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Lights out found Jason wide awake and unable to turn his mind off. He read short excerpts from the book throughout the day, but found most of it made little sense, leaving him with a dull headache. He had told Seattle he needed to think about what Tinker and she had said to him before responding to her request for help. Seattle had nodded.
"Think carefully, Mr. Jason Joval. Your decision could determine the destiny of humanity." No pressure there, right? With that final declaration, the two of them had left.
It was also that last remark that had left Jason tossing and turning two hours after all but the overhead lights had been extinguished. Seattle had to be crazy, right? How could she think that one man, any man, but especially a small-time gambler like himself, could alter the fate of an entire world? Okay, maybe he wasn't such a small time player. The point was moot. It didn't matter what his career was or even how good he was at it. He still had no control, no real power. He was as much a pawn of society and the Patriarchy as the lowliest Commoner.
I could tell Seattle that I'll join them. Then when the opportunity arises, I'll escape, Jason thought as he turned over on his other side. But he knew he couldn't do it. It just went against his basic ethics. No, he wouldn't lie to her, but at the same time, he didn't see how he could join her. The whole dilemma was driving him crazy. What a great pair they'd make. The thought of being part of a pair with Seattle sent his mind racing off in a different direction.
He had to admit, she was unequivocally the most fascinating woman he'd ever met. Here she was at the bottom of the heap living on the edge in the Pipes, fighting to raise a family of abandoned children, and he was drawn to her like he'd never been drawn to anyone else. Yep, crazy-making for sure.
Mind control and manipulation—another crazy-making subject. It was all so absurd, Jason thought as he turned over to face the wall for the tenth time. Still, what if it were true? What if people actually had been seduced into believing that their way of life was unchangeable? What if there was some other future that wasn't simply more of the past? What might some other future be like? The thought exacerbated a headache that had started when he had begun to read the book.
But what if I don't join them? Jason thought after a few minutes, deciding to try a different slant. Then what? He would be stuck here as their prisoner until either he rotted or the family was caught trying to fulfill their insane mission. Wouldn't it be better to join with them and have, at least, a tiny bit to say about his own destiny? The dull ache grew into a stabbing pain behind his eyes. He turned back on his other side, wishing as he did so for the soothing caress of an autowash. What he found as he turned around changed his whole perspective.
Mu-Monk sat less than a foot from him, clutching in his two small hands the key that had been hanging from Seattle's office wall.
"Oh, my God!" Jason said, suddenly afraid Mu-Monk might panic and run off with the key. Slowly, Jason reached his hand out palm down. "May I see that for a moment?" he whispered.
Mu-Monk hesitated for a second before handing the key to him, chattering softly. "Please forgive me for all those terrible, nasty names I've called you in the past," Jason said as he inserted the key in the lock on his wrist. The key seemed to fit well into the keyhole, but Jason was unable to unlock the shackle.
Damn. Of course, it couldn't be that simple, Jason thought as he pulled the key out. It must only fit the lock on the wall at the other end of the chain—the other end that he couldn't reach because of the way the chain was looped through the two metal eyelets.
Jason lay there for several minutes with his eyes closed, trying to figure out how to unlock a lock he couldn't reach. Finally, he opened them to find Mu-Monk staring at him. "Well, little friend, it was a good idea but unless you'd be kind enough to go unlock..." Jason stopped in mid-sentence. Why not? Mu-Monk was smart. Jason had often kidded that Mu-Monk could be taught to play a better hand of rumbuc than most of the people Jason played against. Slipping a key into a little hole and turning it should be a snap, if he could convey to the little critter what needed to be done.
Jason spent the next fifteen minutes giving Mu-Monk a crash course in locksmithing. First, he showed Mu-Monk how the key fit into the lock on his wrist, then Jason pretended to turn the key in the lock and mimed being suddenly free. He finished the lesson by pointing to the other lock on the far end of the wall. While holding Mu-Monk in his lap, Jason gave the key to him and pointed to the wall.
He went over the exercise a half dozen times. Finally, it was all Jason could do to keep Mu-Monk from leaping out of his arm and charging the wall. There was one last instruction that was critical for Mu-Monk to follow. "You must be very, very quiet. No noise. None." He put a finger up to his lips. "Very quiet," he repeated.
Mu-Monk sat in his lap, watching intently. Here goes nothing, Jason thought as he let go of Mu-Monk and gently pushed him in the direction of the lock. Mu-Monk took a couple of steps in the right direction before stopping and turning to look at Jason. "Go on; you're doing fine," Jason whispered encouragingly. "Go put the key in the hole and turn it so we can go home, go home and see Emerald Eyes."
Mu-Monk turned around and scampered lightly across the room, stopping at the second eyelet. He stood there for a couple of seconds, inspecting the lock, then placed the key in the hole.
"Please, let it be the right key," Jason whispered, suddenly in a panic that the key in Mu-Monk's hands might have been one he'd found during his exploration of the Pipes.
The soft click of the lock's mechanism sounded like a rifle shot throughout the cave. Jason cringed, but no one stirred. He watched as Mu-Monk opened the lock and pulled the chain link away from it.
Great job! Jason thought as Mu-Monk finished his task. Remind me to buy you the finest meal money can buy when we get back to the surface.
Now came the slow, tedious task of pulling the chain through the two eyelets without waking anyone. Link by link, Jason pulled the chain. As each link pulled through the eyelet, there would be a soft clink which reverberated through the chain, threatening to stop Jason's heart. Twenty minutes later, a sweat-soaked Jason held the end of the chain in his hand with the rest of it resting at his feet.
All that remained was to quietly gather the chain up in his arms so it wouldn't rattle when he walked. He looked around him and spied the tent-like structure Tinker had made for him. He took a layer of his bedding and lined the inside of the tent with it, then gently laid the chain inside.
Holding the remaining couple of feet of chain next to his chest, he stood up and looked around. No one stirred. As he bent down and motioned to Mu-Monk to climb on his shoulder, Jason realized for the first time that he was a free man after almost two weeks of being held prisoner. He tip-toed towards the nearest exit, then stopped. He returned to his bedroll and pulled the book from under the covers. Sticking the book in his waistband, he retraced his steps.
Where was he? he wondered, as he neared the exit closest to him. Would he get lost in the catacombs of the passages and tunnels only to be found by one of Seattle's scouting parties a few days later? He didn't know, but he would just have to take that chance. It was the only one he had.