by Perrin Briar
“I don’t know what you’re saying,” Zoe said. “Because Jeffrey had dreams. That was his input.”
“But where do dreams come from?” Bryan said. “From our everyday lives. Input. Experiences. He couldn’t have dreamed about the things they say he did. This is the real world. Things like that don’t happen.”
“Then where did he get his ideas from?” Zoe said.
“From his own experiences,” Bryan said. “And time. He wasn’t from this time, anymore than the dragon is. He came here via a sinkhole. He was from our time.”
“If he was, why wouldn’t he just tell the locals here?” Zoe said.
“Maybe he liked to be thought of as a genius,” Bryan said. “Look at the comfortable lifestyle he has down here. All he had to do was come up with something from the surface and pass it off as his own, and then build it—if he could.”
“I don’t buy it,” Zoe said. “The inventor wasn’t that kind of person.”
“To build these things, he needed to have real engineering experience,” Bryan said. “I studied engineering and I know how difficult these things are to build armed only with ancient materials.”
“Then how did he build them?” Zoe said.
“No one ever saw him making these things, why not, if he really was an engineer?” Bryan said. “It leaves one possible explanation.”
“What?” Zoe said.
“He didn’t build them,” Bryan said. “Someone did it for him.”
“What?” Zoe said.
“Someone else down here is from the surface,” Bryan said. “And used Jeffrey as a cover. The real inventor is still alive. He’s among us.”
37.
WITH THE DRAGON growing hungrier by the day, their time was growing short. It would attack the town and harvest innocent people to sate its hunger. If Bryan wanted to test his hypothesis he needed to hurry.
He told the lord and lady there was an experiment he wished to carry out. It would help to shed light on their current situation, but that he couldn’t tell them what the test entailed.
“You want me to have the whole town take part in an experiment, an experiment you won’t tell me the purpose of?” Lord Maltese said. “Have I got that right?”
“Yes,” Bryan said. “It will take just a little of their time, but it will be worth it.”
“And you can’t tell me anything about it?” Lord Maltese said.
“No, sir,” Bryan said.
The lord paced up and down his study twice before turning to Bryan.
“How can I tell the people to do something without explaining to them what it is?” he said.
“The same as I have done with you,” Bryan said. “They trust you. They will do as you say. I want you to trust me.”
“Trust you?” Lord Maltese said.
“Yes,” Bryan said. “No one will come to any harm. This is for the benefit of the whole town. If we can get them organized, it needn’t take long.”
The lord thought about Bryan’s suggestion for ten minutes, in silence, before he nodded.
“Very well,” he said. “But it had better work.”
The church bell rang, a curious triple tap and long pause, repeated over and over. Everyone stopped working and spilled out of their homes and places of work, into the street. They walked to the castle and lined up outside.
They were told nothing about why they were there or what they were meant to do, besides line up and wait, that it would take just a few minutes, and none of them would come to any harm.
Speculation was rife. The longer they stood outside waiting, the weirder and more outlandish the theories became. Only children under fifteen were exempt from the experiment. Even the old and infirm had to take part.
The townsfolk stood outside the castle on the eastern side. They formed a long queue along the wall that wrapped around to the northern side. They hid their worry and concern behind jovial expressions. Really, they were all very nervous.
38.
LEONARD, or Lenny to his friends, was the first in line.
He worked at the tannery across the road from the castle, so he had less distance to travel. He’d always liked the fact he was so close to the castle, where he could see the comings and goings of the lord and lady. And having the guards so close always made him feel protected, not that there was ever much to fear in the town of Silene. But now it felt like a threat, having to be the first to do whatever they were there for.
The door opened, and the girl from the new family—he thought her name was Cassie—was there to welcome him inside. Only he was allowed in. The door shut behind him, causing Lenny to jump.
“Please come this way,” Cassie said.
She led him to a small room. There were guards arranged at regular intervals. A plain table sat in the middle with four boxes on it. The rest of the family stood behind the table.
“Hello,” Bryan said. “Please come in.”
Lenny realized he was shaking.
“Am I in trouble?” he said.
“Not at all,” Bryan said. “We’re just going to conduct a little test. It will only take a few minutes and won’t hurt. Please step up to the table.”
The test was over within a few minutes. Lenny studied the family’s expression to gauge whether he had performed the test well or not, but their faces were cold and emotionless. He was ushered out of the room, to the main hall. There were guards here too.
“Please don’t go anywhere,” Cassie said. “Others will be joining you shortly. There’s water and food on the table there.”
And she was gone. Lenny felt very nervous in the room alone. He eyed the guards uncertainly, before taking a seat at one of the dining tables. Within minutes, someone else entered, and though Lenny didn’t know them all that well, he was at least familiar with him, having seen him around town.
He was a street cleaner, Lenny thought, though he wasn’t certain. It was a friendly face, and he looked equally pleased to see Lenny too.
They didn’t talk about the test. They didn’t want to get in trouble for it. For all they knew, this might be part of the test too. But by the third and fourth people who joined them, they were ready to talk about what they’d experienced, both the similarities and differences.
The natural question became what was the test all about? Although they each had a theory, none of them knew the answer. Their own explanations were good enough for them.
As their number grew, they relaxed. There was safety in numbers. But as they would soon discover, there was one among them who it was certainly unwise to trust.
39.
IT TOOK all day, but eventually the family worked their way through each town member. Bryan was surprised to find not one person matched what they were looking for. They had a few suspects, but nothing concrete.
“Next,” Bryan said.
No one came in.
“Next!” Bryan said.
The boredom of repetition had made his temper short. Still no one came into the room. Zoe moved to the door, opened it, and peered into the corridor. Cassie spread her hands.
“That’s everyone,” she said.
“Everyone?” Bryan said. “It can’t be. Are you sure?”
“There’s no one else outside,” Cassie said.
Bryan fell back into a chair.
“After all this, we still don’t know if someone—if anyone—came from the surface,” he said.
“We have a few suspects,” Zoe said.
“No one concrete,” Bryan said.
“He must be a better actor than we thought,” Cassie said.
“There really isn’t anyone else left?” Bryan said.
Cassie shook her head.
“Then we’ve just wasted the whole town’s time without any good reason,” Bryan said. “How am I supposed to explain this to everyone? To the lord?”
Aaron’s eyes glinted.
“We haven’t checked them yet,” he said.
“Who?” Cassie said.
“The lord
’s family,” Aaron said.
“The kids are too young,” Zoe said. “They wouldn’t qualify for the test anyway. No way a kid that age could pull something like this off.”
“But there is still the lord and lady,” Bryan said. “I suppose we should do them too, otherwise people would accuse us of favoritism.”
“Shall I go get them?” Zoe said.
“No,” Bryan said. “I’ll do it. If anyone should get the blame, it’s me.”
40.
“WE’VE ALMOST concluded the experiment,” Bryan said.
“Excellent,” Lord Maltese said, setting aside the book he’d been reading. “Any results? Can you tell me what this was all in aid of now?”
“I’m afraid not,” Bryan said. “At least, not yet. There are a couple more participants we have to examine.”
“Then you’d best get on with it, hadn’t you?” Lord Maltese said. “The sooner you finish, the sooner we can all get on with our lives.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” Bryan said.
“For what?” Lord Maltese said.
“To conclude the experiment,” Bryan said.
Lord Maltese’s eyes moved to the side in thought, and then snapped up as he realized what Bryan was saying.
“You’ve got some nerve,” he said. “You asked me to trust you, to run an experiment on the town, without telling me what it was you wanted to do, and this whole time you planned on subjecting my wife and I to the same test? I must insist you tell me what the purpose of the test is. Right this instant.”
“That would undermine the test,” Bryan said. “I don’t mean any offense. But if the people heard that you didn’t have to undergo the test, and they did, what kind of message do you think that would send them?”
The lord pursed his lips. He didn’t like it, but he couldn’t deny Bryan’s logic.
“We ought to just do the test,” Lady Maltese said, setting her knitting aside. “Get it over with.”
“Fine,” Lord Maltese said. “But I’ll go first. If I decide it’s something unsuitable for my lady wife, then I will refuse to let her take part.”
“Fair enough,” Bryan said. “But I can assure you, it is not something you need to worry about.”
“I’ll fetch the children,” Lady Maltese said.
“There’s no need,” Bryan said. “They’re too young to take the test.”
“At least we’re spared that much,” Lord Maltese said.
They followed Bryan out of their chambers and down the stairs to the corridor outside the test room.
“If you’ll take a seat,” Bryan said to Lady Maltese. “We won’t be a minute.”
Lady Maltese took a seat, careful to arrange her skirts around her.
“We will be parted but for a moment, my dear,” Lord Maltese said.
He turned the smile he aimed at his wife into a grim scowl as he entered the room. The lord folded his arms and appraised the room.
“So?” he said. “This is it? Four boxes on a table?”
“Yes,” Bryan said, taking his place behind the table. “If you’ll approach, please. As you can see, there are four boxes. What I want you to do is very simple. I’ll say a color, and you’ll open that box color. You’ll take out the object inside and, if you can, tell me what its purpose is.”
“Very well,” Lord Maltese said.
“Yellow,” Bryan said.
The lord approached the box and lifted the lid. His face registered surprise, followed by a frown, his eyebrows performing their full range of movement. He picked the object up. It was a cellphone, not that the lord knew that. He pressed the screen, the top and back. It was an alien object. There was no power, the battery long dead.
“What is this?” Lord Maltese said.
“That’s what you need to tell me,” Bryan said.
“I’m sure I have no idea,” Lord Maltese said. “A weapon of some kind?”
“Good guess,” Bryan said.
“I’m wrong?” Lord Maltese said.
“Yes,” Bryan said. “Though it could be used as a weapon, I suppose. In dire situations.”
“Have I passed the test?” Lord Maltese said.
“I’ll reveal the result in a moment in the great hall,” Bryan said.
Lord Maltese pressed his lips together.
“Very well,” he said.
He put the cellphone back in the box and replaced the lid. He turned on his heel and headed back toward the door to the corridor where his wife was waiting.
“Where are you going?” Bryan said.
“To tell my wife it’s nothing to be afraid of,” Lord Maltese said.
“I’m afraid you can’t go back out to speak with her,” Bryan said.
“Why ever not?” Lord Maltese said.
“It undermines the experiment,” Bryan said. “None of the others could go back through those doors. You can’t either.”
The lord’s eyes narrowed.
“This had better be worth it, that’s all I can say,” he said.
“It will be,” Bryan said, bluffing.
Lord Maltese left through the adjacent door and entered the main hall.
“What are we going to do?” Zoe said. “This is a nightmare.”
Their little test had been a colossal waste of time and effort. There was nothing they had learned from this experience, and with just Lady Maltese remaining, it looked like it wasn’t going to be useful after all. What was Bryan going to say when he addressed the people?
They would be angry. A mob might form. They were already annoyed at the family, blaming them for Cynthia’s murder, maybe even for Jeffrey’s death for all Bryan knew.
“We did our best,” Zoe said. “We’ll just have to face the music when the time comes.”
“Lady Maltese is still waiting in the hall,” Cassie said.
“Go get her,” Bryan said. “The sooner we get this over with, the better.”
Cassie moved to the door, opened it, and asked Lady Maltese to come in. She looked supremely confident when she entered—a far cry from the locals who they’d seen all day. That was what came with having power and authority, Bryan supposed. You grew used to wielding it, until it became a part of who you were as a person.
“Where do you want me?” Lady Maltese said.
“In front of the table, please,” Bryan said. “It’s very simple. I say a color, and you open the matching colored box. You tell me what the object inside is and its purpose, if you can.”
“Okay,” Lady Maltese said.
“Red,” Bryan said.
Lady Maltese moved to the box at the end and lifted the lid. She was surprised, her eyebrows rising. Then she smiled, her relief palpable. She reached inside and picked the item up. It was a digital watch. There was a crack on its face, but that didn’t remove its purpose.
“It has numbers on it,” Lady Maltese said. “So I’d guess something to do with counting?”
There was a pause.
“Thank you,” Bryan said. “That was excellent. Please go through to the great hall. We’ll be in shortly.”
“Was that it?” Lady Maltese said.
“Yes,” Bryan said. “That was all.”
Lady Maltese replaced the box’s top and crossed the room to the door and left.
The family were silent once she had gone. They were still taking in what had just happened.
41.
THE HALL quietened to silence as Bryan and his family took to the raised dais. Only their footsteps made any sound. Bryan wasn’t quite sure how to proceed. He stood side-on to the crowd so he could address them as well as the lord and lady.
“Is your test complete?” Lord Maltese said.
“It is,” Bryan said. “We have tested everyone of the appropriate age and we have discovered who we were looking for. But first, let us explain our process and how we went about it so you might all understand how we came to our final result.”
Bryan took a deep breath to calm his nerves.
“It
began with Jeffrey, the inventor,” he said. “The fact someone so talented might exist here of all places was next to impossible.”
“Why’s that?” Roland said.
“Sorry?” Bryan said.
“Why was it next to impossible for someone like the inventor to exist down here?” Roland said.
It sounded confrontational, but really Roland was helping him. He didn’t want the crowd to turn on Bryan just because of a few unexplained holes in his story.
“Thank you for the clarification question,” Bryan said. “The answer is because here, there is a population of a thousand. On the surface we have billions, and even then, it took many hundreds of thousands of years for us to receive a person capable of what your inventor was—Isaac Newton.
“When faced with the problem of how planets moved around our sun not in a circle, but an inverted ellipse, he went away to his house for several months and came up with a completely new form of mathematics to explain it.
“We then had to wait several more hundred years before someone could greatly improve on his ideas—Albert Einstein. But even they could not see the future and build items related to it. I was taken in with Jeffrey’s legend too, but what he reportedly did was actually impossible.”
“Then how do you explain how the inventor could do these things?” Lord Maltese said. “Clearly he had some ability.”
“No,” Zoe said. “We now think someone else built these items and made it look like Jeffrey had come up with them.”
“Why would someone do that?” Lord Maltese said.
“To give themselves some protection,” Bryan said.
“Why would they do that?” Lord Maltese said. “Why wouldn’t they want to be known as a genius?”
“Because they’re not a genius,” Aaron said. “They’re an excellent engineer from the surface. That’s all.”
Murmurs broke out amongst the congregation.
“From the surface?” Abigail said. “Are you sure?”
“Very sure,” Bryan said. “That was why we had this experiment.”