“I’m not in the PropS. No one knows I’m Prophesying for you. They won’t find me.”
“It’ll buy you time but they will find you. You have to get out of there, Analel, now.”
“How?”
“I can have someone waiting for you by the Prophecy docks, but you’ll have to figure out a way to get out of quarantine.”
“You don’t understand. I can’t. My skills aren’t on the level to open this door and I’m cut off from everyone else.”
“Your mother?”
“Not an option.”
Kelerin thought for a moment. “What if I can get a message out to another Prophet for you? Is there someone else who can open that door? Someone you can trust?”
Pause.
“Analel?”
“Yes… maybe.”
Coming to the four-way module, Kelerin careened into Dunner who was running toward him from the other direction. “Dunner! Perfect timing.”
Dunner sucked in a mouthful of air. It was clear he’d been running too. “Oh, thank the Creator you’re OK. My Prophet told me you were in trouble. Obviously wrong, again-,” Dunner suddenly looked up and away. ”Yes you were-. Well, look at him. Does he look like he’s in trouble to you?”
“Enough! Dunner, I need your help.”
“Sure. But what about the Headmaster? I still didn’t-”
“I found the Headmaster already.”
“What? Where?”
“Back that way,” he indicated the direction he’d just come from.
“I thought-”
“No time to explain. I need you to do something for me.”
“Of course.”
“I need you to ask your Prophet to deliver a message to another Prophet. A Child Prophet named Quinn…”
Kelerin relayed the message and took off down the access tunnel. He passed several Island Guardsmen sweeping the Habitat module by module. As he ran by them they confirmed he was a friendly and mostly ignore him. It was when he got to the hangar that things got tricky. Halbard and Jonas were standing in the middle of the hangar bay coordinating the efforts of the units in Xervio’s absence. Kelerin tried to get past them without drawing attention. No such luck.
“Hey, Kelerin,” Jonas called. “Where are you going? Did you find the Headmaster?”
He kept running toward his objective while answering, trying to sound as normal as possible under the circumstances. “Yeah, he’s right behind me - Sorry, be right back. Official business.”
The two Professors looked at Kelerin oddly and exchanged questioning glances, but they didn’t try to stop him. He headed straight for the cruiser. The ship had his bio-signature registered now and the access panel opened the hatch for him without trouble. He raced down the Ring to the bridge and headed straight for the pilot’s cockpit. He was no ace flyer by any measure, but all Academics had some flight training and he’d paid attention during the trip over. Besides, with a ship this advanced he figured the autopilot should be able to make up for whatever skills he was lacking.
Firing up the engines, he saw Jonas and Halbard running in front of the glass, waving frantically, trying to get his attention. They cleared away and sought cover as soon as the cruiser left the tarmac. Doing his best to maneuver the ship, he managed to turn it around and clear the bay’s threshold with only minor, albeit harrowing, scrapes along the hanger’s interior. Once clear, he set a course for the Slingshot and further logged Osmos as his destination. The autopilot kicked in and handled most of the weather battling for him. Luckily, flying out of mountain ranges and super storms was a far simpler prospect than landing in them.
Once the turbulence settled sufficiently, he began a search from his console for the hauler channel, and from there queried the Ket Ket in its internal directory.
It was time to collect on a favor.
Part 4: Truth
Chapter 36: Trust
The Tower - The Prophecy, Caras 1
This is the absolute dumbest, worst idea Analel has ever had. What is she thinking?
Quinn tried to wrap her head around Analel’s request without much success. She loved Analel and that’s why she’d tolerated her episodic craziness over the last few days - and look at what it got her, Analel locked away in quarantine - but this? This demonstrated a complete divorcement from reality, a willfully ignorant and potentially dangerous misjudgment of character - in a word, insanity. And yet here she was, navigating the floors of CentCon, obliging her delusional friend’s request, all the same.
“You can’t just walk away from me, Quinn.”
Oh, that’s right. And then there’s Lyza. “Go back to the PropS, Lyza,” said Quinn, with argumentative fatigue characteristic of someone having way too much to deal with on their plate.
“And do what? You just broke connection with your Academic, mid-session.”
Even in her current state Quinn couldn’t help but smile at that. The thought of obnoxious Dunner attempting to relay his message, only to find her gone. She knew it was bad form to be getting pleasure from abandoning her Academic, but she couldn’t help herself. He deserved it. Besides, whether he was aware of it or not she got the message, so he’d already fulfilled his mission. Congratulations, Dunner - you jerk.
“Lyza, I love you, but this doesn’t concern you.”
“What’s the matter, you don’t trust me?” A cynical look was her only answer. “OK, OK, maybe I’m known as a bit of a gossip.”
“A bit?”
“But Analel is my friend as much as yours and I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. The two of you have been keeping something from me. I don’t know what and I don’t know why, but what I do know is that you don’t have blanket jurisdiction over helping Annie out. I’m coming along, so you might as well stop fighting me and start using me.”
Quinn glared and Lyza glared right back, defiant.
“Fine. You can start by telling me where to find Arah.”
Throwing her hands in the air, she huffed, “Why didn’t you just say so,” and marched right passed Quinn, leading the way.
CentCon was big, relatively speaking, with ten levels, thirty PropS to a level. The majority of the top seven floors were dedicated to those Academics serving on the Islands, so Quinn was able to write those off pretty much from the get-go. However, that still left three levels to contend with and she was in a hurry. On the other hand, she was well aware of the need to avoid drawing attention to herself, and that’s where she had to admit, Lyza would come in handy.
Making their way throughout the floor, Quinn noticed her guide ignoring the other PropS, walking confidently toward the elevators and projecting a Wave Thought to call up a car. They waited, Quinn agitated, knowing as she did what Analel had planned, Lyza still enjoying her little victory of inclusion, even if she remained in the dark about what it was exactly she’d been included in on.
“Which level?” asked Quinn. Lyza’s returning smile teased, I know something you don’t know. When the doors opened, they both entered the tear-drop-shaped compartment and Lyza projected another Wave Thought to select the floor. Quinn wasn’t expecting the selection. “129?” Lyza nodded, yes. ”I wouldn’t have found her, would I?” Lyza shook her head, no.
The ninety PropS on the first three levels took care of nearly all the Academy’s training needs, the key word being nearly. An additional ten PropS on level 129 were set aside for the best and most promising older Children invited to the floor for their first tastes of Motherhood. Thinking about it now, that Arah would be there made sense to Quinn, even if it pained her to admit it.
The elevator doors parted to a near identical level of the three below it, only here the atmosphere was one of flowing order as opposed to the ordered chaos of levels 126-128. Quinn paused without realizing it, taking in the surreal contrast between the bustling CentCon she knew and the muted, professional competence of the CentCon before her now, not noticing Lyza already entering the room and walking with purpose toward an isolated group of PropS on t
he left. “Are you coming?” Lyza asked, a feigned air of disinterest emphasizing her point that Quinn should have trusted her earlier. Yeah, Yeah, thought Quinn, hurrying to catch up. When she did, Lyza leaned in close and quietly suggested, “Perhaps you oughta let me open things up, given the history between the two of you?”
“Please, by all means. The less I have to humble myself before that vainglorious Prophet, the better.”
“Now, Quinn, she’s not all that bad.”
“Shame the Mainland doesn’t have a Prophecy. Arah’d make a great candidate for an exchange program.”
Lyza stifled a laugh. “You’re terrible.”
Up ahead, Quinn spied another talented Sister of theirs named Sefa. Like Analel and Arah, Sefa was one of those being fast-tracked to Motherhood. As soon as they were within striking distance Lyza unloaded with her overwhelming personality making it impossible for Sefa not to notice them, despite being engrossed in monitoring the PropS console before her as she was.
“Sefa, love! How’re we holding up today?”
“Hey, Lyza. Best can be expected, I suppose.”
“You’ve been at it straight, have you?”
“Thirty Six hours now.”
“Rotating?”
“You know Arah, girl’s a machine. Won’t leave the Box until every Academic’s accounted for, although I think I’m going to have to insist she take a break soon, whether she likes it or not. I’ve been giving her leeway as her Attending, but switching through Wave Cards like this, so quickly and without any downtime for adjustment, it’s dangerous, both for her and her Academics.”
“I think we might be able to help you out with that,” suggested Lyza, conspiratorially.
Sefa eyed Quinn, who was standing a step back, with suspicion. Everyone knew Quinn wasn’t exactly one of Arah’s biggest fans. “How so?”
“We need Arah’s help with something.”
A protective instinct kicked in and suddenly Sefa wasn’t all that keen on bringing Arah out of the Box anymore. “She’s in the middle of Search & Rescue protocol.”
Quinn felt the time had come to speak up. “Sefa, you said yourself she needs a break. Besides, this is also an emergency.”
Sefa regarded Quinn with pursed lips, finally answering, “I’ll talk to her,” before heading back to her console.
Quinn and Lyza waited patiently outside the PropS glass. They knew it could take a good five minutes for a Prophet to come out of a session, sometimes ten. Arah was facing them and standing next to Sefa in four. “Hello, Sisters. Sefa tells me there’s some kind of an emergency you need my help with.”
It took Quinn every bit of self-control to keep from rolling her eyes at what she interpreted to be Arah’s assumed superiority lacing her every syllable. “Can we have a moment, in private?”
“Why in private?”
“I’ll tell you,” answered Quinn, straining to mask her annoyance, “once we’re in private.”
Arah turned to an unhappy looking Sefa. “I’ll be right back,” she assured, and the three of them walked a short distance from the PropS before stopping to reconvene in a private huddle. Arah looked expectantly from Lyza to Quinn. “Well?”
Resigning herself to what she was about to do for the sake of her best friend, Quinn began. “We need your help getting Analel out of quarantine.”
Arah smiled, patronizingly. “Quinn, if the Motherhood saw fit to keep Analel under observation, it’s obviously for good reason. I wouldn’t worry. I’m sure you’ll be seeing your roommate again, soon enough.”
This time Quinn could not keep her feelings in check. “Explain to me how it is you got to be so full of yourself?”
“Excuse me?”
Lyza quickly stepped in to salvage the situation. “Please don’t mind Sister Quinn. She’s just very… concerned,” she explained, raising a hand to coax a shocked Arah into focusing on her and away from Quinn. “We both are. You see, we have reason to believe that Analel might be in danger.”
“What kind of danger?” asked Arah, still double taking between Lyza and Quinn, not quite willing to be distracted from the source of the insult so easily.
Lyza was unable to answer Arah’s question and she grudgingly ceded the control she so deftly reestablished, back over to the one who so recklessly lost it. Unfortunately for Lyza, Quinn wasn’t the slightest bit interested in damage control, answering with impatience, “Does it really matter? We need to get her out of quarantine for her own safety. That’s all you need to know. Now, will you help us or not?”
Arah looked to the side, considering out loud, “I suppose I can speak with Mother Jeserel, she might be willing to listen to me,” turning back to Quinn and Lyza, she added, “but she’s going to want an explanation.”
“You’re not understanding me, Arah. We need to sneak Analel out, ourselves.”
“WHAT?” Such an infraction against Prophecy rules went completely against everything Arah believed in.
Lyza, for her part, was equally taken aback. “We do?”
“Arah, I’m going to be honest with you,” leveled Quinn.
“I would hope you would be.”
“It’s no secret I don’t like you. I find your unsolicited mothering to be both patronizing and disingenuous-”
Arah gasped, “Well... I had no idea-”
“You see, perfect example; I don’t believe you had no idea.” Arah was about to protest but Quinn held up her palm. “Please, let me finish. I feel this way, but Analel doesn’t. She’s always defended you to me. She believes your constant soft criticisms are well-meant and rooted in a genuine desire to help your fellow Sisters succeed. Look, I can’t go into details right now about what’s going on. Truth be told, I don’t know all the details myself. Suffice it to say, Analel’s life is in danger if we don’t quickly and quietly free her from quarantine as soon as possible. A Mother level pattern has her locked away inside her infirmary room. She can’t read it. I can’t read it. I don’t think any other Child in the Prophecy can read it. But Analel believes you can.” Quinn dropped her harsh tone and did something she never thought herself capable of doing - she pleaded. “She respects you, Arah. More importantly, she trusts you. So prove me wrong. Not in a million years did I ever think I’d be asking you for your help, but here I am. Help us save her, Arah. I’m asking you. I’m asking you for your help.”
Arah considered Quinn’s plea for exactly three seconds, turned on her heel, and headed back toward her PropS.
“I knew it. I knew it was all just an act!” Quinn’s tone shifting back to cynical mode, calling after the retreating Prophet, “Thanks for proving me right, Arah. Thank you very much!”
Back at her PropS, Arah proceeded to exchange a few words with Sefa.
“She’s giving us up!” observed Quinn in disbelief.
“You could have been a little nicer,” chided Lyza. “What do we do now?”
“I don’t know-wait, what’s this?”
Sefa was handing something small to Arah, who placed it in her cloak before making her way back over to Quinn and Lyza, still watching her, clearly confused.
“I just needed to get my Reader,” she said. “All set now, shall we go?” She walked calmly toward the elevators. Quinn and Lyza were dumbstruck. Arah called back to them. “The elevator is here, if you’re planning on joining me?” Exchanging looks of disbelief, they both blinked exactly once, and then ran to catch up.
Inside, riding the car down to ground level in awkward silence, Arah suddenly spoke up again. “You know, Quinn, you should really learn to trust people a little more.” The elevator bell chimed, signaling their arrival. The doors opened and Arah smiled mischievously, adding, “I can help you with that if you like,” and she walked out.
“Ha!” guffawed Lyza, following close behind and leaving Quinn alone in the car, speechless.
*****
The unlikely trio were in a hurry to vacate the confines of the Tower, but just as soon as they reached the exit did they run int
o Mother Fersha heading in the opposite direction. Fersha was an aging Mother with gray hair, a comfortably plump build and a tendency to babble. Every Prophet knew a chance meeting with the verbose Mother could kill upwards of half a day.
“Peace and purpose, Children.”
“Peace and purpose, Mother,” they answered in unison, strained, hoping to get passed her without being drawn into a full blown conversation.
“Wait, Children…”
Drat.
“…Well, something is certainly nipping at your heels today, isn’t it? Ah, the exuberance of youth, I suppose. I remember when I was your age, full of promise and energy-”
“Mother,” cut in Quinn, sharply, “you were saying...”
“Oh yes, forgive me. I was just wondering how you managed to get out, or did they not implement the lockdown yet?”
“Lockdown?” asked Lyza.
“I guess they haven’t, then. For some unknown reason, the Island Guard requested a temporary lockdown of the lower three levels of CentCon. No one is to leave for the time being, but here you three are, so, I suppose they haven’t started enforcing it yet. A very curious affair, the whole thing. Come to think of it, I’m not at all certain I should to be telling you any of this. Oh dear. Anyway, sorry for keeping you, carry on being youthful and exuberant,” and the queer old Mother continued along her way, passing by the girls into the Tower Foyer.
“Why is the Island Guard instituting a lockdown?” asked Arah, voicing the same concern all three were thinking, “And why is the Grand Mother complying?” a further unsettling curiosity the rest hadn’t gotten around to considering yet.
“They must have forgotten about level 129,” reasoned Quinn, “we have to hurry.”
Suddenly, the danger Analel faced took on a tangible quality and the three set out for the infirmary with newfound urgency. They managed to traverse the length of the Prophecy without incident, entering the infirmary ward and receiving no more than a nod of greeting by the nurse Mother on shift. Child Prophets visiting recovering Sisters was commonplace and encouraged, so their sudden arrival did not arouse the nurse’s suspicion. However, once inside, finding Analel without drawing attention to themselves proved a trickier proposition. The three split up, probing the various Readers by projecting Wave Thoughts and searching for one with an unusually advanced pattern.
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