Cloud to Cloud

Episode 55: A Lesson Even for the Teacher

Linc found himself surrounded once more by the streams of data.

"You spoke to him?" Coach sidled up beside Linc.

"I did." Linc gauged the facial response of the guide. "He's on frequency."

Coach offered a somber nod, yet Linc could tell the guide was still pleased.

"I tried to tell him about Hannah." Linc eyed the latest lines of data. "We were interrupted."

"We've done all we're meant to do for now." Coach rested a hand on Linc's shoulder. "It's up to Evan from here."

As Coach turned aside, Linc noticed Fred in the distance.

The man's hands danced before him in waves and patterns, manipulating data.

"What is he doing?" Linc closed the space between them.

"Changing the framework of reality." Coach smiled.

"So, when do I get to do that?" Linc's lip curled into a half smile.

Coach chuckled. "You already have." He continued to watch Fred. "Remember."

Linc felt a tug as his being was flung into a new space. "What the-."

"You haven't been at this quite as long as Fred and Evan, but your work has been equally valuable."

Linc scanned the dimly lit, yet expansive room for Coach. But he was alone.

"I don't think I want to visit this one." Linc's voice cut through the silence of the barren room.

He approached an archway directly across from him. A dark hallway on the other side expanded away from the room. Linc set his hand on his chest.

He felt his heart pounding and smiled. "Haven't felt that in a while."

Linc followed the tunnel toward a distant light. As he moved forward the angle of his ascent decreased. As he neared the opening the sound of water filled Linc's ears.

"It's leaking again." He frowned as the knowledge of his purpose filled him.

Emerging from the tunnel Linc stared out across the vast expanse of mountains. A sheer drop marked the end of the walkway, forcing him to turn and follow a narrow path along the face of the mountain.

Far above, silk ribbons and flags fluttered lines of cables connecting the mountain to another. Linc could almost make out the dragon heads peering from the tiered roofs on the adjacent buildings.

He followed the path to another opening in the face of the mountain. Here a stream of clear water trickled from the tunnel.

"It's not as bad, but it will change the pressure." Linc grumbled as he ducked into the tunnel.

"Hardware versus software." Linc muttered as he neared the source of the leak.

Linc leaned to pick up a wrench-like tool from a basket at the entrance to this new room. Light glinted off the smooth dome of the enormous copper bowl whose edges nearly brushed the walls of the cavern.

"Why are you always the trouble maker?" Linc's hand caressed the cool surface. "Can't you be like your six soul sisters?"

Linc traversed the bowl, careful to lift his sandal-shod feet over the maze of pipes coursing the floor. Water dripped steadily from a joint in the pipes. It was less about repair as it was maintenance, though no less concerning. It was more than the acolytes and priests who relied on the power and connection offered by the monstrous device atop the mountain. The villages in the surrounding valleys would fall into a dark age if the grid collapsed.

Linc watched his own wrinkled hands as they tightened the connection on the pipe. The leak slowed to a halt.

Linc called out, "If we do get it running again, who will maintain it?" His question drifted into the silence.