The next day, Silmoa seemed a little calmer. Once or twice, Liana saw her smile. Liana was relieved, but she had other things to think about.
The work in the making place was getting harder. The odd crescent objects that they were making had to be made more quickly, and the work was causing pains in all of Liana's body. The others working alongside her were also feeling that pain, Liana could tell. But if they slowed down they received a shock. Not from Silmoa now, but from a Barty.
Workers in the making place did get a break, but it was not very long. Dak minutes. Ten, in Barty numbers, during which time they could sit down, and were given some grey bread with a disgusting taste, and cold water to drink. Then back to the line of crescents, shooting along in front of her like strange animals.
But today, Liana didn't have to return to the line. She was told to go to another place, where the fully made objects were put into boxes. Quetwi-deg in every box, but she was not allowed to count in Seren numbers, so had to use the Barty number – fifty. Liana still didn't understand what these things were, only that they were going to be sent to Bartyronis. Perhaps they were some sort of decoration that the Bartys wore. But why did they need so many of them, all at the same time?
Could she use her new position to send a message to people in Bartyronis? She thought about putting a note in one of the boxes, but didn't know what she would say. Were they happy with the way things were? It was hard to tell. But they were still people. Weren't they? Like the people of Seren-ila. There must be some good ones among them. This Pritch, who was helping Selentaya and Piacho – he was a good person. But how do good people make a world that is so bad? Liana couldn't work it out. Maybe, if she ever got to talk to Piacho again, she would ask him.
Liana saw Silmoa again at the dormitory. She still looked unhappy. But Liana couldn't think about that now. She needed to get back to dreaming.
Liana put her head down on the sawdust pillow. It was not easy to get comfortable. But she was tired. So tired. It didn't take long for sleep to overcome her.
Rather than flying through Seren-ila, this time Liana arrived directly outside the House of the Green Jewel. Herago wasn't there, but two white hares were hopping about outside. Liana looked at the hares and smiled. She remembered how, in Seren-ila, natural things surrounded you, and made you feel part of a world which was full of many beautiful things. In the new world run by the Bartys, natural things – trees, grass, animals – had to be kept away. There was something not right about animals, as far as Bartys were concerned. Except that they ate them, which was something Seren-ilians did not do. Something wrong, also, with all sorts of natural things – plants and mountains and even the sky. It felt like the Bartys would really like everything to be covered with flat metal, or rocks that had been cut into ugly shapes. But even those really came from natural stuff. Did they not understand that?
Liana followed the hares with her eyes as they ran towards the meadow. She wondered if Herago would appear again. He had been unhappy last time she saw him. Maybe he would give up on this idea. He couldn't do that! Liana couldn't do anything without him. She was thinking what she would do if he didn't appear. Would she be able to get a message to him? Maybe Pritch could help. But would she see him again? Or Piacho and Selentaya? Maybe the whole dreaming thing was over.
As the hares disappeared in the distance, Liana turned back towards the house. She jumped. There was somebody there. It was Herago. He had come. That was a relief.
'Well, are we going in?' asked Herago. 'There's not much time, you know.' He didn't seem angry now. Just a bit impatient. Which made Liana also feel impatient.
'Yes. Let's see if the others are here.' They both went inside.
As they walked in, Liana saw Selentaya, Piacho and Pritch. Selentaya and Piacho were wearing trowster robes, which was a bit strange to Liana, as Piacho hadn't worn the robes for many years - not since ... she couldn't remember. But they both looked magnificent. Pritch was wearing ordinary Barty garb, but Liana noticed that at various points, on his shoulders, his wrists and his chest, there were little patterns that looked like Seren designs.
Herago was just behind Liana. He stopped still as he got through the door.
'It's true!' he exclaimed. 'They really are here! And dressed in Trowster robes!'
'You can see them?' Liana asked.
'He can see us,' said Selentaya.
'And I can hear you, too,' said Herago.
'Good, this makes things a lot easier,' said Selentaya.
'Do you wear the Trowster robes in Bartyronis?' Liana asked.
'Oh no,' said Selentaya. 'These are the clothes we can wear in dreams. Rather like the clothes you and Herago are wearing.'
Liana looked over at Herago. She noticed that he was wearing Seren clothing made of patterned fabric, which would never have been allowed in the Grabble lands. He looked wonderful. Was he wearing that when they arrived? Liana couldn't remember.
Then Liana looked down at her own clothes. Not the grey overalls that she wore every day at the making place, but a dress – similar to what Herago wore. In fact, she recognised it as the dress that she last wore on her birthday, just before the showing in Seren-ila. All of the clothes that people were wearing were extremely bright, and seemed to be glowing – shimmering with their own internal light.
'But how many of us can you see?' asked Piacho, waking Liana from her wonder.
'Mek,' said Herago.
'Yes, mek,' confirmed Liana.
'For you, that is "three",' Selentaya told Pritch.
'Ah, then there needs to be some adjustment,' said Pritch, looking over at a bit of the wall near to the bookcase.
A few seconds after Pritch spoke, another person appeared out of nowhere, in just the place Pritch had been looking at. A woman. She was bending over, as though she was fiddling with some object that couldn't be seen, and in her hand she held a tool, like the screwdrivers that they used in the factory, but with a glowing end.
Herago jumped. 'Who's that?' he said. 'It's another Barty. They've tracked us down, even in our dreams!'
'Nothing to worry about, Herago,' said Selentaya. 'This is another of our friends. Pring has made all of this possible.'
'I wouldn't say that,' said Pring. 'It was Piacho who explained the principle. I merely had to adjust the equipment.'
'But that was the crucial task. We could never have...'
Selentaya interrupted. 'You were both very clever. Now let's get on with what we are here for. We have to turn this from just a dream into something that changes reality.'
'Yes, quite right,' said Piacho. 'We must talk about the practicalities.'
'But first I should introduce myself,' said Pring. 'I, Pring, am very pleased to meet you, Herago and Liana. Though it feels as if I already know you, having seen into your dreams.'
Pring sounded kind and friendly, unlike most other Bartys that the pair had ever met. But even so, what she said sounded alarming to Herago.
'Wait,' said Herago. 'Have you been watching us in these dreams already?'
'Well, yes,' said Piacho. 'For some time we could only watch. We would very much have liked to speak to you then, but it was not possible. And we haven't seen all of your "dream rehearsals", but enough to know that they have some special potential at this festival.'
'But, are you asleep? Are you dreaming, like us?' Liana asked, still intrigued by the appearance of these people. They were much more vivid than they had been when they had last spoken, when their images had been fading and reappearing.
'No,' said Selentaya. 'We don't have your ability to meet up with others while dreaming. We can't practise the sort of "control dreams" that enable you to communicate with one another. We are wide awake in Tyropolis, but because we have Pring's skills...'
'...and Piacho's knowledge,' Pring added.
'...we can communicate with you,' Selentaya said.
'Actually, Piacho added, we see you on a small screen – we aren't in the room, as it appears to you. Pring tells me that it would have been possible for us to see you through one of the special helmets that Bartyronians have perfected. But that is not necessary.'
'Good. I know those helmets. They're horrible,' Liana said.
'This is very weird,' said Herago. 'I hope nobody else in Bartyronis can do this. I don't want them looking at my dreams.'
'It is possible to use the thought scanner to see images from dreams, though not to communicate as we are doing,' said Pring, 'but we have found a way to shield your dreams – in fact we are shielding the thoughts and dreams of everyone in the Grabble lands – Seren-ila – at the moment. We may not be able to continue this after the Festival, as we have only a limited supply of herelina.'
'Won't they notice that?' said Herago. 'Won't it worry them that they can't see what we're thinking?'
'They might notice, but they won't be bothered. The system often fails to connect in particular areas, but they don't let anyone know that. The main use of thought scanners is to make people think they are being scanned. Scanning itself is only used very rarely.'
'Still, it's useful for us to know that we're safe from scanning for the time being,' said Liana.
But what were they going to do in the Festival? Liana and Herago started telling the others about the Impossibles that they had planned, but Piacho interrupted.
'We know about the Impossibles. We have seen some of them while you rehearsed – sometimes we could just hear, sometimes we could just see, but we understood enough. But there are some things we think could be improved.'
From then on, Liana and Herago had the others helping them to rehearse. They made suggestions, and could talk to the Seren-ilians about how to make the showing more understandable to the people of Bartyronis. They could tell them things that they should avoid saying or showing, because those things would result in the two of them being immediately arrested by Guardians.
This was the most enjoyable thing ever, Liana thought. The six people, united in a single dream, laughed, were amazed, cried out in surprise, and each thought of a new idea to put into the showing. It was wonderful for Herago and Liana to have people acting as an audience, reacting in a way which the two had not anticipated, laughing at things they hadn't even realised were funny. Herago and Liana had the final say on what went into the showing, because everyone accepted that they had to be in charge of what they present. Not every suggestion was accepted by the two, but many were. Herago was a little disappointed that some of the amazing Impossibles that he had devised were not received with as much surprise as he had expected, but then again, as Liana said, you expect impossible things to happen in a dream.
By the end of that dream session, they had worked out half of their whole Impossible sequence, and were very pleased with what they had.
Liana hardly noticed what was happening during the next two days of reality, so eager was she to get back to dreaming and rehearsing. And for the following two nights, the dream contact worked without a hitch. Liana managed to drop off to sleep at the right time, and when she got to the House of the Green Jewel, the others had just arrived. By the end of the third night, the showing had developed into something that they were all proud of.
But there were practicalities to work out, as well as the showing itself. 'We must talk about how to get you to Tyropolis,' said Piacho.
'Yes,' said Pritch, nervously. 'Now, this may be a bit tricky. You will need to get a pass from the place where you work, and we will then confirm...'
Herago interrupted. 'How will they give us a pass?'
'You will need to ask a manager. If you have someone sympathetic, they will...'
'Sympathetic?' Liana laughed. 'There is nobody sympathetic to Grabblers. If we asked for a pass, they would just punish us, and make us work even harder the next day.'
'But this is the only way...' Pritch started.
'No we have a better way. The Seren Way,' said Liana.
'The Seren Way is a code of conduct. It is very useful, but it won't help you travel to Bartyronis,' said Selentaya.
'I think it will,' said Liana.
'Because this Seren Way...' continued Herago.
'Will use wrist-flyers!' said Liana.
'But where will you get aerial bracelets – I mean, wrist-flyers?' said Pritch, 'Even in Bartyronis, only a very few people can get hold of them, and all the Grabbler ones have been confiscated.'
Liana and Herago explained how Herago had kept the wrist-flyers from their showing, and how he had found them in the last few weeks. The others were amazed, but Piacho was uncertain about them using these wrist-flyers. Wrist-flyers were meant to be worn in pairs by one person. It was possible for two people to share a pair, but it took an enormous amount of concentration and skill, working together to bring their separate energies into harmony, in order to fly together. Occasionally, in Seren-ila, young people had tried flying together, but it usually ended with injury, and sometimes even death.
But when Piacho was asked what alternative he proposed, he couldn't think of anything that was likely to work. So it looked like the wrist-flyers would have to be put to use.
So the plan was formulated. The night before the festival, Liana and Herago would fly across the mountain. It would have to be at night, because otherwise they might be spotted by a Barty patrol. This was also going to make it more dangerous.
When they reached the other side, Pring said, they should fly towards a large metal structure that Pritch described – the enormous pump that was pumping the sea water into the Grabble mountains. Pring would meet them there, with Bartyronian clothing, and they would travel to the living place of Pritch and Pring. Pritch would arrange for them to be registered as invention presenters, in the category of 'cultural innovation'. This was a category that everyone else had avoided, as it seemed too dangerous if Tyro didn't like what was presented, so they would have plenty of time in their showing-slot.
The rest of that night's dream was taken up with Liana and Herago showing what they had worked out so far.They all laughed a lot.
But then it ended. Suddenly, without people saying goodbye. It seemed as if the four in Bartyronis were disturbed in some way, then turned the dream off at their end of the connection.
That was worrying. But with the others gone, Liana realised that they still had things to decide. How were she and Herago going to meet up in reality, and share the wrist-flyers for their trip? They needed to find a way in which they could get away from their dormitories. It was not going to be easy.
But before Liana got a chance to say this, Herago vanished. He just managed to say goodbye, but it seemed like he was having to wake up. Maybe the girls had a little bit more time in their beds. But all of this needed to be decided soon.
Now Liana was alone in the room. There was nothing she could do here, so she might as well wake up. But it was so good to be here, even knowing that it wasn't real.
She looked around at all the books. What would happen if she touched one of them? She went over to a shelf.
Liana thought of the many times she had sat in this room with Piacho and other wise people, talking about how things worked, and how things had been. She had loved those talks. Piacho had always allowed everyone to say whatever they thought, even though sometimes she or Herago had questioned things that were agreed by everyone else. She remembered Silmoa getting annoyed with them: 'but you shouldn't think that! It's not the Seren Way!' she would say, and Liana would laugh, Herago would look concerned, and Piacho would step in to calm things down. He would tell Silmoa that it was not a Seren Way to tell other people how they should think, but then he would also question Liana about why she thought what she thought. Most of the arguments, when they happened, were about what was on the other side of the mountain, and whether Seren-ilians would ever want to go there. Liana had always said, yes, we really must try to get across. We shouldn't cut ourselves off from the rest of the world. Silmoa thought that since Seren-ila was the best place that could ever be, it made sense to stay there, and not even think about what was on the other side of the mountain. Now, Liana was beginning to think that she was probably right.
Thinking this, Liana reached out for a book. It was one of those very old books that she would never have been all that interested in when she was in Seren-ila. To her surprise, she could take the book down from the shelf. She looked at the title, embossed on the front cover. It was difficult to read, because it was written in old fashioned letters. 'A Seren Interpretation of the role of Humour before the Great Heat', she read.
What did that mean? Humour? It was not a word she knew.
Liana opened the book. Inside there was lots of very small print – the sort of detailed discussion that some Wise Ones were so fond of. But every so often the small print was broken up by paragraphs written in different letters. Bigger letters. She noticed that some of these paragraphs were little stories. They fascinated her.
Some of the stories seemed meaningless, and must have had something to do with a world she didn't know. Things about chickens crossing roads, and doctors (who Liana eventually realised must be some sort of health-helping Wise Ones) talking to people who thought they were pairs of curtains. But even the stories that were completely meaningless were fascinating.
The stories made Liana laugh. She couldn't help it. They were clearly about a different world from the one she lived in – well, she had lived in a pair of quite different worlds, but the world in the stories was different from either. But she could imagine making up such stories about her own world. Would people also laugh at them?
She flicked through the pages, impatiently looking for the next story. She noticed that the stories had a sort of a pattern. They led you along one route, then, when you got to the end, you found everything was different to the way you had thought.
Liana tried to remember the stories. Maybe she would tell one of them to Silmoa, to cheer her up. But her reading was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a siren. In the dormitory, she was beginning to wake up.
The book disappeared, along with the rest of the room, and she was now lying on her side, looking at Silmoa in the next bed.