LSRO: Chapter 82 - Best Laid Plans (Patreon)

I am so excited for the next little pieces of the story. I cannot wait to write them and share them with you!

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Chapter 82

Best Laid Plans

Quinn fully intended to wake up the next morning refreshed, informed, and recharged. She planned to grab some food, check in with Lynx quickly, and run down to the core.

However, best-laid plans are usually screwed up somehow. Her initial plans were, in fact, not actually possible.

The first thing she noticed was that Aradie wasn't in the room with her. Quinn reached out with her senses, which were slightly more attuned to the Library every day, and felt that Aradie was downstairs somewhere close to the check-in desk.

This was odd because the bird had been there when Quinn went to bed and didn't usually stray from her during sleep. There was so much to do, Quinn didn't think too much of it and decided to go and have a good breakfast downstairs, grab her bird, go down, and spend some cozy time with the Library, getting to know it better.

She could feel it. This was it. Her chance to really become the strong kick-ass Librarian she wanted to be.

With positivity flowing through her, she raced downstairs.

And all of those thoughts flew out the window.

Aradie practically hovered in the air, squawking loudly at Hirish and Siliqua. Lynx stood with them next to the check-in counter, speaking to the bird and the researchers in all earnestness. They all seemed to be conversing with the owl, which didn't strike Quinn as odd as it maybe should.

She'd never realized Aradie could speak to other people. Magical bird who spoke through telepathic images and emotions... probably able to communicate with anyone open to her type of magic. It made sense now that she thought of it.

Aradie, Hirish, and Siliqua began practically yelling at each other, while Lynx couldn't get a word in edgewise. The elf couple spoke to Aradie and Lynx with loud hand gestures and words that Quinn couldn't quite make out because Dottie was trying to train the new recruits at the same time. Minus the Salosiers that is.

The bench wasn't more than 20 feet from the check-in desk, which created a huge hullabaloo because there was a line of about 20 people waiting to return books to the Library.

It appeared that Eric was the only person checking in books.

Quinn pinched the bridge of her nose and counted to five. But the din didn't lessen.

She breathed in deeply and yelled: "Quiet!"

Everybody stopped, just for a few seconds. But it was enough for her to make her presence known and walk down to where Aradie, Lynx, Siliqua, and Hirish were having their discussion.

"I'll deal with you guys in a moment." Then she turned to Dottie. "Take the new recruits back a tad, away from the noise at the front entrance, okay?" She waved toward the couches and table that they used for some of their meetings.

"Fine, Librarian," Dotty said, sounding extremely put out, but she trotted away with the rest of the recruits following after her. The bench had proven to be such an amazing help since their first very awkward meeting where Quinn pretty much sat on her.

Quinn then turned her attention to the four in front of her, but not before being interrupted by Eric.

"Don't mind me," Eric called over, "I'll just keep doing this all by myself the whole time."

Quinn sighed. "Okay, Eric, I'll bite. Why are you the only one at the check-in desk?"

Eric, it seemed, was brilliant at multitasking because he didn't even pause in checking in books as he spoke. "Because you said that all of the Library assistants can take vacations. That it's as easy as walking through the door if they like. You said that all they have to do is be back for their shift. And voila! Danio, Jim, Bob, none of them turned up today. So here we are, Geneva has the afternoon shift so I'm making sure she rests, but it's a little hectic here."

Quinn sighed. "I didn't mean they could just take off straight away without any prior arrangements. Plus isn't this their shift?  I thought I was pretty clear about being here for their shift. I guess I wasn't. We'll have to reword that, I apologize. I'll be with you in a few minutes to clear any backlog."

Eric grumbled under his breath, "Fine, I'm obviously making do right now."

"Okay, you guys," Quinn said, turning her attention from Eric. If she really tried, she'd be listening to his grumbling forever. "What gives? What's with the noise? It's a Library, isn't it supposed to be quiet?"

Lynx raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Why would a Library be quiet?"

"So people can concentrate on reading," Quinn said. "Every Library on Earth has a rule, you have to be quiet in the Library."

"Well," Lynx said, looking like he was really considering her words. "I mean, of course we want people to not be yelling or playing music or singing or whatever in the Library, but people are going to talk if they're researching items, they're going to compare notes, they're going to want to have theoretical and theological discussions. We promote the sharing of knowledge, not the reading of it in your head all by yourself."

Quinn blinked at him. She actually liked that philosophy. "Still, you guys were being what I would call unproductively loud. So, what's the problem?"

"We have finally figured out how to fully cleanse the last subject sections of their virus," Hirish said, not focusing on any one of them in particular. Aradie flapped her wings irritably and went and settled on Quinn's shoulder.

"Well, Aradie doesn't seem to agree with whatever your solution is." Quinn was about to say more, but the bird flashed a few images in front of her mind. Some of them were a complex melting down of books that Quinn was not partial to at all. "Wait, does this mean the solution is to withdraw a heap of books, melt them down, delete them basically, and then reconstitute them from the Library's archives?"

"That would be the solution we found," Siliqua said. She wouldn't meet Quinn's eyes.

"Why these books? Why are they so hard to, I guess, cleanse?" She asked.

"Yeah, cleanse isn't exactly the word I would choose," Siliqua said. "But it's close enough for us to use for the current topic. The detritus inside the books is, it's too far gone for us to magically..."

"Oh!" Quinn said. "Decontaminate."

"Excellent word." Siliqua continued from where she'd been interrupted. "These sections are infected. They're not salvageable, they're irreparable. We were going to approach Narilin with them and see if she agrees with us, but there's only so much we can cleanse from something rotten before it disintegrates or before it gives way to what is trying to infect it. Luckily there are only 57 books we've had to put in this category." Siliqua looked like she was fighting back tears.

Hirish cleared his throat, obviously disliking his partner's stress levels. "We tried everything. We do apologize, but it seems this is the best avenue for us to take."

Lynx sighed. "At least we have a solution. Looks like it's time to go and talk to the Book Doctor."

~~

Narilin was engrossed in her work with Jane when the group of them traipsed in. The two sisters barely even looked up as Quinn, Hirish, Siliqua, Lynx, and Aradie entered the room.

Aradie flew off with a hint of dissatisfaction, settling among her brethren and cooing at them in what appeared to be a retelling of her very angry opinion about what was about to happen.

Quinn approached the desk and cleared her throat. Narilin looked up and blinked. "Oh, Librarian, I did not realize it was you. I was engrossed."

"Who else comes to visit you here?" Quinn asked, forgetting her manners in all her curiosity.

"Sometimes Misha, occasionally Dottie, and every so often Geneva and Eric just to double-check on some books they have given into my care. Often they receive returned books that are in less than ideal condition. Eric seems very invested in how the books come back to us, so much so that he wants to know if they are indeed irreparable and if that means he can levy a fine. I have told him..." She paused, flushing a little. It was difficult to tell on a Salosier, but there was definite blushing. "I apologize. I do get carried away when it's about fostering good book etiquette."

Quinn couldn't help staring. She had never heard Narilin speak so much in the whole time she'd been at the Library, the whole like almost three weeks. "Oh, that's perfectly understandable. I'm so glad you and your sister seem to be doing well here.

Jane perked up at the mention of her. "This infirmary is fascinating. We have book infirmaries back at home but nothing on this scale, nor with all of these tools."

Narilin practically shone with happiness. It made Quinn wonder if the Salosier had been homesick.

"Anyway, why are you here, Librarian? I know you were not due to assist with book reparation today, especially since I now have Jane." Narilin asked.

Quinn nodded. "Sadly, it's not really book reparation we need to talk about. I'll let Hirish fill you in. He understands it more than I do." Quinn stepped back, allowing Hirish to step forward.

He glanced at Siliqua before clearing his own throat and speaking while his partner produced a thick plastic like covering to place over the table in front of them. Hirish pulled out several books, laying them on a protective surface so that they were spread out.

It was highly obvious something was wrong with them. Their spines were mottled with a strange black substance that Quinn would have thought was black mold from Earth. But it was more insidious than that. She could practically see the rotting patterns all over the book as they moved, congealed, and spread out. As if it was alive...

Quinn instinctively reached out her senses toward it only to recoil like she'd been slapped. It felt... dangerous.

Narilin gasped in shock, her eyes going wide. Even the leaves in her hair shook in a way that wasn't attractive like usual but more scared. "What happened?" she asked, pulling on some complex-looking gloves that were made for her nine fingered hands. They went all the way up her arms, and almost suctioned to her hands and arms, appearing like a second skin that was magically protected.

"These are the books we have quarantined, the ones we found that were infecting part of the Library. We have 57 of them and they are, as far as I can tell," Hirish continued, "beyond saving in the way they are now."

Over her shock, or at least appearing to be Narilin reached gently for one of the books. A melancholy frown passed over her face as she touched them. "Oh, these are, these are not the books they should be," she said. She looked at Quinn. "They are warped beyond their intended purpose and will serve no one anything but harm should they be allowed to continue. Do you wish my opinion?"

Hirish sighed. "We were hoping you could let us know if we're doing the right thing in destroying these books and if we have the capability to recreate them with the current supplies that we have on hand."

Narilin frowned. "Well, yes, I can look them over." She placed both hands on the book and, as far as Quinn could tell, she looked beyond the book in a way that Quinn didn't exactly understand. Pulling herself out of the trance a moment later, Narilin sighed. "Even though at first appearance we'd think they are beyond hope, it is always better to make sure. You are indeed correct in thinking that these are beyond saving. I..." and she paused, leaving the book and handing a pair of gloves to her sister. "Take a look and see what you think," she said, as she moved around the workshop.

Quinn could never get over the contents of the book infirmary. Its sheer majesty was reflected in the reams of parchment, of beautiful binding thread, the leather for the coverings. It was a magical place, quite literally.

Narilin frowned. "I believe we are currently capable of reconstituting 39 of them. However, I could be wrong. That is just an estimation given the current predicament and the writing implements I have that can currently be employed. You will have to talk to Farrow about the bookworm, night owl, silverfish interactions. My night owls have currently given us a lot more writing implements than I thought we would get. It seems that they aligned their shedding of them with the current urgency level of the Library. So we should be able to get most of the books redone straight away."

"How long will that take?" Quinn asked.

Narilin scrunched her face up very oddly. It made her skin look like old withered bark for a moment. Quinn tried not to laugh and was barely successful. Luckily, it seemed the Salosier did not notice.

"I would give us about two to three weeks, perhaps a little longer. I would appreciate it if you gave us a level of urgency per book title and we can address that then."

Quinn sighed. "So wait, if we pull all of these books out of rotation and cleanse the area around them, then we can return the books to those specific subject sections without fear of them being further contaminated, is that correct?"

Hirish nodded. Siliqua smiled. "That's exactly it."

"So we could do that as early as today?" Quinn asked.

"We could do that as early as today," Siliqua answered, smiling. "Which, it's not ideal, but that's 57 books. The Library has been operating without 18,000 for what, 500 years?"

Quinn laughed. "Yep, looks like we have a decent solution. I will begin listing out the books for Narilin here and Hirish will go and begin the cleansing of the actual sections."

"Great," Quinn said, hopeful to get back on the schedule that she had originally had for the day. "Thank you. Will Hirish let the check-in desk know when they are able to return all of the affected books?"

"Done and done," Hirish said.

Quinn heaved a sigh of relief, excited that she might just have salvaged a portion of the day.

Narilin cleared her throat. "I will be needing your help though, Librarian. I cannot authorize the destruction of Library property myself. And even though the books are ruined, the fact that we must destroy them lest they become a danger to anyone who touches them, still remains."

She'd known it was too good to be true. Siliqua maneuvered a large crate out of her inventory and placed it on another mat on the floor. Quinn couldn't tell what the material was made out of, but it didn't seem like something they'd had on earth.

"Well then..." she said, taking a breath. "What do I need to do to destroy these?"

Narilin glanced at Lynx before speaking. "Siliqua has provided a granite crate, and I have given the Abishu lining. But I am not capable or permitted to destroy a Library book, no matter how damaged."

Quinn raised an eyebrow in Lynx's direction. "Me then?"

He nodded. "Just access your Librarian interface. Under your skills you want to access Book Creation. And then demand that it give you access to Book Destruction. It's a hidden field."

"Hidden, why?" Quinn asked curiously as the menu popped up.

"We don't want fledgling Librarians getting any destructive ideas," Lynx said begrudgingly.

Quinn, wisely, made no comment about that.

Book Destruction

Criteria: Is the book damaged beyond repair?

Yes or No?

Quin indicated Yes.

Has the book been placed in an appropriate Granite Vessel with an Abishu base?

Yes or No?

Again, Quinn indicated Yes.

Text rippled in front of her eyes, like it was being plucked out of the air in front of her.

Book Immolation Granted upon assessment of Books.

Assess books now?

Yes or No?

Quinn walked over and saw 57 books laid out in the crate in such a way that a piece of each of them was visible. She indicated Yes again.

Scanning

Scan Complete.

Books Qualified.

Book Immolation Level 21 Granted. Brace yourself.

Activate Now?

Yes or No?

Quinn gulped and looked at Lynx who nodded ever so slightly.

Quinn chose Yes, and a wave of heat consumed her thoughts.