Infinity Ring 05 - Cave of Wonders (5 page)

R
IQ STILL
couldn’t believe how careless Dak had been. What if there had been a Time Warden in the audience? That could have been the end of the entire mission. As it was, Riq was still worried about the Market Inspector. He had seemed a little too determined to catch them.

Through the gate, they were able to see more of the palace. It was incredible, like something out of those old postcards Riq’s Grandma Phoebe had kept from all her travels. Now that they were on this side of the wall, Riq could see there were actually several grand palaces and buildings. Gardens grew between them, lush with different trees and palms, and all kinds of colored flowers, bushes, and plants, while fountains spouted and bubbled in their midst.

Riq pointed to the right. “The first guy I talked to said the House of Wisdom is one of those buildings overlooking the river.”

“There’s a river running through the city?” Sera asked.

“That would be the Tigris River,” Dak said. “Along with the Euphrates River, it forms a part of what’s known as the Fertile Crescent region.”

Riq rolled his eyes, but he was too tired to even make fun of Dak’s history vomit right now.

So Dak kept going. “The region was also known as the ‘cradle of civilization,’ because it’s where some of the first civilizations in the world started. Like the ancient Sumerians. Did you know they had the first system of writing in the world? It’s called cuneiform.”

“That’s great, Dak,” Sera said.

“It is, isn’t it?” From the sound of it, Dak hadn’t picked up on Sera’s sarcasm.

“We’re almost there. Let’s just go. We can worry about new clothes later.” Riq hadn’t said anything to the other two, but he almost didn’t want to get to this House of Wisdom place. Every step he took toward it felt like a step toward a future where he didn’t exist anymore. The only thing keeping him moving was his dedication to the mission. It was his way of honoring the memory of Kisa.

They passed in front of a two-story building with a series of striped, pointed arches in the walls. Riq remembered that was another college from the first guy’s directions. Beyond the college, they could finally see the Tigris River flowing. It was as wide as maybe four soccer fields. Sailboats and rowboats moved across its surface like bugs. Bustling wharves and piers covered the shoreline, and across the water, Riq could see the western half of Baghdad. The river flowed right through the city, on its way to wherever it went, and it made Riq think about their mission. Fixing the Great Breaks, like removing boulders from the river of time.

“It’s big,” Sera said.

“This is called the Wharf of the Needle-Makers,” Riq said. “And the next building should be the one we’re looking for.”

Up ahead, past a small courtyard, they saw a large, plain building. Its walls looked sturdy and well kept, but lacked the opulent decorations of the palaces and colleges. It had no windows, and a single large door standing open. Several men milled about in front of the entrance, most of them wearing white turbans.

To the side of the door, Riq saw a single engraving. It read:

“The House of Wisdom,” he said, pleased that he’d taken the time to learn how to read and write Arabic. “This is definitely it.”

“Okay,” Sera said. “So how do we do this?”

“What do you mean?” Dak asked. “We just walk in.”

“Oh, for the love of mincemeat,” Sera said. “First you go and blab our mission in front of the whole Perfume Market, and now you’re going to just walk in and . . . what? Ask which one of them is a Hystorian? Do you realize there could just as easily be SQ Time Wardens in there?”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Dak said.

“I know,” Sera said.

“But I would have figured it out,” Dak said.

“But not before it was too late,” Sera said.

Riq raised his voice to interrupt them. “If we can get in there, the Hystorian may come to us. They’re on the lookout for us, remember?”

“But so are Time Wardens,” Sera said.

But that didn’t make sense to Riq when he thought about it. “Maybe not. Look, the Time Wardens know Aristotle founded the Hystorians, right? I’m betting if there were a Time Warden in the House of Wisdom, they would have destroyed Aristotle’s books a long time ago. There wouldn’t be anything in there for us to save from the Mongols in the first place.”

Dak turned to Sera. “I guess
you
didn’t think of
that
!”

“Neither did you!”

“Let’s just go in and see what happens,” Riq said.

They approached the front door, attracting looks from the men standing around outside it. Riq tried to hold his head up in a way that said the three of them belonged there, and they knew exactly where they were going. But they hadn’t reached the door before one of the men called to them.

“Can we help you?” he asked.

“We’re here to see the House of Wisdom,” Riq said, turning back to face him.

The man nodded up at the building. “Then your purpose has been fulfilled.”

Great. This guy was super literal. He was probably a linguist. The annoying kind. “What I meant,” Riq said, “is that we have come to visit the scholars within the House of Wisdom.”

The man left his group and came over to them. “Is that so?”

Dak piped up. “It is.”

“And what is it you seek from us?” the man asked.

“Uh . . .” Dak stuck out his handful of coins. “We’ve come to make a donation.”

The man wrinkled his nose at the money like it smelled funky. “A donation?”

And now Dak had gone and offended him. The kid was on a roll.

“Sure,” Dak said. “You guys take donations, right? Don’t libraries always need money?”

The man’s nostrils flared. “The House of Wisdom does not beg for money.”

Now Sera spoke. “But do you take it when someone offers it?”

The man looked back at Dak’s hand. “If you wish to contribute to the learning that goes on here, I’m certain such a donation would come back to reward
you
tenfold.”

Riq’s tension eased. The guy may have been too proud to admit the House of Wisdom needed the money, but he wasn’t turning them away.

“For our donation,” Riq said, “could we maybe go inside?”

The man looked each of them up and down. “I suppose that would not hurt anything. Follow me.”

Riq sighed in relief, and so did Sera.

Dak just grinned. “Open sesame,” he whispered.

They followed the man to the door and he ushered them through.

Inside, the building had a huge courtyard in the center, lined with columns and arches, and surrounded by two stories of doors and corridors. Dozens of people moved around, crossing the courtyard, going in and out of doorways, carrying stacks of paper and scrolls and books.

“And now you have been inside,” the man said.

“Could we look around a bit?” Dak asked.

The man sucked air through his teeth. “Let me find Abi.”

“Who?” Riq asked.

“Ibn Abī al-Shukr. He volunteers to show newcomers around. He enjoys it, for some reason. Wait here.”

He walked away, leaving the three of them alone.

“This is amazing,” Dak said. “There are probably books in here the people of our time have never seen or even heard of. Think of the history!”

“I’m more interested in the books on math and science,” Sera said.

“The only book we’re here for is the one that will prevent the Cataclysm,” Riq said, even though as he said it, his stomach tightened up.

“Right,” Dak said. “But if we happen to
see
another cool book along the way, there’s no harm in looking.”

Riq shook his head. “Dak, I —”

“Here they are, Abi.” The man who had let them in had returned with another man by his side. The new guy was younger, maybe in his late twenties or early thirties. He wore a pale blue robe and a white turban. A thick beard covered his very round face, and his smile seemed wide enough to touch his ears.

“Welcome!” he said.

The other man nodded and left them, back through the front door.

Abi lifted his eyebrows. “I’m told you wish to make a donation and see the House of Wisdom?”

“That’s right!” Dak held out his handful of coins.

The man took them with both hands and a slight bow of his head. “I do feel some discomfort taking money from a young man like yourself, but I believe you are sincere, and we thank you for your generosity. I am Ibn Abī al-Shukr, but you may call me Abi.”

“I’m Dak. This is Sera and Riq.”

“Is that so?” The tone of the man’s voice became serious. “Unusual names.”

“Yes, well” — Sera put on that innocent smile that Riq had seen her use before — “we’re not from here.”

“I perceive that,” the man said. “I believe you have traveled far. Very far indeed.”

Riq thought he seemed suspicious. Was he simply talking about their clothes from China? Or did he mean something else? The first guy had said Abi liked to show newcomers around the place, and now Riq wondered why that was. Could it be because Abi was the Hystorian? Maybe being the designated tour guide let him check to see if any strangers coming to the House of Wisdom were from the future.

Riq decided to test that theory. “We come from farther away than you would probably think. He said you like to show new people around?”

“I do,” Abi said. “I . . . have an interest in where people come from, and how and why they find their way here to the House of Wisdom.”

“I bet you hear all kinds of stories,” Riq said.

“I do.” Abi smiled. “But so far, nothing that would seem
impossible
to believe. No one has yet flown here, for example. Or come by other means unknown to the people of my time.”

Time
. That settled it in Riq’s mind. This guy had to be either a Hystorian or a Time Warden, and since he still doubted they’d find any Time Wardens here in the House of Wisdom, the moment had come for them to stick their necks out once again. He looked at Sera and Dak, and gave a little shrug. He was going for it.

“We came here by something you might think is impossible,” he said.

“Oh?” Abi asked.

“Yeah, you could say our . . . boat travels
backward
up the river.”

Abi cocked his head. “I see. Come, let me show you more of the House of Wisdom.”

He gestured for them to follow him, and they proceeded down one of the arched walkways around the courtyard. From there, they took one of the corridors deeper into the building, the scuff of their steps echoing back at them. They passed several spacious rooms, each lined with bookshelves set in arched alcoves with borders of intricate paint and tile around them. Scholars were at work within each of the rooms, reading and writing and speaking in hushed tones.

Riq thought back to the courtyard. If all the corridors were like this, with big rooms full of books, then there were thousands and thousands of volumes here.

Eventually, they came to what Riq assumed was some kind of sitting area. Except there weren’t any chairs. Persian rugs covered the floor, and cushions and pillows surrounded a few low tables. It was otherwise empty.

“Please, sit down.” Abi gestured toward one of the tables.

Riq, Sera, and Dak all lowered themselves to the floor. It was actually comfortable. Really comfortable. More comfortable than any of the chairs at the Hystorian headquarters, that was for sure. Riq thought he might suggest to Brint and Mari that they start conducting all Hystorian meetings on cushions on the floor. But then he remembered his fears and that thought turned to dread.

“Good. Now we can talk.” Abi took a seat across the table from them. “As I’m sure you have guessed, I, like you, am a Hystorian.”

Riq didn’t know whether that was cause for celebration
or despair.

S
ERA WAS
finally able to relax a little. They had found Abi, in spite of Dak, but also because of Dak, and it was quiet here. The walls of the House of Wisdom kept the clamor and chaos of the city out, and Sera thought this was a place she could get some work done. Maybe solve the Riemann hypothesis, which seemed appropriate, since the Babylonians were the first to use the number zero, one of the few history facts that interested Sera.

“So you know why we’re here?” Riq asked Abi.