Read Online A Mutiny in Time by James Dashner - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: James Dashner
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them?”
Dak gave her a look that, even in the relative darkness, left no doubt she had said something ridiculous, and she quickly blurted out the answer to her own question before he could. “Oh, duh. Wasn’t thinking. They don’t know what a Break is until after it’s happened.”
“Exactly,” Mari responded. “The Hystorians have always analyzed major events of the world, and, aided in part by the appearance of new Remnants, decided well after the fact if an event is an official Break or not. But they also know that someone may show up one day and tell them of an event that is
about
to take place. They’re trained to prepare for that possibility. You’re the pilots, mainly. Messengers. Remember that. The adults will be ready to do what needs to be done.”
Dak bristled. “Hey, we’re not moron wimps, ya know. We can help, too.”
“I don’t doubt that at all,” Mari said as they came to a halt in front of a large steel door. She pulled something out of a leather satchel she had slung around her shoulder — a SQuare slate device — and held it up for them to see.
“All of the information you need will be downloaded to this,” she said. “Don’t worry — we’ve completely overwritten the SQ software, and there are so many firewalls built around this thing that it’s more secure than your own brains. It will have all the information your team will need, although, again, it’ll be encoded.”
“It’s all part of a system called The Art of Memory,” Brint added. “Or TAM for short. It was actually devised by Aristotle so that data could be passed down from generation to generation without risking it falling into the hands of our enemies. Trust me when I tell you that it’s gonna drive you bonkers sometimes. But you can do it.”
“I’ll bet I can do it with my eyes closed,” said Dak.
“That doesn’t even make any sense,” said Sera.
Mari slipped the SQuare back into the satchel then gestured at the menacing door. “This is the HOC — Hystorian Operations Center. Are you two ready?”
Sera glanced over at Dak, who was actually smiling.
Smiling
. Maybe he’d survive his parents’ disappearance after all. They both nodded at each other with knowing looks.
“We’re ready,” Sera said, right before Dak added his own confirmation:
“The Time Nerds are a go.”
M ARI ACTIVATED a touch screen to the right of the door and input a long series of numbers and letters, a longer password than Dak had ever seen anyone use before. This Art of Memory thing seemed for real, and he found himself wishing he hadn’t been so boastful about it. Now he had to live up to the expectation.
A
hiss
sounded, followed by a hollow, grating
scratch
as the metal bars of the lock pulled back. Then the door popped open and swung outward with a heavy groan.
“In we go,” Mari said, holding an arm out to indicate the two kids should go first.
Dak gripped the cool surface of the Infinity Ring in his hand and stepped through the opening. Applause broke out and he saw at least twenty people standing up to clap from their various stations of computers and radar screens and monitors and other equipment. They all had hopeful smiles, and for the first time Dak felt the pressure of what they were being asked to do.
Save the world. No biggie, right?
Mari and Brint led them around a wide walkway that skirted the outside edge of the massive operations center. The central focal point was a monitor as big as a movie screen, but instead of displaying a single image it was broken up into dozens of views — everything from live video feed to running numbers to Doppler radar maps.
While Brint plugged the SQuare into a computer, Mari stepped up to a podium that overlooked the crew of workers at their stations. “I want everyone to meet our new Hystorians, granted membership without the usual years of proving ground. Urgent times call for urgent doings. This is Dak, and this is Sera.”
Another round of applause met
Dak gave her a look that, even in the relative darkness, left no doubt she had said something ridiculous, and she quickly blurted out the answer to her own question before he could. “Oh, duh. Wasn’t thinking. They don’t know what a Break is until after it’s happened.”
“Exactly,” Mari responded. “The Hystorians have always analyzed major events of the world, and, aided in part by the appearance of new Remnants, decided well after the fact if an event is an official Break or not. But they also know that someone may show up one day and tell them of an event that is
about
to take place. They’re trained to prepare for that possibility. You’re the pilots, mainly. Messengers. Remember that. The adults will be ready to do what needs to be done.”
Dak bristled. “Hey, we’re not moron wimps, ya know. We can help, too.”
“I don’t doubt that at all,” Mari said as they came to a halt in front of a large steel door. She pulled something out of a leather satchel she had slung around her shoulder — a SQuare slate device — and held it up for them to see.
“All of the information you need will be downloaded to this,” she said. “Don’t worry — we’ve completely overwritten the SQ software, and there are so many firewalls built around this thing that it’s more secure than your own brains. It will have all the information your team will need, although, again, it’ll be encoded.”
“It’s all part of a system called The Art of Memory,” Brint added. “Or TAM for short. It was actually devised by Aristotle so that data could be passed down from generation to generation without risking it falling into the hands of our enemies. Trust me when I tell you that it’s gonna drive you bonkers sometimes. But you can do it.”
“I’ll bet I can do it with my eyes closed,” said Dak.
“That doesn’t even make any sense,” said Sera.
Mari slipped the SQuare back into the satchel then gestured at the menacing door. “This is the HOC — Hystorian Operations Center. Are you two ready?”
Sera glanced over at Dak, who was actually smiling.
Smiling
. Maybe he’d survive his parents’ disappearance after all. They both nodded at each other with knowing looks.
“We’re ready,” Sera said, right before Dak added his own confirmation:
“The Time Nerds are a go.”
M ARI ACTIVATED a touch screen to the right of the door and input a long series of numbers and letters, a longer password than Dak had ever seen anyone use before. This Art of Memory thing seemed for real, and he found himself wishing he hadn’t been so boastful about it. Now he had to live up to the expectation.
A
hiss
sounded, followed by a hollow, grating
scratch
as the metal bars of the lock pulled back. Then the door popped open and swung outward with a heavy groan.
“In we go,” Mari said, holding an arm out to indicate the two kids should go first.
Dak gripped the cool surface of the Infinity Ring in his hand and stepped through the opening. Applause broke out and he saw at least twenty people standing up to clap from their various stations of computers and radar screens and monitors and other equipment. They all had hopeful smiles, and for the first time Dak felt the pressure of what they were being asked to do.
Save the world. No biggie, right?
Mari and Brint led them around a wide walkway that skirted the outside edge of the massive operations center. The central focal point was a monitor as big as a movie screen, but instead of displaying a single image it was broken up into dozens of views — everything from live video feed to running numbers to Doppler radar maps.
While Brint plugged the SQuare into a computer, Mari stepped up to a podium that overlooked the crew of workers at their stations. “I want everyone to meet our new Hystorians, granted membership without the usual years of proving ground. Urgent times call for urgent doings. This is Dak, and this is Sera.”
Another round of applause met
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