I hop down the hill to Theo. “Found it. Give me some of that shine to celebrate.”
Theo jumps up, dropping his book. A piece of parchment falls out and whips toward me in the wind. I pick it up and notice that it is a sketch of a young woman who resembles me or perhaps mom. Theo rushes toward me and grabs the picture, tucking it back between the pages. “Nothing to that, Sprouter. Just some notes.” He’s counting that I didn’t have time to study it. I decide to leave it be.
We scurry uphill to the door. The wind picks up and dust devils scour the landscape. Theo studies the structure and smiles broadly. “The book talks about a puzzle board like this one. It has an answer for solving it, I think. Here, hold the book.” He concentrates on the pages and begins pushing each square as per the book’s instructions. He finishes and nothing happens.
“Perhaps we wait,” I say. Theo looks annoyed and punches the boxes again. I then notice another button below the three rows of three. “What happens if we push this?” I step forward, press it, and a red light appears above the box. “Well, something just happened.”
A strange whirring sound like nothing I’ve heard before emanates from deep inside the hillside. The light begins pulsing and then forms a strange beam that zags across us. We both duck and step back, but the red strips seem to follow us. “Theo, should we be concerned?”
“Dunno Sprouter. It’s just light. Can’t see how that’d hurt us.”
“Don’t you remember Teacher’s stories about how the ancient ones used light to kill their enemies?”
“Do you really believe those stories?” He thinks for a moment. “Let’s maybe step back then.”
As we retreat behind a large reddish rock, the light vanishes and the doors part with a hiss. The whirring approaches us and then a small, metal box adorned with what look to be eyes and strange black wheels appears in the doorway. A bright red circle is painted on its side with the symbols F-R-E-E-D-O-M E-A-R-T-H underneath. It speaks in a strange monotone that is nonetheless similar to our own tongue. “Hello. You can stand up. I will not hurt you.”
Theo falls back in the dirt while my jaw hangs limply. “Should we run for the others?” I ask.
“Not sure,” Theo replies.
“There are others?” The metal box sounds curious. Its voice is neither male nor female. I have no idea how it is talking without a mouth. It continues. “By all means, please gather them. I have not had visitors for quite some time.”
I head down the hillside to gather our troops. Samuel decides to stay with the horses and scout for English while Bets and Flip join us. He’ll check on us occasionally and make sure that we can get back out through the door. As we walk toward the door, I warn Bets and Flip about the talking box. “We have no reason to trust the thing. Keep your weapons ready at all times.”
Bets looks at her sword. “How’s this going to stop something made of metal?”
“I don’t know. It didn’t seem to have any weapon that I could see. So, hopefully there are no worries.”
Theo seems more relaxed but is still hunkered behind the boulder. The box has shifted slightly and is talking with him. Theo turns to us. “So, this box thing is tough to understand. It calls itself an inter farce and that its job is to talk with people. Why’d the ancient ones need a talking box?” He laughs.
“I am an interface. The humans of which you speak need us to accomplish many tasks — order food, arrange travel, communicate with others, schedule meetings, maintain their homes…”
“Sounds to me that the ancient ones were helpless children and very lazy,” Theo interrupts.
“Oh no, they were fully grown adults. Many were quite brilliant. I miss them. I apologize. I have not been a gracious host. Please follow me into the facility. My masters have been gone now for centuries. I would enjoy serving you.”
We look uncertainly at Theo. He nods and we follow the whirring, talking box into the dark tunnel. I look over my shoulder as the daylight recedes.
Chapter 49 – Hm
My eyes adjust to the dimmed light of the corridor. Most everything I see I cannot comprehend — much like the junk we plow from the fields every spring. The difference here is that the windowpanes with no apparent use, the square buttons, and the strange knobs and levers all seem to be in working order and to have a purpose. Light surrounds us, and as Teacher said, there’s no heat. The smells of earth and growing things are absent. In their absence, another scent is present, but I don’t recognize its pleasant flowery notes. There’s something else. I can’t place it but I know that I’ve smelled it before. The air is dead. I already miss the wind on the hill.
We shuffle on. I’ve never been this far underground before. My heart pounds. Sweat slicks my back. The walls seem closer — I desperately want to turn and rush back to the sunshine and open spaces. Theo puts his hand on my shoulder and my nerves recede. I’ll have to accept the feeling of being buried like a corpse in this cramped tunnel.
Thankfully, the corridor opens into a vast circular room, the ceiling stretching impossibly high into the space above. Brilliant light trickles down on us. At first I think it is the sun, but the color’s all wrong. Sunlight is warm and comforting, while this light is cold as snow. Flip, Bets, and Theo stand next to me, stone still, soaking in the sight. If this is a mere reflection of the grandeur of the ancient ones, their dwellings and cities must have been magnificent. Red, blue, and yellow banners hang from the walls.
“This is where my masters lived before the fall,” the box says. “Please follow me to the dining area. I will prepare a meal for you.”
Bets looks confused. “How’re you going to prepare food down here? There’s no place to make a fire, no chimney. And where do you hunt or harvest if you live under the ground?”
“I must apologize. You must be living under primitive conditions on the surface. I will be happy to explain any questions you might have to the best of my ability. But first, you require sustenance.”
The metal box rolls away and we wander around the vast, sterile area. The walls above us are lined with stairs, walkways, and hundreds of doors. The floor is arranged into areas with seats, benches, and tables, all built with colorful materials that I’ve never seen before. The floor is covered with a strange, soft material that looks like fabric. All is in perfect order, with no signs of the messiness of humans. In the center of the room, there’s a large, round platform — a stage perhaps.
The metal thing reappears from nowhere, startling all of us. “Please follow me. I do hope you enjoy what I have prepared.” We follow the box into a large, well-lit room adjacent to the central hall. The walls are made of rough hewn pine, while a fire crackles in an enormous hearth. A wooden table waits, adorned with platters of the most beautiful and strange-looking food. We cautiously sit down and begin exploring the dishes. I take a helping of something too pretty to be edible. I’ve never tasted something so delicious, the creaminess of the freshest butter and a savory like no herb I’ve ever experienced. Bets, Flip, and Theo are similarly enthralled.