Creative Commons – The Plainsrunner – Chapter Eighteen

Continuing the serial release of The Plainsrunner under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license – (CC-BY-SA).

Sage learns more about her glider. This is a longer chapter.

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Chapter Eighteen – The Professor

Sage was looking down at the sack in her hands, and at her feet below it, when Digger stepped in front of her, giving her a slight bump. Before she could look up, she felt a sharp tug on the sack, almost tearing it from her hands. She instinctively clutched it to her and managed to hold on to it, though it got torn in the process. When she did look up, she saw someone stagger and run away, Digger trotting a few steps after him. The people around them stopped for a moment to look, then went on with their business.

Digger trotted back to her, glancing at the sack. “Are you all right?” he asked.

Finding her voice, Sage said, “Yes. Yes, I’m fine.” She looked at him, then at the sack, examining the tear. It was small, and the sack would still hold the glider. She would have to sew it before she gave it back to Skylight, though. She looked at Digger again. “Was he trying to steal it?”

“Yes,” he said. “It’s lucky I spotted him in time.”

“I didn’t even see him,” she said.

“He was good. He didn’t start running until the last second. I barely had time to try to block him.”

“I didn’t see him,” she said again. She couldn’t believe it. Only yesterday she’d been alert to everything that went on around her, because her life depended on it. Even after she entered the city she had been wary enough to hold off Rat and Snake. But now, after a nice dinner and a safe sleep, she had relaxed so much that she didn’t even notice someone trying to steal her glider. She shook her head and told herself that she wasn’t in her village now. This place was looking as if it was no safer than the terrain she’d covered in the last month. Maybe there weren’t any day runners trying to kill you, but some of the people here were just as dangerous. She said again, “I didn’t even see him.”

“You were distracted,” he said. “You weren’t expecting it.”

That didn’t make her feel any better. She shouldn’t have been distracted. And she knew enough to know that she should expect anything. Until she got this place figured out as well as she knew the prairie, she was going to have to expect anything, any time. That’s what kept her alive out there and that’s what she needed to do to prevent being a victim here. She looked at him, her brow firm and her eyes sharp. She said, “It won’t happen again,” and started walking, her sharp eyes looking at everything.

Seeing her face, Digger could believe it. He hoped that no one else tried anything, because they might end up with a knife in them, instead of a harmless bump. That wouldn’t upset him much, but he didn’t feel like wasting time on the ensuing trouble. When people stabbed each other, the police tended to get nosy, and Digger didn’t need that. He caught up and walked alongside her, alert for anything. If anyone came at them, he wanted to intercept them before they got within her range.

Luckily for everyone involved, no one tried anything, and in less than an hour they got where they were going. They had reached the center of the city, where the tallest buildings were, but their destination was a cluster of lower structures enclosed by a wall. The gate was attended by what appeared to be yet another acquaintance of Digger’s, and a few minutes of friendly chatting got them in.

Once inside, Digger set out as if he knew where he was going, but Sage stopped to look. When he came back to her, she said, “What is this place?”

They were in a rectangular area enclosed by buildings five to fifteen meters high. The enclosed area looked to be a couple of hectares, mostly covered by grass that looked as green as new shoots. Sage immediately stepped off the stony path and sank her feet into the lush growth, releasing a small groan of pleasure.

“Uh,” said Digger, looking around, “they don’t like that.”

“What?”

“Walking on the grass. That’s only for the big shots.”

Sage looked at the expanse of green and said, “What’s the point of it, then?” She stepped back onto the path.

“I’m not sure,” he said, “but only professors and up are allowed. The rest of us have to use the path.”

“Makes them feel important, I guess,” she said, shrugging. Then she said, “Professors?”

“Oh, right, of course. Professors are teachers. This is a university.” Seeing her blank look, he said, “A university is a place where people go to learn, and the professors teach them.”

Understanding lit her face. “I get it,” she said. “Everyone comes here to learn.” She looked around, impressed. “Is that why you brought me here? To learn? You said I had a lot to learn.”

He saw his mistake. “No. Not everyone can come here. There’s not enough room for that many people.”

She nodded. “Okay. I get it. So they only pick the smartest people. Teach the people who can get the most out of it.” She kept nodding. “Where do I go to find out if I’m smart enough?”

He bit down on his surprised laughter. “It’s not for the smartest people, Sage. It’s for the people with the most money.”

“Money?” She pictured the coins in his hand, and tried to imagine how they related to learning. Finally she shrugged and said, “I guess I need to get some money, then.”

He didn’t bother trying to tell her how futile that would be. He just said, “Right. Let’s go see Professor Tailor.”

They walked all the way around the grass to a door that was almost directly opposite where they were. While he knocked on the door, she looked across the forbidden shortcut and shook her head. The door opened and she saw a young man carrying a small satchel of books. He glanced at them with undisguised contempt, and called back over his shoulder, “Are you expecting any workers, Professor?”

A voice from within said, “I’m expecting them. Let them in.”

The young man was surprised, but he said, “Very well, Professor. I’ll see you next week.” Then he brushed by them, leaving the door open.

They stood, uncertain, then the voice said, “Well, don’t stand there letting the flies in. Come in and shut the door.”

Inside was a large foyer, its generous windows letting in plenty of light. Immediately to the right was a staircase leading to a second floor. Straight ahead across the foyer was a wall with a single door. To their left was an open door with a man standing in it. “Come along,” he said, backing into the room beyond.

They crossed the foyer, Sage looking down at the shining wooden floor. Now she saw why they might not like iron shoes indoors, and placed her rubber ones carefully so as not to leave any marks.

In the room, the Professor was standing beside a desk that was littered with papers. They stopped in front of the desk and Digger said, “Professor Tailor, this is Sage, the young woman I told you about.”

“Ah, yes,” said the Professor. “The one with the artifact.” He gestured her forward. “Come along,” he said, “let’s see it.”

With a glance at Digger, Sage stepped forward and handed him the sack. He slipped out the glider, dropping the sack on the floor. He gazed at the thing in his hands and, without looking up, said, “The money is on the desk. Thank you. You may go.” His eyes were shining.

Digger looked at her and shrugged, then stepped to the desk and picked up the money. It must have been right because he made no objection, only turning to go. He was halfway to the door before he realized that she wasn’t moving. “Sage?” he said. “Are you coming?”

She was looking at the Professor. She ignored Digger and kept staring until the Professor looked up.

He said, “Are you still here? You must leave now. I have work to do.” He moved behind his desk.

Sage moved up to stand where he’d been, beside his desk. “I’m not ready to leave yet,” she said. “We haven’t finished our business.”

“Yes we have,” he said, unconsciously holding the glider close. “You’ve taken the money.”

“No we haven’t. Digger, put the money back.”

“Sage?” he said, but she crossed her arms and didn’t take her eyes off the Professor and her glider, so he stepped up and put the money back.

“That means nothing,” said the Professor. “We had a deal, and he took the money.”

“That’s fine,” said Sage, “but the glider wasn’t his to sell.”

He looked at her now. If he had thought he was dealing with a naive girl, he could see that this was a competent young woman standing in front of him. Still clutching the glider, he said, “What do you want? How much?”

She paused uncertainly. She thought about what to say. What did she want? She didn’t know, but she knew what she didn’t want. After what it had put her through, she didn’t want to part ways with her glider. Not yet, anyway. Finally she said, “I’m not sure. I haven’t been here long enough to know what your money is worth. I just know that I don’t want to sell it. Not here. Not now.”

“But my studies,” he said. “My research. My work.”

“I’m not saying I won’t sell it,” she said, reaching her hands out for it. “It must be worth something. People have tried to steal it twice already.”

His face lit up. “Leave it here with me. It will be safe here.”

“Maybe it will,” she said, “but I don’t know you well enough to say for sure.” Her hands were still outstretched. “Digger has told me that city people only care what’s in it for them.”

Digger and the Professor both protested at the same time. Digger said, “I didn’t say everybody.” And the Professor said, “I care about my research. Very important research.”

Sage let her hands drop and said, “Maybe we can work out some kind of arrangement.” She looked at his hopeful, almost eager face. “Maybe I can bring it around for you to work on.”

His face fell, but not all the way. This might be better than losing it all together. He said, “What would you expect in return?”

She thought about it. She looked around the office. “Is this where you do your research?”

“No,” he said. “That’s done in the laboratory.”

“Laboratory?”

“Yes.” He looked back and forth between them. “Would you like to see it?”

“Yes,” said Sage.

“Follow me, then.” he said, trying to step out around his desk.

Sage held out her hands again. “I’ll take care of that,” she said.

Slowly and very reluctantly he passed it to her. Then he said, “This way,” and led them out of the room. In the foyer he turned left and headed for the door in the back wall. The blanket he was wearing was black and shiny, and it hung down almost to the floor. Even in the few steps across the foyer it swept backwards. He opened the door and stepped in ahead of them, holding it for them to enter.

Sage stepped in and moved sideways, and Digger moved up beside her. Together they stared at the unfamiliar sight. They saw workbenches, at least one sink, bottles and flasks, and any number of things that they couldn’t identify in the dim illumination. Professor Tailor flicked a switch on the wall beside the door and the bright overhead lights came on. Now Sage could see something she could identify, and she walked toward it.

“Be careful!” said the Professor, rushing to catch up. “Don’t touch anything.”

They reached a bench at the back of the room, and lying on it was another glider just like hers. No, not just like hers. The engraving on the back was different. Hers had a large circle with two smaller ones embedded in it. This one had a circle in the middle with a larger circle scribed around it. On the large circle there was a smaller one, as if it were orbiting the one in the middle. She was thinking about that when she felt her glider vibrate. This was unlike the vibrations she felt when she talked, and which the Professor must have felt, too. She wondered if his would vibrate when she talked.

She put her hand on it, heedless of his protests, and said, “You already have a glider.” She was right. It vibrated. But it also had another fainter vibration, just like the one she was holding. She took her hand off the Professor’s glider and stepped back, to his great relief. Hers stopped vibrating. With subtle movements she determined that the limit was about two meters. When they were within two meters of each other, they vibrated.

“Yes,” he said. “I’ve had it for about ten years.” He reached out and adjusted it minutely, squaring it with the workbench.

“What is it?” asked Sage. She hefted hers. “What are they?”

He spread his hands. “I don’t know,” he said. “Oh, I’ve learned a few things about it, such as weight, specific gravity, and so on. And I’ve shared data with other scientists around the world …”

“There are more of these?”

“Yes. A handful all told.” He looked at hers. “With that one, I would be the only person with more than one.”

“That would be worth a lot to you, I guess.”

He saw what he’d done, giving her power over him, and he clearly considered denying it before shrugging and saying, “Yes. But the important thing is the research, and the possibility of more data.”

Sage looked at him for a long time. She didn’t like him very much so far. He was a little too interested in what he wanted and a little too dismissive of everything else. But she liked that he didn’t try to hide how much it meant to him, just for a bit of bargaining advantage. She made up her mind. “Okay,” she said. “Here’s what we’ll do. I’ll keep my glider, but I’ll bring it to you to study.”

He was both disappointed and relieved. “And in return?”

“In return I will work with you and you will teach me.”

He was shocked. All he could manage was, “What?” He didn’t see Digger stifling a surprised laugh.

“Digger tells me that professors teach people, but only if they have enough money,” said Sage, holding up a hand to stem their protests. “I don’t have enough money, but I want to learn, so this is how I’ll do it.”

The Professor closed his mouth and swallowed, then he nodded slowly. “All right,” he said. “I guess we can do that.”

“And you’ll need to pay me,” said Sage. “I’m going to need money, I think.” Digger walked over to the other side of the laboratory, apparently very interested in something there. If you looked closely, you could see his shoulders shaking.

The Professor didn’t say anything this time. Just nodded.

“And,” said Sage, “I’m going to need a place to stay. Somewhere close to here so I don’t have to carry the glider too far. The next person who tries to steal it isn’t going to be so lucky, and I really don’t want to hurt anyone.”

The Professor looked over at Digger, who seemed to be having a coughing fit, then back at Sage, who was smiling nicely. He felt the beginnings of his own smile and was surprised to realize that this was a young woman he could learn to like. “I do have an allowance for paying assistants,” he said. “And there’s a room upstairs here that you can use, at least for now.”

“That sounds perfect,” she said.

“Very good,” said the Professor. “Now, as to your education, would you like to start now?”

“Perfect,” said Sage, handing him her glider.