Monday, 08 June 2009
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Nathan wandered through the streets, turning down this street or that when the fancy struck him. As the hours dragged on the realization that he was utterly and completely lost began to settle on him. He found that this didn’t bother him much. He was too tired to care. Too confused to really worry. As he made his way down a long, sunlit boulevard, a well-landscaped and tree-lined divider separating the opposing flows of traffic, he remarked on the clean, modern feeling of the city. Tall buildings, faced with vast expanses of glass and metal towered over the streets. Statues and memorials were found here and there, though none gave any clue as to the name or location of the ghost town in which Dr. Nathan Waters now wandered, alone.
After several hours of seemingly aimless wandering, Nathan realized that he had really been making his way more-or-less in one direction. He didn’t know toward what he was heading, but he knew that his random turns were taking him somewhere. It was as though a small force were acting on his thoughts, nudging his decisions in this direction or that. This realization, in the silence of the city, in the desolation, devoid of cars, people, or any signs of life, began to unnerve Nathan. Slowly the bright sun, which had once been so cheery and inviting took on a feeling of menace, as though it were watching him, tracking him. Still, Nathan felt powerless to resist the force guiding his movements.
Turning down another street, Nathan knew then where he was heading. The area in which he’d found himself appeared to be an older section of the city. The buildings were made of concrete and stone. The facades bore Gothic styling, with a distinct European feel. High archways led to huge, ornate doors guarded by statues of men in armor and snarling, vicious creatures conjured out of ancient legends. The road, down the center of which he now walked, arrow straight, was narrower than the others, barely wide enough for one car to pass. To his right stood an ancient church, built of dark gray stone, with exalted peaks, set back a bit from the street, the yard surrounded by a tall, black iron fence. To one side of the church building, still contained within the fencing, stood several tall, weathered gravestones. Carved into the stone of the edifice, in a high, Gothic script: “Mulier Sancta Nostra Noctis Perpetuae”. Our Blessed Lady of Perpetual Night. Nathan’s discomfort grew.
Drawing his eyes from the church he looked now to his destination. A few hundred feet ahead of him the road branched to heading to the left and the right, looping around to form, Nathan assumed, a circle. Standing in the center of the circle was a magnificent building, round, with a domed roof supported by gleaming white columns. The walls of the building itself were made from read brick. The architecture of this building, Nathan noticed, did not match that of the surrounding buildings. It reminded him of early colonial American, evoking ancient Greek and Roman structures. It bore, he thought, a faint resemblance, at least in style, to the US Capitol. The feeling of familiarity this brought failed to comfort him. As he drew closer Nathan could make out an inscription in tall block lettering, just above the columns of the building’s front: “Bibliotheca Invicta”, The Unconquered Library. Nathan approached the library, mounted the steps, and pushed on the great wooden door.
Stepping through the door, Nathan found himself in an expansive foyer. The floor beneath his feet was fine marble. Encircling the walls around and above him were several dozen archways. From here Nathan could see that the library had at least 7 floors. Looking up to the great dome above him, he saw that an opening was left in the center of the dome, an oculus, through which some light could enter. Still, several lamps burned around the room. Following the light down from the oculus, Nathan’s gaze was drawn to an ornate, freestanding desk atop a round dais in the center of the rotunda. Standing around the rotunda were the statues of 7 figures, each different, facing outward, as if guarding the desk. After a few moments study, Nathan recognized the statues as personifications of the seven deadly sins: lust, wrath, avarice, sloth, gluttony, pride, and envy. Nathan made his way to the dais, mounted the seven low steps, and approached the desk, noting as he passed the exquisite detail in which each statue was rendered.
Standing at the desk, Nathan saw a few papers arranged carefully on the clean, dust-free surface. Behind the desk stood a large wooden chair, bearing a burgundy cushion. Indeed, the desk and chair seemed well-made and bore about them a sense of purpose and dignity. Moving around to the back of the desk, Nathan sat in the chair and began to shuffle through the papers, looking for any clue as to where he might be. A voice which was quiet, yet steady and carried well cut the silence.
“No one but The Librarian may sit at the desk.”
Startled, Nathan jumped up and turned rapidly to find the source of the voice. He saw a man, well dressed in a simple black suit, moving towards him from the shadows.
“Who are you?” Nathan called out.
“Why, I am The Librarian, of course. Welcome, Dr. Waters.” The voice of The Librarian seemed friendly and inviting, yet edged with a hint of menace. Nathan watched as the man approached.
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