Under a Starless Sky novel Chapter 34

The door leading to the cave was solid stone, marble from a remote site. The entry way was shaped, and a recessed lip caught the door, Though it was heavy, it turned out on the hinge as if it was no heavier than any hollow, wooden door. There were patterns etched in it and filled with gold. Iron on the other side overlaid a plate that could be magnetized. That door would not open when the magnet was active. Outside the cave entrance, an accumulation of material removed was beginning to take shape. There would be an enclosed building directly outside the cave, fitted up against the entrance. The pieces that were fitted into place, brick by brick, were each specially shaped, and they went together like puzzle pieces, no need for mortar. When the building was complete, it would be earthquake proof. Hell, it would be dinosaur proof. The rocks that butted up the against the mountain’s earth were not just touching, they were enmeshed. This outer room would be a dome. One door way out of the dome into the world and opposite the doorway into the underworld. There were round windows one could sit in and look out into the coming court yard. A greater wall would define the courtyard; it, too, was in progress. A walk way would line the top going all the way around. It would be big enough to keep out Irks. Two Towers would hold lights, fueled by methane from the poop-pit TL created.

“I don’t want a castle,” Shen said.

“My batteries are full,” TL said. “I got to do something with the extra material and energy. Why not build a legacy?”

Shen consented. He actually liked what was coming, even if it was a bit ostentatious for him. He wondered if the guy that built the Coral Castle in Florida had a Torch Light to help him construct his world. Ed Leedskalnin, a Latvian immigrant, built a castle completely out of oolite limestone, and to this day no one has a clue how he did it.

“It’s reminding me of Sacsaywaman, Peru, only bricked with Himalayan salt rocks,” Shen said.

The dome would have a central hearth and could be a meeting place, should he ever have guests. It would be quite cozy, sitting in a window reading a book, watching the snow. Outside the dome a garden was growing, compliments of TL. She liked flowers. They had cultivated a beehive in the manner that the Tamorians did, only crafted with glass, stone and wood. He would no longer have to go to his honey tree. The bee hive was mobile, as was the Tamorian hives that were made of the giant bamboo that grew by the lake. The upper two cells contained the hive. Excess honey leaked into the lower cells and could be collected by spout without a fuss from the bees. The glass allowed him to see how much honey he had. Tamorian bee keepers used magic to keep the bees calm when relocating the hives, taking advantage of remote, seasonal flowers to change the taste of the honey.

Shen had not been inside the cave since the construction started. He was becoming excited. He tried sneaking in, but was caught. One could not sneak past an AI interface.

“Can I see inside?” Shen asked.

“Not yet,” TL said. “Go meditate.”

“I’ll just go for a walk,” Shen said.

“Walking is a great meditation. Especially walking with trees,” TL agreed. She removed the Torch from her belt and offered it to him. “Seriously, go play.”

“You don’t need it?”

“I have incorporated High Tech into the construction of this site,” TL said.

“You’re in my Torch, you’re in my suit, you’re in my home…”

“I’m in your heart, your mind, your soul…”

“You’re my light,” Shen said.

He opened his hand and the Torch flew towards it. He took it, connected it to his belt. He stopped by the outer wall where eventually a massive door would be.

“Where not going to have a moat, are we?”

“You want a moat?” TL asked.