The Fourth Sage (The Circularity Saga) (45 page)

"Uhhh, nice," Kiire says. "Sorry. I didn't mean to. Sorry."

Ty smiles at him briefly.

"That's all I've got. So far," Amber says. "There are two more symbols I don't understand and then there are a couple more missing ones.”

"So far we have, 'For you, tides, you, you, strides, you, you, death, pain, you and you,’" Kiire says.

"Whatever this means, it doesn't look that good for whoever the 'you' is," Aries says.

Max puts his hand on Aries’s shoulder. Then he signs.

"It could mean plural, not singular," Tevis translates.

"Yes, but we don't all fit onto the plate," Aries replies. "And the fact that that there is an engraved plate on the ground doesn't mean anything. What does this have to do with the machine and trying to turn it off?"

"It might not have anything to do with it," Tevis says. "But you know, we have all been in this... we have all come this far not because of any facts. We trusted... something, ourselves, you, the hawk. Based solely on facts, we should all be dead by any reasonable measure."

Aries casts her eyes down. She is suddenly filled with shame for doubting them, doubting that all of them together can't do something, however small it might be.

"Aries, do you remember the fluctuations we encountered?" Ty asks.

"Yes, sure."

"They didn't make much sense to me then and they don't make much sense to me now, but they were there and the reading on the oscilloscope was correct.

"What r-r-reading?" Jeremiah asks.

"We had a faulty reading in one of the server units a few weeks back. It suggested that something completely out of the ordinary had happened."

"What was it?" Jeremiah's face has lit up since Ty mentioned the fluctuations.

"We don't know what it was, but the anomaly suggested that for less than a hundredth of a millisecond, the electricity going through that server was flowing backward. In time."

"No way!" Kiire says, looking at Aries. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't think it was important," Aries replies.

"Jiedj Vidchkin," Tevis says.

"Come again?" Ty replies.

"Jiedj Vidchkin," Tevis says. "Anomaly."

"That's what you said when you first saw the hawk," Aries says.

"Yes."

"The anomaly is what questions the norm," Tevis translates Max's signing. "Not sure where I heard it, but it makes sense now."

"I'm not so sure what each of them has to do with the other," Aries says.

"Maybe nothing," Ty says.

"And maybe everything," Kiire replies.

His words hang in front of Aries like a sword.

I'm doing another swoop,
Aries hears Born-of-Night think.

Be careful!
she urges.

When Aries closes her eyes, Born-of-Night lifts off and flies diagonally across the large lake to the east of the tower. From there she glides around the pillar and straight toward the machine.

Looking at it through the hawk's eyes, Aries can feel an almost gravitational pull coming from it.

What is it you want from me?
she asks in her thoughts. Immediately afterward, she realizes how silly this is. Asking a machine what it wants seems preposterous.

What if it's not?
she hears Max think.
What if it's not a machine?

What else can it be?
Aries replies.
It has mechanical, moving parts.

So do we. I'm just saying.

I don't think they're activated,
Aries hears the hawk think, as she crosses above the androids and the plate and lands inside one of the ruins closest to the center.

"I got it," Mila says.

Aries opens her eyes. Amber and Mila kneel in front of the rectangular shape on the floor.

"'When,'" Amber says, as she points to one of the symbols. "And over there, it should say 'shall' or 'will.’"

Mila writes the words under the symbols.

"This should say 'stand' and here I think it says 'turning.’”

"'For you who stand here... turning tides,'" Aries says. "'Your...' What's that word?"

"Not sure," Amber says. "But it looks like 'adversary.'"

"Foe?" Kiire says. "Enemy. Opponent."

"This here could mean 'at' or 'on,’" Amber says. "And I haven't come across any articles in this language so we can just insert them."

"'For you who stands here at the turning of the tides,'" Tevis says.

Everyone grows quiet.

“'Your enemy is on you, it...you strides,'" she continues.

"'It comes for you in strides,'" Amber says. "And it's 'Your enemy is upon you, he comes for you in strides.'"

"Wow. Whoever wrote this knew their meter," Kiire says.

"This one is 'terror' or 'fear' or something similar," Amber continues.

"'You shall ... fear... death and pain,' not so good," Kiire says.

"This symbol here," Jeremiah points at the one before 'fear,' “I've seen before. I think it's a n-n-negation."

"Not?" Amber asks. "'You shall not fear him,' and here is the same one before 'pain and death.' 'You shall not fear him not death and pain.'"

"'You shall neither fear him nor your own death and pain,'" Ty says.

"Are you sure?" Kiire says. "’Cause that sounds much different from 'you shall fear your death and pain.'"

"Yes. I'm s-s-sure," Jeremiah says.

"I agree. It has to. Jeremiah is right. This is a negation," Amber says. "And as such, it cannot mean 'you shall fear,' it has to mean 'you shall not fear.'"

"So whoever built this machine tells whoever stands on this plate of stone not to be afraid?" Seth says. "Why?"

"Maybe not to be afraid of the machine," Aries says.

"Yes, but I think it relates to the previous sentence," Kiire says. "It means, don't fear your enemy when you stand here, even if it marches toward you."

"What about the last sentence?" Seth asks. "'When you... open... shall you...' doesn't make much sense.”

"This one," Amber says, "could mean something like 'for a second time' or 'repeating something.'"

"'Again,'" Ty says. "It could mean 'again.' Just to stay with the poetic nature of this... message."

"And the other two?" Aries asks.

Amber shakes her head. "I have no idea."

"Okay, let's recap," Kiire says. "'For you who stands here at the turning of the tides. Your enemy's upon you, he comes for you in strides. You shall neither fear him nor your own death and pain. When your... open ... shall ... you again.'"

"What do we do now?" Tevis asks.

"We should try to destroy it," Ty says. "Even though I haven’t the slightest idea how."

"If we could get those pillars on either side to collapse," Kiire says. "The machine might stop working."

"I don't see any way we could possibly do this," Ty replies.

"Me neither," Kiire answers.

"I know what to do," Aries says.

"No, you don't," Ty answers.

Aries exchanges a glance with him.

"You know it's the only way," she says.

"The only way for you to get killed," Ty answers.

"Am I missing something here?" Seth says.

"Aries thinks that standing on that plate down there is the only way to turn off the machine," Ty says.

"Do you see another option?"

"No, I don't. But that doesn't mean I'll let you blindly go down there just because some symbols tell you to do so. And even if they say what they say, it doesn't mean it's you who has to stand there. It could be any of us. Why you?"

"Ty is right," Kiire says. "It could be anyone. It also could have happened already."

"What do you mean?" Aries says.

"If this is as old as we think it is, the plates could have had meaning a thousand years ago and have absolutely no connection to what's happening now."

"Aries," Tevis says quietly. "Why do you think you should do this?"

"It seems the only logical thing to do," Aries replies. "Based solely on the engravings on the plate, I know it doesn't make much sense and I agree with Ty, but based on what has happened in the last two weeks and where we came from and who we are and where we ended up, it seems like the most...reasonable next step."

Aries watches herself saying those words, understanding their meaning but feeling completely removed from their impact. It is as if someone else had thought them, someone other than her. For everything inside her tells her that it’s madness to do what they suggest.

"Let's assume for a moment that it’s true," Ty says. "And whatever this... prophecy or whatever the hell this is, tells the truth. How are we going to get you there? Cause I don't think the prophecy cares about what happens if you don't make it. It simply waits for the next guy or gal to come along."

"The landslide doesn't care about the pebble that causes it," Aries says.

"Come again?" Ty says.

"It's nothing," Aries says.

"We would need to create a diversion," Kiire says. "Lure some if not most of the androids away from the plate and machine so Aries can get there safely."

"This is insanity," Ty says. "We don't even know what we're doing. We have no business even thinking that this is possible. I'm not going to stand here and
plan someone's death
!" Ty shouts those last words. Aries can see the anger in his eyes. But behind it, she can also see the pain.

"I know you want to protect me," she replies. "And I hope you know how much this means to me. And I love you... for that."

Her eyes sting suddenly and she doesn't know where the tears come from.

"But there's no other way. We can't wait here forever. They'll find us eventually. We don't have food or water. We can't go back to where we came from. From now on, all we can do...
all
we can do, is go forward. To wherever that might be. It may be our death, I realize that. But we're dead anyway. We were dead when we started this. We just didn't know it. I never thought that going all the way really meant going all the way. But this is it. It's our path and we must walk it. Somehow, we have to get to that plate and do what it told us to do. If there's another option, please tell me, because I'd be happy to not do what must be done—"

There's a drone.
Born-of-Night's thought interrupts her. Aries closes her eyes. When the hawk flies out of her hiding spot and toward one of the antennas, Aries sees it: the drone hovers at the foot of the sloped crater walls about three hundred feet above the city and below the tower. Slowly, it moves upward.

I can take her,
she hears Born-of-Night think.

No,
Aries replies.
It's too dangerous. Another electric shock could kill you.

"A drone is coming our way," Aries says, when she opens her eyes. "It's right below the tower."

Ty is the first to react. "Grab some rocks and get ready. So much for a plan."

They hear the low humming sound of the magnetic propulsion system before they see it. Then it hovers into view—a dark silhouette against the bright background. This one is slightly bigger than the others.

"Now!" Ty cries out. He steps out from behind the cover and throws a rock toward the drone. The others do the same. Two of the rocks hit it but this doesn't seem to have an effect on it. In fact, now it turns and its sensors move toward their corner.

"Take cover!" Seth cries. A blue fireball explodes in front of the stones. Then another one, and a third after that. The sound is deafening. She sees Max and Sam exchanging a glance. Max pushes off the ground and runs across the open area toward a large rock on the other side. The sensors of the drone follow him. Another fireball explodes, sweeping Max off his feet. He lands behind the rocks.

"Max!" Aries cries out. Just when she is about to run over to him, Sam gets up and throws his rock—a huge jagged piece of the wall—toward the drone. It hits it right in the center. It hovers there, then it drops onto the floor, turning a few times around its own axis and then stops. Aries runs over to Max, who’s sitting and shaking his head.

"You okay?" she asks when she reaches him.

I think so.

"We gotta go!" Ty says. "Now!"

Aries helps Max to his feet and they run down the stairs.

"If we can make it down into the city, it'll be much harder for them to catch us," Kiire says.

"Do you remember that first larger building on the left side just below the tower? If we get separated, we'll meet there."

They run through the tunnel and toward the opening.

Another drone is moving toward you,
Aries hears Born-of-Night think.
If you make a right when you get out and circle the tower on the left side, you might be able to avoid it. At least for a while.