Bones For Display
Widely known for its fearsome rapids, a great river flows through the center of Huliss. The danger and the noise of these currents are extreme where it flanks the main city, but apart from that one segment the flow is tranquil upstream and downstream. The human presence in the land can't be missed. Along the difficult stretch of river you see more than a dozen spectacular, huge buildings. Claflin, a man as yet undistinguished, has two of these in mind. He'll spend time at both places this afternoon. He's been looking forward to spectacle, well-staged commemoration. Though the buildings appear too recent to have needed serious restorative work, they must have a great history. With what you already know, you'd find it easy to believe it would be hundreds of generations. Now and then, for the ancestors, a type of procession occurs.
The deafening sound of the rapids might not be noticed by someone who moves along the avenue of charnels. That's especially true of Claflin today, because of his formal involvement with a ceremony. His group starts at the fabulous building that houses the remains from the Satin Spar Dynasty. Chosen to accompany him are four men, three of them elderly. Knipe is one of the old men. He has more than his share of knowledge about these events. He also has a more anxious concern than before.
As they wait for guards to open the main entrance he says, "Not my favorite stop on the avenue. That's because I've been here twice. These people continued for six generations as royalty. Well, you've heard it before : society was stable, with a few famous examples of treachery. But that's a minor part of what's represented here."
He likes the fact that this will be one of the simpler ceremonies, or at least one of the smaller ones, having few participants. The reasons for the size are peculiar but not embarrassing.
Claflin carries a durable, unexplained object, given by someone in their training organization. He and his companions usually refer to the organization simply as 'the school.' And they call the hand-held object simply a cylinder, without saying why it's valued. He supposes he'll show it to someone at the mausoleum. They should be able to make sense of it.
Knipe reaches for it unexpectedly. The younger man lets go of it.
Knipe's old friends are amused by his impatience. He suggests, "Maybe we can get rid of this crap."
They stand in front of the main entrance longer than it seems they should have to. As they wait to be admitted Claflin turns and looks at the other charnel - the one that honors the Natron Dynasty. It's almost a league distant. He never meditates on the reason for naming a dynasty after a mineral. Knipe does.
Of the two dynasties, the Satin Spar was closer to the present day. Debates about the judicial system involve a comparison of the two. Which one left a deeper mark on the life of Huliss? Claflin has begun to think about it in the last few weeks.
Now the entrance is being opened - rather slowly. They're allowed to walk through.
Inside the vast main room, Claflin sees a great social distinction. Members of the royal family were treated with methods that preserve the bulk of the human form. These forms can somehow be seen in their positions - within such dark, baffling enclosures. The less important remains are the actual skeletons. These have been placed in the open, relatively speaking. Near the center of the room are the bones of someone who flourished in the final years of the dynasty. He was a notorious lawgiver. He had established a precept of his own creation along with several that came from the monarch. His unfortunate precept was tolerated by the king.
Claflin detects a movement by Ridderbos, the youngest man who's accompanied him. One of the images on a wall - an image that Claflin has already noticed - is holding Ridderbos' attention. The image itself begins moving. It looks like a woman dressed as a warrior. Quickly she's out away from the wall and close to the men. She's talking to Ridderbos. Claflin's amazed by what seems an actual conversation. But it takes a bad turn. She begins to look unfriendly. She moves her sword threateningly and keeps doing this, but it doesn't matter. A safe limit has been arranged for this trick. After she places a curse on the men, their problem is over with. She dematerializes, fading downward through the pavement.
Claflin's instincts are offended by this jab of theater. Spectacle is one thing, a nearby moving sword is another. One of the old men admits his nerves can't handle this. The sword had gotten too close. Not that he can afford to be elsewhere this day.
Ridderbos tells Claflin, "It's pretty good for something designed as a prop."
"Dramatic enough," admits the inductee. "And I'm supposed to learn something from it."
Knipe answers, "It isn't very meaningful compared to the rest."
Of an event so early in the process, that's bound to be true.
The action wasn't so interesting to the other one of the visitors - the old man with a painted face. Painted, that is, with a glyph below each temple, right in front of each ear. He's been disappointed because people don't ask him what the glyphs mean. Ridderbos wonders how often the paint comes off and the face has to be repainted. The old man doesn't care what young adherents think. They're stupid because they haven't been suffering long enough. But he fears more than the others, except for Knipe, what's been happening in the cult of the mortuary system. Persons who never existed are being honored - by certain performers - as if they're a part of history. It isn't being done just to please an audience. The old man thinks Claflin would be better off by waiting longer to be inducted. Even though he believes this, he has his reasons for participating. He complies with leadership of the school.
Claflin hasn't been told much about the consequence of being inducted. He understands, dimly, that it's essential for one's advancement. There must be exceptions to the rule, but he can't assume that he's an exception. On the other hand lots of men are content to be merely acceptable as ordinary men. He's aware that the school's keeping a secret from him. He doesn't care if they do that. His loyalty - or at least his willingness to cooperate for now - expresses a peculiar motivation. The hunger that drives him onward is mystical. His actions are compliant, but it's also true that he's been talking too much. He's blunt about the idea that, before long, he'll have things his own way. Seriously.
Now another woman appears, this one recognized by Claflin. She walks over and greets him with a solem phrase. In spite of himself he's properly diffident.
Knipe tells him, "We want you to know that Sedney is attending."
The statement's unnecessary. Claflin was already told she'd be present.
She declares, "It's time to dust off the furniture, so to speak. We don't do it often enough, and it hasn't gotten easier. We'd like to give a different face to those generations." The point of view is wry without being amused. "We hire different kinds of experts, but the last professional team we had in here was a joke." Sometimes candor is refreshing.
The young man takes this as a mild warning not to expect too much. He's been aware of Sedney's prestige in curator's work. She claims descent from the dynasty in question. It's good to know that the family's members were allowed to survive. But after they'd committed certain offenses their claim to royal might was rejected by priestly custom of the aristocrats. There is, of course, a sense right now that something's about to happen. The woman remarks, "We don't say the performance is self-explanatory, but here it is."
A group of men and women quickly enter through another door. As if by nature, they produce a well-conceived formation across the pavement. They begin the energetic movement. It seems to communicate without being a dance or a drill. Their movement is bound to suggest repeated strangling or stabbing, and then the act of anointing. This continues, presumably, for as long as it needs to. A visitor can be wearied by the intense, puzzling action. Knipe soon becomes weary without being mystified.
Eventually the woman declares with satisfaction, "That's what we like to see."
Knipe admits, "It must take all kinds of training."
When the artists finish the performance and start to leave, a man approaches and gives Claflin a kind of lens. It's to be used on the tour they're about to take, stopping at various enclosures of the human remains. Through the lens he'll observe different attributes of the 'royals.' As they visit the tombs, he finds the qualities to be interesting but rather trivial. One example is different, though. This was a prince who lived and died in the reign of the second king. The man who provided the lens describes the prince's remains as having 'an unexplained vitality.' This means that a recurring motion, centered on the remains, can be observed. No one says the vitality has a practical result. They say it's fascinating. For some reason the effect on Claflin is repugnance, not fascination. He looks at the woman who's giving the tour.
She inquires, "What do you make of it - something eternal?"
He answers, "Yes, I believe that."
He must have said something tolerable, because she doesn't correct him.
Sedney leads the visitors to a uniquely designed enclosure. It holds remains of the penultimate king. It's the royal person Claflin has devoted most of his study to. Sedney begins to speak as if quoting the king, or as if he's using her voice.
"The lesser-born are making too much noise. There's much that you need to prevent. You mustn't be hindered by common scruples. If you have to, make use of extreme physical methods. Don't be fooled by these worthless entertainers."
The woman waits for Claflin's acknowledgment.
He makes the relevant gesture, without having to commit himself.
In this building there's one presence only, that he's going to keep thinking about. Like so many people, he'd seen, years before, the great mural that portrays the lawgiver's bones. You can find that image in one of the king's libraries. Here the actual skeleton is kept as a tangible reminder. Some people claim to have seen a face on the skull, glaring at visitors.
Claflin's expected to make some statements when taking part in this tradition.
He begins, "They say the lawgiver has a peculiar vitality of his own. That might be unfortunate."
Sedney replies, "And if it's a problem, you can tell us how to solve it?"
He says, "Remove the skeleton. Replace it with another exhibit. I know that sounds too simple and they'll say it's irreverent." Claflin's trying to be careful. "The greatness of the Satin Spar was never defined by some rewarded minister."
Knipe comments, "He did have some innovative ministers. They could be given more attention."
"I agree," the woman says. But she knows the replacement wouldn't be permitted.
A family that comes later might for that reason have rhetorical advantage against an earlier family. The Satin Spar's rebuke of the Natron has always been well known. Measures introduced by the Natron kings were supposed to limit the conflicts and the poverty that plagued Huliss. According to men of the Satin Spar they did no such thing. Though the physical violence inspired by this controversy is meager, the bombast isn't. The famous lawgiver has been at the center of it. Claflin's fellow students are not immune to the controversy, but so far they've left it out of these processions. Their beliefs express the values of Strom, a teacher from the nation called Feldmar. He arrived in the time of the Natron kings. If you disparage them you disparage him. On this question Sedney has never been outspoken.
But a man at the school had once told Claflin, "That precept from the corrupt lawgiver was in line with what the royals at the time believed, even if the king himself didn't think of it. As for the previous king, though he was a heretic in some ways, it didn't matter. His influence didn't last very long. There's no denying that the precept has been used against men like Strom ever since."
Claflin asked him, "Do you think the talk about minerals gave too much attention to the esthetic?"
The man replied, "Certainly too much. But they still classified minerals to tell us which caste would have wisdom and authority. It's more than technical, and it's about more than finance. The noble caste can be arbitrary - that's a given. The philosophical discourse was about loyalty."
The staid, incisive teacher will finish his working years at the school.
Sedney tells them the tour is over with. She's been rather guarded with her statements. Claflin has no idea what she's like apart from her physical appearance and her status as a particular kind of expert. Though she isn't young he believes that most men would think she's attractive. He doesn't credit the whispered, repulsive stories...
The tour may be over, but there's still a demonstration to observe. A workman who's been in the room for some time is finally noticed by Claflin. He carries a special tool, a very expensive torch, in one hand. He switches it to the other hand as Knipe gives him the cylinder. He carries it to a far corner. The others follow. He pauses and looks around, seeming to value this part of the room as a useful anomaly. Not just because it's a corner. Compared to the rest of the pavement, these tiles look different. Somehow this area can be used for such tasks without leaving a trace. He sets down the cylinder. He uses the torch, applying it to the artifact. When subjected to the torch, crafted objects would be dissolved, and the result would be instantaneous. That doesn't happen this time. The end result seems to be nothing more or less than a cylinder.
It's clear that Knipe is exasperated by the result. But he accepts it. He talks about it with Sedney and the workman. He learns that the object consists of the most valuable mineral, a substance very difficult to use with artistic purpose. One thing is definite : the cylinder belongs now to the Satin Spar.
The visitors, apart from Knipe, spend some time gawking. The most preoccupied is Ridderbos. He looks at every kind of exhibit. Claflin studies a mosaic, but it's intermittent because his attention is gotten at times when the workman says something.
After the discussion is finished, everyone's aware of a noteworthy event. It brings to an end Claflin's visit here.
There's an unpleasant ripple sensation, vigorous enough to be felt across the kingdom. Knowledgeable persons can guess what this is about. Knipe himself can imagine the sort of installation it would have emanated from. This wasn't just an illusion. He'll do what the situation calls for. He tries to find out if there's immediate damage to this building. He talks to a few people, but for now they don't know of any.
Sedney comments to the old man and he replies. They have a sense of urgency. Another official of the mausoleum enters the room and joins the discussion. It doesn't take long. It's obvious they think the Satin Spar ceremony is over with. It's time for Claflin's group to begin their stroll towards the other charnel. They leave the building.
Outside, and a short distance away, the group stops moving. Here the participants endure a special interval. Everyone listens to Claflin recite a passage from a nobleman's essay. He makes an evaluation of a doctrine that pertains to the ceremony's value. He does this well enough, and the others are asked to state their thoughts on the doctrine honestly and fairly. They say what they know they're allowed to say. The person being inducted gives his opinion of their dutiful opinions. After a commendation by Knipe the men resume their stroll.
Two minor officials from the first mausoleum have been told to accompany the group on its way to the second. Claflin's group from the school stays quiet at first. But then they notice another man, too, one who's walking some distance to their left, and a ways behind. He's more than a minor official.
Knipe whispers, "I don't know if we'll get a statement from him."
The third old man to accompany Claflin stops being so quiet.
He states, "One more induction. It's a good way for me to retire. So we need new blood? What else is new?" He looks at the Satin Spar's man who's walking off to the side. "I can't even guess where he stands on the question of theater. Do we need him with us today?"
Knipe answers, "Yes."
Claflin hears a further exchange of remarks coming from the old men. Finally he's told the status of the man they're talking about : the steward of the mausoleum.
Knipe was informed about this man from the start - informed about his weapon. The man carries a dethermer. It's well-concealed, and it's to remain concealed unless a nightmare of sorts happens. Naturally the idea that they need a bodyguard is uncomfortable. Almost nobody can have a dethermer. It's a kind of weapon that continues to be experimental, and much too costly for the multitudes. These weapons might even be finally discarded as blasphemous, for some reason. In the meantime they can be used to deprive humans of their body heat. They do nothing but kill. In a frightening number of cases they kill the people using them.
Well, other things can be worried about. As much as the man of glyphs, Knipe conjectures about what they see as a disastrous turning point in the rites. They've identified a foreign source of influence : a wizard from the land of Mullicrane. Ages ago that worrisome dominion received hundreds of detested prisoners from Huliss. These men were the losers in homeland conflicts. It was felt they merited such exile. No one publicly stated what became of these men after they reached Mullicrane. But the secret authorities had an idea what their torture would be like. The punishment was too ghastly to be applied to women. Other kinds of punishment would suffice for women. Some people claim to know in detail what the wizard would have to do with horrendous methods for treating prisoners. Knipe can believe he was allowed into one of the relevant installations hereabouts. The wizard has a face that shows a rabid mind. His harmful instruments are several.
He's had a hand in something affecting the school, though none of the members know it. By the wizard's influence the presiding officer has lost good health and the willingness to face a challenge. The other senior members have been somewhat demoralized. Over the long run this will be a problem, especially for such as Ridderbos. Claflin doesn't quite know what he's getting into, and he isn't sanguine.
Before long the members of the procession are walking closer together on the road.
"It's the timing of this thing," Knipe finally says about the tremor. "Yesterday at the Registry they spoke of something like this."
He doesn't expect a reply from the younger men.
Among the feats of architecture in this kingdom, the Registry is considered the most grandiose. The series of courtyards and huge inner divisions would always be more than a glorified archive. It's a meeting place for the king's policy makers. It's a meeting place for all kinds of great scholars. Care is taken to make it seem the place has nothing to do with charnels and their fervor. No one is deceived by this effort. It's alarming to know that beastly plans are formulated and communicated in some of the rooms at the Registry. The great center's available to the common people, including the ones with reforming zeal. But it's also there for the convenience of malefactors.
The trip to the other charnel won't be too strenuous. Claflin's team is met by serious gusts of wind at first. The gusts make him think of the rapids on the river. The stream will be in view for most of the walk. The onlookers they see are not numerous - a few individuals and couples. As far as he's concerned the statues along the side of the road are too enigmatic. The day is overcast.
Knipe regards Claflin. For some time he's been worried about an obsession the younger man has : the Countenance Memorial. As a place which is said to be for the interment of the wealthiest people its nature is quite splendid. Is someone actually buried there? Knipe isn't sure. Historians relate the Memorial to a faction that many citizens feel threatened by. It's an elite class of performers whose lack of inhibition is matchless. Their ongoing tirade may disguise their plans for the kingdom. One scholar has pointed out, "If only they were a secret society. We wouldn't have to taste their delusion." The man of the facial glyphs has warned his fellows at the school, "These actors misrepresent the past. They smother us in their fantasies about previous ages."
He's told a few people about his own experience that might sound like fantasy. The experience has much to do with why he cares about the performing arts. When he was a teenager he saw one of Pavitt's mythical creatures. A form that appeared to be humanlike was out there on the river. It was as if, in the middle of the stream the form was standing on solid ground. It couldn't be. The river was much deeper than that. The upper body was continuously above the rushing water. The person was standing still except for turning to look in different directions. He looked at the teenager. The old man recalled the times when he'd mentioned this to people, and what they thought of it. They listened without judging harshly, and his anecdote didn't give him a colorful reputation.
Though Knipe has a bit of optimism on the possible theatrics, he wants to keep track of the dangers. He's told Claflin about Fraley, a man who gets paid to attend many of these rites. Of course he has to do something besides merely attending. He's waiting this afternoon at the other group of tombs - the Natron. This man, according to Knipe's dark suspicion, has a secret, well-paid compliance with orders from the king. That doesn't prove the man is hostile to Claflin. But the king often comes up with new opinions about festivities for the dead. These opinions are unpredictable. As with many opinions, they're not healthy.
He also continues the Satin Spar disapproval of all things Natron. He's only the second king since the time of the Satin Spar. His immediate predecessor had a lengthy reign, but his family died along with him. This latest king has developed further the cult of minerals. Any prominent family chooses to identify with a mineral. They almost always fail to exploit the resource in a practical manner. This was true of the Natron family as well as the Satin Spar. In those terms the present monarch is more effectual, to the point where something needs to be done about him. Cult followers are most noted for their own disgusting practice that mocks the dead. They leave supplies of minerals in small containers that they attach to corpses. Most of these dead are murder victims and their bodies are left in fields or ditches or lakes.
It's known that Strom, the very capable man from Feldmar, was praised for many reasons. He made some discoveries about the most coveted minerals. He did more than anyone else to expose the associated vile practices. Oddly enough his criticism of their use endeared him to the Natron family. And he made vital contributions to the school that counts Knipe and Claflin as members. He forbade them to speak metaphysically about a mineral. He had a long life, and there's no reason to believe he was the martyr that some people describe him as.
His research dealt with something else too. A building known as the Ancient Museum contains the most venerable example of human remains kept for public viewing. It appears to be a normal skeleton. It's been there since before the construction of the most expensive charnels. Prominent scholars contradict each other as to the background of this individual. Strom's theory is still the dominant theory. It's disputed by the king, and he makes an appearance before the exhibit several times a year. Somehow he feels no resentment against the school.
After a time the procession moves off the roadway and approaches a wall of granite masonry. The steward holds an oversized and strangely-designed key. He uses this to open a large gate. The group moves inside and the gate is closed. From the looks of the place this could be the most ambitiously cultivated garden in the kingdom. The number of trees here can hardly be believed. Claflin hasn't seen anything like it. In towards the center they can roughly make out the form of some building.
The steward leaves them for a time and walks to the building. They don't know anything about who he'd be talking to there. During his absence Ridderbos wants to hear something about how they tend such trees and shrubs. This landscape is very unusual as part of Huliss. Knipe gives answers that Claflin doesn't find informative. Eventually the steward returns.
The steward takes them to the only manufactured landmark near the granite wall. He uses the key when he touches a placard on the structure. One side of the placard swings away from the surface. What's revealed is a face that's been formed from a precious metal. To the commoners of Huliss the metal's only mythical. Some of the wealthy merchants use it for exchange with patricians in countries all across Pavitt.
The metallic form speaks to the steward in a language that he, but no one else present, understands. The face tells him, "Kimber has made a pact with the Guild of Performers. Think of your new position."
This isn't what the steward wants to hear. His status of privilege is teetering on the brink. Someone has learned of his collaboration. Because of this and other problems, he wishes he could have more time with the Satin Spar exhibits. He knows that Sedney is perceptive and useful, but he won't be seeing her again. Even at this moment, though, he's able to adjust. He gives the old men a clever summary. When he's done he tells them, "If you don't like how this changes things, we can reschedule for the near future." The other men seem devoid of suspicion. They're set to continue, so he leads them back to the gateway. After leaving the great enclosed area the group starts once more down the road towards the Natron mausoleum.
Kimber, a woman given to intrigue, knows nothing about Claflin. His tentative application for work with the Guild hasn't been held against him by anyone at the school, or even mentioned. Perhaps they don't know about it. The school comes up now and then as a point of contention at various meetings held at the Registry. The school is thoughtful and obscure. It seems less privileged than the Guild. But the artists of celebrity take their chances. They can be found meaningless and tossed aside by the royal court. Kimber survives for the time being. She avoids the most illusory friendships.
On the road, buildings and hills occasionally block their view of the Natron mausoleum.
Knipe says to the inductee, "Aren't you glad this one's informal, as these things go? You're not cheating if you ask me some questions."
He knows how to reassure the younger man.
"So they told me," comes the reply. But there's no immediate question.
Knipe states, "I didn't know the cylinder was onyx-prize. Now I can tell it was a standard illusion - making the artifact seem like a true cylinder. I was watching closely enough when that man applied the torch. I saw the artifact's real shape for that one instant. Then it went back to 'cylinder.' For alI that, I suppose they could still say there's something wrong with it."
"Can you finally explain that thing to me?" Claflin asks. "I mean, are you allowed to explain it - what it has to do with my potential?"
Knipe replies, "As much as I understand it myself." He speaks at length, but it's very dry detail. He suggests that practical instruments in every country will soon be amazingly different than before, and explains that it's because various minerals are more available now. But onyx-prize is unique, and has, for many uses, more value than onyx. It's extremely difficult to fashion one of these chunks that are found in natural deposits. They're found in many regions of Pavitt. Unlike the metal substance of the mask, onyx-prize is known to everyone.
Ridderbos moves closer to hear the conversation. When he gets a chance to speak he's rather speculative.
"This is the second one I've been involved with. But the first time I wasn't a 'participant,' just a helper. If there's one person behind it this time I'd say he's a businessman or an office holder, nothing more than that."
Compared to Sedney the person behind this event has a less convincing claim to recognized lineage. It's true that he's a man of wealth and influence. Not for the first time Claflin notices that Knipe tries to tolerate Ridderbos.
Knipe answers, "And you think he belongs in the Backprairie."
Ridderbos appears to be gloating. His class consciousness may be absurd.
He says, "It doesn't have to be the Backprairie. There are plenty of desolate regions. Or hostile kingdoms."
The geographic reference is typical. A humanlike but strictly speaking nonhuman population has been relegated to the Backprairie. Dealings between those creatures and humans have persisted for three largely tolerant, uneventful millenia. The nonhumans have been labeled 'campgrounders.'
Like everyone else the old men have heard about life on the Backprairie. A peculiar fact of the Natron building is the presence of some elite paintings and engravings which refer to that external territory. The region is perceived by humans as the most problematic landscape that could support human life. If the losers in homeland conflicts were sent to Mullicrane for disposal, a number of more elusive degenerates were sent to the Backprairie with a similar purpose. The leaders of Huliss paid the campgrounders handsomely to bury, not consume, such victims. At least those victims have gotten recognition on grave markers and in history books. Not so the belligerents. In any case, people are glad that these punitive methods were eventually rejected.
The old men smile as Ridderbos tells them what's what.
"I've studied onyx-prize. Most of our leaders don't know it's all about the dream world. What we saw back there was nothing special. Naturally onyx-prize can be made to look like something else. What's important is that dreams prefigure the afterlife." He gives examples.
Knipe answers, "That means the afterlife is revealed by onyx-prize."
Is he trying to humor the young man?
After a while Ridderbos has a jolting recollection. The wizard had voiced a strong interest in the Natron building. That was several years before, and nothing has come of it. The point seems impossible to explain. But from now on Ridderbos will give it serious attention. He talks about this to the man of glyphs, who replies that the wizard made similar comments about all the royal tombs, everywhere. No one can change his behavior on the basis of that fact. It's nebulous. People understand that the wizard managed to survive a political purge in his own country, and afterwards spent much time outside Mullicrane. Few persons believe he covets the throne of Huliss. But he wants to make dangerous use of this kingdom, somehow.
For Claflin this day is augmenting some unlikely thoughts. He's bound to recall a theatric performance that took place at the house of that notorious eminence, the duke of ill repute, the man you don't have to bother naming. It happened almost two years ago. The players were from the faction that swears allegiance to the leadership of the Countenance Memorial. The nature of the performance kept most members of the audience from being distinctly aware at first that the acting had begun. Then some statement or gesture would make them aware. One of the actors had supposedly been raised from the dead, years ago. Claflin hadn't heard anyone disbelieving it, or for that matter, believing. But the actor did something psychically to the audience. In front of them all he held up a piece of onyx-prize. That's what he called it, and everyone believed it really was onyx-prize. Because of something strange the man said, Claflin experienced a thrill, or a terror. If he was or wasn't the only one who did, the performance went through to completion. He recalls that Ridderbos was there, and he had seen him previously at a few casual gatherings. He hadn't been eager to see him after that performance. They hadn't ever conversed until a few days ago at the school.
When they're about half way to the Natron mausoleum they finally talk in some detail about the earth tremor. The steward points off to the left of the road. He gets the attention of the minor officials, and they approach him. In the distance, to the south of some huge oligarchy statues, there's been serious damage. The long and wide craftsmen center has been ruptured. The center has market activity as well as manufacturing. Bricks have popped out of buildings and spilled over to form heaps. It isn't complete reduction of the works. Productive labor will presently resume. But who would rage against the best of the common workers? Maybe it was inadvertent. Something else might have been the real target. Off to one side, further away, the Countenance Memorial appears undamaged. They can see the enormous visage on the side of the building. The face comprises the largest known mass of onyx-prize. It's claimed that it was found as is. They couldn't possibly sculpt it.
One of the men from the Satin Spar declares, "If we weren't damaged, the Natron probably isn't."
No one challenges the remark.
Claflin once heard a lecture, given by someone at the school who claimed to be an astronomer. His comments related earth tremors to startling portents in the sky.
"This will always be the case," the lecturer promised. "It's been observed by researchers at academies in a score of countries. It shows a malevolent purpose having to do with depths of the earth. The unfriendly being doesn't live in the depths, but he's active there."
The group stops for a conference, or at least a rest, and everyone slumps to the ground. The same official from the Satin Spar is ready to talk about a subject he doesn't enjoy.
He begins, "Are we supposed to ask the wizards for their help in staging these induction ceremonies?"
When no one else answers, Knipe tells him, "That's the understanding. Some wizards are not as hostile as the one we've been talking about."
The other man says, "But that's why people are so pessimistic about it. They're just giving in to the ones they're approached by."
Knipe admits, "There should be some other way to continue the practice."
Ridderbos tells them, "It's all because of a lack of education. People are so ignorant."
Most of those present elaborate on the subject with a quasi-debate. They make some remarks about the 'craft of magic.'
Still thinking of the lecturer that he remembers, Claflin gazes at the sky. He notes the usual features of the daytime heavens. Along with the primary orb, these include several faintly observed planets and another system of illumination. This other light is widespread, and it's more than reflection. But if directly viewed it isn't blinding - a difference between this light and that of the great orb seen from Pavitt as well as from Earth proper. In a way this viewing is futile. He's unable to relate what he sees to an earthbound vibration.
Breaktime was worth it. They get to their feet and they begin walking, at first very slowly. There's trivial chatter for a while.
Eventually Ridderbos has a question for Knipe.
He says to him, "Did the school try to find someone besides Kimber?"
The old man grins. "They're still trying to."
The woman they've mentioned comes from a not so prominent family.
Ridderbos continues, "The reports we get are timely and I don't question their accuracy. She does that well enough. But I'm not sure about the budget we're basing this on. It could fall through any day now."
Knipe answers with a question. "Where'd you learn the theory of revenues?"
He says this with a facial expression which is crushing to Ridderbos.
They look at Claflin. He's enough paces to the front that he can't hear what they're talking about.
Knipe declares, "He's got as much potential as anyone at the school."
Kimber uses her own appointed status in representing these men to the inner circle of the king. She gave a speech one time in a room at the Registry. Knipe supposes that Kimber and Fraley answer to the same officials. He doesn't like the sound of it. He knows more about her than he knows about Fraley, but it's him and not her that he has to deal with. He'd be interested to know that Fraley considers this enactment of the rite to be unlike the others he's observed. This is the first one he's been to that promotes a man from the school. Fraley's in league with officials who dominate the Guild of Performers and the Countenance Memorial. Not long ago he commissioned music that honors the most venerable skeleton - the one in the museum. He promoted Kimber, and she's been consulting with officials at the royal palace. What's her history? Until a year ago Knipe himself thought no one had heard of her. In fact she had narrowly escaped the misfortune of being someone's human sacrifice. The young woman learned her lesson well, namely, don't trust a recruiter from an extremist cult. Since then she's gained information that can be used against many aristocrats, including some women of legend. Clearly she's made herself known to the right people. She belongs to an alliance that understands the Registry. They've appointed her and she makes observations.
Claflin tells the others in his group, "So once more we're going down hill."
Their view to the distance has changed. Especially away from the river the sights are now much different. The country includes flatlands, but for the most part you find gradual slopes leading to ridges of modest elevation. Such is the kingdom of Huliss. Each dynasty has made serious efforts to prevail against the nation's harsh characteristic - the landscape which is inferior with regard to farming. Much more than other countries Huliss imports the vital food supplies. The greatest of the sources for such imports are the countries Khernic and Benacerraf. Other lands of Pavitt also provide some food, but there's a major exception to this pattern of dependence : large birds that are taken from the skies of Huliss by trained archers. If not stopped by human weapons, the birds can swiftly traverse the kingdom. Inhabitants are grateful for the tasty, stupid fowl. Their food value is preternatural.
Now Claflin's team is greeted by a man from the Natron mausoleum. It was understood he'd be waiting halfway or perhaps two thirds of the way along the route. He approaches Knipe immediately. He wants to talk about Knipe's comparable ceremony. That's ancient history - the days of Knipe's youth, his example of being inducted.
The Natron man comments, "That wasn't many years after the Satin Spar ended, was it? You must recall some things from that dynasty, I imagine."
Cheerfully Knipe says, "What a person can remember from childhood." He glances at Ridderbos. "It's good to get older."
Was there a difference between the two ceremonies? Yes, because of pervasive changes in the kingdom. Knipe enjoyed his own ceremony, but he didn't learn anything of great value. Today's version has exasperating features, but it ties in with what the citizens like to debate. He tells the man what those features are. It brings to mind some things he can't expect this man to appreciate.
He recalls it being wonderful back then, before his children got older and left home, especially wonderful before he and his wife separated. But he was mistaken about the most important problems in Huliss. Perhaps Claflin will be more enlightened.
Then they talk about the mausoleum.
The Natron man suggests, "We've silenced the people who complain about us not doing renovation. A few days ago we finished a massive work project."
Knipe answers, "Who knows? You might need more of the renovation because of what just happened."
The other man doesn't look sheepish, but he admits that he was away from the charnel when the tremor struck. He doesn't know what the damage would be.
Then he starts talking to Claflin. He tells him what he should be told on the way over. Claflin doesn't get the usual message about the 'humane royals' and about Strom. The message proves to be a cleverly adjusted form of inspiration for the living. There's the understandable wariness about the Guild of Performers.
He gives a summary :
They see a new aggression by the wealthiest merchants who care about kingdom policy. Many of those involved are known to sponsor the performing arts. They might not interfere with today's ritual. Then again they might. For the sake of confidence Fraley was expected to appear at the charnel with an overly adequate bodyguard. There's talk of a partisan ambition that's been secretly nurtured at the Registry. It's claimed that violence will happen at every charnel maintained by aristocrats. But the result can't be what most experts predict. It's thought of as favoring the monarch, but he can also find it a liability. And it won't crush the Natron-Strom sympathizers. Though their position won't be enhanced, the greatest victims are some other elements. The Natron man thinks all this can happen without a huge death toll.
The Natron begins to show more obviously a different design than the Satin Spar. Everyone's quiet for a while, most of them fascinated by the mausoleum. Knipe, though, is looking in a different direction.
He tells them, "Common sense wins the day in most cases. When it doesn't, there's education."
He sees the waterway. "There were those people who said we should construct majestic temples across the river. Unrealistic, of course, trying to cross the river at that point. Quite the roundabout trip getting across on days of worship, and getting back. Those people were laughed off the stage."
But not before they vandalized hundreds of large buildings. Claflin has this thought but doesn't say it. He knows their insanity reached a culmination during the reign of the final Satin Spar king. They were perceived as heretics because they wanted to exalt the temples over the charnels. The dynasty's last king suppressed them without being too obvious about it. He kept his good reputation.
The steward finally talks to a person from the school - the man with the painted glyphs. He also waves Ridderbos over to join the discussion.
He tells them both, "We're not defeated by the tremor. At the Natron it still goes the way we planned it. Your advisors agree with us about the different possibilities."
His manner is slightly jovial and he's very soft.
The old man replies, "I've never been to the Natron. They're supposed to have clues about everything in the country worth mentioning. I'd like to be surprised by confirming it."
Ridderbos comments, "They told me we should be able to do that."
Claflin thinks they're moving at the right pace. He looks at the old men. They're holding up pretty well.
On the other hand, Claflin isn't. That is to say certain thoughts he's been having for much of the past year have quickly become clarified. His purpose looks different all of a sudden. He'd like to gracefully and righteously back out of this business called 'being inducted.' But there's no way he can do that. Even someone who stays the course might have misgivings.
He knows the school has been investigated by Kimber's people. The senior members of the school know that those people did something besides investigate. They gave the king too much information. There's no doubt that Strom's legacy is at the center of this. The Natron king esteemed the man's knowledge of medicine. He supported the Feldmarite's work, which included some experimental studies of the campgrounders. The work was vilified as being frivolous on the part of the monarch. Despite these rumors the experimentation was kindly. Historians claim the policy regarding the campgrounders was one of several that hastened the fall of the dynasty. Whether that's true or not, something enigmatic happened following Strom's death. His remains were placed in a unique transparent receptacle at the Natron mausoleum. The skeleton is every bit as famous as the one in the Ancient Museum. Knipe has been allowed to view Strom's remains more than once.
He's looking forward to a conference he'll attend this evening. He expects they'll tell him something about the damage caused by the strange pulsation. The weaponry for such effects has been around a long time. If it was meant as an attack, what's the reason?
Some people know the tremor was delivered as a warning to different social classes. It was sent by the wizard, and any damage to the craftsmen center was incidental. It's been startling in a special way for some of the companies of actors. They know what it means. They foresee a confrontation that would be lastingly decisive.
One of the men from the Satin Spar makes it known he admires the edifice they're approaching.
He tells them, "You won't believe the masonry." That's one of the tributes. But he doesn't confess that he tried to gain a position here before he was accepted at the place where he works.
Ridderbos tells Claflin, "You've done everything right. There's nothing to worry about. I like the way you moved past everyone at the school, and I'll die happy even if I never get nominated for this. I'm amazed they let me come along as a witness."
Claflin replies, "They had reasons for choosing you, and you know it."
Now the men stop once more for a few moments, and he stands apart from the others until he gets a better look at the building. They've been coming down a slope that has a pretty good view of it. But when they get closer to the Natron they'll be looking at a stand of poplars, not the building.
It isn't obvious that this mausoleum is larger than the Satin Spar, and Claflin's never been close to this one. The sensory impact is stronger than expected. From childhood he's been obsessed with fortresses, palaces and temples. But there's something happening he doesn't like. He fears being seduced by a different esthetic of monument design.
They have a great disappointment when they move into the sizable stand of poplars. Inside a clearing there had been a splendid array of memorial features. It's what they'd been told to expect, but of course they wouldn't be able to see this until they reached the trees. The array had a massive stele with cryptic diagrams. Along with the stele were some columns and a kind of arcade.
This result of the tremor is a painful surprise - objects overturned and shattered. The damaging thoroughness has to be unlikely. It's as if the vibration was controlled in just the way to make it concentrated right here. Knipe had wanted to refresh his memory of the array, but also discern a message he couldn't have sensed before. The chance of that has been lost.
They're greeted by a sentry who'd been posted in the clearing. He returns to the charnel and informs the director of their presence.
The array belonged with the charnel as part of the entire facility. It may take a mystical preference to understand what happened. The director and the chief sentry had received instructions from the Countenance Memorial. When the tremor did its work they kept the people inside from leaving the place. They kept them ignorant of the damage. The workers inside hadn't felt the pulsation. They hadn't heard anything unusual. And today there hadn't been visitors yet. The leaders knew they should keep to the schedule.
Claflin's team scatters in a lethargic manner, looking at the ruins.
Presently someone says, "He thinks he knows who to blame for this. Maybe he does know."
Ridderbos has been looking at the debris and hadn't heard the man sneaking up on him. He turns to face him.
The someone is a sentry. He seems very calm about what happened, and his statement referred to the director. He continues, "He's already had one expert looking at it."
The Natron man who had met them along the route is with the other visitors. They begin talking to each other about what they find. Soon, at the edge of the clearing, the mausoleum's director begins to confer with Knipe. Their talk isn't noticed by Ridderbos.
The sentry describes the event. "I saw it happen. There was no noise, it's uncanny. We didn't get hurt."
As if nothing had happened? Could the wizard have thrown a pall of indifference on the workers in any case?
Ridderbos and Claflin talk for a while.
Then it's time for another step in the process. Knipe and the director both give some final advice to the other men. They leave the clearing, emerge on the other side of the trees and approach the edifice.
When they're finally standing next to the mausoleum they see a large inscription on the exterior, just left of the main entrance. This proclaims the greatness of the commemorated family. Always the people in charge of upkeep have been doing something right. The building has never been defaced.
Entering the mausoleum, they're greeted by the priestess. This place has one, the Satin Spar doesn't. Claflin's aware that she'll invoke the Deity before the session is through. That kind of thing doesn't antagonize people in Huliss, but it's delicate. There's some milling about before the participants feel ready to begin the session. The woman is patient, making small talk.
Finally she begins by referring to the less important remains. These are kept in the open, towards the center of the room.
She declares, "We've had various reasons for showing these two dozen skeletons. Not all of these were men found guilty of sacrilege and their bodies tossed into the rapids."
A member of the charnel's crew adds, "Or their bodies retrieved with fishing nets downriver!"
Some of the attendees laugh quietly.
A young woman, subordinate to the priestess, walks by and holds out a kind of platter. Something that looks like a colorful ribbon is on the platter. This involves a famous person - an exception to the 'less important remains.'
The young woman announces, "This remarkable growth was found on the bones of the man from Feldmar. It's been examined by the most outstanding researchers. They confirm that it actually emerged from the bones."
"I believe it isn't the first time," says the man who spoke of retiring from the school.
"That's right," the woman agrees. "It was a great benefit to the charnel when the Feldmarite's remains were accepted for the resting place. We've all been encouraged by this presence."
Then, holding it closer to the men, she says, "You'll benefit from touching the growth."
Claflin's the only one who touches it. He feels an obligation if no one else does.
"This will be of help to you," the old man tells him.
Before the priestess can say anything more, there's something unexpected. The steward of the Satin Spar is facing Claflin at arm's length. He tells the young man to grovel. It isn't just what he says, it's the way he says it. The other visitors are alarmed. They perceive something monstrously new in the steward's voice - malice and hideous resonance. His face is extremely contorted.
To Ridderbos the scene has a shimmer, a distortion-blur in his vision. He wouldn't call it the dream of deep sleep. It's the dream of waking to nightmare.
Claflin, though, falls over. He's unconscious.
The steward screams, then laughs, then screams again - all with a nonhuman voice.
The others notice a putrid substance on his face and throat. His body emits mucus from every limb and from orifices. He gets too close to the priestess.
Two men who work at the charnel move in front of him to protect her.
He flails. He makes indecent, bizarre allegations.
One of the men grabs him by the arm, but is thrown to the side. A third man from the charnel intervenes as well.
The steward has more of the deranged laughter. He shouts, "I'm your body fluids!"
The other men continue to have trouble with him.
A woman pleads loudly, "Somebody do something!"
A man who works at the charnel actually throws a solid object at the lunatic.
The priestess yells at Fraley, who's been standing outside the visitors' view. Now's the time to give the signal he never wanted to give.
Having been warned by Kimber that the steward was unreliable, Fraley prepared accordingly. He's employed a special group of armed men. They're more formidable than the others. At this moment they seem to appear from nowhere. They grab the steward. Kicking and screaming, he's removed from the glorified house of the dead. If he had just now been directed by a superhuman, occult influence, that force has left him to his own devices. The sentries will take the treacherous man to a different part of the city.
Before the other men from the Satin Spar make their departure they'll be interviewed, or interrogated, by the director.
Knipe is highly pleased with one circumstance. He's the only one who saw the dethermer falling from the steward's tunic. They don't seem to notice when he picks it up and hides it on his own person. Does this drama mean the wizard controlled the steward for a moment, and had no clue about a dethermer?
It's a while before Claflin can think, and remember something, and talk. Knipe decides to wait before he speaks with him. The priestess considers, frigidly, the male visitors. For many years this woman has recommended that the adult population from all parts of Huliss be compelled to take part in a ceremony that she's formulated. She believes the younger men in the room today would feel flattered by the suggestion that they be included.
Just as Ridderbos notices, for the first time, an abnormal skeleton that has been kept in this collection, someone announces, "Here's Fraley."
The distinguished man, who hadn't been observed, comes forward. At this moment his aplomb is meant to be seen for what it is. His raiment shows an artistic influence Claflin knows nothing of. He goes into a lengthy monologue with judgments about recent history. Knipe was aware they'd be stuck with something like this. There's always a posturing dunce like Fraley.
When he's done with the history lesson the priestess comments, "We'll bring in some extra workers. It's no trivial matter to atone for this desecration."
Fraley says, "You'll do what you have to, of course."
The woman tells him, "We can start with our musicians." After looking to make sure they're still huddled in a corner of the room she waves them over.
Fraley proclaims, "Ministers in the royal court have established a ruling that bears on this. These acts of atonement will be more prompt and efficient. They'll give more comfort to the subjects of the king."
He makes additional observations. The priestess and Claflin's team listen politely.
The man to be inducted has a few glimpses around the building's vast interior. The pictorial and sculptural designs foster a strange convention. Soon the music starts up. It's eerie, and Fraley seems ecstatic.
Two things are being achieved in the remaining time. Atonement is being made. Also, induction is happening, though this includes a fantastic segment that no one at the school could have predicted.
After the usual steps of ceremony are completed, the entire group's attention is turned to the abnormal skeleton. A group of men enter the room, one of them holding the kingdom's most remarkable instrument. This is no torch. They're getting set to apply it to the bones of, yes, a campgrounder. Knipe finds this fascinating, as if everything depends on it.
Claflin watches. The experts use the instrument, which makes an unpleasant sound. They hold it close to the creature's skull. Before long the sound becomes more agreeable, but Claflin sees the emergence of the infamous growths. Repellent formations of cartilage appear on the upper body. It's easier to watch when flesh begins to accumulate on the bones. This is very impressive until the next major change happens : the creature actually says something. One of the experts replies, and the treatment continues. The subject being worked on looks perfectly at ease. Without trying to the men who do the work somehow give the false impression that it's routine. And at the end there's no sense of alarm when the campgrounder gets up and looks at everyone. He'll be kept under guard until they send him to the Backprairie.
The cynical notion regarding the method they've used is public knowledge : it's too experimental, too risky to be used on anyone except a campgrounder. The victory today will strike some as miraculous. But it's still not ready to be tried with humans. In times to come the achievement will be seen as freakish.
Another official makes his entrance. He declares that the young man is fully inducted. The priestess resumes chanting and gesturing. She keeps at it for a while. It's a dead language that she uses, held over from times of greater desperation. Finally the old men congratulate the inductee, and they seem eager to leave this place. Along with the younger men they do so.
Claflin's about to become a more active member of the school. He ponders this as he walks home, alone.
Fraley has often reported to Kimber, but sometimes he reports to the king, which is what he'll do this time. The offense committed by the steward is an indication of great peril for the ruling class. This theme will be taken up at the Registry. When the king hears about the steward he'll begin once more to express new opinions. He'll establish another stifling precept.
The next afternoon a devotional meeting is held at the Countenance Memorial. The music in this case too, is unsettling. A stocky man of medium height is being provided with splendid attire. Two persons help him don the garments. Majestic headgear is the last item he's given. It's diadem is appropriate, containing a chunk of onyx-prize.
A very prominent man oversees this cultic action. A choir gives a lament and more than a hint of doom for great numbers of wealthy people. Also, a group of animals can be seen, kept here today for the dedication. Such beasts are never used for atonement. They're valued in this context for the haunting squeals they never make otherwise. The overseer proclaims a drastic, uncompromising mission. The man being dedicated will take the preeminent place at the Registry. He's going to compete against the king. His consequence for the solemn festivities will be horrific.
Some days later the Natron tombs are visited by Mullicrane's most famous wizard. He has no trouble sneaking in or sneaking out. He notes with interest the absence of the campgrounder's skeleton. He views with scornful affection the remains of the Feldmarite. Most of all he gloats about the turning point in this land's practice of commemoration. The gloating is premature. He's deceived about what the future holds. Claflin too has made some faulty assumptions, but not such dangerous ones. He has much to learn, and the people of this kingdom being who they are, he may learn it.