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Table for two, please

Writers Science Fiction posted on Aug 24, 2021
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Description


Chapter 12

“I think we’re lost.” “We’re not lost.” “We should ask for directions.” “I don’t need to ask for directions.” “There’s a Library Map right there in the middle of the aisle.” “I don’t need a map.” Mara stopped to look at the map. “The food court is the other way.” “I was taking a short-cut, but fine, if you want to go the long way.” Jack turned around and walked back towards the intersection where they’d taken a right instead of a left. Mara fell into step next to Jack and nuzzled him. “Do you think they serve tigers?” Jack dropped his hand down to Mara’s ears and tickled them. “We’ve seen two wolves reading books, and those round things with tentacles in that music room, so they probably serve all species.” “I asked one of the librarians,” said Mara. “Those round things are the Tumul. The librarian said they are the finest musicians in the universe.” “Hmm.” “Why are you mad?” Jack stopped and sighed. He looked up at shelves of books so high he couldn’t even see the ceiling - and nothing was easy to find. There were so many twists and turns to the pathways between the shelves and specialty buildings containing rare collections that it was like trying to navigate the streets of an ancient city. Small villages of a few scattered buildings would just pop up in odd places, but mostly at intersections. “Nothing here makes any sense to me, it’s like some parts are a real library, but they didn’t have enough room for all the books, so they built bookshelves outside and stuck a bigger building over everything,” said Jack. “This thing was built over millions, maybe billions of years. And the technology is so far over my head, I might as well wear bear skins and find a cave to live in, there are so many books on so many subjects I will never find something for my situation. I mean, sheesh, it was snowing in that one aisle we went down, how does that even work? Mara, I’m too far out of my time to use this library – even Aya can’t navigate this labyrinth.” “I admit, I am lost,” said Aya. Mara grinned. “I’m a tiger, I can find food.” Jack bowed. “Lead the way, oh mighty huntress.” Mara bit at Jack’s arm, then lifted her head and sniffed at the air. It was a soft-bite, not one intended to break skin, but he had no idea why she kept doing it. He really needed to find a book about tigers and figure out what the nips and bites were all about. Mara growled and crouched as if on the hunt. “This way,” she whispered, I smell meat.” A half-hour later they still hadn’t found the main corridor where the train tracks were. Jack was fairly certain they would die out here somewhere in this wilderness of books, but Mara did find an outdoor café in a small village nestled around an intersection with a sign that read, Sapphire – Population 10. Jack gave Mara a side-glance. “I found food,” said Mara with a small tiger shrug. Jack approached a woman taking a man’s order. The man looked a little like an Atan amphibian. “Excuse me, do you serve tigers here?” asked Jack. “One moment, please,” replied the woman. Jack’s eyes narrowed slightly as he studied the amphibian man. The man was dressed very similar to the way Jon Black dressed. A nagging feeling brushed at Jack’s mind, but, his proximity alarm hadn’t gone off, so the man shouldn’t be armed – but there was still something off. The woman finished taking the man’s order and turned to Jack. “Welcome to the Blue Sapphire Inn, Sir. We don’t serve Sherata tigers, but we do serve Sheros tigers. Which are you, dear?” The woman looked at Mara. Mara looked puzzled. “I think I’m a Sherata tiger.” The woman crossed her arms and leaned in closer to inspect Mara. “Would you be so kind as to show me one of your front paws?” asked the woman. Mara raised a front paw and giggled as she wiggled her toes at the woman. “Dear, Sherata don’t giggle, wiggle their toes, comply with any kind of request, or have an opposable digit on their front paw. You are a Sheros tiger.” “Is that bad?” asked Mara, worried. “No, dear, I just wanted to be certain you weren’t one of those brutish beasts that come around here causing trouble. Have a seat anywhere you like, I’ll bring you some fresh meat, and for you young man, I’ll bring you a nice sandwich.” Jack took a seat at one of the tables. Mara sat beside him. “She’s nice,” said Mara. Jack was staring at the man dressed like Jon Black – a single bead of sweat was running down the man’s forehead, but it wasn’t a hot day. “He’s sweating and trying to hide that he’s out of breath. He ran here and arrived just ahead of us. It’s that locator beacon I found, he’s been tracking us.” “The proximity alarm never went off,” said Aya. “We need to assume they have the technology to get around that,” said Jack. A few minutes later a waiter carrying a tray with at least twenty pounds of raw meat stacked on it came to the table. “Who ordered the raw meat?” Jack looked at the man with an unamused expression – it was obvious who the meat was for. “Me, me, I did,” said Mara as she bounced up and down. The man set the tray on the ground in front of Mara, but before the waiter could back away, Jack lashed out and grabbed the man’s arm. “If that meat is poisoned, your friend over there will not prevent me from killing you in the most unpleasant way I can think of.” There was a moment of fear in the man’s eyes before he replied. “The meat is not poisoned, Mr. Aestar, you are among friends.” Jack frowned. “I haven’t told anyone here my name.” The man at the other table and dressed in the same manner as Jon Black stood and spoke in the same thick amphibian accent that Jon Black also had. “Let him go, the meat is not poisoned.” “What do you want?” asked Jack, not releasing the waiter. Mara sniffed at the meat, but didn’t touch it. “Is it poison?” “I don’t know, Mara, but this doesn’t feel right,” said Jack. The amphibian man came around his table and slowly walked to Jack’s table with his hands out to his sides, and one fist closed. Jack released the waiter and came to his feet, his fists up and ready to fight. “What’s in your hand?” “My name is Toran’Sar.” The man opened his hand to reveal a silver rectangular object. “Jack 432 died to get this to you.” “What is it?” asked Jack. The man slowly stretched his hand out and placed the object on the table. “It is a library card. In the last moments of his life, Jack 432 opened the World Bridge to my world and asked me to pass it to each Jack in turn. I have only been able to get it to five of the alternate Jack's, until you.” Jack shook his head. “A library card?” “This library card will open an Apeirogon door with a direct connection to this library, in your time. Jack 432 purchased this card for all the Jack’s to use. He knew this library, in this time, was worthless to your purpose. There is too much information here to sort through, you could spend countless eons here and never find the answer you’re searching for.” Something dawned on Jack. “The anti-matter device, are the blueprints there?” The man nodded. “Yes, and in that Jack 432 found what you need to save the Ruk, but not the Universe.” “Then what good is that thing to me?” said Jack. “All the alternate Jack’s are various facets of one personality. Jack 641 through Jack 645, the altruistic Jack’s, did find the answer, and with some help they made progress, but there were not enough of them, and now we only have one chance left.” Mara pawed at Jack’s leg. “Jack, I’m hungry, can I eat this or not?” The man looked down fondly on Mara. “Sweetest Mara, mother of the Cettise, the meat is not poisoned. I would never allow harm to come to you.” Mara needed no further coaxing and dived into the meat with the hunger of a tiger. “Cettise?” “Jack, you are the father of the Cettise. I have only a drop of your blood, but beyond the door that card will open is your full-blooded direct descendent. Open the door, Jack, he is waiting to help you.” Jack’s eyes flicked to the device, the hint of him and Mara being the mother and father of the Cettise flying completely over his head. “Those winged people, are they the enemy?” Toran’Sar shook his head. “To say they are the enemy is too simplistic an answer, but Jon Black is a good man, an excellent lawman, and an even better Keeper of the Timeline, but he is not a Cettise, nor is he a General. The man waiting for you is a Cettise, and the greatest of Generals. He led the betrayed remnants of the Cettise against the most technologically advanced Fleet of this era, and outnumbered 10,000 to 1, he toppled the most corrupt and brutal Empire to ever exist.” “Wait, is he ‘CC’?” “Yes, he is.” “Why didn’t you say that in the first place?” Jack grabbed the card off the table. “How’s this thing work?” “Hold on, hold on,” shouted a voice. Jack and Toran’Sar both turned their heads to see one of the lizard men running towards them, only this lizard man was much thinner than the others Jack had seen. He wore a disheveled and wrinkled three-piece suit with a watch fob hanging out of the breast pocket, thin wire frame glasses, and shiny pointed dress shoes that could have used some shoe polish – the shoes squeaked as he ran. The thin lizard man had an armful of papers and dumped them on the table as he arrived. The man retrieved an ink pad and pen from a pocket somewhere. “Yes Sir, there you are, been looking for you, goodness, so much to do,” said the lizard man. “Okay, okay, let’s see… Jack Aestar 1347, yes yes, that’s it.” The lizard man flipped through the pages of the thickest contract Jack had ever seen. “You are the authorized inheritor of one each Blue Sapphire Membership Account, but the card itself remains the property of the library, yes yes, must sign for your card and membership. Now, sign here, thumb print here, initial here, and a drop of blood there.” The thin lizard man grinned and shoved the contract at Jack. “Just kidding about the drop of blood, a bit of librarian humor.” The lizard man laughed at his own joke before continuing. “Your membership as a Blue Sapphire Patron authorizes you use of all Blue Sapphire lounges, cafes, study rooms, multi-media rooms, lodging, and the storybook forest – meals are additional expenditures to be paid in full at the end of each millennium. You also have use of all librarian assistance, but are restricted from any advanced technology not yet in existence during your time period, but that shouldn’t be a problem as you are currently restricted to the library as it was during your time period. All books have a maximum check-out time limit of 5 million years – damages and over-due charges will be assessed to your bank account…” The lizard man continued rattling off rules and membership benefits. Jack gave Toran’Sar a pained expression. “Seriously? It’s the end of the universe and I have to fill out paperwork?”

Comments (11)


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donnena Online Now!

7:36PM | Tue, 24 August 2021

Delightful!!

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bakapo

8:52PM | Tue, 24 August 2021

There's always paperwork. Nice writing. I really like the talking tiger idea. I hope Jack gets to eat his sandwich before he goes exploring in the library.

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Radar_rad-dude

10:52PM | Tue, 24 August 2021

Just way way way too funny, Wolf! Paperwork first! Save the universe later! Will it never end? LOL! I'm cracking up on the floor pounding holes in the plywood!

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Paulienchen Online Now!

12:18AM | Wed, 25 August 2021

gefällt mir

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anahata.c

5:24AM | Wed, 25 August 2021

Such a delightful chapter, and a real mind-field too (not mine-field---I mean a mental playground). Love your 'in medias res' openings---this one enters with boom-boom-boom (each line's rhythm), taking us right into the characters. Your relationship between Jack and Mara is turning out to be delicious. They start out here like a kind version of the Bickersons; and lines like "oh mighty huntress" shows the play-conflict-and-love that they have for each other.

Your library is revealed to be a vast city, even a country...love your imagination here, the roads, passageways, book stacks beyond the perimeters...and we'll find (by end) that this vastness is strictly for the time period of Jack...so that means there's even more that we haven't seen. (Snowing in one of the aisles---great example of this place's scope. I assume, as a writer, that a conceit like this is a carnival for you...you can do so much with it, and it never runs out of possibilities.)

Counterpoint---a normal feature for you---comes in (boom) as Jack talks to Mara while he can't get his mind off the Jon Black dude (Toran'Sar) (your names are strange and tantalizing!). You'll reveal his identity in this chapter, and it's very enticing.

The 'test' to see if Mara is acceptable is handled very satisfyingly; and I love the 20 lbs of meat and Mara jumping up and down like a dog. (No offense, felines!) Then Toran speaks, and reveals the father of the Cettise. (Confession: I haven't yet read the CC reference you mentioned to me--just lack of energy from my own post, I'll see it soon.) A very enticing revelation, and you even suggested Mara was the 'mother' of the Cettise. That's tantalizing! As you often do, it's a quick blast revelation of ancient histories and connections, and opens up all kinds of future narratives...and then the 'library card' (the cosmic version), and then that final speech: You ended in pure parody and farce, with a great hotel clerk's list of the ammenities---incl extras "to be paid at the end of each millenium" (kudos!) and a line about technology not yet in existence during Jack's time period, and of a 'check out' time limit of 5 million years...these are delectable pastries, sir!

This feels like a briefer chapter, and the mind-bending details stand out more as a result. And you end with the paperwork line, something everyone can relate to, and your commenters seemed to love it. A delicious, flowing, delightul chapter, with your usual glimpses into past ages and long histories and mysterious connections...Really well done. (I tried to make this comment shorter for you, but it didn't work!) Thank you for your very kind comment on my piece...I couldn't move when I finished it (I won't be able to write for a few days), and I appreciate all you said. Many thanks.

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STEVIEUKWONDER

9:10AM | Wed, 25 August 2021

Methinks he'll get the gold star red carpet treatment as long as his striped friend is present! Love this! Yet again. Exemplary work!

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eekdog

10:41AM | Wed, 25 August 2021

again really awesome words and image.

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jendellas

5:25PM | Wed, 25 August 2021

I have a problem finding places, l would fit in. Also love library’s.

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RodS

9:55PM | Wed, 25 August 2021

There is ALWAYS paperwork. No matter what age or set of circumstances. The Girls will back me up on that....

I really think I need to get me one of those tigers. If for no other reason than the looks I'd get while wandering around Sam's Club. It's as hard to find stuff there as in that library. 😄

Another fun and superb ly written chapter!

Wolfenshire Online Now!

10:55PM | Wed, 25 August 2021

That is a brilliant idea. I should write in something mundane, like stopping at the grocery store for some cough drops.

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TwiztidKidd

1:16AM | Thu, 26 August 2021

Awesome! Going into my collection to read later... I know I'm always in for a treat. Thank you!

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miwi

8:23AM | Fri, 27 August 2021

Most excellent work,also going into my collection to read it later; this cover is also wonderfully done.5*


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