BANE: avenge

Chapter 14

Simply Edward sat back again as he digested it.

“So I am currently harbouring a criminal."

“A criminal? I am not a criminal..."

“Your father was murdered by the Duchess years ago, Ara. You did not fulfil the laws."

“I have a valid reason for not having done so. I had no idea whatsoever of any of this having occurred."

He looked shocked.

“You did not know? How? That is truly astounding. It was the talk of London for weeks!"

“I simply did not know. No news reached us of it, right Peregrine?"

“I did not hear of it. However, my father did visit London during that time, now that I think about it. I do wonder if he knew about it all these years & kept us in the dark."

“That could pretty well be, Pippin. I suppose if it was done, it would have been to protect me, though.  "

“Out of extreme curiosity, why are you two hence, then?"

“My sister received a letter detailing the situation yesterday.” I began, & told him the whole story.

“In conclusion, Pippin followed me along & I am on my way to see Apollo's Oracle."

“Apollo's Oracle? exceedingly few get in to see her, Ara."

“So? I figured it's worth a try. Maybe I can get an exception to the law & not have to execute my own mother. I should think it is at least worth a try, is it not?"

“I suppose it is, but what if you get your appeal rejected? What if the gods' will be that you fulfil the law? What then? You could just continue hiding & never go... I am sure you could evade the law until the Duchess is deceased."

“Live my whole life in hiding? I would much rather not."

“Would you rather spend your life hiding from society because of having the disgrace of killing your own mother?"

“I would be hiding either way, Simply Edward."

“If you say so."

“Would you happen to know where the Oracle is located?"

“I have heard rumours that she is somewhere in East London."

“East London? The slums? Why would she be there?"

“It is on the Steaether Networks."

“I see... Would there be more information available on where she is located on the steaether networks?"

“The is a high probability of there being more information on her location on-steam. I simply grazed over that information a bit, since I had never had any cause to look into it any more than that. I can certainly do a bit of research on my Tactile Sensitive Analytical Engine, if you would like it?"

“Yes, that would certainly be of great use."

“Well, I suppose I'll go to the room where it is stored, then?"

He stood up, & I followed suit.

“Would you mind me accompanying you, Simply Edward? I have never seen a full scale Analytical Engine connected to the steam networks."

“You have never seen one? Sure, I suppose you can come along."

Pippin continued sitting, staring absently at the wall.

“Are you coming, Pippin?"

He started, then slowly nodded, getting up & following Simply Edward & me.

We walked into the Analytical Engine's room, & I gasped.

I encompassed the entire room, filling it with machinery.

He turned a lever, steam particles flowed, & formed a picture all around us.

Simply Edward put on gloves & started navigating through the steam pages with them.

I watched in awe as the steam shifted by his touch.

I had never built or repaired anything this complex & advanced. In fact, it had never occurred to me that such a thing could possibly exist. I doubt it is completely powered by steam. I should say that it must have some rather large Voltaic Cells to power it instead of using coal to produce the steam, as using coal would not be sufficiently efficient to power the machinery without causing a delay in the response times of the steaether network communications in-between Analytical Engines.

Suddenly, I saw colours swirling all around me, & remembered the dream where it had been quite similar.

I looked behind me & saw nothing, I turned around, & they were gone. Pippin & Simply Edward had completely disappeared, in fact, all the machinery was gone, & all that remained was colourful steam swirling around me, almost so thick as to suffocate me from the lack of oxygen. I had never heard of anyone who suffocated (or is it drowned?) in steam.

I contemplated these things, all the while adjusting (as well as I could) to the swirling colours surrounding me, the lack of oxygen, & the feeling of weightlessness.

I heard the maiden's voice again.

“Go to the second location Simply Edward mentions. The rest are all ersatz locations designed to fool those who travel to the Oracle for purposes not pleasing to Apollo. Listen, & go."

“Wait! Who ar--?!"

But she was gone, & the swirling colours had dimmed. They were no longer the same I had seen in the dream. The machinery was back in place, & Simply Edward & Pippin were positioned almost exactly where I had left them.

“Pippin! It happened again! The steam-bow & the lady's voice & everything!"

“I know, relax, it is only the Analytical Machine's steam..."

“Pippin! It was most definitely not only that! You & Simply Edward completely vanished into thin air!"

“Correction: We vanished into thick air. The steam was thicker a few minutes ago. I could barely see you through it. I do believe I heard a few whistles coming from the machine a few minutes ago also. I am quite sure that combined with a bit of imagination it could quite well produce the illusion that there is a woman talking to you, Ollie. Calm down, you are just a bit high-strung after the news we received yester-day."

“I suppose I am. I shall try to calm myself down a bit so I can think properly. These illusions are truly getting a bit out of hand."

Simply Edward handed me a slip of paper with several addresses on it, & then bowed & left, mumbling something about alienists & madness. I was quite proper confused. He had truly been such a delightfully talkative host, I wonder what had caused the change.

Thanks for reading! I have a craving for chocolate today. I wish I had some.