Clockwork Heart

by Dru Pagliassotti

“What would happen if the Great Engine crashed?” Taya imagined huge gears tumbling down against each other. “Is it something the Torn Cards might try?”

  “It wouldn’t be the end of the world,” Lars said, handing Cristof a clean gear. The exalted began piecing the cleaned assembly back together again, looking as engrossed as he’d been while dismantling the eyrie clock. “But you’d panic a lot of engineers. An abrupt stop would throw gears and spindles out of alignment, and it might ruin a storage drum if data were being written. Everything would have to be recalibrated before the Engine was started up again. That would take a few days. The program schedule would fall behind, you’d lose some data, and Ondinium might get stuck with a surplus of widgets. Nothing serious.”

  “You keep saying that the Great Engine isn’t important, but I thought it was the main reason Ondinium’s so powerful.”

  “Don’t listen to the Organicists or the Social Engineers,” Kyle advised, glancing up from the schematic. “They both credit the Engine with far too much power. It’s just a fancy calculating machine. If you looked at your watch and it said five o’clock, but you knew it was the middle of the night, would you believe your watch or your senses? Same with the Great Engine. If it gives the Council obviously inaccurate data, the Council will notice and make corrections.”

  “‘Obviously’ being the key word, of course,” Isobel said as she pieced together more metal parts.

  “By the way,” Taya said, “did you take that program from Alister’s house? His copy is missing.”

  “This is his copy, but we found it here. He must have been working on it the night before he died,” Emelie replied. Taya winced at her matter-of-fact tone.

  “He was at a party that night.”

  “He might have come here afterward. He did things like that. Sometimes the best time to work is after midnight, when nobody else is around.” Victor scrutinized a card. “Emelie, can you figure this out?”

  She leaned over his shoulder, then picked up the cards that preceded it.

  “Looks like it should loop. Where’s the end?”

  Kyle set down the schematic.

  “If a loop set the program buzzing, it could keep the engine’s gears spinning all night,” he observed. “But an error that obvious should have come up during testing.”

  “This card is pretty new. Maybe he was experimenting,” Victor suggested. He held up two cards. Even Taya could see the smudges of oil and wear around the perforations on the older card.

  “Could a loop bypass the security on this engine?” Cristof asked, joining them.

  “No, but take a look at this.” The programmers huddled around Victor as he pulled out cards and spread them over Kyle’s schematic.

  Taya and Cristof backed away, giving each other blank looks.

  “How soon can we get up to the tower?” Cristof asked, his voice low.

  “Not until there’s light. We can leave as soon as we can make out shapes, but you wouldn’t want to fly into a tree or a cliff on your first time out.”

  “Or ever.” He jammed his hands into his pockets, frowning at the motionless analytical engine.

  “What are you thinking?”

  “You don’t want to know.”

  “How’d you like me to drop you while we’re flying?”

  His frown deepened.

  “What if Emelie was right?” His voice dropped to an uncertain murmur. “What if Alister had given Neuillan too much information? Enough for Neuillan to circumvent the loyalty test?”

  Taya was confused. “If he did, it was just an accident.”

  “Let’s say it wasn’t. Neuillan was a family friend, and Alister’s judgment wasn’t always the best when it came to keeping secrets. What if Neuillan convinced Alister to tell him how to get around Refinery? And what if somebody found out what Alister had done, used it to blackmail him into writing a program that would harm the Great Engine, and then killed him to keep him quiet?”

  “You think he wrote Clockwork Heart to sabotage the Engine? He wouldn’t do that,” Taya objected. “He was passionate about this program.”

  “He fooled you before. He could be very convincing, when he wanted to be.”

  “Clockwork Heart wasn’t about impressing me. It was personal.”

  Cristof looked troubled. “Maybe. But he also cared what people thought about him. If someone threatened to tell the world that he had a hand in Neuillan’s treason…”

  “But if Clockwork Heart doesn’t work right, that would make him look bad too, wouldn’t it?”

  “A programming error is one thing. Aiding and abetting a traitor is another.” Cristof rubbed his eyes, knocking his glasses askew. “I don’t want to believe he would sabotage the Engine, but think about it. If he wrote a program that compromised the Engine’s operation, someone would have a very good reason to kill him and Caster. Killing Alister would keep the program’s secret safe, and killing Caster would swing the Council vote in the program’s favor.”

  “But that doesn’t explain the stolen Labyrinth cards. Alister thought you did that.”

  “Hey, Exalted.” Lars looked over, his round face troubled.

  “What?”

  “No offense, but I think your brother was writing more just than a matchmaking program.”

  Cristof gave Taya a heavy look, then stepped up to the table.

  “What is it?”

  “Well, we haven’t gone through the whole thing, but he’s got routines here that look more like decryption functions than compatibility match-ups.”

  “This is the last program we ran last night,” Kyle added. “It has to be the one that affected the engine, unless Lars finds a mechanical problem.”

  “I haven’t found anything yet, and I’ve been over about two-thirds of the metal. It’s still a possibility, but after seeing these…” Lars shook his head.

  “Could someone else have inserted those cards into his program?” Taya asked, casting about for a better explanation.

  “No, it’s his work,” Victor assured her. “I’ve seen him use some of these functions before.”

  “Was the program sitting here when you came in yesterday?” Cristof asked.

  “It was in his storage area.”

  “Locked?”

  “Yes, but we all have each other’s keys. When we heard he was dead, we decided to pull it out and run it.”

  “It doesn’t make sense,” Cristof muttered. “If it’s a decryption program, why would he leave it here?”

  “You don’t want to carry a program around all day,” Victor said. “A box of punch cards is heavy.”

  “Besides, this room’s secure,” Lars added. “And nobody would have any reason to think Clockwork Heart was anything other than a matchmaking program.”

  “Hey, wait a minute,” Isobel protested. “You don’t think Heart was specifically written to get access to an engine, do you? Alister wouldn’t do that.”

  Cristof pulled his coat around him. “If he did, somebody will be coming after this copy.”

  Taya and Kyle both spoke at once.

  “Not necessarily.” “If he is—”

  They looked at each other. Kyle gestured for Taya to go first.

  “If we’re assuming this was written to run on the Great Engine, these are the wrong kind of cards, right? The Engine copy is probably still up in Oporphyr Tower,” she said. “That’s the one a criminal would want.”

  “The only other engine worth accessing would be the one in the Bank of Ondinium,” Kyle added.

  Taya felt a surge of excitement.

  “A bank robbery! Maybe that’s what this is all about!”

  “But the stolen Labyrinth Code…” Cristof objected.

  “Does the bank use it?”

  “Not that I know of,�
�� Lars said. “But you could be right, Kyle. Accessing bank records makes more sense than tampering with the Great Engine, and the bank uses paper punch cards.”

  Cristof stood deep in thought, his usual frown in place.

  “As much as I’d prefer to stake out the bank than fly up to the tower,” he said at last, “there’s too much evidence pointing to the Great Engine.”

  “But how would anyone get up there?” Emelie asked.

  “You can hike up to the Tower,” Isobel pointed out. “It’s dangerous, but it’s possible. The wireferry service path runs all the way to the top.”

  “So somebody could already be up there.” Cristof looked at Taya. “Is there any way—”

  “I’m not taking you up in the dark.”

  “But if someone’s trying to sabotage the Great Engine—”

  “They’re not climbing up in the dark, either. It’s too dangerous.”

  “How long does the hike take?” Cristof asked Isobel.

  “Depends. From Primus, at this time of year, two or three days, depending on how athletic and well-equipped you are. The cliffs are the hardest part. You’d need to know what you were doing, and you wouldn’t want to get caught scaling them at night.”

  “Is the only access to the Great Engine through the Council tower?” Taya asked.

  “As far as I know, yes,” Kyle replied. “All the construction tunnels were blocked and sealed after the Engine was put into place.”

  “There must be a maintenance tunnel. What if one of the steam engines needs replacing? Or a megagear?” Cristof insisted.

  “Well, if there’s another way in, it’s a state secret. You’d know it better than we would.”

  Cristof looked frustrated as he pulled out his watch and checked it.

  “It’s not even nine yet,” he muttered.

  “How long would it take you to examine this program and find out exactly what it does?” Taya asked, turning to the team.

  “A few hours, maybe.”

  “Would you do that? So far, all we have are suspicions. We could be completely wrong about what it does.”

  “We might as well,” Victor said, eying the boxes of cards. “We can’t do anything else until Lars reassembles the engine.”

  “Thank you.” Taya grabbed a graphite pencil and scribbled her address on the corner of Kyle’s schematic. “When you find out what it does, send a message to me here. No matter what time it is, okay?”

  “What if we find out it is some kind of security workaround?” Lars asked. “Do you want us to tell the lictors?”

  She looked at Cristof. He nodded.

  “It could make Alister look bad,” Kyle warned.

  “I trust that you won’t raise any alarms unless you’re certain there’s a security risk. But if you feel there’s a genuine threat to the city, warn the lictors and tell them your suspicions about a bank robbery.”

  “Don’t mention that we’re going to the tower, though,” Taya added. “Please.”

  “All right. And don’t worry, we’ll be careful. Our reputations are linked to Alister’s.” Isobel shook her long hair back over her shoulders. “I can’t believe he’d do anything shady, though. This has to be some kind of mistake.”

  “We’ll leave you to work,” Taya said, putting down the pencil. “Come on, Exalted.”

  The exalted equivocated, then followed after her.

  “Where are we going?”

  “All we can do now is spin our gears, so we might as well go home.”

  “Just stop? When we finally have some idea of what’s going on?”

  “We don’t know anything until they analyze that program.”

  “There’s such a thing as being too pragmatic, Icarus.”

  “Do you have a better idea?”

  “I’m going back to Alister’s office to look for more information. We barely made a dent in that mess.”

  “You’re just going to frustrate yourself,” she predicted.

  “I’m used to that. And I don’t expect I’ll get much sleep tonight, anyway.”

  “I’ll walk you back.”

  “No. Don’t bother.” His eyes slid away from her. “Get some rest. You’re going to have your hands full tomorrow morning.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.”

  Taya sensed Cristof’s reserve kicking in. She didn’t have the energy to fight it.

  “All right. I’ll see you at dawn, then. Meet me at the gate next to the flight docks.”

  “Shortly after five.” He hesitated, then reached into his vest. Gold glinted in his hand as he held it out. “Don’t be late.”

  “I don’t need that.”

  “Just in case. Since your eyrie clock is inaccurate.”

  She met his eyes, then took it. The pocket watch’s gold case was warm. She curled her fingers around it.

  “I’ll see you at dawn.”

  He nodded, and she turned and headed for the University dock, tucking the watch into her flight suit.

  As she circled up into the night sky, she spotted him standing under a streetlight, peering upward. She tipped her wings, and he waved.

  She was fast asleep when her landlady knocked on her door. Taya rolled over in bed, pulling her covers under her chin.

  “What?” she groaned.

  “That clockwright is here to see you,” Gwen said, her voice quivering with disapproval. “He says it’s important.”

  Taya stared at the ceiling.

  “What time is it?”

  “Almost eleven. I told him we don’t open the doors for groundlings after ten, but he insists, and he is an exalted, even if he’s a freak.”

  “All right. I’m coming.” She rolled out of bed, grabbing her slippers.

  Gwen sat downstairs in the cloakroom, matching Cristof scowl for scowl. She outweighed him by a considerable amount and wasn’t cowed by his naked castemark.

  He broke their mutual glare when Taya walked in.

  “It isn’t dawn.” Taya rubbed her face. “Maybe you need your watch back, so you can tell the time?”

  “I need to talk to you.”

  “I was asleep!”

  He turned to the landlady.

  “May we have a moment in private, please?”

  “Not in here,” Gwen declared. “I don’t care what my icarii do elsewhere, but this boarding house stays quiet after ten. If you want to talk, you can take your conversation outside.”

  “Taya—” he turned to her. “It’s important.”

  “It’s also freezing.” She was wearing nothing but her red flannel nightgown and threadbare slippers. “And late.”

  “Here.” He pulled off his greatcoat and held it out. “Just for a minute.”

  Taya took it, giving Gwen a resigned look.

  “I already told you what I think,” Gwen said, darkly. “You can do better.”

  Cristof cast the woman a resentful look before opening the door.

  “So, what is it?” Taya asked, shivering as they stepped out onto the porch. Cristof’s coat was still warm from his body, but her feet felt like they’d been plunged into ice water.

  “The lictors have issued a warrant for my arrest. The engineers confirmed that the bomb was in the clock.”

  “I thought they already knew that.”

  “It was just a suspicion, before. Now they have enough evidence to arrest me. I spotted lictors staking out Alister’s house when I returned, so I avoided them and tracked down Amcathra. He told me what happened and said if I was still around by the time he pulled on his boots, he’d have to take me in.” He rubbed his eyes, frowning. “Under any other circumstances I’d go to headquarters myself, but what if Alister really was writing a security bypass program?�
�

  “Tell them and let them investigate. Unless you’re planning to cover it up?”

  “No. I wouldn’t do that. But — maybe it’s arrogance, but I won’t believe Alister’s guilty until I see the proof with my own two eyes. Accusing him without evidence would be a poor way to avenge his death. And … you said he was going to do the same thing for me.”

  Taya yawned. “Then nothing’s changed, unless Lieutenant Amcathra’s going to turn you in.”

  “He was having trouble finding his boots. But something has changed. If you help me now, you’ll be aiding a fugitive. I promised that you wouldn’t lose your wings if you took me up to the Tower. I can’t promise that anymore.”

  Taya frowned.

  “If I refuse to take you up, will you turn yourself in?”

  He met her eyes.

  “No. I’ll figure out some other way to get there.”

  Taya studied the determined set to his mouth. She’d seen that expression before, in mirrors.

  Lady. She leaned on the porch railing. Do I really want to risk my wings for this? Alister was a liar, Cristof’s a pain, and Viera—

  Viera’s nice enough, but I don’t owe her anything. In fact, she owes me.

  But I like her, and I like her son, and they deserve to know the truth.

  And I want to know the truth, too.

  She closed her eyes, weighing her options.

  “I’ll find another way up,” Cristof said, sounding downcast.

  “Just shut up and let me think.”

  One short flight. Up and back. She could claim that she hadn’t known Cristof was suspended. Or about the warrant for his arrest.

  He needed her. He’d helped her escape her attackers, shared his lunch, bought her dinner, and let her borrow his handkerchief and watch and coat.

  He was snappish and sharp-tongued, and he had envied his brother’s flirtation with her.

  She opened her eyes and glared. He looked irresolute, his thin face pinched by the cold.

  “You’re still a pain in my tailset, Exalted,” she grumbled. “But I’ll take you up and trust that Viera will bail me out of prison.”

  “She wouldn’t let you down.”

  “Where are you going to go tonight?”

  “Does your landlady have any rooms to let?”