Page 103 of The Surviving Sky
“We don’t fully understand Ecstasy, Ahilya-ve. All we know for certain is that it is incredible power, uncontrolled. It is not a far thought to imagine Bharavi trajecting and changing the very nature of the jungle in her Ecstasy. That’s likely why you saw it birth.”
“This explains why the ashram was so resistant to landing,” Naila said, frowning as the other architects nodded. “The ashram plants aren’t meant to land during an earthrage. It’s only during a lull that we’re supposed to land. Despite her trajection, the plants rebelled.”
“Why would she do that?” one of the sungineers murmured. “Was she trying to kill us all?”
“She was in Ecstasy,” Iravan said coldly, speaking for the first time. “She didn’t know what she was doing. She has paid for it already, don’t you think?”
Everyone stared at him. Iravan met their gaze, his eyes hard.
Airav cleared his throat. “Bharavi forced us to land, sabotaged the alarm, and trajected the jungle. However, the fact remains that without the false lull, this has now been the longest earthrage in recorded history, topping at two hundred and twenty-four days.”
This time, the silence stretched longer. Iravan watched as the unease grew in everyone’s faces.
“Exactly what is the concern here?” said the sungineer who had spoken before, a man with shoulder-length hair and thin glasses. “Are you saying we’re not equipped to fly for so long without a rest in the jungle?”
“You noticed it yourself, Umit,” Airav said. “You came to Laksiya with observations around how trajection was no longer powering sungineering equipment adequately.”
“Why is this happening?” another sungineer said, this a person with curious eyes and the lightest shade of brown skin Iravan had seen in the ashram. “Surely, we should be back at homeostasis. Isn’t that what shift duty does?”
“There are a number of reasons,” Airav said. “We wasted a lot of trajection with unnecessary landing and taking off. Bharavi’s Ecstasy and the damage she wrought weakened us further. But the realreason—andwe have confirmed this with our sisterashrams—isthat trajection is getting harder. It’s what Senior Architect Iravan suspected all along.”
Once again, all eyes flickered to Iravan. His knee jerked against his will. In Chaiyya and Airav’s gazes he detected the shadow of regret and mortification, but Iravan couldn’t bring himself to feel vindication or anger. Instead, absurdly, he felt running through him a sensation he only recognized from his youth:boredom. These questions were meaningless when compared to the only question he caredabout—theidentity of the Resonance.
“You must understand something,” Airav continued. “Trajection has not been confirmed to be harder by every architect. But enough people have reported it for it to be a concern for every sister ashram. Ultimately, it is all of a pattern. Earthrages are becoming longer and lulls shorter. And it’s affecting our trajection. It is becoming harder for most of us to construct even the simplest mazes.”
“I’m sorry,” Maze Architect Gaurav said, a man with a clear high voice. “Butareearthrages truly getting longer? This seems like it has more to do with a difficulty in trajection than anything to do with the rages themselves.”
“Theyare,” Airav confirmed. “This earthrage is already the longest in ourhistory—”
“But the last few were significantly shorter,” Gaurav said.
“It’s not an absolute increase,” Ahilya said, her voice soft. “Yes, there have been many quick rages, but over time, they’ve been getting longer. I have the numbers to prove it. Graphs, if you wish to see. These patterns emerge only after decades of study.”
Gaurav fell silent, his face thoughtful.
Dhruv leaned forward. “If I may,” he said, “I want to understand the practicalities of our situation. Even if the rages are getting longer and trajection harder, shouldn’t architects on shift duty allow us to fly?”
“In theory, yes,” Airav replied. “But the Maze Architects are tired. Their shifts have become longer, their breaks shorter. We don’t have enough architects to sustain this, least of all in our current luxurious architectural design. We’re makingmistakes—costlymistakes. If we don’t find a solution, then soon we’ll have many more Ecstatics on our hands.”
This time, the silence had a heavier flavor, treacherous and aghast.
It was Ahilya who broke it. “What about the other ashrams? If there’s a universal cause for longer earthrages and shorter lulls, then they must be affected too.”
“They are,” Airav confirmed. “But Nakshar has been hit the worst because of our recent incidents. And I’m afraid there is more yet. Chaiyya and I estimate that we have only twelve weeks before the Disc’s trajection becomes so weak that Nakshar will quite literally plummet into the jungle. And it is only a matter of time before that happens to every ashram unless there is a true lull in the earthrage.”
To the credit of everyone present, no one uttered a cry at that pronouncement, though several people began wiping their glasses.
Airav let the silence breathe for a few more seconds before he spoke again.
“Perhaps for the second time in our history, we’re faced with the collapse of our species in such a sudden manner. The early architects found a way to traject plants to fly. Our challenge is no less significant. Any solution will change the course of our civilization forever. Whatever we decide to do, we need to do it quietly, swiftly, and without spreading panic. If the citizens learn about this, the ashram’s plants will react to their consciousness, to their fear, making trajection even harder.”
Airav stood up.
“Our course of action, then, is threefold. One, Chaiyya and I will lead the redesign of the ashram. Sacrifices will have to be made in all our lifestyles, and we must make ready the citizens without raising alarm. Two, Kiana and Laksiya will coordinate communication with the other ashrams. All ashrams are hanging by the same vine, even if our hold is the weakest. If we find no solution, then perhaps their architects will.
“And, three, Iravan, you will continue your investigation. Find out why the earthrages are getting longer and why this is affecting our trajection. We need answers.”
Airav tapped at one of his rudra bead bracelets. A hologram hovered over it, and he waved a hand. The same hologram reappeared over everyone’s citizen rings. Iravan glanced down at his; it was a list of people on various teams. His team shone with three names: Ahilya, Naila, and the sungineer Umit.
