difficult
for her, Andi realized, to be going into the place she’d dreaded her entire
life. There would be Ruvalians in the cells that had been prisoners for many years.
It was going to be very hard to escape from the prison with just Lydia, and
leave all the rest of her people behind in that terrible place.
Was it possible that there was any way to
free the rest of the Ruvalians? At that moment, Andi couldn’t think of a plan. But
the idea had lodged in her computer brain, and it wasn’t going to go away.
It took them about half a day to fly from
the once-Ruvalian city across country to the Hoshaen prison. Andi sat near the
window, looking down at the land as they flew, studying the fields and forests,
and the dull hollows of mines where the search for Indigo Quartz had been
carried out and then abandoned. They were given a small meal aboard the Praxim ,
a light, yellowcorn bread and some dusty water, which the two young women ate
in spite of its lack of appeal, knowing they had to keep up their strength for
the inevitable struggle to come.
When the sun was high overhead, the Praxim finally began its descent and landed on a runway. Blinking in the brilliant
sunshine, the prisoners were escorted off the craft and across the runway to
the low, ugly blocks of an enormous building which the guards informed them was
the main entrance to the prison.
Andi glanced over at her friend. Clios
looked frightened at arriving at the place that she had heard about since she
was a child. Andi clutched Clios’s hand. She couldn’t believe they were finally
there.
They went through a pair of double doors
into a large hall that looked similar to photographs of Old-Time airports that
Andi had seen on the Antiquarian . The prisoners were directed to various
‘terminals’. Here they were questioned and their statistics recorded on the
computer: name, age, and place of birth. Clios had already primed Andi on the
answers to give, and the Hoshaen who questioned them didn’t even look up at
Andi to question what she said.
After this they were ushered back into a
group. The other Ruvalians looked scared and some were even tearful. Andi could
understand their fear—after all, she had every intention of escaping the Black
Hole, but these others did not have that hope, and would be thinking that the
rest of their life was to be spent underground.
She felt a sudden flip of worry in her
stomach, like she did on the rollercoaster ride in the VR Playroom on board the Antiquarian . What if Deneb was already dead, or if she couldn’t find
him? Or what if she wasn’t able to escape from the prison? That would mean all
three of them would be stuck there forever. The thought was not pleasing, and
Andi swallowed nervously as they were led through the terminals and another
pair of double doors and into a large hall.
The room bustled with activity. On one side
were large wagons full of what Andi assumed must be Indigo Quartz, fresh from
the mines, which were wheeled through weighing rooms and then out into the open
air to waiting crafts, ready to be transported to the main Hoshaen cities. Lines
of Ruvalian prisoners took up the rest of the hall, waiting despondently for
their trips down to the depths of the prison. Hoshaen guards prowled the lines
with their rifles drawn.
Andi and Clios were moved forward into one
of the lines and they grasped hands again. Andi felt Clios’s palm slick with
sweat and realized that she, too, was nervous. They waited for some time in the
lines, which led up to several pairs of huge metal doors. Andi wondered what
was through those doors. Some form of elevator, presumably, that was going to
lead them down to the bowels of Thoume.
She felt a brief moment of panic, almost
like claustrophobia, and had to physically stop herself from running away. She
was glad she did so—shortly afterwards the wait became too much for one of the
Ruvalians and he bolted from the line, racing along the hall in Andi’s
direction,
for her, Andi realized, to be going into the place she’d dreaded her entire
life. There would be Ruvalians in the cells that had been prisoners for many years.
It was going to be very hard to escape from the prison with just Lydia, and
leave all the rest of her people behind in that terrible place.
Was it possible that there was any way to
free the rest of the Ruvalians? At that moment, Andi couldn’t think of a plan. But
the idea had lodged in her computer brain, and it wasn’t going to go away.
It took them about half a day to fly from
the once-Ruvalian city across country to the Hoshaen prison. Andi sat near the
window, looking down at the land as they flew, studying the fields and forests,
and the dull hollows of mines where the search for Indigo Quartz had been
carried out and then abandoned. They were given a small meal aboard the Praxim ,
a light, yellowcorn bread and some dusty water, which the two young women ate
in spite of its lack of appeal, knowing they had to keep up their strength for
the inevitable struggle to come.
When the sun was high overhead, the Praxim finally began its descent and landed on a runway. Blinking in the brilliant
sunshine, the prisoners were escorted off the craft and across the runway to
the low, ugly blocks of an enormous building which the guards informed them was
the main entrance to the prison.
Andi glanced over at her friend. Clios
looked frightened at arriving at the place that she had heard about since she
was a child. Andi clutched Clios’s hand. She couldn’t believe they were finally
there.
They went through a pair of double doors
into a large hall that looked similar to photographs of Old-Time airports that
Andi had seen on the Antiquarian . The prisoners were directed to various
‘terminals’. Here they were questioned and their statistics recorded on the
computer: name, age, and place of birth. Clios had already primed Andi on the
answers to give, and the Hoshaen who questioned them didn’t even look up at
Andi to question what she said.
After this they were ushered back into a
group. The other Ruvalians looked scared and some were even tearful. Andi could
understand their fear—after all, she had every intention of escaping the Black
Hole, but these others did not have that hope, and would be thinking that the
rest of their life was to be spent underground.
She felt a sudden flip of worry in her
stomach, like she did on the rollercoaster ride in the VR Playroom on board the Antiquarian . What if Deneb was already dead, or if she couldn’t find
him? Or what if she wasn’t able to escape from the prison? That would mean all
three of them would be stuck there forever. The thought was not pleasing, and
Andi swallowed nervously as they were led through the terminals and another
pair of double doors and into a large hall.
The room bustled with activity. On one side
were large wagons full of what Andi assumed must be Indigo Quartz, fresh from
the mines, which were wheeled through weighing rooms and then out into the open
air to waiting crafts, ready to be transported to the main Hoshaen cities. Lines
of Ruvalian prisoners took up the rest of the hall, waiting despondently for
their trips down to the depths of the prison. Hoshaen guards prowled the lines
with their rifles drawn.
Andi and Clios were moved forward into one
of the lines and they grasped hands again. Andi felt Clios’s palm slick with
sweat and realized that she, too, was nervous. They waited for some time in the
lines, which led up to several pairs of huge metal doors. Andi wondered what
was through those doors. Some form of elevator, presumably, that was going to
lead them down to the bowels of Thoume.
She felt a brief moment of panic, almost
like claustrophobia, and had to physically stop herself from running away. She
was glad she did so—shortly afterwards the wait became too much for one of the
Ruvalians and he bolted from the line, racing along the hall in Andi’s
direction,
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