Chapter 11 - When Sleeping Dragons Waken

Chapter 11 - When Sleeping Dragons Waken

"Cold be hand and heart and bone,
and cold be sleep under stone:
never more to wake on stony bed,
never, till the Sun fails and the Moon is dead.
In the black wind the stars shall die
and still on gold here let them lie,
till the dark lord lifts his hand
over dead sea and withered land."
--Tolkien, LOTR
                         . . . .
          
A misty morning greeted Jack and his guests, nothing lingered of the storm except downed tree limbs and a look about the property of a general thrashing. Jack and Emlyn
had been up before anyone else oddly enough, and after breakfast, had taken a walk about the grounds checking for anything amiss.
When they returned to the house some hours later, they found Daryl and Yeats both up and seated across the dining table from each other, Daryl looking as though he'd just been interrupted in intense debate, and Yeats leaning towards him, brows twitching like a beetle's antenna. As Em and Jack approached, they knew they had interrupted...something.
Daryl flicked a glance at them, then to Yeats, who leaned back in his chair, and nodded.
'Good, that's settled,' Daryl remarked, looking relieved.
'What's settled?' Jack wished to know what was going on in his house, now...who knew what these two had been plotting...?
Daryl spoke up:'We were hoping that, with your permission of course, Jack, I might stay on another day, and Emlyn, as well?'
Jack and Em took seats about the table. 'Yes, naturally,
you can stay! Daryl, this is your house. I, well, I rather wish you would stay on, for good and all, and run the place, in fact!' Jack was smiling, but he had never been more serious.
Daryl smiled ruefully, but looked down, shaking his head.
'I can't Jack...I wish I could. I don't mean to add to your burdens, but it isn't a good idea for me to stay here for any length of time,' his gaze went to Yeats then, who simply stared out the window. Daryl sighed. 'I will, however, if it would help at all, try to spend more time here and, ah, take on some duties of maintaining the property. I'll...try not to be in your way.'
Jack was well pleased with this: 'That, Uncle Daryl, is the best birthday gift you could have made me!'
'Also,' Daryl continued, 'I was hoping I might persuade you to allow me to invite a guest here tonight, for Emlyn to meet. A fellow librarian.'
'Oh? Indeed?' Em was curious now, 'I'd very much like to meet her, er, him?'
'Her.' Daryl looked at Em. 'She is, a contemporary of mine. And she could tell you a bit about the role of libraries in your centuries to come.'
Jack cast a glance at Yeats then. What was Daryl up to now? But Yeats spoke up, 'I, also, am staying through tonight, and along with our, guest...we were thinking of having a...talk.'
'Sounds serious!' Em smiled. When no one returned her grin or spoke, she knew it may very well be.
'Well, now...' Jack tried to compose himself and wrap his head around all these new developments, 'of course, your guest would be welcome. It would be of interest to Em, I dare say, to speak with a librarian from this time.'
If the Head has given his approval, who am I to argue? Jack thought, adding to himself, that any idea of Daryl's might prove to be problematic somehow, and he best be on  guard.
'The library of the future...' Em mused. 'I have wondered how they've changed. I have seen the library here at the house and it looks wonderfully similar to those of our time.'
Daryl grinned then, looking down at his coffee, 'I, ah, am somewhat of an anachronism, I fear, Em. Not many deal with actual physical books nowadays.'
Emlyn looked rather nonplussed.  But, she decided, all would be revealed later tonight.
And indeed, it was. And rather more than she or anyone else had bargained for, perhaps...
                           . . . .
The wind had picked up again by evening, trees lashed against the house and blasts howled down the chimneys.
'Dark already...and it's early still.' Emlyn stood at the parlor window, watching the storm begin it's second act.
Jack came up behind her and slipped his arms about her, staring at the slate grey-indigo skies. 'It looks like lightning clouds...I've seen it like this before. Night will come early and soon.' He noticed then the glow of headlights moving through the trees lining the drive. 'I think this may be our guest...' Jack glanced over his shoulder to see if Daryl was about.
Racing down the stairs, Daryl was shrugging into a jacket as he headed for the door, just in time to hear a soft chime. He smiled at Emlyn and opened the door. 'Entre! Do come in from the storm, Athena, and warm up!' Jack noted that Daryl was back in his element, acting as head of the house. Good.
In glided a tall imposing woman with long silver white hair braided into intricate strands. A handsome woman, as one may say, of a certain age yet still most lovely. Her eyes held one's gaze like blue steel traps however, Em noted.
'Thank you for joining us tonight,' Daryl ushered her into the parlor. 'Jack, Emlyn, this is my dear friend, Athena...ah! Mr. Yeats, Aleister, do join us!'
The lady nodded to all and shook hands, holding Em's awhile longer. 'It is a pleasure to meet you, Emlyn. Daryl has told me much about you.'
'And I have been anxious to make your acquaintance as well! Always good to meet a fellow bibliophile!' Em gushed.
Athena looked over Em's shoulder at Daryl, but said nothing.
'Do have a seat, cherie....coffee? Or brandy?' Daryl slid into his role as host easy as butter, thought Jack, taking a seat on the sofa beside Em.
'Oh, why not both?' Athena smiled, removing her gloves as she sat near the fireside, Yeats stood beside her leaning against the mantlepiece while Aleister administered the cognac.
'Athena worked for the local public library where I grew up as a lad,' Daryl confessed as he poured coffee all round.
'Many years ago, thank you, Daryl...' Athena crossed her long legs clad in fashionable boots and sat back sipping her coffee. 'Back when there were such rare animals...'
Em sat forward. 'Sorry? Rare...you mean libraries themselves are rare now?'
'My dear Emlyn...life as you now know it, in your time, is but a picture in a book--if there were books still about,' Athena dropped this newsbomb right off, but sat looking demure as a cat still.
Em set her coffee cup down with a clatter. 'I, I do realize, from what Jack and Daryl have disclosed, that life is rather...unnatural in the future. But--no books?'
For Emlyn, this hit hard, and seemed so unreal she simply couldn't fathom...
Athena smiled gently. 'Let me back up abit...' she sipped her brandy-laced coffee, 'Ah, let's see...about when did we meet, Daryl?'
'I was 5 years old...so around 2025 I believe...' Daryl supplied. Hard to think of Daryl ever being so young, somehow he seemed rather out-of-time; remaining always the same age he now was.
'Riiight...I was just 19 and it was my first real job,' Athena smiled at Em. 'I loved library work...and real libraries. I was a bit of a Luddite for my time: although I was a computer wiz, I actually preferred real books. When I was a child, we had real-book libraries, still.'
Em looked rather lost. 'A 'whizz?''she enquired.
Athena glanced at Daryl. 'Haven't you updated the lass at all, Daryl?' Not bothering to await an answer, she pressed on, 'PCs or personal computers...ah, are you familiar with Babbage's analytical machine, my dear?'
'Oh! That, yes. Something like unto a mechanical abacus, I thought...' Em had heard vaguely something of Babbage's machine.
'Calculations, yes, only it does so much more...' Athena set her cup down, and tasted from her snifter, a sad smile marking her features. 'Little did we know just how much more! Before machines took over the world, they seemed to be time and work saving devices. Alas, all too soon, they over-ran the earth like locusts, gobbling up jobs... You can compare it to your Industrial Revolution, Em. So many jobs were displaced by computers...printing, photography,
microfilming, file clerking...the list goes on...but eventually, and within scant decades, bookstores disappeared, and libraries were barely hanging on by their fingernails...'
'Oh, dear!' Em glanced over at Jack, truly alarmed. 'Jack, I'd no idea the future was so ominous!' Em seemed able to imagine artificial life underground, but no books! That was truly diabolical.
Athena sighed, leaning back in her seat. 'You've no idea, and be glad of that!' She rested her head against the armchair, pondering awhile and Yeats took the seat beside her. 'When I first started working there, libraries kept a few token best-sellers, and academic libraries did keep certain books archived, but as everything had gone digital, even rare volumes, digitally copied, were thought
to be all one would ever need, and times were hard, so many libraries were forced to sell some of their hard-won collections.'
'Digitally?' Em endeavored to keep up.
'It's rather like...photography in a way, Em,' Jack spoke up, 'the books were 'scanned', photographed, cataloged and filed into the data base on computer. To access the 'book' one needed only to turn the machine on, and there, displayed on a screen, you can view the 'virtual' item.'
'Ah, I see. So, you can read the book, without having the actual item.' Em thought this could be a good thing, in a way, 'but, that would enable more people to access knowledge, wouldn't it? Certain books are difficult to get, especially for the poor...'
'Dear Emlyn...' Athena regarded her sadly, 'the future, despite all it's so-called advances, was in dire straights during that time...computers were fiendishly expensive! And the disappearance of books and libraries made it even more difficult for the lower classes to access knowledge!'
'Never had there been such a great gulf between rich and poor, not since the French Revolution, perhaps,' Daryl added, looking drear, 'people, entire families slept in the streets, while the richest 1% of the population held all the wealth. Entire cities went bankrupt.'
'It was all part of the plan, of course,' Athena continued, 'to keep the masses down. College, classical education was beyond reach of most. Only the very rich could afford to educate their offspring.'
Em sat in stunned silence. This was not the future she had envisioned for her brave young suffragists to rally toward. 'We...we are endeavoring to gain the right to vote. Surely women can vote in the future? I can see how a few greedy men would allow the world to go to hell in a hickory basket, but women?'
Athena sat forward, clasping her hands, 'Oh, my dear girl...I'm so sorry. But, the devil has the future by the tail. You will make great strides, and women were freed from the basest of injustices. Even reproductive freedom was won, somewhat, for awhile...' she looked down, 'but, the 'few greedy men' you mentioned, became great corporations--juggernauts that trampled all in their path: including the judicial system and all areas of government.'
'Voting, became a joke,' Jack added softly, 'since the system was completely controlled by the rich CEOs of the top corporations; in effect, as the saying went then, 'Corporatocracy is the new Aristocracy,' and might made right.'
Em could envision it all, here and now, even: the railroads, the trusts...and industry's relentless march... 'But, what of Unions? Have they no say at all?'
Everyone looked at her sadly, saying nothing.
'I see...' Em did.
Daryl felt moved to supply, '...At first, the Unions were a force to be reckoned with. Then, there were far too many people desperate for work! And with outsourcing, that sounded the death-knell for unions.'
'Ah, with computers, you see...' Jack endeavored to explain, 'the world became a 'global village'--distance was no issue: one can communicate across the globe within seconds. So, the rich few, opened up factories in dirt-poor countries where people were glad to work for pennies, then ship it back to the US, mark up the price by an indecent percentage, and sell to the people here still able to work, make and spend some meager dollars.'
Emlyn was beginning to see the problem. The same old problem, really...
'Anyway,' Daryl continued, 'I was young enough and lucky enough to still be able to access 'real' libraries...Aleister here might recall the library at college. Real books there, eh, Aleister?'
Al blinked. 'Ah, there were! In archives, of course...' he turned to Em, 'all to be handled with white gloves, and treated like the fragile treasures they were...'
'Of all the horrors I have heard of the future, no books puts it into perspective for me!' Em huffed.
'Indeed...' Athena regarded her young sister in library science, finishing her brandy.
All sat in relative silence a moment, listening to the storm build. A sudden flash of light was seen through the windows, then a far-off rumble of thunder made itself heard.
Jack stood then and added logs to the fire, whilst Aleister, as ever, brandished the brandy decanter enquiring if anyone cared to join him? Nearly all assented, save Yeats, who trudled off toward the kitchen, mentioning something about fresh coffee...
                     . . . .
As the logs blazed up and Jack turned up the amber wall sconces lighting higher, the room brightened somewhat and when Yeats returned with a tray of aromatic Sumatran, all felt somewhat revived.
'As I said, I was abit of a Luddite, in my way,' Athena continued, smiling grimly, 'and I tried to fight the tide rising against "evil books"!' She glanced meaningfully at Em, 'You would not believe it! If a book did not circulate enough according to Powers That Be--which of course, were those who thought only of money to be made--they were labeled 'shelf-sitters' and discarded! I recall working the Central branch for a time, and all these orphan books were stacked in great heaps, for librarians to peruse and pass scentence upon: to be trashed, or merely sold off...'
'But, how did getting rid of books, help the library make money?' Em wanted to know.
Athena smiled like a cat, 'Ah! Well may you ask!' She sipped her coffee, adding a dash of cream, 'I can recall, when first starting out in the field, the battle cry of administration: 'The Digital Library of the Future!' You see, Em, people with money, had computers and ever smaller computers, portable, lightweight, and one could download entire books onto them, and read them, simply looking at a tablet with a view-screen. The PTB thought this was a gold mine in the making! Their thinking was that libraries would simply become stations where folk, upper-class folk, of course, would merely pop in to, choose a virtual book, called an 'e' or electronic book, from the catalog, download it to their device, and then they would pop out again and not bother them long. You see? No books, no need for shelvers, workers to check in and out physical books, no need for librarians really, perhaps a token few, well-versed in computer, not necessarily library science, and less space needed for these dirty, nasty books, germ-ridden little beasts that they were.'
'Oh,' Em saw. She was utterly crestfallen.
Aleister spoke up: 'And that was just the beginning; PCs or personal computers, soon gave way to CPs or Chip Programmers.'
Chips. Em had heard of them. She had one in her head apparently.
'Nowadays, it is the usual thing to simply program one's chip,' Jack told her gently, 'to upload a book, or a video, whatever one wishes, into one's personal microchip, and acquire the knowledge; no need of a device with a viewscreen.'
'Thus the first cyber-bioengineering was born...' Daryl half-snarled in remark. 'And machines made man in their own image!' he paused, taking a deep pull of brandy, 'I've had mine removed.'
All looked at him then. Apparently, this was news.
'How, if I may ask?' Jack demanded, frowning.
'We're getting to that...' Daryl would only say, glancing at Yeats. 'But first--'
--On cue, a great flash at the window, brighter than before, and a rolling thunder clap sounded, that shook the house, making everyone jump.
Jack laughed a bit shakily. 'You, didn't do that, did you Uncle?' Everyone chuckled, tension relieved somewhat.
Daryl merely smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. 'Ah, not this time...but, the Cosmic Stagehands seem to be on cue!' He nodded thoughtfully, 'Odd...that actors and musicians seemed to do well enough in these future times, moreso than just ordinary folk trying to earn a living by regular means...' he poured more coffee for himself and Athena who held out her cup. 'But, that was before the CMEs...'
Emlyn was wearying of all these blasted acronyms; they made her head hurt trying to keep up. 'Oh, not more computer language...'
'Ah, no Em...actually, rather anti-computer!' Daryl crossed his legs, warming to the subject, 'Computers had one nemesis! The Sun! Coronal Mass Ejections!'
Jack smiled, sadly. 'Yes, Em...you see, in times to come, science discovered that the sun...'
'Yes, Jack, I do know of the sun's emanations. You do know of the great solar storm of 1859! Telegraph signals were down all across Europe and North America. Telegraph operators were shocked unconscious by it!' Em supplied knowledgeably.
'Ah! You see, young Jack! Librarians are still fountains of knowledge! Even for those who know the future!' Athena
winked at Emlyn companionably.
'That's right...!' Jack admitted. 'I had forgotten that!'
'Apparently, everyone else in the world had as well!' Daryl continued, 'Because, computers ruled the world and were deemed the ultimate be-all and end-all; invulnerable, invaluable, and prized above human life or liberty...absolute rulers of earth. All our convenient machines ran everything: the power behind the planet; dismissing the inconvenient truth: that they were, in fact, not indestructible.'
'Much inconvenient truth was dismissed then, to the ruin of all,' Aleister commented darkly, 'even when it was proven again and again...3 Mile Island, Fukushima...not to mention Nagasaki and Hiroshima.'
Emlyn looked lost again. 'Japan? What of Japan?' Em had felt a life-long fascination, perhaps a tie with that far-eastern country.
'Japan did what they had to do, for a small island nation, with an ever-expanding population,' Jack supplied, running a hand through his hair and frowning, 'THAT was the big inconvenient truth: over-population!' He looked at Em then, 'Alas; mainly due to the church, and the Elite, who found it's repressive teachings to their advantage, nothing was done to curb over-population of the planet.'
'More little consumers! Buying ever more material crap to be chucked into overflowing landfills!' Aleister growled, 'Simply barbaric!'
Athena held her snifter to him for a refill, 'Thank you, Aleister.' She took a dainty sip. 'Yes, rather than disturb the status-quo, only China took pains to do curb their burgeoning population which would soon have overwhelmed them otherwise. And their means was viewed by all the rest of the world as draconian and proof of their demonic communistic insensibilies!'
'Eat The Rich!' Jack put in, 'that was the rallying cry, for awhile, when the common folk began to catch on that their lives were worthless.'
'I'm quite lost, I fear,' Emlyn spoke up, 'tell me the significance of these Japanese cities you mentioned.'
All were quiet for a moment, then Aleister began, 'Ah, Em...science had created a monster. In mankind's search for ever more destructive and abominable means of killing
one another, we found a power that could not only decimate
entire cities, but entire worlds. And the aftermath, was even worse than the destruction. A poison aftereffect, that would last thousands of years, making the air, land, water, all life, deathly toxic. But! It could also be used for power! Power to run our dear, precious machines! Even though the residue from it was that deadly poison--which no one knew what to do with! They simply stored the toxic waste in containers underground. 'Thinking' that someday, maybe, someone might have an idea what to do with it...'
Emlyn was shocked to her core. 'How was this possible? How could people have allowed this?'
A collective sigh was heard as everyone wondered where to begin. Daryl took up the baton, 'Well, the dangers were of course, downplayed, while efficiency and progress and savings! of course, were marketed to the public.
'People knew. They simply were so busy living their lives, working, breeding, consuming, they let the world run on however it would...thinking, rightly, that they had no power anyway.'
'I, I simply can't believe it...' Em was shaking her head.
'How, knowing that the future, or some unlooked-for happenstance, could unleash a power that could wipe out all life on the planet! And no one really cared?'
'Oh, my dear...' Athena looked at her woefully, 'I recall when all this was still ongoing, a friend of mine, who had children, no less--said to me that she was angered because a majority in her town had managed to shut down one of these power plants! She was distressed that now her electric bill would go up by afew dollars!'
Em knew now what one was up against. And if only the rich could afford an education...people would be kept in ignorance as long as it was profitable for others, the favored few.
  'So, as to the CME's you said...?'
'Yes. One day, during solar peak activity, a great coronal mass ejection hit the earth, knocking out all power. Despite knowing what this would do to the power plants, and having no recourse for the toxic waste, nothing was put into place, or had even yet been conceived of, to withstand such an occurrance. Back-up generators eventually gave out, and the cooling systems couldn't hold. The air was poisoned by emissions, the oceans decimated by toxins. World-wide. The powers that be, had at last found something that their great god: money, couldn't solve.'
Again, the silence in the room. Strong winds could be heard rattling the windows and flames in the fireplace blew up and out. Jack reached forward with the poker and rummaged about the logs, banking the fire down.
Emlyn was beginning to get the big picture. 'So...because of this...poison power monopoly, and the CMEs, with all systems geared to computers, which were vulnerable to the sun's ejections, eventually, survivors were forced underground...'
'Exactly, Em.' Daryl looked at her, meaningfully.
A pause. Em noticed then, everyone looking her way. Even Yeats.
She got it then.
'So...so...why, how...are we here, now? We ARE in Massachusetts, in the USA, are we not? In...the 2070's?'
She looked at them all. 'But, Jack, we were outside, walking, taking the air this morning...? Oh, I'm confused...'
A sudden blast of light and lightning, a resounding BOOM! thundered overhead, and the lights went out.
Jack laughed. 'Ah, you see, Em, we're still vulnerable to the elements here!' He got up and went to the desk drawer where he dug up an electric torch. 'I'll just go see to the fuses...there is a backup generator, as well. Won't be but a moment. Ah, Al--light some candles, meanwhile, eh?'
As Aleister, ever-ready with a match, began brightening the room about them with candlelight, all felt the need to stand and stretch and relieve themselves of the dire, dark mood which had engulfed them minutes before.
Jack returned, finding everyone staring out the window, surrounded by soft candlelight. 'How's it look out there?'
'Can't tell, it's so dark out...' Em replied, 'but, may we leave the lights off awhile, Jack? Candlelight is so warm...and we've enough candles to see well enough, yes?'
All agreed this was much preferable. 'And we've wood enough for heat. And cooking. Yes, let's just, ah, camp out indoors, then, shall we?'
'Great idea, Jack! One moment!' Aleister bustled off to the kitchen.
'I've always preferred candlelight myself,' Athena allowed, 'and real books.'
If Em had ever been envious of Jack or her other future-based friends, she certainly was no longer. Never would she begrudge the time, the era, she found herself within.
Al reappeared with a bag of marshmallows and skewers.
'Campfire treats! Toasted marshmallows, anyone?'
                         . . . .
All were hunkered down about the fireplace, having moved aside the furniture, and piled up comfy cushions to sit and lean upon, and toasted their puffy sweet treats by the fire. (Yeats the only exception, remained in the chair nearest the fire, while Emlyn passed him his toasted treat on skewer.) In addition, Jack and Em had brought in tasty comestibles from the kitchen; assorted nuts to crack with hammers and nutcrackers, fruits and cheeses.
Gathering together and bending to some physical tasks helped everyone to shake off the gloom of the preceeding presentation of Hard Facts.
'This will do well. In fact, I could live like this myself,' Jack offered, 'I just couldn't work like this...
computers again, alas...but the refrigeration and heating systems are running on auxiliary power, they'll be fine.'
Nothing was heard for some time but the cracking of nutshells and crackling of the fire logs, whilst the wind continued to rage without.
'An oasis in Time...' Yeats offered, taking the skewer Em handed to him.
'How's that, Mr. Yeats?' Em acknowledged.
The Head cleared his throat, 'Where we are, Emlyn, is rather like being wrapped within a cocoon of Other-Time.
We are physically located in Massachusetts, yes, but we are rather outside of time, proper. We are almost in an alternate world unto itself here.'
Em poked her marshmallow, examining it's crumbly brown shell. 'How far does it extend, this oasis?'
'Approximately 2 miles, in all directions,' Daryl answered.
'And, are there any other...residents?'
'No,' said Jack, at the same time Daryl answered, 'Yes.
'Athena lives nearby...' he smiled her way.
'In the gatekeeper's cottage,' that lady admitted, 'but Daryl keeps yet another field surrounding it, cloaking it, so that the very view of the cottage is blocked to outsiders, as an added safeguard, being so near the Border.'
'Interesting...' Jack cracked open a pecan, 'I actually believed that it had been torn down.' He chewed thoughtfully. 'To think, all this time, Al, we had An Invisible Resident!'
'Isn't that what we all are? Here?' Daryl smiled at them mischeviously.
'Refugees of Time...' Jack mused.
'Orphans of the Storm,' Emlyn decided, once again.
                           . . . .