Read Online The Fourth Sage (The Circularity Saga) by Stefan Bolz - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Stefan Bolz
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shafts.
When she climbs out of the last one, she knows she must be close. In her estimation, the marked vent should be somewhere behind the three fans in one of the primary air ducts. The duct she is in curves slightly and spills her out into a tube approximately eight feet in diameter. When she enters it, she can feel the breeze generated by three massive fans. The fans are set behind each other with about twelve feet of distance between them. At full capacity, Aries would not be able to stand at her spot; she would be swept off her feet and sent crashing into a wall further down.
Right now, the fans turn very slowly. She has been through them many times in the past. The first time she hadn't known what to expect and one of the thin blades almost cut her shoulder. But she figured out how to time it. She'd follow one of the three blades with her eyes until it came to a certain spot. Then she would jump headfirst and roll over her shoulders through the gap between the blades. There is a slight time delay between the three fans and when looking straight at them from further away, it looks as if there is but one fan—powerful and awe-inspiring in size and scope.
Aries stands in front of the first fan like a runner before the start of a race, looking at one of the blades. Following its circular path, in her mind she prepares for the jump and the subsequent roll through it. When the blade reaches the height of her eye line, she pushes off, clears the blades, and rolls to disperse the impact. She comes up in ready stance. She jumps again, rolls, and repeats the same with the third fan. Piece of cake , she thinks. From here there are three smaller ducts, each coming off this one. She goes into the first one and follows it to the end where it makes a T but there's nothing in there.
The second duct is longer than the first. She moves through it, wondering if the reason it is longer has anything to do with the vent she had marked. Another thought that keeps coming back to her is the fact that there is a vent cover to begin with. What would be its purpose? More and more, Aries thinks that this vent was an afterthought, something that was installed after the duct system has been put in place.
And then she sees it. The small piece of the handkerchief moves slightly in the breeze. Aries kneels down, takes a wrench from her satchel and, one by one, opens the bolts around the vent. Through the steel rods of the grill she can see far down to the end of the vertical duct.
She thinks about Born-of-Night and of setting her free inside the core, and even though she knows that this is the best place for her for now, she can't help but feel a sting of fear and concern for the hawk’s well-being. What if someone catches her? Maybe someone from the maintenance crews in the lower floors. But underneath that is another thought, and one she didn't want to admit at first. It's the thought of losing her, the thought that she wouldn't come back to her, and that her fragile connection with her would dissipate and she would never see her again. She hadn't realized until now how fond she has become of her and how much she misses her already.
She moves the cover plate to the side, a few feet away from the opening. Her watch says 2:22. There is no time to lose if she wants to be back in her room by 2:38. She moves away from the shaft and back to the three fans. She passes through them without incident. When she rolls through the third one, the question occurs to her as to what would happen if the fan's speed increased. No time to think about it now. It’s 2:24.
Aries reaches her room at 2:36 a.m. She closes the vent, slumps down on her futon and, a few minutes later, falls asleep for the second time tonight.
* * *
"So, does that mean the screen of the DIAG is broken? Or was the initial error report false?" Aries and Ty step out of the lift on the 282nd floor.
"I'm not sure, yet. The error report we received a few days ago was correct. It
When she climbs out of the last one, she knows she must be close. In her estimation, the marked vent should be somewhere behind the three fans in one of the primary air ducts. The duct she is in curves slightly and spills her out into a tube approximately eight feet in diameter. When she enters it, she can feel the breeze generated by three massive fans. The fans are set behind each other with about twelve feet of distance between them. At full capacity, Aries would not be able to stand at her spot; she would be swept off her feet and sent crashing into a wall further down.
Right now, the fans turn very slowly. She has been through them many times in the past. The first time she hadn't known what to expect and one of the thin blades almost cut her shoulder. But she figured out how to time it. She'd follow one of the three blades with her eyes until it came to a certain spot. Then she would jump headfirst and roll over her shoulders through the gap between the blades. There is a slight time delay between the three fans and when looking straight at them from further away, it looks as if there is but one fan—powerful and awe-inspiring in size and scope.
Aries stands in front of the first fan like a runner before the start of a race, looking at one of the blades. Following its circular path, in her mind she prepares for the jump and the subsequent roll through it. When the blade reaches the height of her eye line, she pushes off, clears the blades, and rolls to disperse the impact. She comes up in ready stance. She jumps again, rolls, and repeats the same with the third fan. Piece of cake , she thinks. From here there are three smaller ducts, each coming off this one. She goes into the first one and follows it to the end where it makes a T but there's nothing in there.
The second duct is longer than the first. She moves through it, wondering if the reason it is longer has anything to do with the vent she had marked. Another thought that keeps coming back to her is the fact that there is a vent cover to begin with. What would be its purpose? More and more, Aries thinks that this vent was an afterthought, something that was installed after the duct system has been put in place.
And then she sees it. The small piece of the handkerchief moves slightly in the breeze. Aries kneels down, takes a wrench from her satchel and, one by one, opens the bolts around the vent. Through the steel rods of the grill she can see far down to the end of the vertical duct.
She thinks about Born-of-Night and of setting her free inside the core, and even though she knows that this is the best place for her for now, she can't help but feel a sting of fear and concern for the hawk’s well-being. What if someone catches her? Maybe someone from the maintenance crews in the lower floors. But underneath that is another thought, and one she didn't want to admit at first. It's the thought of losing her, the thought that she wouldn't come back to her, and that her fragile connection with her would dissipate and she would never see her again. She hadn't realized until now how fond she has become of her and how much she misses her already.
She moves the cover plate to the side, a few feet away from the opening. Her watch says 2:22. There is no time to lose if she wants to be back in her room by 2:38. She moves away from the shaft and back to the three fans. She passes through them without incident. When she rolls through the third one, the question occurs to her as to what would happen if the fan's speed increased. No time to think about it now. It’s 2:24.
Aries reaches her room at 2:36 a.m. She closes the vent, slumps down on her futon and, a few minutes later, falls asleep for the second time tonight.
* * *
"So, does that mean the screen of the DIAG is broken? Or was the initial error report false?" Aries and Ty step out of the lift on the 282nd floor.
"I'm not sure, yet. The error report we received a few days ago was correct. It
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