heading for the terminals through which they had come. Andi could
see his eyes as he neared her, wide with fear and panic and determination to
get out of there. Then there was a crack from one of the rifles and he sprawled
to the floor, almost at her feet. Clios’s hand tightened in her own until she
thought she might feel her bones crack under the pressure.
Finally, however, the waiting was over. The
dead Ruvalian was hauled away, and then there was a squeaking, grinding noise,
and the metal doors at the end opened. The lines were led forward, and Andi and
Clios found themselves walking into a large, windowless, empty metal room. They
turned to face the doors, and Andi bit her lip as the metal barriers began to
slide closed. Outside, through the tempting, taunting glass of the hall, she
could see the red Thoume sun still high in the sky, and for a moment she was
blinded as she looked at it, hoping it wasn’t her last sight of daylight. Then
the doors closed, and the only light was from the sickly yellow glow of the
bulbs in the corner of the room.
The prisoners clung together, silent in
fear, as one of the guards flipped a switch on the panel on the door and the
gears clunked deep beneath them. There was a sickening lurch, and then slowly
the elevator began to descend.
Andi grasped Clios’s hand tightly as they
sank deep into the ground. They had elevators on board the Antiquarian ,
of course, and all the townships in Earth cities had huge glass elevators on
the outside that slid up and down the towers like giant zips. She had even been
in one that had two-hundred-and-fifty floors, and it had taken over five
minutes to get from the top to the bottom.
This elevator, however, seemed to go on
forever. She had no idea of its speed, but the gradual descent was smooth and
unfaltering, a slow, steady sinking into Thoume’s heart. The lights in the
corner flickered rhythmically, and the prisoners murmured, as if with every meter
they went down, their spirits dropped even further. There was a small flutter
of panic too, and Andi guessed that they were all thinking, as was she, that it
might never end, and this might just be a nightmare from which she could not
wake.
She couldn’t tell how long they were in the
elevator, but supposed it must have been about fifteen minutes before it
finally began to slow, and the heavy clunking of the gears sounded as the metal
box came to a halt. The prisoners muttered darkly as the guard pressed the
button on the door, and then the metal barriers slid open, and Andi was greeted
to her first sign of the Black Hole.
Chapter Six
They were led out of the elevator and found
themselves in an enormous cavern, which Andi assumed was the central hub of the
prison system. The walls were a dark-gray rock, lined intermittently with the
same lamps in the elevator, so that the whole of the cavern glowed with a
sickly yellow light.
A huge computer station sat in the center
of the cavern. On one side were a series of other elevators, some wide ones for
carrying the wagons of crystal up to the surface, others, presumably, for
transportation of prisoners to the deeper levels of the jail.
The prisoners were led to a small roped-off
area. Piles of dull brown clothing sat on the floor. “Change,” instructed the
guard. “You may keep your underwear but leave all your own clothing behind. It
is no longer yours. You own nothing in the Black Hole.”
Andi stared as the Ruvalians around her
began to strip off their own clothing without question, too despondent to worry
about being seen naked in front of everyone. “Clios,” she whispered hastily. “If
I undress everyone will see that I’m only green up to my elbows!”
“Get behind me,” the Ruvalian girl
whispered back. “I’ll help you, but we’ll have to be quick.” Andi hastily
unbuttoned her jacket and top. She looked around, but the Hoshaen guard was
watching the wagons of Quartz being loaded onto the cargo elevators, and the
other
see his eyes as he neared her, wide with fear and panic and determination to
get out of there. Then there was a crack from one of the rifles and he sprawled
to the floor, almost at her feet. Clios’s hand tightened in her own until she
thought she might feel her bones crack under the pressure.
Finally, however, the waiting was over. The
dead Ruvalian was hauled away, and then there was a squeaking, grinding noise,
and the metal doors at the end opened. The lines were led forward, and Andi and
Clios found themselves walking into a large, windowless, empty metal room. They
turned to face the doors, and Andi bit her lip as the metal barriers began to
slide closed. Outside, through the tempting, taunting glass of the hall, she
could see the red Thoume sun still high in the sky, and for a moment she was
blinded as she looked at it, hoping it wasn’t her last sight of daylight. Then
the doors closed, and the only light was from the sickly yellow glow of the
bulbs in the corner of the room.
The prisoners clung together, silent in
fear, as one of the guards flipped a switch on the panel on the door and the
gears clunked deep beneath them. There was a sickening lurch, and then slowly
the elevator began to descend.
Andi grasped Clios’s hand tightly as they
sank deep into the ground. They had elevators on board the Antiquarian ,
of course, and all the townships in Earth cities had huge glass elevators on
the outside that slid up and down the towers like giant zips. She had even been
in one that had two-hundred-and-fifty floors, and it had taken over five
minutes to get from the top to the bottom.
This elevator, however, seemed to go on
forever. She had no idea of its speed, but the gradual descent was smooth and
unfaltering, a slow, steady sinking into Thoume’s heart. The lights in the
corner flickered rhythmically, and the prisoners murmured, as if with every meter
they went down, their spirits dropped even further. There was a small flutter
of panic too, and Andi guessed that they were all thinking, as was she, that it
might never end, and this might just be a nightmare from which she could not
wake.
She couldn’t tell how long they were in the
elevator, but supposed it must have been about fifteen minutes before it
finally began to slow, and the heavy clunking of the gears sounded as the metal
box came to a halt. The prisoners muttered darkly as the guard pressed the
button on the door, and then the metal barriers slid open, and Andi was greeted
to her first sign of the Black Hole.
Chapter Six
They were led out of the elevator and found
themselves in an enormous cavern, which Andi assumed was the central hub of the
prison system. The walls were a dark-gray rock, lined intermittently with the
same lamps in the elevator, so that the whole of the cavern glowed with a
sickly yellow light.
A huge computer station sat in the center
of the cavern. On one side were a series of other elevators, some wide ones for
carrying the wagons of crystal up to the surface, others, presumably, for
transportation of prisoners to the deeper levels of the jail.
The prisoners were led to a small roped-off
area. Piles of dull brown clothing sat on the floor. “Change,” instructed the
guard. “You may keep your underwear but leave all your own clothing behind. It
is no longer yours. You own nothing in the Black Hole.”
Andi stared as the Ruvalians around her
began to strip off their own clothing without question, too despondent to worry
about being seen naked in front of everyone. “Clios,” she whispered hastily. “If
I undress everyone will see that I’m only green up to my elbows!”
“Get behind me,” the Ruvalian girl
whispered back. “I’ll help you, but we’ll have to be quick.” Andi hastily
unbuttoned her jacket and top. She looked around, but the Hoshaen guard was
watching the wagons of Quartz being loaded onto the cargo elevators, and the
other
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