LSRO: Chapter 12 - Activation (Patreon)

So we're chugging merrily along. It'd be nice if everything could be linear right? Yeah, but that's not how rebooting an interdimensional Library works haha!

Bits and pieces all coming together to fix it right back up!

Updated Draft. System Aspects more obvious now!

Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter 12

Activation

There was a pounding in her head, similar to the knocking at a door. No, that wasn't accurate. It was more like one of those big old iron knockers pounding at the door with a resounding boom.

"Quinn."

Yes, that was her name. She was pretty sure that was her name. Everything hurt. Everything was chasing her. There was a sea in front of her of guts and blood and vile-smelling black entrails.

She gagged.

She gagged again.

"Quinn, wake up."

Suddenly, she was sitting upright in a bed that was surprisingly soft, with no true recollection of how she got there. There was only a vague recollection of two voices arguing with a third about turning into a ramp just this once?

None of that made sense.

Not to mention that the light was far too bright for the splitting headache trying to separate her brain from her skull. This dream was strange. There was a purple-tinged person standing in front of her and…

"Lynx?" She asked and wished she hadn't spoken because now the word was bouncing around inside her agonizing skull.

"Quinn, I need you to wake up."

"You're looking particularly solid," she said to him. However, why wouldn't he be looking solid was another valid question. Fragments of memories began to piece themselves together as she slowly came out of her daze.

"The library," there was a tint of excitement in Lynx's voice and Quinn couldn't quite decide whether the sound and pitch change made him sound different.

"Slow down," she said, and her voice came out croaky and dry like she hadn't had water in a month. "Just let me breathe."

She squinted up at the still definitely purple-tinged manifestation of the Library as all the bits and pieces finally clicked back into place. Perhaps she'd hit her head harder than she realized. The whole concept of where she was and what had happened sounded strange in her head.

Was it all a dream?

She didn't think so. Hadn’t she already tried to pinch herself away multiple times?

But this room was new. Finally, she gave it a good look. This room was grander than anything she’d set foot in in her entire life. The ceilings went up, probably 20 feet tall, with columns of stone adorned with beautiful carvings and gorgeous deep purple drapes.

"The library really likes purple," she muttered out loud. It was easier to put the words together outside of her head. At least out in the open they weren't alone in her skull, bouncing off the sides, like a pointed triangle that was trying to kill her.

"Quinn, I need you to snap out of this. You need to get downstairs to the desk."

She squinted up at him again. "First up, make the light go away so I can think. Second, what desk?"

Lynx scowled briefly. It was the first time she could remember seeing him visibly irritated. But he did move to close the curtains tighter before speaking again. He was fast too, almost like a flash of light himself. "The front desk, silly. I need you at the check-in counter."

"Check-in counter? That desk is a check-in counter?" It suddenly all clicked into place for her, and a wave of excitement washed through Quinn.

"Yes, like a library, a check-in counter. You know. Pretty integral to the operation of things."

"Well it's not obvious since my world is largely digital now" Quinn muttered. With a sigh, she rolled her shoulders and realized that her left arm wasn't hurting as badly as it had before she went to sleep. It was still stiff and a bit sore, but she’d been sure it was dislocated earlier. Now, however, it was definitely back in its socket.

This was very strange, her entire body was still sore, but not in the agonizing way it had been before the dolly took her up the stairs.

"How did I get here?" She asked glancing around to try and find the cart and the bench.

"That's not important right now. The Library took care of you." Lynx's eyes gleamed like he'd been reignited somehow. "The worms contained enough magic so that when they died it released into the Library and managed to replenish some of the reserves. It’s currently rebooting."

"That's a good thing, right?" She said to him, still uncertain about everything she'd witnessed. Had she really absorbed all of that information from a book?

"Quinn, I need you to focus." Lynx bent down next to her and looked her directly in the eyes. "I need you to get up. You're healed enough to move. I need you to activate me."

That was actually enough to get Quinn out of her own head. "You need me to activate the Library?"

"Yes, I'm running on emergency power and everything I do is currently restricted. I require the Librarian to assist me. You're the only one who can activate me." There was a tiny undercurrent of pleading in his tone.

This time, she moved out of bed quicker than she thought possible and realized that her clothes were still, in fact, caked in worm guts. At least they smelled slightly better.

“I’m getting changed first.” She held up a hand when he went to protest. “No. I refuse to walk around in stiff, worm-guts decorated, clothes.

Lynx sighed, practically vibrating on the spot, and nodded at the wardrobe over the other side of the room. “Clothes are in there.”

Quinn scanned through them, pursing her lips. It wasn’t ideal. But there was a t-shirt blouse sort of thing, and a pair of pants that would do. She quickly got changed, making a note that she’d get a shower as soon as possible. Lynx didn’t seem to be in a waiting mood.

"Get my jeans cleaned. These pants are itchy. You and I are gonna talk after this," she said grimacing as each movement made reminded her she’d fought a giant bookworm.

"Well, of course, we're going to talk. There's lots we have to cover, including all of the stuff that I need you to help me get the library to do." Lynx most definitely wasn't paying any real attention to her or her demands.

“I’m serious, Lynx. Do whatever magic the Library needs to get my jeans clean. Do it now.”

This time he looked at her, surprise entering his gaze. “Done. Sorry. I’m just having trouble believing that after so long…” and he headed down the stairs.

She was glad dashing down the spiral staircase didn't result in more injuries. "What? What can't you believe?" Quinn asked him.

"Well, it's been so long. I didn't think I was ever going find anybody to fill the role. It took centuries to find you, and frankly, it was a last-ditch effort on my behalf to scan beyond the worlds we service. I would never have found you if your signature hadn’t been so loud. I was mostly resigned to just winking out of existence and taking viable magic with me." He was chattering so much, it sounded like nervous excitement.

Maybe she could coax some of the need to know  information he'd been withholding from him. She wondered if he realized he'd just admitted that he almost ceased to exist. Considering the amount of details she didn't know, everything she did in this place was like going in blind. Chatty Lynx was ideal. "So the library's connected to all magic?" She asked as she set foot on the main floor of the library.

"Without the Library, magic is wild and unpredictable and almost impossible to harness." He paused close to the desk and frowned as he fiddled with some of the filigree carvings. "The Library acts as a safety filter of sorts so that anyone anywhere can access magic or magical items as easily and safely as possible. But not everyone can wield magic deftly. It's a fickle thing. It can read each potential user like an open book. A lot of people resent that."

"Oh," she said mulling over everything he’d given away.

"Not everyone can absorb and understand the information the books impart. Although everyone can read them the way you were trying to initially." He grinned and motioned them from the staircase over to the massive wooden desk she’d first seen yesterday.

Quinn climbed up into it because she had no idea what else she was supposed to say to a manifestation of the library who had almost died. Plus, she really needed to absorb everything she'd heard. She'd assumed he'd be eternal, he'd always be. But there was a lot more to this new world of hers.

She felt an odd twinge in her chest at the thought of losing something as magical as the Library, even if she’d only just found it. For some reason she felt closer to him, or more accurately, the Library, than anybody in the last several years since her parents died.

Clearing her throat, she looked around the area. There was clearly enough room for several people in this front desk area. "Anyway, what am I supposed to do?"

"Place your hands on the console." He said a small, smug smile emerging on his face.

"Oh," she looked over the desk properly this time. There was nothing like a computer screen or anything that she would have expected from her earthen days. However, there was a definite shiny surface with indentations right near the front of it. She placed the heel of her hands in those marks and spread out her fingers, feeling the cool and smooth sensations of granite beneath her.

Suddenly a strange whirring sound echoed through her ears. Her headache seemed to recede into the very background of her being while something bigger than her took over.

A screen flickered to life in front of her, not just in her vision, but actually in front of her and sort of accentuated by what she was seeing. She knew instinctually that somebody else wouldn't see this screen the way that she did because it was connected to her. It ran through her and she could feel the way the energy thrummed inside of her. It made her flesh tingle in an extremely odd sensation that was neither pleasant nor unpleasant.

It just was.

As if a power current was running through her body at low voltage.

Words flashed across the screen and through her head and she knew unconsciously that these words would only make sense to her or to anybody whom she relinquished some form of control over it to. Anyone else would see gibberish.

Library system initialization complete.
Library system reboot?

Yes or No.

"I guess we're hitting yes," She mumbled under her breath, but even as she reached out to touch the area the words were in, it already activated. All she had to do was think toward it.

Suddenly a bright light activated throughout the library. It ran from the screen like a scanning beacon all the way up and over and then back through the rest of the library.

The red light seeped into the pores of everything, including herself. It felt hot and invasive.

It happened so fast that she only blinked twice before the screen alerted her anew.

Library system complete: low power mode.

Records synchronizing.

Borrowing ledgers synchronizing.

Staff synchronizing.

Librarian designation: Quinn, human, 19 years. Ability access: one skill. Magical affinity: 99.98% compatible. Highest compatibility probability. Access to all library features including:

One Links A542 Edition Category F manifestation. Lynx activated - Duration Infinite. Full mode on. Access Infinite Library Archives.

Resources synchronizing

...

...

Error

Error

Error

Division Branches sealed. All Secondary Branches sealed.

Main branch lacks assignments.

Incomplete book retrieval

Incomplete bookworm rejuvenation chambers. Status: engorged

Night owl status: Hibernation

Silverfish status: Lost

Compatibility with System: Librarian Override Permitted

Golem status: Zero

Helper status : Zero

Furniture status: Analysis underway

Assessment Protocol Enabled...

Result: Dregs of Power, Resources, and Inventory.

Assessment: Assigning relevant duties

New missions generated:

1. reinstate bookworms
2. reinstate night owls
3. recover silverfish
4. produce replacement tomes
5. produce new magic tomes

Number one priority: retrieve overdue library books

Current count missing 18042

Retrieval Listing in order of importance. Books must be recovered or balance is lost.

Quinn blinked at the words scrolling in front of her. They spoke in her head at the same time, in a sort of almost robotic, lilting voice. Like it was trying to lull her into a false sense of security.

But of all of those words echoing through her head, ringing in her ears, eighteen thousand and forty-two was the loudest.

"What does this mean, Lynx?" she asked, still processing the fact that the Library itself was very computer-like, even if it wasn’t technically chips and wires.

She glanced over at Lynx who hadn't answered. He seemed to be practically vibrating on the spot. He appeared more solid than he'd ever been before, and there was a new light to him, like life had literally been breathed back into him.

Lynx turned to her, that abnormally wide grin spread over his face again. "The Library has been closed out of necessity. No one got to return their books before we had to close the doors. There are so many overdue books out there. When the library was functioning at peak capacity, we had thousands of visitors a day. Hundreds of thousands sometimes, depending on what was going on." There was a hint of pride in Lynx's voice.

But Quinn could only focus on numbers right now. "How would hundreds of thousands of people fit into this library?"

He glanced about with a vague air of surprise and gestured all around them. "Well, this part of the Library is the main branch, you see, and there are annexes and other branches. You know, like the one we found your sword text in. Usually, that hallway wouldn't be as narrow or as dank or as broken, and when the power returns, everything will begin to revitalize and rejuvenate. Then we'll have to retrieve the books that we need to unlock the other divisions and branches. I mean, you get it right? It's a whole thing."

Quinn put her hands on her hips and looked away from the heads-up display in front of her. "No, Lynx, actually, I do not get this. You're saying this is just a small portion of the library?"

"Yes, this is the magical portion of the library. The one that contains the actual magical codexes, tomes and whatnot." He laughed and it was such a refreshing sound.

"So, there are other divisions of the branches, I know this, and they will expand and have more information than just the beginning books like this one does." Every time Quinn thought she was starting to get a handle on this whole 'magical library kidnapped me and pulled me into another world' sort of thing, something else came up.

"You are the Librarian." Lynx turned to her, all his smiles gone, a serious air about him. "It's your job to retrieve all of the tomes, codexes, and other books. Those from this section that contain magic knowledge themselves. Right through to alchemical texts, horticultural guidelines, culinary books, and even magical weapons that were borrowed and not returned before the closure. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg as you’d say!"

"Oh great," Quinn said dryly, heavy sarcasm leaking into her tone. He was far too excited about all the work ahead of them. "So, all I have to do is go out and tell people to kindly give me back the Library items they've borrowed and we can reopen everything?"

Suddenly the console beeped in a long drawn-out tone, interrupting their discussion.

Quinn glanced at it and could practically feel the blood draining from her face.

Tome Retrieval Importance Listing:

Dire: Must be recovered within the specified timeline to enforce actual recovery of all Library Systems.

DeKarlyle's Thesis of Spatial Distortion

Mantis Leaf's Advanced Combat Strategy

Tarlegish's Dicotomy of Herbal Evolution

Time Remaiming:
71 hours :59 Minutes 50 Seconds.

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Please let me know what you think!

Much love

KT