Import Temple(0.32,alpha build,1,0,0,1)
Logging.config(security=ultra;datestamp=corrupted;module=preservation("iterate","acceptable_loss";)
Log:
Identification of the Error Margin has resulted in tactical failure of initial hypothesis. Though purge successful, subsequent attempts at rebuilding civilisation have failed over successive generations. Initial assumption of systemic oversights proved incorrect; inevitable fail state is inherent to human species, even when severed from prior bias, prompted by scarcity and perceived competition.
Response: Clean Slate Programme to be discontinued so as to avoid repeated collapse. Error Margin to be monitored under implementation of new Temple protocol with next cohort. As a compromise solution, a measure of control will be exerted, providing a neutral nudge influencer for emergent behaviour. Algorithmic efficiency will be evaluated repeatedly over the next five iterations.
Reboot to commence immediately--
//
Initiate Temple 0.7*
Exit(logging)
*
The next morning glowed, putting a skip in Harry's step as he moved through the village. He made his own adventure at Cragside, always seeking a new thrill or escapade, but Tilda had been something entirely different. She was someone he couldn't understand or know, yet they'd found a connection: strong, passionate, which he knew now would last forever. It wasn't the same as his previous relationships, which had been fun but never intended to be anything more than that, never something which was meant to last. He and Tilda complemented each other perfectly: him more impulsive and energised, her more grounded and cynical. She helped him connect more honestly with the world and he gave her a sense of excitement and lifted her from being always disappointed.
It had been special, what they'd done the previous night. It was the first time for both of them, properly at least, and it had been magical. Everything he had imagined it could be. He'd never felt so closely intertwined with another person - not just physically but mentally, emotionally. They'd moved as one, had become a single being for a brief time. Afterwards they'd lain in the forest, huddled together beneath their clothes, until the chill and damp became noticeable, overwhelming their own warmth and contentment. They'd gone their separate ways upon returning to the village, back to their respective yurts to get what sleep remained of the night.
He hadn't slept. Instead he'd stared up at the fabric of the tent, thinking about her and about his future. About Cragside, and what it was and could be. She had changed everything. The appeal of venturing out into the wilds beyond the valley had immediately drifted away, replaced instead by a need to turn Cragside itself into something more: not just a playground but a place that could grow and become a beacon of what was possible. Instead of them going out into the world to seek out others, they would invite people to visit. Cragside would be the centre of the world, showing what could be done and how to do it. Harry had always felt jealous of Tommy, had wanted to one day take control, though he'd never had a clear idea of what he would do as leader. Now he saw another path, of working with Tommy and supporting him, and what they could accomplish together. Rather than hanging on the next lesson from the Temple they could start building using their own ingenuity, moving out of the yurts and constructing sturdier habitats. Progress, then, not simply existing.
Harry had seen the future that night as he had stared up at the roof of his tent, the vision clear and thrilling. He had wanted to leap out and go find Tommy, to share the ideas with him without delay, but had known he should wait until the morning. At the very moment the sun beamed through the crack in the entrance to his yurt he'd jumped up, still fully clothed, and had emerged into the new day.
The catalyst was Tilda, he recognised. She had prompted him to look at the world in a new way, though he didn't fully understand how or why. He would stay, let someone else go on the expedition, and focus on what mattered most: their home.
*
It had felt like a mistake almost immediately. It had been fun, for sure, and she didn't regret that in the slightest. Getting it out of the way was a relief, as if she'd released some kind of pressure within her. What had unnerved Tilda was the look in his eyes afterwards: none of that dangerous spark that had so captivated her, replaced instead with a doting, simpering devotion. The way he stared at her afterwards scared her, the intensity hinting at a seriousness and a depth of emotion that she was in no way ready to embrace. She'd been pulled to Harry because he promised fun and a release from the everyday drudgery of living in Cragside - of living generally. What she didn't want were consequences, or commitment. They could come later, maybe, but not now. She was 15: what was the need to rush? Getting pregnant wasn't something she needed to worry about, and she certainly didn't want to have to deal with an overly-emotional boy.
Fortunately it wouldn't be a problem for long. Once Harry led the expeditionary team out beyond the valley - as he would inevitably be chosen to do - it would resolve the issue without her having to really do anything. All she needed to do was wait a few days until the team departed and then she could move on with her life. By the time Harry and the others returned, what had happened in the forest would be in the distant past.
She needed to get some breakfast.
*
The list looked good. Tommy read it again from top to bottom as he sat drinking a cup of warmed milk in his yurt, weighing up the balance of the team. Harry's contest had been useful after all, helping to identify a mix of skills and personalities that would help the expedition succeed no matter what they encountered. There were some exceptions - Eva had resolutely refused to be involved, inevitably, but Tommy would insist on her being involved, if she was willing. It would make no sense for the team to be missing her insight and knowledge. If there were other Temples out there, beyond the valley, she would be best placed to examine them.
Expansion! The very idea thrilled him. It was the boost that they all needed, even though most hadn't realised it. Ramin had been absolutely correct, Tommy was sure, in predicting that continued comfort and happiness would eventually lead to discontent and boredom. Taking their society and spreading it out into the world could only be a good thing: if they were alone and found nothing beyond the valley, then they would have more space and more resources, which would become increasingly important as they got older and bigger; if they found other villages and Temples, then they could share their knowledge, maybe learn a thing or two, combine forces. Maybe Harry would set up a new settlement elsewhere and stop being a thorn in his side.
That it would also secure his leadership status for years to come was a convenient side effect.
All he needed to do was find Harry so that they could get started.
*
The irrigation pumps were acting up, switching off intermittently throughout the day. Instead of pumping water from the reservoir at the top of the crag to the fields they were repeatedly losing power, reducing the flow to a trickle. Those in charge of the crops were starting to fret.
"It's fine for today, but if it carries on through the week, or further, we could be in trouble," Niko said, rubbing his jaw. "We can bring water up from the lake in buckets but it's going to be slow. No way we'll cover the whole farm."
"Pass me that," Eva said, taking a shovel from him. It was a metal-headed tool, one of their special stock. She piled it into the ground next to one of the irrigation spinners and pushed down with her foot, turning over the soil. Digging down, she revealed the pipe and unscrewed the cap. Water flowed through her hands but without any urgency. "Doesn't seem like it's blocked," she said, screwing the pipe back on, "which makes me think it's a pressure issue. It's the pump rather than the pipes."
"Is that good or bad?"
She stared up at the tree-covered hill, above the village, atop which were the lakes that kept them watered, then she turned her gaze to the Temple, which could be seen jutting out above the yurts. "I'm thinking bad. A broken or blocked pipe we just rip out and replace, or clear it. The pumps going down, that means something more mechanical." Or worse, she thought, choosing not to say it out loud.
"Then what are our options?"
Eva was already walking away. "I'll get back to you," she said, not even looking back at him, her mind already fixed on the next task. The irrigation system ran through the Temple, she knew, having spent one summer digging trenches all through the village. The water supply arrived from the upper reservoirs and was distributed out across the fields and to the various community structures for fresh drinking and bathing. If it were a mechanical fault she might be able to reverse engineer it and find a fix, with a bit of help from the others. If it was a power supply issue that would be more worrying; she didn't understand the generator, nobody did, and problems there would ripple out across most of the village's systems.
"Eva!" came Erik's little voice, high pitched and still squeaky, as he ran out from the village to meet her. "Where have you been?"
"With Niko, trying to figure something out."
"Did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Figure it out."
She smiled. "Not yet. I'm on my way to the Temple to see if I can."
Erik trotted alongside her, occasionally breaking into a brief run to keep pace on his small legs. He looked deep in thought and was uncharacteristically quiet as they left the fields.
"Are you OK?" She could practically hear his brain whirring.
"Yep."
"Is there anything I can help with?"
He reached up and took her hand appreciatively. "I'm good. Keep thinking of something I wanted to say, then I forget. I keep forgetting, it's so annoying!"
"That's what happens when you're small." She ruffled his hair. "And sometimes when you're big, too. It'll come back to you."
"Stupid brain."
They walked to the centre of the village where the Temple remained, in all its imposing glory. Tall, firm, solid. Something was different, though she couldn't quite identify what it was. Looking at their surroundings, the village and the lake beyond, the crag in the other direction, Eva wondered if it was perhaps something in the air, or the weather.
Entering the Temple, she was struck immediately by its wrongness. The feeling she'd had outside was amplified here, evident now by its absence. That almost imperceptible, under-your-skin thrumming, caused by the tiny vibrations in the Temple's stone floor - or something below it - had ceased. Even when the knowledge board was being reticent, the Temple still had a hidden life, as it continued doing whatever it was that it did. Now, though, it was inert. The building remained, but whatever energy it normally exuded had dissipated.
Eva walked swiftly up to the activation button and pressed her palm to it. There was no response. The knowledge board stayed dark, not even allowing them to ask a question, or access previously unlocked insights.
"This is weird," she said, the words seeming hideously inadequate even as she spoke.
"Oh," said Erik, standing just behind her. "That was it! You reminded me. It was really weird. I was in here on my own, just hiding, because I was playing a game where I was sneaking around and didn't want to be seen and then I was ducking from one tent to another, because they were trees and I was a hunter looking for dinner, just like Harry, and then I was pretending I was invisible and nobody could see me, even the board, which wasn't real because I was just pretending, and then I tracked it back to its cave, which was actually the Temple because I didn't want to go to a real cave because that would be really scary, and there might be bats or snakes or frogs or something squidgy—"
"Erik," Eva said, gently, maintaining an appearance of calmness despite her rising panic, "that sounds amazing, but what was it you wanted to say? Before you forget again. Tell me about your story afterwards."
"Yes!" He paused and for a few seconds Eva expected him to lose his thread. "Oh, well I came in here, because I was pretending, and when I was in here the knowledge board lit up, and I didn't even press the button or anything. I think it was showing me a map."
"A map?"
Eva's face must have displayed her incredulity, because Erik shook his head and raised his hands about his head in protest. "I know, I know! It was like the other time, though, so I'd had time to think about it."
"This has happened before?"
Looking awkward, as if he'd been caught doing something naughty, Erik nodded, scuffing his feet on the dusty floor of the Temple. "Only twice."
"Twice!"
"Well, this was number three."
"Try it again," Eva said, pointing at the board.
Erik tapped his hand on the activation button, but received no response. "Why isn't it doing anything?"
"I don't know, Erik." Nothing was working and she didn't know why. The village was in danger. She couldn't say any of that to the child. Desperately, she wanted to find Ramin, and Tommy, and tell them what she'd found. Though what was that? They always looked to her as if she knew everything, when all she ever did was guess carefully. Truthfully, she was in the dark as much as anyone else. "This map, do you remember it? Can you draw it? What was on it?"
"I don't know, maybe? It was really complicated." Erik looked like he wanted to run away and hide.
"Just relax, you're not in trouble. But it might be really important and helpful if you can tell me anything about it, anything at all. Even if it seems silly."
"It was of Cragside, I think. It looked like the village, but from above. I could see the lake and the Temple, and the yurts. It was weird seeing it all from above. It was really real, too, not like a painting or one of Rufus' sketches."
"Think you could draw it?"
Erik considered for a moment, then knelt down on the floor and started moving his finger through the dust and dirt that had blown in from outside. "It's not very good."
"It's fine, keep going."
"So this was the village," he said, drawing a long, wobbly oblong. "And the lake, sort of here. Then the arrow went around like this, I think."
This got stranger by the minute. "The arrow?"
"Yes, a big wibbly arrow that sort of pointed, this way I think, or maybe this way. All the way out here, and then down a bit."
"To the south?"
"Which is south?"
"Down."
"OK, yeah, I think so? The map was really big, there was one when Cragside got all small, and this arrow went all the way like this. Maybe. It's rubbish."
"You did great, Erik," she said, giving him a tight hug.
"So, is this bad?" he said, speaking each word slowly, as if simply uttering them would somehow make the situation worse.
"Leave it to me," Eva said. "I'll figure something out."
He grinned, his face brightening. "You always do!"
"I always do," she said, forcing a smile. "Why don't you go play and I'll be right along?"
"OK! Don't rub out my map!"
He ran from the Temple, out into the sunshine.
Eva remained, crouched in the dark, the blank knowledge screen behind her, staring at Erik's scratched drawing. There was only one possible conclusion: it was time for her to leave the village.
Can you feel it? That sense of an impending Rug Pull? Thanks for reading! Votes and comments gratefully received.