Chapter 32: Heartfelt Conclusion — Part 9
Joe makes the transition look flawless, watching his fluid gavitometer’s two important measurement variables, all the while edging the nose toward the center of the arch. The Edgewind groans and settles against an inertial line of gravity, one that Joe knows will only exist so long as the Edgewind is moving perpendicular to it. The Edgewind is shifting now, its sails moving along the ship’s centerline, pointing away from arch center, soon to be parallel with the ground. Joe is cool under pressure, a bit of sweat forms on his brow as the wind dies back, causing the ship to momentarily lag and sink against the line of acquired gravitation, drifting back toward the trees. Joe makes some adjustments, hoping for a gust, and catching one that pushes the ship back up to speed just as the tips of the tree line make their first contact with the Edgewind.
Miraculously, the sails are spared a snaring, and the ship’s belly, having caught the treetops, is unharmed. Joe feels his stomach lurch, his heart racing, reminding himself that even if the branches did bash a hole in the ship, so long as they are dragged free of the impact, they aren’t in danger of sinking, and have plenty of materials for basic repairs while still in the air. The trees may even have kept him from bracing over the edge of the bowl, that tenuous edge that would have brought the ship to ground and forced them to try again. Though the fluid gravitometer had been keeping him steady for the arch, he can now only feel the jagged pull as he rises in height, the ship nose pointed where the gravitometer suggests, sailing nearly into the wind. Slowly he trims the right back and left front sails, and slowly the ship twists until its belly is against the arch, and the bearing in the gravitomer settles to center, while its fluid level aligns with its perpendicular marker.
Gravity grows stronger, and for the shortest moment, the bearing jumps. Joe feels like he’s an undecided particle of iron caught between two magnets, until one side inevitably wins, and the ship groans and settles out of the center of the arch, and onto its tubular gravitational surface. He trims the right and left sail groups, bringing the alignment into balance. George and Jude’s math prove sound as they ‘bounce’ onto the arch and now the ship is settled and moving out over the sea. Because he can’t sail directly into the wind, Joe has trimmed the course, and the Edgewind is now settled to the route, making a slow, barely noticeable corkscrew pattern around the arch.
Joe is smiling as he sets the sail guide levers with a locking pin, so he can disengage their gear catches and they won’t fall all the way back, and calls the all clear. He will man his position until Blake takes a shift, but the ship is steady, and adjustments should only be necessary on rare occasion. With a pair of keen eyes always on the point, they should have smooth sailing all the way to Tokyo. Still tethered, the crew moves forward, gathering on the Point Deck, staring into the sky, and Joe slowly eases the ship to level in response to their movement. Under them is the Earth, beneath their feet is the sky, and the sun seems to settle at the oddest angle a Sailor could ever expect it to be, rising into clouds. The entire experience is jarring, even to those who have piloted airplanes, creating an odd sensation of vertigo.
“Gonna take awhile to get our legs on this one.” Joe says to Blake, and though Blake doesn’t respond, Joe knows he’s thinking the same.
Kevin, Jynx, Daria, and ChoCho stand close, all of them holding hands, their skirts flicking in the wind, while George and Jude stand somewhere behind them, with Blake and Joe manning the ship from the Captain’s nest. Heath is out on the very edge of point, having been given first shift to watch for trouble. All of them are thinking the same thing, and all of them are trying to look brave. They should be falling, the Earth should be ripping the Edgewind from the air, but the arch holds them firmly in its invisible embrace.
The wind flowing along its channel is strong and steady, and the sails cut that air and shape its force, the topmasts pointing straight to ground, tipping a couple degrees clockwise for every half hour that passes. The wind grows strong and chill, and the Edgewind cleaves the air faster than anybody expected, her gait steady and smooth. Joe feels numb from the kiss of the wind, and his hands ache with every slight touch of the bare brass rigging handles. Blake blows his whistle, and Heath responds to the signal with her own whistle blow, three sharp, distinct phrases.
All is clear . . . Steady is the weather . . . Could I get a sweater please?
To which Blake whistles an affirmative and starts to move carefully across the deck, never hesitating when set in his efforts to dote on Heath.
“Since you’re heading on down anyway, could you please bring me some gloves?” Joe asks.
Blake smiles, heading below deck to get Heath a pea coat, and Joe his gloves. George follows him, with Gryphon settled in an elbow, and Joe finds himself smiling in response to it all. Though he feels kind of stupid, Joe lets his smile grow into something wonderful. The Edgewind has taken to the arch, the crew is settled to their tasks, and his hands ache from the chill as he steadies their course into the unknown. The Earth sits at an angle thousands of feet over his head, the sky is all around him, and if not for the ship, he would see it between his feet. As was predicted, the air pressure is constant as the wind, and though he is in the shadow of his ship, the Sun is warming her belly.
The moment, in other words, is perfect.
This brings closure To Book One of Dark Matters and opens us to Book Two, in which we will further watch our dauntless characters come to grips with a broken world and the new physics governing it. At this point, one could walk away knowing that the little parts and parcels of each person’s life is more or less complete. ChoCho, Paige, Jynx, and Daria are now under the firm guidance of Joe and Blake, and Heath is of course in a safe house with people who love her. Outside of this little circle, in Tó Naneesdizí, two best friends and old lovers are finally sharing a roof, and across the country and the world, small communities of survivors are calling out, making connections via the air waves, and Captain Joe will be the first to try to connect those people.
What can’t be known is what will happen on the other side of that connection, or whether those connections can be made at all. It is the nature of such basic human connections that will be explored in Book Two. We will learn more about the world in its current state, and make a few new friends on the way. Rest assured, boundaries will be tested, risks taken, and a whole new world will open up before us. Be certain, in other words, that the journey is far from over.
Dark Matters: Book Two, The Edgewind Chronicles
Sunday, June 27th 2010 at 7:07 am |
This, my faithful readers, concludes Book One. I was going to be all coy and write some windy epilogue that would take up another week of your time, but decided I hate writing Prefaces and Epilogues and that writers who take the time to write them often come off sounding either arrogant, or hume, or both, which, mind you, is a terrible combination.
I will have much work to do over the next several weeks, setting up Book Two, building on the textual buffer, while simultaneously readying book one for publication and its evolution into a graphic novel.
There may be a brief delay in the start of book two, as my wife is pregnant, and she’s going to continue to need a little TLC over the next several months, but also because I have to build two websites in relation to my writing, and also spruce up my character profiles and glossaries for Books one and two. It became apparent to me, for instance, that people didn’t understand that the arches literally pepper the world, and seem to be geostable at both ends.
Also, I am still looking for an artist to work on Book 1 and book 2, so have a look at the Artist? page and let me know if you’re interested.
Sunday, June 27th 2010 at 6:58 pm |
Just a little confused – Kevin is holding hands with Cho Cho, Daria and Jynx, but Paige is on point?
Other than that, the joy of realising the dream clearly shines and is received by the reader – this one at least!
Sunday, June 27th 2010 at 9:29 pm |
Confusion dully noted and corrected. (I went over this scene nearly a dozen times, deciding who to put where and how. Apparently I didn’t put Paige back where she belongs.) Thanks for the catch . . .