Dell's Journey

Chapter 32: Sunrise

Just then something altogether unlikely happened,

something beyond the scope of either of their imaginations.

With a startling sound that made Dell picture a giant

workman in blue coveralls throwing some great switch on a

titanic circuit-breaker, little points of white light

became visible, peaking out as if from under the sleepy

morning lids of a hundred robotic eyes. As the sound

reverberated, the lights grew brighter. They were all at

the same elevation and aligned perfectly, so that the

Dell's impression was that of an airplane landing strip at

night. They formed a circle, the circumference of which

must have been much more than a mile. The two gazed

expressionless, transfixed by the display.

As the crisp, white light steadily increased, the

nature of their environment took shape. They surmised that

this no mere hall, no mere coliseum, but was in fact big

enough to deserve the title of "underground city." They

began to make out great concrete supports, built right into

the craggy rocks of the cave. The regular spacing between

these towering supports made them appear like the smooth

grey ribs of some beast of the underworld, as if the two

astonished explorers had been swallowed in the belly of a

whale. But the great expanse of space above their heads

was entirely invisible in the formless void of blackness,

and only the vertical space of a few dozen feet was

discernible. This lighted ribbon was like a halo of cool

grey, like the first stirrings of morning wrapped with

garments of cloud.

They saw the gleam of metals, shining reflections upon

what looked like ladders, scaffolding, pipes, and air

circulation ducts, like the creepy basement of some

industrial factory in the slums of am old city. They

pictured steam tanks with big wheels that opened and closed

pressurized systems, temperature gauges, and big sweating

goons covered in soot, wearing those short-brimmed hats

everyone had in the 1920's. It was a bizarre yet

exhilarating display. They couldn't wait for the light to

grow and show them other secrets.

But it didn't. The crisp, blue-white lights grew no

brighter. They had finished their task and shone out

weakly as if to say, "This is all you get." Glimpsed from

behind, Dell and Monster looked just marvelous. Their

shapes were thin and sharp, and they stood as still as

solemn stones. It was like a climatic scene from a film

where the heroes stand resolute in the face of the unknown,

awaiting the inevitable encounter with destiny. Monster

had straightened to his full, great height. Dell's arms

were at his side, the fingers of his hands curled into

fists. Their grotesquely elongated shadows strode out

behind them like the majestic train of kingly robes.

A faint current of air touched their faces. It was

cool, wispy, and steady. To their surprise the travelers

heard the sounds of birds and their searching calls that

start one by one in the intangible moment when day begins.

More and more joined in the reverent song of daybreak,

their wildly different parts never clashing in dissonance,

but somehow forming an unsought harmony of beauty.

Dell, hesitant to speak, lest his voice intrude upon

the aura of the moment, nonetheless began softly,

"What do you think of this?"

The dark outlines of Monster's head shifted and turned

to look at him, but he did not speak for several minutes,

and Dell didn't insist. Something was working its way

through the mazes of his mind, something unlikely,

something in-congruent, something impossible. He again

turned his face toward the twinkling lights, their orbit

surrounding the two, enclosing them and meeting thousands

of feet away in the distance.

"I think the sun is coming up."