Chapter 83

The sunlight glinted in that colorful glass, making the details of this enormous building beautiful to behold. Reinforcements, architecture, and mass of the carefully excavated or carved stones seemed grand for what they were. Could they even be stones? What was rock, or metal but stones? William watched them shine in the lustrous morning sun. Stones might do that from time to time, but he wasn't sure what was what.

He continued to look around and etched this scenery into his mind.

“I bet If I watch this a hundred times, it will stop being impressive. It will become normal instead. Miss Anderson kept suggesting something about pictures and memories and how some get used to stuff. Some do it with... Outside. I had... I fear. The same goes for the sun, or the oceanic views, or love of the safety. Well, the last thing is wrong. Love can't be seen. Memories are...what? I have seen lakes in Canada, lands or forests bigger than the whole Federation dozens of times over. What is even that impressive in endless water?” William pondered as he walked forward.

The crowd of people lessened in this place, as there was enough space for thousands of people. He got closer to the library without any issues.

With most wonders gone, William watched the gate, which was at least thrice his height, if not more. They would surely fit anyone in the world, and it was open, so he walked straight inside.

“Greetings, young man. May I be of some help?” A girl in a nice uniform welcomed him immediately, making a polite bow. She wore a knee-high skirt and a white blouse with a light blue vest over it. Her vest had library designs in the corner, exquisitely knitted as part of the vest. The design was a large tower with a book and sun on the top.

Without hearing her words, William dropped his mouth again, watching the interiors of this place that made exteriors tame in comparison.

It was too big. Too vast.

The ceiling was so tall that he had to angle his head and neck until it hurt. Like the height, there was a significant vertical meaning to this place. There were no floors at the entrance. It was a limited large opening that went all the way to the ceiling, going for hundreds of feet.

There was a limit to it, for there were proper floors right before him, going from ceiling to the ground level as if a building was inside this another building. There were more than a dozen floors without windows, looking open and inviting with curling staircases in some sections.

The opening was just a spare thought that created an unnecessary, yet marvelous space designed to impress, with a huge chandelier hanging right above him. Most of the interiors were normal, made from wood of warm colors, and the sun beaming from the large colorful windows beyond the gate added another charm.

It was too intense for William and his expectations. He got lost for a couple of moments until the girl cleared her throat, waking him up, and closed his mouth.

“Are you new here, boy, or have you fallen from the sky and hit your head? You are glaring at it as if it's a wonder of the world. Oh, that reminds me. It is!” She spoke less politely and smiled as if he understood him.

“Oh, apologies. It seems I made a fool of myself in front of a lady.” William clumsily expressed embarrassment for the first time and had yet to look at her. His eyes darted around the opening until he went down and noticed this girl's upset face and open ground floor.

“Excuse me, but you are starting too much.” She said.

“Really?” William glanced past her and felt as if he had done nothing wrong. Who was she even? A guard? That was... kind of cute guard if that's the case.

Rows of curved stairs went to the second floor before another stairs led to the third. That went for fourteen floors in total, and each floor was as thick and wide as the width of the whole interior. The stairs looked sturdy enough for a good journey, giving this place a lot of walking until one would look down and see the entrance at its full size from the top floor.

“You definitely stare too much, for a newcomer,” the girl said, closing on her patience. “I have never seen you before, so I will take it as you have no clue where you are, what is your name, or where is the moon.”

Just when William wanted to argue there would be no moon in the morning, she stopped him and laughed.

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“Don’t excuse yourself. This is the library of the Federation! A wonder of architecture, time, and current age, while being the most exquisite piece of building treasure in the entire world. It took a decade to build, demanded artisanry out of this world, and exquisite work went between thousands of people. Dozens of skilled Walkers were also involved in this and made it stable and large. Materials? Don't even count them. Can you imagine how precious this is and what is hiding in knowledge and those floors?” the girl pointed her fingers around and talked far too enthusiastically to William who acknowledged and listened to her nice voice.

It got to him as well, and his heartbeat almost increased. Unfortunately for her, William had a protective sentiment against this sort of thing, so it didn't affect him too much.

Although only momentarily, he still fell in awe at her words, and a little bit because Walkers worked on this building. They had their fingers in everything, have they not?

“It is breathtaking. I completely underestimated the Federation.” William acknowledged his inferiority and bowed to her politely.

The girl liked that and smiled even more. “Excellent. As long as you understand it, all is well. It is a good start to see this spectacle, although it will shroud everything else in inferiority. It is a shame. Have you been somewhere else? Beaches? Have you seen dawn or dusk?

William awkwardly shook his head, although he had seen the previous disappearing day. Dawn and dusk were different things, and this morning was long behind any pretty clouds or sun.

“With this being done, what are you here for? Sightseeing?” the girl asked in a much more relaxed manner and sized this silly boy who was dressed poorly.

William seemed as if he were sorry, while the girl saw something else. “Visiting. Seeing things.”

“Oh, that's too bad, I guess. But I am here as a worker, unlike your lingering eyes. Can I be of some help, or should I pose for you if you are seeing and visiting... er, what? Who?”

William had no idea what she meant by a pose.

“I came to this place to learn and read. What else could a person do in a library than read some books or further their horizon? Not feed or milk a cow, I reckon,” William countered her dubious words and eyes, which he found lingering on him, curious, and quite pretty. They were green. Wasn't that abnormal?

Her blond hair went quite well for her, and he bet she was around his age, or over it by a year or two. Her clothes were splendid, so her position must be important. William wondered what she was asking or talking to him about. Did he move here at a bad time? Was the library closed, or was he doing something illegal? Considering how she stood before him, asking and inquiring about something, William hesitated.

The girl before William questioned whether he was a country-bumpkin like he seemed, or if he had no idea about anything. What was the difference, one would think? For her, it was not only notable but also incredibly satisfying to blow such people away.

Lack of knowledge was close to what William thought not long ago. He dismissed it as unnecessary worry because this place was not full of shit. He was right and not at the same time. First impressions were important in many ways, while this girl had a great job and position to see a lot of people every day.

Her eyes were honest, seeking new things and people, and her words were right. Both in good and bad ways. She could help him unless she was some devious creature, but William knew very little about it and doubted her. She was supposed to be helpful, however, and not dubious to somebody like him.

Thus, the first impression did a lot of talking. Could this place be worse at it than Outside? How could that be possible? Outside took most out of people. In all sorts of manners, ways, and words.

At least Luke didn't berate him when he saw him for the first time, or he could but didn't care about it, while Kaufman was the same. How much did clothes matter, or eyes, or... person as a whole? How well one should act and speak should do enough. That was what William learned.

For some people, face or first impression, let alone some clothes, weren't important in the slightest. For others, it was more than crucial. William was one or the other depending on circumstances, but no matter how Dann hated it or tried to change it, William often went with the flow. It wasn't as if it was a big issue. One could change while growing and learning.

William had no bad things to tell. He had no unkempt thoughts, and he always made sure to act with good intentions and courtesy. For himself, his mother, and his future, Miss Anderson taught him that better than Dann, who was one kind of person in ways that William would never be.

This girl before him was different, yet bright, and curious. Were all people in this place like this? No. William saw those people on the streets. William wasn't familiar with how safe conditions and places changed a person, or let someone grow. This girl was brilliant and thrilling because of the right condition.

Outside had no such people unless one would be mentally sturdy or insane.

“So, you want to go to the library to learn? Call me however you want, but isn't it quite a good idea to broaden your horizons? Do you have some specifics in mind? Most floors have a variety of topics and what one learns can be easy, hard, or impossible. See the last few floors?” She spoke calmly and with a professional tone. Then, she pointed above.

William saw all the floors that seemed like wide balconies. The last few seemed the same as others, so what did she mean?

“Those are upper floors. They are restricted to Walkers or intimate personnel of this library. Unless the person has good enough access, you can't just enter it. For Walkers, it is easy to get in, but even some normal people can go that far. There are support groups for most Divisions and the military has a lot of people. However, that is not everything. Below the upper floors lays more than a hundred years of history! Learning is important, you see, and... Hey, do you hear me? I am speaking to you.”

William was listening, but his eyes were lingering on the floors.