The Deepcombers

Chapter Fifty Six

He studied the schematic and his eyes followed the lines away from the Secondsun on the left-hand side and over to the symbols on the right. The whole rig was a rectangle bisected by two different sized squiggly line breaks in the center. On the righthand side was a bor sign positioned above red and blue right-angle triangles. The three simple shapes set together in the pattern intrigued him. Two right-angle triangles were sandwiched belly to belly to make a square. The red triangle was right-side up and a blue triangle pointed down; it was fire and ice.

Fire and ice is what Clyde had said to him when they'd studied the red ring on the beach. The curio had rolled free of the broken boat to rest on the coast. The bottom flamed but the top was ice cold. What is above so is below, Clyde had said. Lon remembered how the ocean spray hardened to crusty snow on the far side of that circle. This confirmed his belief that smilk could be anything; it could be fire or ice and everything in between.

The rings and the Secondsun were connected, and this plate somehow outlined the relationship. The smilk flowed from the sun-that-never-rises toward the square made by the right-angle triangles. It seemed like an equilibrium; it meant to strike a balance? This perfect proposition suggested that both fire and ice could be made and that was its purpose; the picture produced more questions than answers, but it also sparked new ideas in his rapid-fire brain.

Just as gei + bor made an air rod, then perhaps fei +bor could make a fire rod? But the key seemed to be the shape of the triangle. Perhaps squishing a normal water triangle right or left is how you make either ice or steam? He recalled how this was the shape of the oxidation pattern on the door of the steamer box opposite the carpenter's shop in Atarskal. The Calbian attendant had closed the door and squished the rust mark to the left side with his mind to make it into a right-handed triangle. When he opened that iron door the steam had billowed forth. He'd infused the box with fire, Lon realized. The other side of that plate must blaze to make the water in the steamer boil.

The somgors who'd gathered under his bare feet now chirped and waved to get his attention.

The turtle helmeted group-leader gestured and pointed upwards with his gloved hand. Lon gazed-up at the ceiling and gasped. These beings had summoned an empty cube.

Here was an open square, a white frame in the shape of a cube glowed in water. The perfectly square geometric box that'd appeared above was just an empty frame. The shape had a steel top and bottom that was covered in rusty oxidation, but it had no sides. Lon drifted close to the glowing cube which was the same size as the alabaster block he'd seen in the catacombs. The thing was suspended by two thick cables which disappeared into a dark hole above. What was this? It was a glowing white square with no sides filled with water and surrounded by water? What did that mean? He had to get even closer. A box usually meant control, but what was being controlled?

Lon swam inside the box simply to see if he felt any difference. He wondered how and why the frame glowed? Were the bright white uprights made of smilkstone? Once he'd crossed through the threshold the somgors applauded and made happy gurgles. Some held their bellies and pointed, and others waved him goodbye. Oh no, what have I done?

The turtle helmeted somgor pushed the pulsing red button on the panel and before Lon could react, giant pieces of what appeared to be rusty steel rolled down around him and sealed him into the space. The frame went black and he was contained in total darkness. He inhaled more freshly made air and tried to remain calm. Were the somgors entirely benign?

The young lad felt the water and his body being moved; he had that same queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He considered his options and reckoned he could make a big bubble of air and float about to feel the dimensions on top. There was a hatch above?