by Brandt Legg
Perched high on a cliff, surrounded by forest for many kilometers, it seemed an odd place for a restaurant to have ever been. The unbreakable, solar glass windows, keycode entry locks, and remote setting explained the lack of security. He’d also seen some serious fencing a couple of kilometers back.
He walked around the piles – many were still bundled – and rubbed his fingers on the straps. Grandyn recalled carrying and loading the bundles after Nelson had wrapped them with the strapping machines. His father seemed present in the room, guarding the books, wanting them in order. There must have been fifty tables and hundreds of chairs stacked against the walls. It had been a busy place once upon a time. Grandyn pulled down a chair and picked up a random book, The Seat of the Soul, by Gary Zukav.
Why would a book like this be on the dangerous list? he wondered.
Savoring the old book smell, so much a part of his childhood, rubbing the paper between his fingers, fanning the pages, Grandyn saw the tear drop on the book’s cover before he even realized he was crying.
“Dad, what do I do?” he cried. “Open up my eyes, show me, please.” His hands were trembling.
The beam of sun from one of the windows landed directly on a stack of books across the room. He hoped it was a sign, but that batch turned out to be post-Banoff titles, which might be interesting, but certainly wouldn’t contain prophecies. Then he recalled what his father had told him the night before he died and started searching for titles.
Deuce had a letter from his grandfather, Booker, which discussed the prophecies. The letter, written more than fifty years ago, mentioned Grandyn’s father, Runit, and a son he would have. Deuce’s son was also apparently mentioned, although neither Grandyn nor Twain were identified by name. Shortly before Runit’s death, Deuce had shared a single clue with him. “I. II. Possess it, next . . .”
Runit, a Shakespeare fanatic, thought in Shakespeare plays and quotes, so when Deuce told him the clue, he almost instantly translated it to: Act one, scene two, of Hamlet, where the line appears, “Possess it merely. That it should come to this.” Runit didn’t tell Deuce, but instead discussed it with Grandyn the night before he was killed.
They had both agreed the line from Hamlet was apropos for the situation. Grandyn had suggested to his father that since they had the Hamlet clue, it was possible that the Shakespeare play contained the list of books. But in a final insight that had given Grandyn hope all these years, Runit didn’t think a priest in the American Southwest, three hundred years earlier, would bother putting the titles of the books in code.
“The prophecies are coded into the texts of books. That seems hard enough,” his father had said.
“Then how would anyone ever know which books?” Grandyn had asked.
“Perhaps there was a list of them that was lost to time, or his followers were entrusted with the titles, but the chain was broken after so long. According to Deuce, there were regular prophecies, and then these special ones. Maybe they were mixed up over the centuries, I don’t know.”
“But how will we find the books?”
“Because we’re experts on books.” He would never forget how his father had smiled when he had said that. It had been what friends called the Happerman smile, the kind that made you feel like a party had started. Smiles had been so rare in those final weeks. Grandyn also remembered how good he had felt at being included as one of the experts. His father had taught him so much, raising him in a library, and he only hoped he was up to the task.
His first mission was to locate all the books published prior to 1847, when Clastier was still in Taos, New Mexico. After that, his story faded to legend and his death was more likely than his escape. Grandyn briefly considered the fact that Clastier, having knowledge of the future, may have included books published after his lifetime. But if that were the case, then the task would be impossible.
After several hours, he had seventeen books pulled and decided to contact Fye to test his theory.
“Where are you?” she asked, confident in the infinite-encryption.
“I’m sitting in a room filled with my father’s missing books.”
“You found them?” she asked excitedly.
“Thank Ander Terik and Polis Drast. His instructions led me straight to the books.”
“How many?” she asked, neatly printing lines of numbers in her pad with a short but sharp pencil.
“I don’t know, but a lot . . . twenty or thirty thousand, maybe more.”
“Wow. I don’t know how he did it. I’ve sent you the AOI reports of the burning. There was even footage showing tons of smoke. I’d love to know what he actually did burn in that warehouse.”
“I need you to pull up the original list Nelson gave me.”
“You mean the one Blaise Cortez’s program created?”
“Yeah. It’s all the books we took from the library, but I think you can use it to get to the source files. The digital copies were made from original publisher source files, or from older scans, so they won’t match the physical editions.”
“Okay, I’m with you. You can find the added words in the real books by finding it omitted in the ebooks, so you want to match the source file to the physical books?”
“Yeah, but how can I?”
“Give me the first line and the last line on a page from the actual printed book and I’ll calibrate the e-book to it.”
“You make being a genius look easy,” Grandyn said.
“It is,” she replied, smiling.
After they’d done that, she sent the results to his INU and a VM opened displaying each page. She cross-checked more titles while he started checking pages. He began with the seventeen titles he’d pulled already. The laborious effort paid off after fifteen minutes when he hit a page that didn’t match.
“I’ve got one!” he said, feeling his heart race.
Fye took a bit longer to confirm that it wasn’t simply the result of changes the AOI had made during their censoring program. While she did that, Grandyn sent her the first and last line of the next sixteen books. By nightfall, he’d confirmed that three of the books contained code.
“Do you think they’re part of the prophecies?” she asked him.
“What else could they be?”
“With the age of these books and the history of the world since they were published, it could be anything.”
“But it’s not,” he said confidently.
“No, it’s not. I think you’ve found the treasure,” she said.
“But we need five more . . . and then we need to decode them.”
Chapter 56 - Book 2
As the Flo-wing lifted from the hard packed sand of the Oregon beach, one of the BLAXERS moved a VM between Munna and Nelson.
“You’re safe now,” Deuce said, in holographic form, as he stepped out of the VM. “I’ve just notified Chelle. She’s waiting to hear from you, Nelson.”
“Thank you,” Munna and Nelson said at the same time.
“You risked everything for my boy,” Deuce replied. “I’ll never forget that.”
Nelson nodded.
Munna smiled.
“Of course, you’re both free to go anywhere you choose. I’ll have you flown to your destination of choice immediately, but I’d like to extend my invitation for you to join us.”
“Us?” Nelson asked.
“Grandyn is on his way,” Deuce said. “The reports of his death have been greatly exaggerated.”
Munna looked at Nelson and smiled. “Death is not always true.”
Nelson pumped his fist and whispered, “Thank you,” to the sky.
“And I have all the books, or will as soon as Grandyn arrives.”
“You have the books? The AOI books? The PAWN stash?” Nelson asked, looking from Deuce to Munna.
“A few days back, I gave Deuce the location of the remaining books in our possession,” Munna said, “in exchange for his promise that they would not be used for war.”
“How can you make a promise
like that?” Nelson asked, scowling at Deuce.
“You originally wanted the books to preserve the truth they contain, but now you understand that they keep other secrets,” Deuce said. “The prophecies that are hidden within the pages of certain titles make up a special book known as the Justar Journal, an ancient word meaning, simply, ‘adjust.’ Whoever gets the Justar Journal first may alter the future of mankind.”
Nelson stared at Deuce, allowing the weight of his statement to sink in. However, he couldn’t dwell on the magnitude of the situation because he wanted to avoid another debate with Munna. “That’s a discussion for another time,” he said, “but without the AOI books that Drast claimed to have burned, any prophecies will be incomplete.”
“I have those as well.”
“Excellent.” Nelson nodded, reaching for his flask which he’d forgotten was still empty. “And Grandyn’s coming? Then take me to the books.”
Grandyn couldn’t wait to get to Deuce’s island. With all of his father’s books finally reassembled for the first time since they’d left the library more than three years earlier, his hopes were high that Fye’s program could find the secrets that Booker and Uncle Cope had promised that the books contained.
He wondered what his father would have thought about it all. Runit had always said, “People have no idea the secrets that are hidden in books.” Grandyn also thought of what UC had told Nelson: “Everything humans have ever known is contained in books, but the true excitement is that within their pages is the path to all we have yet to walk, the things we have yet to learn.” His father would have quoted that at least once a week, especially because Cope was now officially an author, since Nelson had secretly published his work.
As he watched the BLAXERS load the books into the fourth Flo-wing, his excitement grew. He’d received word that the flare-ups in the Amazon and Portland had ended. Aylantik spokespeople had been issuing spin all day, attributing the violence to accidents, petty criminals, and the resulting confusion. Full investigations and reforms were promised in order to avoid an unlikely repeat of the unfortunate events.
Grandyn believed it was a triumph for the rebels. He imagined that if they could decode the books, they might be able to defeat Aylantik. By taking the proof of the Banoff to the people, they could get the masses behind them, and the prophecies could show them the way through the Doneharvest to complete the Exchange.
There would be challenges, but they had overcome challenges every day of the past three years. If they could hold the coalition together and stay alive, the tools were in now their possession to destroy the Aylantik. He looked forward to the trials of the AOI leadership and the redistribution of the world’s wealth, but what about UC’s promise? The future could be more than he’d ever imagined. The future could be as long as forever.
If Deuce had succeeded, then Nelson and Munna would be at the island before he arrived. He walked back into the abandoned restaurant, which had kept so many books safe for so long. They had gotten them all, only the tables and chairs remained. He wondered whether this place, like the library in Portland, Nelson’s cabin in the woods, and so many POPs, would one day be museums to the revolution. He boarded the fifth and final Flo-wing and wondered where the AOI would be looking for him today.
He missed Fye, and wished she could go to the island, but it would be too dangerous. Still, it would be good to see Nelson again, to get his help with the books. But he was most interested in continuing his conversation with Munna. With all he’d learned, he had hundreds of questions for her. With her wisdom spanning a world of change, from the pre-Banoff years to all that had happened since, she could answer questions no one else could: the truth about his mother’s death, Chelle and Drast’s relationship, the A-Council, and Lance Miner. Munna might not want war, but she knew enough to help them win it.
Grandyn worked his INU as the Flo-wing soared over the mountains and the ocean came into view. He sent Nelson the list of what he’d discovered so far. There weren’t that many pre-1847 books, so if they could find them all, there was a good chance to fill in the remaining titles. Thus far he had identified Homer’s Iliad, and Milton’s Paradise Lost. Those along with Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and Clastier’s Papers, which he knew were part of the eight but still hadn’t been located, meant there were only four left to find. But he wasn’t so sure Clastier’s Papers were part of the eight works. It didn’t make sense that someone would go to so much trouble to hide the prophecies and risk putting clues in their own writings. If the Clastier Papers didn’t count, that meant there were still five to go.
Based on the complexities of the code and what Deuce and Nelson told me, Grandyn thought, it sounds like these are somehow interactive prophecies. If that’s true, just imagine the power.
Chapter 57 - Book 2
The Munna-Grandyn-Nelson reunion was an extremely happy moment. In spite of their philosophical differences, they truly liked each other. When Deuce entered the room, a noticeable shift in the chemistry could be felt, much the same way as a classroom of only students changes when the teacher arrives. No one was quite sure if Deuce could be trusted entirely, but they needed to trust him, and often the most clarity comes from a lack of choices.
“Thank you all for coming. Please, follow me.” He led them to a small dock where they boarded a boat.
“Where are we going?” Grandyn asked.
“I’m glad you asked. We’re on Ryder Island, but the books are located on a smaller island less than a kilometer away, called Runit Island.”
Grandyn smiled. “You named an island after my father?”
“No. My grandfather did,” Deuce said. “He collected islands and was fond of naming them after people he admired.”
“But Booker Lipton didn’t know my father.”
“My grandfather knew a great many things,” Deuce replied, “and some of them are just now coming to light.”
They docked at a long wooden pier as the shoreline was rocky and shallow. Several other boats were already tied up. A worn, stone path led toward the center of the island. Twenty meters up the trail, an old carved sign, which could have been a hundred years old, confirmed Deuce’s story. “Welcome to Runit Island.” Grandyn couldn’t resist taking a photo with his INU.
Ten meters beyond that, they found a covered area containing several old-fashioned golf carts. From there, Deuce drove them to a large stone building that seemed like it could withstand an aerial bombing. “It can’t be seen from the sea or the air,” Deuce said proudly. A combination of real and artificial vegetation, Tekfabrik, and the natural rocky terrain of the tiny island, it was an ideal place to conceal a treasure.
They walked into the building and found more than one hundred thousand books lined up on more than four hundred long tables. Around the exterior walls were enough shelves to hold the volumes.
“Shoot Deuce, you really did it,” Nelson said. “Makes me want to cry.”
“Wow,” Grandyn said. “Let’s go!” He jogged into the gymnasium-sized room.
Munna asked Deuce if there was a place where she could lie down. He took her through an opening, not far from the entrance, which opened into a hall.
“There are ten rooms, all with ocean views. Choose anyone you like,” Deuce said. “Are you all right?”
After assuring her host that she was merely tired after the harrowing events beginning in the redwoods and then the long trip to the island, she took the first room and excused herself. The rooms were fully furnished with anything a guest would need, but Deuce assigned an assistant to be on standby should any of them need anything more. He spoke briefly with Nelson and Grandyn, telling them a dozen of his most trusted people stood ready to help search for titles or do whatever was needed.
“Please give me updates whenever you have anything to report. Even the smallest bit of news will be welcome.” After they agreed, he headed back to Ryder Island to check on his son.
Grandyn gave Nelson a rundown on what he had discovered so far. They then
divided the room in half. Each would work a side and lists of all pre-1847 titles were sent to the twelve assistants. The library didn’t have a large collection of antique books, so very few were expected to be first editions, but the classic works would have been reprinted countless times over the centuries.
“I only hope the original text was kept intact. Even a minor change like bringing the language up to modern standards would blow the code,” Grandyn said as he watched the assistants work the room, reading spine by spine, looking for the elusive volumes. Little by little, discoveries were made while Grandyn and Nelson tried to figure out a way to not have to check them all.
Fye, working from another location, remained holographically present through the VMs. Grandyn introduced her to Nelson and admitted she was a List Keeper. Nelson raised an eyebrow. She was the first List Keeper he’d actually met, and the first real confirmation he had that the secretive group existed. But what surprised him the most was that Grandyn had hooked up with them.
They must be the ones who have helped him stay hidden all these years, he thought. One day, maybe he’ll tell me how they did it. He noticed she was busy writing in a pad. Maybe that’s why they call them List Keepers, he mused.
“What do we know about Clastier?” Grandyn asked, trying to picture the man who had created so much trouble. A man almost unknown, compared to Nostradamus, and yet one who had predicted far more events and with astonishing accuracy.
“Not as much as I wish we did. The Vatican destroyed almost all information about the man. You’ve read about the Church?” Nelson asked, knowing it wasn’t studied in schools any longer and the old religions were now even more obscure than the dead languages.
“My father had me read about many of the former great religions: Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and New Age Spirituality. I think I have a good grasp on the basics. I know a little of Vatican history, but why did they want to hide Clastier?”