Chapter 10

“To find the source, you must begin with the latest card catalog and seek out the reference to the earlier source. You continue this regressive search until you run out of catalogs. Only then will you know you have reached the source,” Edel quoted from the book he brought to breakfast.

“Unless there is a gap and the bridge to the earlier source has been lost or destroyed,” Yoodma said.

“In which case, the earliest book you have becomes the de facto source,” Edel said.

“No, the source is listed as lost,” Bello said. “Metaphysics is for the Orders. We need concrete sources, ones we can refer to when investigating.”

Danel half-listened as he drew his biscuit through the brown gravy on his plate. With his belly full still from the previous night’s feast, he was more playing with his food instead of eating it. He looked up, noticing that Second was giving him a furtive look. The secret was probably still a secret, but no one can easily fool a Librarian. She knew there was a secret.

His sleep had been dreamless, but when he awoke, he was tangled in his sheets as if he had been restless. Not having a personal assistant of an acolyte in the morning was a disappointment, but he knew what to do. The new technology was eye opening. In the communal hallway of the yellow cords, the lights were controlled by a small switch; up was on and down was off. In his bedroom, the switch rotated on a pivot mounted to the wall. He could adjust the brightness of the light as well. The origin and power source of the light was still a mystery, but the switch was exciting.

“Our assignments this morning,” Second announced as she moved her glasses to her nose. Rattling off her list, she pointed with her finger in the general direction of the person as she announced the name. “And last on the list this morning, Danel, you are with me.”

The “ooo’s” and the “hmm’s” were loud enough that every table was guilty of commenting when comments were typically criticized as inappropriate. “Yes,” Second said. “His first day as a green cord and already, he is being handed the latrine shovel.”

“I can’t think of a better candidate to shovel the shit,” Bello called out.

“Aye,” his cord mates called out.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Danel said. “We’ll see who buys the first round tonight.”

Signaling that the amount of repartee allowable at the morning breakfast had reached its limit, Second ushered all of them out the door. When the room was empty except for the staff cleaning up the mess, she motioned Danel to follow her.

He fell in step next to her. “Do you know what you’re doing?” Second asked.

“No, ma’am,” Danel said. “I’m working as fast as I can to learn what I need, but events are already spinning out of my control.” His face was grim.

“At least you realize that you are in over your head,” she replied.

“There are moments when I am still that adolescent boy sitting outside my mother’s tent, listening to my parents argue inside what my future should be. My father wanted me to join the caravans and find my own way in the world. My mother wanted me to join the might of the Yu-Ang empire, finding security in their lands. Both their dreams for me were banishment from the steppes and the world of freedom I found out there. The steppes are not chaos and wilderness, nor are they well civilized and ordered; they are lands where hopes impossible elsewhere become possible. Second Librarian, I have found a better ordered version of the Steppes here in the Library of Ibados. Not even for a moment do I take this opportunity for granted.”

“Good to know, Danel. Be careful though. There are things that can kill a man in the Library of Ibados, even a Librarian.”

“Especially a Librarian, I fear,” he said. “Thank you for your care and concern.”

They arrived at her offices. She stepped into her workplace, and he continued down the corridor to the next hallway. He entered through the private, unmarked entrance. Danel walked down the short hall to the next door. Inside, he found a table that sat four, chalkboards on all four walls and stacks of books, papers, and scrolls on a sideboard. The place was less than tidy.

He was not alone. A short man, rangy with a cap of graying hair and a goatee stared back at him. His skin was the rich black color found in the deserts of the far south. The man bowed from the neck quickly while Danel bowed from his chest, unsure of the stature of the man.

“I am Sunder,” he said. “You’re the new Librarian.”

“I am Danel,” he replied. “It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“We will see whether it is a pleasure with time,” Sunder said. “You’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest and caused a great deal of commotion. I like things calm and measured. I prefer that the hallways are lit, and the soundness of the stones underfoot are confirmed. Librarians are a blessing and a challenge. Is there anything worse than a man who walks, not bothering to look where he is going?”

“I was summoned,” Danel said with some heat. “I did not provoke or even seek to promote trouble. It came to me unbidden.”

“Hmmpf,” Sunder said. “We shall see.”

“Good morning, gentlemen,” Head said as he entered through one of the two other doors. “I hope you have taken the time to introduce yourselves because time is a commodity for which we are short. Danel, Sunder is the leader of our Explorer Cadre, and he has the scars to prove it. I trust his instincts implicitly.”

Head picked up a scroll that was lying on the sideboard, bound with a black ribbon. Pulling the ribbon loose, as he brought it over to the table, Head unfurled the scroll. He pulled over a book to pinned down one side of the scroll. Danel grabbed another text just out of reach and handed it to the Head Librarian who pinned down the other side.

“Danel was summoned to appear before a god yesterday,” Head said to Sunder. “He survived the encounter, and he had a spot of tea. However, the content of the conversation has a tremendous bearing on your work. As of today, your top priority is shifting to get Danel functioning on your team. After you are satisfied, we move to the next priority. We are abandoning our project in the attic for the time being. The god is demanding we seek out the foundation stones of the Library of Ibados and determine if they are sound.”

Sunder hissed through his teeth. “Foundation stones? This is very dangerous, Head. There is stuff down there...” He shuddered and went silent.

The Head Librarian was reading the scroll. He lifted his head and looked at the two other men. “This is one of the few documents that has a reference to the foundation of the Library of Ibados. The language is one of the dead ones. Essentially, the writer says that the foundation stones came from an unknown quarry and the caravan stretched out across the land in a length so long that the end of the train took two and a half days to arrive. The caravan arrived with twelve thousand donkeys and two thousand dromedaries. The gods themselves excavated the great depths and together with the work crews of the Great Ibados himself, may his name be a blessing, laid the stones and the lowest levels.” He looked up from the scroll.