Chapter 139

Time was no construct. It was a continuity of reality, and clocks worked with simple perception and rules, so it was easier to make sense of it. Humans created them and utilized what they harbored, and it wasn't coming out of nowhere. The sun was natural reason and the Dawn hadn't touched it; it was the moon that changed, not the earth or the sun.

The Earth was a rock rotating and flowing throughout the cosmos. Everything did.

It was a fact like those clicking seconds that weren't important in anything. Frankly, they were annoying to William, who looked at this hundred-plus-year-old machine with incredulity and ingenuity. Humanity thought a lot about these sorts of things, but why?

He knew that time would never stop orbiting the Earth. Or was it backward? He wasn't sure. William didn't think of himself as any genius, let alone someone fitting for such assumptions.

Yet here he was, watching clocks and weird bits, waiting for nothing, or something. In a room hiding below the clock, there were records of stars and planets and their maps. The general cosmos and countless other things that weren't related to that clock created a rather weird space for someone relatively uneducated.

The room was small in scale, but packed to the brim with interesting items, pictures, and hundreds of books, if not more. The high society made of scientists before the Dawn was fascinating to a lot of people, so this library didn't lock anything behind closed doors. It did resemble a secret place, however, and William kind of liked it.

What clever minds and progress could even touch the stars, or how? William couldn't refute such wondrous ideas that had roots in deep history. He changed in the last two days, albeit helped, if not pushed by Ellie around a lot.

Long ago, scattered in time, there were lacking and even prime times for science and technology. Throughout time, many places kept their records written or locked in special containers, places, or they were tightly protected by any means necessary. Those were rediscovered throughout the chaos in the last century, or small tips and pieces that were left behind. That was precisely what many rooms in this library represented.

This one was about a lost culture of astrology and stars. William had to proceed through the door after a quick swipe of Kaufman's card, though he wasn't sure if it was an expensive action or not. A pitch-black room wasn't fine, so Ellie clicked a button and a sudden light dimmed his disbelief and skepticism.

Only wonder remained since this looked a bit more marvelous than shaded. Four big letters depicted an organization of science known as NASA.

William didn't know its implications, or what this name meant, but he soon discovered what this old organization stood for. It was almost silly. Hundreds of historical tablets, pictures on display, and texts endured the passage of destruction.

Everything was in a top condition.

Written and engraved on what seemed like rock, those tablets seemed like art, but they weren't that. They were lessons and pictures that could last for... how long? Millenia or longer? Ellie explained this room better because she liked it.

It was technological and complicated, but also wonderful if one wanted to learn and see what humans discovered over thousands of years. Some parts were older than modernity because people watched the stars all the time.

The sky was always there, with night showing off its pretty dots and boundless thoughts. Ellie didn't know too much about the science involved in some very specific matters. She didn't need to. The history of this place was etched into texts, while her mind memorized what was suitable for all kinds of possible visitors. This time was no exception.

The premise of this existence wasn't some secret, and her access was open, thus good enough for her enjoyment. This complete collection was discovered relatively recently and displayed in the best shape possible. Linked with the Dawn History Room, this duo of rooms left many mouths agape.

William was no different remarkably soon. He watched many displays without even asking Ellie about anything as he walked inside and around.

There were pictures and words about planetary travel, ships, stars, telescopes, constellations, galaxies, and most shocking to him, the sight of a human figure in a strange white uniform and a round mirror on the head. This figure was walking on a barren wasteland that was the moon.

He couldn't tell that at first. That was until he saw the Earth behind this figure, shocking him, and making him realize the truth. The moon-landing headline above the picture implied it was no joke or fiction. This had happened in the past. People left this planet for real.

Perhaps it even looked genuine, yet who could call that round blue and green planet right or fake? Who would watch it like that? William didn't know what this planet looked like, which was completely normal.

The surface looked like a white and blue round rock, so perhaps it was a fake fantasy like those on the cultural floor. William almost wanted to believe and find some safety in doubts.

As ridiculous as it looked, everything in this room exceeded his words and mind. Then, there were his memories. Darks? Walkers? The Federation was here, around him, while the past humanity wasn't really here. It was just put on a display like a pat on the back. It wasn't worth noting and seeing it for what it was.

Ellie liked what she was seeing on his face.

Walking back and forth in utter silence, she let him visit displays, as well as many preserved books. They contained knowledge of many topics, and most sounded very complex to judge, let alone pronounce. The Earth itself was just a rock in the middle of nowhere, yet what was inside of it and around it was nothing short of that.

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From the Earth, it seemed deceitful, yet the universe was vaster than some seas of rocks that were tiny units of sand. Called the desert, he hadn't found many privileges to speak of this. Oceans were vaster. Allegedly, of course; he could see some truth in that statement after flying over those waters even if the universe looked bigger.

It was the Earth that was like a drop of a pebble into an ocean. Those spots up there were bigger and impossible to imagine and reading about them in these books created many ideas. So much so, that his right arm endlessly itched and heat began to spread.

“You took it quite better than I thought you would,” Ellie said to William as she followed him from behind. On this rare occasion, it was shocking how twenty minutes had passed.

“Have I taken it better? I am simply speechless!” William argued and felt even more wretched because he raised his voice. Once more, there was nobody else besides them, so perhaps he could shout and become crazy even more. That wasn't clever; he knew he was in control of his emotions and there was Ellie before him. Nothing else. Nobody worse.

“Can you believe this was all possible because of the advancement of technology during and after the World Wars? Although it is further linked to many harvests, it still took decades of thinking for advancement to matter. So yes; it took quite some effort even with those wars, but humans managed to travel beyond this planet. Briefly, but still...”

“It happened because of... that?” William gasped and remembered his previous argument. If anything, advancement in wars forced changes, and it reminded him of the Dawn and Walkers and camps. Humans were stubborn but kept going no matter what, so what Ellie described was correct. P

lanes were simple, so weren't these big spaceships like large advanced planes?

William acknowledged that his previous thinking was ignorant and he changed his mind once again. Unknown to him, this wasn't that rare at all, and many youths--and even some adults--had their minds broadened beyond their scope of understanding thanks to this library. Almost every individual who visited this place felt this shock twice or more times.

“Yes. I wasn't joking, William. Although, there are still some bits and pieces left for imagination, or... not really. Science is very difficult. It is like a diverse sense of magic. Not Walker stuff. After all, you can't just decide to go to the moon, could you? It isn't simple with machines. Going to the moon was a big technological and political ordeal, and throughout the time, there were even some people living in space stations. Can you imagine that? I don't. They crawl around the space like walkers do in Fog. Crazy.” Ellie explained, speaking with nerve-wracking words that didn't seem that far-fetched.

She was beaming in delight and interest, so William shifted his attention and mood. The heat prevailed; so did his hand and crimson hiding under his sleeve.

The proof was in this room, depicted by a vast station hovering above the Earth, looking like a strange ship or like an ant colony.

William nodded and didn't know what should he even say to her. Should he bow and learn about his stupidity? Apologizing was cheap, yet his head wasn't so simple right now.

Instead of worrying or embarrassing himself, he decided to walk and read those timeless tablets that depicted space programs and many events of cosmic or earthly history.

He uncovered the satellites orbiting the Earth, more about humans on the moon, and even machines that went to Mars, or flying toward the end of time or this galaxy. William didn't question what even Mars meant, or what those flying distant machines represented. It was too remote. Too distant. Too broken.

Although the tablets described it as a harsh planet that orbited the sun the same way as Earth, he didn't think of Mars as home. Living on another planet was an even more foreign concept to him than space and the moon, but he read it anyway.

“Nearly seven and a half billion people?” William blurted out after reading about the population of former humanity. Some tablets displayed statistics, algorithms, living conditions, differences in continents, time zones, and so on.

“You don't have to learn and read everything, Will. It is advanced and... frankly, you shouldn't dwell on some stuff too much. I bet it is very confusing for you and some stuff can get very deep and unnecessary for Walkers.” Ellie argued, looking at how William glared at her, wondering what a billion people looked like.

“It sounds... weird. Yea. Weird! That's it.” William argued back and his emotions stirred once again. “It's not unnecessary at all. Walkers should know this sort of thing. What once was. That sort of thing sounds great so we wouldn't forget.”

“Listen, I don't know everything about this place, so should you? Sure, I can guide even idiots and unstable fanatics around, but does it mean we, living in this year and era, could think of this sort of past? No. It is good to refresh these memories and learn some things. I can explain this simply because I am taught to do so. I am like a teacher, you might say...” Ellie blushed and shifted her step to look at some tablet.

“I don't care about that. I came here to learn and become better, smarter, and... well, become a Walker. Learning helps with that, doesn't it?”

“No idea. Walkers are Walkers and I am just a simple girl compared to them. Mind you, I am still older then you, so put some respect on my face. You are one so don't ask me. Not every smart person is better overnight, or even with big leaps in life. It's like with weight or fighting. Not everything falls from the sky. Some folks could be ignorant and never let go of that shackle.”

“Like the people in the World Wars? Were they ignorant? Such a warlike world must have been created by a lot of smart people, eh?” William said sarcastically.

Ellie had enough and smacked his shoulder, grabbed his arm, and dragged him somewhere where her eyes and words shined better. William grunted and followed. “No talk about wars anymore, got it?” She demanded.

He grunted but agreed.

***

Everything was the same. Ellie spent time talking right beside William, who was no longer interested in reading alone, so he took her advances kindly.

It came in an honest sincere way because William learned much more from her than unaided. It might even be many times faster, but that was Ellie's expert opinion on this matter that had many hopes and desires.

Around an hour passed inside this pair of starry rooms, following and showing many topics.

Unfortunately, as time kept passing too quickly, Ellie made an excuse to end their day here. It was getting late and her time wasn't over either. Heidi also stated some words about meeting and talking, but it was unknown whether it was fine tonight or not. It hadn't slipped her mind because Ellie hardly touched the end of the museum.

She wanted to show him many more rooms, so she wasn't in any rush for several reasons. She had a new duty and senseless understanding that shook her previous desires. The upper floors should wait. Should! Ellie was tolerant of her desires and learned how to lead and take on Heidi's new tasks.

This knowledge wasn't a matter worth tossing behind her mind. Not this sort of thing. Walker's world was just before her fingertips and Ellie had to be patient.

She was also learning and had a lot to do, so William accepted the end of the day with a clouded mind. There was much more to remember and understand than he thought was physically possible. Ellie had no stops, and rather awkward feelings and a bad consequence of her talking created considerable changes from yesterday.

Therefore, he accepted her proposal much more than yesterday, knowing that he was stupid, but a bit better than yesterday. He still hated wars, however. That should never change, no matter how the devil in his arm devised and thrilled for it. Perhaps he too was the same.