The next morning, Jason was up a couple of hours before sunrise, for he wanted to be out of the house by the time the Tooke family awoke. His desire was to get to the Historical Culture building and look around without the distractions inadvertently caused by having others about. Somewhat of a loner, Jason did his best thinking by himself. He hadn’t had that luxury during the short time that he’d been in Noordan.

Quietly exiting the Tooke home, Jason started for his destination. Marveling at the quietness and serenity about him, Jason thought about this culture that had lived so long in isolation from the rest of Lorrendar’s people. He had an ever-growing list of questions about this land that he just had to begin getting answers to. Last night had perhaps provided the most puzzling ones, yet.

Shortly after arriving in Noordan, Jason had been convinced he was seeing products of an advanced civilization. He had been correct in that belief, as evidence had proven, but erroneous as to who the architects were. The elves, it seems, were the intelligence behind all the fantastic devices he had seen. The question now, and one he desperately needed to answer, is who are (or were) the elves? He had speculated many times about the possibility of life on other planets. Now, he believed that might prove to be more than speculation.

That was one area that Jason wanted to pursue. The other, which he had only become aware of last night, was this business of replacement products always being available when something broke. He couldn’t imagine any warehouse being large enough to hold that many items. Nine hundred years was a long time for something to remain in storage. It was an even longer time for a civilization to foresee product failures and calculate the number of spare parts to manufacture and have available for use.

Jason shook his head. Nine hundred years so far, he thought. Who's to say things can't continue like this for another nine hundred years, still without exhausting the inventory?

His mind turned back to the task at hand as he arrived at the Historical Culture building. Looking around, he saw no one else about this early time of day, and marveled once again at the stillness all about. No birds singing, or crickets chirping. Not even the occasional stray cat, all so common back home. Yes, he thought, I am a stranger in what is all too obviously a strange land.

Shrugging off the thought, Jason passed through the doorway and stopped to look around the lobby that had affected him so much the day before. Ah, there it is. As he had expected, there was a diagram of the building. It was in a lighted horizontal display case in the center of the room. He walked up to study it intently, wondering at the beauty of it. The glass protecting it gave no reflection at all, appearing more as he thought solid air might.

The case was oriented so that the map was laid out in the same lines as the actual building. That was handy, as so many times building diagrams were posted on a wall and you had to determine the directions things were. Not so with this one. Then he noticed a small red star in a room with the words "You are here" next to it. That, he decided, is an interesting and helpful idea. Whoever these elves were, they thought of everything.

One thing was certain. The map showed the building was larger than he had thought. Much larger. In addition to this level, there were three more below ground. Also, it wasn't square or rectangular. It was shaped like a slice of pie. Or, at least like one where someone had eaten a bite or two from the front edge. Interesting. Definitely interesting. Jason, noticing that the exterior dimensions were given, was about to calculate the area of the building, but changed his mind. "Interesting to know, but not something of real value. Time is. So, where do I start?"

He scanned the names of the different rooms.

Jason paused at several of the names, especially those on the third and fourth levels. He didn't know what some of them meant, but decided he would find out, or at least get some idea. The place to start, he thought, is on the fourth level in engineering. His heart began racing at the thought. What level of engineering can I expect to see? Something far beyond my quadrangulator, that's for sure!

Looking about to get his bearings, Jason headed toward the area marked Stairwell Two. He found it at the juncture where one of the long straight walls met the curving back wall. Opening the door, he started down, counting twenty five steps before getting to the second level landing. Expecting to continue down another level, Jason was brought up short by a barrier blocking his way. He wasn't certain if this was a door or a wall, for there was no handle or other obvious means of opening it.

Jason ran his hands over the surface, hoping to find a handle. Whatever the material, it was like no other he had ever encountered. Neither hot nor cold to the touch, it was so obviously impenetrable he didn't even begin to waste time trying to figure out how to get past it. Instead, he left that stairwell and walked across to Stairwell One. Going in, he encountered the same type of barrier blocking his way as had been in Stairwell Two. Believing the obstruction had to be a door, Jason methodically traced its entire surface with the flats of his hands, but found no way to open it.

Out of curiosity, he rapped gently on the door with his knuckles. He may as well have been hitting air, for the door's material completely dampened the sound of his knock. Intrigued, he removed one of his boots and struck the unknown surface with its heel. The sound was completely absorbed. Interesting. Jason had never heard of any metal that didn't make a noise when struck. Most metals resounded when hit. That was the reason bells were cast out of metal, after all.

Putting his boot back on, Jason decided to explore the second floor. Maybe, later, someone would tell him how to open one of the two doors.

Exiting the stairwell, Jason turned right and walked to the nearest arched opening. Large letters above it read 'Document Storage'. Deciding this was as good a place as any to start, Jason walked into the room and let out a low whistle. Row after row of racks, reaching at least twelve feet high, filled the room. He couldn't begin to imagine how many, but thought that they must easily number into the tens of thousands.

Each row was labeled, just as in a library. The label on the rack opposite the door read 'Blood - Analysis of thru Bones - Identification of'

"Wouldn't Henry just love to be here?" He slowly walked along, reading each of the row's labels until he reached a row headed 'Quests - Official Accounts, Abbott thru Cornwell'

Jason began thinking about the official report of Annabel's quest, given just yesterday to the Elders. "The Mindspin machine!" Remembering the main reason he had come here this morning, Jason hurried along until he reached the row labeled 'Metals - Noble thru Mirrors - Design'.

If there's any information about the Mindspin machine in this room, this has to be where I'll find it, he thought. He strolled down the aisle, checking the subject areas as he went. Ah, he we are. Or, are we? Jason stared at the shelf. Surely this can't be right. There were only four manuals, each about a half inch thick. He reached up and pulled one down. Opening it, he could only stare in disbelief.

The first page had a drawing of the stone he remembered stepping down from when Annabel and he arrived in Noordan. The next page had a drawing of a person standing on the stone. The third page showed a group of people standing around the stone. The next had a drawing with the people around the stone holding hands. The next had an incantation of some type. "They have to be kidding," he said.

Returning the manual to the shelf, Jason removed the one next to it. The contents were identical to the first. Feeling slightly dazed, he checked the other two manuals. They, also, were copies of the first. Jason thought for a moment, turned and hurried to the end of the aisle, looking for the section on mirror design. He found what he had expected to find for the Mindspin machine. The section contained dozens of books, each describing in detail the various intricacies involved in designing mirrors.

Shaking his head in disbelief that there was no real information on the Mindspin Machine, Jason looked for a secluded spot where he could sit. He had to think for a while, and wanted to find some quiet area where he would not be disturbed. Longingly, he remembered his place against Redoubtable's forward mast. What I wouldn't give, he thought, to be back there now.