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Neville had been trying to figure out if the pedestals are still drawing power. He is explicitly unable to determine this, as if someone had erased or removed it. He discovers that someone has been there while he was off walking the Pattern to decontaminate himself from the trap he tripped in the computer. He complains to Jean. Jean asks REN for help, and REN bugs the room with Dancers who owe dues.
Neville heads to report to Silver Lyra. The King is mediating an argument between two representatives of minor houses. She chases them out, and admits Neville.
Neville tells Silver Lyra that the former enemy's lands that have been given to him were not entirely cleaned up. Silver Lyra expresses disappointment that a situation she thought resolved had not actually been resolved.
Neville and Jean tell Silver Lyra about the events in the other reality and the research on that through the machine.
Silver Lyra tells Neville that he may wish to contact the Crafters Guild for aid in a deeper study of the machine.
Jean gives Neville the invitation and word that Norton wishes to talk with him regarding that situation.
Silver Lyra tells Neville that a petition has been brought before her by a member of his House claiming that Neville and his House Head should be removed for reasons to be stated later.
Neville decides to go to Norton. Jean asks him if he has any powers that he would die without. Neville gets twitchy, and asks if Norton could come to him. Norton worries about time differential. Neville agrees to come through; Norton acquires a floppy hat for the Ilk head.
[It is determined that draining the radiation gave the locals more free will, because it eliminated involuntary genetic mutations.]
Neville is whaled to Norton. He has no contact with Pattern or the machine. Neville, Jean, and Norton discuss other realities scattered in the Sea of Chance and the situation in this reality.
Neville and Norton ride hovertank-Jeans to the Vatican. Norton tells Neville about bibliomancy.
Jean checks with the Dancers who have a copy of the book to see if there is anything about people touching the book. They check. When the time is coming, there will be a series of prophets, and you test for prophets by touching the book.
They arrive in the Vatican. There are currently a bunch of people looking uncomfortably at another bunch of people. There are a bunch of Dragaerans who have set up guards, there are a couple of dead Swiss Guards around, and some discomfited nuns - their habits could have hidden weapons.
[Dragaerans have taken over the Vatican!]
They travel past the Dragaerans down to the archives. Verra is there. There are no more pews. Too much cover. Verra says that the guards are present because the one who used to be in charge here had some people try to convince her to touch the book.
Verra thanks Norton --- she tells him that the first new Phoenix child has been born. The Queen hasn't chosen one yet, but the Cycle will continue.
Neville says that there is an abstract of the dark tree in the work room near the machine. The abstract isn't trumpish - it's an abstract representation.
Verra warns the arrivals against the penguin-dressed women -- they're often carrying a string of beads that looks a lot like a strangling cord. The Dragaerans have decided to strip and wash any of them that they find.
Neville slowly approaches the pedestal. The book gives him the heeby-jeebies. He approaches from the other side, and he can get closer. He gets to the ground, and he can get next to the pedestal. He can feel power flowing through it, but doesn't touch it.
They discuss the pedestal, the book, and stopping the reincarnation. Severing the pedestal is considered to be a good idea, but people are afraid to try.
Norton moves down next to Neville and tries to shapeshift, but can't. Jean tells Silver Lyra that the book tried to eat Neville's brain when he got close.
Norton mentions the G-person. The book flips open. People panic. Jean backs out. Flora walks in. Norton suggests to Flora that she leave with them.
Jean asks the original librarian if the book flipping open is bad.
The doorway behind them, somebody walks out of it. There was nobody when they walked out of the room. He's 6'1", dark skin, dark eyes, doesn't look like Julian. He looks a lot like Cailin with white hair. Norton politely interrogates him.
The guy is determined to be the last archivist. He looks a lot like Cailin. He has difficulty getting over the "two headed beast" thing. Norton tries to explain the Gwen situation. Flora walks in carrying in a hefty table loaded with stuff.
The guy says that if Norton leaves and doesn't come back then all advanced mechanical things will stop working and they will have to return to subsistence living. The five year old in the form of a tank confuses him. He is told that the nuclear power in this place seems to have gone away.
"That's not good."
"At least the spills went away."
"There were spills?"
"I cleaned them up."
"The great plant is loose?"
"I sent it away."
"The fowl legged beast?"
"I made it stop preaching."
The dead archivist is worried at the thought that he might have popped out of the book. He starts writing, first on the floor, then on a napkin. He folds, unfolds, and writes. The writing changes between folds.
He says that there is a line in the book that apparently resonated with his arrival. "He who belongs and is dead but not dead as the beast who walks..." Jean gives the dead archivist an invitation. The dead archivist says that he's not just of this place.
Questions are relayed to Cailin, and relayed back. Jean asks if the guy was a member of the instrument crafters guild. He's never heard of it.
Jean is asked to contact Osric.
The dead guy says that the pictures of the tree are transport mechanisms. He's not entirely sure of the complete ritual to use them, but it involves blood and an angel's feather.
Jean tells Osric about the book, pedestal, and revivification scheme. The dancers look through the book and find nothing about a three foot tall Tyrannosaurus Rex smoking a cigar and wearing a vest. Osric is whaled into the hallway. The nuns faint at the sight of a small Tyrannosaurus Rex emerging from the mouth of a whale.
When Osric arrives, people realize that there was an extra place setting for him. The dead archivist says that Osric looks like a member of a race for whose leader he gave an eulogy.
[Norton note to self - Cailin to torturers' guild. But check with Princess Chandra first.]
The dead archivist says that nobody ever chased his father, especially a redhead with a crossbow. He says that his father was a very serious individual who was king of all he surveyed.
Cailin breaks out laughing upon being told of a very, very serious King Laetatio who was never chased, even once.
The dead archivist says that he was interested in bibliomancy and came here as part of the logical progression -- this place is the center.
People enter the room cautiously. Osric still can't find power. Osric discovers that he can use Neville as a conduit. Neville can feel the pull.
Osric can't trace this pedestal to the edge of the shadow - his range seems to be limited to line of sight.
Neville offers to try to blucite the book. He tests on something nearby. He can do it when within 3 feet of the pedestal. As soon as the statue leaves his hand, it changes somehow and is no longer blucite. It went opaque, possibly granite. Jean acquires the big muckety hammer from one of Mikail's places. The block shatters.
The hammer is brought back to our reality, given to Zack along with a blucited cow. Zack swings. The cow inside shatters. The blucite is okay. Zack returns the hammer to Jean.
Julian is mentioned. The archivist says that he knew Julian. Julian was instrumental in his death, and he did not have a nose.
Neville comments that he didn't see Julian in the machine... in fact, he wasn't listed in any of the conspiracies.
Neville decides to go warn the Dancers watching the machine room that Julian might be using it as a conduit.
Once Osric begins cutting through the pedestal, there is an physical arc of Fringe power between Neville, Osric, and the pedestal. The ball in Osric's pocket is not in this circuit at all. Neville is discomfited by this.
Osric looks at the picture of the tree. It doesn't look like it could be the Fringe or the Void.
Osric tries to figure out how the energy is getting here. He notices a slight flavor of the Pit in the energy, as if it was going across something and the pit as well as through Neville. Osric goes up and touches the pedestal directly. He's still getting power through Neville.
The archivist says that there is nothing in the book about the cutting of the pedestal and the theft of the book. The cutting proceeds apace.
Neville touches the pedestal after seeing Osric do so safely. He can pull power of all kinds through it, and has access to the machine. This is a remote terminal. Neville greps for crystal sphere references and prophecy references.
Grep Norton. Full recent dossier. He's listed in the Savior of Chaos's conspiracy. Mover and shaker in the Savior of Chaos's camp. Probably has the ear of the Savior of Chaos. Was implicated in Toram's death, probably in some minor role. The fish are conspicuously absent. Mention that he is being used as a pawn by Snarsht to gain House power. There are three or four plans listed for the assassination of Faythe.
No ways are listed to shut down a remote terminal. Neville can't create users. There might be ways possible to create a remote terminal. He can't list remote terminals. It can list active connections. Just one - him. Only one user listed currently.
There is an extensive file on the Savior of Chaos. It's Ilk. No other identities are listed. No multiple Ilks, Nortons, or Cailins are listed.
Cailin is believed to be a greater mage, and is listed in the Savior of Chaos's camp.
Neville is not listed. Julian is not listed. Auricle is not listed. Ingold is not listed.
Jean is listed as multiple spread entity??? Rainbow's child? Rainbow?? Leave alone!
Osric. Mythical, possibly the fore-bearer of Chanicut. Recently spotted, someone maybe cashing in on his reputation.
Oberon. Disappeared.
Many conspiracies are listed, and they are intertwined.
Benedict is listed in Llewella's conspiracy.
Mandor is listed in the Savior of Chaos's conspiracy.
Corwin is listed as Dara's dupe; Dara is listed in Gwen's conspiracy.
Osric severs the pedestal. The top is no longer connected.
The dead guy lifts the top of the pedestal and the book. Osric realizes just how strong this guy must be -- that's very heavy.
[Osric is almost always the right tool]
The plan now claims twenty years till completion.
The dead archivist has never been at a place called Cobalt. He says that they are at the center of the Spiral. All else spirals out from here; this is the battleground.
A saucer Jean tractors the guy and lifts him off the ground so he can look for the letter in the center of it all. As Jean rises, more and more blues out. Some of the continents are even letter shaped. The guy reads. He is not pleased.
Cailin, Natasha, and Jean have reached the Fractal Realm. They are challenged by guards. Natasha is deemed to know Coral, and they are allowed through.
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