by C. A. Pack
“What has been decided here?” an agitated Nero 51 shouted.
Ryden Simmdry opened his arms. ⌘ The findings are inconclusive. A possibility exists that the Fantasian curator manufactured the obelisk she presented to us.
Mal’s head jerked back as if slapped. Inside the chamber, Johanna screamed, “Nooooo!”
*
Nero 51 managed a smile. The unerring desire of the overseers to remain fair and impartial in all decisions had once again worked in the Terrorian’s favor.
⌘Because of the uncertainty created by the charge of counterfeiting, Malcolm Trees and Nero 51 are eliminated from this challenge.
It was Nero 51’s turn to scream: “NO!”
Lumi officials approached both men to escort them away. Nero 51’s tentacles struck out, knocking both officials away. Using his tentacles like rotors, he fled the field without looking back and disappeared. Lumi officials pursued him, trailing him to the Terrorian compound.
Countless millennia ago, the Terrorians had paid handsomely to have a secure embassy erected, citing their need for a high-humidity, low-oxygen biosphere that would support their unique life form on Lumi. Terroria was the only realm to have an embassy in the capital city, and no one dared enter it because of the unusual force field defending it. The overseers had chosen to not dismantle it, knowing there were occasions when Terrorians would have business in Lumi and would need a place to stay. And so the stronghold had remained through the ages, untouched. Now, it provided Nero 51 with a fortress as he planned an alternate strategy for library domination.
*
⌘Challengers, the field of competition has grown smaller. However, your answers are just as important as they were before. Selium Sorium will present the first scenario.
ΦA problem of catastrophic proportions overwhelms a realm. It could spell annihilation for that world and its civilization, but could be averted if the portals were opened to allow people to relocate. Debate the wisdom of such an undertaking.
Torran jumped right in, stating that, of course, the portals should be opened. “Why let people perish when an alternative exists?”
Prophet IAN c. cut Torran off, claiming there was insufficient information. “What is this sudden catastrophe? Would it affect every living creature, or just a portion of the population?” The Adventuran went on to outline different levels of catastrophes and how he would react to each.
Dame Erato waited patiently before chiding both of them. “Under no circumstances should the portals be opened. Not only does such a move make other worlds susceptible to the same catastrophe—be it plague or nuclear cataclysm—but it opens the realms up to invasion as well.” She then launched into a tirade about how the Terrorians nearly overwhelmed them all when the portals were recently breached.
Upon the conclusion of her remarks, the trio of challengers looked to Ryden Simmdry for their next question.
⌘Galio Abbingdon, I believe you have our next scenario.
♪In a closed-portal system, the scientific strides of some worlds may not benefit other worlds. What is your opinion?
And so it continued until each overseer had presented a scenario and the contenders had answered to the best of their abilities. Normally, the overseers would retreat to their chambers to make their selection, but they telepathically determined that would be unnecessary because they all agreed.
*
Lumi guards escorted Mal to the overseers’ chamber. Johanna flew into his arms for solace.
“I’m so sorry,” she cried, “for stealing the obelisk. It never occurred to me that doing so would put your chance to become an overseer in jeopardy.”
Mal patted her back. “Everything happens for a reason. We must be content in knowing our actions are decided by the Fates.”
“But you’re losing something you worked very hard for, and I’ll probably get sent to do hard time for grand theft on Terroria—or worse, in the Toro Zone. I’ve ruined both our lives.”
*
The podium on which Master Ryden Simmdry stood slowly rotated, giving him an uninterrupted view of the crowd. The amphitheater was filled to capacity, with many additional spectators lining the walkways.
⌘In a perfect society, educated contemplation and the careful weighing of all sides of an issue is desirous.
Prophet IAN c. smiled, knowing his answers had encompassed that exact approach.
⌘However, in these current times, the College of Overseers has a duty to all of our realms to coalesce into a unified and decisive front. We have carefully considered all the answers put before us, and after careful deliberation there is only one choice. It is our great pleasure to introduce to you our newest dean: Dame Erato.
Several arms, forefingers raised, circled toward the heavens, but a larger number of spectators remained unmoved, for varying reasons.
*
“How wonderful!” Natalia Dalura cried as she threw her arms around Jackson.
He gently pushed her away. “Congratulations and all that, but I’ve got to find Johanna and Mal.”
“Of course,” she replied, but he barely heard her as he escaped the curators’ viewing area. He asked every official he encountered where he could find Johanna and Mal. No one seemed able to help him.
*
★Perhaps I could have done more to prevent this from happening.
Mal and Johanna both turned and stared at Pru Tellerence.
“I don’t understand.” Johanna wiped away tears with the back of her hand. “What could you have possibly done?”
⌘A decision has been made.
Johanna heard Ryden Simmdry and spun around looking for him, but he wasn’t in the chamber. She turned back to Pru Tellerence for clarification. The overseer, who had seemed so forthcoming just a moment before, now appeared guarded.
The door opened, and the remaining overseers entered the room and again took their places around the circle. Johanna watched as Dame Erato took a seat next to Selium Sorium. The teenager bowed her head as a sign of respect to the new overseer, but couldn’t stop the tear that escaped out of empathy for Mal.
⌘Johanna Charette, stealing valuable artifacts is a crime of the highest degree, and is punishable by death.
Johanna felt her stomach hit the floor and her skin chill. The sound of her heartbeat nearly drowned out the remainder of Ryden Simmdry’ statement. They’re going to execute me. She stared at the floor. She could not face the overseers.
⌘We have determined that an obelisk of the same description is currently missing from Terroria, reportedly destroyed in a sudden explosion that Nero 51 blames on you and Jackson Roth.
Tears ran down her cheeks. She didn’t want Jackson to suffer for her actions. She couldn’t let that happen. She looked up at Ryden Simmdry to defend her curator-in-training. “You have to let me explain …”
*
Sweat beaded on Jackson’s brow, and he felt his underarms grow damp. No one could tell him where to find Mal and Johanna. He wouldn’t be surprised if Mal had left the stadium after being disqualified, but Jackson refused to leave without Johanna. He spotted the guard who had helped them earlier, and explained his dilemma.
“Wait here, and I will inquire about your companions.” The guard left Jackson cooling his heels in the hallway and disappeared behind a door that said “No Admittance.”
*
Inside the overseers’ chamber, Ryden Simmdry continued dispensing his ruling.
⌘Further investigation indicates the technology used to create the counterfeit obelisk is beyond your realm of expertise, and therefore could not be attributed to you. Considering the object you presented to us is obviously a fake, you cannot be held liable for stealing an artifact. This obelisk is only a poor imitation of the real thing and is not held in high regard. Once again, Johanna Charette, you have done the Library of Illumination a great service by casting light on the nefarious deeds of the Terrorians and eliminating any possibility of their leader entering the rank of overseer.
Remorse replaced a momentary feeling of relief. “You eliminated Mal from the challenge because of me, and that should not have happened.”
⌘Malcolm Trees’s disqualification stands and will not be revisited.
*
Jackson watched the official reemerge from the closed door. The guard escorted him to the black screen. “You may enter.”
Jackson flexed his fingers, which were still sore from his previous attempt to navigate the black screen.
“It is all right, Jackson Roth. You have been approved to enter, and the pathway has been programmed to accept you.”
Jackson gingerly felt the screen with his finger. He watched as it disappeared into the black abyss. He edged closer to it, sticking his whole arm through. “Okay. Here goes nothing.”
He stepped through the screen and found himself in a hallway identical to the one he had just left. A guard stood at attention in front of a closed door. “I’m looking for Johanna Charette and Malcolm Trees. From Fantasia,” he added, just in case the guard didn’t know whom he meant.
The guard pressed a symbol on the wall, and a door slid open. He waved Jackson inside.
*
Johanna’s misery increased. She felt too ashamed to look at Mal, but couldn’t stop herself. Then Jackson walked in, and she rushed into his arms. “I’ve ruined everything,” she sobbed as Jackson wrapped his arms around her.
“It will be okay,” Mal said to Jackson.
“It will not be okay,” she exclaimed, surprised to see Mal smile at her and wink at Jackson.
Mal addressed the overseers. “We’ll need a guard to escort us back to our hotel.”
“To protect us from the Terrorians?” Jackson asked.
“No,” Mal replied. “To protect Johanna from her Lumi fans who are so fascinated that a young woman had the power to stop Nero 51 from bullying his way into the position of overseer that she is achieving rock-star status as we speak.”
“Rock star, huh? You know this means I’m still going to be the one at the library stuck with doing all the dirty work,” Jackson said. His words got a half smile out of Johanna.
A pair of guards escorted them to a closed transport vehicle.
“Let’s go back to the lodging and freshen up for the new-overseer celebration,” Mal said.
“Do we have to go?” Johanna whispered. “Can’t we just go home?”
“Let’s compromise. We’ll freshen up and go to the celebration but stay only long enough to congratulate Dame Erato and show the college there are no hard feelings. And then we’ll head straight back to the time machine and return to Fantasia.”
“Okay, if that’s really what you want to do.”
“I knew you would do the right thing.”
*
A half-hour later, they stood on a small line waiting to speak to Dame Erato. When their turn finally came, the newest dean took Johanna’s hand and smiled.
ΦI have you to thank for this honor. If it weren’t for you and your foresight in taking the counterfeit obelisk, Nero 51 may very well be standing here right now.
“For just a moment, I thought you were going to say my name rather than his,” Mal said, laughing.
ΦHe would have bullied, and threatened, and found a way to flout our time-honored traditions. She patted Johanna’s hand. ΦThis young woman is very special, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she were to become an overseer herself one day.
★That would be magnificent.
Pru Tellerence laid one hand on Dame Erato’s arm and the other on Johanna’s shoulder.
Johanna looked at the two women—the two most highly revered women on thirteen worlds. Her gaze settled on Pru Tellerence. “You never finished what you started to say before …”
Pru Tellerence held up a finger to stop Johanna.
★That … is a conversation for another day. Today, we celebrate the introduction of our new dean.
Johanna sighed. As they walked away, she leaned over and quietly asked Mal, “Can we go home now?”
“Of course.” He took her arm and gripped Jackson’s shoulder, just before the young man popped a morsel of food in his mouth. “I distinctly remember you telling me to remind you not to eat anything before time traveling.”
Jackson looked longingly at the food, and then put it down. “I guess I could hold out for some lasagna later on.”
They returned to the Grand Illumi Hotel to pick up their possessions, then headed to the transport center where they had left the time machine.
As the disk carried them to the edge of the city, Johanna once again gave voice to her regret. “I’m really sorry, Mal.”
“You’ve got to stop saying that. My chances of being appointed overseer were only one in five, and I may very well have lost.
“Meanwhile, you continue to demonstrate your value to the realms. Being told by the overseers that they can see you joining their ranks one day is a very strong recommendation of their trust in you. And being your mentor, some of that glory naturally rubs off on me. Besides, my value to the college has not gone unrecognized.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t talk about it right now. Suffice it to say that the results of this … let’s call it an adventure, have not been in vain.”
*
They arrived at the transport center to find officials swarming all over the place.
“What’s going on?” Mal asked.
A small blue-haired man came running out of an office waving his finger in their direction. “That’s the man who brought it here. That’s Malcolm Trees,” he exclaimed.
“I am Malcolm Trees, and at the risk of repeating myself, what is going on?”
“Your vehicle has been illegally appropriated.”
“Appropriated?” Jackson questioned. “You mean stolen?”
“Taken without authorization,” the little man cried.
“But who would do such a thing?” Mal asked.
“Nero 51,” Johanna answered, without needing further proof. “I can smell him.” She pointed to a wisp of mist rising from an oily spot on the ground. “Terrorian … uh … residue.”
They turned and stared at her.
“And now,” she continued, “he can travel back to a period in time when the portals were open. He’ll carry out his plan to wage war against the Libraries of Illumination on all twelve worlds—thirteen including this one.”
“We’re doomed,” Jackson groaned.
“He’s been planning this war for a long time, and with the time machine, we’ll never know when or where the Terrorians will strike.” Johanna’s shoulders slumped. “For all we know, he may have already launched his first attack.”
LOI
CHAPTER 19
MYRDDIN’S MEMOIR
The newest rock stars among the Library of Illumination’s curators found themselves stuck in the capital city of Lumi, or as Jackson liked to call it, the land of No.
“Now what?” he asked. “It’s not like I can call my mom and tell her I’m not coming home for dinner, ever, because our time machine has been stolen on a distant world.”
⌘We will make sure you are safely returned to Fantasia.
“Thank you.” Johanna felt her shoulders relax—just a little. “It doesn’t change the fact that the Terrorians have the time machine.”
◍That is a wrinkle in the fabric of existence.
Jackson’s eyes lit up. “Wow. Can I use that? It sounds amazing.”
Pru Tellerence smiled.
★I’d like to escort them back to Fantasia.
⌘That is the duty of Selium Sorium.
★Please. I would love to see the library where these two fine curators work.
◍It is not my place to say, but I have no problem with Pru Tellerence escorting Johanna and Jackson back to their library.
⌘It is highly unusual for overseers to handle duties on realms other than their own. However, we are faced with unusual circumstances. It is decided. Pru Tellerence will accompany
our young curators home. But first, we must convene the others. All must be apprised of the situation and allowed to contribute before the next step is taken. Mal, please see to your protégés’ needs until Pru Tellerence returns.
*
Johanna, Jackson and Mal boarded a transport disk and traveled to the park at the edge of the capital city. Johanna remained oddly silent during the ride, while Mal and Jackson discussed Luminan architecture and culture. Once they reached their destination, Johanna spoke. “If Nero 51 took the time machine, he can invade any of the realms whenever he wants by going back to a time when the portals were open. It may be as recently as last week, but he could choose an earlier time— perhaps before the Two Millennia War—and armed with the knowledge of what is to be, take steps to insure the Terrorians take over all the libraries and control all knowledge.”
“You’re right, of course. It’s a very prickly situation.”
“If only it were yesterday,” Jackson said and sighed.
“If it were yesterday,” Johanna reasoned, “we’d be all nervous about preparing for the Curator Orientation & Longevicus Ritual. So what good would that do?”
“I don’t know. I’m brainstorming here.”
Mal laughed. “And rightly so. We do need to put our heads together if we want to find a way to thwart Terrorian tactics.”
“‘Thwart Terrorian tactics,’ I like it. Wish I had said that.”
Johanna groaned. “Between that and ‘wrinkle in the fabric of existence,’ I’m sure you can impress all your friends.”
Jackson swung around and looked her in the eye. “Feeling a little snarky?”
“Yes. And I’m sorry if I offended you, but I need you to give this all of your attention. I know you’re capable of analyzing situations, and it bothers me that you’re more interested in saying cool phrases to your friends.”
“Hey, I’m the one who wanted to brainstorm.”
Mal intervened. “I think we need to allow everything that’s happened here over the past two days—to percolate in our subconscious a while longer.”
