Olly Briggs
They met in the atrium of the Academy to begin their field trip. Looking up, Olly was once again struck by the sheer size of the three dimensional map of Flexibilis. It projected a soft golden glow onto them as it rotated slowly above their heads. He tried to visually locate the spheroid that they were going to visit but only got as far as finding Occaigh. The myriad of threads peeling away from the single spot on the map made him feel quite small; this world of theirs was vast and complex.
Travelling to the spheroid was the most involved process Olly had experienced to date. To his surprise, they did not take vehicles to get from the Academy to the Donnol central tunnel station. He thought that vehicles would’ve been necessary for safety but he understood once he saw their numbers. There were nearly a dozen students, several lecturers and researchers, and almost as many Controllers walking alongside them. Between their combined numbers, and the security perimeter of the Controllers, they created an impressive convoy on foot. Vehicles would have slowed them down and they had considerable safety in their numbers.
Grandmaster Abigail walked at the head of the group. Olly watched as she carried herself with the same intention and poise here as she did at headquarters in the face of the attack. She didn’t appear afraid and that inspired confidence in him regarding their safety. He didn’t get the impression she intended to lead them into an unsafe situation again.
The travel experience went mostly without a hitch. However, when they entered Occaigh's ninth borough they were met with a small protest. The group was about twenty people in size and they carried signs that bore slogans like 'Tunnels? More like death traps!'. Despite the unsettling subject matter, they maintained a respectful distance but the Controllers kept a wary eye on them nonetheless. Abigail breezed past them and scarcely spared them a second glance as she continued on to the tunnel that would bring them to the satellite agricultural spheroid.
Though he hadn’t seen that many Controllers before his time at the Academy, Olly could tell that the ones that accompanied them were more serious than usual. They wore austere expressions on their faces and, unlike Abigail, glowered slightly at the protesters. A few of the protesters seemed to take a step back out of intimidation. He was suddenly reminded that they had suffered the most losses in the attacks and they were still likely reeling from the death of their Grandmaster. They weren't going to respond kindly to any further threats to the safety of the Guilds.
He noticed that the Controllers were carrying some kind of device on their hips that he hadn’t seen before. It was long and cylindrical with a large black handle on one end and a hollow tip on the other.
“Hey, what is that?” he nudged Sarah. She was walking beside him and had Bowen on her other side.
She seemed moderately uncomfortable. “I’m not sure… but do you remember the weapons that the Shadow Fellowship had?”
Realization dawned on him. “Oh… do you think they created something similar in response?”
“It would’ve been a bit fast for them to reverse engineer one,” she speculated uncomfortably.
The thought didn’t sit well with Olly. Weapons were rare in Flexibilis. Knives were as bad as it got before the Shadow Fellowship publicly revealed their mystery weapon. But as unsettling as it was, it was also naive to think that the major Guilds wouldn’t have something in reserve. Perhaps they just hadn't seen the need to arm themselves until a threat was made present.
They made it to the spheroid; Olly emerged from the final tunnel and took a good look around. He had visited agricultural biomes a scant number of times growing up but this was by far the largest he had seen. There were fields as far as the eye could see, all growing different crops. The fields were accompanied by packing houses and agricultural equipment that would be used to pick the produce. Most notably however, each field had a spinning metal device that looked like the size and shape of a lantern hovering about ten meters above it.
What made the scene unusual was that each field seemed to have its own distinct and turbulent weather cell. There seemed to be an intensely dry heat radiating over one field scorching the crops below it. And the field beside it had a thunderstorm raging onto its poor waterlogged plants. In another section, gale force winds were gusting over a field. Another had snow falling lightly onto it, blanketing the ground below it in white.
“Welcome to the agricultural hub of Occaigh!” a middle aged man with a brown goatee greeted them. He was friendly enough but the message came across rather ironically amidst the chaos surrounding them.
Abigail walked forward to shake his hand.
“Students, this is the Grandmaster of the Meteorologists Guild. As you may know, they have their own Academy and they too accept students who excel in the aptitude test. Magic and science are very much a part of the weather and they’re the ones responsible for overseeing it,” Abigail explained.
“Yes and usually it’s not an issue. But as you can see here we’ve had some entirely unpredictable weather. Our Meteorologists can’t figure it out so we were hoping our other Guild colleagues might have some suggestions,” he lamented.
“I’m going to gather my researchers to speak with yours,” Abigail reassured him, “Did you have someone able to take the students and show them around?”
“Yes of course! Students please head over to the control center where you’ll meet one of my lecturers who will provide you with your lesson.” He pointed at a small building just beyond the first set of fields.
Abigail beckoned her researchers, Steven and Brandon included, over to her and left the students wordlessly. They obediently walked over to a lady wearing a lab coat just outside the control center. She waved at them as they neared and gestured for them to gather around the door.
“Good morning! We’re so happy to have you today, I’ll be giving you a brief demonstration and answering your weather related questions,” she said cheerfully, if not a little harried, “Come on inside!”
Just before entering the building Olly watched curiously as the Controllers hung back around the mouth of the tunnel. He filed that away and followed his classmates inside.
The lecturer led them inside where they found an enormous control panel. Hundreds of buttons containing a large variety of labels stood between them. He supposed they went through rigorous training to be able to understand what they all meant and did.
“This is where the magic, pun intended, happens!” she began, gesturing over the blinking lights on the panel, “Each spheroid with controlled weather has one of these but they're typically much simpler in design. The control center in this spheroid is one of our more complex systems since we have to manage not only the broader spheroid but also multiple microclimates within it. You saw the floating machines outside, yes?”
They nodded silently.
“We control those from inside here. The Meteorology Guild uses magic and technology to control various elements, like humidity and temperature, to create special microclimates that are tailored to the needs of the spheroid. We use those devices to take it a step further and isolate smaller areas. Unlike your Guilds we don’t use magic directly, we need machines to help us channel it properly, but we do need to have at least a minimum sensitivity to magic. Any questions so far?”
None came. “What exactly are you controlling with them?” Olly ventured.
“Great question. Our Academy trains us to use these devices to identify and conduct energy, usually in the form of the additional or removal of heat, to the atmosphere using these devices. We can adjust the excitement state of the atoms in the atmosphere which either adds or removes heat. We also want to control atmospheric moisture. However, we can’t create what isn’t there so we do need to ensure there’s a water source nearby in order to add moisture.”
“So how does adjusting heat and moisture create weather patterns?” Olly asked somewhat lamely. Through that explanation he could see the others nodding along as if they understood but after that morning’s phone call with his uncle he was determined to not be embarrassed at what he didn’t know.
“There are many combinations of temperature and humidity. Cool and warm, wet and dry; we can dial them in to create things like the right growing conditions, the perfect day at the beach, or ideal living conditions in cities. We look at the natural conditions of spheroids with unique extreme atmospheres, such as snowy landscapes or deserts, and study them to create optimal conditions where we need them. There’s no need for habitable areas to suffer the malaffects of weather, or for us not to use our knowledge to ensure food production is sufficient to support growing populations.”
It made sense to Olly though he supposed he’d have to do some catch up reading on what those combinations were.
“Does your Guild have anything to do with day-night cycles?” Sarah asked. He wasn’t sure if she was asking questions in solidarity or if she was genuinely curious but he was grateful not to be the only one speaking up.
The lecturer shook her head. “No, those are very much a natural feature. All the spheroids are synced up into perfect day and night cycles which is very handy for the major cities to be temporally aligned. It's a consistent eight in the evening no matter where you are, be it Occaigh or Donnol or Aspir or any other spheroid.”
“What’s… beyond the spheroid? Beyond the atmospheres, I mean,” Olly asked tentatively. He thought back to the three dimensional map and how each spheroid was represented by a dot that, apart from tunnels, seemed to be a single free-floating point.
“The vacuum of space - so that is to say, nothing! The atmosphere is just a combination of gases that allow us to survive down here and it effectively forms a protective bubble around each spheroid. We couldn’t survive out in space but we do need to maintain safe connections across spheroids which is why it’s exceedingly handy that we have people with the ability to punch through it without collapsing everything around us.”
It was a good response but it made Olly feel a little uneasy. There were collapses though, and they had happened quite recently. That’s why they were here, wasn’t it? He would assume that they were interested in preventing any further collapses but the Guilds rarely seemed to acknowledge them. He exchanged a look with Sarah who seemed to mirror his concerns.
They couldn’t dwell on it further because Abigail rejoined the group. The lecturer deferentially nodded at Abigail as she entered as if to turn the stage over to her.
“Once you’re done here we’re going to run a demonstration of performing atmospheric tests and we want you all to see it. Come over to where Brandon is getting set up and we’ll watch him test for unusual atmospheric particles,” Abigail instructed seriously but not unkindly. She was more down to business today than Olly had previously seen her.
The lecturer looked around. “Any further questions?” she asked. When there were none she bid them farewell and thanked them for listening. They thanked her in kind and exited the building. They followed Abigail over to where Brandon was standing, just beside the field with the intense heat. In front of him was a metal box that was about a cubic foot in size and had a panel containing several dials on the top. From one other side of the box he unrolled five wire strands, each several feet in length, and seemed to place them deliberately and meticulously at points around him. He turned his attention to the dials and began to calibrate the machine. Once he was done he looked up at Abigail.
“On your command, Grandmaster,” he offered respectfully.
She visually inspected his work before nodding once. “Go for it.”
He started up the device by slowly turning a large red dial. The machine began to whir and several lights blinked. Anticlimactically, the box finished its test with a gentle hum that started loud and quickly decreased in volume. A sheet of paper printed out one side of the device and Brandon picked it up to examine the readings. He shrugged as if puzzled.
“Anything interesting?” Abigail asked pointedly.
“There's nothing unusual about these results,” he concluded and offered her the print out. She frowned as she read it over.
“Hmm, that’s interesting in itself given,” she gestured vaguely to the fields with fritzing weather patterns, “this.”
“Indeed. Perhaps we need to look into the Meteorologist’s equipment and rule out atmospheric problems at this point?” he suggested.
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“Let me speak with the Grandmaster about next steps. You can put your equipment away,” she instructed Brandon before turning to the group. “The rest of you can mingle and think about the weather related topic that you’ll write about for the three page essay that you’re going to turn in for extra credit.”
A collective groan resounded from the group but she had already moved on. Olly, Sarah and Bowen began to slowly walk away.
“I'm going to go talk to the lecturer to learn more about the control devices that the Meteorologists use so that I can get a head start on my essay. I’ll catch up with you guys in a bit,” Bowen said before pulling his notepad from his bag and heading towards the control center.
“He’s eager,” Olly said in a somewhat amused voice as he turned to face Sarah. She was frowning deeply. “What’s up?”
“Something’s wrong,” she said slowly while looking around.
“What do you mean?” his heart rate quickened.
“Don’t you feel it?” The panicked look on her face made his stomach sink. He was suddenly reminded why she had been the first to pass the second part of the aptitude test. Her sensitivity to magic was the strongest out of everyone in the test, not just their room. When she said something was wrong he believed her.
Sarah grabbed his arm and nodded with her head. “Look, see! What do you suppose is going on over there?”
He whirled around and wondered if she was seeing some kind of anomaly but he only saw Brandon and Steven. He frowned at first and wondered what she meant but he quickly realized that they seemed to be having a disagreement. Rather, as much of a disagreement as Steven was capable of having.
Olly tried to be discreet as he watched them; Steven was nervously trying to get Brandon’s attention but Brandon seemed to be scolding him in return. Brandon was trying to put away his testing device but it seemed like Steven was trying to prevent him from doing so.
“Come on, let’s get a closer look,” she suggested.
He followed her lead as she walked around inconspicuously. She moved as close as she could get without the other two noticing and pretended to inspect one of the weather meters floating above their head.
“I have to insist that you stop!” Steven said in a hurried voice.
“I’m the researcher in charge here, not you!” Brandon barked back.
His abruptness made Olly recoil slightly. He remembered the time he overheard their disagreement in the lab and wondered if this was a similar disagreement.
“Then I’ll have to tell the Grandmaster. We’ve missed something, it feels unstable!”
“Instability is exactly what this device is designed to test for and, in case you’ve forgotten, it didn’t show any unusual results,” Brandon responded with a coolness that didn’t suit his usual boisterous persona. “I’m not replicating the test on the basis of paranoia.”
Steven shook his head. “If you won’t, then I will. I have another device, a prototype I’ve been developing, that I think would be better suited for this type of test. It’s safer and more precise in detecting potential leaks. I designed it after-” Steven rambled on and began to pull something out of his knapsack but Brandon cut him off by grabbing the strap out of Steven’s hands. He let it drop to the ground unceremoniously while Steven gasped protectively.
“I’ve put up with your insubordination as a favour to the Grandmaster but I will not let your trauma get in the way of my research. What happened that day is your shit to deal with, not mine. So stop making it my problem.”
They were very nearly face to face and Sarah and Olly had stopped pretending to be discreet out of shock. It was then that Brandon noticed them. He straightened up and the stormy expression gradually fell from his face but the coldness never fully left his eyes. Before he could say anything the Grandmaster approached the group.
“So, what do you think?” she asked happily, entirely unaware of the prior drama. She seemed to address Olly more than the other three and something about her tone seemed expectant of something that he wasn’t sure he could provide.
“It’s been… interesting,” he said lamely.
Her face fell almost imperceptibly and he felt very under scrutiny.
“We’ve learned a lot about the weather systems Grandmaster,” Sarah chimed in.
“I’m so glad to hear it,” Abigail responded smoothly, turning her attention onto Sarah as if she had just noticed she was there.
“Although, I have to say that I’m concerned. I feel something. It’s almost as if there’s a distant buzzing that’s gnawing at my senses. I think something isn’t right,” Sarah confessed.
Olly was impressed at her candor. Even without the conversation they had overheard it was one thing to tell the Grandmaster that something felt wrong. However, her quick thinking forced the issue to be addressed by Brandon and Steven as well.
Abigail looked between her two researchers. “As I recall, the readings didn’t show instability, correct?”
“Correct,” Brandon replied smoothly but the corners of his mouth were downturned into a frown.
“I feel it too Headmaster,” Steven spoke up, adding his voice to Sarah’s. This seemed to surprise Sarah slightly because Olly watched as her eyebrows raised in response.
Abigail looked between the four of them and deliberated. “Can you re-run the test?” she asked Brandon.
“I… can,” he said hesitantly.
“See to it. Get set up immediately and see what you can find out,” she instructed and he dipped his head into a nod and once again began to set up his device.
Steven seemed hesitant. He clenched and unclenched his hands into fists several times.
Abigail observed him before sighing in apparent exasperation, “Yes, Steven?”
“Grandmaster, I’m concerned,” he confessed after seemingly wrestling with the words.
“How so?” she too seemed irritated with him.
“I believe the chosen device to take the readings will further destabilize the environment. It’s a good tool when an environment is stable but there’s a real risk of disrupting any weak points in the space-time fabric. If I may suggest a different approach…” he trailed off and looked at his backpack.
She sighed. “Steven. I trust Brandon implicitly. I want you to know that I think you’re a skilled researcher and that I respect your ideas but I would like you to stand down on this one. Okay?”
Steven stood before her looking deeply conflicted but with a soft grunt he nodded.
“Good,” she said with a small smile, “Brandon, start the device at your own discretion.”
Sarah, Olly and Steven watched with bated breath as Brandon once again began to run his test. His brow furrowed as he read the newly printed report.
“Hmmm. Normal levels of atmospheric elements, however we are now seeing the unidentified element,” he said.
Abigail released a heavy breath. “Okay, keep taking readings and then we can follow the regular protocol for containment. I need to go speak with the Meteorology Guild Grandmaster again about these developments.”
She excused herself from the group yet again. Steven also grabbed his bag and stalked off looking deeply embarrassed. Sarah and Olly were left standing with Brandon and his machine; they exchanged an awkward look. Brandon was immersed in his work and paid them no mind so they too walked out of earshot.
“Well that was strange,” Olly said to break the tension.
“Yes. But the instability is still here. It almost feels… worse? A little bit at least,” she murmured.
“Maybe it’s because of that element they mentioned. The unidentified one?” He thought back to what Abigail had said.
“Maybe,” she agreed but looked distant, “I still can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong.”
“Well, at least the device didn’t rip the fabric of space and time like Steven was worried about,” Olly shrugged.
It was the wrong thing to say. A sudden tremor made them brace against each other.
“What was that?!” he asked.
Sarah looked horrified. “It’s coming from over there… and there!” She pointed at one location and then the other. At first he couldn’t see anything but a sudden shimmer made his eyes widen.
The air seemed to warp and ripple before their eyes. A few more tremors hit and students and meteorologists alike scattered. Some ran towards the tunnel but Abigail shouted “NO!” from her vantage point and motioned towards the Controllers who snapped into action and closed it.
“Don’t go into the tunnel!” she shouted authoritatively, “We can’t be sure of its safety. Everyone just stay calm. Come to me for further instruction.”
The group that attempted to leave slowly approached her while others were more enthusiastic about making themselves available to help.
Brandon had shut down his machine. He too made his way over and Olly watched as he pocketed the latest print out.
“We should go,” Olly suggested.
Sarah shook her head and walked towards the direction Steven went in. He was out of earshot but clearly aware of the situation.
“Sarah!” Olly hissed. He looked back towards Abigail but she paid them no mind and was currently instructing the masses.
“Ugh, damnit!” he muttered and ran after her.
He caught up to her just as she was upon Steven. He looked lost and slightly dazed.
“Hey! Snap out of it,” she said in a commanding voice, “Something’s going on here and I think you and I are the only ones who felt it.”
His mouth opened and closed a few times without sound coming out for a moment. “I can’t do anything about it. I warned them not to do it but they did it anyways and now everything is going wrong!” He seemed unfocused and spoke in a borderline delirious tone.
She stepped into his viewpoint and forced him to look at her.
“You felt it too. I know you did,” she was firm but reassuring, “You’re a researcher and you were brought here to fix a problem. Didn't you say you had something that could help?”
He met her eyes. “I’m not in charge here,” he said lamely.
Sarah’s jaw clenched. “You’re a Conductor, aren’t you? If you have the solution to getting us out of here safely then why don’t you take charge? People could be in danger and if we do nothing then we’re complicit.”
Something seemed to change behind his eyes. Almost as if she had lit the embers of a fire that had long gone out. He eyed his backpack cautiously.
“I have a prototype I’ve been working on,” he began to explain, “Something in my spare time to prevent… future issues.”
“So tell us what you need us to do,” she instructed not unkindly.
He pulled out several metal stakes with a stone fastened to the top. It somewhat resembled the stones they used during the practicum. He also pulled out a metal box not dissimilar to Brandon’s.
“Take these,” he handed them each a set of two, “We’ll need one on either side of the weak spots. I’ll set up my device and as soon as you’ve got them in position it’ll be ready to go.”
“Got it!” Sarah acknowledged.
“Be careful,” he said seriously and they began to move in the direction of the warped spots.
“Sarah…” Olly whispered. “Are you sure we should be doing this?”
“No but I think he’s the best shot we have right now,” she insisted.
He didn’t fight her on that one. They were almost upon the group and it seemed that Abigail and Brandon plus a few of the seemingly more experienced Controllers and Meteorologists were inspecting one of the warped locations from a distance. The rest of the group, made up of students and less experienced personnel, were clustered further away.
“I’ll take that one,” Olly said and nodded towards the location under the most scrutiny. He was reasonably certain he could talk his way into making this plan work.
As he came upon the group Brandon put his arm out. “Where are you going, mate?” he questioned somewhat suspiciously while looking at the stakes in Olly’s arms.
“Olly! Get back to the main group for safety!” Abigail ordered.
“I’m sorry Grandmaster but I’ve got a way to help and I need you to let me do this!” he insisted.
She frowned. He wasn't sure if it was in response to him disobeying her or if she was considering what he was saying.
Brandon spoke up. “Grandmaster, this is highly improper. We can’t allow a student to use untested devices in such a delicate location.”
“We don't have time to go through this!” Olly exclaimed with growing frustration, “Steven claims this device can fix this problem but I just need you to let me set up it up. He’s had the suspicion that something wasn’t right all along and he came prepared with a solution. Sarah knew it too. Please let them prove themselves right!”
“Steven is a paranoid wreck and we’ve allowed him too long of a leash. It’s time to reign him in,” Brandon grumbled.
“Steven has experience in this and has been working to prevent future tragedies,” Olly shot back.
“Olly, everything is in position, we need to do it now!” Sarah shouted as she and Steven ran up to meet the group. The stakes were in position at the other location, however a crackling noise was beginning to emit from behind the warped locations. They wobbled dangerously and the group took an involuntary step back.
“Enough! All of you. We will discuss this back at the Academy. And believe me when I say we will get back to the Academy safely,” Abigail grumbled, “But I will place them. I would like to avoid students throwing themselves down on the frontline.”
She outstretched her hands and Olly handed her the stakes. He felt nervous for her and watched as a wind began to pick up the closer she got to the weak spot. Her hair whipped around her face but she worked quickly and deliberately as she mirrored the placement at the other location.
“We have to do it now!” Steven shouted over the growing roar coming from the spots.
“Go!” Abigail shouted as she jostled backwards.
Steven cranked the dial and fractals of light crackled from the stones and danced between the pairs of stakes. It seemed to lick at the spots and each contact point seemed to still the shimmer in the air.
Olly shielded his eyes from the glow. He couldn’t tell if it was working or not but the noise had reached a decibel that sounded like rushing water all around him. After one final CRACK all was silent.
The weak spots no longer appeared warped and the air at the former weak spots was motionless again. The stones atop the stakes had dulled and were smoking slightly. Apart from a metallic smell there was no further indication that there had been anything wrong.
Abigail gave a sweeping look between Brandon, Steven, Olly and Sarah. “Well done,” she said with a defeated sigh, “But I want the four of you to meet me in the Headmaster’s Office as soon as we’re done here.”