Madeline was agitated. She needed to tell Ciaran about her precognition. But since Ciaran had found her in the garden, he and the others had made her lie down like a sick puppy. She protested. But then they’d taken a complicated-looking wristwatch off her, and the next thing she knew, she felt as weak as . . . a sick puppy.
At a corner of the room, Ayana Dee, Sciphil Two, and Pete Chandler, Sciphil Nine were talking. They had helped her and Ciaran a lot during the process of coming here. Ayana had been born in Eudaiz. She was as beautiful as an angel. Pete was a British man, recruited later in his life. He was like a kind uncle to Madeline.
Ciaran strode into the hall from a wing of connected corridors. His face was unfathomable—a typical Ciaran expression. He crouched next to her. “How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I’m perfectly fine. I’ll feel better if they give me back that wrist unit.”
Ciaran nodded toward Ayana, who was holding the wrist unit. She approached and gave the little machine back to Madeline. As soon as she put it on, waves of energy pumped into her body. She felt like a new person. She sat up, but she wasn’t sure if she should tell Ciaran about the precognition in front of Ayana and Pete.
After all, she and Ciaran had just arrived in this universe. They didn’t know who were friends and who were foes.
“I’ve taken a look around the residence. Everything looks fine. We can stay here. The top priority for us now is to plan Madeline’s officiation as Sciphil One, am I right?” Ciaran asked.
Ayana answered, “Yes, indeed. It is important that she receives her full power in Tower One. Her succession had been authorized and lined up at the precise astronomical time, two days from now. If we fail to officiate her, the power of Tower One will fail—and so will Eudaiz.”
“Understood,” Ciaran said.
“Let me show you the map.” Ayana turned on a floating screen, revealing a map of Eudaiz.
Eudaiz was organized in circles. The towers of power, clearly labeled, stood in a protected area. In the middle was Tower Three, the king tower. The other eight towers were located in a circle surrounding it. They looked like the eight petals of a sunflower.
Ayana pointed to the king tower and said, “This is the core of Eudaiz’s power. It must be protected at all costs. The king has access to all towers. However, each Sciphil has access only to their own tower. So, Madeline, after officiation, you will have full access to Tower One. I have full access to Tower Two. And Pete has access to Tower Nine. Ciaran has access to all.”
Madeline gestured widely. “So, given how important the towers are, security is critical. This universe has more than six hundred billion citizens. This must be a massive area. How can you guarantee security for the towers?”
Ayana smiled. “The tower zone is called the Sciphil zone. No citizens are allowed in there. The area is self-contained and quite small. The security of the Sciphil zone is strict and has never been breached in five hundred years. The towers have no entry point for anyone except the Sciphil of the tower and the king. Within each tower, there are nine round protective layers—they would spin and grind any unauthorized individuals into dust if they attempted to trespass.”
Madeline nodded.
Pete pointed to a large circle which wrapping outside of the Sciphil zone. He said, “This is the Sciphil residential area. Each Sciphil has a residence, located as close to his or her respective tower as possible. We are here, at Sciphil Three residence.” He pointed to a dotted line. “The internal capsule is strictly private and secure. It operates only for people with the right access. The capsule terminals are like subway systems in New York or London. So really, within the Sciphil zone and Sciphil residence areas, I wouldn’t worry too much about security.”
Ayana pointed to a larger circle outside the Sciphil residential area. “This is where the six hundred billion citizens live.” The area took up a large area of the map. Ayana continued. “There are eight districts, located in circles in the outer ring here. Each Sciphil governs a district. No citizen has ever been allowed into the Sciphil zone.”
“There are nine Sciphils and eight districts. Who doesn’t have a district to govern?” Ciaran asked.
“You, Ciaran.” Ayana smiled.
Pete laughed. “You have to manage all of the Sciphils and handle important matters such as protecting Eudaiz from our enemies. I think it’s only fair to exempt you from the administrative duties of governing a district.”
“From what I know, the Black Rock is our number one enemy. Is that information accurate?” Ciaran asked.
Pete shook his head. “No. It’s speculative. That universe attacks us all the time because they don’t have much energy or natural resources. Other universes may have attacked Eudaiz before, but not during the five hundred years’ reign or our Sciphil council. There is no guarantee they won’t attack us in the future.”
“Have the Black Rock ever breached our security in the Sciphil zone?” Madeline asked.
“No,” Ayana responded.
Ciaran nodded. “All right. It’s been a long day. I think we should continue this discussion tomorrow.”
“It feels as if a day here has fifty hours,” Madeline said.
Pete smiled. “We don’t use hours. A day here has nine units. Three for the morning, three for the afternoon, and three for the night. Each unit has one hundred slots. At the moment, it is the fiftieth slot of the night. The average person should have at least one unit of sleeping time a day.”
Madeline rolled her eyes. Another set of rules and numbers to remember.
“Thank you, Pete. I’ll be sure we get enough sleep.” Ciaran smiled.
Pete nodded. “Especially you.”
Ciaran arched an eyebrow.
Pete continued, “The battles you engaged in before arriving here have drained you of all of your natural energy. In Eudaiz, energy is everything. It’s life. Eudqi is a special energy for Sciphils. It’s like your blood. However, in your case, you won’t receive full power until after your coronation. So right now, your energy is fragile and very temporary. Be sure you take advantage of the resting time so that your body can recharge what’s used up during the day.”
Ciaran raised a hand in frustration. “What you’re saying is that, at the moment, I don’t have the natural energy to operate my body. And I have to rely on the eudqi—like batteries?”
“Precisely,” Pete smiled.
“So don’t pick a fight,” Madeline laughed.
“We’d better go to sleep now,” Ciaran muttered.
“Not here, I hope,” Ayana said.
“Why not?” Ciaran asked.
“This place has been vacant for more than thirty years. It can’t be comfortable. Madeline has a fully operational Sciphil One residence. You both have full access,” Ayana said.
“Yes, we’ll go to Sciphil One residence later. But I’d like to have a bit of time here with Madeline, if we may,” Ciaran said.
“It’s only for one night. We can manage. If you could stop by again tomorrow and take us to Tower One, it would be greatly appreciated.” Madeline smiled.
Ayana nodded. “Very well then. We will let you have some privacy. It’s been a long day.”
Ayana and Pete left the residence.
Madeline opened her mouth to tell Ciaran about what she had seen in the garden, but before she could say a word, Ciaran had locked his lips with hers. Whenever he engaged in such an intimate act, she was defenseless.
Suddenly, Ciaran glanced toward the side door. “Who’s that?” he shouted and darted toward the door, weapon drawn.