An
Excerpt from The Chronicles of Quat: The Stone
by
Bryen O'Riley
Entering
Quat City
Etan
rode through Quat City, as always amazed at how different it was from
the land of his birth. To enter Quat City, one had to be a Quatist, a
scientist, an apprentice, or a support person committed to the way of
science. If an apprentice failed the test or a support person sought
to leave, he would have his memory of Quat completely dissolved. When
they returned to the rest of the world, they would not be able to
give away the secret accomplishments of science.
Clearly,
if the commoners knew of the luxuries that Quat enjoyed, they would
demand the same for themselves. Without the discipline and
understanding of science, however, those luxuries would inevitably
corrupt and wreak havoc on the established order. It was deemed best
that the commoners should go without, but of course the same did not
go for scientists and Quatists. So Quat was a closed city that lived
eons ahead of the rest of the world, and all luxuries and advances
were strictly kept from the populace at large.
Etan
rode his horse down a main thoroughfare in early evening. The hum of
etherlamps rose as one when they came alight simultaneously to banish
every shadow from the street. He caught his breath. It was a glorious
thing to see the shadows of evening banished by a scientific act. He
wished for just one moment that he had been allowed to demonstrate
the ether for Idynn. Etan smiled; they would have fallen to the
ground in shock. They had hardly been able to fathom his simple
compass and how he had changed the direction with a mere magnet.
It
hadn’t been so long ago that he had been as simpleminded as they.
He could hardly remember that now, but it was important to recall
nonetheless. He didn’t want to forget his humble origins. These
were the people he was to advise and rule, after all.
The
streets were wide, with etherlamps lining the street at regular,
measured intervals. A few people strode purposefully along, clearly
on business they felt was important. Several wore the deep blue
mantles of scientists and Quatists but a few were clearly
apprentices. This part of Quat was reserved for official use and most
people had retired to the residential areas of the city by now, but
the faithful few were still working hard to ensure the Isle of Quat
and the world beyond were ruled effectively and efficiently.
The
buildings were set back from the street and built of magnificent
stone. Each building was without seams or cracks but rather looked as
if an enormous solid stone had been set down, hollowed out, and given
windows and doors. There was very little decoration on any building
in the city, or the entire island for that matter, as scientists are
hardly interested in decorating structures. The massiveness of the
buildings alone, and their stone-like appearance, was enough to drop
the jaw. Each building was nearly identical with a wide door,
sometimes a double door, and nearly floor-to-ceiling windows rising
directly from street level. These windows reflected like mirrors
night and day; they were stacked on top of each other for each level
up. Most buildings were not more than four stories high, with most
roofs used for gardening and tree-growing. These stately buildings
were reserved for official Quat governance or for academic pursuits.
The
walkways between the buildings and the street were laid with large,
flat stones cut to the exact same size and lined with evenly spaced
trees. There was little dirt to be seen in all of Quat City. Most of
the trees had stone paving ringed nearly up to their trunks. The rest
of the world offered dirt streets and walkways.
From
behind him Etan heard the whoosh of an approaching railcart and
quickly nudged his horse to give it wider berth. It didn’t slow
down for him but sped along on its rails without a horse or any
living thing to pull it.
The
railcarts worked as if by magic to him; that was a choice of study
that was not available to apprentices. But now that he was an
official scientist, having passed the final test of his hometown
accepting his change in station, he would be able to study and
experiment on anything science had to offer.
Etan
turned down a side road and finally saw another person riding a
horse. If one had far to travel in Quat City, railcarts were the best
way, but for the local neighborhood travel, horses and walking were
still used. Etan had come in on the north road, and this was the
fastest way to arrive at his neighborhood. If Etan had chosen to
stable his horse at the entrance to Quat, he could have ridden the
railcart in.
The
side streets were busier, were narrower, and held more people. A
horse and cart turned onto the road just ahead of him, and Etan
slowed his horse to accommodate the cart’s jostling pace. This side
street was cobblestone, which jostled the cart in front of him to no
end. The smooth stone of the main road would have felt like a sleigh
ride in comparison.
Most
buildings were smaller in the residential neighborhoods, only two
stories and made from either brick or wood. These structures had a
more comfortable feeling than the academic buildings gave. Etan
wondered if the buildings were built in the continental style in part
because that is where most people came from and what they associated
with home, or if it were merely because the construction was simpler
and cheaper. Each neighborhood was centered around one or two
slightly larger, but simply built, stone buildings that housed the
apprentices.
He
would certainly rather live in the side neighborhoods than in the
majestic stone buildings. These smaller houses still had all the
amenities that science provided: etherlamps, indoor water pumps,
indoor privies, coolboxes like he had made for his mother, and heat
that radiated from pipes dispersed through all of the walls and
floors. At the same time his neighborhood, made up mostly of
apprentices, had felt like a small village to him these past five
years. He had gotten to know his neighbors, the grocer, butcher,
tailor, and other craftsmen serving the apprentices. He smiled as he
came to his street. It felt like home.
There
were many more people out on the streets now. Groups of young
men, set free from the confines of their mentors’ expectations and
disapproval, cavorted on the sidewalks and walkways. Many had
exchanged the plainer mantles worn during work with brighter, more
festive versions for their evening activities. Shopkeepers were at
their doors announcing specials and offering samples to the young
men, and the young ladies of the city had on their brightest mantles
and were swaying along the sidewalks in groups as they easily
succeeded in catching the eyes of all the apprentices.
“What’s
a scientist doing visiting us lowly apprentices?” a voice spoke
from the right side of his horse just as Etan dismounted on the left.
