Heez sittin on a perch, Im sat on thi floar. Thi room iz funnil shaped & thi brod sirkulir roof has a imidje ov a blu sky wif litil flufy clouds in it. Thers anuthir ½ dozen or so uthir lammergeiers perchd aroun thi room 2.
U ½ been a propir pest 2 sertin peepil, mastir Bascule, thi big bird sez, stairin @ me & rokin from side 2 side & sorta stampin itz feet on thi perch. A moast persistent pest.
Thang u very mutch, I sez.
That woz not a complimint! thi bird screetchiz, flapin.
I sit bak, blinkin (my Is r stil a bit soar aftir ol that wind roarin past me when I fel). Whot do u meen? I ask.
Itz qwite possibil that we ½ givin away our noo posishin heer by turnin on thi lift fans so we cude save yoor miserabil hide! thi bird shouts.
Wel, sory Im shure, but I woz toald u mite ½ sum informayshin about thi whareabouts ov a frend ov mine.
What? thi hed bird sez, soundin puzzld. Who?
Itz a ant. Hir name is Ergates.
Thi bird starez @ me. Yoor lookin 4 a ant? he sqwaks, & sounz increduliss.
A ver speshil ant. (I naro my Is.) Whot woz taikin by a lammergeier.
Thi bird shaiks itz hed. Wel, it woznt dun by 1 ov us, it sez, shakin its fevirs.
O yeh? I sez.
We r chimerix, mastir Bascule. This… ant muss ½ bin taikin by a wild lammergeier.
& whare r they then? I ask. (Dam, fot I woz on thi rite trak @ last!)
Ded, thi hed bird sez.
I blink my Is. Ded?
Thi state had them kild during yesterday evening when it reelized we opoasd it; moast ov them wer mobbed by chimeric crows & brot down. We bleev we wer thi reel targets. 2 ov us wer cot & distructid. Ol thi wild lammergeiers r ded.
O, I sed. O deer, I thot.
Hmm, I sed, I doan supoase u no if eny ov them sed anythin about-?
Wait a minit, thi bird sez, waivin 1 wing @ me. It cloases its Is 4 a momint. It opinz them agen.
It lukes stedily @ me 4 a momint, then sorta ½ shaiks its hed. Wel, mastir Bascule, it sez. As I sed, u ½ been nuthing if not persistint. & u ½ not been fritind 2 risk yoor life. It stamps its feet agen. Ther is sumthin u mite do.
Do 4 what, 4 who?
I cant tel u 2 mutch, yung sir; itz best 4 u if u doant no 2 mutch, beleev me; but ther r sum very importint things happening rite now, things whitch affect — & whitch wil affect — ol ov us. Thi state — thi peepil who ½ atakd owr frends thi sloths & ½ tried 2 kil u — r tryin 2 prevent sumthing happening. Wil u giv us yoor help in making it happin?
Whot happenin? I ask, suspishiss. They say thers a emisiry from thi kaotic bits ov thi kript aroun, wantin 2 infect thi uppir layers.
Thi big bird shayks its wings impayshintly. Thi emisiry, it sez, is kold an asoora & it is from 1 ov thi few parts ov thi kript whitch haz not bin tutched by thi kaos. It carrys within it thi meens ov our salvayshin, but its mishin is in jeperdy; the state oposes it 2 bcoz thi fulfilment ov its mishin wude — conseevibly — meen thi end ov thi presint power structyoor. Ov coarse thi state has used thi bogey ov thi kaos 2 atemt 2 turn uthirs agenst thi asoora & those who wude aid it. Thi fact remanes it iz our only hoap. If it duz not sukseed we r ol lost.
I shift my bum a bit. I reely shude ½ askd 2 cleen up a bit b4 ol this. Not that a playce whare lammergeiers r iz likely 2 b big on washrooms, judjin from thi state ov sum ov thi floars Ive seen aroun her. Im finkin fru whot thi hed geezirs juss toal me. It mite b tru, but I ver mutch dout am been toald thi hoal trufe heer.
& whot am I suposed 2 do? I ask.
Thi hed bird lukes distinkly uncumfortabil, & flaps itz wings a bit. Itz danegeris, it sez.
Id kinda gessd that, I sez urbainly, feelin pritti groan-up, thangu ver mutch. Whot did u ½ in mind? I ask.
Thi lammergeier fixiz me wif its ice-blak Is. Goan bak up thi fass-towr, it sez. Only hi-er this time. (It stamps its feet, 1 aftir anuthir, & thi uthir burdz do thi saim thing.) Mutch hi-er.
I sit bak. Frotes gon a bit dry.
U got a toilit I cude yooz? I ask.
Lukes like thi hoal bleedin fass-towrs juss pakd wif shafts. Weer heer @ thi foot ov anuthir 1. Itz biggir than thi 1 I fel down; a lot bigir. This is thi 1 in thi centir ov thi towr & it muss b eesily ½ a kilometir acres. Very faynt lite filtirs down from… blimey, I doan no; helluva far up, thas 4 shure.
We r heer curtisy ov thi war, thi hed bird telz me. Both sides think thi uthir controlz this space.
O reely.
Yes; thi fact they may b about 2 reech an acomadayshin shortly is anuthir reezin 4 ther bein a degree ov urjinsy about thi presint sityooayshin.
Thi hed bird is perchd wif his ½ dozen pals on whot lukes like a peece ov crumpild, soot-blakind missile rekidje neer thi centir ov thi shaft base. Uthir lammergeiers r flittin about thi place fru thi shados. Thi rok floar ov thi shaft lukes like it used 2 b smooth but itz ol chipt & skard now & literd wif bits ov broakin mashines. Thers a dubil set ov rales leedin in from thi side ov thi shaft whitch is whare we came from; thers a big cavern thare whot lukes like a mooseum ov rokit flite or sumfing; fool ov big sheds & misteeryus bits ov eqwuipmint & rustin missiles & big sferikil tanx & telescopes & radar dishis & deflatid silvir baloons like discardid bolgounz.
I luke strate up. Didn no u cude get vertigo lukin up.
This iz thi mane shaft, thi hed bird sez, & poziz. 1nce it led 2 thi stars.
I luke up agen & I can bleev it. My hed spins @ thi thot &
I olmost fol ovir.
Thi top ov thi fass-towr has bin inaxessibil 4 as long as enybodi or anything can remember, thi lammergeier telz me. Meny atemts ½ bin made, moastly in secrit, 2 reetch its hites. Ol ½ fay led, as far as we no. It lifts up 1 foot & lukes down @ thi bit ov missile itz perchd on. U c sum ov thi rekidje around u.
Uh-huh, I sez. Sumfin up thare keeps shootin them down, yeh?
No; but ther apeers 2 b an armurd conical base 2 thi towrs upir reetches @ about 20 kilometirs whitch nobody has bin abil 2 penitrate.
I luke roun @ ol thi missile rekidje. Thi offorities doan yoozhily let airplanes operate wifin thi cassil 4 feer ov a crash weekinin thi struktyir, let aloan missiles. U cant help wunderin whot sorta damidje has bin dun up thare by ol this rekd hardware.
So? I sez.
We ½ a final vacyoom baloon, thi lammergeier sez.
A whot?
A vacyoom baloon, it repeets. Teknikly, a very strong impermeebil membrane encloasin a hi vacyoom & fitid wif a harnis.
A harnis, I sed.
+, we ½ sum hi-altitood breevin eqwipmint.
U ½, ½ u? I sez. (& am finkin, 0-0…)
Yes, mastir Bascule. We r askin u 2 take thi baloon up as far as u can & then clime sum way beyond thi levil thi baloon attanes.
Iz that posibil? How far up we tokin?
It is sertinly posibil, tho not without risk. Thi altitood is aproximitly 20 kilometirs.
Haz enybudy els bin up that hi?
They ½
They get bak down agen?
Yes, thi lammergeier sez, stampin from side 2 side agen & flappin its wings out a bit. Sevril mishins ½ ataned sutch hites in thi past.
Whot am I suposed 2 do up thare?
U wil b givin a pakidje 2 tak wif u. Ol u ½ 2 do is diliver it.
Whare? Who 2?
U wil c when u get thare. I cant tel u eny moar.
If this is so urjint, how cum u gies cant do it? I ask, lukin roun @ thi othir birdz.