The Snake: Chapter 1

3977, The fifth cycle, Third day.
         The library was big. So big in fact that the name “The Great Library” hardly described it accurately The outside was impressive enough, with big stone pillars as wide as twenty men extending into the sky to hold up a roof that was obscured from sight by the clouds. They didn’t have anything even close to it on the orbiting island Bryan lived on. It was by far the most magnificent thing he’d ever seen, and they hadn’t even gone inside yet

Silently, he followed behind the short, pale man named Timothy and the large, Brutish man named Bracchius into the library. The entrance towered over them, the statues perched high, high up on their perches could hardly be seen. But there was no time to stop and gaze. No, as soon as the ferry had landed on the mainland it had been rush, rush, rush. They’d told him next to nothing so far, except the fact that they were running late for a very important meeting, and if he slowed them down on the long walk even a little bit Bracchius would carry him the rest of the way. And that’s all Bryan needed on his first trip to the mainland, to be carried like a baby through the crowd by some stranger.

As they entered into the main hall he could barely contain himself at the wondrous sights, lest he ask too many questions and be scolded or worse, laughed at. There were more of the white stone pillars here, each as tall and wide as those outside, stretching up to hold in place the massive golden ceilings. Beautiful pictures in a myriad of colors had somehow been painted on the highest of the ceilings. Angels and Demons, Warriors and the mythical beasts they fought. It was pretty, but he’d seen stuff like this before. His Island might be isolated from the mainland and it’s civilization, but they weren’t barbarians.

Despite all his little island could offer though, it was nothing even close to the mainland. Where his home had maybe a thousand people, the mainland seemed to have closer to the hundred thousands. There were people everywhere, and he had to concentrate to keep from bumping into them.

The most surprising part of all though, was the fact that there were no books at all in the library. Nobody carried any around, nobody sat in a corner reading silently to themselves like the libraries on his island. In fact, there weren’t even any bookshelves Just desks, desks by the hundred. Whenever the marble floor they followed opened up into a room it would be filled with hundreds of desks. And tables. It was the same in every room they passed. Desks, Desks, and more desks, with those strange floating screens above them.

Ah, yes, it had taken Bryan a while to put an accurate name to them, but in the end they were simply screens. Above every desk, atop every table they floated. There were no cables, no stands, they just floated in mid-air. Each couldn’t be more then a man wide, and only a foot or two high, but their small size didn’t explain their apparent weightlessness. Braving their laughter at his simpleness, Bryan worked up the courage to ask the Red-headed Timothy about them. They both took the time to pause, look back at him and give him a strange look, then took off again. At least they hadn’t laughed. “Don’t you know anything, boy?” Timothy said in a scolding tone, which Bryan assumed was his normal voice, because that’s the only way he’d spoken yet. “Those are what people come here for. This is basically a large archive, the largest in the world I might add, and people come here for information. Those screens are how they get it.”

They walked in silence for a few more minutes, taking turns down the maze of hallways until Bryan was almost sure they were lost. That’s when he made the mistake of asking where all the books were, drawing a mocking laugh from Timothy, and a pitying smile from Bracchius. “There are no books,” they told him. “We haven’t had to use paper in years. Do you learn nothing on that little island of yours?”

Bryan didn’t have a quick wit. Try as hard as he might, he could never think of anything witty to use for a comeback in these situations. He was only seven, but he so wanted to give them something back in return for their laughing at him. But it was too late when he finally thought of something to say. They had arrive, and he had missed his chance.

“In you go,” timothy said, opening the door and prodding him onto the darkly lit balcony. “I’ll be going now. Try not to touch anything.”With that warm goodbye he left, shutting the door behind him and leaving Bryan alone with the stone faced Bracchius. The balcony they were in was small, two chairs were all the furniture int the room, and they took up most of the space anyway. Below them was a big, cylinder shaped room. Hundreds of grooves had been cut into the walls of the cylinder in a swirling pattern, from the ceiling of the hundred or so foot room until they reached the floor. Inside the groove were hundreds of other balconies, currently un occupied. All were almost identical to his own, small, dark with only two chairs.

There was nothing to do but wait now. Bracchius didn’t seem to be the talkative type, and Bryan didn’t want to test him by striking up a conversation. So they waited in silence. Soon enough, after a few minutes of waiting, people began to file in and fill the balconies. Within a few minutes the balconies in view were full. Bryan kept half expecting somebody to barge into his balcony, think that he was a trespasser and have him sent back home. But nobody came, and the door was left un molested while the balconies filled. It didn’t take long. Soon every balcony above and below had ben completely stuffed with people. Where he thought only a couple people could fit into a single room, some balconies had managed to fit three or four, some even had five, people in.

The entire room was acoustic, or so Bryan gathered. Echoes of dignitaries discussing politics and other painfully boring topics cast the entire room into a controlled chaos. Bryan had only learned a few names of the dignitaries in school, but Bracchius had become energized by the politicians arrival and had even begun to tell him the names of the various men and where they came from. “That there is Brutus,” he’d say. “A pig of a man who has no business in politics.” Then stretching out so far over the balcony that Bryan was sure he’d fall, he’s point towards a lower level. “That there, no not over there, over here. Yes, that is Thomas. He’s the wisest of us all probably. But he’s so timid I sometimes wonder how he keeps getting elected.

They continued on in this manner until a sudden banging noise from far below them drew the attention of the dignitaries away from their conversations. A large, broad shouldered man with graying hair held a gavel, poised to bang it again if needed on the podium in front of him. There was no need though. These men were veterans and knew when to stop talking. “That’s Jeremiah,” Bracchius whispered in his ear. “He’s the chairmen in charge of the library.”

“May I have your attention? Gentleman please, there will be time to discuss how ill fit Brutus’ clothing is later.” The older men laughed at the joke, but the younger, more junior men were scared into silence by Brutus’ suddenly red, angry face. Bryan took the time to wonder how Brutus had even heard the remark. Though he was a fair thirty feet below the lowest of the balconies, Jeremiahs voice seemed to carry into the farthest reaches of the room. Without any apparent effort.
“Thank you,” He said softly when the room had quieted. “Now, we don’t have much tome for formality, so if you have something to say before our main speaker takes the podium, now is the time.”

As old men will, they easily launched into talks about farming, agriculture and other subjects Bryan had no taste for. A few of the debates were getting heated, but were quickly resolved by Jeremiah before they got too aggressive. In the end everybody pretty much agreed with everything they had spoken of. Jeremiah, easily the youngest in the room by a good twenty years, was just about to close the floor to debate when a young, inexperienced man from somewhere near the top made the mistake of mentioning the war.

Bryan didn’t understand what they meant. What war? There was no war. He wanted to ask Bracchius what the man had meant, but Bracchius just raised a finger to his lips and shushed him.

“Yes, I thought it might come to that,” Jeremiah did his best to speak over the increasingly agitated room. As it so happens, our guest speaker has information about that. If you’ll just hold your questions him he’ll be glad to-“

Shouting and fighting erupted in the higher reaches. In the middle of the worst of the fighting stood Brutus, his face as red as the ripest barthin fruit. A few people in Brutus’ entourage even looked like they might come to blows with the other men until a loud, wailing sound from below silenced everybody. Standing alone, hands cupped over his mouth, was the man who Bracchius had named as Thomas.

The crowd grew silent in surprise. Even Thomas seemed surprised at himself. The slightest red tint could bee seen from half the room away on his cheeks, as he sat down amidst his jeering companions.

“Thank you Thomas,” Jeremiah raised his voice over the last bit of grumbling conversation. “As I was saying, our next speaker has information regarding the matters of war, and I advise you to hold your questions for him. Timothy?”

Jeremiah stepped aside, and up strode pale, thin Timothy whom Bryan had discovered a bitter dislike of. “Thank you Jeremiah.” he said.

Timothy adjusted his shirt collar, allowed the crowd to quiet down, then spoke just as loudly as Jeremiah had, with even less effort. “We all know a war is coming,” he said. Grumbling broke out amidst the oldest of the men, and timothy raised his hands to quiet them.

“None of us like the prospect of a war,” He cajoled them. “But to ignore it would be to put ourselves at a disadvantage once it finally comes. The Library was declared it’s own independent state by the last Emperor, and as such will stand alone I this war. The Military will no doubt side with us, but we cannot rely on their strength alone.”

“Then what are we to do?” A frail man stood near the bottom of the room. It was the balcony closest to the floor, a place of honor Bryan assumed. “If not the military, then who will protect us?”

“We will protect ourselves, Magistrate,” Timothy said, motioning the old man to sit down. “I have found the answer, my brothers. A week ago my men discovered among one of our islands an amazing person. Somebody who’s skill in the Arts has such potential as to be the greatest the world has ever seen.”
“But how can this be possible? Somebody of such power would have been drafted into the Military by now. Not to mention none of us have felt a power.” Another old man near the bottom piped in.

“It is quite simple. My men and I have been experimenting as of late with ways to predict whom the power may appear in. It is still experimental, mind you. But with the chairmans full support, we were able to test it on a small group.”

“”Does the military not have the same ability?” a portly man near the middle asked.

“No, not like this. Like I said, it is still in the early stages, but we have found a way to detect the powers in a being as yong as four years old ”

The crowd began to mutter to them selves, and Timothy could only smile at their amazement. “So you can see why he would not have been found, or sensed, by the military or us yet. His powers are still very raw and undeveloped. Do not be fooled my brothers, training him will take time, perhaps even years. But the war is not yet upon us, and he is our only hope. Now, if you’ll allow me to-“

Bryan was so intent on the conversation that he didn’t even notice Bracchius trying to pull him gently from the room. The most powerful Magistrate they had ever found And he was one of the first to know about it If only Bracchius would let him stay and hear more But Bracchius was insistent, pulling and yanking at Bryan’s arm until he finally relented and left. They left the room and strode outside into the bright afternoon sun. If they kept him here long enough, maybe Bryan would even get to meet this guy. Then he’d really have something to tell his mom hen he got home

!~~~~~~~~~~!

         “Timothy, have you and your team yet considered the ramifications of taking such a young boy away from his family?” The old men were insistent with their concerns, and Timothy had grown tired of defending himself already.

“Yes, Magistrate we have. And in any other instance we would never suggest we take him at this age. The device was intended to indicate who has the gene so that we may recruit them, at their legal age, before the Military or the church even knew about it. But this boys powers are so great that we cannot risk losing him. If we do not take him now, we may miss him later.”

The men began to argue amongst themselves. Timothy had already been bled of the excitement he had arrived with. He’d brought them the greatest Magistrate to ever live And they were yet you even thank him.

“Forgive us Timothy,” The old man in the lowest balcony said. Most people had never even heard of him, yet he was the most powerful man here. Timothy revered him, yet he’d been the most insistent in rejecting Timothy’s proposal. “We do not question your results,” he said. “But we cannot help but fear what the boy may do without his mother. You know how difficult it is for a grown man to become a magistrate, but a boy of not even ten?”

“I know, I know. We have considered every possibility. And as grave as the consequences may be, he must be taken.”

“It might destroy the boy ” somebody shouted from above.

“Yes, but he is one life. Would you risk the Library for the life of one boy?” Timothy hated the way he sounded. He cared, he really did. But death was hovering on the doorstep, and he would make sure, by any means, his family would not be among the remembered dead when the war came. “There is no other way.”

The balcony nearest to the floor began to retract into the wall. “We will consider your proposal,” The head magistrate said as he began to disappear into the shadows. “If no alternative can be found, you may assume you have my, and the magistrates full support.”

All the balconies began to retract themselves into the wall. The debate had ended, and Timothy had succeeded. The room was once again a smooth cylinder as the grooves filled themselves in and the people left. Timothy knew he should count himself lucky to have left without any reprimand. Their experiment hadn’t gotten the go ahead, but he’d done it anyway. If the chairmen of the Library hadn’t offered to cover for him, he might be dead by now.

No, there was too much to do to allow himself to enjoy this small victory. The hardest part was still ahead, and Timothy doubted he had the heart for it.