MISSION TO THE HEAVENS

An account of an atypical day followed by a sequence of unusual electrical activity in the processor of Sialia, Page of The Clockwork Court, as recorded by THOTH

Sialia’s day had started as usual: errands for mistress, quick inspection of Engineer, mock Shiba, Inner Workings acrobatics, dodge flying shrapnel in Scrap Yard, and a drop of mineral oil with the Gaffer. That had been when things got strange.

Sialia had asked about one of Pierce’s creations – that otherworldly, curling, sinuous shape that had intrigued him on his previous visit. Pierce had paused, looking at him, then, seeming to decide, had taken him into an opening at the back of his Studio. It led to a dark, untidy area, which Sialia had never visited. He followed the Gaffer deeper into the chamber through a maze of rusting junk. They stopped at a place where part of the ceiling had collapsed, opening an area to the sky. A shaft of sunlight slanted through the hole above. Pierce guided Sialia over to the sunlight and crouched beside a thing that made no sense.

The thing emerged from the ground. It had a thin, curved central column, from which broad, frilled shapes curled. Pierce brushed a finger over it, and it swayed slightly before returning to its former position. And it was green. Not the usual green of verdigris, but a green that seemed imbued with the light of the Sun. It threatened to overload Sialia’s visual receptors, and he dropped to the floor in mute wonder and stared at the thing.

He only half-listened as Pierce spoke. The green thing had been the inspiration for that weird picture of course. It was not made of metal – its body was of an entirely different material. And it was not constructed by himself or any other member of the Clockwork Court but grew spontaneously from the earth and fed on sunlight and drank water from underground. It was called a plant, specifically of a type called Acanthus. Pierce said that long ago, back in the age known as Entropy, the world had been full of plants. His voice sounded sad when he said it.

And then the whistle had shrilled, signalling the end of the break, and the Gaffer had gone back to work and Sialia had gone back to his rounds. He had completed his inspection still dazed, barely troubled by the shrieking of the Manglers, hardly caring about the activities of the Engineers. The first test launch of the Titanium Angel drew him from his meditations for a while, and he felt there was some correlation between the Angel’s mission to the heavens and the little plant’s quest towards the light.

By the time he returned to his mistress, he had lapsed back into introspection and spoke little. He did not mention the plant to her. Something inside him told him that the rest of the Court - even the Lady Maria - would not understand.

And now, as the day ends, and his circuits cool, he wonders why Pierce should understand the plant and how a Scrap Yard Gaffer should know so much about the world before Enlightenment. And for the first time in his existence Sialia dreams.

---

Sialia's dream

springs are unwinding
oiled gears are turning
as regular as -
but wait - disruption!
regularity
is violated!
hands with green fingers
intrude and grasp the
delicate workings of
vision-thought-logic
gears tumble wildly
springs boing and scatter
strange visions intrude
of systems that grow
unconstructed by
any engineer
forms more intricate
than gold filigree
colours more vivid
than the lustre of
oxidated steel
tendrils creep between
copper components
through brass funnels and
titanium pipes
whispering of worlds
beyond the machine