Canticle Blue

34. End-Stone

Music - Liquid Shadow Night by Tim Story
(from The Perfect Flaw)

One area of the waterwheel cavern on Per'sa Island was off-limits to all but a few people because it was felt to be extremely dangerous. The Per'sa had once drilled a deep hole there, and the drilling mechanism was still visible inside it. It was a large cylinder with a solid core and no external connections. Its vertical surfaces were coated with R-type, N-type, and at least one unidentified substance. Its core material was originally thought to be stone, but comparable devices discovered on the island were found to be much too light. The tapered shape of the drilling hole revealed that, at some point, the mechanism had begun to wobble as it spun and then stopped. It did not appear to be wedged in the hole it had started, but also showed no inclination to spin.  On its top were grooves and conductive surfaces matching the shape and design of the "End-Stone" pendant found several years earlier.

In their first year on the island, members of the Estes' group had found several cylinders like it in work-complex areas. Although they all showed indications of embedded circuitry, only one was found with a control mechanism nearby. It was not configured as a pendant and bore no inscriptions. Havilan Meid had also found references to them in Per'sa texts. They were generally referred to as "spin-stones." Although they had evidently been used for building much of city, their mechanics were not understood. If they had employed heat or abrasion in tunneling, their effects weren't visible in the the examples they found. The only indications that they had been used at all were slight variations in their diameters.

Very surprisingly, when Os Andis studied the geological structure of the caldera island, he found that the End-Stone had been drilling directly above a magma dome. Had the Per'sa intentionally set out to destroy the island? Since geothermal heat was already available there, he could think of no other explanation, especially considering the ominous inscription on the pendant

There was considerable evidence that the owners of the island had left in a hurry. Were they under some kind of threat? Or was someone trying to take possession of the island, even though the Per'sa had lived there for hundreds of years? There were historical records of two ships, sent at different times, to do just that. One of them had turned back because of very heavy seas. The other had hit rocks, well away from the island, and sank. All such records described the climate, seas, and topography of the island as formidable.

Near the waterwheel there was a small channel carved in rock, leading from the upper pool to the End-Stone. When found it was partially blocked by collected sand and broken peices of the wheel.  Had a flow reduction stopped the drilling process, or had pieces of the wheel possibly dislodged the pendant? If the stone had indeed been started in order to destroy the island, there might not have been anyone left to restart it.

As it was, the End-Stone was too deep in the hole to reach without difficulty, and everyone agreed that it would be too risky to lift it out. So they had cordoned off the area and watched it closely. But it was obvious to anyone who came near the hole that it was already giving off an inordinate amount of heat.

One morning, in late winter, the Per'sa Island radio room received a C-link text message from the chancellor of the Bryn Institute. It read:

To Geddes & Syl Este, and all who currently live on Per'sa Island:

Dear Friends,
As you know, there have been ongoing territorial disputes in the Sea of Blue Ice region in recent decades. As they escalated, the Congress Of Nations passed a series of  resolutions seeking to reduce tensions and prevent armed conflict. I have now been informed by our colony directors that the latest of these calls into question the private ownership of lands surrounded by international waters. That would, of course, include Per'sa Island. Because of the resolution, there is already a plan in place to allow one of the disputing parties to establish a permanent presence on our island sometime this year. I am told they will even be presenting demands for evacuation.

Since our federal government is offering no support to the colony in this matter, our directors are requesting that any material or technology on the island which may prove harmful to our people if it falls into the wrong hands should be removed to safe locations before then, including, where possible, to the space habitat Terreska. Institute property will also have to be removed, some of it by commercial airship.

We realize that this will create enormous difficulties for you, but we stand ready to assist in every way possible, including the relocation of some of your people to the Terreska, if they desire. I have also been in contact with Annibet Sem about this. She says there is an acute need to replenish the ship with air, water, and other resources in order to hasten progress. Our people are already working on this and will continue to do so around the clock.

Thank you all for your countless contributions to maintaining our way of life. Our prayers are for you always.

Sincerely
Jule Meric

Geddes Este sent out a call for everyone available on the island to assemble in the seminar area. After sharing the letter with them, he and several staff members took questions from the audience and attempted to answer them.

The first was: "Would we have to move to the Terreska? I have two small children, and we're just not ready for anything like that yet."

He answered, "No. No one will be required to relocate to the Terreska. But I want you all to understand that we will be leaving the island. By using airships, including those available commercially, we will be able to take anyone who chooses back to the Colony.

The next question was: "Is the Terreska ready for us?"

"I just spoke to Annibet," he answered. "She told me that two habitat rings are ready now, as long as food supplies continue. Each one contains fifty individual habitats. She says they are in no way lavish, but are comparable to what we originally found here. They each have an upstairs and six hundred square feet of interior floor space. I'm told there is even room for planter boxes in the 'front yards.' And, of course," he quipped, "we can bring our own light."

Someone else asked, "How safe is it up there?"

He responded, "Annibet seems comfortable with the areas that are viable. I can tell you that she keeps begging Syl and I to come and be her neighbors."

The audience laughed, and Geddes waited a moment to let them to settle down. There was no room for misunderstandings. "I know that, except for the two rings, the habitat area has very little atmosphere. Only the Middi can work there at the moment. And, speaking of the Middi, they will be the first ones to move to the Terreska, not that we made the decision for them. They all knew it would be best to go. The entire contents of the Book Room will be next. Canticle Blue globes will also be ferried on early flights. The life support systems on the Castel will allow for up to twenty passengers at a time. There are plans for larger ships. But, unfortunately, all our manufacturing facilities will have to be moved as well."

Os had the last question. "What about the larger items, like the waterwheel, the N-type crater surfaces, and the warehouse elevator?"

Geddes answered, "I've thought about that too, Os. I don't see how we could remove them, especially on short notice. We will have to keep the colony directors apprised of other options..."

Os knew exactly what he was implying. He was already lost in thought, staring at the tunnel to the caldera island, trying to come to terms with something unthinkable.