The Slide
Chapter 2: Satellite Gossip
Take a gander / read at Chapter 1: Audacity for flow…
“You have three minutes for dressing. Hut, hut! To the Satellite meeting we go,” Tem snapped and left the room.
Farha and Tem sighed in unison as they sat. The Magistrate took the podium, his eyes drilled into Tem for a moment too long. His speech was much shorter than in previous years. He mumbled the Chief Engineer’s name.
The Chief Engineer for the Satellite program was startled as if awakened from a trance. He struggled to the podium as if lead weights were chained to his feet. Lights dimmed. A gel was projected on a screen behind him.
“As you can see, we are very excited about this year’s projected pass of the satellite over the Slide for nearly 265 miles to the north and east and over a previously uncharted part of the desert to here at Fort Normandy before heading inland…” He stepped aside and used a lit pointer on the end of a long sharp stick to illustrate the path of the satellite and the swathe of its range of view, which seemed clear to everyone, anyway.
The Chief Engineer was known for his redundancy.
There was a shocked silence from the small group of less than twenty but over fifteen, followed by murmurs of delight and awe. As the lights came up, the Chief Engineer was agog with his new pointer-toy. He was waving it randomly about and occasionally jousting with the image of the gel that only he could see. Tem was in a daze, as were the others. Farha rolled her eyes and whispered,
“Idiots,” to which everyone seemed to sober up and collect their senses, though it was impossible they heard her comment. This was the cue for the Chief Engineer’s assistant, Petra, to emerge out of the throng with his squeaky voice and begin the business of assigning tasks to the group. Everyone was chattering at once.
Tem leaned into Farha’s shoulder and said quietly: “With your level-headiness you should lead these meetings.” To which Farha burst out laughing.
Tem received two tasks: one of data over 15 miles of the middle swathe of the satellite’s purview of the slide and the area behind it and in front; the second was a sine wave connection to 100 miles closest to Fort Normandy. Traditionally, this would have been divided between the head cartographer of a dyad into task one and two, but Tem thought he and Farha should study each of two areas assigned, together.
Everyone was hopeful that the satellite would reveal territory leading up to the slide, the slide itself and the area immediately in front of the slide. But with each pass of the satellite, every two years, nothing was revealed. It was all blurred. With each pass; scientists and mapmakers hoped it would be different and were always disappointed.
Glee overtook Farha, her eyes glazed over, and she became as intoxicated as the others.
“Well, maybe I spoke too soon,” he whispered under his breath and grinned.
Farha was bent over with her eye piece on the large print out composite 36 inches by 72 inches. She straightened, turned and jotted notes on her pad from her too tall stool. Tem was on the opposite side of the large space with dimmed skylights above, collating his data for the computer input. She made measurements with a long straight-edge over four 36x72 inch composites and went to her small desk for calculations.
Minutes later, she looked up. Her Uncle was sipping on some the hot Bru stimulant drink.
He smiled. “Show me,” he said, suppressing excitement.
She rushed to him with her pad, nearly stumbling over her own feet. He carefully examined her calculations three times over.
“Your calculations are flawless… except,” he stopped and waited for her.
“That’s why I need to see the raw feeds,” she said matter-of-fact.
“Based on what? These figures of yours are based on a premise that is faulty. They’ve been altered as an excuse to examine the raw data.”
“Not true, if you know what I know.”
“Based on what, then?” Tem demanded, sure of himself.
“You probably don’t remember that you gave me one of Papa’s book on lay-lines and Geo-Nancy,” she affirmed.
“That’s Geomancy,” Tem corrected her. “We don’t accept that as a valid means of scientific inquiry here. And you’re right, I don’t remember giving you any of Francois’s books.”
“Okay. But will you hear me out? My reasoning is based on Geo-Mancy. It makes many of the anomalies of The Slide make more sense and I have a theory that may prove it.”
“Ha,” Tem challenged. “This isn’t about relocating the fort, is it?”
“No, no, no. That was a stupid childish idea. I was so much younger then.”
“It was only two years ago,” Tem snorted a laugh.
“See!” She was excited. “You told me I could take one of Papa’s books from your library.”
“Hmm. Yes, I remember that, but you forgot that I also asked you to show me which book you were taking — for my permission.”
“I showed you.”
“Let’s table this until we break bread in our suite.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
Later, Farha had admitted that she had hidden the full title of the book because she was afraid he would have not allowed her to take it.
“That’s right. I would not have allowed you to take it. And want it back now.”
“I don’t have it.”
“That’s it. You will leave as soon as transportation can be arranged.”
Tem had had enough of it — the bickering and words. He left a note and exited to the barracks for some peace.
Later she read the note: “I know you have the book. I can tell when you’re lying. Return the book or I will not take you back here as my map making assistant next time.”
She gave him the silent treatment until the electric cart arrived to take her to the train. Farha thrust the tattered book into his chest and ran away through courtyard into the open door of the cart, sobbing. She included the torn note from just before her mother’s suicide sealed in an envelope that read: “Dream of Papa — Drawings”. And scribbled barely legibly: she had written: “Please keep this safe, Uncle Tem. Love, Farha”.
He immediately shelved it in his vast library, unaware of the note.
Thanks for reading and for your support. Chapter 3: Satellite Augments awaits you when you’re ready,
