Page 37 of The Surviving Sky
“Yes,” Laksiya said. “But look what those demands have done. If he were an ordinary Maze Architect, he’d have an opportunity for a healthier life. As Senior Architect, he’s burning out. He’s at greater risk of Ecstasy than any ordinary architect.”
“You’re jumping to conclusions,” Bharavi said. “Detecting an Ecstatic isn’t straightforward. Three separate conditions must simultaneously fail before we determine if an architect is at risk.”
“Yes,” Laksiya replied. “And hasn’t Iravan failed all three? His material bonds are loosening, as is obvious with his marriage to Ahilya. He has been flirting with the limits oftrajection—headmitted to taking on more duties, we all saw his incredible escape from the jungle, and now he tells us about a mysterious Resonance that only he can sense? That’s two out of three. Add the fact that he chose to send a Junior Architect to the watchpost, knowing full well such an action would endanger Nakshar’s safety? That’s three on three.”
“The last one is hardly on the same scale,” Bharavi began, but Laksiya shook her head.
Her withering gaze swept them all in it. “He has always been reckless, and his position has made him more so. And now because of your decision to have him perform as a Senior Architect, he must lay himself bare for all of us.”
Bharavi jerked in her chair. “What are you saying?”
Laksiya transferred her cold gaze to Bharavi. “I vote that we put Senior Architect Iravan through the Examination of Ecstasy immediately.”
Iravan started to shake. His vision blurred. His throat grew thick.
A vote. A formal vote. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t. Bile rose in him and he resisted the urge to vomit.
“You can’t be serious,” Bharavi sputtered. “You want to Examine him now? Look athim—hecan barely sit in his chair. The Exam is the last step in checking an architect for Ecstasy. We never administer it unless there’s greatproof—”
“How much moreproof—”
“It strips away self-esteem,” Bharavi continued, speaking over Laksiya. “Even healthy architects take time to recover. He’s in no condition to be tested. You might as well excise him without the farce of an Examination.”
Laksiya remained unmoved. “If he truly is an Ecstatic, then it’s more dangerous for the ashram to wait until he is over his ordeal. What would youdo—waituntil he has tried to sabotage the rudra tree like Manav did? Wait until he trajects a person? Place your vote, Senior Architect Bharavi, and consider whether your reasoning isn’t biased because of your personal affiliation with him.”
Iravan’s stomach roiled. His gut hardened with a need to escape. He wouldn’t survive the Exam. He knew this as certainly as he knew his own name. Bharavi appeared to him as though from afar.
“I vote no,” she said to Laksiya, eyes flashing. “In order to do the Exam, he needs to enter the Moment, and I don’t think him capable of doingthat—notright now. He’ll fail the Exam on those grounds alone. It would be a false positive. I vote no.”
“The Exam isn’t meant to be a trap,” Airav put in, his deep voice rumbling over them. “It’s a pass-fail test. The goal is not to traumatize him. It’s for him to sift his mind for the truth.” Airav glanced at Iravan. “I’m sorry, my friend. But Laksiya is right. The trajection we saw you do should not have been possible. I vote yes.”
Iravan clenched his fists, hard. His head threatened to explode like an overripe melon.
Two yesses. All it would take was one more, and he’d be forced to crawl through his mind. He’d have to examine every grievous breach of trajection’s limits, every regrettable decision that had jeopardized the ashram, every perverse thought about his material connections, all to prove he was not an Ecstatic. He’d be forced to relive it all, how he had crushed the magnaroot. How he had let go of Oam. How he had failed Ahilya.
A small moan escaped him. He tried not to gag.
Chaiyya studied him. Her round face was disturbed, wrinkles heavy on her forehead. “I think Iravan is in danger of Ecstasy. But to test himnow—we’llbe testing his will, not his intent. He could spiral out of control. The Exam itself would fail. It’s wiser to wait until he has recovered. I vote no.”
They all turned to Kiana. The Senior Sungineer frowned into her hands. Her fingers moved in the manner of weighing the pros and cons of each side. Oh, rages, what if she decided against him now? Iravan had opposed her so many times. When they’d argued about the battery, Kiana had walked away from the meeting before Iravan could smooth things over. They were still friends, surely, but when it came to the ashram’s safety, Kiana would not relent.
She looked up at Iravan. “There’s merit to your arguments. Maybe there’s a pattern to what you say. I wonder if by putting you to the test, we might not be premature. And if Naila is as good as we’ve been led to believe, then why didn’t she sound the alarm? I vote no.”
A dry sob escaped Iravan.
“Th-thank you,” he whispered.
“There’s still the question of punishing your transgressions,” Airav said. He turned to the others. “He’s still guilty of abandoning his post. That’s actively endangering the ashram. That alone is grounds to ask for a vote of no confidence.”
“That’s rule-bending, Airav,” Bharavi snapped. “We’ve all done something similar. He needs a slap on the wrist, not to be disgraced and returned to Maze Architect. The punishment needs to fit the crime.”
“It resulted in a citizen’sdeath—”
“You can’t decide that in isolation,” Bharavi said. “The measure of Iravan’s guilt regarding the watchpost depends on whether there is value to his arguments about the interference. What if he’s right? Are you going to demote him for saving two lives? You agreed that Naila should have been able to sound the alarm.”
“I did. Which means we’ll need to investigate this claim.”
“I can do that,” Kiana volunteered.
