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Myst: The Book of Ti’ana

by Rand Miller & David Wingrove

PART ONE

ECHOES IN THE ROCK

The sounding capsule was embedded in the rock face like a giant crystal, its occupants sealed within the translucent, soundproofed cone.

The Guild Master sat facing the outstretched tip of the cone, his right hand resting delicately on the long metal shaft of the sounder, his blind eyes staring at the solid rock, listening.

Behind him, his two young assistants leaned forward in their narrow metal and mesh seats, concentrating, their eyes shut tight as they attempted to discern the tiny variations in the returning signal.

“Na’grenis,” the old man said, the D’ni word almost growled as his left hand moved across the top sheet of the many-layered map that rested on the map table between his knees. Brittle.

It was the tenth time they had sent the signal out on this line, each time a little stronger, the echoes in the rock changing subtly as it penetrated deeper into the mass.

“Kenen voohee shuhteejoo,” the younger of his two assistants said tentatively.

It could be rocksalt.

“Or chalk,” the other added uncertainly.

“Not this deep,” the old man said authoritatively, flicking back the transparent sheets until he came to one deep in the pile. Holding it open, he reached beside him and took a bright red marker from the metal rack.

“Ah,” the two assistants said as one, the carmine mark as clear an explanation as if he’d spoken.

“We’ll sound either side,” the old man said after a moment. “It might only be a pocket…. ”

He slipped the marker back into the rack, then reached out and took the ornately decorated shaft of the sounder, delicately moving it a fraction to the right, long experience shaping his every movement.

“Same strength,” he said. “One pulse, fifty beats, and then a second pulse. ”

At once his First Assistant leaned forward, adjusting the setting on the dial in front of him.

There was a moment’s silence and then a vibration rippled along the shaft toward the tapered tip of the cone.

A single, pure, clear note sounded in the tiny chamber, like an invisible spike reaching out into the rock.

*

“What is he doing?”

Guild Master Telanis turned from the observation window to look at his guest.

Master Kedri was a big, ungainly man. A member of the Guild of Legislators, he was here to observe the progress of the excavation.

“Guild Master Geran is surveying the rock. Before we drill we need to know what lies ahead of us. ”

“I understand that,” Kedri said impatiently. “But what is the problem?”

Telanis stifled the irritation he felt at the man’s bad manners. After all, Kedri was technically his superior, even if, within his own craft, Telams’s word was as law.

“I’m not sure exactly, but from the mark he made I’d say he’s located a patch of igneous material. Magma-based basaltic rocks from a fault line, perhaps, or a minor intrusion. ”

“And that’s a problem?”

Telanis smiled politely. “It could be. If it’s minor we could drill straight through it, of course, and support the tunnel, but we’re still quite deep and there’s a lot of weight above us. The pressures here are immense, and while they might not crush us, they could inconvenience us and set us back weeks, if not months. We’d prefer, therefore, to be certain of what lies ahead. ”