The Myst Reader (37 page)

Aitrus turned and looked, then hurried after, almost running into Master Telanis coming out.

“Aitrus! Why such a hurry?”

“Forgive me, Guild Master. I was told there was a parcel for me.”

“Ah,” Telanis made to walk on, then stopped, lowering his voice. “By the way, how was our guest?”

Tiring
, he wanted to answer. “Curious,” he said after a moment, keeping his own voice low. “Oh, and imaginative.”

Telanis frowned. “How so?”

“It would seem we are too cautious for him, Guild Master. Our methods are, well…
inefficient.
”

Telanis considered that, then nodded. “We must talk, Aitrus. Tomorrow. Early, perhaps, before Master Kedri has need of you. There are things you need to know.”

Aitrus bowed. “I shall call on you at third bell, Master.”

“Good. Now go and see what the Messengers have brought.”

Master Tejara of the Messengers had commandeered the table in the chart room to sort out the post. Surrounded by shelves of bound surveys, he looked up from his work as Aitrus entered.

“Ah, Aitrus. And how are you today?”

“I am well, Guild Master.”

Tejara flashed a smile at him. “You’ve heard, then?”

“Master?” But Aitrus’s eyes had already gone to the large, square parcel—bound in cloth and stitched—that rested to one side of the table.

“Here,” Master Tejara said, handing it to him.

Aitrus took it, surprised by how heavy it seemed. Unable to help himself, he held it to his ear and shook it gently.

There was a gentle chime.

“Well?” Tejara said, grinning at him now. “Are you going to open it or not?”

Aitrus hesitated a moment, then set the parcel down on the table and, taking a slender chisel from his tool belt, slit open the stitching. The cloth fell back.

Inside was a tiny wooden case, the top surface of which was a sliding panel. He slid it back and looked inside.

“By the Maker!”

Aitrus reached in and drew out the delicate, golden pair of portable scales. They were perfect, the spring mechanism of the finest make, the soft metal inlaid with tiny silver D’ni numerals. Nor were they the only thing. Setting the scales down carefully, he reached in once more and took out a flat, square rosewood box the size of his palm. Opening it, Aitrus stared openmouthed at the exposed pair of D’ni geological compasses, his fingertips gently brushing the tiny crystal magnifier that enabled one to read the tiny calibrations. For a moment he simply looked, studying the minute transparent dials and delicate adjustable attachments that overlay the simple circle of its working face, then shook his head in wonder.

“Is it your Naming Day, Aitrus?” Tejara asked.

“No,” Aitrus said distractedly as he reached in a third time to lift out an envelope marked simply “Guildsman Aitrus” in an unfamiliar hand.

He frowned, then looked to Tejara, who simply shrugged. Slitting the envelope open, he took out the single sheet and unfolded it.

“
Aitrus
,” it began,

 

 

You might remember me from school days. I realize we were not the best of friends, but we were both young then and such misunderstandings happen. Recently, however, I chanced upon a report you wrote among my father’s papers and was reminded of those unfortunate days, and it occurred to me that I might do something to attempt to reverse your poor opinion of me. If the enclosed gifts are unwelcome, please forgive me. But I hope you will accept them in the same spirit with which they are given. Good luck with your explorations! Yours in friendship, Veovis.

 

Atrus looked up, astonished to see
that
signature at the foot of the note.

“It is from Veovis,” he said quietly. “Lord Rakeri’s son.”

Tejara looked surprised. “Veovis is your friend, Aitrus?”

Aitrus shook his head. “No. At least, he was no friend to me at school.”

“Then these gifts are a surprise?”

“More a shock, to be honest, Guild Master. Yet people change, I suppose.”

Tehara nodded emphatically. “You can be certain of it, Aitrus. Time teaches many things. It is the rock in which we bore.”

Aitrus smiled at the old saying.

“Oh, and before I forget,” Tejara added, handing him his mail, “there are three letters for you this time.”

 

 

§

 

 

Aitrus lay there a long time, unable to sleep, staring at the pattern of shadows on the smooth, curved wall of the node, wondering what the gifts meant.

His letters had contained the usual, cheerful news from home—chatter about old friends from his mother, word of Council matters from his father. But his mind kept going back to the note.

That Veovis had written at all was amazing, that he had sent gifts was...well, astonishing!

And not just any gifts, but just those things that he most needed in his work.

Oh, there were plenty of scales and compasses he could use—property of the guild—but not his own. Nor were the guild’s instruments anything as fine as those Veovis had given him. Why, they were as good as those that hung from Master Telanis’s own tool belt!

When finally he did manage to sleep, it was to find himself dreaming of his school days, his mind, for some strange yet obvious reason, going back to a day in his thirteenth year when, tired of turning his back on Veovis’s constant taunts, he had turned and fought him.

He woke to find Master Telanis shaking him.

“Come, Aitrus. Third bell has sounded. We need to talk.”

 

 

§

 

 

The cabin door was locked. Master Telanis sat behind his desk, looking up at Aitrus.

“Well, Aitrus, how did you fare with Master Kedri?”

Aitrus hesitated, not sure how much to say. The truth was he did not like the task he had been given. It made him feel
uncomfortable.

Telanis coaxed him gently. “You said he felt our methods were inefficient.”

“Oh, indeed, Guild Master. He constantly commented upon how slow our methods are. How overcautious.”

“And do you agree with him, Aitrus? Do you think, perhaps, that we
are
too pedantic in our ways?”

“Not at all, Guild Master. There is, after all, no hurry. Whether we reach the surface this year or next does not matter. Safety must be our first concern.”

Telanis stared at him a moment, then nodded. “Good. Now let me tell you a few things, Aitrus. First, I am aware that this task is not really to your liking.”

Aitrus made to object, but Telanis raised a hand. “Make no mistake, Aitrus. I realize ou are not at ease looking after Master Kedri, but I chose you for a reason. The good Master seeks to sound us out on certain topics—to
survey
our attitudes, if you like.”

Aitrus looked horrified at the thought. “Should I watch what I say, Master?”

“Not at all, Aitrus. I have no fear that you will say anything that might upset Master Kedri. That is why I chose you. You are like basalt, Aitrus, solid through and through. But it would help me if, at the end of each day, you would note down those areas in which Master Kedri seemed most interested.”

Aitrus hesitated. “Might I ask why, Master?”

“You may. But you must keep my answer strictly to yourself.” Telanis paused, steepling his fingers before his chin. “There is to be a meeting of the Council, a month from now. It seems that some of the older members have had a change of heart. They have thought long and hard about whether we should make contact with the surface dwellers or not, and a few of them now feel it might not be quite so good an idea as it first seemed. Indeed, they might even ask us to abandon the expedition.”

Unable to help himself, Aitrus slammed his fist down on the desk. “But they
can’t!
”

Master Telanis smiled tolerantly. “If that is their final word, then so be it. We must do what they say. We cannot argue with the Council.”

Aitrus lowered his head, acknowledging what Master Telanis said. The Council was the ruling body of D’ni and their word was law. His own opinion was irrelevant—it was what the five Great Lords and the eighteen Guild Masters decided that was important.

“That is why,” Telanis went on, “it is so important that we impress our guests, Aitrus, for they represent the Eighteen and the Five. What they report back might yet prove crucial in swaying the decision…either for us or against us.”

“I see.” And suddenly he
did
see. Master Kedri was not just any busybody, butting his nose into their affairs; Kedri was a potential enemy—or ally—of the expedition. All of their hard work, their patient progress through the rock, might prove to no avail if Kedri spoke against them.

“I am not sure I can do this, Master.”

Telanis nodded. “I understand. Do you want to be relieved of this duty, Aitrus?”

He stared at Master Telanis. It was as simple as that, was it? And then he understood. It was like going home. He
could
go home, at any time, but it was his choice
not
to go home that gave this voyage its meaning. So with this. He could quit, but…

Aitrus lowered his head respectfully. “I shall do as you wish, Guild Master.”

Telanis smiled broadly. “Good. Now go and eat. You have a long day ahead of you.”

 

 

§

 

 

Four long, exacting days followed, one upon another. Aitrus was ready to go back to Master Telanis and beg to be taken from his task when news came to him that they were ready to start drilling the next section.

Master Kedri was in the refectory when the news came, and, delighted that he could at last show the Legislator something real and tangible, Aitrus interrupted him at table.

“Yes, Guildsman?” Kedri said, staring at Aitrus. The conversation at table had died the moment Aitrus had stepped into the cabin. All four of the Observers seated about the narrow table had turned to stare at him.

“Forgive me, Masters,” Aitrus said, bowing to them all, “but I felt ou should know at once that we are about to commence the next stage of the excavation.”

There was at once a babble of sound from all sides. Some stood immediately and began to make their way out. Others began to hurriedly finish their meals. Only Kedri seemed unmoved by the news.

“Thank you, Aitrus,” he said after a moment. “I shall fiish my meal then join you. Wait for me at the site.”

Ten minutes later, Master Kedri stepped out of the excavator and walked across to where they had set up the sample drills. The other Observers had already gathered, waiting for operations to commence.

“Let us see if I understand this correctly,” Kedri began, before Aitrus could say a word. “Master Geran’s ‘sounding’ is a rough yet fairly accurate guide to whether the rock ahead of us is sound or otherwise, correct? The next stage—
this
stage—is to drill a series of long boreholes to provide us with a precise breakdown of the different kinds of rock we are about to cut through.”

Aitrus nodded, for the first time smiling at the Legislator.

“Oh, I can retain some minimal information, Guildsman,” Kedri said, a faint amusement on his own lips. “It isn’t only contracts I can read. But there is one thing you can tell me, Aitrus, and that’s where all the rock goes to.”

“The rock?” Aitrus laughed. “But I thought you knew, Master. I thought
everyone
knew! It is reconstituted.”

“Reconstituted?”

“In the fusion-compounder. The machine reconstitutes the very matter of the rock, reforging its atomic links and thereby reducing its volume by a factor of two hundred. The result is
nara
.”

“So that’s what nara is!” Kedri nodded thoughtfully. “Can I
see
this fusion-compounder?”

Aitrus smiled, suddenly liking the man. “See it, Master? Why, you can operate it if you want!”

 

 

§

 

 

Aitrus took a sheet of paper and, for Master Kedri’s benefit, sketched out a cross-section diagram of the tunnel.

“This,” he said, indicating the small shaded circle at the very center of it, “is the hole made by the excavator. As you can see, it’s a comparatively small hole, less than a third the total circumference of the tunnel. This,” and he pointed to the two closely parallel circles on the outer wall of the tunnel, “is the area that the Cycler removes.”

“The
Cycler?
” Kedri looked puzzled.

“That’s what we call it. It’s because it cuts a giant ring from the rock surrounding the central borehole.”

“Ah, then that would be the big spiderlike machine, right?”

Aitrus nodded. Only two days before they had exhaustively inspected all of the different excavating tools.

“What happens is that the Cycler removes a circular track around the outer edge to a depth of one and a quarter spans. We then fill that space with a special seal of D’ni stone, let that set, then chip out the “collar”—that is, the rock between the inner tunnel and the seal.”

“Why one and a quarter?”

Aitrus sketched something on the pad, then handed it across. “As you can see, we insert a special metal brace a quarter of a span wide, deep in the cut, then pour in the sealant stone. Then, when the collar has been chipped away, we remove the brace and set up the Cycler ready to start all over.”

Kedri frowned. “Forgive me, Guildsman, but once again it seems a most laborious way of going about things.”

“Maybe so, Master Kedri, but safe. When we make a tunnel, we make it to last.”

“Yes…” Kedri nodded thoughtfully. “Still, it seems a lot of effort merely to talk to a few surface-dwellers, don’t you think?”