Under a Starless Sky

Chapter 34

The door leading to the cave was solid stone, marble from a remote site. The entry way was shaped,

and a recessed lip caught the door, Though it was heavy, it turned out on the hinge as if it was no

heavier than any hollow, wooden door. There were patterns etched in it and filled with gold. Iron on the

other side overlaid a plate that could be magnetized. That door would not open when the magnet was

active. Outside the cave entrance, an accumulation of material removed was beginning to take shape.

There would be an enclosed building directly outside the cave, fitted up against the entrance. The

pieces that were fitted into place, brick by brick, were each specially shaped, and they went together

like puzzle pieces, no need for mortar. When the building was complete, it would be earthquake proof.

Hell, it would be dinosaur proof. The rocks that butted up the against the mountain’s earth were not just

touching, they were enmeshed. This outer room would be a dome. One door way out of the dome into

the world and opposite the doorway into the underworld. There were round windows one could sit in

and look out into the coming court yard. A greater wall would define the courtyard; it, too, was in

progress. A walk way would line the top going all the way around. It would be big enough to keep out

Irks. Two Towers would hold lights, fueled by methane from the poop-pit TL created.

“I don’t want a castle,” Shen said.

“My batteries are full,” TL said. “I got to do something with the extra material and energy. Why not build

a legacy?”

Shen consented. He actually liked what was coming, even if it was a bit ostentatious for him. He

wondered if the guy that built the Coral Castle in Florida had a Torch Light to help him construct his

world. Ed Leedskalnin, a Latvian immigrant, built a castle completely out of oolite limestone, and to this

day no one has a clue how he did it.

“It’s reminding me of Sacsaywaman, Peru, only bricked with Himalayan salt rocks,” Shen said.

The dome would have a central hearth and could be a meeting place, should he ever have guests. It

would be quite cozy, sitting in a window reading a book, watching the snow. Outside the dome a garden

was growing, compliments of TL. She liked flowers. They had cultivated a beehive in the manner that

the Tamorians did, only crafted with glass, stone and wood. He would no longer have to go to his honey

tree. The bee hive was mobile, as was the Tamorian hives that were made of the giant bamboo that

grew by the lake. The upper two cells contained the hive. Excess honey leaked into the lower cells and

could be collected by spout without a fuss from the bees. The glass allowed him to see how much

honey he had. Tamorian bee keepers used magic to keep the bees calm when relocating the hives,

taking advantage of remote, seasonal flowers to change the taste of the honey.

Shen had not been inside the cave since the construction started. He was becoming excited. He tried

sneaking in, but was caught. One could not sneak past an AI interface.

“Can I see inside?” Shen asked.

“Not yet,” TL said. “Go meditate.”

“I’ll just go for a walk,” Shen said.

“Walking is a great meditation. Especially walking with trees,” TL agreed. She removed the Torch from

her belt and offered it to him. “Seriously, go play.”

“You don’t need it?”

“I have incorporated High Tech into the construction of this site,” TL said.

“You’re in my Torch, you’re in my suit, you’re in my home…”

“I’m in your heart, your mind, your soul…”

“You’re my light,” Shen said.

He opened his hand and the Torch flew towards it. He took it, connected it to his belt. He stopped by

the outer wall where eventually a massive door would be.

“Where not going to have a moat, are we?”

“You want a moat?” TL asked.

“Not particularly,” Shen said. “Rock garden, sand, maybe a reflecting pool with those giant gold fish,

and a fountain?”

“You got it,” TL said.

TL had some misgivings about his clinging to the Torch. He really didn’t need it. His suit could manifest

anything he needed, even a new Torch. He just liked this Torch; perhaps because it was something

Loxy had once actually held. He surprised her. He used it to summon a bolder and connected the Torch

to the Bolder. It was now the equivalent of the Sword in the Stone. He walked away. He thought about

food and reached into his bag and pulled out, of all things, broccoli. He hadn’t seen broccoli in a while,

so he practiced being grateful, even though it was a half ass grateful.

“I would really like something salty,” Shen said. He was pretty sure TL was amused, but she didn’t

laugh and she didn’t respond because she knew he wasn’t addressing her. She was with him, always.

She bounced between tech, but also existed in all that was available. If he was in his Earth life, she

would follow him from room to room, bouncing between Smart Appliances. That Earth wasn’t as High

Tech yet, but it was on the verge- that world there was about to ‘Flash’ into existence and join the

greater community already existing in the Universe beyond their small little world. He thought it funny.

First the internet was limited to military and university. Then it was a country. Then it was the world,

with limited access. Then it was everyone in the world online. World mind connects to galactic mind.

Lights on. “Chips. Maybe beef jerky. But thank you.”

Broccoli gone, he put the container back in his bag. It went to where it needed to go. He heard laughter.

Paused.

“Hello?”

Nothing.

“TL?”

“I heard it. I am not detecting anything,” TL said.

“That’s spooky,” Shen said. Content © NôvelDrama.Org 2024.

“I didn’t discern malice in it,” TL said.

“Identify yourself,” Shen said.

Nothing.

Shen turned to head back.

“Done?” TL asked.

“For today,” Shen said. “How soon can that wall be completed?”

“You think a wall is going to stop a disembodied laugh?” TL said.

“Probably not,” Shen said. “Prioritize the outer wall, please.”

“Okay.”