LSRO: Chapter 29 - Powered by the Core (Patreon)

Sometimes, we just need to sit back and see what it is that's in store for us.

The Core of the Library is an integral part of its entire being. I hope you enjoy getting to know it a little better. 

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Chapter 29

Powered by the Core

"Oh, what does that mean now?" Quinn groaned as she turned on her heal and made her way back to the front of the Library.

Even as she did so, she noticed a lot of doors that she hadn’t really seen before. Or at least that she hadn’t previously taken notice of. Doorways. Some small, some large, some stretched. But they didn’t all appear solid.

She frowned, finally cresting the check-in desk and realizing Lynx was the only one still there.

“So.” She said. “Are you going to tell me what that notification means?”

Lynx sighed. "It just means that the library wants to see you. The core has finished calibrating to some of the new wavelengths and power levels that have entered it and it requires you to go and reset with it."

"Like I have to place my palms on it again?" She wiggled her fingers, like Milaro liked to do. "Tap into its fathomless powers?"

"Yeah, pretty much. The library's alive, you realize that, right? It's nothing like one of your computers, it's sentient. I learn, I feel, I'm learning to feel. I create, I travel, I take care of. I am a being, and there are parts of the library that require contact with its librarian in order to fully access its maximum capacity.” He paused, giving her time to take that in. “And in order to do that, you will have to technically realign yourself with it every now and again. That enables the library, and you, to function at peak capacity."

"I guess I'm going to go visit the core then." Quinn wasn't entirely certain why, but she could feel this tiny amount of worry leaking around her. She hoped that didn’t mean this was dangerous.

“It’s not dangerous.” Lynx called after her as she made her way to the staircase. “It’s just a power boost, like before.”

At least that explained some things. He was warning her to be ready for the pain she’d previously experienced. And he was sticking his nose into her thoughts.

They were truly going to have words soon.

Taking a breath, she walked cautiously down the several flights of winding stairs. Nobody wanted to slip on wrought iron stairs and go thudding to the bottom of it. Especially not Quinn, considering how fragile tailbones were.

When she reached the bottom and set her foot on the floor, a cascade of dim white lights spread out in front of her. She sucked in her breath at the sight before her.

It looked like an underground cavern filled with a massive tree. Now that the soft glow suffused everything around her, she could see the branches as they extended high up into the ceiling. Those branches drooped down and their leaves were beautifully crafted, gorgeous glowing purple and bright luminescent blue leaves. Like remnants of Lynx. Their veins stood out when they lit up.

Though many of the leaves were still dark, some of the branches, some of the leaves weren't.

And that's what lit the entire cavernous area up with a soft and soothing glow.

The whole room was welcoming and encompassing like it was the heart of something. It beat ever so softly in her ears, through her veins, right into her very own chest. But it wasn't her heart. It was in sync with her heart, beating in time, eternally, always, as a constant underlying trust.

Wow.

She stepped through and toward the core that now looked more like a glowing petrified tree than she'd ever realized. All of the intricate veins running up through the bark, right into the tree itself, it all made so much more sense now. And with some actual power restored to it, it wasn't scary. It was relaxing and beautiful. All she wanted to do was sit, cradled by the roots, and just breathe.

Then a message flashed in front of her eyes, but it wasn't on a screen. It was more just in front of her, like the lights were playing around her to give her the message. So she sat at the base of the tree with her back against it and felt a soothing calmness wash over her.

Refined calibration necessary. Do you consent?

Now that was an odd way to put it. She was used to being asked if she would do something yes or no, but this, this was asking her if she consented to calibrating again with the core. It reminded her of the copious amount of images and information and the abundant pain that shot through her the first time they connected. And then, well, it really sort of made sense after that.

This time however, it was different. It felt different and right.

Yes.

There was a thrumming in the back of her head that ran down her spine all the way through to her tailbone as if making a point. She sunk into her seat and let herself relax. Being in closer contact with the core definitely made the reception of the information much easier, even if she understood a bare fraction of what was being thrown at her. There was so much. All of the different branches, all of the different books named. She'd have to go over them later.

There was history there too, but it was so fleetingly imparted that she couldn't take it all in right then. She'd need to have another nap to just absorb it and understand some of it. The beauty of the library and its relationships with multiple different solar systems and planets.

It serviced and spanned galaxies, everywhere and yet nowhere, and anywhere all at the same time. How it could do this, she had no idea.

The ramifications were too vast for her to comprehend above the simplistic view she could understand of it. Time would allow for her to grasp the facts more deftly, but for now she needed to accept the information as fact.

This library was a marvel and in a way, it was a little scary and powerful to have that much magic in the palm of her hand.

But even as soon as she'd had the thought, the library sort of thwapped it out of her.

No, it's not in the palm of your hand. It is a part of us. Magic belongs to the universe.

Quinn understood. That's what the library was. It was a hoarder of knowledge. It was the keeper of magic to make it safe, not to limit it, to stop it from wrecking people who didn't understand and who couldn't control the wild surges of magic that otherwise littered the galaxies.

Melancholy waves drifted to her, thoughts from the Library, its previous librarians… even some echoes of Lynx. So many people didn't understand that the Library was there as a measure of protection against that which many couldn’t withstand.

There were so many species, so many planets, who just wanted power for themselves. To those people - the library stood in the way. The library was a keeper, a gatekeeper, despite the fact that it was open to everyone, regardless of their intentions, regardless of their background, all in an effort to make magic more accessible and safer for everyone.

Elements of it sounded like utopia, but the library's aim was never going to align with everyone else.

Quinn couldn't see it happening. Not everyone always wanted the best for everyone else. All she knew was that in its effort to help everyone, a select few had disagreed, and they were vocal, and powerful, and they had had horrific consequences for everyone in undermining the library like they did.

Kajaro’s entire speech to her and Malakai needed to be dissected once the latter recovered. Lynx had been pushing off a direct answer for too long.

The stream of information cut out, and for a moment, Quinn was plunged into a deep, serene darkness.

Just like she had been upon first being transported here.

And then silver words flickered up in front of her, in this beautiful cursive script.

The Library of Everywhere is ready for patrons.

Please complete the following procedures to unlock the doors.

• Complete the Library reshelving
• Complete the Bookworm habitat rejuvenation
• Activate the book restoration workshop
• Assign combat instructor to Librarian
• Increase Librarian defensive and combat power by 5
• Recruit a minimum of five (5) assistants through a universal call out with requisite minimum qualifications as specified in the manual

A surge of excitement ran through Quinn at the words. Across her face, a look of pure joy spread. She jumped up, energy suddenly surging through her as the lights came back on, suffusing the area once again in that silvery glow.

Quinn turned and hugged the trunk. As she did so, a rush of energy entered her, like a surge of affection almost. Then, she dashed over to the staircase and ran up them, two at a time, before landing on the main level three stories higher, barely out of breath.

Sure, there was still a lot to do, but they’d already begun some of it!

"We can open soon!" she said to no one in particular as she ran out into the main area.

Lynx and Malakai both stood at the check-in desk, going over something that she couldn't see.

"Guys, did you hear me? We can open the library soon!"

Lynx looked up at her and blinked. "Yes, I'm aware of this. Did you forget who I am?"

"No, you won't let me forget who you are, even for a minute," she mumbled, her good mood suddenly gone. “I was just excited.”

The manifestation paused for a moment. “It’s good that you’re excited. We just have several things to set into motion before we can open. But it’s much closer.”

Malakai chuckled. "You realize we have to complete that list first, right?"

"Well, yes, but that shouldn't amount to too much," Quinn said. "I’m guessing Misha can take care of the first three things? The shelving, the bookworms, and the restoration room?"

Lynx nodded. “Easily. The book hospital is one of our most important components. For now the supervisory golem will be in charge of said restoration until we gain more power and supplies that allow us to create the requisite specific golem for that task.”

Misha suddenly stood next to them, apparently looking at the list displayed in the check in area too. “Excellent. I will aim to have this finished as soon as possible.”

Malakai paused, his eyes lingering on the message. "We have a book hospital?"

Lynx raised an eyebrow. "Of course we have a book hospital. Why wouldn't we?"

"Because it's a book and it's an inanimate object? How are we supposed to make a book better?" Malakai sounded genuinely confused.

Misha stepped in with an answer though. "By refining its pages, seeing if we can just simply replace the pages, see if it is salvageable or if we have to create a whole new tome, which right now is troublesome because as we do not have any magical quills and we do not have any bookworms prepared, and still haven't found the silverfish."

"Well, that's sort of one of the things on the list, right?" Quinn pointed at it.

Lynx glared at her. "I know where the silverfish are, we need to corral them and find more."

Quinn paused, pursing her lips in thought. "Farrow be the best one to reclaim them?"

Misha nodded. “Farrow is already in the process of doing this.”

And suddenly Farrow was there.

One of these hours, Quinn was going to ask how all the Library’s connections could appear with a thought, and she couldn’t.

Farrow was just an amazing creation. The wood-like appendages she brought to the role just made Quinn think of her like a woodland nymph. She was definitely suited to raising the worms and keeping the magical aspects of the library going.

"What's the silverfish status?" Quinn asked.

Farrow cocked her head to the side and then spoke in a very whispery voice, rustling like falled tree leaves. "Silverfish status: 17 retrieved. Copulation cycle beginning."

“Bookworms?” Prodded Lynx.

“Seventy-nine of them are still being reduced. Forty preparing for copulation. Half a doze ready for feeding.” At Farrow’s words the bookworm item was  miraculously crossed out of the list, or blacked out of the list, was probably more accurate.

"Oh wow," Quinn couldn't help the excitement, "We can get this done. Misha? How is the cleaning going, how are Tim and Tom doing?"

"They are doing very well. They are currently working their way through the Library with the trolleys."

Quinn pressed a bit harder. “So, what do you think then? How long?”

Misha’s eyes glistened for a moment. “I would give them approximately forty-three more Library hours. This is my worst case scenario.”

Quinn slammed her hands down on the counter with glee and turned to Lynx. "That means the library can open in a couple of days at most!"

"Technically." He seemed less excited than Quinn would have thought because hadn't he been aiming for this for 500 years? Maybe it suddenly felt anticlimactic. She stepped closer to him, peering up into his black eyes, but she couldn't see his eyelids doing their crisscrossing. He wasn't looking far away, he simply appeared to be thoughtful.

"Hey, Lynx, are you okay? You're looking a little, well, you're kind of worrying me."

He blinked at her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, you don't seem happy about the library potentially opening again."

"Oh, I'm definitely happy, but you’re missing three glaringly huge things on the list." Frankly, Lynx sounded grumpy.

"What do you mean?" she asked, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

Lynx pulled the last three items on the list up and enlarged them over the tops of their heads. It was pretty hard to miss them that way. He gestured wildly at them.

• Assign combat instructor to Librarian
• Increase Librarian defensive and combat power by 5
• Recruit a minimum of five (5) assistants through a universal call out with requisite minimum qualifications as specified in the manual

“Yes. I can see those. What’s the problem?” Quinn asked, genuinely curious.

“First up we need a combat instructor for you…”

She cut him off. “That’s Malakai. He already volunteered. Now he just needs to live up to his promise.”

The elf half scowled at her, but she could tell he was definitely feeling better after resting for a while.

With her statement though, the combat instructor line had also been blacked out. Good to know.

Lynx appeared to be slightly mollified. “But we also need to recruit a minimum of 5 assistants which is difficult with the Library currently closed.”

Quinn squinted at him. “Aren’t you the Library?”

He seemed a bit flustered. “Well, yes but…”

“No buts. You won’t let me forget how you’re the Library… so make it so we can find assistants. Plus, we only need three. We already have Malakai on loan to us by Milaro.” She glanced around with a frown, wondering where he’d gone to while she calibrated with the core. “And we do have Dottie.”

“That’s barely two…” Lynx began begrudgingly.

“But it is two. Two that we can use for now and worry about later. So all we need is three, right? We can find those in a couple of days, I’m sure of it.” Quinn stood her ground, not about to let him talk her out of it.

All she could think of was seeing a magical Library in action. She was so excited she couldn’t think straight.

The line crossed out the 5 and replaced it with a 3.

“See. Even your subconsciousness agrees with me.” Quinn said, feeling a little bit smug.

Lynx let out a sigh. “Fine. I’ll go and fine tune a broadcast to send out. We’ll look for species that have a long running history as solid Library assistants and take it from there so we don’t unlock for just anyone until we are up and running.”

“Do we discriminate…” Quinn began, suddenly feeling off.

Lynx shook his head. “No. Anyone can be an assistant if they qualify. But, for the sake that we’re not actually open, I want to direct the recruitment call to a few select places and hope we can get our initial three so we can open.”

Quinn shrugged. “Okay, but then we can open it up like usual.”

“Once the doors are open again, Quinn…” Lynx flashed her a grin. “We can do almost anything you can imagine.”

And then he flashed away, leaving Quinn there with her combat trainer and a lot of questions again.

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Hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Much love

KT