Chapter Thirteen
When I awoke in my quarters, the twins were sitting at my bedside. I felt the lump on the top of my head before trying to sit up. “I made it back then?” I said with a weak smile on my lips. “How long have I been out?”
“Since we don’t know when you took the knock on the head, we can’t say for sure,” said Seamus.
“But you’ve been back for less than an hour,” said Sean. “Whenever you’re feeling up to it, Missus Grier and Bedford would like to have a word with you.”
“I’m ready now,” I said as I started to pull back the covers.
“Stay put, Fallon,” said Sean as Seamus got up and left the room. “They’ll come to you.”
Missus Grier and Bedford arrived before I could reposition myself into a comfortable sitting position. Missus Grier smiled brightly at me. “Thank you, Sean. Please tell the team to stow everything and we’ll celebrate in the mess at dinner time.”
After Sean left the room, Bedford gave me a concerned look.
"How you feelin’ then, lad?”
“A bit sore and queasy.”
“You should have come up sooner, you know.”
“Yes, sir. I know." My eyes welled with tears of shame. "And I forgot the to undo the balance bags…”
“But you made it back, lad. You made it back."
"And that is all that matters, Fallon," said Missus Grier.
"You must stay in your bed until this evening, but I am certain you will be fine."
She handed me the stack of my drawings. "Do you feel up to talking to us about your descent?”
I took a moment to shuffle through the sketches, arranging them roughly in chronological order, then started my account. They were infinitely patient with my narration and frequently asked questions about what I had drawn and if I could produce more drawings when I felt better.
When I came to the sequence when the distant shaft of light appeared, I explained my idea of the sphere within a sphere.
“Quite well thought out, young man. Your Headmaster Hunninger would not have reasoned half so well.”
When I reached the last sketch, the two exchanged a look I couldn’t decipher.
“How clearly did you see this object, Fallon?”
“Very clearly. I didn’t have time to sketch all the detail before the mist rolled in; but, given time, I can render it more accurately.”
“And its condition, lad? Did it look like a wreck? Was it corroded? In disrepair?” There was an air of excitement in his voice.
I closed my eyes and pictured the object. “No sir. It seemed shiny and new. Yes, shiny. I don’t think that shows in my sketch, but it was mostly made of metal.”
“That’s good, Fallon—very good indeed,” said Bedford.
Missus Grier took my hand in hers. "As I told you earlier, I envy you. You have not only delivered the truth about the Below, but the truth about our whole world. You will be remembered in our histories until the end of time.”
“But…” I hesitated.
“But what?” said Missus Grier.
“Do you still have to follow protocol? Or can you now tell me what you expected to find Below?”
Bedford laughed, “No lad. There is no more protocol ta follow.”
“We did not know what to expect, Fallon,” said Missus Grier. “We did expect to find water down there, but had no idea that it would be the home to the creatures you have drawn."
"You must give a sense of their size at some point, by the way,” said Bedford.
“And we believed—and I think you have proved—that the world is a sphere," said Missus Grier. "We believe that there is much more to the world than our little island.”
“An island?”
“Yes, Fallon, an island," said Bedford. "You see, the Basin was once the floor of what we think was a giant body of water that separated our island from the rest of the world. We believe that this land is no more than a shell.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Have you ever had a crusted apple, lad?”
I nodded.
“Good, you know how the apple cooks and falls away from the crust when it’s baked?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Well,” continued Bedford, “that’s what we think happened when this world was formed. The warm insides cooled into a ball slightly smaller than the crust upon which we live. At some point, massive parts of the Basin caved in, and the water drained to the surface of the inner globe.”
“I think I understand. A sphere within a sphere."
"Exactly," said Missus Grier.
"But what about the object on the island? Can you explain that?”
“I could only guess what it is," said Missus Grier. "However, I think you can explain it."
"Me?"
"Yes, you." She handed me the drawing of the structure and a pencil. "Let’s test how good your eye for detail actually is.”
She placed her finger on a part of the sketch that indicated a relatively flat area. It had a row of dark rectangles running its width that were underscored with some squiggles. “Can you focus on this area of the structure? Concentrate, Fallon.”
I closed my eyes and focused. “The dark areas are smooth and glossy. Like glass." I opened my eyes and began to sketch in the detail. "Yes. Like a row of windows. See? Like this.”
“And beneath these windows, lad. What are those squiggles?”
I closed my eyes again. I was puzzled and disturbed by what I saw. A tremor shot through me as I opened my eyes in astonishment.
“What is it, Fallon?” said Missus Grier.
“Writing."
"Writing?"
"In our alphabet.”
She smiled at my words. “And what did this writing say?”
I penciled in the letters: IE NEWORLD.
Tears streaked Missus Grier's pale face and her voice quavered. “The craft, itself, Bedford! In pristine condition after all these centuries.”
“I wonder if it can still fly,” said Bedford.
“Fly? What are you talking about?”
“Do you not realize what you have discovered, Fallon?” said Missus Grier.
I shook my head.
“Do you remember the pages of the book you found in the courtyard of the Mount?” said Missus Grier
“Yes,” I answered tentatively.
“Those were handwritten copies of a very important book that I have in my possession. The book claims to be the log of a craft that could sail the heavens. It was called the Interstellar Explorer, or IE, Neworld. It came from a planet called Earth and bore more than 5,000 people and the embryonic sources for almost all the plants and animals found on our land. Your discovery proves that the book is not the product of some overwrought imagination. It is, in fact, the partial record of an incredible voyage and the beginning of life on Neworld.”
“Then your work is done, ma’am. You have found your truths.”
She shook head. “No, Fallon, our work is just beginning. There are so many questions to be answered. What other lands lie beyond the Basin? Are there other people on this world? How do we make the journey to these lands? What about exploring the world Below? Exploring the IE Neworld? Getting it to fly?”
– End of The Neworld Papers: Below –
