Secrets of the Sequenced Symbols
Marin and Lincoln deliberated for more than an hour. Conversation and argumentation alternated with silence as they studied, pondered, and pontificated.
“I see some patterns in these symbols,” Marin stated without inflection. “Look. She pointed out three occurrences of the same group of symbols.
“I agree. And many of the groups of symbols end with this,” Lincoln pointed. “It looks a bit like a wriggling snake.”
“It’s a code,” Marin decided.
“Perhaps. But I’m not willing to go there yet. I think it’s a method of communication.”
“Seems like a lot of work to go through unless the message is important.”
“Have you any idea of the number of these books in this library?”
“No.”
“I don’t know the exact number. But, I want to show you something.” He stood and extended his hand in a gesture of assistance. She frowned but accepted his hand after sliding her chair back from the table.
He led her through a doorway behind the long counter that divided the open space into a large area with tables and chairs and a smaller area with table-like wooden structures that had room for only a single chair.
Each of the table-like structures had an ancient electronic view screen sitting on its surface. Many had metal and plastic towers below the desk. Lincoln assumed them to be some form of electronic storage site because a cable connected them to the view screens.
The doorway had no door. Marin hesitated when they reached the opening. Beyond the doorway was shrouded in darkness.
“I see no value in exploring what is essentially an artificial cave. Did you bring any electronic torches?”
“We won’t need those,” Lincoln assured her.
He stepped through the doorway. As if by magic, light sources in the ceiling illuminated.
Marin gasped. There must be over one thousand books in this room!
“Are you all right?” Lincoln asked as he moved back to her side.
“How did you find this?” she asked.
“It was quite by accident, he assured her. “But, it is where the books are stored. Did you ever wonder where the new books came from when your visited and the book placed on the stand was not the one there on your last visit?”
Marin nodded.
“I trade them out each week,” Lincoln confessed.
“Why?”
“At first, it gave me a purpose. Now, I do it because I hope people begin to wonder why the ancients had so many books. I know I do.”
And, now I do, too she thought. She asked, “Can I touch them?”
“Same rules as out at the tables,” Lincoln intoned in his best officiant’s voice.
Marin smiled at him. She went to the first row of wooden book holders and removed one from its place.
She stepped away from the book holder to gain access to more light. She opened the book’s cover.
“Oh, Lincoln! Look at this!”
Two long strides brought him to her side. She held out the open book. He looked and inhaled sharply.
“May I turn this page?” he asked.
“If you don’t, I will,” she answered.
With reverential care, he turned the page.
Two sharp inhalations were heard.
He turned the page back.
“It appears to be a, um…”
“I don’t know what it is,” Marin said. “But, it looks like each page has some significance for the single symbol it displays.”
“I concur. Let’s take this book out to where we were looking at the other.”
Back at the table they’d occupied previously, the duo opened the book to the first page. What they saw was an enlarged version of two single symbols. Beneath the symbol was the picture of an apple. Below that was a sequence of symbols with the enlarged one in the first position.
“This picture is an apple,” Lincoln said. He immediately apologized. “I don’t know why I said that. I didn’t mean to insult your intelligence.”
“I take no offense. Notice that the one of the single symbols occupies the first position in the sequence beneath the apple. That must be significant.”
“But, the symbol cannot represent apple, can it?”
“I’m not ready to commit to any supposition at this point. Turn the page.”
Lincoln complied. The two facing pages had a layout identical to the first page. But, the two symbols, the picture and the sequence of symbols under each picture were unique to that page.
“Look!” Marin’s excitement flared. “One of the symbols on the first page appears on both of these pages as well!”
“Yes, but notice in the picture of the water vessel on the second page, the symbol from the first page is in the third position in the sequence.”
“What is this picture?” Marin asked as she pointed to the third page.
“I don’t know,” Lincoln admitted after several seconds of brow-furrowing concentration. I thought I had a memory of such items, but—”
“Remember the archival images from The Day the Earth Shifted?” Marin interrupted. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
“I do. I do! That’s very good, Marin. There are vast numbers of these items lined up along the strips of tarred surfaces. I’ve heard they were a form of transportation.
Marin frowned. Although there are wheels on these items, there are no horses to pull them in any of those images. She ignored the thought and focused on the sequence of images below the picture.
“See? Here is the crescent moon-like symbol in the first position. But the same symbol from the first page at was in the first position for apple and the third position for water vessel is now in the second position.”
“Excellent observation. Shall we make a prediction for the next pages?”
“At this point, I prefer to call mine a guess,” Marin said. “I think that because they were on the first page, one of those symbols will be on each and every page.”
“I find merit in that and am willing to consider it a prediction. Will you do the honors of turning the page and testing your—”
“Guess!” she said.
When she turned the page, her face fell. Neither oversized symbol from the first page appeared on either of the newly exposed pages.
“So much for my powers of prediction,” she grumbled.
Lincoln bit his tongue. He studied the two pages for several seconds before he spoke.
“The picture on this page is a dog. But, I have no idea what this represents,” he added as he touched the picture on the fifth page of the book.
“It appears to be some fictional animal,” Marin observed. “It has four legs and what looks like a tail.”
“I see those, but if these are ears,” he said as he pointed at the picture. “They are horribly out of proportion.”
“I agree. It’s as though a child drew this. Look at what is in the nose position.”
“Long and gray, like a snake. You may be right about your child artist.”
“Look carefully,” Lincoln encouraged. He pointed at the symbol is the second position in the sequence beneath the dog.
“What? Oh, wait. That symbol is in the second position under the water vessel.”
“Yes,” Lincoln agreed. “And, look. Several symbols from the first page sequence appear in the long sequence under the child’s drawing.”
“But the sequence lengths vary—almost as much as the position of repeating symbols in the sequences.”
There was silence for a full two minutes. Neither member of the pair was willing to admit defeat. Yet, neither was willing to turn the next page, either.
Lincoln sighed.
“Darkness approaches,” he said. “Let us leave now and avoid travel on the strips of tar without light to show the cracks and broken pieces.”
“I feel like we’re close to something. Something important,” Marin mused.
“The books are not motile. They will be here in the morning.”
“I know.” She stood.
Lincoln closed the book.
“I wish I was more like you,” Marin said as she walked beside Lincoln outside the library.
“I cannot imagine why you’d want that,” he replied.
“I know you’ll sleep well tonight. On the other hand, I will lie awake thinking. I’ll drift off just before sunrise and wake up in a foul mood. You. You’re never in a foul mood.”
Oh, dear Marin. If you only knew the troubling thoughts running through my mind. There will be no sleep for me this night. I must confer with those of the Council. I have an uneasy feeling about what those symbols and the sequences they form have the power to convey.
He intertwined his fingers of his right hand with those of her left. But he said nothing.
She looked up at him. He smiled. She blushed. They walked the rest of the way to their living complex in silence.
No comments:
Post a Comment