Chapter 3

Revres

Lance stood before the giant clock. At first, he had wondered how you would change the time on a massive, old clock tower separated from the island by a significant amount of water. The tower itself was about four stories tall, and the clock read twelve, though noon or midnight, it didn't specify. It was obviously broken, however. His watch read 1617 hours.

Of course, the answer came quickly. Just to his left was a metal box with two wheels, like water valve-style wheels, and a red button. After messing with it, it didn't take long to figure out that the large wheel controlled the minute hand on the clock's massive face, and the smaller wheel controlled the hour hand. After a few turns, he managed to get the face to read 2:40. "That was easy," he remarked, reaching for the red button.

What sounded like a buzzing alarm clock could be heard, and Lance watched the water that separated him from the clock shift. Several small gears emerged through the surface, creating a walkway that led straight to the clock. "Dang," he remarked. "Wish my house had this kind of security."

He crossed to a door which led into the clock, but stopped short when he noticed a marker switch to his left. Reaching for it, he flipped the switch upwards, though still nothing happened. With a slight shake of his head, he let it be and entered the clock.

The large timekeeper seemed much smaller on the inside than it did from the outside. The inside of the clock was simply one room, the walls lined with gears, levers, and three rotating wheels that displayed a single digit on each. There were two levers in front of him, one to each side, that hung from the ceiling. Directly in front of Lance, there were two small gears, one on its side, and one sitting straight up. They were not connected to anything, but seemed to be more of a display. But they seemed familiar. Where had he seen those before?

Lance reached for the lever on the left, yanking it down. The top two wheels turned together, causing the display to read 221. Then he pulled the lever on the right, the bottom two wheels spinning, making the display read 232. This went on for about ten minutes until Lance started to seriously get angry. Despite his best efforts, he could not make the number read 255. He finally yanked down on the left lever and held it there, only to be surprised when both wheels turned once, then the second one kept spinning for as long as he held it down. The boy wanted to slap himself in the head for not realizing it sooner as he quickly got 255 to display on the wheels.

No sooner had he solved the puzzle that he heard a grinding noise. The two gears in front of him seemed to move, then rotate. The gear standing up turned until it revealed that it was only a ¾ of a gear, with an opening that had been hidden beneath the display. Lance cocked an eyebrow as he examined the display, trying to figure out exactly what he'd done. Seconds later, he realized it; when he first arrived, there were two massive gears on top of a hill that looked just like those. He dashed out of the clock, crossed the island, and climbed up the stairs on the side of the hill.

Sure enough, there it was. The larger gear was turned on its side, and in the cut out portion, there was a book. Was this it?! Was this the book he'd been waiting for? He reached for it and opened.

No. This wasn't going to take him back to Earth. The display on the linking panel was one of a wasteland-like place, with gears, springs, and other mechanical parts sticking out of various places in the ground. The age seemed to revolve around one building, a massive, circular, steel structure that reflected the eerie red hue of the sky.

"Before you go in there," Ka'Tar's familiar accent rang out, "I have something to tell you that you should know."

10 years earlier…

"Why do you suppose Father has not taught us The Art?" Achenar asked of his older brother as they wandered through the Selentic Age. "Surely we could create better worlds than this?" His high-pitched squealy voice irritated Sirrus, who answered quickly to shut him up.

"That's just it, Achenar," he started. "Father doesn't know whether to trust us or not because of your bumbling."

"Me?! Why me?!" he demanded.

Sirrus sighed as they passed a large clock tower, not unlike the one on the Island of Myst. "Because you think that the Art creates worlds. What our dear father was trying to teach us all these years is that we don't create worlds; we simply link to the worlds that already exist. Still…" his voice took a darker tone. "There could be a way to make him teach us." He let the sentence hang, allowing his meaning to sink in. Achenar shot a sideways glance at his brother, wondering just what it was he meant.

Present Day…

Lance set the book down and turned to face Ka'Tar. "Look, I wish you'd give information to me in bigger chunks," he complained, crossing his arms over his chest. "Are you coming with me?"

"No. I cannot."

Lance cocked an eyebrow. "Cannot? Or will not?" he said, echoing a movie he once saw.

"It is both. The laws of my people. But that is not the problem. You are more than capable of figuring this out for yourself. I will be waiting here for your return. However, you need to know something before you leave." He paused a moment, then continued. "This is The Age of Revres, one of Atrus' works. This is one of the four you will have to flush out here on Myst. Each of these ages contain one red page, and one blue page. Hidden within each age as well, is a link back to Myst Island. But, it is hidden. You will be trapped in each of these ages until you are able to locate the hidden Myst book."

"Are you demented?" Lance demanded, losing his patience. "Why are they hidden?"

Ka'Tar sighed. "Atrus' works are very important to him. His home, this island, is even more so because he worries to protect his family. He hides his books to keep this age, the age of Myst, safe. It is risky that you may not find the book, however, it is your only chance at returning to your home. You may get stuck in Revres, but if you don't go, you will surely be stuck here on Myst. Either way, you are risking your freedom. At least in Revres, you have a chance."

"I don't understand something. How are these pages going to help me get home?"

Ka'Tar looked behind him towards the library. "One of the brothers, either Sirrus or Achenar, knows the location of their father. You must use these pages as leverage, as they spell out their freedom. Get the guilty one to tell you where he hid Atrus, and get in contact with him. He should be able to assist you in getting home."

Lance looked surprised. "Should?" he echoed.

Ka'Tar nodded. "Should."

Lance ran his fingers through his hair. "That's just perfect. I'm looking for a guy who might be able to get me out of a mess he got me into in the first place. Meanwhile, I'm still waiting to wake up from this…" He looked up to find Ka'Tar gone. "…nightmare." He turned around to look at the book, which had Revres engraved on the front cover and spine. Picking it up, he opened it, gave the linking panel one more look, before finally touching it and feeling the universe disappear around him.

85 years earlier…

Lady Ti'Ana grabbed Katran's hand. "Nonono, don't do that," she said.

"What?" she asked, somewhat frightened.

"You cannot write man-made objects into an age. It never comes out as it should. You must physically build a house in the age, then allow the house to write itself into the book."

Katran was very confused now. "What? How does a house write itself into a book?"

Ti'Ana thought a moment, then said, "Dear Katran…there are some questions that just can't be answered. But let me give you an example. My husband, before he died…once wrote an age called "Stoneship." Now Stoneship was a very beautiful age indeed, but Atrus, a young writer at the time, made the mistake of trying to write an old pirate ship into the age. Something he could use to explore the world. When he linked to the age, the ship he'd tried to write in was split in half by a massive stone that rose out of the water. The ship was neither stable, nor navigable, but rather became part of the scenery of the age. A similar age, Selentic, had problems with a certain clock tower that was written in."

Katran nodded, understanding somewhat. "Okay, no man-made objects." She turned back to her work and added a few extra characters before turning back to Ti'Ana. "Is this acceptable?"

Ti'Ana nodded. "Yes, but I would suggest being more descriptive about that tree. Use some of the more descriptive words that Gehn told you were useless. They are actually the backbone of the art, not that he would know."