8 – Non Sequitur
He flicks a few last switches into position, tightens the last few wires – and it's done. Ready. He wires up the globe and turns to the struggling girl.
"Time to see whether my twenty years wait has paid off," he says, more to himself than her. He places his hand on the lever.
"This might hurt," he says to the girl. "Probably does. I dunno. You know what?" A slightly sickly grin spreads over his face as he pushes the lever down. "You tell me."
"Time," said Zanika to nobody in particular, "seems to be against us."
She turned to face the five strangers, who looked at each other, then back at her.
"Fortunately," she continued, now addressing Jane, "there is very little I could say to prepare you for what you are about to experience. The mirror realm is different to all who travel there. But your guide will be waiting in his true form to meet you, and he will explain what you need to know."
She gestured to the stone bed behind her. Jane stepped up to the bed and climbed tentatively onto it. Despite being made entirely of stone, it was surprisingly comfortable.
Above the bed, a large flat slab of stone was held vertically in place by a series of ropes. As Jane watched, Zanika slowly lowered the stone until it was horizontal. Jane saw that there were two small round holes in it, rather like eyes. She heard Zanika speaking again.
"Normally I would remain here until you return… but with everything that's happened today, I cannot. So… should you decide to leave Dream without getting the answer you seek, you will have to return later without help. Should you need to do so, simply focus on the eyes of the Ancestors and you should be able to travel there."
Zanika's face appeared upside down in Jane's field of view.
"Ready?" Jane nodded. "Good. Then take a deep breath, relax, and focus on the eyes in the stone above you."
Zanika drew her head back, allowing Jane a clear view of the stone above her. She breathed deeply, settled back into the bed and looked up at the stone.
For several seconds, nothing happened. Then, as Jane watched, a white glow appeared behind the eyes, seeming to expand as she watched until it had swallowed her.
Zanika looked intently at Jane's inert body for several seconds, then turned back to Jordan, Rachel, Maddy and Brittany.
"I don't know how long she'll be there for. I suggest that at least one of you wait here for her return – she will most likely feel a little poorly. I must go with my sisters to alert the village. The life stone is missing from the root chamber – our world is in grave danger without that stone. Anya is in the Hall of Spirits if you need her. The best of luck to you."
With a swish of her robes, Zanika vanished down the stairs. Jordan, Rachel, Maddy and Brittany immediately buried themselves in discussion.
"Achenar was carrying a stone when we saw him," said Maddy immediately. "Do you think that's something to do with this – what was it? Life stone?"
"Could be," muttered Jordan. "I think we need to go find this journal he was talking about. It could help explain what's going on."
"Right," said Maddy. "And I think that one of us should go find Anya and ask her about this stone. Zanika didn't say why it was so important."
"Okay," said Rachel. "Here's what I think what we should do. Jordan, go find Achenar's journal. Maddy, head over to the Hall of Spirits and see if you can find Anya, and ask her about this stone. And Britt, I think you should go back to Tomahna and try and get in touch with Atrus. I'll stay here and wait for Jane."
"Achenar said not to -"
"No, I'm with Rach," interrupted Maddy. "I trust Achenar about as far as I could throw him. Try and get in touch with Atrus – he might be able to help, and he needs to know what's going on."
Hardly daring to blink, let alone move, Jane remained perfectly still. All around her was white. Before she knew what was happening, though, she felt her stomach rise – she was falling, the whiteness was spinning around her, and below her, a point of complete darkness appeared. As she fell, the darkness expanded and the whiteness receded. She closed her eyes, but this seemed to have no effect – the whiteness seemed to shine through her eyelids, the darkness welled up below her until the whiteness was but a pinprick in the darkness – and then it was gone, and the falling sensation stopped. The darkness enveloped her. It was not cold, nor was it warm. She looked around, but there was no point of reference and she could hardly tell that she was moving her eyes at all. She couldn't feel anything; when she raised her hand in front of her face, it didn't seem like a hand at all – more like a vague outline of her hand.
And then, through the darkness, a voice rung out, or seemed to ring out. It was a rich, deep voice, but soft, as though someone was whispering into a microphone, and it somehow comforted and terrified her at the same time.
Not what you expected, is it, Traveller?
Jane tried to pinpoint the source of the voice, but it was impossible – it was as though it had come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.
You are here because you want to find the answer to something that troubles you, continued the voice. Why, then, wouldn't Dream seem dark and mysterious at first?
A small pinpoint of light slid into view. The light itself was very small, but radiated out into a small circle around it. In the very centre of the circle was a face, or at least, that's what it looked like. The eyes were the same ornate eyes as she had seen in the tornado back on Serenia, and the mouth was a small gaping hole. The tilt of the eyes and the shape of the mouth made the face look as though it was in severe pain. Jane knew immediately, although she wasn't sure how she knew, that this must be her guide.
Do not be afraid, continued the guide. The fragrance of your offering still lingers… it pleases me. So I shall light this darkness for you, and lead you to the ones you call the Ancestors.
All around Jane, the darkness was suddenly lit by glowing grey strands, ever shifting and flowing. They seemed close, but it was as though there was a shield of sorts around Jane, projected by the guide.
Dream is an ever-changing place, said the guide. The strands are never still, always moving. If a Traveller comes here unshielded, they will be crushed by the strands, with no way back to the waking world. That means instant death, he added, in response to the question that formed in Jane's mind. Travelling in Dream is only safe if you are with me, or one of my brothers. We can shield you from the strands, and guide you through the darkness.
As Jane watched, something appeared through the darkness – it appeared to be a cluster of orange sparks, moving through the strands. It approached Jane and her guide, but did not seem dangerous.
That is not an Ancestor, said the guide. Like you, she is a Traveller here, guided by my brother. She does not have the power to shape Dream.
The sparks drifted past, and from the other direction, a cluster of tiny bubbles approached.
Another Traveller. Many come here, for many reasons. Some come seeking answers, or to speak with loved ones. Some come simply to distract themselves from their waking life.
But come – I sense the approach of one who can shape Dream for you.
Jane was expecting that they would move through the strands, and she thought that that was probably what happened, but it felt more like the strands moved around her. A small white cloud came into view, and they stopped near it. There was silence for a second, then the guide spoke again.
How… odd. This is not an Ancestor. She does not yet have the power to influence Dream. But she is not a Traveller either, as I can sense no waking mind to return to. It's almost as though the connection between her mind and her memories has been severed prematurely.
The guide paused. I do not understand how this can be possible, but this must be the one you are seeking.
"Those are… that is… Yeesha?" When Jane spoke, she couldn't hear any sound coming from her mouth, but her voice instead seemed to ring out in the same way as the guide's did.
Yes.
Behind the white cloud, more clouds flowed in from the darkness, in all manner of colours – red, yellow, green, blue, purple – and slowly joined the white cloud to form a ring around Jane and her guide.
These are the Ancestors. They are willing to shape Dream for you, and show you the answer you need, but they will need your help. By touching one, you can impart some of your own energy to it. That will make it change colour. When all are as one, their combined wisdom will show you the answer. Go on, try it.
Jane reached up her hand and brushed the nearest ancestor tentatively. A very slight tingle ran through her fingers, and the cloud changed from green to yellow.
Yes, that's it. I will be silent until you succeed. However, if you do grow too frustrated, and need to take a break, signal me by touching your amulet. I will then immediately send you back to Serenia, but without the answer you need.
With that, the guide fell silent. Jane, now much less apprehensive than she was upon arriving in this bizarre place, turned her attention to the clouds.
Maddy found Anya in the courtyard outside the Hall of Spirits. She had just rung the bell under the archway, and was on her way back to the Hall, when Maddy found her.
"How goes the young lady?"
For a second, Maddy thought that Anya meant her, but quickly realised that she was referring to Jane.
"Well, she's off dreaming now. Hopefully she comes back with whatever it is we need to find out."
"Good, good." Anya looked a little distracted, and Maddy could guess why.
"Anya – what's so important about the life stone?"
Anya did not look surprised in the slightest that Maddy had asked this. She smiled.
"I assume that Zanika mentioned it?" Maddy nodded. "Yes… well, the life stone is kept in the root chamber under the water pool over there." Anya gestured to the area beyond the Memory Chamber. "The stone keeps the Memory Chamber nourished and healthy, so she can collect and store our memories when we die. Without the stone, the chamber will steadily weaken and eventually die. The death of the chamber would mean we would be unable to store new memories or access the memories we currently have stored. To our civilisation, which revolves around these memories and the chamber… it would mean total chaos and the eventual collapse of our society."
"Oh god." Maddy had not expected an answer quite as drastic as this. "There's no spare stone?"
"No," replied Anya. "There are more stones in the southern hills, but it takes some time to find them, and without a stone the chamber will die within a day or two. Once your young friend retuns from Dream, I will need to close the Memory Chamber until this is all over."
"If the chamber dies," said Maddy, "is there any way to… salvage the memories?"
"Yes," said Anya, "but we would have to establish a new chamber, and it takes several weeks to do so. The chambers live for a very long time, but they do not last forever. The current chamber is the second one used by our people. You may have seen the old withered flower, on the other side of the root chamber? It was the first Memory Chamber. When a chamber gets too old, however, it has to be abandoned, as the pollen produced by the flower becomes highly toxic in its old age. But it's still alive, and theoretically capable of functioning properly if a way could be found to contain the pollen."
"Would the memories you have stored be destroyed if the chamber dies?"
"No, they wouldn't, as they're stored externally, in memory globes. But without a chamber, we can't access the globes. The transfer of memories into globes has to be done very soon after death, or the memories will be lost. So in short," finished Anya heavily, "we really need the stone back."
Jane reached out and touched the last of the Ancestors. The cloud shifted to white. She was now surrounded by a mass of white clouds.
You have succeeded, said the guide immediately. The clouds flowed back from Jane, and collected a short distance from her into a single large cluster.
I can feel the Ancestors' wisdom at work. Now pay attention – you will never see this revelation again.
The Ancestors formed two clusters, which solidified into large white dots. Each of these split into three smaller dots, each with a different colour – red, green and blue, and yellow, purple and cyan. These dots then turned white, and they formed a ring of six triangles, all glowing white.
The answer has been seen, said the guide. There can be no turning back. Farewell, Traveller, and good luck.
The Ancestors vanished. The guide's light faded, and Jane was floating in darkness again – but not for long. As suddenly as before, her stomach dropped, and she was flying upwards, towards a pure white dot that grew larger and larger, pushing the darkness back below her. The whiteness enveloped her again, and she rose through the blinding light, faster and faster. And then, with a jolt, she stopped. She could feel every ache in her body again, except the sensations were so much more pronounced. Gasping for air, she sat up, blinking.
The Memory Chamber swam into focus around her. Her head ached and a cold sweat had broken on her brow. She felt a hand grasp her wrist, and a water bottle was pushed into her hand. She drank gratefully, and wiped her brow on her sleeve, still breathing heavily. She looked up and saw Rachel sitting beside her, looking concerned.
"Are you all right?"
"Yeah… I'll be fine," replied Jane. She drank more water, then handed the bottle back to Rachel.
"So… what happened?"
"That was…" Jane paused, searching for words. "That was the strangest thing I've ever done."
"What about this message you had to see?"
"Oh, right. It was…" Jane described what she had seen in Dream as they walked slowly down the stairs and out into the cool evening air.
"So what does it mean?"
"You're back!"
They had encountered Maddy and Anya coming the other way. They stopped to talk further.
"I had hoped to discuss your experience in Dream," said Anya to Jane. "But… you can't always count on hopes, can you? Not when so much of what the Ancestors have shown us has already come true." She sighed. "The others have gone to alert the village… I must go inside and protect the memories."
Anya strode past them and into the Memory Chamber, grabbing the heavy wooden doors on either side and beginning to pull them closed.
"You can't help us?"
"I wish there was another way," said Anya by way of reply. "But in all our dreams, the last task always fell to you." She paused, with the doors almost closed. "The best of luck… and be careful." The doors closed. There was a heavy click from the other side as she locked them.
Rachel, Maddy and Jane hurried up the stairs and found Brittany and Jordan outside the Hall of Spirits. Jordan was clutching a battered brown book.
Jane relayed what she had seen in Dream to them again, as they went and sat down in their now usual spot near the pond. When she had finished, Rachel asked the question all of them were thinking.
"What does it mean?"
"I don't know," replied Jane. "I thought that going to Dream would explain everything; where Yeesha is and how to save her. But I still have no idea. It's sort of led nowhere."
"I don't know about this whole revelation either," said Jordan, "but I think I might know where Yeesha is. This journal talks about their plan, which looks like it originally involved Atrus. Sounds like Sirrus and Achenar were collaborating, then had a big fight and went their separate ways again. It looks like they managed to get into the old Memory Chamber. Listen to this bit."
Jordan flicked the journal open and read out loud. "'In theory, all it has to do is stimulate the old fungus into doing what it does naturally – removing a person's memories. But in order for our entire plan to work, we have to keep Father's body alive before, during and after the process so that one of us can use it later. I'm not even sure the fungus will be able to remove memories from a living body.'"
Brittany digested all this. "You're saying that… they're going to somehow use the old chamber to remove Atrus' memories and replace them with their memories?"
"It looks like that was their original plan, yes," replied Jordan. "But now it looks like one of them is using it to remove Yeesha's memories and replace them with their own."
Jane swore. Rachel was equally stunned by this theory and did not try to correct her.
"Wait," said Maddy. "Anya told me that the flower in the old chamber gives off some really nasty pollen. How are they using the chamber without dying?"
"He talks about that as well," said Jordan. "I think he enclosed the flower in some sort of airtight chamber to contain the fumes."
There was silence among the group. All of them realised that Jordan's theory was almost certainly right.
"Britt? Did you get in touch with Atrus?"
"No," said Brittany. "Still too much interference on the Viewer. But it's clearer than before."
"When I was in Dream," said Jane, suddenly remembering, "my guide pointed out something that he said was Yeesha. He said something about the connection between her mind and memories being broken."
"That's pretty bad. I think we need to get down to this chamber quickly," said Maddy. "It sounds like we might already be too late, but maybe we can still reverse whatever's happened."
