“Always, you’re always unseen, Lyvia,” she says. I almost detect a note of annoyance, a technological eye roll. I did program her to have a personality, but come on.
“Show me where I am.”
The hologram shifts to an aerial view of the library with full color and resolution. It’s so real; it feels as if you can actually touch it.
“Pan out.” She shows me the town further away. Then, she spans even further to encompass the entire Crystal Shire.
“Show me where Shane is.” She takes me to the tomb. It looks good, undisturbed. I see a white bird near the opening; I’m good with that.
“Show me the route from the tomb to Regina’s.”
It’s a long journey. I’m shocked I was able to make it. Now that I’m squared away with priorities, I ask the big question.
“Where is he?”
The hologram spins furiously. I know why. He’s nearly impossible to track. Fucking Gold Shire.
Luckily, Persephone is different. I created her with some help. She’s completely detached and isolated from the Realm’s Framework which is supplied from Gold—molecular-atomized-artificial-intelligence. The Gold Shire is responsible for energy, including power, communication, and technology with the exceptions of Crystal—which is solar powered, and Onyx—which runs on lunar energy. The remainder of the shires rely solely on Framework for power. Framework uses energy in space, from molecules and atoms to the tiniest neutrons. It harnesses the energy to power the network. This system governs every shire residents’ personal energy field through its spacial artificial intelligence as well. Persephone surpasses all of this, though.
“More difficulty than usual, Lyvia,” Persephone updates with a note of strain.
“We gotta find him, Seph,” I say. The spinning gets faster with spiraling images of geography—trees, roads, fields, water, more water, buildings, until it’s just a whir of color. The image freezes; I recognize it instantly, the alcove.
“Last known location,” Persephone finishes.
“We know this already, Seph,” I respond, looking away from the site, still a bloody scene.
“Show me the shires.” She shifts to view the entire landscape. Color-coded rays of light depict the different regions. There are a total of seven shires making up the Realm. Each one is responsible for its resources and specialties. Gold Shire, the Light Shire, also goes by Golden. It controls energy, power, and technology using its Framework. Turquoise Shire encompasses marine study as well as atmospheric research, also known as Shire H2O. Emerald Shire is responsible for land, vegetation, and produce. Onyx Shire, also known as the Dark Shire, studies the universe, the great beyond, and the spiritual world. Ruby Shire, also known as Fauna, is accountable for animal life and studies. Granite Shire, often called Mortal, carries human studies. It encompasses both medical and physical needs of the human body. This is where hospitals, medical schools, and such are located. Crystal Shire, commonly called the Unconnected Shire, encompasses the human mind. Its subjects of expertise include science, theology, history, mathematics, philosophy—all academic subjects. Crystal’s specialty is knowledge of everything related to humanity.
Since the Great Rain, land on Earth shrunk immensely. The only terrain not covered by the ocean has been reduced to one sizable island. The landscape is a slightly vertical oval. The outer rim of the Realm is composed of Turquoise Shire, a ring of blue light encompasses the expanse on Persephone’s map. The period of Great Rain affected the Earth’s atmosphere and weather. Extreme climate changes occur despite shrunken terrain. This outer area is always summer. In fact, the entire realm’s climate is relatively warmer than it was historically. No snow. The most outer limit’s weather and scenery resemble what was once Hawaii.
The next circle inside the terrain, a double ray of green and red light, is composed of both Emerald and Ruby, land and animal. Their terrain includes grassy farmland, jungle, and even forest. Vegetation covers everything. It’s hot and humid in some areas, cool and dry in others. The red light becomes concentrated going north depicting a more urban setting, Downtown Ruby.
Further up, the next ring of light is grey. Here is the heart of the city, Granite Shire. The buildings gleam in the aerial view. Every shire’s buildings are constructed from its specialty materials. Slate granite dominates the Mortal Shire; polished stonework marbles its structures.
Located at the very north of the Realm, I spot concentrated yellow light—Gold Shire. Gold Shire’s gold-plated buildings dazzle and shine from Persephone’s aerial plot. It marks the very top of the Realm.
Circling Gold Shire is a thick black ray. My old stomping grounds. Onyx Shire depends on lunar energy, which it harnesses to keep the Shire dark 24/7. Walking into Onyx, night descends. Stars and universe surround you. It’s similar to walking into a real-life observatory.
Downward, Crystal Shire is the furthest point from Gold to the south, stretching around the mouth of the Realm’s river utilizing only solar power.
“Show me Crystal again, Seph,” I say, and she’s doing it before I get the third word out. She swiftly brings the aerial view of Crystal to span across her holographic screen. Its white light glows.
“Zoom in.”
She does so, and I begin to see the buildings reflect prisms from their crystalline forms. The area is vastly expansive. Here and there, you see concentrated buildings but unoccupied land predominates. There’s no rhyme or reason with the design of the landscape. The main river of the Earth’s now shrunken landscape flows from the ocean into Crystal. Eventually, it forks into four smaller rivers, but resting at its mouth is the Cush of Crystal.
The Cush is the area where the ocean meets the river. It’s the oldest site in the Realm. There are waterfalls and forests, cliffs, ancient caves, and prehistoric landmarks that span the area where the water’s flow connects. It’s also the location of The Rock, in all of its primordial mystery. It’s a very mystical place, yet extremely dangerous. Crystal Shire is not a popular location; most people never set foot there for their entire lives.
“Pinpoint Shane.” She shifts and another white light beams from his tomb. He is located near the Cush. I thought so from my initial visit.
“I’ll keep searching, Lyvia, but he’s made it impossible.”
“Okay, sounds good. Show me the Dark Shire Vortex. I gotta get out there to contact Shane.”
A vortex is a place where energy is directly entering Earth, while at the same time, projecting from it. It’s where communication overlaps for all three dimensions. This means that a vortex allows people to communicate to Heaven, Earth, and Hell while in its location. Energy vortexes have to be protected with spiritual armor. An open passage is extremely dangerous. Vortexes are unheard of these days, besides Dark Shire Vortex, which is operated by Darken. The vortex has been protected and guarded against any communication to or from Hell. It only allows messages from Heaven in the form of phone calls.
Someone mans the archaic phone booth at all times. Messages are then forwarded to appropriate location and passed on. The story goes that the first Darken family found the Dark Shire Vortex and built its communication system, including the barrier to Hell. The vortex is one of the oldest sites in the history of mankind still in existence. It’s the only one left.
Persephone pans the landscape. The screen turns black and fills with stars. Home. She hovers over a spot and begins to zoom in. The giant, ancient red phone booth is gone. I stare at the screen in horror.
“What happened, Seph?” I whisper.
“I would imagine the same thing that happened to Shane,” she says.
“Him,” I spit the word out. “How am I gonna talk to my brother?” I ask, pacing the small space.
“I’m sure we’ll figure out something,” she says.
“I like your positivity, Seph, but what the hell? I can’t believe it’s gone, the one and only line to Shane in the afterlife. Damn it.”
“I know,” she says.
Silently pacing the term
inal, I speak, “We have to find him.” I resolutely come to a stop in front of the Slab.
“Already on it.”
“All right. You know I have to keep you unconnected while I’m in Crystal, but keep working and I’ll get out here as soon as possible to check in,” I reply.
“You got it, boss,” she says, and promptly shuts down.
I pick up the Slab, close it, and put it in my bag. That was massively depressing, not to mention, traumatic. I see flashes of the bloody alcove. Then the empty space where the phone booth—the Dark Shire Vortex—once stood, I get a chill. The one form of spiritual communication is severed. I just want to go back to Regina’s and collapse on the white billow of fluff.
Sighing, I turn to the library. The building seems to reach the sky. It’s modernized but retains its original charm. Made of giant concrete blocks, it looks similar to an archaic castle, complete with a narrow moat. The roof transforms into crystal towers on the corners. I love everything about it.
I walk up and open the round wooden door by unhooking its heavy chain. Walking in, it smells musty, library type of musty. I breathe in the ancient paper book scent deeply. It’s one of my favorite aromas. The corridor is empty. There are two old cigar chairs tilted toward each other on the right. A framed signal-latch hangs above the chairs. The archaic bronze shackles make me shudder. Below, a small table sits between the two chairs holding three hardcovers. I’m curious to see what they are but hear a loud bang from another room. It sounds as if someone dropped something heavy.
I pass the corridor and walk into the main room. Reminding me of Regina’s study, the bookshelves scan the entire library ceiling to floor. There are doorways and rooms, each one I see is covered with books, empty of people. No sounds other than the bang I heard a moment ago. I travel toward the boom through a tunnel-shaped hallway and emerge into a smaller room. This one is loaded with books as well. I spot Dagan. He’s sitting at an antique desk made of thick oak in a matching chair. He has a very large book propped in front of him, the source of the bang, I presume.
“Hey,” I say. He shoots up startled, startling me as well. I’m known to be very quiet and often forget someone might not have heard me coming.
“Oh, hey,” he says, gathering his composure. “Didn’t hear ya.”
“What have you got there?” I ask, eyeing the monstrosity. It’s the same one I wrestled off the shelf last night.
“It’s The Complete History of Technology. The author put together every single piece of information he could find all the way from its inception to today. Pretty interesting stuff,” his last three words are laced with sarcasm.
“Why are you reading it?” I ask curiously. I’m gravely familiar with the book.
“Well, for the sake of knowledge, I guess. I don’t really know, yet. Someone once told me it would be imperative that I learn the ins and outs of technological history. I figured it couldn’t hurt. I like to be efficient in all subjects, all shires.”
Mr. Dagan, I’m not satisfied with that response, I think.
“Me too,” I reply. “Career student and writer. I love my research.” The understatement of the century.
He begins to put the book back. It looks tiny in his hands. I wonder how he even dropped it.
“When I went to pull it down, it slipped off the shelf with a mind of its own,” he answers my unspoken question.
Before I can even muse as to how he knew, he replies, “I assume the source of the sound gave away my location. Looks as though I’m not combat ready,” he says with a laugh.
Thinking about locations, I feel urgency to pinpoint one particular person.
“So, do you guys ever get any Lighters out here?” I ask, oh-so-casually scanning book titles.
“Nope, not really, not since Levi has gone off the Frame. So, probably about a week? I don’t know. I don’t really keep up with all that stuff.”
Levi. A butcher knife sears through the heart-shaped spongy, pink tissue in my chest. Him. Of course, you don’t keep up with that stuff. Too busy flipping through ancient books. Mean. I scold myself. You were doing the same thing a week ago.
“But, before that? Did a lot of them pass through?” I ask.
He takes a minute before responding. He seems to do that. He’s very careful with his word choice. I can’t tell if that’s because he’s such a thinker, or because he is hiding something. My suspicions lean toward the latter; although, it’s probably a combination of both.
“There were a few for a while, rented a couple houses. Seemed to be going permanent. You know, we get members from a lot of shires out here, so I didn’t think much of it. Thought they were lookin’ to unconnect, like most do. They came out here a lot, to use the Fuse mostly. Only saw one or two actually use the library. I kept my eye on them; I don’t trust them. Any of them,” he says seriously.
Probably better you don’t.
“So, did they leave immediately after he disappeared?” I ask.
“What’s with the interest? Used to be a Lighter?” he asks, one eyebrow up.
“No, never. I just wondered is all,” I say, surreptitiously scanning the great wall of books.
“Okay,” he replies, clearly not believing one word I just said. “Well, they stayed I’d say another day, then headed out. It did seem like they were in a hurry, but I figured they had to find their ‘leader,’” he says the last word dripping with pure condescension. “If you’re not a Lighter, then what’s the interest?”
“It’s a long story.” I start putting some of the other books he laid out away.
In Crystal, everyone does for him or herself. Stores, pharmacy, local restaurants, etc. Each one is managed and run by the owner, all help and services are made in trade. This means the library is run the exact same way. Each patron is free to use but must clean up after himself when finished. It’s an honor system, I guess. I never understood how businesses could operate in such a fashion. Yet, as I grew older, I realized it’s the only way to efficiently run a society, as long as everyone is on board and does his or her part. If you are unconnected, you understand that, or you’re welcome to leave. In such case, the citizens hold a vote. That rarely happens. People pretty much stick to their shire codes, regardless of which one.
“Well, I’d like to hear it.”
“Well, I’d prefer to share it another time,” I say, reaching up to put the last book away.
“Okay. You wanna head back?”
“Sure, thanks for everything.” I want to say more but for some reason, I don’t.
He walks me out around the castle the way we came. There’s a fluttering that gets way too close and way too loud. Flapping wings descend upon my head. I shriek, flailing my arms in a frantic panic and sprint down the trail looking as if I just escaped the clutches of a ghastly face-painted clown. Not a fan of clowns. I manage to escape the bird’s wrath and try to compose myself. My hair is frazzled and clothes askew.
“Birds freak me out,” I let out, breathing heavily, hands on my knees.
“Wow,” he says with huge wide eyes. “It didn’t even touch you. You were about ‘this far’ from extreme danger,” he says, stretching his bulky arms wide. He starts laughing, hard. One more “wow,” and he catches up with me.
“Avian flu?” he asks.
“No,” I answer, laughing. “I’m not concerned about an ancient pandemic. More so, their little bones, and hard little beaks…” My face scrunches up. “I don’t know, the fact that they can fly—just seems unnatural. As long as they keep their distance, we’re good.” I sneak a paranoid glance upward.
“I think you’re safe,” he says as he climbs ahead of me.
“Isn’t there something that freaks you out, some animal?”
“Squirrels.”
“What? A squirrel? And you’re giving me a hard time?”
“They’re just so fast and unpredictable. And their little bones, come to think of it.”
“Oh, you’re just screwing with me,” I say, stubbornly
laughing.
“I wouldn’t dare,” he replies melodramatically. “The truth being—I don’t know. I can’t pinpoint it. But they have a mischievousness and inhuman speed that doesn’t sit right. I don’t trust ‘em.”
I nod solemnly, while rapidly adding squirrels to my list of things that freak me out. We head into the thicket, the trail narrows as we progress.
“Okay, Lyv, you gotta give me something,” he breaks the silence after a few minutes. Another sting at his use of Lyv. I decide I really do have to give him something. He did save my life and all.
“Okay, but then you have to,” I reply.
“Deal,” he says.
“Well, I grew up Darken. Long line. Very mysterious,” I tell him earnestly. I don’t even know half the secrets hidden in my family line.
“Okay. I had a feeling. You just have the aura. No mark, though. Which means, you decided to unconnect at eighteen?” he asks.
“Nope. You know the rules,” I say, wondering how he knows I’m markless.
“Okay. Well, I come from a long line of Granites,” he starts.
“Wrong answer, contestant,” I cut in. “I already know that. You have one more spin, would you like to buy a vowel?” I try my best at game show host. Really, I’m Vanna White from Wheel of Fortune, complete with arm presentation.
“Okay, Vanna,” he says with a chuckle. I’m impressed he picks up on such an obscure reference.
“Let’s see. I’m a pretty boring guy. I like to work around town here and there. For whatever I need and more. I try to help, give back. I like to box, hit the gym whenever I can,” he finishes.
“You’re up.” He swiftly picks up a rock and tosses it into the woods. The gesture makes me taste cinnamon. Smell bonfire. Hear a flag flapping in the wind.
“I pretty much wander. I don’t like to stay in one place too long. So, I figured I should be nomadic. I mostly research and study everything. I feel like there is so much knowledge out there that’s very important in times like these.”
“You’re right about that. I went down to,” he freezes before he can finish. “Did you hear that?”
I Am the Storm Page 4
