The Proto Pylons
A'gesh took a flight over the peaks of the buildings as soon as the two of them returned to the humid streets. Ebesi sorted a public hover vehicle to Delta's relief, so they could drift over the river to the plateau. Winds blew through her sweated hair as Delta looked at the shimmering surface of the water and the city at its edges. She glanced at Ebesi: her focus was on the growing white pylons, but her eyes slightly darted sensing Delta's gaze on her. The awkward silence settled between them as Delta contemplated what was behind her xenophobic comment in the bazaar.
“I would like to know what I've done to offend you earlier when you remarked about me being Atlantean. If you were trying to telepathically tell me something, it would be a waste of time since I can't hear thoughts.”
Ebesi shifted in the light brown cushions towards her. “We resent how you live while the rest of the world has to revolve around what Atlantia wants. When off-worlders think of humans, Atlanteans are always the face, and everyone else gets left to the side.”
“That's probably your perceptions, Atlanteans have given a lot to the world and beyond,” Delta said.
The Alkhemite shook her head. “Maybe in the past, but obviously not anymore Delta.”
“No, it's not obvious, explain it to me,” she said through a clenching jaw.
“It’s about the energy crisis of course. Most homes in this city only have some electricity at certain times of the day, some poorer homes don't have it at all,” her arms crossing over her belly, “Atlanteans keep siphoning it from cities all around the world to power their homes and whatever else. When Alkhem asked the Federation for help, we received none because Atlantia doesn't want to cooperate.”
Delta frowned; it was her turn to shake her head. “I can't speak for off-worlders, but you can't say that Atlanteans don't care about the world, we also have restrictions back at home.”
“When you can't take a child to the hospital to save her life because the power's down, then you will have the same problems we do,” Ebesi cast her eyes to the plateau's edge, “we're here.”
She jumped to her feet and hopped over the vehicle's silver bar. Delta looked to the three monolithic edifices. Their white surfaces shone a powerful aura that made one feel as small as an insect. Sandstone walkways were leading around the complex. There were no ferns or palm trees, or ornate structures like across the river. The smaller dusty buildings were meek displaying several signs saying 'no admittance' along the walls and footpaths. Men and women dressed in sharp olive uniforms stood attentive to their arrival. One man offered his hand out for Delta to exit the vehicle, while another tried hauling the bag over his shoulder, but his face stained when he realised the immense weight.
“It's fine, I'll take it,” Delta said as she yanked the strap from his shoulder. The Alkhemite guard shrugged off his wounded pride mixed with frustration when he glanced at her ivory hair.
A'gesh screeched as she came swooping onto the vehicle port and everyone followed her flight all the way to one of the small building's corners.
“The bird could be unwanted eyes for someone, bring her down,” one guard called to the other.
“Don't be ridiculous, she's accompanying me,” Delta called, ready to bash the bag against all the guards.
“We don't allow pets in this area,” the guard said who tried holding her bag.
“It's fine everyone, the bird can stay out here while we're in there,” Ebesi said as she motioned her arms for peace.
The guards glanced at each other before marching off to the inner complex, with Delta and Ebesi following closely behind. Delta lifted her open palm to A'gesh, signalling to remain behind. The heat from the sun prickled on her head and sweat started to trickle down her temples. Delta looked around to see the others with their thick black hair that didn't seem disturbed by the warmth. She scanned the base of the white pylons. A faint hum could be heard the closer they walked to the centre, where several people in white and teal uniforms walked with purpose, ignoring their presence.
They came to a sandstone building. Its solid redwood door had a dark glass panel beside the stone frame. One of the guards tapped it a few times before the door slowly drifted open. A cool breeze swept through as they stepped inside the foyer. An oval granite desk with occupied shiny metallic chairs stood in the centre. An older woman of southern Necropan heritage strode over to them. Her coiled grey hair sat in tight braids with dangling red and yellow beads and her deep brown saggy skin was covered in neat white blouse and pale blue loose trousers.
“Archivist Isat?” she said looking at Delta.
“Yes,” Ebesi said, turning the woman's attention to her with a slight surprise, “and this is my charge, Del-un.”
Delta forced a polite smile with a faint nod before extending her forearm to the woman. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Dubaku, I'm the on-site director and head engineer,” she said taking her arm in greeting, “I'll show you down to the inner chamber.”
She turned to the granite table, beckoning them to follow. Holographic words appeared over the dark surface as her fingers grazed through the light. A deep thud echoed through the stone floors, as if giant machine arms unhooked beneath them before they felt a descent into a dark pit. Delta glanced around. Her stomach turned as they quickly gained speed into the depths, but the darkness of the tunnel wasn't for long as neon blue lights flickered to life, illuminating the hole all the way down.
“Hand me one of the tablets and turn your wrist phone scanner on to begin recording,” Ebesi said.
Delta slid out the tablets from the case and passed one to Ebesi before taking one for herself while her wrist phone vibrated violently on her skin as it turned itself on. Holographic letterings spun around the bracelet, clearly trying to adjust to the dense energies of the pylon complex. The elevator slowed before coming to a complete stop at the base of the underground chamber. She observed fluorescent light radiating from the corners and edges of the wide chamber. Its walls were made from the same sandstone as buildings in Alkhem. The chamber was barren of windows and had several archways leading to other similarly lit rooms. There was a stone workstation with various crystals and other precious stones wedged between the bricks. There were several Alkhemites sitting silently with an intensive focus on the glittering crystals. To her surprise, the air wasn't stale and oppressive to her lungs. She could feel gusts blowing through the halls and deep hums from the walls.
“This would be your first time visiting the pylons?” Dubaku said as she stepped down to the chamber floors.
“Not mine, but Del-un's,” Ebesi said following behind with her tablet raised in front of her face.
Delta's patience with Ebesi was thinning. She had never grown accustomed to people speaking for her, didn't matter whether they were juniors in age or seniors in authority. The thought only amplified her frustrations.
“I've read about them extensively. They're equipped with international and interstellar communication, can range across galaxies; they also tap into the natural ley lines grid of earth that allows for international travel and can push out into interstellar port hubs, not to mention they absorb energy from said grid and redirect it to every building across the world, and can solely sustain this city for the next several thousand years,” Delta said as she shot a quick glance at Ebesi, who seemed both impressed and annoyed at her flex. This elated Delta.
“Very good, but they go beyond that,” Dubaku said strolling through the corridors, “we are standing directly above one of the most advanced hydro-bays on the planet. These pylons pull water from the river and sea; they completely cleanse it before dumping it into an underground reservoir large enough to supply water to the whole city. We are currently making an extension to create water by fusing hydrogen and oxygen.”
“Doesn't that fusion take a monumental amount of energy?” Ebesi said hastening her pace to Dubaku.
The old woman sighed. “That's what our engineers are facing now. The pylons are partially active and produce just enough energy to purify the water but won't be able to physically make it until completion.”
“How will they fare with geo-phasing devices if they're already struggling with making water?” Delta said as her tablet ringed for audio and visual recording.
“Arrangements have been made for that,” Dubaku's voice tensed as Delta watched her shoulders tighten, “these pylons will be able to meet all our needs for another thousand years, providing our tech continues to evolve.”
“Well, when we reach max capacity once again…” Ebesi said as the light from her tablet flickered violently.
“Right through here,” Dubaku put her arm out and directed them to a narrower corridor leading down on a slight slope off the main hall, “humanity has been using pylon tech for centuries, long before First Contact. We've constantly sought for improvements to compete with the other races.”
“How long did it take to construct these devices?” Delta said. She could feel the tablet vibrate in her palm; she tapped its edges for a reset.
“These particular structures have been in the works for under a century, give or take,” Dubaku said as she eyed Delta struggling with her device, “I hope you've brought spare computers; our computers regularly break in here especially if you go deeper into the complex.”
Delta nodded as she stretched the bag strap on her shoulder. “And how long will we have to wait until they're done?”
The Necropan woman's lips wrinkled into a smile, “We estimate in a few years.”
“All respect, but this was promised a few years ago and a few years before that. Alkhem cannot wait much longer,” Ebesi said as her black-lined brows furrowed.
“Which is why we are moving as fast as we can. We cannot give deadlines we don't intend to keep. For now, we have the crystal replacements,” Dubaku's dark eyes widened before a quick glance down the hall, “the hydro-bays are down this section, if you need anything, the engineers will be happy to assist you two young ones. Excuse me,” she shuffled past them, disappearing down the neon-lit halls.
“I don't look that young, do I?” Ebesi said as her hand pressed against her cheek.
“You look very authoritative for your age,” Delta said before biting her lip, “Ebesi, are you a telepath?”
The archivist narrowed her eyes from the question's oddity. “I'm more sensitive to emotions, but I can pick up strong surface thoughts. Why?”
“Turn off your devices for a moment,” she whispered before powering down the audio recording of her tablet and bracelet as she leaned in, “what did you get from Dubaku's reaction, psychically?”
“Her mind was totally closed off, like yours, but there was a big spike in her emotional emanation when she mentioned the replacements. I guess the closest emotion I could describe was fear before she tried pushing it back down again,” Ebesi said before looking to her tablet.
“What crystal replacements was she talking about?” Delta said as she could feel the strap of the bag digging into her muscle.
“I don't know, some sort of batteries. Heard about them here and there,” she said glancing around the dark halls as the soles of her sandals began tapping on the stone.
“And you didn't think her reaction was strange? Why would she be afraid to mention some batteries that everyone is using?” Delta said.
“I don't know,” Ebesi sighed as she switched on her devices again, “do you still want to ask cryptic questions, or can we get back to work?”
Delta scoffed as she tapped the tablet back on and placed it closer to her lips. “For an archivist, you surely lack curiosity. That's on record,” she said before brushing past Ebesi and down the corridor to the hydro-bay.
The chambers reached deeper than the peaks of the pylons. Delta could feel the pressure around her ears with every inch the elevator sunk. The recycled air, though clean, was empty of fragrant richness that she had grown accustomed to with the open skies. No flowers, foods or perfumes mixed with the air, except for a strong smell of water in the hydro-bay. Thick windows were placed all along the edges of the chamber; the fluorescent lights travelled for what looked like miles all the way down into the full reservoir. Thousands upon thousands of gallons of transparent liquid was so clear, that Delta could see the brick's edges at the base.
Engineers hobbled past her, too entrenched in their own work to pay her any mind. She looked at them grouped up in small huddles in various corners of the chamber. She turned to her table that had already collected several hundred terabytes of data on the pylons. The device struggled to load more as its lights flickered in her palm. She prayed that it would not fail on her before transferring the data onto the new one in the bag. Her eyes were scanning the high-speed documents, her mind was picking up the odd legible words like misaligned core, satellite, ley-line bonds, aether-network and so on.
Another few words caught her attention; energy routing system: disabled. She paused the download of data, making the sentence sit still in the stream as her fingers tapped the hologram. The file expanded, almost filling out the screen edge-to-edge, most of which was heavy technical jargon, but the little information she could discern made her brow furrow. It talked about how the system had been added in decades ago, several attempts of operational experimentation had been successful each time. It was definitely operational but had been manually – deliberately – switched off for no known reason, by Dubaku. She turned to another file, this one saying ley grid network: disconnected, with a very similar description as the first, again switched off by Dubaku.
Reading on, Delta found out that more electrical parts of the pylons were either disabled and their hardware never properly installed, or supplies had never been ordered to accommodate them. These had been going on for years. She felt light-headed as her eyes skimmed through the files, knowing the conditions Alkhem and the rest of the world were suffering. There must be some mistake, she wondered.
“Could you help me out with something?” Delta called to the engineers. The group popped their heads up in her direction; one smiled kindly when he scanned every inch of her face before wandering over to her.
His nose was sharp and intrusive as he leaned in. “How can I help you, my dear?” even his scratchy voice made her skin stand on edge.
“There might be some errors with the data here, could you explain why so many systems aren't working?” she said as she placed the tablet between them.
The engineer's eyes dimmed as he glanced at the tablet. “We have to keep some of them offline so we can implement some others. That's all.”
Delta's brow furrowed. “There's no mention of 'other systems' that need to be added, they all should be working independently just fine, but have been deactivated by the behest of Dubaku.”
“Well, I can assure you that our project planning is far more complex than the little snippets you see. As for Dubaku, she would tell you the exact same thing,” he said before turning away back to his console.
Delta bit her lip. She flicked on her wrist phone and quickly typed out a message to Ebesi asking for her location. Not a moment was spared when she received a message saying that her archivist was in the central chamber where they had arrived earlier. Delta sped through the halls, making sure to dodge every person and duck every low section of the ceiling before arriving at the main elevator. Ebesi rested against the wall with her tablet tucked under her arm as she chatted with a female worker sitting away from Delta's view. The woman's ivory hair was shaven to her scalp with the edges of a silver mask covering the top half of her face. Her mocha skin was revealed by her neck and hands while the rest of her body was covered in plain uniform. Ebesi looked up and waved to Delta, but the smile in her eyes fell as she watched her inch closer.
“May we talk in private?” Delta whispered glancing at the engineer. The woman sat up and turned away from them without a breath of protest before leaving.
“You could have just pulled me away to another corner…” Ebesi said.
“Can you please put up some mental barriers? So, I can be absolutely certain it's just us two?” she said keeping her tone low.
Ebesi rolled her eyes before placing a fist on her hip. “I know this may be a little hard for you to grasp, but I'm your handler at the end of the day. Speak to me with some respect!”
“Please, I wouldn't push if this wasn't important,” she said.
“What's on your mind?” Ebesi sighed.
“Have you looked at any of the files transferring on your computer? Some systems have been deactivated without reason and extensive sections of the pylons that should've been added years ago haven’t been. When I asked one of the engineers, they gave me some unbelievable excuse without saying much,” Delta said.
“I'll look at them when I send my report out to Sorren,” she said slipping the tablet from her arm, “what makes you say they're lying?”
“Well, his demeanour shifted the second I brought it up. I'm mundane, but people's bodies always tell the truth. He was clearly hiding something and urged me not to speak to Dubaku about it.”
“Everyone is always hiding something, but I don't get why would this be about the pylons if they asked us to come,” she said.
“Probably hoping that we might not notice and to keep up appearances. They seemed awfully resistant when we arrived on the plateau, don't you think?” Delta said.
“I've been trying to ignore some of the hostilities from everyone here. When I brought it up with that woman before, she said there's some info she wants to give me in private but is afraid of speaking aloud. She kind of reminds me of you,” Ebesi said with a smirk.
“I'm not afraid,” Delta whispered, trying to believe in the sharpness of her words, “Keep your psionics open to whomever you speak to. I'm starting to believe these pylons are deliberately being stalled.”
Before Ebesi could spit out a word, her eyes shot past Delta's shoulder, making her turn to Dubaku approaching them. “Scribes, how goes the data gathering? I hope none of your computer's failed?”
“None, we backed everything up to make sure nothing was lost,” Delta said putting on a smile.
Dubaku's eyelids quivered before returning the smile. “Good, at least my company won't have to repair any damaged third-party equipment this time. Forgive my pressing, but I heard that you were asking one of my technicians about some strange data files, maybe I can clear up some confusion?”
Ebesi cleared her throat. “It's been reported that some of the systems have been purposefully disabled, even though there's no information on them being faulty-,”
“And haven't been activated for years,” Delta said.
“The aether only picks up data from the computers when they’re active. If the systems in said computers aren’t online, they cannot send faulty reports back to the main aether-network. It's an automated system for the most part but needs manual transcribing to detail every little quirk in these machines. Sadly, we don't have the time for that while we're waiting for some major additions to this complex,” she said.
Ebesi glanced at Delta before nodding her head. “Thank you for clearing it up. We've been here for several hours and will report to our head scribe.”
“Before you go,” Dubaku leaned in close for a whisper, “everything we're doing here is not just for the benefit of Alkhem or Atlantia, but for everyone, everywhere.”
Delta and Ebesi looked at each other, both searching for answers reading each other's faces before turning to the director. With final farewells, they marched off to the elevator and returned to the now darkened skies. The sun was giving its last shots of light in the horizon, colouring the clouds with orange, pink and violet. Once again, they were escorted back to their hover vehicle by the olive guards. A'gesh called to Delta, excited to see her appear on land again. The bird swooped to her shoulder. Her belly was round and a slight sheen of water on her feathers.
“Been fishing, have you?” Delta whispered as she tossed the bag into the vehicle before climbing in. Ebesi waved her hand over the panel beside her seat and settled for a smooth glide over to her apartment.
“So, how did I do on my first day?” Delta said trying to meet Ebesi's faraway stare.
“Depends how you write your report,” she said finally meeting her eyes.
“What are you going to write?” Delta said as her hand wrapped the loose strands of hair that danced in the wind behind her ear.
Ebesi pressed her lips tight as she sighed. “Tell them everything we discovered.”
“Even what Dubaku said?” Delta pulled A'gesh from her shoulder to her lap without breaking eyes from Ebesi.
“We don't know what any of that means, we don't operate on speculation,” she said. The hover vehicle slowed, and the sense of spices lingering in the air hit their nostrils as they neared the streets.
“Well let's consider the facts: the crisis is being felt in Alkhem and everywhere; they've been assuring everyone that they're working as quickly as possible to get them operational; we’ve just witnessed that the data does not correspond with people on a speedy mission to fix them. Seems to anyone, with half a brain, that parts of the pylons show no reason to be switched off. What is one to make of that other than not wanting to get them working?” Delta said rising to her feet before the vehicle came to a complete stop at the edge of the Ebesi's balcony.
“If that's the case, then why and who would want that? Everyone on this world is absolutely hinged on getting the energy crisis resolved, who in their right mind would want to sabotage that? To add, who has that kind of power?” Ebesi said as she popped open the metal gate and stepped on to the stone tiles of her home.
Delta bit her lip as she stepped over the edge and watched the vehicle slowly break away from the balcony and drift off into the night. “There are some who have that kind of power, but I fail to see the link,” she whispered.
“I better start writing the report and you should probably head back home. Take the tablets with you but leave the rest here. We'll be back,” Ebesi said.
Delta looked out to the glowing white pylons across the river, the navy-black sky contrasted with their remarkable white marble shine. Even the beam of light shooting out to the stars seemed to have become stronger when night fell. “I hope so.”
A tap at the front door drew their attention inside the house. Delta glanced at Ebesi for answers.
“That might be...” the archivist mumbled as she made way through her house with Delta following behind. Ebesi's fingers clicked against the metal latches and swung the door aside, revealing the female engineer they met before. She faced the opening with a wide smile stretched across her cheeks, although she wore a silver face-moulded visor across her upper half, obscuring most of her details. Delta flicked on her wrist phone and quickly commanded it to begin audio and visual recording without alerting the others.
“So relieved to have caught up with you. I hope we can talk now if this isn't too inconvenient,” she said.
Ebesi glanced back at Delta before returning to the stranger. “How did you get here so quickly? We had only just arrived.”
The woman's smile wavered. “This can sound unnerving, but I left the plateau the moment you asked for privacy. Please, there are some things I'd like to discuss off the streets,” she whispered.
Ebesi waved her in and shut the door before pulling up a stool for her. “Here's a chair.”
“I can see clearly,” the woman said settling down on the wobbling stool.
“How can you through that?” Delta said stepping behind the table. The sudden arrival of the woman's appearance made her uneasy. She glanced at the door, hoping that her business there would be swift.
“It's a device that redirects energy radiation straight into my brain. My eyes and third eye are too weak to see the light the way you all do,” she said as she placed her hands on the table, “my name is Lirana, and I've been working at the plateau for the last few years. When I found out there were scribes coming to the pylons I thought, this was my chance to tell the truth about what's really going on there.”
“What do you know?” Ebesi whispered as she swapped glances with Delta.
“We're not planning on ever completing the prototype pylons; we're trying to dismantle as many of the systems as possible without pulling them apart brick-by-brick. I was originally tasked to synchronise the pylon network's frequency to the naturally occurring ley grid in the area, but in the last couple of years, my new job was to suppress energy flowing through the structures from the lines,” Lirana sighed before continuing. “About a year ago, the Alkhemite leaders stopped funding the project and pulled resources,”
“Why in this universe would they want to do that? What's their mad reasoning?” her voice amplified with every word as her hands pressed against the table's edge.
“I don't know the details. However, the impression I get from Dubaku is they were forced to do so by another party,” she said.
Ebesi shot a glance at Delta. “Not by the Atlanteans?”
“They probably come from there, but it's hard to say,” Lirana said.
Ebesi pressed her hands against her blemished cheeks. “This is incredible. Can you wait here? I'll need to get the tablets to record it all.”
Lirana nodded just as the archivist bolted up the stairs for the bags left on the balcony. Delta's ears picked up squawks from the upper levels, her heart began to race as she watched A'gesh swoop into the ground level.
“She's gorgeous,” Lirana said. Her head locked on to A'gesh now sitting on the edge of the bookcase.
“Why are you doing this now? There have been several scribes and more noteworthy people that have gone to the plateau, why haven't you brought this up sooner?” Delta said as her eyes scanned Lirana. She heard Ebesi's groans of frustration and the rustling of bags from upstairs.
“You've got a face I can trust with this information,” she said as her fingers crawled up the sides of her silver mask and clicked the edges. A'gesh made another loud shriek as she took off in circles around the room.
“Delta, none of the tablets work!” Ebesi yelled from beyond the level, but her throat was caught when Lirana peeled off the mask showing thick scarring across her nose, forehead and temples. Her eye sockets were hollow, and her lips curled into a terrifying smile.
“We trust that you will do your job,” Kyirn said.
Delta felt her legs weaken and her knees buckle, her back crashed against the bookcase as her arms desperately tried grabbing for some support. “I-I'm sorry I left you-,”
“Relieved that you did. Almost didn't recognise your aura. Don't worry, you're no threat to us if you do your job,” Kyrin said rising to her feet and stepping back from the stool.
“I'm not afraid of you!” she screamed. A'gesh swooped on the table, crashing some of the piled scrolls on to the floor.
“You should be we're everywhere.” Her body vibrated and, in a blink, Kyirn was gone.
~
She felt numb. It lasted throughout the week, even when she returned to Capihul to begin drawing on her experiences at the Alkhemite pylons. Kyirn's mangled face and a wicked smile flashed in her mind for days. She had conversed with Ebesi about what they had discovered about the pylons and about 'Lirana's' testimony. Delta didn't have the luxury of being locked up in Mayen's townhouse, despite its comforts and safety; she had to return to the library. The morning was bright, giving her added courage, as hundreds of people poured through the halls of the massive structure, the sisters dodged and pushed through the horde as they made their way indoors. To Delta's frustration, Mayen wouldn't allow her to port directly into the library’s stations. Instead, the acolyte used her own power to teleport outside of the building’s entrance.
“We should have come with you to Alkhem, we knew going there would put you at risk,” Mayen whispered behind Delta as they stormed through the halls.
Delta watched A'gesh fly overhead; her lavender belly soared to her favourite indoor trees and began mingling with the other birds. “You can't always be there, nor do I expect you to be. I don't know what their plans are, but their interest in me has changed, I don't believe I'm in the same sort of danger,” she said.
“We heard the recording. You still are in danger and likely always will be,” Mayen said pacing so fast, that her arm pressed against Delta's shoulder.
“This is my career, Mayen, I'll have to do and go wherever they ask me,” Delta said peeling away from her sister's arm. She felt hot fingers grip her forearm, killing her stride in the middle of the library halls. She spun around to see Mayen's steaming gold eyes, they no longer frightened her, instead she could sense great strength and anger behind them.
“You're getting too close to something, sister. The truth is obscured which worries us while you’re here. We're not comfortable letting you wander alone in this darkness,” she said.
“I can do this, Mayen! I'm in the right place at the right time, do not take it away from me,” Delta glanced up to see A'gesh playing through the branches with the other birds, “I'm not alone.”
Mayen's hand pulled away from Delta's arm, with a heavy sigh, she pressed her fingers against her tattooed temple. “And what of your report?”
“I left Kyirn out of it, but Sorren will know of everything else,” she whispered. Her wrist vibrated and holographic digits appeared on the surface of her bracelet, “he's expecting me.”
Mayen nodded. “Honour the truth, sister. There are matters that need our attention, but if you need us-,”
Delta waved her hand. “Not now.”
The acolyte sighed as the outline of her body shook before disappearing into space. Delta pulled back her shoulders and straightened her neck before continuing her march to Sorren's office. Her knuckles didn't even meet the wood when she heard his voice call for her entrance. She slid the door aside before stepping into the cluttered room. Sorren was sitting at his desk, but his eyes didn't meet hers. Delta stood across the table with her fingers interlocked, waiting for him to look up from his tablet.
“When you came here, I was led to believe we would be receiving the best for this institution. Being your first week with us, there are many troubling things we must discuss,” he said as his head finally drifted up from the screen.
Delta felt her chest tighten. “I can understand that-,”
“Your handler has mentioned that all of the devices you brought to Alkhem were destroyed. That equipment is not so easily replaceable, nor are the vital programs and files that were on them,” he said.
“I was warned that the tablets might be losing their functionality in the pylon chambers,” she said as her fingers pressed harder around her hands.
“Ebesi says that only one bag was brought to the subterranean chambers, yet all of them seemed to have been rendered useless after you left. This is only glazed over in your report, may I ask why?” his eyes were like knives, she wanted to look away, but was hypnotised at their otherworldly guise.
“With all due respect Sorren, but I thought you wanted to talk about my whole report and not some broken machines. Are you insinuating that I had something to do with their damage?” she said as anger began to simmer up her chest.
“I would rather believe you had not, but this is a first. We have already contacted the plateau's management, and they have agreed to cover their replacements with a few conditions,” he said sitting straight in his chair as his eyes scanned over the tablet.
Delta dreaded where this was going. “What sort of conditions?”
“The report you submitted poses a great concern, you have highlighted some alarming news on the conditions of these pylons and the workers there. In conclusion, it turned into an opinion piece which is something this institute aims to avoid from our scribes. Director Dubaku has read it and told me that she has explained to you and Ebesi why these systems are not functional, yet you left her explanation out of it. This does not bode well with the project's image, considering how delicate these times are. This cannot be uploaded to the aether-network as it is,” he said.
“I only reported what I saw with my own eyes and if you doubt that then look at the data the computers downloaded from the pylons, or whatever is left of them. Ebesi has seen the exact same thing and she will vouch for me,” her heart felt like it was going to explode.
“The archivist has told something similar. However, she did not add her beliefs on whether they do not want the pylons finished. She also added the director's explanation,” he said.
“There's something else, a worker arrived at Ebesi's home and confirmed our suspicions about the project not intending to ever be finished,” she said, her nails dug so deep into her skin that they felt like they drew blood, but her body was frozen into place, she couldn't pry them apart.
“This was not written in either of your reports,” Sorren said with a slight tilt of his head and a single raised brow.
“No, but I recorded the encounter on my wrist phone!” her fingers finally felt like blood rushed back into them, her hands trembled as she frantically searched through the audio files and to her relief, it was there, “please, listen.”
Her thumb pressed into the amber button, they waited in silence before a sickening screech played. Sorren's hands shot up to his ears as his face twisted in pain.
“It must be A'gesh, she was distressed when it happened, just wait a moment,” she felt her skin dampen on her forehead and underarms, intently waiting for the screeching to pass, but the longer it played it sounded more mechanical.
“Turn it off!” he groaned over the noise. She needed no second request.
“I didn't mean to cause harm, I made sure it began recording before she started speaking. It was working just fine before, she must’ve tampered-,” she said as she stared at the amber symbols.
“Xannian ears are more sensitive than humans. I have drawn my own conclusions. Delta, you will need to alter your report to match Ebesi's. That is all,” he said as he pulled down his white tunic before returning his focus back to the screen.
Delta didn't want to argue with him. She knew it would prove futile and potentially cost her position. She stormed out of the office; her pace quickened as her anger bubbled. Ebesi's door was slightly ajar before Delta slipped her hand through the crack and forced the wood aside, making the archivist almost jump clean from her stool beside the granite tables.
“Why didn't you tell Sorren what really happened?” she said as her ears caught the vicious beating of wings around the hall. Her eyes darted up to see A'gesh making her land beside Ebesi. A flutter of jealousy crawled up Delta as her bird seemed disturbed by her tone towards the Alkhemite.
“I did, everything from start to finish,” Ebesi said as her eyes narrowed, but the cheeks of her skin blemished.
“Do you think I'm a fool or mad? He told me about your report, why are you hiding the truth when you've seen it?” she said as her hands pressed against her hips.
“We can only talk about what we've seen when we can back it up. And let's talk about the truth for a moment,” Ebesi said as her whole body twisted in her chair towards Delta, “How did all those tablet's break when we arrived home? And what happened to you and Lirana when I left downstairs?”
“I have no idea what happened to those devices, it's not like I can break them with my mind if you haven't already figured it out,” Delta snapped.
“Well, what of Lirana? You two know each other, that much is certain,” Ebesi said as her eyes narrowed.
Delta challenged her with the same glare. “We don't.”
“That's a lie. I can't sense anything from you, but believe me, I got it from her. You say that the pylons aren't being finished and then suddenly, she turns up and sings the same song. Odd, isn't it?” the archivist said as her arms crossed over her chest.
Her head felt like it was going to burst from all the blood rushing in it. Was this the magi’s intention to get revenge making her look insane or a liar, or both, she wondered. Delta replayed Kyirn’s words 'do your job.' Were they hoping for her to push through with what she had seen at the plateau so they could shut her credibility down, or were they hoping she would succumb to the pressures and write about whatever they dictated to be true? Or did they hope she would give up as a scribe and avoid infringing on their plans? The variables were too many, and their agenda too hidden. This would drive the best insane. Yet, magi often bragged about their superiority to common humans and off-worlders. Their pride and arrogance made them believe they were untouchable, but this belief could be their undoing. Or is that the picture they tried to paint for Delta...
“Your silence speaks volumes and none of it good,” Ebesi said as she tucked her legs back under the desk with a faintly smug face.
“If you're going to make an accusation, then make it. Other than that, I've got work to do,” Delta said; her fingers clicked for A'gesh to which the bird hesitantly obeyed.
She pushed the door aside and wandered to the nearest desk with a computer on it. A'gesh flew to the highest shelf, as if she were trying to create distance between them. Delta glared at her bird as she settled in the chair. She flicked the computer on. Instantly the tablet's screen came to life with different coloured sentences swiping past the screen suggesting different topics to the user. She plucked a data crystal from her bracelet and plunged it into the edge of the machine. She mindlessly watched the neon waves on the screen vibrate as the computer tried to synchronise with the crystal.
Despite the sun's rays pouring from the windows, she felt drained the moment her anger left her body. Her hands wandered to her eyes as she pressed her face into her palm. She thought about Anobus, he would appear in her mind when she couldn't fend off the loneliness. He was there when she had nothing or no one else. Delta refused to contact him for so many years out of fear of the magi getting to him, at least that's how she tried to rationalise it. But she was never going to be free of the magi. Their disease stays even when not close to the sick. She understood her mother's choices; she hated herself for distrusting Olanta's reaction to the truth and for listening to Goru's poison. She was a fool.
Her eyes slowly opened, catching the names of her contacts on the glassy screen of her wrist phone. She flicked to Anobus' name, reading the previous messages they had sent each other in years past. He strongly believed in the goodness in the world, but he was still naive to its darkness. Who was she to judge his naivety when she had proven to be so too over the years? Delta cracked a smile as she sent a greeting to her old friend, probably no-friend now. She waited for agonising moments, watching for his message to appear, but it didn't. Her smile relaxed back down, and she sighed, her gaze trailing to the computer. Her hands reached out to the holographic letter-board, erasing her old report with a click of a button.