Chương 64: See Also: The Ending

Whatever constituted morning in a place without any planetary constraints had happened or it was way beyond after hours time. The warm, golden lamps of the After Hours enchantment had faded, replaced by the bright magical lights. Bart walked across the polished floorboards of the main hall. He stopped near the center of the room. The previous night if you can call it that and the chaotic celebration had left evidence everywhere. There were flour prints on the Culinary Research tables.

Three unfinished, furiously scrawled Complaint Forms sat abandoned near the new booth. A clay bowl containing Morzath's starter was currently attempting to climb out of its container near Cross Reference. The Staff Development section smelled slightly of goblin mud even though Albert had tried to get rid of most of it, and someone almost certainly Hedd had written a backward E in charcoal on the side of the reading desks. Albert was already in the process of cleaning it.

Gregor was asleep on the floor behind the complaints desk, one hand resting protectively over a half eaten pastry. Mabel was standing comfortably near the Staff Restroom portal.. Bart just stood there. For the first time since arriving in the Infinite Archive, there was no immediate emergency. The floors were not dissolving or reality fractures opening. The System chimed softly overhead. GOOD MORNING, KEEPER #4, 092 Bart looked at it. Previously, the System had always appended the word provisional.

"Morning," Bart said. He slowly walked the perimeter of the Reading Room. The Archive was still not completely recovered. He knew that if he walked far enough down any corridor, he would eventually reach the edge where still broken shelves floated endlessly. But the center currently worked. He passed the Main Desk. ARCHIVE HEALTH: 0. 001% One thousandth of one percent. Somehow, Bart thought, it had looked much larger when people were using it. He returned to his desk. He pulled out the chair, sat down, and paused.

There was something sitting next to his BPL mug that hadn't been there the night before. It wasn't glowing or magical. It was just a small, polished wooden desk plaque with a brass faceplate. Bart picked it up. BARTHOLOMEW SANDERS KEEPER OF THE INFINITE ARCHIVE He stared at the engraved letters. He had once waited three years for two words beneath his name. Asst. Librarian. He had eaten a sad turkey sandwich at his desk to celebrate the promotion. Then, before the day was even over, he had died.

Bart ran his thumb across the smooth brass. There was no congratulation or fanfare. It was just a piece of wood confirming that he belonged at the desk. He set it down carefully beside his coffee mug. Across the room, Gregor sat up behind the complaints booth, rubbing his face. He blinked at Bart's desk, noticing the new plaque.

"Do I get one?" Gregor called out.

"No," Bart said. Gregor looked deeply offended. The System chimed again, a much louder, more sound than usual. FULL KEEPER ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY AVAILABLE A massive, imposing blue interface unfolded before Bart. He considered the cosmic power now available to him the ability to shape the rules, procedures, and reality of the multiverse's once greatest repository of knowledge.

"First item," Bart said, pointing a finger toward the Community Literacy section.

"No writing on the furniture." COMMUNITY USE POLICY UPDATED From deep within the shelves behind him, a distant, muffled goblin voice yelled: "WOOD PRIEST BAD." Bart closed his eyes. Nobb and Hedd were presumably still asleep in the stacks. He ignored them. DING. The newly expanded Liaison Inbox chimed softly. The Archive's reward for successful institutional restoration was, apparently, more paperwork. Bart pulled a crisp white sheet from the Tremendia pigeonhole. Thaddeus's first formal report.

TREMENDIA RECORDS LIAISON New archival submissions: 14 Sovereign interference attempts: 3 Goose-related amendments: 1"Good," Bart noted, dropping it into his 'Review' pile. DING. A ceramic panel slid out of the Veyric Kiln slot. Mera Pell had returned the Curator's outstanding identity documentation request. Fields completed: 0 / 37 Attached response from Curator: CLOSED Veyric Administrative Status: REJECTED - NOT A VALID RESPONSE Bart sighed and put the inter-institutional argument into the 'Today' pile. DING.

A small paper ticket popped out of the Complaints booth. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Complaint #20 Submitter: KING AURELIUS IV Nature of grievance: THE COMPLAINTS DEPARTMENT ITSELF IS OFFENSIVE TO THE CROWN. Status: RECEIVED. Bart filed it. The world was going to continue exactly as it always had. Gregor slouched over to his Staff Training desk. He stared at the chalkboard, then down at the small ledger resting beside it.

PROVISIONAL INSTRUCTOR: GREGOR Current learners: 2 Next competency review: PENDING Gregor looked up.

"I thought that was a joke."

"The System rarely jokes," Bart said, sorting Mera's paperwork. Near the entrance, the Staff Restroom door rattled. Mabel's massive head immediately swiveled toward the sound. A confused, soaking wet courier stepped through the door, carrying a sealed scroll case. Mabel stepped forward, her huge frame blocking the entrance. The courier froze, terrified.

"Mabel," Bart called out.

"Yes, Keeper?" she rumbled.

"Not everyone requires a challenge."

"Where appropriate," Mabel reminded him.

"Correct." Mabel considered the terrified courier. She slowly lowered her head, sniffing the scroll case, before stepping aside to allow him passage. She was adapting. Bart eventually looked up from his paperwork. Albert had been polishing the same small section of brass railing near Cross-Reference for far too long. The metal was gleaming, but the skeletal custodian kept rubbing the cloth across the same three inches of brass.

"Albert?" Bart asked.

"Sir," Albert replied instantly.

"You cleaned that twenty minutes ago." Albert looked down at the brass railing.

"Yes, sir." He continued polishing. Bart stood up and walked over. He didn't push. He knew Albert wouldn't appreciate a sudden, deeply emotional interrogation about the loss of his humanity.

"Yesterday was a lot," Bart said simply.

"Yes, sir," Albert agreed.

"Mabel. The Curator. Morzath."

"Yes." Bart watched the methodical movement of the skeletal hand.

"Are you all right?" Albert stopped polishing. He stood perfectly still for a long time, looking out over the quiet Reading Room.

"I had forgotten what the Archive sounded like when people stayed," Albert said softly. Bart looked out at the room.

"For six hundred and sixteen years, sir, we had almost none," Albert continued, his voice echoing slightly in his empty ribcage.

"Eventually, I stopped expecting any to return." Bart nodded.

"They're coming back now."

"Yes, sir," Albert said. And after a pause: "They are." He resumed cleaning the brass. Bart returned to his desk. He poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot he'd brewed earlier. The desk was better than at Beaumont. The coffee was considerably better though the filing system remained unacceptable. DING! A new System notice appeared, hovering discreetly near the edge of Bart's vision. SUCCESSION ADMINISTRATIVE RECONCILIATION COMPLETE Historical officeholder records updated. Bart almost dismissed it.

He had enough paperwork for today but he was a librarian. He opened the record. PREVIOUS KEEPER RECORD Keeper: #4, 091 Status: PREDECESSOR Succession authority: TERMINATED Recognized successor: KEEPER #4, 092 Termination basis: NOT DEATH Bart stopped for a moment. He read the final line twice and put his cup down.

"Albert." The skeletal custodian walked over.

"Sir?" Bart showed him what was written, The custodian went perfectly still. His skeletal fingers tightened around the handle of his broom.

"You knew?" Bart asked quietly.

"No, sir."

"Did Keeper #4, 091 tell you he intended to survive?"

"No," Albert said. He looked at Bart.

"My final memory ends before his final action." Bart nodded slowly.

"Curator?"

"He was already beyond the sealed bulkheads," Albert confirmed.

"Mabel?"

"Annex Seven." All three surviving witnesses had been deliberately separated, isolated, or restricted before the final minutes of the Archive's existence. None of them knew what Keeper #4, 091 had done.

"System," Bart commanded.

"What was the actual termination basis for Keeper #4, 091?" RESTRICTED"Under which Authority?" Bart asked. CLOSURE Bart looked across the room, toward the Veyric communication slot where Mera had just been arguing with the Curator. He could summon the grey man back right now. He could demand access.

"Is the record currently eligible for review?" Bart asked instead. ACCESS REQUIRES CLOSURE CONCURRENCE Bart nodded. He reached out and tapped the interface.

"Tomorrow."

"Sir?" Albert asked. Bart turned the screen off.

"The Archive survived 600 odd years, Albert. It can survive one night without me opening another ancient disaster." Before the blue screen completely vanished, a final metadata field flickered briefly in the bottom corner. LAST VERIFIED ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION Keeper #4, 091 Timestamp: 00: 00: 03 BEFORE RUIN Classification: CLOSED Then, the interface disappeared. Somewhere very far away. The air was silent and was only absolute, unbroken stillness. Then, a faint blue signal pulsed in the dark.

INFINITE ARCHIVE MASTER AUTHORITY NETWORK: 5 / 5 SUCCESSION EVENT: COMPLETE KEEPER #4, 092: RECOGNIZED"It survived," a voice whispered.

"No," a second voice replied.

"It was rebuilt." A long pause.

"Who is the Keeper?"

"Bartholomew Sanders." The silence returned, slightly longer this time.

"I don't know that name," the first voice said.

"That appears to be the point," the second voice answered. Deep in the dark, the seal flickered once. Somewhere in the darkness, something that had been closed since the Ruin opened its eyes. END OF VOLUME ONE