Arc One: Awakening

Chapter 12: Cornered

Every time the over-saturated glow from the thin holo-projector flickered, an intense throb stabbed the back of Esther's eyes. She had never been fond of vivid lights, and Lumen was teeming with them. The waving stream of light wobbled over the open books and her stomach churned, her leg tapping against the other stack of tomes waiting to be consumed.

She massaged her temples and slouched. The rickety chair groaned into the quiet hush of the media centre and she shifted forward. It creaked again, and the surrounding patrons shot her accusatory glances.

In the corner, a group of students exchanged excited whispers. One of them read a passage from a book and poked at the graphs on their projector. Summoned by their enthusiastic chatter, the centre's curator hissed for quiet and they quickly offered her their meek apologies.

Part of Esther longed for the libraries of the Citadel. The floors upon floors of bookcases and the gold-edged bannisters that glistened a glossy white in the evening sun. Fireplaces crackling in the snowy months. The smell of citrus and saltwater drifting through the arched windows on serene afternoons. Not this lifelessness, this dingy hall with blinding projectors and prowling shadows. How much she was supposed to find from sitting alone in this unpleasant place she didn't know, but Professor Spark had insisted she learn from records and archives.

She closed the bulky volume she'd been attempting to read for the past half hour and propped her elbows on the desk, resting her cheek on her palm. Beyond the window, feet raced to seek cover from the rain, droplets and pollution smudges mingling on the glass to distort and merge their shapes. Cars ferried their important passengers and did little to avoid coating the citizens on the pathways with dirty water.

"Have you finished with these?"

The shaky voice shocked her from her pondering, and she jolted to the custodian patting the pile of books beside her. Kindly grey eyes watched her, and a dimpled smile greeted her startled surprise.

"I have," Esther replied after settling her stunned nerves. "Thank you."

"You've been studying quite hard over here," he noted, collecting the texts two at a time and balancing them on his arm. "Got an important exam coming up?"

"Yes, yes. Um... it's a big one."

"I don't envy you. Finished my studies last year and I'm glad they're over." He hoisted the final book and planted it on top of the bundle in his firm hold.

"I should help you return those," Esther said, scrambling until he chuckled and waved her back into her seat.

"It's fine. All part of the job." He paused and shuffled his polished shoes. "Can I get you anything else?" he asked, his thumb brushing idly over the spines of the books and his gaze meeting hers for a fraction of a second before it flew to the dappled windows in a flurry of blinks.

"No, thank you."

"If you need any help, I won't be far. Good luck with your exam."

Esther smiled politely as he took the used volumes of Delorem history down the steps and hastily faded into the aisles. She stifled a snicker at the warm flush in her cheeks and cleared her throat, driving her attention to the holo-advert.

A woman with an over-the-top grin held a tube of toothpaste up to the camera, and Esther questioned whether this type of advertisement actually worked. Show this to anyone in Mora, and they'd have avoided the product altogether, maybe even mocked its absurdity. Proof. That is what her people flocked to. But Lumen seemed veiled in fake smiles and wonder solutions, and it hadn't taken her long to figure out it was a smokescreen for the true corruption that governed the city.