Second Veil

by Wilson, David

  Euphrankes grabbed one of the cases and ran back to the leak. It had grown much worse. Where there had been a puddle, there was now a pool of liquid. It appeared to be water, and Euphrankes decided he'd just have to trust his instincts. He couldn't fix this without touching the leak, and he had no protective gloves on him – he'd been ready to climb into the tracker and take off for The Outpost. He realized as he examined the problem more closely that he had bigger troubles. No tools.

  "I need a wrench," he said, turning to Ozymandes. "Pliers, something. I have to be able to turn this off of the pipe…"

  The young priest stared at him blankly. Then, as if a bright light had snapped on in his mind, he spun. On the floor, right beside where Myril had fallen, lay the object that Aria had used to take the man down. Ozymandes ran to it and lifted it in triumph. It was a large, adjustable wrench.

  "I'm starting to believe," Euphrankes said, taking the tool and setting to work, "that those protectors you and Myril go on about all the time might actually be looking out for us."

  Despite the reprieve of finding the part, he knew they were cutting things close. The atmosphere in the city was thin already. If they didn't manage to get this pump back online, it would become all that much thinner. There was also the chance that, if they did something wrong, they'd cause further damage.

  "We have to cut this line off," Euphrankes said.

  He turned away from the leak and stared back along the length of the pipe to the pump itself. He followed it, Ozymandes at his heels.

  "There is no ritual for this," the young priest said. "Or …if there is, it's in one of the books I saw tucked into the back of the forbidden locker."

  "Yeah," Euphrankes said, trying not to let his voice grow bitter, "I'm sure that if there are maintenance manuals beyond what you've done to keep these things running, they'd be locked away where no one could see them. God forbid we repair something, or make it work better than it already did. I wonder how many people have come up short of breath because we've ignored some vital part of the upkeep on the pumps in favor of shining them and reading gauges?"

  Ozymandes didn't answer. They approached the pump, and Euphrankes concentrated. He saw where each of the separate mechanisms attached in line with the others. There were a set number of gauges for each pump, and a set number of valves closer in. He saw two that were attached to the pipe in question. One, he knew, would shut off the flow to that valve. The other, though, was a different matter altogether. He was afraid if he chose the wrong one, he'd interrupt the flow between all the pumps, and cause some kind of cataclysmic failure. On the other hand, if he was right, not doing anything would have the same result. He just had to figure out which valve was which.

  "So tell me, Oz," he said, speaking to the young man as if he were a colleague, and not a priest. "How do we figure this out? All of the pumps have one gauge. All of them have two valves."

  "Not all," Ozymandes said. He pointed to the first pump. "That one has a gauge, but only one valve."

  Euphrankes studied the pipes, grinned, and turned.

  "You're a genius!" he said. "The first pump doesn't require a feed from the previous pump, so there is no reason to be able to shut down that loop. It gets fed by – whatever it's fed by – but not by a pipe from another pump. It has only one of the two valves the others have."

  The two hurried over to the first pump and studied the snaking, polished brass pipes. The configuration appeared to be exactly the same on every pump except the first one.

  "Truth time," Euphrankes said. "If we're right, we can save the day, and the rituals can begin anew. If we're wrong…"

  "Then we'll be doing what High Priest Myril tried to do, and everyone will die." Ozymandes said, finishing the sentence. "What are you waiting for?"

  Euphrankes glanced at the young man, shook his head and kept smiling. "I'm starting to think there's hope for you yet, Oz," he said.

  They returned to the cracked gauge, skirted the puddle on the floor, and made their way carefully back to the two valves. Euphrankes hesitated just a second, and then he reached out, grabbed the valve corresponding to the single valve on the first pump, and spun it. There was a hiss, deep in the machinery.

  They stood very still and listened. The pumps put out a very steady, rhythmic thrum. Since the gauge had been cracked, that rhythm had been uneven. Euphrankes didn't realize he'd know this until he found himself listening for it to right itself. At first, there was no change. Then, just for a moment, there was a burp in the rhythm. He'd heard a similar sound in pumps he'd helped design. It usually meant something that had gotten into a line was being forced out. But were there relief valves? Had opening the system to a leak contaminated it?

  The burp repeated, and then, with a soft lurch, the pump wound up and, within a couple of moments, returned to its place in the steady, rumbling voice of the pump room. Euphrankes breathed a long, slow sigh of relief.

  "Okay," he said. "Let's get that gauge replaced, and get out of here. I'd suggest, once things settle down a little, that you get whoever takes Myril's place to consider handling things differently. The first thing would be to inventory that cabinet…after that, I'd set some people studying the manuals in the back. It's possible that these pumps, while working, aren't working to full capacity. It's also possible that we could build more, if we knew how they worked."

  Ozymandes took it all in. He didn't commit, nor did he try spewing, The Temple jargon back at the man who had just saved the city – for the second time in less than a day, but it was obvious he was fighting some serious inner battles. It was also likely he was going over in his mind what he was going to say to his fellow priests to explain what had just taken place.

  Euphrankes watched him for a moment, and then picked up the wrench and set to work on the gauge. He wanted to get it off, and get that second valve back to the position they'd found it in, before too much more time passed. The pumps might be working like a well-oiled machine, but they were also very old, and any variation could set off a cascade of faults that would prove disastrous.

  As he worked, he saw Ozymandes return to the cabinet and begin slowly and meticulously returning the metal cases. He did not return the case that had held the new gauge. He also pulled free a slender volume, paged through it for a moment, tucked it under his arm, and locked the cabinet carefully. Then he returned to stand quietly as Euphrankes finished.

  "What will you do?" Euphrankes asked.

  They stood, side by side, listening to the pumps. The reading on the gauge had slowly worked its way up until it rested right where it was supposed to rest – equaling the readings on all the others.

  "I will simply tell them the truth," Ozymandes said. "We would all be dead if not for you. This building, and these machines – that is all they are. Machines. They beat like the heart of the city, but they are not eternal. If we don't do something to take control of our lives, and our fates, those lives will be severely limited. If they do not listen, I will remove myself from the priesthood. I think I would like to understand how all of this works, and if I can't learn it here?"

  He shrugged, and Euphrankes clapped him on the shoulder.

  "I'm starting to think we're all going to be fine," he said. "If you need it, though, I can always find room for a good man at The Outpost."

  They left the pump chamber and headed back across to where Cumby and several others were gathered outside The Council chamber…something else had obviously happened while they were busy.

  "This," Euphrankes said, as they hurried to join the crowd, "is turning out to be a very long day."

  Chapter Fifteen

  The Axis docked without a hitch beside the Vector on the first airship tower at The Outpost. Slyphie, Lyones, and Myklos were all business, securing the airlocks and descending to the platform, but Zins stood for a long time on his bridge, staring over at the Tangent. It was huge. The lines were similar to the smaller ships, but it was obvious that she was more durable than the smaller craft. There were tw
ice the normal number of supports lining the outer hull, and the inner hull, an Imperium membrane similar to those used for the patches, was still visible in areas where construction had yet to be completed.

  Termac stepped up beside Zins.

  "She's magnificent, I'll grant you that," he said. "Most of the cities don't even have a dock that could accommodate her."

  "Euphrankes is crazy," Zins said. "But it doesn't matter. I have to get on board that ship, and I have to find out if it can do what he says it can. There are a lot of things to work out in a very short amount of time. I hope he doesn't take his time on the road from Urv."

  "He's as anxious as you are," Termac replied. "More so, I'd think. After all – you admire it, but Euphrankes built it."

  "He did indeed," Zins said. "Let's get down below and see what we can do to help get started on more of those patches. I swear, it's like the secret fell into Euphrankes' lap the second it was needed. I don't give two thoughts to the words of Myril and his priests, as you know, but if I were a religious man, I'd have to say our friend appears to be blessed."

  The two gathered their crew and descended to the airship platform, then down to the ground of The Outpost. Lyones was waiting for them with one of the small carts, and they rode on to the main complex in relative silence. Zins was the first to break it.

  "This would never be tolerated in Urv," he chuckled. “Riding when we could walk, using up precious air…"

  "We make more than we waste," Lyones told him. "We have our own pumps, and they're working round the clock…we also have a recycling system that retains more of what we breathe than the old one did. It's really pretty simple."

  "Perhaps," Zins laughed, "but I'm not an engineer, or an inventor. I leave the creation of amazing things to people like Euphrankes – and then I put them to use. Like the Axis. You know his father designed her, yes?"

  Lyones nodded. "Euphrankes has talked about it. It was one of the first, wasn't it?"

  Zins laughed. "The second, to be exact. The first ship – the Alexis – crashed. One of the lessons learned in air travel has been to remain between the veils whenever possible. Flying directly over the surface of the outworld affects changes in the way the ships handle. But you know all of this."

  "My father was on the Alexis," Lyones said. He kept his eyes forward and drove carefully. "He was the navigator."

  "I'm sorry," Zins said. "I didn't know."

  "It's fine," Lyones said. "It was a long time ago. It was my desire to follow him – to try and find a way to be certain that what happened on the Alexis never happened again – that brought me to The Outpost. When I can, I work on navigational systems. We've made quite a bit of progress."

  "I'd be interested in going over that with you while we're here," Termac said. "The Axis is not a new ship, and our equipment hasn't been updated as often as it might have been if we'd had more support from The Council."

  "If there are really protectors out there," Zins said solemnly, "those days are over. I'd be interested in seeing what you've done as well. Have you used any of it on the Tangent?"

  "We've used everything on the Tangent," Lyones said. He grinned, and his grim mood loosened a bit. "The challenges of propulsion and navigation in space – beyond The Second Veil – are much more complex than slipping between veils. We're not certain that we've got it right yet, but there's a point after which you have to trust your instincts."

  "That's a lot of trust," Termac said. He smiled, but it was a thin, humorless expression. "I don't think I'll be trying for one of the slots on that one when it points its nose into space. There's plenty to be done here. In any case, I like to navigate by ground that is clearly beneath me, and a sky that is far above, where it belongs."

  Zins turned and glanced over his shoulder, back to where the Tangent floated silently above her tower. He didn't say anything, but Termac saw and knew the look in his eye. The Tangent would not be suffering for volunteers on her maiden voyage.

  They reached the main complex and Lyones parked. They climbed out and made their way inside. It took about twenty minutes for Zins, Termac, and their crew to be shown around the workshops and settled into quarters. The Outpost was designed for many more inhabitants than it presently supported, so there was room for all to be comfortable between shifts.

  "We've got enough supplies on the Axis to get a start on manufacturing the patches," Zins said. "We won't be able to spare any Freethion, but Euphrankes should be here with that soon enough. I have a load of Imperium, though, that I intended for trade. I was delivering it when we spotted that thing dropping out of the sky. It doesn't look like I'll be making that delivery any time soon, and since it was bound for Bethes, they'll be happy to know that some of it may be used in opening the road back so they can travel to Urv."

  "Everything is changing," Termac said. "And very quickly. What we counted on as true yesterday has faded into history, and we don't even know yet what to expect from tomorrow."

  Slyphie walked up then, and she shook her head.

  "I'm not quite ready to buy it," she said. "When we left, High Councilor Cumby was standing in the middle of a crisis, and it was Euphrankes and the rest of us who handled it for him. He was all smiles and handshakes, ready to re-open the roads and usher in change. I say that will last about one day after everything is stable.

  "Even if Cumby is being honest, he isn't the only one on that council. Most of them have occupied their seats for decades. They have become used to living in a certain way, being respected and obeyed without question, and they aren't going to let that all go in a day, not even over something like this. And don't even get me started on Myril and his priests…if they'd let us in to study those pumps before the roads broke down, there might not be so much call for engineers to build airlocks and patches."

  She turned then, not waiting for any of them to answer, and disappeared into the main work area. Zins turned and glanced at Lyones, who shrugged. Myklos laughed out loud.

  "She doesn't believe in…repressing. And really, who can argue with what she's saying? If we want things to change, we're going to have to step up, take advantage of this situation, and force their hands. The pumps have been getting weaker in Urv for a very long time. Even when I was young we didn't have to seal every door in every building at night. Now they take it as a matter of course. We could travel back then, too. I visited most of the cities with my father before the roads started failing. Then one trip, he went and I didn't. He's been living in Sparana ever since. I tried to get him to fly out with us on the Vector one time – I thought he was going to try and take me out of the crew and tuck me away. He's heard ‘the call’ you see – works in The Temple there. He believes the airships are a sign of the coming apocalypse."

  "Aren't they?" Zins asked. "The cities are crumbling. The protections are fading. Even the veils are showing signs of wear and tear, and though we have found our ways of getting around that, they are only bandages on wounds that will never truly heal. The airships and the technology aren't the cause of the coming apocalypse, but if men like Euphrankes and his father didn't see it coming, the airships wouldn't exist. We've come to a time where it may be too late to patch our world back together…and that leaves one answer. Find another. Or build it."

  "You think the veils will fall?" Lyones asked.

  "I know they will. Everything falls," Zins said. "It's the first lesson I learned when I began flying airships. We spend our lives trying to prevent things from coming apart, wearing out, and falling from the sky. The fact is, there is no cure for it. You go a ways forward, and you can't really get back. We're launching into a brand new world; we don't know if it can protect us, or sustain us, we only know that if we stay in this one, we're like a bunch of rusty gears grinding to a halt. I can't be part of that – never could abide the notion of entropy."

  "You sound like Euphrankes' father," Myklos said. "I remember long nights working on the Vector, everyone pitching in. He'd just talk. It wasn't like we had conversations…he t
old us what he believed, and what he dreamed. He used to talk to Euphrankes like the rest of us weren't even there – but it didn't seem strange. The two of them could make you believe in anything…"

  There was silence for a moment then. Myklos was lost in memory, and no one wanted to interrupt him.

  "He was a great man," Zins said at last. "I knew him for many years, and I never heard him say a harsh word Whenever his name came up, it was in reference to some new miracle – some invention, or procedure that had changed the lives of others. There isn't a person alive in the city of Urv who has not been touched by the man's work in some way, even if they don't know it, or acknowledge it. It's what's kept Frankes from being in more trouble than he might have been. The members of The Council might not be particularly friendly, or useful, but they remember. All of that power young Slyphie was talking about wouldn't be in their hands if the city hadn't changed, and Edwin Holymnn was responsible for the lion's share of those changes. The difference between father and son is that Edwin was patient, and willing to make all the miracles appear to be the idea of those who wanted the credit, while he himself was content just knowing the truth."

  "Patience is not Euphrankes' strong suit," Myklos said. "But he's as brilliant as his father – maybe more so. His vision…"

  He trailed off, but they all knew what he meant. The Tangent was so far beyond anything their world had ever known that there were no words to put it in perspective. It was as if he'd been born of a different age – dropped in among them from a future where things that most would consider beyond even their dreams – were just waiting to be accomplished.