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briefly to examine it, brushing his fingertips over the smooth, cool surface of the arm, wondering
in which ancient book Gehn had found the formula or phrase to produce such a wonderous material.
Behind the throne was a large free-standing screen, on the pale lemon silk of which was
embroidered the silhouette of a man. That silhouette, with its high, domed head and its familiar
lenses, was unmistakable. It was Gehn.
Atrus nodded to himself at this evidence of Gehn's presence. On how many other worlds had his
father built such temples? In how many Ages was that man a "god?"
Knowing now what he would find-recalling all of this vividly from the Age Five book-he went over
to the screen and looked around it. There was a shadowy space beyond, a narrow set of steps
leading down.
He went down, into the darkness.
A low door, cut crudely from the rock, led to a long but narrow cave. From what he'd read, he knew
that farther back, the walls that were pocked with thousands upon thousands of tiny holes in much
the same manner as the cliff face.
It's there! he realized, peering through the half light. Gehn's Linking Book is there!
He was about to turn away, to go back through the temple and explore the wood surrounding it, when
he remembered that the cave actually led somewhere. He couldn't recall exactly what it led to-
there had been several areas in the Age Five book where Gehn's phrasing was unclear, and this was
one of them-but he had a definite recollection that it was important somehow.
He walked on. The warm stuffiness of the cave was making him sweat, yet the cave was definitely
leading somewhere. He might be imagining it, but just as the air grew constantly warmer, so there
seemed to be a faint, shimmering blue light in the tunnel now, enough to allow him to see a couple
of feet in front of him. As he went on, the light grew, until he found himself in a second,
smaller cave, filled with that same shimmering blue light.
It was hot in the second cave, unbearably hot, steam rising from a great vent in the floor, but
Atrus's eyes were drawn upward, into the roof of the cave. There, the most astonishing sight met
his gaze. The flat gray rock of the ceiling was pierced at its center by a large, roughly circular
hole, perhaps eight or ten feet in diameter. Within that hole, suspended above the cave, was a
pool of water, its gently shimmering surface flush with the rock surrounding it. Beside it stood a
metal ladder, leading up into the pool.
Atrus stared, openmouthed. It was an illusion. It had to be. Yet if that were so, what power
sustained it? He frowned, willing himself to understand. He walked across and stared. The massive,
natural vent glowed redly far below.
He looked up into the pool. Sunlight was filtering down through the water, the curved walls of
which seemed to form a kind of well. He narrowed his eyes, trying to estimate its length, but it
was difficult to tell. He knew, from his reading, that the refractive quality of water could
distort such things. Besides, who knew even if this was water, for when had he ever seen water
behave in such a fashion? Up there, on the far side of that unnatural barrier, however, there was
something. There had to be. Or why the ladder?
Atrus stepped over to the ladder, taking hold of it determinedly.
How far is it? he wondered, pausing, his head only inches beneath that strangely quivering
surface. Twenty feet? Thirty?
Raising his right hand, he tentatively immersed it in the pool. It was extremely warm and felt
like water, except that, when he withdrew his hand, the drips flew upward, merging with the
pellucid surface of the pool.
Atrus closed his eyes, then pushed up, immersing his head and shoulders. For five full seconds he
held himself there, then ducked down again, sputtering.
There, he told himself, opening his eyes wide and drawing a hand back through his sodden hair,
grinning to himself.
He closed his eyes again and counted, taking slow, calming breaths. At twenty he thrust upward,
dragging himself up the last few feet of the ladder with his hands. And then, suddenly, he was
fully immersed!
Opening his eyes, he let go of the ladder and kicked, reaching up instinctively, trying to claw
his way to the surface.
Slowly, very slowly it came toward him, the walls sliding past. His lungs were aching now, but he
was very nearly there.
And then, suddenly, there was a shadow on the sunlit surface just above him, the outline of a
human figure. He tried to hold back, putting out his arms, trying to slow his upward drift,
fighting to stay where he was, but it was impossible, and in the struggle something gave.
The sudden choking pain was awful. It was like swallowing hot tar. His lungs were suddenly on
fire, his mind flaring like a bonfire with the pain. He spasmed and threw his arms out, trying to
grasp the edges of that strange, unnatural well, yet even as he did, the blackness leaked in
again, robbing him of consciousness.
Slowly, arms out, he floated to the surface of the circular pool he had seen when he first
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