Semilogue (Part 2 of 2)
Caroline, are you listening?
Sridhar? …Yes.
You should see this. If worst comes to worst…
With a whoomp and a whoosh Sridhar popped back into the room of the Avatars. The room was deserted and the TV was off. Even the background hum of the Perpetual Cloud Machines seemed more muted than usual.
“Where is everybody?” he thought aloud. Avatars didn’t need to speak, but sometimes Sridhar felt the sound of his voice put so much more character into the story than merely thinking silently. Or maybe it was for Caroline’s benefit.
“Uphere,” Liz answered impatiently. Caroline’s perspective twisted nausea-inducingly as Sridhar wheeled around. Liz was standing in an open doorway—not that there was a wall or even a door there. There was merely a frame. And some steps up to the frame.
Sridhar floated up the steps as Liz stepped back into the room. The lighting was muted, and it took Caroline a second to make out the details of the…furniture.
Desks. Arranged in a semicircle.
Sridhar turned and Caroline could see Gary bent over a computer of some sort. Even his characteristic grin had an anxious edge to it as he turned around to face Liz.
“I’m not getting any signal,” he said. Sridhar started to take a step forward and paused.
“Sridharcanyouhelp?” Liz asked, for once no tone of anger in her voice. Sridhar nodded and walked the rest of the way over to Gary and the computer.
“It’s been dormant for quite a while,” he said. Watch them, he said, but Caroline was having a hard time detaching herself from his point of view.
“Well. Sohavewe.” Liz sighed.
“Since the Hahr Kerr isn’t covered by narration, he could have been making all sorts of preparation by now,” Gary said grimly, “We better hope we can call the Ne Ha in time.”
“And meanwhile, Melinda and Caroline’s teams might have a chance at something,” Sridhar added casually.
Even without being there physically (not that physical—but we’ve been through that already), Caroline could feel the sudden chill in the room.
What am I supposed to be seeing? she thought at Sridhar during the ensuing silence.
…This. Sridhar couldn’t gesture, but Caroline got the feeling of a sardonic arm sweep across the room. This is our preparation. It’s dependent entirely on the Ne Ha. Because, you see, we never thought the Hahr Kerr would actually be coming back.
But who is (are?) the Hahr Kerr?
Sridhar looked up rather than answering, and saw Liz and Gary standing above him. “Don’t think Melinda didn’t tell us what happened,” Gary said gravely.
Hadn’tyoubegoing? Liz thought, staring directly at Caroline.
Shocked, she pulled back, losing contact with Sridhar. In the instant before she snapped back to her own form, following the Cooportinoans into the Lee-Land, she heard something. The voice of someone from within the curséd land, “that shadowy place”.
“I’m ba-ack…”