Page 37
Jack looked to Adam, who gave him a go-ahead gesture.
“It’s been deleted from all the databases I have access to. Anyone with a physical book isn’t sharing it.”
She cocked her head to the side.
“And what is this redacted topic you’re so curious about?”
Another glance at Adam.
“The elven religion,” Adam said quietly.
She dropped the last book in place, then gave it a little kick to squish it into the pile.
“So go ask an elf.”
“They’re not talking.”
“And this is important to you why?”
“To help some people. Their souls have been stolen. I’m not sure, but it’s related.”
“Oh good lords and ladies, a hero.” She snorted and took a green bottle from her bag. After a long swig she looked Adam in the eye. “Not a lot of you around these days.”
“That’s what I hear.”
She sighed and swung the door open. “Come inside.”
The interior was surprisingly dry, considering the construction. She’d made a floor of mats from scrap carpet and plywood. The smell of rot, heavy and wet with a bit of tang, perfumed the space. Spidery black spores crawled over the walls. Adam breathed as little as he could. He would have pulled the lip of his shirt over his mouth and nose but it would probably cause offense.
She turned on a camping lantern and sat on a cinder block. She didn’t offer them a seat, and Adam wasn’t certain he would have taken one if she had.
“Who are you?” he asked her.
“It would be better to ask who I was, or what I used to be.” She turned to Jack. “I was a librarian.”
“For the Archive Infinite?” Jack prodded.
“Yes. It would send us out to find books or texts. We carried them back.”
“What happened?” Adam asked. “Why are you here?”
“Because I realized it was all pointless. All that knowledge, just piling up. It didn’t make the universe a kinder place. It didn’t help anyone.” She waved at the walls of books that made up her home. “It’s useless, all of it. It just sits there. The Archive could be used for good, but it doesn’t care. It doesn’t feel. It just is.”
“But you’re still gathering books,” Jack said.
She scoffed. “I can’t seem to help it, and I don’t know how else to spend my days.”
She was human, Adam decided. She didn’t have any magic about her, but there was some in her gear. Its aura was quiet, faded, like a scented candle long spent.
“I’m not alone. Plenty of us give up. We go out and never return. I don’t even know if there’s anyone left to feed the machine.”
“But it’s still there?” Adam asked. “The Archive?”
“Oh yes. Everything we could find. Us and those who came before us. Centuries of texts, gathered, stored, and rotting away.”
“Do you know where it is?” Jack asked. “How to get there?”
“It doesn’t matter. You won’t be able to get in, not for free.”
