The Obelisk Gate

by N. K. Jemisin

  Cache: Stored food and supplies. Comms maintain guarded, locked storecaches at all times against the possibility of a Fifth Season. Only recognized comm members are entitled to a share of the cache, though adults may use their share to feed unrecognized children and others. Individual households often maintain their own housecaches, equally guarded against non–family members.

  Cebaki: A member of the Cebaki race. Cebak was once a nation (unit of a deprecated political system, Before Imperial) in the Somidlats, though it was reorganized into the quartent system when the Old Sanze Empire conquered it centuries ago.

  Coaster: A person from a coastal comm. Few coastal comms can afford to hire Imperial Orogenes to raise reefs or otherwise protect against tsunami, so coastal cities must perpetually rebuild and tend to be resource-poor as a result. People from the western coast of the continent tend to be pale, straight-haired, and sometimes have eyes with epicanthic folds. People from the eastern coast tend to be dark, kinky-haired, and sometimes have eyes with epicanthic folds.

  Comm: Community. The smallest sociopolitical unit of the Imperial governance system, generally corresponding to one city or town, although very large cities may contain several comms. Accepted members of a comm are those who have been accorded rights of cache-share and protection, and who in turn support the comm through taxes or other contributions.

  Commless: Criminals and other undesirables unable to gain acceptance in any comm.

  Comm Name: The third name borne by most citizens, indicating their comm allegiance and rights. This name is generally bestowed at puberty as a coming-of-age, indicating that a person has been deemed a valuable member of the community. Immigrants to a comm may request adoption into that comm; upon acceptance, they take on the adoptive comm’s name as their own.

  Creche: A place where children too young to work are cared for while adults carry out needed tasks for the comm. When circumstances permit, a place of learning.

  Equatorials: Latitudes surrounding and including the equator, excepting coastal regions. Also refers to people from equatorial-region comms. Thanks to temperate weather and relative stability at the center of the continental plate, Equatorial comms tend to be prosperous and politically powerful. The Equatorials once formed the core of the Old Sanze Empire.

  Fault: A place where breaks in the earth make frequent, severe shakes and blows more likely.

  Fifth Season: An extended winter—lasting at least six months, per Imperial designation—triggered by seismic activity or other large-scale environmental alteration.

  Fulcrum: A paramilitary order created by Old Sanze after the Season of Teeth (1560 Imperial). The headquarters of the Fulcrum is in Yumenes, although two satellite Fulcrums are located in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, for maximum continental coverage. Fulcrum-trained orogenes (or “Imperial Orogenes”) are legally permitted to practice the otherwise-illegal craft of orogeny, under strict organizational rules and with the close supervision of the Guardian order. The Fulcrum is self-managed and self-sufficient. Imperial Orogenes are marked by their black uniforms, and colloquially known as “blackjackets.”

  Geneer: From “geoneer.” An engineer of earthworks—geothermal energy mechanisms, tunnels, underground infrastructure, and mining.

  Geomest: One who studies stone and its place in the natural world; general term for a scientist. Specifically geomests study lithology, chemistry, and geology, which are not considered separate disciplines in the Stillness. A few geomests specialize in orogenesis—the study of orogeny and its effects.

  Greenland: An area of fallow ground kept within or just outside the walls of most comms as advised by stonelore. Comm greenlands may be used for agriculture or animal husbandry at all times, or may be kept as parks or fallow ground during non-Seasonal times. Individual households often maintain their own personal housegreen, or garden, as well.

  Grits: In the Fulcrum, unringed orogene children who are still in basic training.

  Guardian: A member of an order said to predate the Fulcrum. Guardians track, protect, protect against, and guide orogenes in the Stillness.

  Imperial Road: One of the great innovations of the Old Sanze Empire, highroads (elevated highways for walking or horse traffic) connect all major comms and most large quartents to one another. Highroads are built by teams of geneers and Imperial Orogenes, with the orogenes determining the most stable path through areas of seismic activity (or quelling the activity, if there is no stable path), and the geneers routing water and other important resources near the roads to facilitate travel during Seasons.

  Innovator: One of the seven common use-castes. Innovators are individuals selected for their creativity and applied intelligence, responsible for technical and logistical problem solving during a Season.

  Kirkhusa: A mid-sized mammal, sometimes kept as a pet or used to guard homes or livestock. Normally herbivarous; during Seasons, carnivorous.

  Knapper: A small-tools crafter, working in stone, glass, bone, or other materials. In large comms, knappers may use mechanical or mass-production techniques. Knappers who work in metal, or incompetent knappers, are colloquially called “rusters.”

  Lorist: One who studies stonelore and lost history.

  Mela: A Midlats plant, related to the melons of Equatorial climates. Mela are vining ground plants that normally produce fruit aboveground. During a Season, the fruit grows underground as tubers. Some species of mela produce flowers that trap insects.

  Metallore: Like alchemy and astronomestry, a discredited pseudoscience disavowed by the Seventh University.

  Midlats: The “middle” latitudes of the continent—those between the equator and the arctic or antarctic regions. Also refers to people from midlats regions (sometimes called Midlatters). These regions are seen as the backwater of the Stillness, although they produce much of the world’s food, materials, and other critical resources. There are two midlat regions: the northern (Nomidlats) and southern (Somidlats).

  Newcomm: Colloquial term for comms that have arisen only since the last Season. Comms that have survived at least one Season are generally seen as more desirable places to live, having proven their efficacy and strength.

  Nodes: The network of Imperially maintained stations placed throughout the Stillness in order to reduce or quell seismic events. Due to the relative rarity of Fulcrum-trained orogenes, nodes are primarily clustered in the Equatorials.

  Orogene: One who possesses orogeny, whether trained or not. Derogatory: rogga.

  Orogeny: The ability to manipulate thermal, kinetic, and related forms of energy to address seismic events.

  Quartent: The middle level of the Imperial governance system. Four geographically adjacent comms make a quartent. Each quartent has a governor to whom individual comm heads report, and who reports in turn to a regional governor. The largest comm in a quartent is its capital; larger quartent capitals are connected to one another via the Imperial Road system.

  Region: The top level of the Imperial governance system. Imperially recognized regions are the Arctics, Nomidlats, Western Coastals, Eastern Coastals, Equatorials, Somidlats, and Antarctics. Each region has a governor to whom all local quartents report. Regional governors are officially appointed by the Emperor, though in actual practice they are generally selected by and/or come from the Yumenescene Leadership.

  Resistant: One of the seven common use-castes. Resistants are individuals selected for their ability to survive famine or pestilence. They are responsible for caring for the infirm and dead bodies during Seasons.

  Rings: Used to denote rank among Imperial Orogenes. Unranked trainees must pass a series of tests to gain their first ring; ten rings is the highest rank an orogene may achieve. Each ring is made of polished semiprecious stone.

  Roadhouse: Stations located at intervals along every Imperial Road and many lesser roads. All roadhouses contain a source of water and are located near arable land, forests, or other useful resources. Many are located in areas of minimal seismic activity.

 
Runny-sack: A small, easily portable cache of supplies most people keep in their homes in case of shakes or other emergencies.

  Safe: A beverage traditionally served at negotiations, first encounters between potentially hostile parties, and other formal meetings. It contains a plant milk that reacts to the presence of all foreign substances.

  Sanze: Originally a nation (unit of a deprecated political system, Before Imperial) in the Equatorials; origin of the Sanzed race. At the close of the Madness Season (7 Imperial), the nation of Sanze was abolished and replaced with the Sanzed Equatorial Affiliation, consisting of six predominantly Sanzed comms under the rule of Emperor Verishe Leadership Yumenes. The Affiliation expanded rapidly in the aftermath of the Season, eventually encompassing all regions of the Stillness by 800 Imperial. Around the time of the Season of Teeth, the Affiliation came to be known colloquially as the Old Sanze Empire, or simply Old Sanze. As of the Shilteen Accords of 1850 Imperial, the Affiliation officially ceased to exist, as local control (under the advisement of the Yumenescene Leadership) was deemed more efficient in the event of a Season. In practice, most comms still follow Imperial systems of governance, finance, education, and more, and most regional governors still pay taxes in tribute to Yumenes.

  Sanzed: A member of the Sanzed race. Per Yumenescene Breedership standards, Sanzeds are ideally bronze-skinned and ashblow-haired, with mesomorphic or endomorphic builds and an adult height of minimum six feet.

  Sanze-mat: The language spoken by the Sanze race, and the official language of the Old Sanze Empire, now the lingua franca of most of the Stillness.

  Seasonal Law: Martial law, which may be declared by any comm head, quartent governor, regional governor, or recognized member of the Yumenescene Leadership. During Seasonal Law, quartent and regional governance are suspended and comms operate as sovereign sociopolitical units, though local cooperation with other comms is strongly encouraged per Imperial policy.

  Seventh University: A famous college for the study of geomestry and stonelore, currently Imperially funded and located in the Equatorial city of Dibars. Prior versions of the University have been privately or collectively maintained; notably, the Third University at Am-Elat (approximately 3000 Before Imperial) was recognized at the time as a sovereign nation. Smaller regional or quartent colleges pay tribute to the University and receive expertise and resources in exchange.

  Sesuna: Awareness of the movements of the earth. The sensory organs that perform this function are the sessapinae, located in the brain stem. Verb form: to sess.

  Shake: A seismic movement of the earth.

  Shatterland: Ground that has been disturbed by severe and/or very recent seismic activity.

  Stillheads: A derogatory term used by orogenes for people lacking orogeny, usually shortened to “stills.”

  Stone Eaters: A rarely seen sentient humanoid species whose flesh, hair, etc., resembles stone. Little is known about them.

  Strongback: One of the seven common use-castes. Strongbacks are individuals selected for their physical prowess, responsible for heavy labor and security in the event of a Season.

  Use Name: The second name borne by most citizens, indicating the use-caste to which that person belongs. There are twenty recognized use-castes, although only seven in common use throughout the current and former Old Sanze Empire. A person inherits the use name of their same-sex parent, on the theory that useful traits are more readily passed this way.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks to this trilogy, I now have greater respect for authors who write million-word sagas spanning five, seven, ten volumes or more. Like it or not, whether it makes you think “yay” or “nope” whenever you hear about it, let me tell you: Telling a single long involved story is hard, y’all. Mad respect to the multi-volumers.

  And great thanks this time go to my day-job boss, who finagled me a flextime schedule that made finishing this book in one year possible; to my agent and editor, as usual, who both put up with my periodic hour-long phone rants about how “everything is wrong forever”; to Orbit’s publicist Ellen Wright, who patiently puts up with my forgetting to tell her about, well, everything (stop checking work e-mail on holidays, Ellen); to fellow Altered Fluidian and medical consultant Danielle Friedman, who did a light-speed beta-read on short notice; to fellow Fluidian Kris Dikeman, who helped me design and build my own personal volcano (long story); to WORD Books in Brooklyn, which let me use their space free for the Magic Seismology Launch Party; to my father, who ordered me to slow down and breathe; to the girls of the Octavia Project, who reminded me of how far I’ve come and what all this is really for; to my therapist; and finally to my ridiculous cat KING OZZYMANDIAS, who seems to have perfected the art of jumping off the bookcase onto my laptop just when I need a writing break.

  extras

  meet the author

  Photo Credit: Laura Hanifin

  N. K. JEMISIN is a Brooklyn author whose short fiction and novels have been nominated multiple times for the Hugo, the World Fantasy Award, and the Nebula, shortlisted for the Crawford and the Tiptree, and have won the Locus Award. She is a science fiction and fantasy reviewer for the New York Times, and her novel The Fifth Season was a New York Times Notable Book of 2015. Her website is nkjemisin.com.

  introducing

  If you enjoyed

  THE OBELISK GATE

  look out for

  THE BROKEN EARTH: BOOK THREE

  by N. K. Jemisin

  PROLOGUE

  me and you, then and now

  Let’s end with the beginning of the world, why don’t we? One beginning among many—well, no. Two: the first here and now, the second there and then.

  The now is now. The here: a cavern beneath a vast, ancient shield volcano. Its heart, if you prefer and have a sense of metaphor; if not, this is a deep, dark, barely stable vesicle amid rock that has not cooled much in the thirty thousand years gone since Father Earth first burped it up. Millennia worth of additional rock, spilled forth as lava and cooling and then in turn buried by the next lava flow, insulates against heat loss. Within this cavern I stand, partially fused with a hump of rock so that I may better watch for the minute perturbations or major deformations that presage a collapse. I don’t need to do this. There are few processes more unstoppable than the one I have set in motion here. Still, I understand what it is to be alone, left alone, when you are confused and afraid and unsure of what will happen next. I understand that sometimes, keeping watch is not merely about protection.

  It’s about standing witness. Standing together. Offering guidance where it is needed, care where it is not. Making sure you have everything you need to be you.

  Hello, you.

  Now. Let’s review.

  You were once of the Fulcrum, one of the feared Imperial Orogenes sent forth to work the earth for Mother Sanze. One of the good ones, or so the stills thought of you; one of the controlled ones unlikely to wipe out a town by accident. Joke’s on them, right? How many towns have you wiped out now? So many. Sometimes you dream of undoing it all, somehow. Not reaching for the garnet obelisk in Allia, and instead bleeding out while watching laughing black children play in the surf nearby. Not going to Meov, instead returning to the Fulcrum to give birth to Corundum; you would have lost him after that birth, when the Guardians took him away to some unknown fate, and you would never have had Innon, but both of them would probably be alive. And then you would never have lived in Tirimo, never borne Uche to die beneath his father’s fists, never have half smashed the town when they tried to kill you. So many lives saved if you had only stayed in your cage.

  Well. Too late, now. You are who you are.

  And here, now, you are Essun, who has saved the comm of Castrima at the cost of Castrima itself. You are the second person to open the Obelisk Gate in an age, and in so doing unleash the concatenated power of a machine older than written history. Since in the process of learning to master this power you accidentally murdered Alabaster Tenring, this makes you the most powerful oro
gene on the planet. It also means that your tenure as the most powerful orogene has just acquired an expiration date, because the same thing is happening to you that happened to Alabaster, near the end: You’re turning to stone.

  Just the arm, for now. Could be worse. Will be worse, the next time you open the Gate, or even the next time you wield enough of the strange silvery not-orogeny called magic. Good thing no one of Castrima realizes this, by the way. They think you can help them, which is the only reason they’re bringing you along, because you’re also the reason they’re homeless. They glare and mutter as you lie in the coma that swallowed you after you sealed half a dozen murderous stone eaters into proto-obelisks, and in so doing disrupted delicate technology thousands of years beyond anyone’s ability to repair. They would have words for you, if you were awake to hear them. Instead, you lie dreaming of family. I envy your comfort even as I pity you. It will not last.

  You’ve got a job to do, after all. The one you have to do is the easier of the two: just catch the Moon. Seal and shut down the Yumenes Rifting. Reduce the current Season’s impact from thousands of years back down to something manageable. Something the human race has a chance of surviving.

  The job you want to do is getting Nassun, your daughter, back from her murderous father. About that: I have good news, and bad news.

  Ah, Essun. An apocalypse is a relative thing, isn’t it? When the earth shatters, it is a disaster to creatures that depend on plants and meat and clean water and cool fresh air to survive, but nothing much to the earth itself. When a man dies it should be devastating to the girl who once called him father, but it becomes nothing to a girl who has been called monster so many times that she finally embraces the label.