the dream engine - preview

8/19/2019 The Dream Engine - Preview

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The Dream Engine has grown over two years, seven drafts and more cups of tea than I can

count, into something unrecognisable. It has its faults, and it probably won’t be successful, but every

moment was worth it. Thank you for giving it a chance. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much

as I enjoyed writing it.

eah.


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1. Paper Money Pacemaker

Date! "aturday #th $pril %&&'

This was her turf. (orrugated iron and broken brick far as the hills and further. Endless, ever

changing pathways carved by feet and carts and scavengers. )ut *irasol knew them all too well. Theslums of )ogota sat just a stone’s throw from the gleaming golden towers where men ruled like kings

in tailored suits. Those lights were (olombia’s pretty face, but that’s all they’d ever be. The slums

were more than that. They were the mind. The heart.

$t least, that’s what she liked to tell herself as she slipped past another group, all hunched

around an old T+. lies swarmed the screen’s sterile light but no one seemed to care and for a

moment, *irasol wondered why. -h yes the football match. /as that tonight0 If only she could linger

in the background to watch it all unfold. (olombia was up against +ene1uela, she knew. /hat a

rivalry they had.

$s she turned into a walkway, the pack knocked her shoulders in a hapha1ard rhythm. It was a

grubby thing of musk leather, falling apart at the seams. "he had no clue what waited inside, but over

the years, she’d learned to e2pect anything. 3oney. /eapons. Drugs. 4ewellery. Drugs5 It was

probably drugs. The lifeblood of )ogota came best in powdered form.Tracing a way through the shadows had once proven a difficult task. 6ow it was her game to

play hide and seek with the bu11ing electric lights and opportunistic thieves. The process had reached

a streamline. They always kept their word, and she kept hers in turn. 7Thank you ever so much,

*irasol8’ The 6orth (oast (artel would say. 79ou have a splendid evening.’ "he’d make her delivery,

take her payment, and be on her merry way in the cool dark.

That’s why they all went for *irasol. "he could pass under the radar and get the job done. 6o

one ever suspected little girls. Even so. "omething bubbled in her chest and a prickle danced circles

on her arm. /as it anticipation or fear0 Tonight was different, she was keenly aware. It would be her

final e2change. The last of this arrangement, and for *irasol, the most important by far.

"warming insects traced wonky lines through the air to the reek of an animal, recently killed.

3aybe a rat. )rushing her fingers on a low timber beam left her full of splinters. "he hissed and

kicked an empty bottle against the nearest house. Then lilting footsteps set off familiar refle2es. "hefro1e behind a mountain of plaster, eyes tightly shut. Wait for them to go quiet, she ordered herself.

:*irasol.; It was the strained voice of a boy in his teens. :*irasol. Is that you0; $ bright beam

swept the walls and mangled weeds until it found her.

: she wouldn’t give it up so easily. :6ot yet.; =er nails dug into the

leather. :irst, hold up your side of the bargain. This is the last e2change. I’ve earned my way out,

okay0;

The boy bit the raw edges of his lip. =is hair stood in the most bi1arre tufts. :9ou’re going to

the ?."0;

:That was the deal.; "he stumbled when he yanked une2pectedly on the backpack. Tore it

away in one hard go. *irasol cursed under her breath.


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:/ell0 Tell me.; "he pushed him.

The boy sighed. :9our5 your cargo ship from )arran@uilla is called the Carnaval .; $t those

words, she sagged with relief. The deal was still on. :It’s supposed to carry electronics and furniture.

ancy shit. It should take you all the way to )A:

:)oston, I know.;

:5)ra1il.;

The blood in her hands ran cold. $ chill shook her spine and she stared him down. :/hat the

hell did you say0;

:9ou’re going to "ao


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2. The Fermi Paradox

Date! CCEBB-BCC

:$ll signs point to a record high death count this winter.; The radio hissed.

:ollowing 3agister


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7/12

The chatter @uietened as she entered the musty courtyard as if the building itself was

throttling away their voices. It was a beautiful place, brimming with marble pillars and balconies and

crawling plants, but there was something intimidating about it. "omething haughty. $ hundred locked

doors led into the (itadel itself. rom here, the "ognate controlled everything in Tontelea. ara

couldn’t help guessing what they kept hidden inside.

The guardians watched her pass with cursory looks. )y the time she and Bobin were settled in

the courtyard rows, only shuffling feet could be heard. =undreds upon hundreds of feet. $ veritable

grove of them. 6o, not a grove, a foot forest, surrounding the *rey ady’s radiant statue. /hite veins

stood out on her skin of marble. "he was taller than any of the city’s trees or spires, from her polished

toes to the stone forgetAmeAnots into her hair.

Eleven o’clock. Bobin s@uee1ed ara’s hand harder with each crack of the bell.

-n the statue’s platform smiled 3agister "cabrous


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/orship, it seemed, was over. It had been shorter than usual and all the more memorable.

The news sped on before her. (hicenary s@uare was bustling with nervous groups when she

arrived. Even the stationed guardians leaned in to hear. Beactions spanned the spectrum from wonder

to disbelief to horror. If anyone felt satisfaction, they kept it tightly screwed down.

$t a faint movement in the corner of her eye, ara glanced up to see a white bird fluttered

overhead. "omething was fastened to its leg but she couldn’t get a sure look. 6ot with so many people

around. The penalty for beast watching wasn’t something she could pay.

=ome greeted her with unusual @uiet. It was an eerie sensation after the morning she’d had.

"o much to do, but ara couldn’t concentrate. The sight of blood on the (itadel steps was too fresh in

her mind. Too vivid. In the end, she dragged Dad’s rocking chair to the untamed grass out back. It

might’ve been a garden with a pinch of skill and effort.

"ummer packed it full of daisies, dandelions, sunflowers and crawling weeds. They flourished

alone. ara made no adjustments other than planting her berry bushes, and they were the only things

she trimmed or cut. $nd over time, her little corner of Tontelea had transformed into a wilderness. It

was charming, in a way.

)ut "eptember was here to stomp her forest into dust. The plants were wilting, ready to drop

at any moment. ara e2pected the sunflowers to go first.

rom her rocking chair she could glimpse the twinkling sea where it stretched wide across thenorth. )eyond it, the wall towered high from hori1on to hori1on, a thick grey line circling all of

Tontelea, holding out the edge of the world.

"he settled deep into her thoughts as the wind stirred her hair. In that calm, she made out

gentle sounds bursts of unintelligible noise coming from the empty kitchen.

uietly as she could, ara shuffled up to the open window and, after listening for ten long

seconds, peeked inside. 6othing moved. Dust motes drifted la1ily through the low sunbeams like

fireflies. There was nothing to give away a possible intruder. No, she reali1ed. That frightening rasp

was coming from the radio, which was lying on its side.


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/hat0 /orship0 It was fine.; $s soon as the words left her mouth, she yearned to pull them

back. 3other would inevitably find out about the 3agister.


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3. First Contact

:/ho does he think he is08; "he howled from bottom step with her head low and her foot tap

tap tapping away at the dusty floorboards. 3other had an incredible lung capacity. =opefully

paranoia was all it was. "he’d sail aimlessly from window to window like a ghoul in search of

someone to haunt. :=e was supposed to get home two days ago8 +wo days' $ll I asked is that he getshere on time.; "he paused. :This arrangement is over. =e’ll have to work from home and I don’t care

if it bothers him. Those are the conse@uences when a clock maker can’t tell the bloody time.;

The ranting started @uietly, as all storms did. )y the third day, everyone on oofaraw Track

could hear it. Irritation, then anger, then fury. )ut under it all was a creeping draft of fear. Dad was

never late. 6ever once in all the years. :I’m sure he just lost track of the days.; ara muttered

whenever she took a break from the stall. :9ou know how he is.; "he said those things to settle down

the panic, but she didn’t believe them, and neither did mother.

/ork was slow. It mostly involved perching behind her neatly stacked jam jars, waiting for

customers who would never come. "till, it was better than dealing with mother, even when fledgling

autumn brought the first rain in months. The weather was fickle A spitting one moment, clear the ne2t,

thrumming against her umbrella like a @uaking drum, and that brought with it a strange sense of calm.


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It seemed impossible. $ ludicrous idea. :)ut the pay must’ve come from somewhere.;

3other motioned around. :6ot here. This place hasn’t been used in ady knows how long.;

The desk creaked when she settled on its edge to wipe her reddened eyes. :I don’t know what to think.

I don’tA; "he sniffed. :=e’s gone, and I have a horrible feeling, ara, that he’s not coming back.;

:9ou’re jumping to conclusions. 3um. I’m sure there’s a logical e2planation.;

:What e-planation( 3other snarled as she twisted the band on her ring finger in circles.

:/hat can e2plain this0 =e’s been lying to me.; =er palms on the desk sent dust scattering.

ara flinched.


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Tucking an unruly lock behind one ear, 3other said :I want to know what’s going on, ara. If

that means snooping, so be it.; -f course, the prying urge won out against reservation. (uriosity held

incredible power. 3aybe that was why the "ognate warned so heavily against it.

3other’s inkAsmeared fingers worked at the wrapping until only the book remained. The most

beautiful thing ara had ever seen. "tunning. Everything screamed lu2ury from the perfect cerulean

cover to the pages edged with gold. In the centre were five blotchy, concentric circles surrounded by

an olive wreath, all white. 6o title, no byAline, only that odd shape.

:Imagine how much it’s worth.; ara whispered, touching the velvety spine.

:It’s been a long time since I last saw this symbol. It’s on some of the oldest furniture in the

(itadel. I never thought much of it at the time5 7-nly went there for a job interview.; 3other said.

The first pages had been violently torn out, leaving jagged strips in the margin. -nly a single

word had survived on the inside cover.

‘VOYA!"#

-n the first complete page was a circle. -n the ne2t, lines. Then numbers and units of

measurement. Diagrams of chemistry, human biology, reproduction, pregnancy and birth all followed.

amily photos from bi1arre fashions and cultures. They weren’t drawn or painted A the @uality was a

leap beyond any craft ara knew.

/hat did they mean0 They undoubtedly came from beyond the walls, a far cry from Tontelea."o what did that say about the world outside the city0

The pictures only got stranger.

In one, she saw a mountain range capped with snow, a thousand times taller than =igh =ill.

$nother was an island in a sparkling sea. orests with tall trees, leaves verdant. $n infinite plane of

sand. If they hadn’t been so realistic, ara never would’ve believed them possible. Images of flowers,

insects, urchins, fish, and some creatures that she had never seen. )ut she could guess. :They’re

monsters, aren’t they0;

3other @uickly skipped those pages.

The book went on and on. 6ow it showed them some rather odd looking people. =unters,

dancers, workers, carvers, climbers, runners. ields during harvest and fishermen in the catch. $ll

sorts of buildings from huts to astonishing towers of glass and stone that put the (itadel to shame.

)y the halfway point, ara had no more gasps to give. There was nothing to say. "he couldn’te2plain the book or rationalise it. $ll she and 3other could do was keep turning pages, each a heresy.

There was no e2planation at the end, it only became more confusing, with entire pages of gibberish.

Every line was different but all were e@ually absurd.

7"alutJri la toatJ lumea.’

7=artelijke groeten aan iedereen.’

"ome, she could at least read.

7)onjour tout le monde.’

7=ola y saludos a todos.’

-thers escaped her entirely.

7KLMNOPQORSQ8 UMVOQPQORW XNP8’

7(hYn thZnh g[i t\i c]c b^n l_i chZo thYn h`u.’

There must’ve been forty, maybe fifty of them.7Iechyd da i chwi yn awr, ac yn oesoedd’

7/itajcie, istoty 1 1awiatw.’

)ut there was one that she understood down to the last letter, and she wished she hadn’t

because it chilled her to the bone, made her heart skip and her head reel. uestions washed over her

more than she could ever ask.

It said 7=ello, from the children of planet Earth’.

the dream engine - preview

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