features, while his eyes were pale but keen. Intelligent, observant eyes.

  He passed on, through the crew quarters—the empty bunks stacked three to a side into the curve of the ship’s walls, eighteen bunks in all—and, passing through yet another bulkhead, into the refectory.

  Master Jerahl, the ship’s cook, looked up from where he was preparing the evening meal and smiled.

  “Ah, Aitrus. Working late again?”

  “Yes, Guild Master.”

  Jerahl grinned paternally. “Knowing you, you’ll be so engrossed in some experiment, you’ll miss your supper. You want me to bring you something through?”

  “Thank you, Guild Master. That would be most welcome.”

  “Not at all, Aitrus. It’s good to see such keenness in a young guildsman. I won’t say it to their faces, but some of your fellows think it’s enough to carry out the letter of their instructions and no more. But people notice such things.”

  Aitrus smiled.

  “Oh, some find me foolish, Aitrus, I know. It’s hard not to overhear things on a tiny ship like this. But I was not always a cook. Or, should I say, only a cook. I trained much as you train now, to be a Surveyor—to know the ways of the rock. And much of what I learned remains embedded here in my head. But I wasn’t suited. Or, should I say, I found myself better suited to this occupation.”

  “You trained, Master Jerahl?”

  “Of course, Aitrus. You think they would allow me on an expedition like this if I were not a skilled geologist?” Jerahl grinned. “Why, I spent close on twenty years specializing in stress mechanics.”

  Aitrus stared at Jerahl a moment, then shook his head. “I did not know.”

  “Nor were you expected to. As long as you enjoy the meals I cook, I am content.”

  “Of that I’ve no complaints.”

  “Then good. Go on through. I shall bring you something in a while.”

  Aitrus walked on, past the bathing quarters and the sample store, and on into the tail of the craft. Here the corridor ended with a solid metal door that was always kept closed. Aitrus reached up and pulled down the release handle. At once the door hissed open. He stepped through, then heard it hiss shut behind him.

  A single light burned on the wall facing him. In its half-light he could see the work surface that ran flush with the curved walls at waist height, forming an arrowhead. Above and below it, countless tiny cupboards held the equipment and chemicals they used for analysis.

  Aitrus went across and, putting his notebook down on the worktop, quickly selected what he would need from various cupboards.

  This was his favorite place in the ship. Here he could forget all else and immerse himself in the pure, unalloyed joy of discovery.

  Aitrus reached up, flicking his fingernail against the firemarble in the bowl of the lamp, then, in the burgeoning glow, opened his notebook to the page he had been working on.

  §

  “Aitrus?”

  Aitrus took his eye from the lens and turned, sur
prised he had not heard the hiss of the door. Jerahl was standing there, holding out a plate to him. The smell of freshly baked chor bahkh and ikhah nijuhets wafted across, making his mouth water.

  Jerahl smiled. “Something interesting?”

  Aitrus took the plate and nodded. “You want to see?”

  “May I?” Jerahl stepped across and, putting his eye to the lens, studied the sample a moment. When he looked up again there was a query in his eyes.

  “Tachylyte, eh? Now why would a young fellow like you be interested in basaltic glass?”

  “I’m interested in anything to do with lava flows,” Aitrus answered, his eyes aglow. “It’s what I want to specialize in, ultimately. Volcanism.”

  Jerahl smiled as if he understood. “All that heat and pressure, eh? I didn’t realize you were so romantic, Aitrus!”

  Aitrus, who had begun to eat the meat-filled roll, paused and looked at Jerahl in surprise. He had heard his fascination called many things by his colleagues, but never “romantic.”

  “Oh, yes,” Jerahl went on, “once you have seen how this is formed, nothing will ever again impress half so much! The meeting of superheated rock and ice-chill water—it is a powerful combination. And this—this strange translucent matter—is the result.”

  Again Jerahl smiled. “Learning to control such power, that is where we D’ni began as a species. That is where our spirit of inquiry was first awoken. So take heart, Aitrus. In this you are a true son of D’ni.”