TKC 107
Gradually the ethereal Sassen moves to sit and as she does
so a small glowing stool appears. She sits and smiles at us. “I am weary of
always standing.”
I do not know what to think. “What do you mean the others
failed? Failed at what?”
She peers at me through the veil. “The Spire, of course.”
I too sit. Leaves puddle around me. “There were others
before?”
“Yes. This isn’t the first time our world has faced
disaster. In the past, when it was most desperate as it is for you now, others
realised there is a haven here. Naturally you cannot simply survive in Arc, not
at first. With time you may grow food and build shelters, but initially you are
able to die swiftly. The Spire is succour for some, defence for others, a
weapon for yet others. It depends on what you need. Using the Spire requires
certain talents, however, and I was the last to succeed.” Sassen sighs then. “Many
died in failure.”
I swallow, for now fear of failure becomes real to me. “Tell
me about the Spire.”
She spreads her hands. “It is a tower older than this world.
It was brought here from another place, but that history is now forgotten. It is
about frequency. Find the right resonance and you find what is most needed.”
“What did you need?” Hanna whispers, coming to sit beside
me.
“We needed a siege wall. There was a war and we faced
extinction. Desperate times, indeed.” Sassen points up. “The ring of mountains?
That is the siege wall I created with the aid of the Spire.” Her arm falls
back. “It worked, but we were too few and eventually all those who came here
passed into dust and beyond memory.”
“How does frequency prevent an asteroid’s annihilation?” I
ask.
Sassen smiles sadly. “That is your task to discover. I hope
you succeed.”
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