The cage was in the center of a pentagon shaped room. It was circular, with bars running from the floor to the ceiling. I was defenseless to any attack that someone outside the cage would choose to inflict on me.
Each wall of the room had a large window looking out into the new Age Gehn created a link to. On my left there was a heavy door leading outside. On my right was a spherical shaped boiler. Directly ahead of me was a small table with a canopy dome over it. A simple chair without a back was in front of the table where a book and some writing insturments lay. Behind me and to the right was a hole in the floor with a ladder leading down to another level.
The air of the room was very warm and dry. Guessing from the looks of the landscape, it was probably twice as hot outside the room.
Within arms reach, circling the cage, were five pedestals, identical to the ones in the fire marble domes. Each one held a Linking Book that apparantly Linked back to Riven. Each cover had the block symbol for a designated island. From here, I could link to any island in Riven, including the fifth island.
I opened the book for the fifth island to the last page. The page contained a black linking window. The Books here had the same limitations of the Books that had brought me here. They needed an outside power source to make them work. As far as I could tell, there was no power running through the pedestals.
Behind me was a panel set between the bars on the cage. The panel had a pentagon symbol identical to Gehn's crest with a button in the middle. Maybe this was used to open up the cage. I pushed the button. The panel lit up to indicate that the button was activated, but did nothing else. I stared at it for a few seconds until I saw a movement from my right.
A man was walking up the hill towards the doorway. He wore a heavy white elaborate coat, despite the obvious warmth of the weather outside. The man opened the door and stepped inside. As the door opened I could feel the hot wind sweep into the room. It was as harsh and deadly as any Earth desert could have been.
He pulled the thick goggles from over his eyes and looked me over. Tucked under his arms was the rifle I saw earlier in Gehn's lab. The man was about my height, and if I had to guess his age it would be around 60. But that was in relative human terms. The D'ni lifespan was much longer than that of an Earthling. His gear was heavy. While it was probably very hot to wear, it also protected him from the harsh winds of the Age we were in. Almost all of his body was covered up. Thick gloves, pants and boots. The only parts of him that were exposed was the top of his head. His thinning hair was almost white, except for all of the red sand that had blown into it from the outside environment.
He had to be surprised by my presence, yet he didn't show any shock at my arrival. More than likely other people Linked into this same trap, but those people were all Rivenese. He was probably running dozens of scenarios in his head trying to figure out where I came from. I was obviously not from Riven, yet I was wearing clothes that were mostly D'ni by design.
The button I pressed was probably a signal of some kind saying someone had linked to his Age. This was his security system. Identical to the linking trap back on Riven. He knew what point people linked to this Age at, so he devised a way to prevent people from getting anywhere after they arrived.
"I apologise for the cage," he said without a hint of emotion. "I'm afraid this situation has often required of me a more primitive code of conduct that I might otherwise have chosen."
I didn't reply. I didn't want to volunteer any information at first. I wondered how he would react if I pretended that I didn't know English.
The man walked over to the desk and took off his goggles. "I am Gehn," he said. "I assume you've heard of me." He paused to let me answer him, yet I remained silent. "Yes, well, I suspect you have acquired some false information of who I am now."
Gehn removed his thick gloves from his hands and walked closer to the cage. "Not that my son would have lied to you about me. No, not Atrus. It's just that.... well, I am sure he believes me to still be the depraved father I once was. Yes, I even tried to kill him once. God, if I had accomplished that who knows what I would have become. A great father indeed, who tries to murder his own son."
I listened to him, but I didn't give any signs of acknowledgement. There was something about him that I didn't trust. The way he spoke with a blank indifference left a cold feeling running down my spine. I didn't fear Gehn at the time as much as I felt contempt for him. I was also concerned that he had somehow made the connection that I was associated with Atrus. Was he merely guessing, or had I made some kind of mistake back on Riven that had revealed where I came from? As far as I know, Gehn had no reason to believe that I even came here from D'ni.
Sensing no immediate response from me, he continued speaking while walking around the cage. "Thanfully he trapped me on Age 5, a prison of my own creation. No Books, no precious Inks, no Ages to link to." He sighed. "That was thirty years ago. Thirty years, thirty lifetimes, what does it matter. No sentence could be too harsh for the man I was."
He then turned and looked directly at my face. "But I have changed."
He walked back up to the desk and picked up his pipe. He put a small fire marble in the bowl and put the mouthpiece up to his lips. A puff of smoke escaped from his lips and the smell of burnt dead Ytram started to fill the room. On a personal level, I could probably feel superior to Gehn for not having any vices; however in my Age, people have been known to do worse than smoke the extract of amphibians.
"I'm sure the deeds of my past can never be completely atoned for, but my mission was an honorable one." He blew another puff of smoke out from the pipe and I saw the cloud heading towards the cage. I tried to back away a bit.
"I'm sorry this is all a bit awkward. I..... it's been a long time since I've attempted to persude anyone of my intentions. Most of the people here have already made their minds up about me one way or the other." He then turned to face me. "I myself do not trust the words of most men, so I don't expect you to believe me. In the end though you may discover that I do have more than mere words to offer."
I guess he didn't expect me to immediately answer him, or show any response. He knows I distrust him, so his plan was to persuade me to see his point of view.
"Atrus' choice of punishment has been hard on the people of Riven, and many have suffered because of it. The Island has been steadily decaying for years, but according to my most recent measurements, it appears that the 5th Age has entered its final days. Unless the villagers can be relocated soon, the island will collapse entirely and everyone will perish."
I knew this of course. What did he think I was doing here? Well, technically I was sent here to rescue Catherine and trap Gehn. Atrus was working on preventing Riven from collapsing; he never really gave me any instructions on saving the Riven villagers myself.
"It has taken me a long time to do it, but it appears that finally I'll be able to make some substantial amends for my past transgressions. Especially in...."
He stopped, as if he had almost let something slip. Especially in what?
"Well," he started. "I'm afraid I've had some.... trouble with Catherine and the Moiety. In any society, there will always be a small percentage of the population with rebellious tendencies. Before Catherine appeared, the Moiety--as they call themselves--had been relatively harmless.
"I mean, the natives here are a fairly violent people by nature, but I've almost come to accept their presence. It seemed inevitable under the circumstances. Upon Catherine's return however, their violence intensified considerably. It seems, she'd become some sort of religious savior to them. And as far as I can tell, she's come to believe this herself."
I had trouble believing his statements. The incident with the guard was the only violent act I had seen from the Black Moiety, and they never even bothered to harm me, even when they had a chance. And the other villagers of Riven seemed to be completely pacifistic in nature. The villagers seemed to fear me, and the guards made no active attempt to track me down or capture me.
"So I've had no alternative," Gehn said. "I had to seperate her from her people. I must admit though that my concerns were not entirely for her safety alone. The actions of Catherine and the Moiety have put my own life at risk on numberous occasions, and consequently the lives of all the people here."
He walked closer to the cage again to look me in the eyes. "Therefore I must ask you to refrain from any attempt to free her." He walked off again. "Although I am sure Atrus desires it. Indeed, he must desire it with all his heart. But he is completely unaware of her recent state."
He walked over to the right side of the cage towards the large boiler. "I know that you arrived in the 5th Age with a book which was immediately stolen from you," he said. "Needless to say its re-acquisition is of interest to me; though my personal history with the Moiety does not give me much hope for it. Still, there is a chance you might somehow manage to retrieve it. If you do, I would ask for the safety of all concerned, that you bring it to me at your earliest opportunity.
"Again, to be honest, my reasons here are partly selfish. There is so much yet to be resolved between Atrus and myself. Especially in light of what has become of Catherine. In any case, my immediate concern is the completion of the sanctuary I've long promised to all the islanders."
He grabbed a lever at the base of the boiler and pulled it to the right. A small flame started to appear in the tiny window, and I could already feel heat waves emenating from the furnace. "In the meantime," Gehn said. "As a token of my good intentions, I will allow you free access to my Linking Books--crude though they may be--and to the rest of the 5th Age."
The glass bulbs on the pedestals started to glow with a deep orange fire. That tiny heat source was generating as much power as the giant dome back on Riven.
Gehn walked back over to the desk and put on his goggles and gloves. "As for the stolen Linking Book," he said. "We should probably not meet again until you've recovered it. I will know if you've succeeded and will await your return."
He picked up his rifle and walked towards the door. "Good luck with your search. I hope to see you back here shortly."
With that said, he opened the door and walked out.
I stood there for a minute to think about this change in the situation. I felt like my entire plan was going downhill. Gehn had found out about my presence on Riven and he didn't seem the least bit afraid by my presence. Worse yet, he knew that the book stolen from me was a Linking Book. The guard must have recognised the linking window before he was poisoned by the Moiety. Gehn planned to use the Linking Book to go back to D'ni and meet with Atrus. I feared to think what would come from a confrontation like that.
But wait. It wasn't a real Linking Book, it was a Prison Book, like the ones Sirrus and Achenar were trapped in. Atrus wanted me to use the Book to trap Gehn. Maybe it would be easier for me to do this now since Gehn is anticipating that I will bring him the Book to link back to D'ni.
What did Atrus say about the Prison Book? I reread parts of the tiny journal Atrus gave me. The Prison Book would trap the person who uses it in a void between links, and he would be trapped there until the next person uses the Book.
But how do I get the Book back from the Moiety? I had yet to even see anyone from the group after my arrival on Riven.
I looked down at the five Linking Books surrounding the cage. Using these books could probably save me a lot of travel time. I opened the book to the fifth island. An image swirled into view of a tiny island that appeared to be a large rock sticking out of the ocean. A catwalk extended from the island out to a platform where a fire marble dome sat, no doubt containing a Linking Book that would take me back here. At the top of the rock formation was a tall building.
I reached out and touched the descriptive window with my hand.