ASSOCIATION / CH. 8:NEW HOPE

3.55PM MONDAY 1ST JAN 2272

They'd just waved goodbye to William, who they noticed, had been holding Susan's hand quite a lot, when Sarah heard shrieks of laughter as six sledges of clan-members shot past them down the slope in clouds of snow.

“John, I think the youngsters have finally arrived.” Sarah said.

“Whatever makes you think that?” he asked, with a grin.

[Hi May! I thought you were going to let us know when you got here.]

[Oops. Sorry Sarah. We rang the number and the nice man who met us swapped our bags for the cabin key, map, ski pass and six sledges. And you did say we could go sledging as soon as we got here, and the sun's setting.]

[Fine. Have a fun half-hour or so.]

[Somehow, I think we can manage that, Sarah.]

[And don't run anyone down!]

“So, what are your plans for your last half-hour of freedom and sanity?” John asked.

“Very good question. Can we do some planning? I need to speak to Mandy, soonish, and Zach too sometime while he's here. Zach's less urgent of course. We've only got Martha this evening, really, so after dinner I'd like to get them to listen to her.”

“And you are going to get the kids cutting wood, pealing potatoes, and so on?”

“Yes. I'll probably help with the potatoes. I was wondering if you'd like to be chief chef and stove-fiddler.”

“I was going to suggest the same thing. So, why don't you and Mandy find a quiet corner to chat over a pile of potatoes?”

“Sounds good. And then sometime we call it a night and leave them to it.”

“And get back to our own cabin which'll be rather chilly, since we've been out all day.”

“We could go there now, light the fire, maybe have some tea...”

“Or a ten minute cuddle?”

“I love you Sarah, and cuddles are nice.”

“And I've brought you to this romantic spot for a holiday...”

“And we've been busier than at home, so far.”

“You don't resent talking to Vivian, or me calling the kids up, do you?”

“No, Sarah. I just think we need a bit of a break. You especially.”

“Then let's go warm up our cabin.”

[Sarah, thank you.] he sent, as they skied towards the lift.

[What for?]

[Buying this place, encouraging Bob to put in the ski lift, thinking of bringing the clan up here. Volunteering to talk to Daimian. Marrying me. You're a force for good in the world, and I'm very glad you're my wife.]

[I love you too John. Race you to the line.]

[Hmm. My bionic leg isn't a massive help here, you know.]

[Exactly. I might win.]

They declared it a draw after they'd both tripped over their skis and it had turned into a snowball fight.

[That was fun.] Sarah said.

[Look at us, responsible adults....]

[It's all right, no one knows us.]

“Hi John, Sarah. Having fun?” Martha asked.

“You're not with the others?”

“Simon's just arriving. His parents have skis, but...”

“You thought you'd just have time for a quick sledge ride together. Fair enough. Is Simon planning to be part of tonight's chatting session?”

“It hadn't occurred to me to ask. Should I?”

“Do you know where his cabin is?”

“Not yet.”

“I think the manager said that there was a cluster of three four-bed cabins about half way from your cabin to reception. If so, then it's down-hill most of the way for him. But do check, because the site's eight or nine kilometres across, and that's as the crow flies. If he's on the wrong side it could be a three or four hour walk for him to get home.”

“Ouch, it's massive.”

“And the cabins are nice and secluded from one another. A genuine method of getting across the site is sledge or ski to reception and ask for a lift up to the right valley.”

“And all routes lead to reception?”

“Downhill leads to someone else's cabin or to reception. There's signposts.”

“And do they glow in the dark?”

“There are rather dim lights on the paths, as well as the signs, actually. I asked about it once. The wires aren't thick enough for much current. Just too much resistance. It should have been done with bigger wires or with transformers.”

“OK. So we're not likely to get seriously lost.”

“Not if you head to the cabin as soon as you've had the last trip up the hill. Do warn the others, when the guys on the lift say 'that's your last trip up', they mean they probably won't be there when you get down.”

“What about if we're talking like now?”

“They ring a bell about five minutes before they stop letting any more people get on.”

“No exceptions?”

“It's dangerous to ski or sledge down in the dark, so if you do it when they've told you not to, then you're walking back up or taking a taxi. If you're late back from town or something, then they might let you on, after giving you an ear-full.”

“Thanks, I'll pass it on.”

“Do. We're going up to our cabin now to light the stove so it's not freezing tonight. We'll probably be there before you've worked out who's sleeping where. John'll help light your stove, and show someone how. It's a bit of a fiddle to get it to light properly. But, if we're delayed, and someone wanted to start chopping logs, that'd be handy.”

“OK. I'll pass that on.”

“Oh, and someone needs to pump some water and put it into the filter for drinking and the toilet cistern for flushing. You'll see the notices.”

“Rustic living sounds complicated.”

“Not very. It just keeps you fit.”

“Oh, here's Simon!”

“Well, see you later, bye!”

As they joined the lift queue, John said: “It's just occurred to me you could have told May almost all of that.”

“I plan to, along with Zack and Kara, but the more people that hear it the better.”

“Where are the kids now?”

“Half-way down the hill, see?” she pointed.

“Are you planning another trip down, sir, maam?” The attendant asked.

“No. Is it closing time?”

“Not quite yet. I'd guess two or three more runs for people going straight up and straight down, like that crowd of youngsters. We just noticed you weren't quite as... dedicated as they are.”

“What a polite way of saying we've been playing around and wasting time.” Sarah laughed. “Thanks for looking out for us.”

“Have a lovely evening.”

“You too.”

Once May and the others were on the way up, Sarah gave them the same message that she'd given Martha.

[Any questions?]

[Can we do some sledging tomorrow, too?] Zach asked.

Since the others couldn't hear Zach's answer, Sarah repeated it. [Zach asked about sledging tomorrow. Answer: You mean, have I brought you up here to torture you with nice things you can't have? What do you think.]

[I think we're going to do some sledging tomorrow.]

[Good. Me too.]

[Sorry. It was a silly question.]

[Zach apologised and said it was a silly question. I say: Not really. You have no idea what my plans are, and you don't know me well enough yet. I've heard of conferences and school trips where just that sort of thing happens.]

Kara asked [What are your plans?]

[Kara wants to know the plan. Number one: light our stove so John and I don't freeze tonight. Number two, decide if we've got time for tea. Number three, meet you guys soon after you've got to your cabin. Number four, introduce you guys to the complexities of life up here, and hammer home to people how long it'd take to walk up this hill, if anyone was stupid enough to go down when the lift is closed.]

[Ages]

[It's two and a half kilometres long. Up hill that's about an hour, or more. But there's snow, so longer. Plus it's dangerous to ski or go sledging in the dark. Anyone who tries gets tied down or sent home. The cabin site is massive — more than sixty square kilometres, at least a kilometre between cabins, with some lovely cliffs to fall off. Stay to the lit paths if you're out at night, pass that round too. I can find you, but that doesn't mean I'll be happy.]

[Understood, Sarah.]

[Plan number five, is that while John is introducing a couple of axe-wielders to the wood store, demonstrating lighting the stove, and such like, everyone else will be pealing vegetables. Mandy and I will be having an initial chat while we do our pealing. John will then do the cooking while we continue to chat. If I finish with Mandy, then I'll move on to Zach, and then anyone else who needs a chat. Tonight, we're going to hear Martha and maybe Simon talking about how they ended up studying what they're studying. Tomorrow, we'll probably do something like breakfast, discussion, sledge, lunch, discussion, sledge, tea, discussion. Sometime I'm probably going to talk about dating, and about God, too, because he's good.]

[Sarah, Faith needs to talk to you. Suspects her boyfriend's faking faith.] May said.

[Public?]

[No. Just me and Martha know.]

[OK. Zach, May's just told me someone else needs to be second after Mandy. OK?]

[Yeah, sure. I mean, I'm happy to talk, but...]

[You don't think you need much advice?]

[Not really.]

[That's nice. So, tell me about your prayer life.]

[Ooh, straight to the point. Urm, God is good, he seems to remember me when I don't remember him.]

[When were you doing the most praying, recently?]

[Before I asked Zara out.] Zach admitted.

[Aha, her name at last. And now Zara's filling your thoughts, God's pushed out?]

[I guess so.]

[And how does that make you feel?]

[Guilty, of course.]

[But she's a believer?]

[Yes. And she's got the power.]

[And do your parents approve?]

[They don't know. They think I'm hanging round with a group of friends, not just with Zara.]

[Explanation time, please. No, hold on, I'll just check in with May and Kara.]

[May, Kara, Have you got any more questions, or is it OK if I just grill Zach a little?]

[What's he done wrong?] Kara asked.

[Probably nothing at all. Your turn next.]

[Should I be nervous?]

[Only if you've got something to hide.] She turned her attention to Zach. [Hi Zach, do I gather that you and Zara isn't known by anyone on your side?]

[yeah. Unless you've told anyone.]

[I haven't. So, can I involve John?]

[That's fine.]

[John, you're invited into the conversation. Zach's prayer life has been suffering a bit recently, because he's thinking a lot about a girl called Zara, who he's going out with but hasn't told anyone about. Zara's a believer with the power. Is that a fair summary, Zach?]

[Very.]

[Hi Zach. And is there a problem here, or is my beloved wife just being nosy?]

[A bit of a problem, I guess.]

[Because?] John asked.

[Neither of us dare tell our parents.]

[Because?] Jon prompted again.

[Hundreds of reasons, it seems like.]

[Any chance of a quick summary?] Sarah asked.

[She's older than me, we're not rich, her family is, she's an only child, mum likes having babies, dad is... a bit colour sensitive.]

[Really?] John was surprised.

[I heard him say something like 'aren't there any nice black guys left?' about Martha's Simon.]

[And I take it Zara's not the same skin tone as you?] John prompted.

[I think she said she was Russian-Chineese-Scandanavian by history. Pale skin, deep blue eyes, and long dark hair.]

[She sounds pretty. What's the age gap?] Sarah asked.

[Very pretty. She's a school year above me, but only a few months older.]

[Where did you meet her, and how?]

[Oh, it was this school trip to a power station. Near the transformer, we all had to hold onto this chrome plated metal bar that went round the outside. They said we all had to be grounded, for safety, but I don't know why. I think they were just trying to scare us, personally. But anyway, that meant no gloves. Can you imagine, a hundred sweaty teenagers all touching the same lump of metal? It really wasn't a nice mental fog to listen to. She thought — loudly — 'I want to let go, or at least put my gloves back on or I'm going to scream.', and I thought back 'Me too. We could pretend we got a shock from it.' And I saw her jerk her hands off the bar in surprise. Then, when we moved from there I apologised if I'd shocked her.]

[When was this?]

[Oh, a year ago. Then it seemed that every time her school went somewhere, so did mine, so, we met every couple of months, shared jokes, that sort of thing. The last unexpected one was at a multi-church youth meeting at the end of the autumn. And we both said 'Hi! I didn't know you were a Christian' at exactly the same time, dissolved in laughter at the coincidence, chatted and swapped net IDs.]

[And your first date was soon after?]

[No, we've been keeping in contact, but not much more. Then, before Christmas she spent something like a month moaning about the boys at her school who'd been asking her out being so disgusting, and the girls teasing her that she didn't have a boyfriend.]

[Dropping hints?]

[I don't think so. She seemed genuinely surprised when I asked her if it'd solve any problems if I asked her out. We've only been out twice.]

[But you've been friends quite a long time.]

[Yeah. She's nice, we make each other laugh, we make each other sad too, now.]

[Because?]

[Because neither of us really see it working.]

[But you both want it to?] John asked.

[Yes.]

[So, pray more, Zach.] Sarah suggested [And thank God for your friendship.]

[Every time you think of her.] John suggested.

[Wow! I'd be praying half the day!] Zach exaggerated.

[So? What's wrong with cultivating an attitude of prayer?] Sarah asked.

[Nothing, I guess.]

[Glad you hear you think so. We'll pray for you two.]

[Thanks.]

[Out of interest, what are her thoughts of university?]

[Oh. She's thinking of taking a year out, assuming the impact happens, helping her dad.]

[What's he do, then?]

[Construction. She says he wants her to stay in the office, but she wants to

see concrete being poured and learn plastering and stuff like that too.]

[And then?]

[Architecture or structural engineering.]

[And you?]

[Architecture and structural engineering have this sudden appeal] Zach replied with a grin [but otherwise, physics probably.]

[If your interest in the subject is just her, stick to your own preferred subject.] John recommended. [But by all means pick the same university. Silly not to, really, if you're serious about her.]

[I feel serious, but... can it work?]

[Of course it can, Zach, with a bit of patience and diplomacy. And Zach, do bring her to meet us sometime. Hmm, do her parents know she's got the power?]

[I think so.]

[Then, if you want her to meet me, she can tell her parents that she's curious about the chartered association of truthsayers, and a she's got an invitation to have lunch or dinner with the crazy multi-millionairess who kicked it off. And you of course can tell your parents I've invited you over to talk about some things that came up this trip in more detail.]

[Wow! You'd really... do that for us? Make excuses for us to meet?]

[Not an excuse. And I'm certainly not going to lie or encourage you to lie.

But if you need someone a bit older in my case or much older in John's]

[hey!] John protested

Sarah ignored him [to help you think things through and work out how to tell your parents, then yes, I'll provide a safe place for that. I'm not doing this to undermine your parents, you understand. And if you need more than one meeting, then OK, but the goal of that process is that you end up either talking to your parents or agreeing to separate until university. I really don't recommend any more unaccompanied clandestine romantic meetings. That's not a good road to follow, you know? Secret kisses so easily end in serious sin.]

[Yeah, I see your point. When?]

[John?]

[No idea. Of course Zach is grounded.]

[Yes. So it's up to his parents, isn't it? So Zach, after our time here either remind me to ask them when, or talk to them yourself.]

[Zach, getting grounded is all about your parents saying they can't trust you, isn't it?] John asked.

[Yeah, I guess so.]

[And since you are hiding things from them, they're right, aren't they?]

[Yes.{misery} That's another reason we make each other sad.]

[So, what I suggest you think about is whether, even knowing your Dad might not be very happy about her skin colour, if you could tell one or both

something about her. You might even tell them you're not sure all the parents'll be happy, but Sarah knows and is helping you think things through, and doesn't want to go behind their backs.]

[You think it'd work?]

[Trust is a two way thing, you know? And its easy to lose and hard to mend.]

[Yeah it is. Thanks, John and Sarah. It's been great talking to you.]

[Our pleasure.]

----------------------------------------

4.10PM MONDAY 1ST JAN

“Hi John, Hi Sarah!” George called.

“I thought afternoons were for revision?” Sarah asked.

“The are, but last sunsets in beauty spots are for enjoying, aren't they?” Karen replied.

“You're leaving tomorrow? I didn't realise.”

“Our ten nights in paradise are up tonight.” George said.

“I think paradise is better, really.” Sarah said.

“Yes, but exams start on Wednesday. I don't think that figures in anyone's definition of paradise.”

Sarah pulled a face. “Probably not.”

“So, tomorrow we're moving into our new temporary home, on Wednesday we get back to 'real life' with a crunch, and now we're going to enjoy a bit of romantic sunset watching from the peak.”

“Don't let us delay you, then. But sometime, do call and say 'Hi' to Vivian.” [She has the gift now.]

[Really! Wow.] Karen exclaimed.

[Praise God!] George echoed.

[He is Good.] Sarah agreed.

----------------------------------------

4.40PM

[Hi May, How's it going?] Sarah asked.

[We're trying to work out who goes where... without bloodshed.]

[Surely you can sort it out?]

[Three boys, three students, various other groupings of three also possible. Three need to be in the lounge, all groups are saying 'we need just as much privacy as you do', and 'you're going to keep us awake chatting all night', etc.]

[Draw lots?]

[Didn't work.]

[What do you mean, it didn't work?]

[Everyone thought their claim for superior treatment was better.]

[Vote?]

[Then the boys feel outnumbered.]

[Delegate the decision to a mediator?]

[I nominate John!]

[See if the others agree. Anyone cutting wood yet?]

[Deciding on rooms is apparently 'more important'.]

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

[I see. Is it cold in there?]

[Fairly.]

[Tell them (a) the bedrooms warm up considerably slower than the living room.

(b) it takes a lot of wood to warm up the whole cabin.

(c) we're not coming to start cooking until someone's drawn the water, filtered a saucepan of water and filled the basket with wood.]

[It's already half-full.]

[That'll vanish long before the stove's properly warmed up. What about the second one by the wood pile.]

[Urm. Is there one? Oh yes.]

[OK?]

[Would you recommend sleeping in the living room?]

[Well, it depends how long you stay arguing about it. The living room will probably warm up quickly and stay warm longest.]

[Thanks, Sarah.]

[Call my wrist unit when the baskets are both full. I assume there's someone there who can wield an axe without maiming themselves?]

[I wouldn't bet on it, actually.]

[Can you check? Otherwise I'll have to revise my condition.]

“I might have won us some time, John.”

“Oh yes, love?”

“They're still mid-argument about who sleeps where. I've told them to get some wood cut and water drawn before we're coming. May's just checking if anyone can split wood without maiming themselves. If there is, then I'd guess we've got twenty minutes at least.” She kissed him.

[What's the answer, May?]

[Focus of the argument has now changed about which of the three goes to cut wood.]

[Re-assure them that they'll all have a turn. There's a sack of potatoes there, isn't there?]

[Yes. And carrots and things too. I don't see any meat.]

[That's because it ought to be in a hanging meat-safe thing. Look for a box with screen sides hanging at or above head-level, dangling off a tree on a pulley.]

[Oh! Yeah, there was something when we came in. There aren't bears up here are there?]

[Not as far as I know. But I'm sure there's other things that wouldn't mind eating your dinner before you do, so why make it easy for them?]

[So, some people will be peeling potatoes and carrots, others start pulling water or chopping wood now. Anyone left over does the washing up, takes out the rubbish, and so on.]

[How many potatoes and carrots.]

[How hungry are you feeling?]

[Famished]

[That many then.]

[Sarah, that's not very helpful.]

[May, it's not like potatoes change size when they cook. And it's not like I'm insisting that the potatoes all be peeled. Just get the wood cut and water filtered, and call me when they're done.]

[What'll you be doing?]

[Having a lie down. We were up until almost two last night talking to a new Christian.]

[Oh! OK.]

May looked at her still-bickering cousins.

“Look, you idiots. Sarah and John are not going to play Mummy and Daddy and wipe our bums for us. They were up until two last night, counseling someone, and they're expecting us to solve our own problems and all take turns. The stove needs lots of feeding, there's vegetables to peel, and there'll be washing up later, and they're having a rest until we're actually showing some signs of being ready, OK? Now, think about growing up, can you? I'm going to pump some water.”

“I'll help.” Martha offered, a little ashamed for her part in the earlier squabble. It had just been habit, really; whenever the cousins got together, the cousins squabbled.

“Thanks, sis.”

“It's habitual, isn't it?”

“Yes, and I'd probably be joining in if it weren't that I'm being the eyes, ears and voice of our beloved matriarch at the moment.”

“Not to mention holder of the money bag.”

“Oh don't! 'Please May, can you buy us some sweeties...'”

“Really?”

“Not quite, but yeah, almost. Lunch at home was pretty salty and we didn't drink much, so I got those bottles of water for everyone while we were waiting in the capital.”

“Oh, and some other requests came too?”

“Exactly.”

“What a bunch of spoiled brats we are. How about we surprise John and Sarah by shaming them into getting organised?”

“Seems like a civilised thing to do, we could even let them have a nice long rest, too.”

----------------------------------------

5.20

“You are, without doubt, my very favourite husband.” Sarah told John, with some kisses as punctuation, “Thankyou for marrying me.”

“Thank you, beloved wife, for deciding I was so trustworthy you could throw yourself at me. Not to mention saying yes.”

“My pleasure. I wonder what happened to May's call. They can't still be arguing, can they?”

“I don't know. Feeling hungry?”

“Yes. Shall we go down?”

“Yes, I guess so. Otherwise it'll be a long time before dinner is ready.”

It only took them a few minutes to ski down to the big cabin. “I think they've been cheating.” Sarah said, seeing the plume of smoke coming from the chimney.

“I hope they followed the instructions carefully, then.”

“They are pretty clear. But... I smell smoke, and see doors open and a crowd of dejected kids outside.”

“Yes. Doesn't look good, does it.”

“Hi, John and Sarah!” May said “We decided that we'd act like civilised adults rather than a bunch of pre-schoolers. Then it sort of went wrong again.”

“How did civilisation happen?” John asked.

“Urm...” May looked at Martha.

“May pointed out to us that we weren't exactly acting as though we needed career advice as much as having our bottoms wiped, and then I decided to admit my shame for being a selfish toad and shamed the rest of them into action. Sorry. It's a long established habit that we squabble over everything like a bunch of spoiled brats. It's kind of fun, but it's selfish.”

“Well, well done for breaking the habit at least once.” John said. “I see someone lit the fire... do we gather something went wrong?”

“Urm, yeah. That's why the doors are open. We think most of the smoke's gone from the room now.” May said.

“So, who forgot to read the big red warning notices?” Sarah asked.

“It's my fault.” Timothy admitted “I decided the stove-top was probably warm enough. It might have been, but then Faith spilt a load of water on it, and I didn't move the lever over to re-heat it while we were wiping it up.”

“And then all the smoke cooled too much, the water vapour turned to fog, and it all came back down the chimney, and gave everyone a dose of carbon monoxide.” Sarah said.

“Its poisonous, isn't it? Are we going to die?” Hope asked.

“Probably not. Did everyone get out quickly?”

“Yes.”

“Anyone take a deep breath of what was coming out of the stove? Or have a headache?” John asked.

No one did.

“OK, so you were in there for a minute at most when the smoke started coming out?” Sarah asked.

“Half, I'd say.”

Sarah poked her head inside, estimated the volume of the living room, and of the chimney. Back outside, she checked exposure figures for dangerous levels of carbon-monoxide. “Well, if we assumed that chimney had all the oxygen in it converted to carbon monoxide, which would really surprise me, and then dilute a chimney full of that in the air of that room...” she said “We get, hmm, about six hundred parts a million or so. Not pleasant at all, and if you stayed in it for half an hour you'd risk getting sick. So, certainly don't do it again, kids and let's leave the doors and windows open for a while.”

“We're going to freeze.” Faith protested.

“Oh come on, you've been outside for hours already.” Martha responded.

“Yes, but I hadn't been putting my hands in cold water, peeling potatoes then.”

“Yes, but we've almost finished them.” May pointed out “You did have a nice rest, I hope, John and Sarah?”

“So, this gassing yourselves was all an exercise in letting us rest?” Sarah asked.

“Urm, yes.” Zach said. “It didn't quite go to plan. We were going to get everything ready.”

“Thank you, that was a very nice thought.” John said. “So, there's wood chopped, and veggies peeled?”

“Yes.”

“And did you switch the stove back to pre-heat before you evacuated?”

“Yes.”

“I'll go in and see if it's hot enough to set to store some heat then, while, I might add, holding my breath.” John said.

“Not to quick heat?” Timothy asked.

“With the doors open?” Zach asked.

“Oh. Yeah.”

John returned with a puzzled expression on his face. “The wood's almost burned out. Just when did this accident happen?”

“About five minutes before you got here.”

“And there was a full load of wood in it?”

“Urm, I wanted to be cautious.” Timothy said.

“So, you didn't follow the clear instructions.”

“Well, it didn't light when I tried it like it said, so I just lit it normally.”

Sarah groaned. “So much for the pinnacle of efficient combustion technology. You didn't actually use a pile of matchstick-sized splinters, did you? You thought you could get away with just a few.”

“It said a handful, that's a few, isn't it?”

[Our copy says 'from twenty pieces to as many as you can hold in a full hand, depending on length' if I remember correctly.] Sarah told John.

[I know.]

['I followed the instructions.' Sorry, I'm going to crack up if I stay.]

“O.K. kids, pay attention to nice doctor John Williams, he's about to tell you how to light the stove. He has lots of letters after his name and although he's not as good at physics and computers as I am, those letters mean that he can read.”

Sarah said and walked away. She didn't want burst out into hysterical laughing right in front of them.

“Have we upset Sarah?” Mandy asked.

“Urm, no, it's fine.” John said, “Urm, lighting the stove, first thing is to make sure you've got nice dry kindling. That's small bits, matchstick sized. You need quite a pile, These stoves works really efficiently, and one way it does that by only trying to burn wood which is hot. That sounds obvious, but in a normal fire, you get lots of cold wood in the way of the hot flames. That makes smoke, smoke means fuel you're not burning, and that means you need to cut more wood. The other thing is behind where you see the flames is a thing called a heat riser. That's a place where the flames get mixed with some extra air, and can burn up any soot that might come from the main firebox, and indeed any other stuff that only burns at high temperatures, like tars and stuff. Obviously, that only works if the riser is hot. So the kindling is actually doing two things: it's preheating the riser and also lighting just the ends of the wood so they send their flames into the riser. Get it?”

“So I broke it.” Timothy said. “I skipped the introduction and broke it in lots of ways.”

“Urm, yes. I suppose the good news is that because you lit such a small amount of wood, there wasn't so much smoke.”

“Does that mean we can go back in?” Faith asked.

“Let me get to the rest of the lighting instructions.” John said. “The other thing you want to happen is that the fire stays towards the back of the firebox as long as possible — that way the heat riser gets really hot before there's masses of flames from the pile of wood you've put in it. One way of doing that, strange as it seams, is to make sure you pile the wood high. That way the air which is coming from the front, rather just taking the easy way around the wood, goes past all burning bits of wood, giving the flames lots of lovely oxygen and blowing the flames back to the riser. But for this to work you do need to make sure that there's air gaps between the bits of wood as you're adding them. Got it?”

“I've got it.” Zach said “It's really neat.”

“But why don't the flames blow out?”

“I bet it's because there's not much air going past — only just enough.” Zach said. “It's all about keeping the flames and the wood hot, not cooling it down too much.”

“You're probably right.”

“He is,” Sarah said. “What John didn't say is that there are air controls to make sure that air goes to the right place to help it all burn at different stages and of course the heat directing controls. You need the stove top to be nice and warm, because that makes sure that the gasses in the chimney are warm enough to get out of the chimney. And if it's working properly, what's in the chimney is nitrogen, carbon dioxide, water vapour, a bit of oxygen, sometimes a smidgen of carbon monoxide, but no smoke. In other words, complete combustion. And that's purely from clever design and the right ceramics. It doesn't need an ultra expensive catalyst that needs replacing every decade. It just turns wood into a tiny pile of ash and a lot of heat.”

“And a bit of carbon monoxide.” Hope said.

“Hardly any, when it's used properly. Less than a hundredth of a typical back-garden cooking fire, if I remember right.”

“Wow.” Hope exclaimed.

“So, treat it with respect and it's a lovely friendly dragon, which will keep you toasty hot all night long.”

“Oh yes please!” Faith said “My fingers are numb, and my shivers have got shivers.”

“Did you soak yourself too, Faith?” Sarah asked, growing concerned.

“I guess so. I didn't notice at the time.”

“Everyone huddle round Faith please, lets make her feel warm and loved. John, can you go and sniff the air in there?”

“OK. What am I sniffing for?”

“If it smells of smoke, there's probably still some carbon monoxide. If not, we can probably go back in perfectly safely.”

“Oh. Got it.”

“Hey, not that loved, Hope.” Faith yelped.

“Sorry, Sis, but we do want you to be warm.”

“Sarah!” Faith called from the middle of the mass.

“What, Faith? Can you lift your legs without falling, yet?”

“That's not funny.”

“It wasn't meant to be. The human body needs to stay warm to function. I'd much rather your personal space gets invaded just a little than we need to call an ambulance because you've come down with hypothermia.”

“Well at least tell whoever's pinching me to stop it.”

“Children, that's not nice, and I can find out who did it, remember. Consider the shame of me telling everyone your name please, consider the shame, and behave!”

[Sarah, I think it's OK. I can't imagine it not being, actually, with the breeze blowing through the cabin.]

[That's good. Can you turn the warmth to instant then?]

[Yes, but I'll refill the fire-box first, if that's OK?]

[Of course.]

Sarah saw Mandy, like her, was on the outside of the Faith-warming crowd, and tapped her on the shoulder. “Mandy, can we start talking? I don't think either of us are contributing much to keeping Faith warm.”

“Urm, OK.”

“You're not abandoning me, are you, Sarah?”

“No, Faith, I'm leaving you to the care of your brother, sister and cousins.”

“That's what I was afraid of.”

“Everyone be nice, now, or I won't be.” Sarah said.

“You wouldn't use your gift abusively, surely, Sarah?”

“Who said anything about abusing my gift. All I need to do is find out who the criminal is and then I can bounce them on the snow a few times.”

“Sarah, with due respect,” Charis said, “you don't look like much of a fighter.”

“She's a black-belt.” May said. “Several times over.”

“Don't exaggerate, May.”

“OK, you never took the tests, but your old instructor told me you were plenty good enough to.”

“Hey, personal secretary, you're not supposed to let all my secrets out.”

“Sorry. I though that in the context it might help my cousins stay sane. Urm, Sarah, did you get that good thanks to the power?”

“Not as far as I know. My power wasn't really working properly then.”

“So, you were quite-capable of being black-belt then, and now you've got the reactions of having the power too.”

“I suppose so, yes.”

“So, anyone want to pick a fight with my employer and me?” May asked.

“And me too.” Zach said “I'm on Sarah's side, She's cool.”

“Stop turning everything into a battle, you lot” Martha advised.

“Are they always like that, Mandy?”

“Together? I guess so.”

“And you join in?”

Mandy grinned “Oh yes. It's good fun.”

“And you don't mind me caling you up here?”

“It's a lovely place. It's really yours?”

“I own the company which owns the company which owns the land and the cabins.”

“So you get to stay for free?”

“No, not at all. That sort of thing would be hurting my employees. But I did ask the director what he thought of having you all up here, and it was his idea that you stay in the one cabin. It would have been much harder to arrange if you'd been split between two or three.”

“Yes, it would be.”

“So, Mandy, I understand that you're not applying for university anywhere, but your Dad thinks you should be.”

“He does?”

“I heard him tell your mum 'I think she'd do well to think about studying.' just this afternoon.”

“Wow. I thought...”

“You thought you were expected to follow your mum's footsteps?”

“Yes.”

“I think your mum's expecting that, but your dad isn't.”

“But they've never asked me what I want to study, and they're always asking Zach.”

“Do you know what you'd say if they did?”

“Computers probably, but... maybe maths.”

“Maybe your Dad thinks you know already. Computers and maths, maybe?”

“You can study that?”

“Of course.”

“I haven't looked. Mum's always said find a nice husband and help her while I'm looking, and....”

“You didn't think you could go?”

“University's expensive.”

“It can be. But there are scholarships. How are your grades?”

“Good.”

“How good?”

“Top of the school.”

“What are your teachers saying then?”

“That I should apply for university.”

“And what do you say?”

“I can't. Mum needs me home, money's short.”

“And does your mum really need you home?”

“Probably not.”

“Mandy, what do you want to do? Not What your mum wants, not what your dad wants. What do you want?”

“I want to honour my parents.”

“Good. And if they're happy for you to study, or marry, or join a convent or work in a shop or a factory, then what? Where would you like to see yourself in five or ten years time? What do you dream of? Your ideal future.”

“My dream? Cryptanalysis. But it's silly! I can't do that! It's a hobby.”

“Your hobby is cryptanalysis?”

“Yeah. I'm a shy nerdish closet-crypto-geek, from a crazy family, with a mum who thinks my goal in life should be to find a nice husband, but I'd much rather play with cryptography than with babies.”

“Mandy, there are jobs in cryptanalysis, you know.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Which side of it appeals most? Implementation, verification that it's been done right, or code breaking?”

“That's illegal, isn't it?”

“Not necessarily. If someone's lost their password, it's not illegal for them to try and break it. Or take my dad's files. I've inherited the computer, and legally I've got access, but until yesterday I had no idea how to get in. Maybe it's solved now, but if not, then I might need the help of a professional code breaker to get into it.”

“Wow.” Mandy's eyes were wide with excitement. “Do you know how it's encrypted?”

“The algorithm? No. Apparently there's a hidden data-crystal in my dad's office, which when you give it the right pass-phrase gives you the right massive sequence of numbers to decrypt the data on my house computer.”

“And that unlocks everything?”

“Apparently.”

“I guess it's not going to be a one-time pad then. You're in contact with some professional code breakers? I'd love to talk to them.”

“I'm in contact with someone in Security. She's in contact with someone who knows plenty of code-breakers, who work for that department.”

“Oh wow... I thought that was just in spy novels!”

“So, what would that sort of career path look like to you?”

“Would I be good enough?”

“No idea. You might find out its not for you anyway. But it's an idea. It sounds like it excites you.”

“It does.” Mandy admitted. “But then reality crashes in and I realise that money's tight at home and I can't just go and study a really difficult subject on the off-chance that I'm good enough to get a rare government job.”

“Why not study a mix of subjects — like you have to anyway — which opens a career path to a number of jobs in your ideal job and related fields?”

“It still costs.”

“Know any multi-millionairesses who might think that helping you get to university would be a good thing?”

“Urm...”

“Go on, Mandy. At least do some research. And I'll just ask if there's such a thing as a civil service scholarship scheme that might be relevant. You called yourself a crypto-geek does that mean you've done crypto stuff as well as read about it?”

“Yes.” Mandy blushed “I've even got rather a good reputation on-line.”

“My experience of geeks is that they're shy because they're not good in vague social situations, but get them on their subject and they can talk for hours. Does that sound like you? If you could skip the personal and social stuff and start chatting cryptography, would you be shy?”

“Probably not.” Mandy agreed.

“OK, I'll ask around.” Sarah said. [George, Eliza, quick question...]

[Hi Sarah, what's up?] George asked.

[I'm all ears, if it's quick.]

[Do you know if there's such a thing as a civil service scholarship for someone who'd like to go to university with a view to doing cryptanalysis and code-breaking? It turns out that May's cousin Mandy's a crypto-geek.

It's her hobby apparently, but she didn't believe there was much chance of getting a job doing it.]

[Can't help there, sorry. I haven't heard of one. But I'll say that she's way out of my league if she's using that term like I've heard it used.]

[But you're doing computer science George.] Eliza protested.

[Yes. But she must be deeply into higher pure maths. I mean, we had courses on cryptography of course, but the advice was never try to write your own function or you'll get it wrong.]

[I'll ask someone who might know.] Eliza said, and contacted Chris who worked in 'Communications' or in other words, electronic interception.

[Chris, hello, a low priority question, just from a friend, you might know the answer to.]

[Ask away, Maam.]

[I've just been contacted by someone who's talking to someone who describes herself as a crypto-geek, and names cryptanalysis and code-breaking as her hobby. Pre-university. Might there be such a thing as a civil service scholarship available for the girl?]

[Well, I got one, but it's not exactly something we advertise. Is she willing to pass on her handle?]

[Handle?]

[Unique nickname. It'd let me see what she's asking and answering, assuming she's active in the community.]

[In the community?]

[Cryptography geek on-line discussion group.]

[Oh. OK. I'll ask.] Eliza replied. [Sarah, can you ask her if she's 'willing to pass on her handle.']

“Mandy, I asked someone who asked someone who asks 'are you willing to pass on your handle?' Does that make sense?”

“This someone is ... in the civil service?”

“I'd assume so. I didn't think to ask.”

“Wow. That's a bit.... personal, but OK. I'm 2-shy-r, as in circles, but shy, not pi. Two as a number. And I'm too shy, everyone says aaahh.”

“OK, I'll pass it on. But you're not too shy with me.”

“You're clan, Sarah.”

“Oh. OK. Well I guess this person is a crypto-geek.”

“Yes. That's another sort of clan.”

[Hi Eliza, apparently she's '2-shy-r' as in circles, the two is a digit.]

[Chris, her handle is '2-shy-r as in circles, with the two as a digit'.]

[That one! She's pre-university?]

[Yes.]

[Well! I'd put 2-shy-r down as a retired maths professor. That's supposed to be a compliment, by the way. But it makes sense, she's only been saying deep stuff recently. Very very insightful mind. I'll pass her interest on to the relevant person. Now... there'll need to be proof that the person we're interviewing is 2-shy-r, because that handle has got a massively good reputation, and there'll need to be some way for the relevant person at this end to arrange an interview. That's a challenge to the young lady.]

[Urm, I'll ask.]

[The unnamed person at this end asks Mandy, as a challenge, how to arrange an interview and establish that she's really 2-shy-r. ]

“Mandy, the person at that end sets the following challenge: how can we arrange an interview and prove that you're really 2-shy-r.”

“That's too easy, assuming we've got a trusted connection at the moment, anyway. I can send any message of their choice from my account. That could, for instance be an encrypted version of half of my contact I.D., and then they can call me. A book cypher, perhaps?”

Sarah relayed that message, and Eliza passed it on.

[Spoken like a true crypto-geek.] Chris laughed [How did she react to being called a maths professor.]

[Oops I'll pass it on. I forgot, sorry.]

[I forgot to pass something on, Sarah. The person I'm talking to says he had 2-shy-r down as a retired maths professor, intended as a compliment, and she has a very insightful mind. And he needs the verification because of the massive claim. He'd like to know how she reacts to being called a maths prof.]

[Oooh. OK I'll tell her.]

[And her response was spoken like a true crypto-geek.]

“Mandy, apparently the person my fiend is talking to recognised your handle, but had you down as retired maths professor -that's meant as a compliment - and the verification is needed because of the excellent reputation you're claiming. So what I'm saying to you is even if the civil service can't help you to study, I can. And your response was spoken as a true crypto-geek.”

Mandy smiled at the last bit “So you mean your contact just happened to pick on someone who recognises my handle? Or does everyone there know me? I'm not sure which is the most scary.”

“I don't know. What do you think of being confused for a maths professor?”

“I don't know, how should I feel? I guess it makes me feel socially inept. I supose it's a nice compliment.”

[She's not sure how to deal with the compliment and says that makes her feel socially inept.]

[Poor kid.]

[She's also a bit intimidated at the thought that you just happen to be speaking to someone who recognises her handle, or the thought that everyone there knows her handle.]

[I meant to ask about that.]

[Chris, firstly, is it... normal that you recognise her handle? It's got her a bit spooked.]

[Oh. urm certain of us have a role of monitoring and occasionally contributing to those boards, just in case.]

[OK. In answer to your question about the compliment, she wasn't sure how to take it and it made her feel socially inept.]

[So... she trusts the person she's talking to.]

[Yes. This is what you might call a network with high trust and low data integrity, that to say I'm not a very good relay.]

[OK well, as a verification of her owning the account, ask her to put a sensible question regarding the ancient twofish cypher, using her wrist unit. Tell her we don't trust personal information to public channels if there's a better way.]

[And the better way?]

[She'll be able to work it out, I'm sure.]

[OK Sarah, for verification, he'd like her to post a sensible question regarding the ancient twofish cypher, using her wrist unit. And tell her that they don't trust personal data to public channels if there's a better way.]

Sarah passed on that message.

“From my wrist unit?”

“Yes.”

“He's going to trace my message back, rather than just ask me for my number... OK I suppose that proves he's real.”

“I don't understand.”

“He, or his boss, is going to do some kind of only-possible-for-the-authorities request to find out my wrist unit's number... Would he like me to do it from home?”

[She asks if he'd like her to do it from home?]

[Could be interesting if they send someone to knock the door of one of your cabins, couldn't it?]

[Chris, she's on holiday at the moment, she asks if she should wait until she's home?]

[No. I doubt she'll get visited. It's much more likely to get invited for an interview. Can you ask where she's applying to study?]

[I think she's not applied anywhere yet.] Eliza replied [Sarah, has she applied anywhere?]

[No. I'm trying to persuade her it's not going to impoverish her family or upset her mum — she's Kayla's eldest I think I've mentioned them? She thinks cryptography is just a hobby, and you can't get a job with it.]

[Oh! OK]

[Chris, I know a bit about the family — she's the eldest child of six or maybe seven, her mum's been expecting her to follow in her footsteps and marry at eighteen, which sounds entirely unlikely. She doesn't want to upset her mum, or plunge her family into debt, and I'm pretty sure that she's been thinking there's no hope of her getting to university for years. So, no application anywhere yet, and my friend's trying to convince her that she'd have some hope of getting a job if she went to university, and it's not just indulging her own little hobby.]

[Argh. Of course she'll get a job. We're always short of people with her ability. If she wants a guaranteed job, and she's happy to go to the best university we can think of to study cryptography and associated geekery, then what she should do is as follows: first, think about this, second, write that message, third, find the on-line form to apply to the civil service, I assume she's happy to consider that. She should specify that she's applying to join Communications, quoting reference Colossus-Junior. There's more to add, but I'll let you pass that on.]

[OK, passing it on.]

[Sarah, the man I'm talking to says no problem on the job front. To quote 'of course she can have a job, we're always short of people with her ability.' What follows should get her a guaranteed job and a place at the best university they know for cryptography and associated geekery.]

Sarah laughed “Mandy, I've just been told 'of course she can get a job, we're always short of people with her ability' And I'm about to find out how to get you a guaranteed job and a place at the best university they can think of for cryptography and associated geekery. Are you interested?”

Mandy's eyes looked like they were about to pop open. “Me?”

“You've obviously impressed him, Mandy.”

“Wow. Of course I'm interested.”

[OK, she's interested.]

[Next bit... take notes.]

[Ready.]

[Number one: think it through, two: write that message, three: apply to join the civil service. On the form specify that she's applying to join communications, quote reference Colossus-Junior. There's more to come. ]

[OK, Got it.]

[OK, Chris, go.]

[As additional information she should state that she's hoping for a fully supported place at a suitable university and that her case-code is twofish-2-shy-r.]

Eliza forwarded that information.

[Is that it?]

[Yes, and my boss is looking at me like I need to give an explanation.]

[Want me to stick around, to give him a demonstration, or go away?]

[Urmmmm stick around, please.] “Yes sir?”

“You've been sitting there with your eyes closed or staring into space for about ten minutes.”

“Yes sir. Communicating sir, actually; I've been recruiting.”

“Really? That's an interesting way of recruiting. I think I'll need to put you on report unless you come up with a better explanation.”

“Sir, As you know, I have the thought-hearing power. I was contacted by one of the fifty-six, who has been declared to me to have full clearance and the Royal ear by Maria. This person contacted me on a matter concerning a young woman who is interested in code-breaking. I enquired further, she's pre-university but has a handle I know with a rating of guru on the crypto-geek site. I've been talking to her regarding how the young woman can apply to join us.”

“You can substantiate this claim?”

“The lady in question is standing by, if you desire a demonstration.”

“It's not going to be easy to demonstrate that she's got the Royal ear, now is it?”

“No sir.”

[Any suggestions?]

[Would a call from Prince Albert suffice, or should I petition his Majesty? By the way, there's fifty-seven of us at the moment.]

“Sir, she suggests that she could ask RP7 to call, or RP6 if necessary.”

“Oh, she's got them on speed-dial has she? I'll settle for RP7.”

[I really don't like his attitude. OK, so, what number does he dial?]

[Extension 1415]

[Please stand by.]

“Albert, Sarah asked me about someone whose hobby is code-breaking, I called my contact in Tasha's beehive, who was very helpful, but now he needs to prove to his boss that he's just been talking to me, and that I've got the royal ear.”

“Oh does he? Can you tell me the boss's name?”

“I don't know it, he's at extension 1415. Do you want me to find it out?”

“If you don't mind.”

Eliza looked at the skin of the room. “Edward Turnip” she said.

“Honorific?”

“I'll have to ask.” [Chris, Prince Albert wishes to know if it is Mr or Dr Edward Turnip?]

[You're really going to get me in trouble. Turnip? His badge says Turpin. He's a Dr.]

[I'll double-check, but I'm pretty sure God knows him to be Edward Turnip.]

Eliza double checked, looking deep into the skin of the room. “OK, his real name is Edward Aloysius Turnip PhD, prefers to be called Ed Turpin, and my contact says his name badge says Turpin, too.”

Albert dialed. “Dr Turpin at extension 1415 please, and please verify to the recipient that this call is coming from my rooms in the palace.”

“Certainly your highness.” the operator connected the call “Dr Turpin please?”

“Speaking.”

“I have a call from RP7 for you, sir, verified as direct from his rooms in the palace.”

“Thank you.”

“Hello, Dr Ed Turpin?”

“Yes sir, speaking.”

“Though I understand you are actually Edward Aloysius Turnip PhD.”

“Yes sir.” he said taken aback.

“I take it this call is sufficient proof that your subordinate is an honest man, and that the lady in question is who Director of fieldwork Maria has declared her to be?”

“Yes sir.”

“You may also thank him that he corrected the lady regarding what you're known as there, or I would have asked the operator for Dr Turnip.”

“Ah, that would have been embarrassing, sir.”

“If your name embarrasses you, why not change it?”

“That would upset my parents, sir.”

“Well, good evening Dr Turpin.”

“Good evening, sir.”

----------------------------------------

“So, Mandy. You need to think it through. Do you want to sign up with the civil service?”

“I think I should to talk to my parents first. I didn't know you could do it this way around.”

“Nor did I. But from the sounds of what I was hearing, you're more than best in school, aren't you?”

“Yeah. I've won some competitions. They weren't a big deal though.”

“As in they weren't hard?”

“Exactly. Nothing I've met is really hard except crypto.”

“Maybe you'll meet some more challenges at university.”

“And I need to decide if I want certainty or freedom of choice, don't I?”

“Well put.” Sarah said.

“I don't normally do well with freedom of choice. That's why I like maths. It's either right or wrong.”

“But sometimes there are different approaches.”

“But they get to the same answer in the end.”

“Mostly. Unless there are multiple solutions. But anyway, you're not opposed to the idea of being sent to whichever university they choose for you?”

“Not really. Is there much to choose between them?”

“In terms of what they teach and how, very much so. In terms of student culture, sometimes, in terms of living conditions, maybe. In terms of distance from home, friends and family, of course.”

“Oh. Yeah. And they didn't say where they'd send me?”

“He just said the best university they know of. From what Karen's said, when you sign up with the service, then yes, you can apply to move to different roles, but if they need you somewhere then that's where you'll be put. On the other hand, they do look after you. They're not going to deliberately make you uncomfortable just to make you uncomfortable. And if you feel someone is doing that, then you can moan.”

“Who to?”

“Well, there's a complaints procedure, and so on, but ultimately, all the way up to the monarch. But you can also moan to me and I have my contacts too, not to mention sufficient clearance for you to not get in trouble if you do moan to me.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I'm not really the right person to moan to, but... if you get stuck I can ask who is. What are you going to ask about that old cypher.”

“I'm probably going to ask if people think that twofish should have won the competition to be accepted as the standard at the beginning of the twenty-first century. You know, with hindsight. It was very innovative, a little harder to put on silicon than the winner, but not that hard. It was also a tiny bit slower too, but that was almost all because it had a fairly long set-up time, which made it significantly harder to brute-force.”

“Presumably it's not really relevant now?”

“Oh, I don't know, actually... Even the ciphers from the early twentieth century are pretty tricky to get round for a short, unstructured message. The big break for the wartime code breakers was that the strict military procedures meant fixed format messages happening at a certain time of the day. Even with the attacks found against it since then, Twofish is certainly good enough to keep even me out of your files, unless you lend me a really big computer and give me plenty of time, or let me borrow up a quantum decryption box. It's just not strong enough to keep a determined government out of your files.”

“And it was meant to?”

“At the time, they were looking for a cipher suitable for encoding top-secret information, assuming it would fall into enemy hands.”

“That's a bit optimistic, isn't it?”

“It was before quantum decryption techniques became possible, remember. I mean, I'm sure setting up a quantum decryption box is time consuming and it's a complete pain to get it right, but it sure beats running a billion computers a hundred years.”

“Did anyone do that?” Sarah asked.

“No. Just that was the goal: to make it ridiculously hard to decipher. It still is the goal, of course. The other thing people realised was that it's much better to hide important encrypted traffic in lots of equally encrypted traffic, so the opponent needs to waste resources on proving that little Johnnie's cat picture isn't a real secret. And of course almost everyone's got wiretaps and things so they get all that rubbish to decrypt. Which is why governments don't trust really important messages to computers. Because if, like most governments, you do have the millions needed to house a real quantum decryption box, and you can do the maths, and have enough computers around, you can break most sorts of encryption. It's a lot harder to get at a message when it's not on a computer network at all.”

“Only most sorts of encryption?”

“If I tell you 'fifty-six', that might mean something very significant to you, but just be a number to people not in the know.”

“Not that there are many who aren't. Fifty-seven now, though.”

“Really? There goes the numerological significance.”

“I told him it wasn't a fixed number.”

“Sarah, did I need to know that?” Mandy asked, confused.

“Yes. I think you do need to know that I've spent quite a lot of time talking to a certain person, so if you do ever need to come and talk to John or one of his colleagues, you won't be too nervous.”

“Urm, doesn't that count as reporting?”

“No, it counts as implying. In the context, I think that's fine.”