The lab door closed with a sound. It was not the clang of metal on metal. It sounded like a computer shutting down. The sound echoed down the hallways. It felt like a death sentence. Valen did not look back at the door he just opened. He was still getting used to the blue lines on the big computer screen. His eyes were blurry with all the numbers and words on the screen. His hands felt fake like they were made of some kind of mesh.He was no longer in the dream world.. He could still feel the rain from that world on his skin. It was like a hum. The woman with the mirror mask did not move. Her fingers were frozen above the keyboard. The room had suddenly gotten very hot.You should not be here she said. Her voice was shaking. The plan was to erase your memory when you were done. You should not be able to think or remember anything.Valen took a step forward. The floor did not crack,. The blue lines on the floor started to turn red. I am not a computer program he said. His voice was dee

The people of the Delta were working hard to fix the ravine boundary. This was the important thing for them to do before the smoke from the broken machines had even cleared the air. Valen was standing at the end of the pass. He was watching the salvage crews as they worked together to take the cast-iron plates from the tripods.They had to talk to each other to get things done because they did not have a computer to guide them. Every action needed someone to give orders. This sounded loud and different in the quiet of the open coast.Noa was working near the defense line. She was sorting through the copper wiring that they had taken from the processing cylinders of the vanguard units. The copper was thick. Covered with a special material that had kept it from getting damaged over the years. Noa did not use a tool to measure the weight of the copper. Instead she wrapped it around her arm. Felt how heavy it was.We can use this copper to make the perimeter alert system better Noa said t

The morning after they went into the archive was really quiet. The air in the river delta felt different. It was not controlled by machines anymore. The temperature had dropped a lot. It felt heavy. Valen was standing near the watchpoint. His hands were on the wooden frame of the barricade. The gray pattern on his skin was gone. It had faded away. His hands were rough from lifting wood and hitting iron.The river was moving slowly. The edges were blocked by pieces of ice. The ice was. Making a loud sound. The waterwheel at the foundry was still turning.. It was moving slowly. The wooden paddles had icicles on them. They were catching the light of the sun. Valen did not see any warnings or readings. He just felt the wind on his face. His joints were stiff.Noa came out of the storage depot. She was wearing a coat made of gray wool. It was coated with animal fat to keep her warm. She had a bundle of cedar slats under her arm. Each slat had notches on it. The notches showed how food they

The Long Record was moving across the channel heading back toward the river delta. The boat was going up and down on the waves making a thud sound. Valen was holding the tiller feeling the boat move. The salt water was making a crust on the deck it was very cold.Noa was at the midships hatch she was tying down the crates of tools they got from Kael. The crates had iron shears and sulfur in them they were very heavy. Noa was using her weight to balance the cargo she did not use any machines.The clouds were getting closer Noa said, her voice was a little rough. The light was not changing it was staying the same. Without the core the light was not being controlled. The ocean mist was very thick it was cold and wet.This is an atmosphere Valen said, he was looking at the entrance to the delta bay. It does not make things easy for us we have to be careful. If we make a mistake the boat will get hurt.Valen moved the tiller the boat was responding slowly. The iron-clad bow was going throu

It took three days to get the salvage from the broken core of Sector Seven. The days were measured by the thawing and refreezing of the chemical slush in the Great Sump not by the lights in the administrative grid. Valen worked with his hands inside the dirty housing of the primary turbine. His muscles hurt from trying to move a retaining collar that had stuck to the central drive shaft. Every time he used his wrench it sent a shock through his arms. This reminded him that things do not come apart easily.Noa stood on the catwalk writing in her ledger. She was counting the pieces that Tor and the salvage crew were taking from the pit. The air in the vault was thick with a smell from the old protein vats.. The green mold was starting to fade as it did not get the nutrients it needed."Noa called down her voice echoing off the walls. We got fourteen pieces of steel shafting. Each one is eight inches thick and six feet long. If Gar can cut them in half at the delta forge we will have iro