The Humanarium

by CW Tickner

  He stopped to stare at the tubes and Damen halted after a few steps, realising that Harl and Sonora had fallen behind.

  ‘What is it?’ he asked. ‘We really should be moving. The Enlightened do not like to be kept waiting.’

  ‘Did the gods give you the lights?’ Harl asked, staring until his eyes burned. He wanted to believe that man had created them, but it seemed too much to hope.

  ‘The gods?’ Damen said, confused, but then he laughed. ‘No, it was the Enlightened. They work on the same principle as the speaker box in the door by using electricity.’

  Harl was about to ask more when another, more refined voice, spoke from ahead of them in the corridor.

  ‘Electricity is the same power used within the ranged weapon you have on you,’ the voice said. ‘We call that a gun and I’m afraid you will need to hand it over for safe-keeping before we can proceed. The same with your sword, mistress.’

  Tearing his gaze from the lights, Harl saw that the voice belonged to a thin, middle-aged man dressed in a long, dirty white coat, its edges ragged and frayed. He had a cropped fuzz of shocking white hair on his head, similar to Gorman’s, and his small, intelligent eyes squinted out from behind wire-frame glasses.

  He stepped forward and waited patiently as Sonora unslung the blade and then handed it over. Harl reached into his satchel and pulled the pistol out. He was reluctant to hand it over, but then he remembered that it was empty, so he passed it across. The man nodded his thanks and tucked the pistol into one of his coat pockets.

  Harl slipped the bow off his shoulder and looked at it in his hands. He didn’t want to part with it. It was a different feeling compared with the pistol. The bow seemed much more a part of him, somehow. Perhaps it was a more direct link to his home? He pictured his days with Troy again and their adventures using the bow Troy’s pa had once owned. He just didn’t want to lose any of that.

  Damen obviously sensed some of Harl’s dilemma. He stepped forward and laid a hand on Harl’s shoulder. ‘I will take the bow, Harl. It will be safe in my keeping. Have no fear that it will be returned to you. I sense that we will hunt together many times, my friend, and a hunter always needs his bow.’

  Harl nodded and handed it across, grateful for the other man’s words, but he still felt a wrench as he passed it over.

  The man in the white coat had frowned when Damen stepped in, but he seemed to dismiss it and moved on.

  ‘Thank you,’ he said. He kept shifting Gorman’s sword between his scrawny hands as though he was uneasy and didn’t know what to do with it. ‘My name is Kane. I am one of the Enlightened ones here at Delta. I am in charge of teaching the ways of electricity to those who are keen to know about it.’

  The slow and deliberate way the man spoke reminded Harl of the how Gorman used to lecture children. He glanced up at the light tube again and Kane raised an eyebrow as if Harl might be a potential student.

  ‘It is our most fundamental power,’ Kane said, ‘and we utilize it in many aspects of our life, such as creating light and speaking over distances. It also keeps our crops growing in the cave farms and even heats up and cooks our food. But come, you both should have a look around. Damen, you may stay if it pleases you.’

  Damen glanced at Uman, who shook his head and then turned to say goodbye to Harl and Sonora, before walking back the way they had come.

  Sonora spoke up, ‘I thought you said we would be prisoners here.’ She looked at Damen before turning back to Kane.

  ‘Unfortunately,’ Kane said, ‘we cannot let you leave until we have established the truth of your tale about our brethren within the Aylen’s lair. There is also the delicate matter of desecrating one of the sacred cave tombs, which many will not look kindly upon.’

  ‘So what happens now?’ Harl asked, wondering at the importance of the tombs. The thought made him think of the book and he touched his satchel, glad to still have it.

  ‘A trial will be held in a day or two,’ Kane said. ‘Until that time you will remain with someone, and I suspect that person will be me.’

  He didn’t look too bothered by the conclusion and Harl guessed he was keen to start teaching them. But Harl didn’t really like the idea. He was fascinated by all the marvels he was seeing, he just didn’t like the way Kane presented the information. The man’s condescending tone made him feel like a stupid child.

  ‘Come,’ Kane said, indicating one of the passageways with a bony hand and then patting Harl on one shoulder, ‘you must be hungry and full of questions. We’ll fill your stomachs before we fill your minds.’

  He led the three of them down the metal-lined corridor, their feet reverberating on the steel grating that covered the floor. They passed several rooms with their doors open and Kane stopped at each one to briefly explain the room’s function.

  ‘This is the spares workshop,’ he said, stepping through the mechanical doorway.

  The room had six or seven similarly dressed Enlightened all taking apart what looked like old metal salvage, only to put it back together into various tools and items. Harl had no idea what they were, despite the drawings of weapons and all manner of devices lining the walls, complete with measurements and complex labels.

  ‘All of our equipment is constantly in need of repair,’ Kane said, picking up a small metal box from the nearest table and turning it over in his hand. ‘And it is here that the gathering teams bring any items they find. You both have some equipment in remarkable condition.’ He looked at the sword in his hand before touching his coat where the pistol was stowed.

  ‘The gun you gave me, for example, is one of the cleanest I have seen.’

  Harl spoke up at this, thinking it had not been a permanent gift. ‘We didn’t see any of your people wearing or using similar weapons when Damen discovered us.’

  ‘That is true,’ Kane said. ‘We do not issue most of this to our gathering parties. The vast majority is stored for when trouble comes, usually in the form of hiver swarms and other unknowns. When that happens it will be given out at the proper time.’

  It seemed odd to Harl that the gathering teams weren’t issued the weapons. They risked their lives every day for the community and yet they were forced to use simple weapons that were of little threat against the monsters existing beyond Delta’s walls. Perhaps Damen had been right and the Enlightened ones hoarded them for their own needs? He looked briefly at Damen, but the man was still standing in the corridor and just scowled. Either way, it had to be a source of contention.

  ‘They don’t mind?’ Sonora asked.

  Kane shrugged as he headed back out the door to lead them down the corridor again. ‘That is the way it is.’

  Damen growled just loud enough for Harl to hear.

  They passed a room that contained hundreds of cords hanging from the ceiling. Each cord led to a metal box against the wall. Kane explained that it was the way electricity was moved around the city. Sunlight was captured using special glass and metal panels sat on the top of the mountain. It was then fed through the city by the cables. It seemed a ridiculous notion to Harl. How could you capture light?

  ‘The sun panels are a top priority for the functioning of Delta,’ Kane said. ‘With no electricity from the panels, the farm lights would shut off, and little would work in and around the city. We could still function, but it would be at less than half the rate and people would soon begin to starve.’

  They arrived at what Kane said was to be Harl and Sonora’s living chambers.

  ‘My old home,’ Kane said as they entered a cramped but luxurious metallic square room. ‘It was where I lived before I joined the council last year.’

  There was a level of comfort in the furnishing that must have made Damen uneasy, because he seemed not to look at anything for too long. Harl guessed the hunter was not used to living in such a place.

  The bed was a metal construction with a soft grey cover placed on top of a stuffed mattress and there were strange appliances set in the walls. A warm breeze wafted out from
a vent in the base of one wall and flowed through the space to an open door which led off to what Harl assumed to be a toilet.

  The three of them sat down at a polished table on one side of the room while Kane moved around pointing out the different features.

  ‘This,’ he said, standing next to a square panel in the wall, ‘is an electric cooker. We cannot use it for long periods at a time as it uses valuable electricity, but it does a wonderful job and cooks food in moments.’

  Kane moved to the cooker after taking some meat from a cupboard and placed it inside. He then closed the door and turned a dial on the machine. The cooker made a light humming noise which reminded Harl of the sword he had received from Gorman, then the machine cut off.

  ‘Go and take it out’ Kane said. ‘Careful though, it might be hot.’

  Harl opened the door and a wave of heat and steam rose from the slab of meat as he picked it out and took a cautious bite. It was hot and tasty. He pulled it away, staring at the instant meal in his hand as he marvelled at the power of the machine. It had cooked the piece of meat in moments and yet Kane seemed to take it for granted. It could revolutionize life for those inside the Aylen’s slave shop. He handed the meat to Sonora and her eyes opened wide in wonder as she devoured the succulent slab.

  Kane went back over to the cupboard and drew their attention to it with a flourish of his hand. He tugged open the door and Harl felt a slight drop in temperature billow out from inside.

  ‘This is a cooler,’ Kane said, ‘It keeps meat and fruit at a low temperature to better preserve them. It is the opposite of the cooker. Meat can last much longer inside the cooler than in the open before spoiling. It is completely sealed when shut, except for a tube that pumps cold air inside, and another one that takes it out again. Most of our electricity goes into a large collection of coolers, so that we can keep food fresh for the people, as winters can be hard.’

  ‘What are winters?’ Harl asked, one of a hundred questions flying around in his head as he sat at the table.

  Kane looked at him, astonished, then up to Damen.

  ‘They do not know the seasons?’ he asked.

  ‘I think not, Enlightened one,’ Damen said.

  ‘Then their tale rings more true,’ Kane said. ‘Could there really be more of them?’

  Harl was indignant at this blatant disregard for their words.

  ‘We did not lie,’ he said, standing up as frustration seethed inside him. ‘And we did not make up stories about losing our families and friends.’

  ‘No,’ Kane said putting his hands up as a guard peered into the room, ‘of course not. It is just difficult for us to hear about all this when we thought we knew better.’

  ‘No harder than me finding out about this electricity you use for miracles,’ Harl said.

  ‘I understand how you feel, Harl.’ Kane said ‘but-’

  ‘But nothing!’ Harl said, slamming a fist on the table to make Kane jump.

  Damen’s hand hovered above his dagger, but he shook his head at the guard who had stepped through the door.

  ‘All of this-’ Harl went on, gesturing wildly around the room. ‘All of this and you never once thought to help us when we were trapped inside that… that place.’

  ‘They didn’t know, Harl.’ It was Sonora’s voice, soft and calming beside him. Her hand lowered to rest on his. ‘They still don’t know.’

  ‘It’s true, Harl,’ Kane said, ‘None of us have ever been inside, let alone come out as you have.’

  Harl took a deep breath. He couldn’t say why he was so mad, but seeing Kane with his cooker and comparing it with life inside the box...it felt unfair.

  ‘Do you need me to stay?’ Damen asked Kane, his face a hard mask as he looked at the meat still in Sonora’s hand.

  ‘No,’ Kane said, ‘you may head back outside, Damen, but return early tomorrow, as you are able.’

  Damen said his goodbyes and left the room.

  ‘I am sure you two have much to think on,’ Kane said. ‘I will return in the morning, but should you need me before then you can press the button on the speaker machine, talk into it, and I will return. For everyone’s safety there will be a guard outside, but they will not act unless you attempt to leave without strong cause. I hope you understand.’ He smiled and left them both with their thoughts and to wonder at all they had seen in such a short time.

  After they had both used the cooker to magically heat more meat, they washed using a water basin. It was another bizarre contraption that took them them a while to figure out. Harl couldn’t get over the wonder of turning a small handle on top of it and then watching as the water shot out into the basin. He kept turning it on and off to Sonora’s laughter. What was even more astonishing was that there was a second handle that let out a flow of hot water when turned. They couldn’t understand it, but the magic of it made them feel like children.

  Exhausted, they collapsed together on the soft bed.

  ‘It’s like a dream. Both good and bad,’ Sonora said. She gestured around the room with her hand. ‘Do you think we can adapt to all this?’

  ‘We’ve no choice,’ Harl said, snuggling down into the warm blanket as she pulled it over them,‘but I admit it’s better than sleeping in a cave wondering when the next hiver might find us.’

  ’Why do you think Damen was so eager to leave?’ she asked.

  ‘I’m sure he has family awaiting his return,’ he said.

  ‘He seemed angry when we ate the meat.’ she said. ‘It could be he doesn’t have these luxuries in his own home. He said that the Enlightened ones keep many marvels for themselves.’

  ‘I’ll ask him when we next meet.’ he said and thought it strange that Damen had left so suddenly, but like Sonora’s questions, his thoughts were all over the place.

  The technology, as Kane had called it, was something that fascinated him. Even with all that Gorman had shown him, it had nearly been too much. He knew his own people were living a backwards life compared to those in Delta. But it was a life without real fear; only the gods were a threat.

  How much had mankind missed out on because of the Aylen? He no longer believed the words of the priests. They were not gods or entities to be revered; the Aylen were a horror beyond imagining. Everyone trapped inside the tanks believed it was the only way of life and yet there was a whole world beyond the barriers. They were prisoners and slaves held by the whim of monsters. It had been their way of life for generation after generation, and it would be the way of life for as long as children were born. Why had the Aylen done it in the first place? And what did the future hold for his people?

  The questions bombarded his mind as he lay there in bed, Sonora sleeping softly at his side. He didn’t know what he was going to do and he didn’t know how he was going to find out, but he did know one thing.

  The answers lay in Delta.

  Chapter 36

  They queued outside for hours, streaming in when I opened the doors until no space was left. It’s the end of a long day, but I have sold almost seven hundred charges worth, to the richest bidders. Tomorrow I will increase prices and book the surgery.

  A droning buzz rang through the metal room, forcing Harl and Sonora from their restless dreams. Kane’s voice sounded tinny through the speaker box above the door. ‘If you are both awake you should eat and meet me in the library. The guards will guide you to it. Do not be long.’ A click signalled the end of the communication.

  ‘A library?’ Sonora said and the excitement in her voice told Harl she would learn faster than he could ever hope to.

  After using the cooker to heat some kind of oats Sonora had found in a cupboard, they sat in the smooth rigid chairs to eat. They discussed the plans for the day and agreed that they had to learn as quickly as possible if they were to integrate into Delta. It was vital if they held any hope of convincing these people about the Aylen shop.

  The guards led them to a large wood-panelled room where books lined every wall on ordered shelves. The shelv
es rose higher than a man stood and the only access was from a ladder that slid on a rail along the base of the walls. The space was lit by electric lights which hung from the ceiling and shone down on scratched metal tables. A dozen or so people sat on benches around the room, deeply engrossed in the tomes.

  As they walked past a central, stand-alone bookshelf that stretched to the ceiling, their guards took up flanking positions either side of them. The people deep in study at the tables cast wary glances at the newcomers. Their eyes would dart from their book to the guards, and then lock on to the strangers, narrowing as they scrutinized Harl and Sonora. Harl met the gazes one by one and they quickly continued reading.

  ‘Ah, there you are,’ Kane said, stepping from behind the stand-alone bookshelf. He wore the same white, knee-length jacket over his skinny frame as he had the previous day, and his eyes were full of excitement, like a child being offered a handful of sugary treats.

  ‘I’ve been given permission to tell you something of our history,’ he said. ‘It’s good to know something of us when we’re asking so much about yourselves. But, as you can see,’ he said, sweeping an arm around at the wary readers hunched over nearby tables, ‘this is a place where many study. You are denied that privilege until judgement has been passed.’ He rubbed a finger under his nose and then slid a small folder of papers towards Harl.

  ‘This,’ he said, pointing to the title on the first sheet, which read Fundamentals of Electricity, ‘is a basic primer on Delta’s history. You’ll find it most interesting. Although,’ he added, leaning down close to Harl and lowering his voice. ‘I would suggest you voice any questions on this, um, history when we’re in a more private location.’ He winked and walked away humming to himself.