Absurd

July 17th, 991 SE – Siklantel, Halinen Confederacy

A gentle breeze brushed over Weiss’s hair, causing his eyes to flutter open. He felt the soft support of a mattress beneath him as well as a cool, damp rag on his forehead. Slowly, he pushed himself up causing the rag to fall into his lap.

This time, he was in a long cabin of sorts, with wooden walls that curved smoothly into the ceiling to form a cylindrical shape. A skylight and windows next to each cot provided ample light. Cots separated by white curtains lined its sides.

Weiss’s belongings, including his watch and wallet, were placed on the bedside table where a tall woman sat reading a book. She wore a large black frock coat that hung on her shoulders like a cape. Her face was softer than Neri’s, though she was still much older than Weiss. Her face showed a gentle boredom he would sometimes see on his sister, as if being bored amused her.

Their eyes met. The woman snapped her book shut and took two cigarettes from her coat. “Want one?” Her voice carried a heavy accent that pushed her ‘W’s towards becoming ‘V’s.

Weiss shook his head.

The woman returned a cigarette to her pocket and retrieved a small glass container. Weiss initially thought it must have been a lighter, but to his surprise, when she uncapped the lid there was only a thin spout with which she poured a thin film of oil onto her pointer finger. At the snap of her fingers, his eyes went wide as the oil ignited into a dull orange flame. After using it to light the cigarette, the woman casually wiped her finger into a handkerchief and took a long drag.

“How…” Weiss stared intently at the dim embers in the cigarette, trying to find some evidence that his eyes were playing tricks on him, but a gust of pungent, earthy smoke confirmed that the flame was real.

The woman grinned. “It is an interesting trick, yes? By compressing air fast enough, you can cause the oil to ignite.”

“A trick…” Weiss would’ve dismissed it entirely had he not seen it happen. “But how did you compress the air?”

“Err… aermit theory is not my specialty.” Her grin turned into a sheepish smile. “But if I were to wager a guess I would say it is the innate ability of rational beings, our divinity manifest.”

“Absurd.” A dull throbbing on his forehead reminded him that reality itself had been absurd recently. He recalled the wooden marble that flew to his head without being thrown. “Am I still under arrest?”

The woman hesitated a moment before nodding.

A throbbing pang shot through his head, threatening to return in full force. “Leave,” he said curtly. Surprisingly, she didn’t object. Without another word, she reached under her chair to grab a cane and pushed herself to her feet, her right leg buckling with each step as she walked away.

No one else came to visit him that day. The nurses would refill his water cup or bring him some hard cornbread, but otherwise left him alone with his thoughts. He now remembered his argument with his sister and the gunman waiting at the door when he opened it; he even remembered the reverberations of pressure bouncing around in his head as the bullet pierced his skin. Yet, he was here.

His headache would wax and wane as he mulled over his situation again and again, confusion and clarity coming in and out like the tide. Outside, there was still only one sun in the sky and the trees were undeniably, mundanely oak. All of it indicated that nothing had changed about the world. Yet, Kurosaki was not here.

The next day was much of the same. He desperately hoped to hear the sound of fighter jets or helicopters overhead, or for a squad of special forces to kick down the infirmary door, or for one of the nurses to accidentally check their phone. Weiss spent his time staring out the window at the serene rolling green hills wondering if this was Heaven, Hell, Eden, or Purgatory, until the woman with the cane returned with a smile.

“Good news, you are no longer under arrest!” She pulled out another two cigarettes and offered one to Weiss, which he once again rejected. “Instead, they are putting you in a, well, legal grey zone of sorts. Any punitive procedures have been put on hold, but you will be on house arrest until your case is resolved.”

“I don’t live here.” He latched onto the familiar phrase in the sentence.

“Yes, which is why I’m here to convince you to do so.” The woman exhaled. “You are a professor, a scholar. I too am a scholar, and the scholars of Siklantel reside at the University of Utaliha.”

“Do I have a choice?” The prospect of returning to Toronto and his previous life seemed to fall further and further out of reach.

“I understand giving up your old life may be hard. I’ve been through it.” The woman leaned and placed a hand on Weiss’s shoulder, her breath reeking of smoke. “You probably have a family waiting for you, but I’m sure they would rather see you alive than dead.”

It was all so absurd that he could probably think and think until he found himself in an existential spiral down to the void. Indeed, if he could not think his way out of the absurdity, he would simply have to stop thinking, at least until he learned more about this strange place. His headache waned.

“What’s your name?” Weiss stepped out of the cot to collect his belongings.

“I am Brunhilde von Alba, a chemist under the patronage of Lady Afrayn Siklan.” She gave a small curtsy while remaining seated. “You may call me Hilda if you would like.”

“Weiss Faber.” He extended a hand, which Hilda shook.

Hilda glanced at his hair.

“My parents were humorous, I know.”

When they exited the infirmary, they stepped into a large plaza lined with many similar longhouses. Their walls were painted in white with delicate patterns carved in blue and black with the bright mid-day sun illuminated their every line and curve. At the end of the plaza was a wide palace whose pale walls were carved with unknown deities and swept upwards into a towering spire.

“I presume Sir Faber has accepted the eimeltet’s offer?” A familiar voice behind Weiss caused him to jump. He whirled around to see Captain Mirled approaching.

“Yeah, for now at least.” Weiss took a few cautious steps back, eyeing the gun still at his hip.

“That was rather quick,” the elven soldier grunted. “Given his state in Neri’s office and all.”

“Never get a soldier to do a bureaucrat’s job.” Hilda prodded his leg with her cane. “You cannot expect people to obey just because you point a gun at them.” Then, she bowed to the soldier, smiling all the while. “However, I am grateful to the Siklan family for extending to my fellow scholar this leniency.”

Mirled followed Weiss’s eyes to his flintlock and sighed. “It was never loaded. I just wanted you to come along quickly.”

Weiss scoffed.

“Here, this is your identification.” Mirled handed him a metal cylinder. A piece of paper dangled from its side like a tongue. “If someone asks to see the documentation, pull the paper out. To return it, just turn the wheel on the side of the preektil until it clicks.”

Weiss was led to the palace, which he learned was named Liatepmez. While lavish, its interior functioned more as a government building than the residence of royalty. Workers carried stacks of papers across the great hall with entire chains of preektils linked to their belts, while the throne at the back of the hall was empty. The two guards posted next to it saluted Mirled as they walked past.

Behind the throne itself was a door leading to a spiral staircase which Weiss recognized as the one he had been led up earlier that day. But instead of going up the stairs again, they exited through a doorway that led to a charming garden. Perfectly trimmed bushes and bundles of bright, colorful flowers surrounded a marble fountain that continuously spewed water in a tall arc. A few birds, which Weiss recognized as the extinct passenger pigeon, perched near the spout, dunking their bodies into the water.

“Not many people get to see the eimeltet’s garden.” Mirled said. “There is a public entrance to Utaliha, but she insisted there be a direct path between Liatepmez and the university for her guests, so this garden path was constructed.”

“I’m honored,” Weiss replied. Utaliha had a charming little campus that reminded Weiss of the university where he used to work. Most of the buildings were built in a gothic style with white stone arches and spires, while some were wooden longhouses like those in the palace plaza. A tall clock tower stood at the center of the campus where anyone could glance up to check the time.

Weiss’s accommodation was a three-storied dormitory. It contained a mess hall as well as communal bathing and restroom areas.

“I know your people might not be familiar with the benefits of hygiene,” Mirled said as he showed Weiss a sink for hand washing, “but here in Siklantel, even the populous humans have longer life spans due to our cleanliness.”

Weiss frowned and wondered what people Mirled thought he belonged to. Sure, the bathroom was generally clean, but it stank to high heaven. At least a thick wooden door separated it from the rest of the building and his own room was far away on the second floor.

Weiss’s room was neatly furnished with a bed, a desk, and some empty shelves. A window faced rolling light-green hills and dark pine trees to create a picturesque scene fit for a wilderness retreat. It wasn’t bad for a prison.

“Now that he is properly confined, you are relieved of your duties Captain, are you not?” Hilda turned and asked.

“I suppose you are right.” Mirled said with a stiff smile. He pointed a finger at Weiss. “You are not to leave the building, but I am a very busy man, so I cannot watch over you at all times.”

After the soldier left, Hilda immediately led Weiss out of the building. He supposed this was the ‘grey zone’ she was referring to. “Scholars at Utaliha live and die by their results. So, we will see if there is a project you can begin working on immediately”

“I have to work while I am arrested?”

“We are also in debt to the eimeltet. One usually works to pay off their debts, do they not?”

“Wait, you’re also-” Weiss turned to her in shock. “So the legal loophole is indentured servitude!?”

“Preposterous!” Her voice was stern. “This is a legal and fair agreement between valuable talent like us and the eimeltet.”

Weiss clicked his tongue, but didn’t press the issue any further. For now, it was better than the conditions Mirled offered in the cell. At least he did not need to justify his supposed crime and explain his rather complicated origins.

They soon arrived at a library. Inside, Weiss spotted a large map spread over a table. It was drawn by hand and contained latitude and longitude lines. The names of the countries and landmarks were unfamiliar, save for the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

“Where are we?”

“Siklantel is in central Magentel next to Lake Gita’ange.” Hilda pointed to a red dot next to a lake. “Where are you from?”

“Good question.” Weiss unfurled his identification to find that they had left his nation of origin blank. “Nowhere it seems. You said I’m here to choose a project. What are my options?”

Hilda gave him a brief look of bewilderment before sighing. “That depends on your expertise. Here in the library, you can find copies of the most recent papers written by scholars across the world.”

Weiss felt quite at home among the Utaliha scholars pulling books and articles from the shelves. Across the floors of the library, he picked a few selections at random and began reading. He read about lead chambers for producing sulfuric acid and precision lathes that could cut within millimeters of tolerance, theories of extinction and the early formulations of electricity. By the time the sun began to set, a tall stack of books and papers had piled up on the small window-side desk Hilda claimed for them.

“Have you found anything interesting?” Hilda asked.

“Plenty.” Weiss looked over to her stack of books. “But what are you working on?”

“A formulation of lye that is not derived from wood ash,” she replied. “There is currently a bounty on the solution.”

“Have you tried electrolysis?”

“Eelek… what?”

“Never mind.” It was a shot in the dark. “How about a formulation based on sodium carbonate?” When Hilda gave him another confused look, Weiss clarified. “Soda ash.”

Hilda waved her hand dismissively. “That’s ancient knowledge, but soda ash must still be obtained through limited natural means, either saltworth shrubs or certain rare salts.”

“It can also be produced from brine and limestone.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You really know of such a formula?”

“Sure, the hard part is probably acquiring enough ammonia,” Weiss shrugged. “But the good news is that it’s all recycled during the process, so-”

“The bounty,” she suddenly hissed and looked around the mostly empty library. Only after Weiss nodded did she clear her throat and continue. “I usually do not discuss my research with others, but I am willing to make an exception on your behalf. No one in Utaliha will run cleaner trials and gather more precise measurements than I can, though coming up with the formulations themselves is not my strong suit.”

“So the experimentalist is curious about the theory?” Weiss smirked.

Hilda lowered her voice and leaned in. “The discovery would be under your name of course. I am not desperate enough to take another person’s work, but 'the Faber-Alba method’ does have a nice ring to it.”

“It should be attributed to Solvay then,” Weiss thought. “I'd be happy to share it with you. In exchange, teach me the trick for lighting cigarettes.”

“You want to learn about the behavior of gasses?”

“No, I want to learn errr... how was it pronounced again?”

“You wish to learn aermit! I must admit it feels like I am getting the better end of the deal here.” Hilda laughed. “The theory or the practice?”

“Is there a difference?”

“The same difference between understanding physics and building a bridge.”

“I see. The practice then, the one you are familiar with.”

They shook on it.

When they left the library, the sun had fully set. There was no sound of traffic, only the chirping of insects and the rustling of trees. A few oil lamps were spaced out along the roads, and they moved from one pool of light to the next. The dim light emanating from a the city couldn’t scratch the stars, revealing their full brilliance.

“Don’t tell me you are also well versed in astronomy,” Hilda said.

“No, but my sister was.” Weiss drew a few arcs in the sky. “All I can recognize is the Big Dipper, but she could probably find our exact latitude and longitude just from a glance.”

“A family of scholars…” Hilda mused. “Where is she now? Siklantel is always looking for talent.”

“I don’t know.” He let his voice drop. She had been in the room with him when he was shot, but she was never as controversial a figure as he was. He could only dare to imagine the world in which she was organizing his funeral. He convinced himself this was the only valid theory on the assumption that if she had also been attacked she would be here beside him.

Hilda placed a hand on his back. “Then find comfort knowing that she can see the same stars.”

Indeed, why were they the same? Why were some things the same and others different compared to the Earth he remembered? Kurosaki had once said, in a now famous talk, that science was the “slow, steady unraveling of the mysterious, magical unknown so they become mundane.” Yet this mystery was so contradictory and vast that Weiss felt vertigo just trying to see all of its grandeur in his mind.

When they arrived back at their living quarters, he stopped. “I want to look for a little while longer.”

“Let us go to the rooftop then.”

They went to the third floor where Weiss helped Hilda out through a window onto the roof. She then retrieved two cigarettes, which Weiss turned down. He watched closely as she snapped her fingers to ignite the cigarette, however the trick remained as bewildering as before.

“I’m not sure how I should thank you, Hilda.”

“The well being of one of us depends on all of us.” She breathed into the warm night air. “We need to help each other.”

“By us do you mean...”

“Hetonian scholars. Those from Baernvar, Virdia, Diolona, Porteña, and the rest.” Weiss recalled from the map in the library that Heton was a continent to the west. “While our people’s empires may be vast, here in Siklantel, those empires have no power to protect us, so we must protect each other. Even so, I would choose to live as an indentured servant in Siklantel rather than a noblewoman in Leidenfeld.”

Weiss leaned back and mindlessly traced out constellations on the sky. “I am from none of those places, but it’s not like my government has any power to protect me either.”

“I must admit I am curious as to what your situation is, Weiss.” Hilda twisted the stump of the cigarette into the roof, smiling. “Though if you cannot confide in a stranger, I would understand better than most how difficult can be to explain one's life.”

Weiss himself could still not comprehend what his situation really was, so 'difficult to explain' was an understatement. Yet, as the night breeze brushed over them, his headache finally subsided fully and he felt himself relax.

“If you knew something was the right thing to do and you had the power to do it, even if some opposed it, is it not your responsibility to act?”

“Hmm..." Hilda lit another cigarette. "That is only true for a king.”

“Even kings would not have had the chance to do what I could have.” An unprecedented era of peace and a new era of humanity were all within reach. “But here, I’m powerless.”

Hilda let out a huff of amusement. “How old are you?”

“Twenty eight.” Weiss turned slightly to give her a side-eye. “Does that make what I say less true?”

“When the War of Seven Empires began, I was around your age and I had some grand delusions.” She gave him a resigned click of the tongue. “I thought I could change the world through intellect rather than violence, but I too was powerless. Then, many years later I met the eimeltet and I realized that we are all powerless to the whims of fate, God, the Great Spirit, or whatever it is you pray to, no matter if we are a king or a slave.”

“A defeatist’s self-fulfilling prophecy,” he grumbled.

Hilda snorted and pushed herself off the roof tiles. “I hope you will get to meet Lady Siklan to thank her. She is as responsible for your situation as I am, and I think you will find her to be a useful ally.”

Weiss didn’t reply. He helped Hilda into the window but stayed outside himself. He kept tracing the stars again and again until sleep took him.