It turned out that unconscious adult men were really heavy. In the end Eret and Linua took one leg each and hauled. The floor helpfully turned slick directly beneath Tuwa Shone’s form, which made it easier.

“Should we be worried that a secret ancient Kāruan base is being accommodating?” Eret panted, as they dragged Tuwa Shone into the lift.

“Why didn’t it kill him when it killed all the others?” Linua asked.

There was no answer to that, and once they got to the top of the lift, they had no breath to spare. Linua kept worrying that they would get to the end of the countdown. The countdown characters kept pace with them, floating along at eye height down the corridor, and showed them they had time to make it back to the boat.

“It’s exactly at your eye height,” Eret observed, as they reached the outer door.

Linua had nothing to say to that. The glassy substance over the door melted away, revealing the rock-cut corridor. Leo was standing over BoxBoy, who was tied up on the floor. He straightened as he saw them, his astonished gaze taking in Tuwa Shone’s inert form.

“Where’s the shotgun?” he asked immediately.

“Er…” Linua had forgotten about it completely. “Back in the base?”

“It’s going to self-destruct or something,” Eret told him earnestly. “We need to get away.”

“Or turn into a fish,” Linua added. “We weren’t quite sure.”

Leo stared at them with his mouth open, obviously trying to process turn into a fish.

“There was a countdown,” Eret said.

That galvanised Leo, and he gave Tuwa Shone’s form a disgusted look.

“I suppose you did have to bring him along,” he said ungraciously. “Alright, give him to me.”

They helped load Tuwa Shone into a fireman’s carry over Leo’s shoulders and he set off down the corridor at a rapid stride. Eret and Linua pulled BoxBoy to his feet and brought up the rear. Once at the boat, Leo extracted the acolytes who were locked in the cabin by the simple expedient of threatening to throw Tuwa Shone over the side unless they complied. They submitted to having their hands tied with rope from the cabin, and Linua, Eret and Horn stood over them, while Leo reversed the Reel Lady away from the quayside and out of the cavern.

Linua sat beside Eret on the deck, Eret’s arm a warm and comforting weight over her shoulder. She was tired now, and cold, and not looking forward to the prospect of several hours in a boat, particularly when it rocked suddenly and unexpectedly over a series of high waves.

“Was that the facility?” Eret asked. “Destroying itself or flooding itself or something?”

As if the sudden increase in swell had knocked something loose, Tuwa Shone suddenly spasmed on the deck. He lay there gasping for a few moments, and then wriggled around in his bonds until he was sitting up.

Leo barrelled out of the boathouse.

“If you try anything I will throw you overboard, you sick psycho,” he said, his ruddy face flushed.

Tuwa Shone ignored him. Instead, his eyes found Linua.

“It responded to you,” he said. “For the first time … it spoke to you. It acknowledged you.”

Leo strode forward and picked Tuwa Shone up by his collar.

“Shut. Up.”

Tuwa Shone’s face twitched in contempt.

“You won’t kill me,” he sneered. “If you were, you would have done it years ago when you found out about what really happened to Kala. You’re a coward.”

“Refraining from killing people isn’t cowardice!” Linua said, loudly, since Leo seemed to need the moral support.

The moment she spoke, Tuwa Shone was distracted again, despite the fact that he was dangling limply from Leo’s fists.

“We should go back,” he insisted to her. “Possibly I was hasty in trying to lock you out. But together we can do it. You should join me.”

What? Linua jerked back, repelled.

“I can teach you,” Tuwa Shone pressed.

“Stop talking to me!” Linua cried, and Leo tightened his grip on Tuwa Shone’s collar until he began to choke.

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“Don’t…” Linua began, but Leo apparently felt Tuwa Shone had got the message. He dropped Tuwa Shone to the deck and strode back to the boathouse to take the wheel again.

Linua turned to Eret. “Have you still got the key…?” she whispered.

Eret put his hand in his pocket.

“Not the r—” he began, then cut himself short. “Uh, yeah, the key.”

He put the replica key in her hand. Linua held it out to show Tuwa Shone, whose eyes followed it hungrily. Then Linua stood up, went to the edge of the boat and flung it as far as possible into the waves. There was a tiny splash, and then it was gone.

“No,” Tuwa Shone screamed, lunging forward, although he was hampered by his bonds, and he merely toppled onto his front. He wriggled gracelessly, and managed to lurch to his feet, ignoring Leo yelling at him to stay down, and looked like he might follow the key over the side. “No, no, no…” His face creased in desperation. “That’s my life’s work … I could have been a god!”

“Get back!” Leo shouted, but Tuwa Shone was beyond listening.

It was probably just as well that the coastguard turned up when they did.

Being a rescued kidnap victim—even if you had rescued yourself—was enormously tiresome. Everyone wanted to talk to you and ask you questions and demand answers, all simultaneously, while refusing to let you out of their sight. The only constant in all the mess was Helged, who brewed a steady supply of tea, accompanied by regular meals and biscuits, as if cooking could make up for traumatic experiences.

Linua was roundly forbidden from ever seeing her so-called friends, and from ever leaving the house again. But she could tell, from Grandmother’s shaky, dictatorial mode of speaking, that the latter had been genuinely scared for her. She was hopeful that he house lockdown wouldn’t last forever.

Linua and the others were questioned by the police twice, and by the military three times, until Linua could have recited the course of events in her sleep. She was asked to draw and identify the characters the base had displayed to her, and grilled on every tiny detail she remembered. Everyone was as mystified as she was that the base had appeared to respond to her commands.

The base itself was missing—there was only a shell of rock remaining beneath the waves, all that had survived of the island. The most concerning thing for the military was that it was still out there, somewhere, with operating instructions presumably given to it by Deen Tuwa nearly three thousand years ago. A hunt to find it had immediately been launched, although with no success so far.

The Astronomy Club had trawled the internet for information on the secret bases of Deen Tuwa, but it was Horn who had sent them a link to the Parable of the Golden Treasure, which explained, in part, some of what had happened.

THE PARABLE OF THE GOLDEN TRIDENT

The foolish slave wanted to please his master, so he went in amongst the Betrayers and pretended to be one of them, and listened to their stories, and boasted to them that he was of the same mind, and could tell them his master’s secrets. He rose through their ranks, until one day he was introduced to Deen Tuwa.

Deen Tuwa was told, this is a faithful slave of the movement, who tells us everything that is his master’s private business. He is loyal to us.

She looked upon the slave, and conceived of a test. She gave him a golden trident, and told him that it would unlock great wealth and power, but that if he was faithful to the Betrayers, he would never use it, but only guard it.

Full of glee, the slave took the golden trident to his master, and told him all that he had done. And he said, see, this treasure I have brought you, should you use it you will have wealth untold, and strike a blow against the Betrayers.

But the master was a wise man, and he said, the greatest power you have is that of Deen Tuwa’s trust, and once it is broken, it can never be regained. And he took the trident and hid it away, telling the slave never to seek it out.

They discussed it on the bulletin board exhaustively, but it was Pickle who summarised it best.

think about it, he posted. why would a secret base with a synth int need a key to open it ? it has a pad to put your hand on, it can id you just by reading your palm or whatever . the key is unnecessary. it’s OBVIOUSLY a trap

Eret: Well, yeah, okay, with hindsight.

Linua: But why did it instantly kill a whole bunch of people who tried to get in, and then suddenly turn helpful on the last attempt? Why did it ask me if I was a slave of Deen Tuwa? Why me and not anyone of the previous victims? Even when were in there it electrocuted Tuwa Shone, but not me. And it only made Tuwa Shone unconscious when it killed all those other people. And it gave us a countdown before it disappeared. And it made the floor smooth!

Pickle: okay , first of all, I bet the controlling synth int was dormant . if it had been awake all this time it would have been intercepting radio signals and picked up on language drift . it would have understood you when you spoke, and been able to talk in modern zuyu

Linua: That seems logical.

Eret: Agreed.

Pickle: right , so there must have been an automatic sub-routine controlling the door, which was programmed to electrocute anyone who put the trident key in, because it would indicate they were a traitor . but when Linua attempted to access it without the key , and with an obvious hostage situation going on , the sub-routine didn’t have complex enough orders to cope . it had to wake up the synth int and ask for direction

Linua: Oh! Okay, that makes sense. Although I don’t want to be the one that woke it up.

Pickle: then you won't not like my next theory

Linua: Oh?

Pickle: you posted earlier today that you’d worked out what the characters meant , when it sent you the secret message at the door . you said it wasn’t yes / no it was accept / deny, right ?

Linua: Yes. It was Deen Tuwa’s name, and the character for slave/servant, and then an interrogative. And then accept/deny under that.

Pickle: it wasn’t asking if you WERE Deen Tuwa’s servant , it was asking if you wanted TO BE one . it was asking you to sign up to the betrayers . that put you under Deen Tuwa's protection , and meant it could then take steps to help you

Linua: what…?

Solly: so wait, Linua is a cultist of the Betrayers now?

Eret: Wow! Cool!

Linua: That’s not cool! That’s terrifying! I don’t want to be a Betrayer!

Solly: Too late! Ha ha!

Eret: Does that mean the secret base will obey your commands in future?

Linua: I hope not! I hope we never see it again!