Time was running, and the cold lights in the Tunnels progressively dimmed. The Lyceum’s windows now glowed a golden color, contrasting with the surroundings. From the outside, at least, the unchanging building looked homely, warm, and inviting.

The school was located at the end of a short tunnel diverging from the main street, so the entire place was very quiet when the children were studying. Some artificial grass was planted not far away from the building; it was used as a space for physical education.

A cat was perched on top of a bicycle stop across the Lyceum, and was staring, entranced, at the slightly moving shadows of people seen in the building’s bright windows, one of the few things that changed with time. Its green gaze was calm and fixed, showing no emotions and completely detached. There was no wind, and the whole world seemed to be covered with a dull fog.

As time passed, the cat’s eyes gradually shifted towards a ticking clock.

The clock was a unique creation. It was gifted to the Lyceum by the Sovok mayor many years ago, ‘For a long tradition of excellence in education’, as was written on a small plaque attached to it. The reasons why the gift was a clock and not, for example, funds for repairing the heating, were unclear. In any case, the school was proud of it, it was even a small tradition to explain its general working to students on their first physics lesson, to make them enthusiastic about mechanics. This method was effective for the first few lessons until the poor seventh-graders understood that they would be calculating forces and the work of highly idealized pulley systems for an entire month!

The clock itself didn’t contain any unusual technology, but it looked great. Its white face was engraved in gold with the names of notable students, and you could open the cover to watch the silvery gears inside interact with each other. Clever engineers had created a system where the dark fog produced by the ticking trickled down the sides.

The black cat was now observing the movements of the second hand as it endlessly traced the same circle. The hour hand was also moving, but much slower. The cat was patient, but not patient enough to keep track of this change. To the cat, time was measured in seconds.

As the minutes dribbled, the hour hand moved closer and closer to the sixth division. Soon, the clock started chiming slightly, and this was followed by the school bell going off. Almost immediately a stream of people started rushing out of the building. It was at this time that many extracurricular clubs ended, and for most students school was over for the day. Some clubs, mainly the ones focusing on preparing students for subject competitions, would continue to function for a few hours more, but they were in the minority.

The cat, pulled from its trance by the loud noises and scared by the huge crowd of hyperactive and mostly happy children, quickly jumped down and ran in the direction of the closest garbage-tunnel, where it would most certainly find a few plump snacks. Its previously detached and glassy eyes now gleamed a sharp green, showing cunning and mischievousness.

When the initial crowd had somewhat thinned, two boys were seen walking out, the taller one talking with the shorter, black-haired one. It was harder to distinguish what exactly the taller one was saying, as his tone was very soft, barely audible.

Let us approach closer.

___

‘How do you believe in all of this nonsense? I think that the stories about Ru are nice, but’, Max paused. Karl prepared for a retort, but Max was faster.

‘… You know that you don’t have that much free time? Why are you wasting it on praying, instead of studying?’

‘I have enough time! It’s you who doesn’t have the skills to flourish while leaving time for spiritual development!’ Karl smirked. His dictionary reading experience was shining, as always.

Max’s whispering voice gained intensity. ‘Whatever, I am trying to have a serious discussion, stop ruining it with your dumb comments! My dad says that religion is just another way for the government to control the stupid part of the population, so that they all think in similar ways. Basically, it’s you who’s stupid.’

‘I’m not stupid! How many times per day do I have refresh your snailish memory on this? You with your senseless talk again! And why are you speaking in such a soft voice? You know I like arguing, so I won’t be offended by your comments, don’t worry’

His childhood friend looked at him blankly for a few moments, his entire face filled with incredulity, then burst out laughing. ‘Well, no comment, Karl… Do you know what happened to Marel Rost? At this rate, you’re going to stay stupid forever... ’

Karl rolled his eyes, ‘Who the hell is Marel Rost? Okay, fine, how is the government controlling me?’

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‘How can you be so clueless? Look, remember, on the radio a few days ago, a priest, he was high-ranking, an Erzt, I think; said Ru appreciated citizens dedicating their lives to serving in the military? And that we should develop our weapons to break the Empire of Ven’s magic?’ Max sighed, shaking his head.

‘As my dad said then, when did Ru become a war god? Of course, our Union is in good hands, and our glorious leader Grandfather Ved is wise, and we should go to war as soon as possible, but Ru, even if he existed, is supposed to be a god of science, not war. How do you defend this obvious contradiction?’

‘Your parents are wrong; your dad is polluting your head with nonsense, as always. I mean, he’s just a builder, not even a scientist! Ru isn’t just the god of science, he also cares about us! He has a grudge against Okawaru followers because they banished and persecuted us. It’s only natural for him to want us to want to take back what’s ours’. Karl was proud of his impeccable logic, he loved winning arguments with his friend! Pausing for a few moments, he continued.

‘I think you also said that Ru doesn’t exist? I know you’re an…’ Here his voice grew into a whisper. ‘...atheist’. At this Karl’s face filled with slight disgust. ‘But how would you explain the dark smoke and Inspirations that grant us knowledge? Also, the scriptures in the Jrulan… When you recite them, there’s always an effect. Like when I pray in the mornings, you know?

‘The smoke is just a thing that hasn’t been researched enough! The Jrulan is just a book that tries to mysticize a completely natural phenomenon! Just like the alchemists did with chemistry. And Inspirations are an invention, they don’t exist, it’s all in the mind!’ Max paused, visibly agitated, and glanced around. They were in a very crowded tunnel. ‘Anyways, I think I’m speaking too loudly, let’s end this for now, and continue some other day!’

‘Well, okay, I’ve won the argument’, Karl laughed gleefully.

______________

A lot of thought was put in by the priesthood on where to place temples. According to the Jrulan, Ru, unlike his brother, valued chaos. So it would seem natural to place his temples at random places on each level. However, because the population density was not evenly distributed, this this would make the average travel time to a temple big. And Ru was said to value efficiency even more than chaos. This preference is what draws us, his followers, to progress to an ideal advanced civilization, where food would be plentiful, everyone could focus on science, and Okawaru with his illogical magic-like powers would be spit at.

After a long period of debates, it had been decided to place the temples in carefully calculated, but at first glance random places. They did this by drawing the phase portrait of the approximate system of equations describing the behavior of Ru’s smoke. Finding the special points, they mapped them into the city. Instead of just calculating the population density and taking the local centers of mass, they decided to turn to God’s guidance. Ru’s smoke showed his will, and this was obviously the way their god sent them signs. Finally, they started to dig with the deep approval of the government.

Because of this brilliant decision, Karl was forced to walk from school for around forty minutes each Wednesday and Sunday to pray. Usually, he would leave the Lyceum when the Tunnels were darkened. At this time the thick black smoke pooled at his feet to his ankles, making them disappear. Max rarely accompanied him on these walks. When he did, Karl was grateful, as it made him feel less lonely.

Karl liked these long walks. It was one of the few times when he could observe how different people lived, stop at shopping windows, and eavesdrop on mundane conversations. Another thing he liked was pausing at street shows. They reminded him of his careless and bright childhood.

‘Look there! There’s a show!’

Street shows in tunnels with a lot of traffic were a common way for poorer citizens to make money. These shows weren’t anything special, just a way to amuse people and to get a few coins. Mostly, they were based on playing with light and using Ru’s smoke in creative ways.

The tunnel Karl and Max were walking through led to the main circle of the entire level. A small crowd was blocking the exit, which made it close to impossible to pass through without stopping to take a glace at what was happening. Was this the performers’ intentions?

As soon as he noticed the show, Karl began running, not wanting to miss a single moment. He shoved through the crowd to find a perfect spot that would fit two. Karl was a considerate friend. Finally, they could see what was happening.

The dimmed lights produced a natural darkness, and a few carefully placed flashlights illuminated a small section of floor. It seemed that these performers didn’t even have money for professional stage lighting. The crowd that had gathered was small, but tightly packed.

An old man was standing in front of the crowd in the place where the light was brightest. He was dressed in black, formal clothing. His white hair was cut to the shoulders and he had no beard. His blue eyes were warm and the corners were wrinkled, which gave the upper part of his face a kind impression. At the same time, his mouth drew a firm line, and when he spoke, you could sometimes notice a few broken teeth.

He was presently finishing the reciting of a verse in the old reading of the Jrulan, using the original pronunciation of the ancient characters. It was unclear which verse it was exactly, and he stumbled a few times, his tongue twisting at the strange sounds. Any public demonstration had to be somehow related to religion, so this was standard practice.

‘And now, we will begin.’ The old man took out his hat and placed it on the floor in front of the crowd. A few coins dropped in. He fluidly sat with his back to the people, and started fiddling with the flashlights.

A girl in a fine white dress that reached the floorcame into the illuminated space.Her dark browneyes glimmered in the light, their expression similar to the old man’s. Maybe they were relatives? Her skin showedits natural pale color, tunnel dwellers did not get any sun.Her fingers were adorned with black rings,which seemed to be inscribed with hieroglyphs.The crowd murmured, curious.

The grandfather turned a few of the flashlights off. Because of the darkness, the girl’s eyes were cast in shadows, and her skin, along with the dress, glowed. White refracted light.

She stood in the center for a few moments. Then, she started moving slowly and emotionally. Her eyes weren’t visible, but her each of her movements conveyed deep suffering. There was no sound.

At first, she was only moving her arms, but then something changed. The old man turned off one more flashlight, and, as her silvery contours faded into the darkness, her sorrowful dance turned happier, but her expression remained firm. She tapped the floor a few times with the soles of her feet, and started spinning. Clicking the rings on her fingers, she began creating a chaotic rhythm. As dark smoke flew from the rings, it pooled in rings, orbiting about her. The girl’s red mouth pulled into a happy smile, and her white teeth sometimes flashed through the darkness.

After some time had passed, the girl stopped moving, out of breath, and bowed to the crowd. The old man slowly turned on the flashlights, and turned to the crowd. The girl’s happy expression had become more suited to her surroundings, steely and desolate.

After a few silent moments, the crowd started politely clapping. Free performances were nice, although not on the level of true devotees. ‘What good technique! And such ingenious usage of our Lord’s power!’ A few more coins dropped into the hat.

Karl was impressed. The girl definitely knew how to move in complicated ways. It must have taken a lot of effort to prepare for the performance! He rummaged in his pockets for change, but found none. It hurt to be poor. He turned to left, half-listening to Max’s emotional praising of the resonance between the Jrulan verses and the girl’s acting. His friend was kind of weird.

They needed to hurry! The path to the Temple wasn’t that close.