Chap. 230 The Fortnight Before Turnover

Chap. 230 The Fortnight before Turnover

Turn's End was coming. The winter solstice was traditionally the end of one year and beginning of the next, and for millennia, the day had been called "Turn's End", with the week following the solstice called Turnover. It was a time to celebrate, to be with family and friends, to reflect on lessons learned in the expiring year and what to do in the new one.

He remembered that Glyena, his sister, had wanted a binocular. And Harve...he'd promised in his mind that he'd get the boy a datalink. What better time than Turnover?

I'll go to Singing Waters for the festivities, he planned, then to see my family at our cothold...and then on the way back, stop at Nerat if the Serengeti ship is there and give Harve the datalink. Things like those items were for sale through Landing's Library.

Elene, Landing's Librarian, had had the duty of sales delegated to her.

"I'm not happy with it, I don't like handling money," she had protested, but to no avail.

"Who's to do it, then?" asked Council Member Matthias.

"Well..."

"Madam, you already sell books, and paper items like notebooks. So you're already set up to sell more complicated things, like cameras. You've done a wonderful job of keeping track of what is purchased and handled the money. Ma'am, you are the bedrock of Landing, along with Grafton. You are trusted like few others," Master Harper Matthias said. "I didn't particularly want this task, either but...here I am, a middle aged harper who thought that after years spent going from hold to cothold to some tiny hut in the middle of nowhere, I'd finally get to sit down and spend time on myself. But no..." he said, ruefully, "When Master Robinton died, everyone looked at me as if to say, "you, you're up'. "I'm too young!" I protested, and they laughed. He sighed. "I'd never dreamed I'd be tasked with taking Robinton's place on the Council. As if there was any person who could! Even after so many years, I still think of him as, well, as permanent as the mountain I'm sitting near."

"Aye," Elene said, and they shared several moments thinking of the deceased Master Harper.

"Sir, it is my understanding that there may be a change of Council members?"

"It is, madam, save for me, they are old and tired. Weyrleader K'ran has said he'd not planned on spending most of his life as a Council member, and so plans on returning to Fort Weyr. I worry constantly about Lord Lytol, but up until recently, he's refused to give his position as Holder. It's kept him alive, I believe, but even he's beginning to feel his age. We're trying to re-align positions to more accurately reflect the original concept of a Council. Lord Lytol was the rare combination of all three branches, Hall, then Weyr until he lost his dragon, and now Holder. But in this new day, without Thread and with increasing technology, we're planning on having what we are calling 'selections' to coincide with Turn's End."

"Which is a semantically problem all in of itself," Elene reflected, "I've not been outside of Landing for a very long time, but I hear talk that most folks, while they've become accustomed to using words like 'year' and 'month' instead of 'turn' and the abominably clunky 'sevenday'..still, they still want to refer to it as "Turns End and Turnover"," she said.

"And what harm is there in keeping them? It does honor the original usage and hopefully serves to remind people of how much better Pern is now that Thread is gone," Matthias said. "We've not addressed the issue, but I can confidently say that I, for one, don't care if it's not changed. Part of it is, I doubt we'd be able to enforce the usage, even if we had the capacity or the intent to do that. I would advise a new member of Council to not bother. He'll be too busy dealing with the petitions piled before him.

There's too many other things of greater importance, and again, the older members are wanting to retire. It's just, who do we choose to take their places? We even wonder if it's necessary to have just three with experience as a Holder, or a Weyrleader, or, like me, a Crafter from a Hall. What with the expansion of Southern, and some folks from Northern who are hidebound, we need a balance of experience and wisdom. We need people who can look at both continents with the same unbiased eye. Not that the current members are foolish, but these are days of fundamental change. The problem is, will we continue to have things run by the Northerners? Not that I'm against them, but it's always been Northern calling the shots.

Yet Southern is increasingly the source for so many things that everyone uses. Paper grass, for instance, grows only here on Southern. Things are going to get sticky, ma'am. With the threat of Thread gone, there are Holders who are already saying they find no need to tithe the Weyrs...and by extension, US here at Landing. I don't know how we're to handle that."

"I agree, sir. I can honestly say I'd not want the position."

Matthias looked at her, stunned.

Elene saw the expression.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Matthias shook his head.

"On the contrary, ma'am, you've said something very right. You've shaken me out of complacency, AND opened the field wide open. Up until this moment, we three have discussed the names of MEN to take a position on council. Only men. So many of the one's we've discussed and approached have refused...one Holder isn't interested, another Weyrleader intends to remain 'just' a dragonrider. We've not...by the egg, I'm ashamed of myself, we've never considered a woman."

He looked at Elene with a calculating eye.

"No," she said, "Oh NO, you don't," she said, leaping to a conclusion, "I'm not interested in being on Council. If chosen, I will not serve."

Matthias laughed. "Pity, you'd make a fabulous councilman."

"Maybe so, but I prefer being a librarian, and I suppose if that now that includes being a shopkeeper, so be it."

And so, Elene was now the proprietor of the fledgling Shop.

K'ndar looked at her wares.

"I feel, well, like I'm at a Gather, with marks burning holes in my pouch," he said.

The woman smiled.

"I must admit, K'ndar, that I resisted this task at first. I have things to do, I don't care to haggle. Nor have I ever been told what, precisely, a thing like a datalink costs to make. Someone has to decide what this costs, how much to ask for that, and for the moment, that someone has been me. I prefer the barter system, it's worked quite nicely for over 2500 years. But I also see that money is going to become more important. I've been given the freedom to make the decision, which makes me Acquisition, sometimes, and for that I have to call Leana. So, my lad, what are you looking for and what do you have to barter?"

K'ndar beamed. "Ma'am, for once, I have marks. So I'd like to purchase a binocular for my sister, and a datalink for a young man who deserves it," he said.

"Nothing for yourself?" she asked.

"Um..."

"You've been a good client, K'ndar, and I think you should keep whatever money you have in your pouch. Unless, of course,you haven't anything to barter? I remember the first time you brought in filled notebooks for which I gave you clean, new ones. I remember the first books you bought. You looked as if I'd given you a new pony," she said, laughing.

He laughed. "Well, I don't have any filled notebooks right now, I've been so busy I've not had a chance to get out and explore. As for the pony? I can always get a pony, but...let's see what new books you have for sale!"

______________________________________________________________________

Walking out of Library with his treasures-his backpack sagged with the binocular, datalink and several books-he felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

"K'ndar!" he heard a voice calling.

It was Risal. The girl came trotting from Administration's main reception building.

"Hello! I'd heard you'd been assigned to us here at Landing! Welcome!"

He was struck, all over again, at how much he liked her.

"Thank you! I've been wanting to look you up, but...by the egg, it's been hairy. So much to learn about Landing!"

"Off to?" she asked, hooking her arm in his. Siskin looked down at her from his perch on K'ndar's shoulder and chipped.

He felt awkward but allowed her to continue. I'm such an introvert, he thought, and Risal's as friendly and outgoing as a pup.

"Oh, I don't know. It's the end of the week, it's been crazy busy, trying to get things squared away, trying to learn how things WORK around here, even silly things like learning how to flush the bloody toilet," he said, amazed that he'd spilled that little secret. But he trusted Risal, instinctively knowing her to be the type of friend who didn't laugh at one as much as laugh with one.

She giggled. Then sobered. "I have to thank you, you did me a very good turn, K'ndar."

"Me? This is the first I've seen of you in months."

"I know. But you definitely did me a favor. You know who Howel is, don't you? Works in Flight Ops on day shift? Oh, I know you do. You pissed him off BIG. You'll have to fill me in because all I have is rumor, but from what I understand-and mind you, he's not talking about it-you fairly well made an end run around him and called Pattis for the weather? Oh, heeeheee," and she was helpless in laughter. It made him laugh, too. "Hoisted Howel on his own petard, you did!" She giggled again.

She recovered her composure. "He's..well, he's trying to post the weather. Up until now, he's NEVER done that, always shifted actually forecasting, doing the work, onto mine or Pattis's or the woman who worked there before Pattis. I don't know what you said or did, but he's suddenly trying to make up for lost time. The funniest thing is, he can't bring himself to actually ask for my help, me being female, what? If he'd ask nicely, I'd help him, but he's such a misogynist, and so far behind in knowledge that it's just as well he hasn't done it before because anyone who depended on his forecasts would be totally shaffed," she said. "So he'll cheat, by pinging the the database with questions like 'what's the weather for tomorrow at Landing?" and the database sends him to...."Flight Ops, contact Howel!"

K'ndar laughed. Siskin chittered, and he reached up to give the blue a head scratch.

"ANYWAY, have you seen the duty roster?"

He slapped his forehead.

"Arrgh, I can't believe this, I forgot!"

"Whoa," Risal said, suddenly serious. "Big Trouble with a T, K'ndar." Her face was serious.

Shocked, K'ndar stopped.

"Really? No, don't tell me I missed duty!"

She frowned, shaking her head. "Really."

Then she lost control of her face.

Laughing, she said, "No, it's just been posted, we're all going to be busy two weeks before Turnover. As if we're not busy those weeks anyway, so many people leave for their homes to be with family. The Council has called a conclave, all major Holders, Weyrleaders, and Hall Masters are meeting here. We've got to get a bunch of buildings ready to house them for this meeting," she said.

"You brat! You had me going there! ALL the major people? Here?" he said, suddenly aghast at the logistics.

"I know," she said, "But for us, it's "all hands on deck". They just decided it, they're going to hold 'selections' of new council members. It's been years and years since they've chosen new Councilmen, things have finally settled down, after the end of Thread and all, and K'ran and Lytol are wanting to retire. Although I wouldn't have dreamed Lytol would let it go, but he's in his 80's now? I think? And K'ran's not that much younger. They were going to hold it at Harper Hall, but then got to thinking that, because Landing had no specific ties to any of the branches, it's probably wisest to hold it here. Plus we have the room, now. It's going to be big, K'ndar, they want the selection process done and petitions heard in time for folks to prepare for Turnover."

"Whew...that's not much time," K'ndar said. He felt resentment. I wanted to get to work studying the skull, he thought, I have to at least open the canvas and take tissue samples, before it completely dries out or worse, rots.

And he'd planned on spending Turnover week at Singing Waters and his family cothold.

"I know, I know, that's why Admin is calling for every soul here at Landing to get cracking. I only saw your name when I checked, and I didn't really look hard at your assignment, but I think you're going to be doing a LOT of transporting in the next week."

K'ndar sighed again. "Okay. Let's turn around, I want to go into Operations and look at that duty roster."

She punched him softly on the arm. "Bumpkin. It's on your datalink."