Chapter 6 – Rites of Gold and Jade

While we all
Remember the marriage rites of Stone and Precious Jewel
I still recall
Those ancient unions yielding beauties dual
The lowly origin of Gold
From heatless home in snowy cold
And timeless comes our clever Jade
Whose pedigree the world made
Of course I know
That every rose must have its thorns
You love the bull
But lost in thought forget its horns

A.D. 2275

Trann had some of the harshest winters anywhere, Lan Shiyin believed. No dome overhead protected residents of the outskirts of the city from the elements, and for three months out of the year, that meant a constant threat of snowfall. Lan survived by hiring himself out to do labor for any country folk not strong enough to work outside during the cold months, so he usually considered the snow a blessing, but he still hated it at times.

Cold meant layers upon layers of clothing. Lan needed his wool hat, his down-stuffed coat, his insulated pants, his fur boots, and his oversized gloves just to stave off frostbite. He needed them even when he was not working; today, for instance, he was just going to the market to pick up a present for Ning Qinshi. Ten minutes there, ten minutes back, and twenty shopping—it added up quickly. Had he left his winter clothes at home, he might have lost a finger or two.

What bothered him at this moment was that he could not feel anything through his gloves. That didn't matter when he was handling a shovel or a firewood axe, but it made smaller and more delicate items difficult to grasp. So clumsy was his grip that he dropped the gold hairpin he just purchased somewhere along the road, and he did not notice until he was nearly home.

The hairpin cost him a week's pay, so he felt obligated to make a thorough search for it, lest he find himself lamenting its loss to Qinshi. She would forgive him, of course, and she would commend his efforts, but he would miss her broad smile. More than the meager money Lan received for doing his wretched work, Lan valued the broad smile that spread across Qinshi's face whenever he did something to please her. Even when her family could not afford to pay their electric bill, that smile would light up any room of her house. Lan loved it more than anything. No other reason could have kept him living outside of the dome.

Lan was not unskilled. He could have had a better life, but that would mean leaving Qinshi behind, and he could not bring himself to do that, for her sake as well as for his. The thought of her suffering through her winters alone tore at his heart like a razor. All he could do was work until he could save enough money to take her away and marry her.

Qinshi had the talent to be whatever she wanted. Dreams of escaping her poverty to pursue a professional career had haunted her since before she and Lan met, but circumstances would not let her leave home. Not yet. Not until Lan could afford to help her move, and she could not move until her family's house was paid for. Then they could live with at least basic utilities.

That day would come soon, however, and Lan knew it. He knew he could afford something extra nice for Qinshi without setting the rest of their schedule back any, so he bought her a gold hairpin so she could fill her family's house with her smile once more before she joined him. She could feel his affection for her every time she wore it, and he could stay humble whenever he saw her wearing it. Lan did not want to forget the work he had to endure to get his family the kind of happy life they deserved. He would not forget those backbreaking winters, and he would make sure his children learned the same lesson.

Something shiny caught Lan's eye as he traced his path back to the store. Underneath a tree, a ray of sunlight gleamed off a golden object half-buried in a bank of snow. Lan's heart rose as the image froze in his mind.

XXX

Lucca Ashtear sat on a padded table in a medical examination room at Greenwood Hospital, wearing a thin jade-colored gown around her body and a small smile on her face. She held in her hands a clipboard; on that was a short report recently printed out for her by her doctor, which she read with great interest. The doctor's test results contained good news.

So much of Lucca's life had gone toward the purpose of exploring the world around her. She found herself a pioneer in multiple fields in three different centuries. Even Balthasar himself considered her an equal in many ways. Still, even the two of them put together could only accomplish so much. Hopping through time could not extend her life any; the end would come eventually.

That was why the report amused her so.

Reports in similar print on similar paper had brought her a share of her happy moments through the rest of her life. She could still remember the first time she was published in a scientific journal. She could remember ordering two copies of that issue for herself, one to keep in her library and one to cut out and frame her paper. She had only been the second author on that paper; the first was Balthasar.

This smile was different, though. The feeling rushing through Lucca's chest, flushing her cheeks, and carrying a dizzy spell to her head was something new to her. The report on the page was not hers, but it felt like it might as well have been.

The universe remained a mystery for the time being, but Lucca was okay with that, if only for a moment. Calabi-Nu could wait. Her new advancement was in the area of life sciences, not physics.

Lucca Ashtear patted her inflated stomach. She closed her eyes and thought only of the cycle of life. The future.

XXX

Beyond Time

Chrono found his new travel companion to be a welcome relief from the horror of stalking his way alone through Jinling Caverns. Coppelia lacked Disenchantment's condescending attitude, and while Chrono had not yet managed to find out much about her, even as much as who she was or what she was doing in such a strange place, at least he didn't feel like she was hiding something from him. That little quirk of Disenchantment's bothered him even while she was gone.

Coppelia took pains to be polite and deferential. If she did so much as accidentally step in Chrono's path, she would apologize profusely and keep her distance for a while. She always made sure she led the way down the darker tunnels (or so she said; they were all dark), presumably to shield Chrono from anything that might be lying in ambush. Chrono only reluctantly allowed her to do so, though he admitted that he had more reason to feel hunted than Coppelia did.

Coppelia kept silent for most of the walk, except when Chrono struck up the courage to ask her a question or two. She never had much to say, but she gave off the impression that there just wasn't that much to say more than that she didn't want to talk. Only a few things about her bothered Chrono at all.

"Coppelia," Chrono began, "did you put out your light when I started chasing you?"

"My light?" Coppelia said.

"Yes," said Chrono. "I first noticed you when I got near because the cave didn't get completely dark when my light went out."

Coppelia shook her head. "Your light does not appear to me to have gone out."

"It flickers on and off at times," said Chrono. "And when it got dark back there, I could still see. I assumed that meant there was another light somewhere."

"You assumed correctly, Mister Chrono," said Coppelia. She reached in to a deep pocket on the front of her dress and produced a long, thin, blue, cylindrical object. When she shook it, it began to glow. "This is what I used."

"Impressive," said Chrono. "I've never seen anything like that before."

"But Mister Chrono," said Coppelia, "I have never seen anything like your light, either. Please tell me where you acquired it."

Chrono thought for a second. "I don't really know where it came from. I suspect it belonged to my old frie…" Chrono cut himself off. "My old guide. She disappeared, but she left this with me."

Coppelia stopped and shot her head around in Chrono's direction. "What was your guide's name, Mister Chrono?"

"Disenchantment," said Chrono. On hearing his answer, Coppelia turned forward again and resumed her casual polite demeanor.

"I apologize to Mister Chrono for my manner," said Coppelia. "I had to be sure that your guide was not anyone I know."

Chrono chuckled. "You've got nothing to apologize for. You're been much nicer to me than most of the other people I've been meeting lately."

"That is my job," said Coppelia. "I live to serve."

Chrono's chuckle ballooned into a full-out laugh. "You know, at first you reminded me of someone else I know, but your personality is miles removed from hers."

"Does this displease you, Mister Chrono?" Coppelia said in earnest.

"Not at all," said Chrono. "I'm relieved, actually."

"If I have displeased you at all, please allow me to make it up by pointing out something I have noticed."

"You haven't done anything wrong," said Chrono. "Still, what have you noticed?"

"Your light," said Coppelia. "I have noticed its flickering, and while I have been unable to find a complete pattern in its behavior, I have been able to classify two distinct, consistent sets of behavior."

"Oh, really?" said Chrono. "I can do that, too. Sometimes it's on, and sometimes it's off. Usually it's on."

"Indeed," said Coppelia, "but have you noticed that it turns if and only if we approach an intersection, and when it turns off, it always does so for either exactly three seconds or exactly two seconds?"

Chrono blinked.

"It is true," said Coppelia. "Always three seconds or two seconds. Never one. Never four. Five is right out."

Chrono attempted a gulp, but he took in a breath at the same time and nearly found himself choking. "That's… that's a clue!"

"A clue?" said Coppelia.

"This may be a hunch, but I think Disenchantment gave me more than a light. I think she gave me a way out."