New Light

by Ben Johnston

  Anniya strolled through the darkness with Christopher the long distance back to the now-glowing Pillar and the platform lift. The lift now operated without the sunstone needing to be placed into the depression in the Pillar, automatically taking them back up, so Anniya grasped the stone in her hand. When they finally reached the library, the room appearing instantly out of the darkness around them with no warning, they suddenly found themselves surrounded not by just the circles of bookshelves and nearly-empty, comfortable benches and couches. When the Library appeared around them, they were surrounded by a buzzing sea of curious onlookers.

  Christopher spun to face Anniya. “You stay with the pillar and the platform.” He looked her in the eye. “Do not let anyone use it.”

  Anniya’s eyes went wide, her eyebrows high. “Me!?”

  Christopher then dashed off, pushing through and vanishing into the amazed crowd.

  The Pillar was now glowing with the same kind of white light as the lines of light on the pedestal down below. People continued to gather around. Anniya kept the crowd back, at first. A librarian emerged from out of the dense crowd, staring in horror at the glowing Pillar before pointing a long finger at Anniya. “Did you do this?”

  Then, just as the crowd began to shout questions at Anniya, Christopher returned with dozens of School security forces. The soldiers formed a perimeter around the glowing Pillar. Grabbing her by the hand, Christopher whisked Anniya away through the stunned and confused crowd.

  First, Anniya and Christopher went directly to Jonathan, finding the old man in his great, cavernous office with Tom, telling them the news. The old director leapt to his feet.

  After that, they all flew to various offices and locations in and around the Towers, riding shuttles and platforms from city to Tower, floor after floor.

  Within a relatively short time, a company of witnesses had been formed. The company consisted of dozens of Tower floor directors and nearly a hundred other Union representatives.

  Acida Stopts being one of the representatives stood in the assembly and was sworn to oath before being told of the Towers’ coming fate and of their new hope.

  The company of witnesses then went to the library where the collection of officials and notables paraded past the ever-increasing throng of onlookers. Reporters were everywhere, shouting questions and pointing light capture devices. In small groups members of the company took trips on the Pillar platform down to the floor of the lightless Tower thirteen.

  In the vast darkness of Tower thirteen the pedestal stood in the center of a gathering of hundreds torches and flashlights. Directors and witnesses watched as Anniya, Tom and Christopher all approached the glowing podium.

  David Miller, the young director of Union Special Projects, turned his long face to Jonathan with a frown. “The conference has been moved-up, Jon. Whatever happens here.” His dark-sand eyes watched Anniya as she approached the pedestal. “Whether this works or not, the announcement must take place immediately following the result of this attempt.”

  The crowd drew in closer to the glowing white pedestal as Anniya took the last few steps to stand before it. With the sunstone in hand, she reached out towards the empty depression atop the pedestal. Then, holding the goldenlight sunstone a short distance above the space, she paused. Everybody gasped.

  Anniya glanced back at Christopher. He nodded with a warm grin. Smiling, she turned back to the pedestal, staring at the brightly-glowing patterns and the empty concave depression in the top. Drawing in a deep breath through her nose, she moved her hand down and placed the goldenlight sunstone into the empty slot.

  Shooting out from the base of the pedestal, out across the vast, plain-wide floor, lines of light, sunlight-bright, curled and branched away from the pedestal. Swirling, forming complex, enormous patterns, the lines of light extended out to meet the distant walls of the great space. Then, without slowing, the bright swirling patterns, huge designs as wide as mountain ranges, climbed and began to cover the distant internal wall.

  Vast, enormous and complex, shining sigils and spirals climbed up the walls of the giant, open, empty space of the Tower. As the patterns faded-off into the mist above, their sun-bright light shined through the internal atmosphere, causing the air to glow blue as an unreal sky appeared above them.

  All stood in awe, staring up at the spectacle, gasping, their faces glowing as the light patterns on the distant, giant internal wall of the space, climbed beyond the growing obscurement of an unreal sky, inside.

  Anniya withdrew her hand from the brightly glowing sunstone, and took a few steps back from the pedestal. Her face was alight with the blinding canary light of the incandescent stone. She grinned widely, her smile brilliant in the light around her. As she turned around to face Tom and Christopher and opened her mouth to say something, the goldenlight sunstone that was glowing so brightly from the pedestal behind her exploded.

  Chapter 42

  As Anniya stared at the frozen, smiling, brightly-lit faces of her friends, the goldenlight sunstone behind her blew itself apart in a brilliant outward spray of butterscotch light. In the span of half a breath, the blinding shockwave crashed against Anniya’s back to disintegrate into drops of sunlight shrinking to motes of glittering lemon. The tiny points of light swirled in the air with a sizzling hiss before blinking out.

  Above the heads of the gathered assembly of directors and other scholars, the blue sky began to darken. On the distant wall, the blazing light from the great climbing patterns began to fall. Like water running down channels, the glaring light in the great filigrees receded, their tops going dark first, then the rest. As the light fell, the unreal sky faded without a sunset to black.

  After the light had drained from the patterns on the distant, surrounding wall, and the sky and horizon had fallen pitch black, beneath their feet the light within the great swirls and patterns that covered the vast floor all pulled back from the distant, dark horizon. It reeled back, slipping away under their feet as the light seemed to flow back into the pedestal itself.

  All of this happened within the span of a few breaths, the goldenlight sunstone exploding and the light in the great sigils falling and receding. The gigantic space of Tower thirteen was once again black and empty. Now, again the only light to be seen was the distant glowing Pillar, and the shining patterns and swirls of light on the pedestal.

  Gasps and low chattering grew out of the darkness around them as torches and flashlights flared to life. As the faint light of the personal lamps began to illuminate the immediate surroundings, Anniya, still staring at Christopher and Tom, though their faces were now shocked and not bright with excitement, turned slowly back around to face the pedestal. Her wide, hazel eyes locked on the glowing stand, as her hands moved the sides of her head. Sliding her fingers through her hair, she then gripped and yanked. “What have I done!?”

  Tom, holding his stomach with one hand, placed his other hand on Anniya’s shoulder. “You didn’t do anything, Anniya. It just didn’t work. It’s OK.” The young scholar’s normally bright face hung lifeless over his sharp features as he stared at the pedestal minus the sunstone. He turned Anniya around, walking away with her towards Christopher.

  David, the young director, turned to Jonathan with an impressively neutral expression on his face. “The plan remains the same, Jon. We continue with the original speech.”

  Jonathan, his eyes closed, his expression less neutral than David’s, gave a firm but small nod. “Yes. I have the speech.” The old director opened his tired eyes. “And I, the Director of the History Tower shall give it.”

  The white-haired man turned to gaze out through the darkness, through the murmuring crowd of faces lit by torches, at his grandnephew, and at his old friend standing there, and at that girl they had brought back from the Ruin. He drew in an unenergetic breath. “So it has finally happened, Dave. The School has come to an end.”

  He shook his head then turned back to the tall man with the prominent nose. “I just can’t believe
we’ve come this far, gotten the sunstone, found this girl.” Jonathan gazed up and around at the vast darkness surrounding them. “Found this place. All for...”

  David nodded. “I share your sentiment.” He produced a futile smile. “All good things come to an end, Jon.” The young director turned from the old director to begin the long, dark walk back to the Pillar and the platform.

  As the assembly began their grumbling procession back to the Pillar and the lift, and as Tom and Christopher were leading Anniya away from the pedestal, she suddenly stopped.

  Noticing, Tom stopped and turned to face her. “Come on, Anniya. We need to go now.”

  Anniya was staring at her hands.

  Tom’s brow fell. “Are you alright?” He took a step towards her. “What’s going on?” He placed his hand on her shoulder.

  She glanced up at Tom, eyes narrowed, then shifted her focus. Pulling away from Tom, she strode back to the glowing pedestal.

  Anniya’s face was lit bright by uneven light as she gazed at the intricately-patterned surface of the pedestal. She blinked, staring at the empty concave depression in the center of the top. She tilted her head, blinked again, then tilted her head the other way.

  Cupping her hand, she reached forward and placed her hand over the empty concave depression. A bright, golden sphere blazed forth from within Anniya’s cupped hand.

  Instantly, the vast floor below their feet shined with sunlight-bright swirls and patterns. All around them, the distant, impossible wall blazed with grand, shining filigrees climbing to fade into the bright blue mists of a cloudless, unreal sky.

  Chapter 43

  In a sputtering buzz of excitement, smiling faces lit from beneath by the bright patterns on the floor, the company practically danced back to the platform lift, many walking up to give their thanks and well-wishes to Anniya.

  Anniya, Christopher, Tom, and Acida, were the last ones to take the platform back to the surface. Going back up, they watched as, in the blink of an eye, the entire, plain-wide circle of the Tower’s floor shot downwards, dropping away to vanish into a distant blue mist. There was now a great blue circle of unreal sky above, and a great blue circle of unnatural sky below.

  Suddenly, it all vanished, instantly replaced by the Library and a huge, confused, chaotic crowd shouting questions at them. Lines of security forces held the crowd back.

  With the help of a security escort, Acida, Tom and Christopher led Anniya through a chaotic and confused crowd that was forming in the Library. Then, once safely away from the mob they bid the profoundly tired Christopher a farewell and the remaining three, Acida, Tom and Anniya, got into a private car together.

  With the help of a security escort, Acida, Tom and Christopher led Anniya through the jubilant crowd and out of the Library. Then, after bidding the profoundly tired Christopher a farewell, the remaining three, Acida, Tom and Anniya, got into a private car.

  Riding in the back, Acida grinned at Anniya and snapped her gum, the rose-yellow spark from it lighting the cabin. “You’re a flecking legend, Anniya! You know that, right?”

  Tom nodded. “Seriously, Anniya. When the goldenlight sunstone disintegrated. When it blew up.” The young scholar paused, swallowing hard. “I thought we lost goldenlight forever. I thought we lost the Towers. I thought the sunstone was the only source.”

  Anniya nodded, still staring out the window, not looking at either of them. “The sunstone wasn’t the source. I thought it was the source too.” She continued to stare out the car window.

  Acida snapped a blue spark with her gum. “The source?” She glanced at Tom. He raised his eyebrows and shrugged.

  Anniya turned away from gazing out the car window to stare straight ahead. “I don’t know what I mean.” She gave a quick glance to Tom, then to Acida, before returning to gaze back out the window. “I’m sorry, guys. I’m just feeling kind of…”

  Acida snapped a green spark. “Overwhelmed? Yeah, nobody’s going to blame you for that, Anniya. You don’t need to explain anything.”

  Anniya’s eyes turned to Tom. “I’ll just feel better after you run your test, Tom.”

  Acida, Anniya, and Tom walked into Jonathan’s great, dark office. Tom opened the cabinet containing the shadow sword and withdrew the shadow-black weapon along with the goldenlight photometer. He then displayed the artifacts for Acida and Anniya to see.

  Acida snapped a loud, white spark with her gum, the bright flash lighting-up a significant area around them for a brief moment. “Blazing shards!” Her blue eyes went wide. “What kind of sword is that? It looks like.” She snapped her gum again, this time with no flash. “It looks like nothing.”

  Anniya’s eyebrows pressed together in concentration. “Tom, where did you get that?” Her eyes were dark as she squinted at the sheer-black blade.

  Tom smiled. “It’s a rare artifact. Shadowlight, we call the infusement.” He glanced back at the mesmerized Acida. “Miss Stopts, I think you’ll enjoy this next part as it involves a flash.”

  Acida’s eyes and grin grew wide.

  Tom glanced at Anniya, his smile growing uncertain. “Anniya, this is what shadowlight can do..”

  Tom swept down with the shadow sword, swiping the tip across the stone floor. In a brilliant flash of butterscotch light, the shadow sword sliced effortlessly and smoothly through the stone floor, leaving behind a glowing groove cut parallel to the older, non-glowing cut from the demonstration he had given to Christopher.

  Anniya reeled back, holding her arm up to the flash. “What in the Ruin?” She stared at her arm in surprise, then lowered it gradually as she shifted her gaze to the clean slice in the floor. Her eyes began to sparkle with the light of an early sunset in summer. Glowing with goldenlight, the groove in the dark stone floor shined up on the trio from below.

  Acida’s mouth hinged open as if to snap a spark with her gum. Her gum, however, simply rolled out and fell to the floor.

  Tom smiled and placed the shadow sword back into the cabinet. He then returned and squatted down, first throwing a handkerchief over Acida’s gum on the floor, gathering it up neatly before reaching up to place the bunched-up handkerchief into the hand of the stunned Acida, then reaching down to hold the goldenlight photometer against the fresh groove cut in the stone floor.

  The goldenlight that was resting in the groove all suddenly rushed into the photometer. The golden glow on their faces vanished. Tom held the photometer device up to his face, squinting.

  The young scholar dropped his moppy head into his hand and tossed the goldenlight photometer off to the side. The small object clattered across the flat stone floor. “A few extra days. Only a few extra days were added. It’s some light, yes. But, unfortunately, the Tower’s goldenlight has not been restored.”

  Their faces fell as their eyes all dropped to the floor.

  Chapter 44

  With great haste, Acida, Tom, and Anniya all went back down to the pedestal at the base of the now brilliantly lit Tower thirteen. With the unreal blue sky above and the sunlight patterns on the distant walls around them, Anniya looked down at the pedestal at its flat, top surface where the concave depression had been. The surface was now flush. The depression was gone.

  Tom put his hand over his mouth. “Oh no.” He looked at Acida. “The slot is gone.” Acida’s eyes were wide, her jaw clenched.

  Anniya squinted at the surface then gave her head a slight shake. “It’s not how it looks.” She leaned down for a closer examination, her face lit from the bright lines of light on the pedestal’s surface, her eyes glowing on their own. “The depression isn’t gone. It’s just closed.” Her lids shut, closing over her glowing eyes, then opened a moment later, uncovering her hazel eyes. “The slot is going to open again.” Her mouth made a tilted line. “I can’t tell when the slot is going to open again, though.” She turned to Tom and Acida with a shrug. “Guess we have to come back and check.”

  The next day when they returned, the interior of the inverted thirteenth Tower had aga
in gone dark. They walked through the vast dark space towards the glowing pedestal in the middle of all that nothing. The concave depression had re-appeared on its surface. Anniya again placed her cupped hand over the depression, producing a sphere of golden sunlight. The entire space and the bright unreal sky above blazed instantly back to sunbright life.

  Anniya removed her hand. The concave depression on the pedestal was again gone.

  They exited the renewed, shining, interior of Tower thirteen and made their way again to Jonathan’s great dark office. Again, Tom took a bright swipe with the shadow sword at the stone floor. Again, he measured the light that Anniya had added.

  Again, Anniya had added but a few days of goldenlight to the Towers.

  Anniya stared at the goldenlight photometer in Tom’s hand. “Every day, I give the towers a few extra days.” She looked up at the young scholar’s conflicted face. “Tom, that’s nothing. The Towers are billions of years old. I’m doing nothing.”

  Tom smiled, shaking his head. “It’s not nothing, Anniya. If you go down there every day for the rest of your life, those days will add up. Eventually, you’ll wind up adding almost three hundred years to the Towers’ lifespan.” He gave a vigorous, reassuring nod.

  Anniya, eyes scrunched, mouth open, shook her tilted head at Tom. “How do you not get it?”

  Tom blinked. “Get it? Get what?”

  “Tom. If I have to go down there and charge the Towers every day for the rest of my life, that means that I’ve just become a slave to the School.”

  Acida laughed shrilly. “A slave to the School! Anniya, don’t be ridiculous.”

  Tom nodded at Acida, then seeing that Anniya wasn’t laughing or smiling, with a straight face, held up his hands. “Anniya. You are not going to be a slave. You are a Union citizen. The Union can not, Constitutionally, compel or otherwise force you into any labor of any sort. That’s why Acida laughed. You will most certainly not be a slave.” He smiled reassuringly at her.