Page Turners - Chapter 15 [Page 35] - Nel and Rubes
“This is the one,” said Charlize.
“You mean that pillar? Looks just like the rest of them,” asked Tilla.
“Yes, it does. Wouldn’t be much of a secret route otherwise, would it? Pillar 309. Directly in line with the marker at the start of the Page. Let’s hope nothing has changed since I was last here.”
Charlize started to knock on the pillar with the middle knuckle of her fingers. Using both hands, she played the pillar like a drum, knocking out an upbeat rhythm. This went on for almost a minute, causing Od and Tilla to begin dancing to the beat.
“You two having fun there?” she asked.
“Not as much as you by the looks of it,” Od said with a laugh that was accompanied by Tilla’s.
She couldn’t help but blush. Od’s words made her realize she had never played that tune in front of someone else before. The embarrassment was uncomfortable, a feeling she hadn’t felt for far longer than she could remember. It had been so long that it made her think about why she would even be embarrassed. She realized that it only came about when you cared what someone thought of you. Acknowledging that she might actually care what Od and Tilla thought made her even more uncomfortable.
Upon finishing her percussive song, she leaned against the pillar and explained they might need to wait a few more days.
“And how long has it been? Since you were on 35, I mean,” Od asked.
“I don’t recall. Must be a few thousand years.”
“And you think your contacts will still be here after all that time?”
“They have as much reason to leave as they do to stay. We won’t know until we reach the Cube. Besides, my first contact is ageless. At the very least, we should be able to rely on him.”
“Ageless? Do you mean they’re immortal? You never told me Page Turners could become immortal,” Tilla asked.
“They can’t. As I said before, the only way for a Page Turner to live forever is to continue turning Pages. Only we can become Page Turners, only humes.”
“Humes?” she asked, her confusion only rising.
“That’s us. Supposedly we are the original species, the first living beings to populate the Book. There are innumerable races and variations within our species, but we are all the same, all capable of turning Pages.”
“So, what are the ageless things then?”
“They are the pastiche. Beings created by Authors to populate their Pages. Most pastiche are created with an intended purpose like the one we are about to meet. Some are simply experiments, while others are an attempt at recreating humes. But even attempting to create one of these ‘homons’ is considered hubris and immediately punished by God. As far as I’m aware, none still exist, if they ever did. Sometimes it can be difficult to separate myth from history with the Book being so vast and full of possibilities. Makes me curious as to what exactly is going on inside your bag,” Charlize said, turning to look at Od as she finished.
“My bag? To be honest, last time I checked it was just one big primordial soup. No trees, no animals. Certainly no sentient lifeforms. I wonder if I could make homons? Or humes for that matter,” Od asked himself as he trailed off into thought.
“I wonder how you plan to build an army without soldiers?” Charlize asked but didn't receive a response.
After two days of waiting by the pillar, they heard something inside lock into place with a click and thud. Almost immediately after, they heard something shoot down the pillar toward them like a bullet. It sounded like it would crash straight through the ground, causing Od and Tilla to jump back out of fear of the impact. Charlize didn’t move. She just continued to lean against the pillar as the rushing stopped once again with a click and thud.
At the base of the pillar, the shutters of a tiny door slid open. A tiny thing stepped out, only a few centimeters tall. It was a twin-bodied centaur, each body facing the other and having four spindly legs beneath them, eight in total. They were connected by a long body, relatively speaking, and seemed to be bickering in voices much deeper than their size would suggest.
Charlize laid down on her belly next to it, her head looming over the little thing.
“Who have we got here then?” she asked.
“What I tell you, aye? It's bloody Charlize! I said it'd be Charlize,” said one body.
“You said it'd be a Bookwyrm, you div,” said the other.
“Half right then!” the first body hollered.
“If it isn’t my two favorite bugs. How long has it been, Nel, Rubes?” Charlize asked, her tone uncommonly cheerful.
Tilla and Od laid down next to Charlize and encircled the two-bodied bug.
“I know they're small, but calling them a bug ain’t exactly polite, is it?” Od asked.
“That’s what they’re called, Od. They take no offense. Have you been keeping well?”
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“Well as can be expected. Must've been, what, 3000 years since we last saw you?” asked Rubes.
“Think it's closer to 5000. If I remember correctly, it was a meditation job,” she answered.
“Ah yes, the Fofo incident. Things have settled down since then, back to the same old mechanical routine. 5000 years though, feels like yesterday,” said Nel.
“5000 years, exactly. That's what I said, 5000. I knew I was right,” Rubes said with pride.
“You literally just said 3000,” replied Nel, his eyes rolling so hard he almost toppled over.
“Well, that is good to know. We're not looking for trouble; we're just passing through. I would like to keep it under the radar if possible.”
“Of course, always the professional,” said Rubes.
“Little problem, Charlize. We only have two passes. Someone's gonna have to stay behind,” said Nel, his tone not entirely sincere.
“One. We only have one pass,” Rubes corrected.
“That's what I said! We only got one pass.”
“I swear, if it wouldn't result in my death, I would kill you.”
“Glad to see you haven't changed,” Charlize laughed. “Od, do you happen to have anything shiny you might be willing to part with? Possibly in that bag of yours?”
“Oh, you got shinies?” the twin-bodied centaur said in unison.
Od looked at Charlize and raised an eyebrow. She held his gaze for a moment while they lay on the rock-hard soil. He placed his right arm into the bag, all the way in until he was shoulder-deep, and began to rummage.
“Gimme a sec,” he said as he rose to one knee. Placing his arm back into the bag, his head followed suit. They could see his body shift as he was looking around inside his bottomless bag. Suddenly, his head popped out with a beaming smile spread across it. “You want shiny? I got something real shiny for ya.”
Pulling his arm from the bag, he had between his fingers a tiny orb glowing with the most brilliant luminosity. It slowly pulsated with soft bursts of silvery-white light and brightened the faces of everyone around, even though it was barely the size of a pea.
“Is this what you’re looking for?” Od asked as his relatively giant form lowered the orb to the bug, like a god handing a mere mortal a celestial body—which wasn’t too far from the truth.
“Bloody hell, it’s beautiful, perfect! It’s so shiny,” Nel said, Rubes joining for the last word.
“All yours, for three passes I guess?” Od asked, looking at Charlize.
“Only problem is, it’s too big,” said Nel. “We need something pocket-sized.”
“Well, why don’t you let us inside then?” Charlize asked.
“Of course! You always were a sharp one. See, I would’ve thought of that. I swear sometimes, spending too much time with this one is making me dumber,” said Nel.
“Hey, what did I do? I was thinking the same thing!” Rubes contested.
“All right, hold out one index finger each, please,” commanded Nel.
Nel proceeded to press his tiny little finger against their fingertips, one by one. Only Tilla was unable to see the tiny tab composed of Seam being absorbed directly into their skin.
Once he had finished, he turned and went back through the tiny sliding door he came through, returning inside the pillar. Charlize followed, pressing her finger against the tiny door, causing it to open. The moment it opened, Charlize appeared between the sliding doors and stepped into the pillar. Tilla blinked frantically, confused at what she saw, feeling like she had just missed something.
“Did she just shrink? I didn’t see her shrink,” asked Tilla, confused at what she just witnessed.
“She likely didn’t shrink at all. She was big; now she is small, that’s all. The Pages are each filled with their own wonders that don't seem to make sense. I promise, over time you’ll get used to it. Honestly, you just gotta go with the flow,” Od said as he followed Charlize into the pillar, his size changing in the same abrupt manner.
Tilla cautiously poked at the door with her finger but nothing happened. She thought she was doing the same as the others, but nothing had changed. Pulling herself across the hard soil, she brought herself closer to the door so that she could peer inside. Poking the door once again, the doors slid open. She saw Od, Charlize, and the bug casually chatting away as if nothing had changed. The sight filled her with anxiety. Was she wrong for thinking this was a spectacular event? Why were they acting as if it was the most normal thing in the world? Why did she suddenly feel like the strange one, when she was pointing out the strange happenings?
“Come on!” said a tiny squeaking voice from inside the pillar. “Stop overthinking it. Just walk through the door as you would any other. It’s simply a transition, not a transformation.”
Tilla nodded and shut her eyes tight. She imagined walking through the tiny door, that it was no different from any other time she had passed through a doorway. Holding the image in her mind, she reached out to the sliding door with an outstretched finger. Before she felt the door handle, the environment around her seemed to shift, jolting her eyes open.
She was already standing in the doorway. Charlize and Od stood before her, throwing her a casual wave while continuing to talk with Nel and Rubes. The twin-bodied centaur was now this towering, intimidating beast, looming over the three of them at over three meters tall.
Tilla spotted Od rummaging through his bag and walked over to join the group. As she arrived, Od pulled out the same object he had previously, the miniature planet, and handed it to the bug. Nel and Rubes were giddy with excitement, both equally enamored by the shiny object. With the shift in size, the tiny planet that was once half their size now sat in the bug’s palm like a glittering bead.
“Genius! Bloody genius!” Nel and Rubes said in unison, their deep voices echoing through the hollow pillar. “We've missed you and your smart Charlize, we really have.”
Charlize replied with a nod and a smile, as Nel swallowed the bead-sized planet.
“Oh,” Od said as Nel let out a small burp. “I didn't realize you guys didn't have any pockets.”
Charlize shot Od a glance laced with suspicion. “Is that a problem?”
“Um, we should probably discuss this later,” he answered.
“Where are we?” Tilla asked in wonder, as she looked around the giant chamber with wide eyes.
“You’re inside one of millions of pillars. The grid allows us to move around the Page efficiently so that we can make deliveries and do maintenance when required. We’re happy to answer all your questions while we roll. I presume Charlize has told you nothing? She’s not the most forthcoming person, to be fair,” Nel said.
At the center of the pillar was a large sphere at the bottom of a clear tube. The sphere had a small bubble on top where Nel and Rubes would steer. Inside was a large empty space with one circular sofa that followed the edge of the sphere.
All three of them took a seat on the circular sofa and were told to hold on tight, as Nel and Rubes climbed outside to enter the small sphere on top. The door of the sphere slid shut. Without warning or anything resembling a countdown, Tilla and Od clung to the sofa as they blasted off at breakneck speed up the pillar.