Chap. 196 The Puzzle

 

Chap. 196 The Puzzle

He'd spent most of the evening updating his field notebooks and copying them, neatly, into blank ones that he'd eventually turn into Landing. He'd discovered an odd fact of re-drawing something from his original sketches. They never looked quite the same. It bothered him that he'd remember seeing something on the item he'd sketched, but not seeing it in his notebook. I'm still so scatterbrained, sometimes, why can't I discipline myself?

Admonishing himself, he wrote "Focus and Accuracy!" in big letters on the first page. Maybe this would help him do better? But he never went to the first page of the notebook, once he'd written his and Raventh's name on it.

He always vowed to go back and look at the item again...but he never did. Time and duty didn't always allow it. And often the item was biological, meaning it moved or died.

Rendel, the weyr's Master Harper and librarian, entered with a basket of fresh glows.

"Working late tonight, K'ndar?" he asked. He looked weary.

K'ndar looked at the clock on the wall and realized it was, indeed, quite late.

He got up hurriedly, feeling guilty at keeping the harper up.

"I'm sorry, Rendel, I got so involved with researching on the datalink, I completely lost track of time," he said. He gathered his materials. "The light is so much better here than in my weyr," he explained.

He reached to turn off the datalink.

Rendel put his hand over it to stop him.

"It's okay, K'ndar. I know the feeling. You're on the hunt for something, and you don't want to give it up just when you think you're about to find it," he said, smiling.

"It shows? You're right. But still, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't keep you up. And I have duty tomorrow, so I should head for bed. It's just..." he struggled to find the words.

"I can see it on your face. What is it that has you so deeply puzzled?" he said.

Pulling up a chair, he bade K'ndar sit back down. K'ndar sighed. How to explain?

"I see the Honshu Murals on the datalink. Did you go see them?" the Harper said.

"I did! I wanted to spend most of the day with them but kept getting interrupted. The kid who was my 'docent' wanted nothing to do with me, just wanted to rush me through, then a field trip of kids, little ones, came in, and then Rondair, you remember Rondair? She's at Honshu, now, she came in and we spent a good part of the day talking."

Rendel smiled gently. "I do remember Rondair, nice girl," he said.

"Aye. I saw the shuttle, too. There was something about it that is just driving me crazy, my brain is shouting something about it but refuses to come out and say why! I keep going over the same thought process over and over and it Just Won't Come out," he said, exasperated.

Rendel chuckled. "There's not a Harper on the planet who's not experienced the same thing. Creativity isn't as easy as one would think! Or, worse,your memory tricks you. You find yourself composing a song, thinking it's original, only to be caught up short by someone else, saying, no, that's a children's song from umptyhundred years ago. Even worse, you'll hear a song being played or sung, and at first, it's quite nice. Your brain latches onto it and instead of playing the entire song, it just plays the same few chords, over and over and OVER..... Sometimes they go on in my mind for DAYS. And often, it's not something I like, it's a banal chord but it's infectious. You get so sick of it! But your brain doesn't care, I've yet to find a way to get it out of my head. Sometimes I wonder if our brains aren't out to drive us insane!"

K'ndar laughed.

"When I am stuck on something like that, I find that a good shower..or even rain..on my head makes it come out. I get my best ideas in the shower," the harper said.

"I'll try it..I need one anyway, then head for bed. Thank you and good night, sir," he said.

It didn't work.

He paced his weyr, glad that the stone floors didn't make enough noise to keep his neighbors awake. Siskin watched, his half shut eyes glowing in the dim light of the weyr.

Will you please stop thinking, I have to get some sleep Raventh said, irked. He was curled up on his couch.

I'm sorry, but I just can't sleep. He pushed his way past the curtain that separated the two sleeping chambers.

After the hurricane, he'd moved into this larger weyr to accomadate Raventh's growth. It gave him a view of the ocean.

He could hear the surf, soft and gentle in the night. There was no bioluminescent bloom tonight. He had only seen it once and was still awed by it.

It being a warm night, Raventh's couch had been left open to the night sky. He remembered the girl at Honshu, saying she knew all the names of the stars. The stars! They blazed in the sky, scattered like jewels carelessly thrown across a background of deep black velvet. He picked out the familiar constellations. Stepping out onto the ledge, he looked overhead to see the double star system overhead. He could never remember the stars names, but they were a beacon to a night traveler, always directly over head.

Raventh'sbulk in the darkness was reassuring. He put his arms around the brown's warm neck and nestled his head under the great jaw. He heard more than saw the ocean. Far out to sea, he imagined he could see a faint light of a fishing ship. Or maybe it was one of the planets, rising. I must bend to my astronomy, he thought.

Why is your brain so busy?

It's been doing this since I saw the murals at Honshu today. The one that keeps coming back if of the shuttle. They were the machines that brought humans and everything else from the starships to Pern. It's been in my mind ever since, something we've seen that's related to the shuttle, but I cannot remember when or where or what!!

Look in your notebooks?

He did a mental forehead slap.

You don't have to say thank you.

Still, I will. You are smarter than me.

Of course. I'm Raventh!!

They laughed. Siskin chittered, sleepily. He, at least, was able to tone down K'ndar's thoughts.

K'ndar uncovered several glows and took down half a dozen of his notebooks. I am going to have to find more room for them, he thought. Maybe, maybe I can ask to have a beach weyr built, and then I'll have plenty of shelf space.

I'd like that. I liked being able to go out right into the sea. But I do like not having to leap to get airborne. I just step out into space and I'm flying.

Now sleep tugged at his mind, but he pushed it aside. No, shaff it, you're going to keep me running in circles trying to get that thought out, you're going to stay awake until I find it, he said to his brain.

He leafed through each notebook. Gads, my writing is getting worse. FOCUS AND ACCURACY, K'ndar, even for my keepers!

His mind tried to distract him, now definitely wanting to shut down for the night.

He shook his head and kept leafing.

I wonder if I'll even recognize it when I find it. IF I find it...

I think I know. The fox? On Western? That's what I see in your quiet mind, the one that doesn't talk.

"YES!" he shouted, as the lurking thought was exposed. Oops, I hope I didn't wake anybody up...

You did, but he isn't sure why he's awake. Be quiet!

He quickly opened the notebook containing his sketches and notes on the survey of Western Continent.

Yes. The caisson. The huge manmade structure that he'd sketched, and then the flying fox ran past him and took a flying leap from it.

The CAISSON. Yes, his mind said, the caisson.

He hadn't sketched the shuttle at Honshu. But at the moment, it was still fresh in his mind.

The shuttle! It was big and heavy. Something that heavy probably needed a solid surface. Did it? He remembered reading that several had toppled at Landing during the earthquakes that heralded the volcanic eruption.That was at the very beginning of Pern's settlement. 

The caisson. The team had scratched their head in bewilderment at what could it be used for in that remote spot. High up on the northern side of Western, it was perched atop the sheer cliff at the closest spot to the southern half of the continent. They'd thought that perhaps it was meant to be the footing for a bridge across the chasm, but no. There was no caisson on the opposite side of the strait. And it couldn't have been for a wind turbine. The winds through that gorge were far too fast and turbulent for a turbine OR a bridge.

It was a solid pad for the shuttle, he thought. But why on Western? His sketch...fortunately he'd measured it...indicated it was probably large and solid enough to support the weight of a fully loaded shuttle. But, there was NOTHING around it, nothing to indicate humans had ever been there. Why build a landing pad in the middle of the wilderness?

He heaved a sigh of relief. His brain had stopped nagging him.

Thank you, Raventh, you are right. The caisson is a landing site for a shuttle! That's the only thing that makes sense.

Overlooking the straits? Where the wind was so strong the fire lizards couldn't fly in it?

Yes. We thought it was for a bridge. But it's for a shuttle! But why were they THERE?

That was before dragons, I think.

If I'm right, it was. They still had use of the shuttles. I'm such a dumbskull! I had forgotten all about it. I even wrote a note to myself, 'what is this for'? Bridge? Wind turbine?'

This is good. Now stop thinking and go to sleep. Even if you don't need it, I do, as does Siskin. Go TO BED

He did.

 

Citation: 

 Chap. 122 "The Surprise on the Strait"