The Riven Expedition: The Prison Age

I took extra precautions when I made my way up through the caves to the holding cell. Gehn still had his guards and his surveylance equipment in the village. If Gehn was only using me to get to the Moiety, he would probably be watching my every move, hoping I would find what he could not.

From my high perch on the balcony I had to worry about the guard tower, and Gehn's scope in the lake. The tower was unoccupied, and luckily, the scope was pointing off in another direction. I quietly made my way down the walkway and climbed down the ladder to the boardwalk. From there, I ran back into the cave leading to the jungle path.

In the jungle I made a final inspection of my camp. I made sure I left nothing behind, and that there was no trace of my ever being here. My mission was nearly complete, and I wanted to make sure that when the time to leave Riven comes, I would be ready for it.

I made my way up to the fire marble dome and opened it up. The giant dome was still providing power to the Linking Book. I thought Gehn would have deactivated it to protect his world. He must know that others knew what the combination to the domes was; even I knew it.

I took the Prison Book from my pouch and looked it over. I had never really seen it up close before. It looked almost identical to the Green D'ni Linking Book on Myst. I hoped it would fool Gehn.

It was nighttime in Gehn's Age. A night sky was visible through the windows with a glimmer of red sunlight past the horizon. Through the windows I could still see dustclouds blow by in the air.

I turned to my right. Gehn was here, standing next to the boiler. "I was greatly relieved when I received word that you have recovered the Book," he said.

He walked over towards the cage. "I don't quite know how you managed it, but...," he trailed off when he saw the Prison Book in my hand. "If I may..."

Gehn took the Book and walked back over to the boiler. He set his pipe on the edge of the boiler and flipped the Book open. He immediately turned to the page with the Linking Window. He looked the page reading the phrases of D'ni Writingt. When he finished reading the page, he flipped back a few pages through the Book.

Atrus said the Prison Book should be almost identical to a regular Linking Book, but maybe Gehn saw through the trap. Something about the Book made Gehn suspicious. He turned back to the linking page and lifted up his hand. With some hesitation he lowered his hand towards the image...

And stopped. He looked back towards me in the cage and walked over with the Book held out in front of him. "Perhaps it would be best if you went through first."

If I linked through, I would be the one that was trapped. But if I hesitated too long, Gehn would be even more suspicious. But what good would it be to convince Gehn that the Book worked if I would end up being trapped with him?

He picked his pipe up, walked over to the desk, and put the Book down. "Please understand, there is nothing I want more than a chance to resolve matters between Atrus and myself, especially in light of what has become of Catherine. But unless you are willing to demonstrate to me that your intentions are honorable, I cannot risk it."

He put his goggles on along with his heavy gloves. "The sanctuary I've been writing for the islanders is nearly complete. After all these years it would be a shame if I were unable to finish it." He picked up his rifle and walked over to the entry door. "The work I am doing is quite demanding. Please don't signal me again unless you've decided to use the Book. The switch will reset itself once you Link from here."

Now what? He suspected the Book was a trap, or perhaps faulty at least. There was no way he was going to use it now unless I go through first. But if he suspected the Book to be merely flawed, what would he gain by having me Link before he did? If I Linked ahead of him to an unstable Age, there would be no way for him to find out whether I survived or not.

I Linked back to the Prison Island. I didn't choose it for any particular reason, it just happened to be the closest Book. Anything to get away from that cramped prison. When I reached the island, I exited the dome and leaned against the railing looking out towards the Riven ocean.

Something about the whole situation didn't seem right. Why didn't Gehn have a Linking Book of his own when he attempted to use the D'ni Book? He would have needed one to return to his Age.

Well, for one thing, his Books didn't work. At least not without a source of power, or the crystal material from Tay. On the other hand, he didn't necesarily need the Linking Book. He could always use the Riven Descriptive Book to link to Riven and then use the Linking Books in the domes to get back to his Office.

Or maybe he had no intention of returning. Once he got back to D'ni he could forget all about Riven. The working Books were in D'ni. His son was in D'ni.

As tempting as Atrus' bait was, Gehn didn't seem too eager to snatch it. Gehn expected me to use the Book first. He presumed that I would want to return to D'ni on my own accord. So my hesitation only fueled his suspicions of the Book's purpose. And if I did use it, I'd be stuck in the Prison Age.

Wait. What was it Atrus said about the Book? I took the tiny journal Atrus gave me and re-read the entry about the Prison Book. The Prison Book was only capable of trapping one individual. Once it trapped one person, the next person to Link through it would release the person currently trapped.

So, if I were to use the Book before Gehn, and he followed me, I would Link back out of the Book.

I put the journal back in my bag and ran back towards the fire marble dome. I had to return to Gehn right away, before he grew even more suspicious of me. I entered the dome combination and Linked back to his Age.

Gehn's Office was empty. He was still outside working, probably. I pushed the signal button.

A minute later Gehn walked into the office. His uniform notably discolored from the dust clouds. "I'm relieved you've returned," he said. "I thought perhaps you had decided against it."

He placed his gloves and the rifle down on the desk and picked up the Book. He walked towards me with the open Book turned to the Linking page. "Here. I shall follow you directly."

I looked at the spinning D'ni chamber trying to build up the courage to touch the image. "Please," Gehn said while pushing the Book closer to the bars.

A current ran through my body and the cage around me began to fade into nothingness. The rotating panoramic view of D'ni began to fill my field of vision.

But then it stopped. I wasn't in Gehn's Office anymore, nor was I in D'ni. I was trapped in the middle of a Link, and so my eyes were showing me both the Age that I had Linked from, and the Age I desired to Link to.

I felt the floor beneath me fall away and my body became weightless. My body drifted through the bars as if they weren't there. Gehn walked towards the desk with the Book and closed it. As the Book was closed, the visual blending of the two Ages ceased and now I was floating in the middle of a slowly spinning D'ni chamber.

I could see Atrus. He sat at his desk hovering over the Riven Book. I tried to call out to him but he gave me no sign that he could hear me. Was this how it was for Sirrus and Achenar? Did they spend their time facing the same Linking Window images over and over? The Myst Library chandelier perhaps?

Suddenly, the image of Gehn's office reappeared. He had opened the Book. Once again two Ages were overlapping. But the office was shifting with the movements of the Book. Before, I was next to the cage, now I was next to the desk where Gehn performed his writing. My hovering body wanted to stay close to the Linking Window. If I was capable of seeing Sirrus and Achenar back on Myst Island, then was Gehn capable of seeing me, or even hearing me?

The Book was placed on the desk, face up. I saw Gehn put on his gloves and his goggles like he always did. And then I saw him take his rifle.

He was going to kill Atrus. It shouldn't have been a surprise to me at all. Catherine told me Gehn would do it.

I felt a surge of energy flow through my body. The images of D'ni vanished and the Office took on a solid form. My body righted itself and I found myself standing on a solid floor once again.

I was free. The strange visual blend of the two Ages had ceased, and my body was now fully coexistant with a single Age.

I looked around the room. It took me a second to realise that I was now outside of the cage. Not only had I trapped Gehn, but I was also free of the trap he had put me in. I was free to wander around Gehn's office.

The key. Catherine said that Gehn kept the key to the prison here. I would have to search the place to find it.

I turned to the desk. The Prison Book was still there, still open. That meant that Gehn could probably see me. I closed the Book to block his evesdropping, and put it in my bag. It was a strange feeling. Putting a human being in a portable prison that I could take anywhere.

The small circular desk was designed more for form than function. It almost resembled some kind of religious tabernacle. The canopy was decorated with medalians and inscriptions running along the outside edge. The surface of the desk was a highly polished marble.

There was another Book on the desk. It had a simple cover, with no number plate on it like the others. This must have been the Age Gehn was writing for the villagers. I opened the Book but the Descriptive Window was empty. Of course, it would have to be empty. This Book probably required a power source like the others did.

A pen sat behind the book in a glass holder filled with water to keep the pen tip clean. Two glass bowls were on the left of the pen filled with different colored liquids. On the right of the pen was a bronze figure of a beetle like the ones I had seen on Riven. There was a hole on the top of the beetle's back and I could see a dark liquid moving inside the figure. Ink. The special D'ni Ink used to Write.

I left the Desk and walked over towards the door. Unfortunately it was locked. Gehn must have locked it in that moment before he attempted to Link to D'ni.

Next to the door was a strange looking object. It was a wide disk mounted on a tall pole coming up to chest height. The disk was thick and the edge was lined with a heavy black cloth. On top of the wooden disk was a metal cylinder.

I touched the smaller cylinder and it lowered into the disk. A mechanical whiring sound started up inside the object and noises came from inside the disk. Music. It was a recording of some kind.

It was a soft melody coming from a single instrurment, a horn of some kind. This must have been some kind of record player. It looked pretty sophisticated for something from Riven, so I presumed that it was possibly of D'ni origins or built by Gehn himself.

I let the music play as I walked around the rest of the office. On one of the window sills, I found a lever that opened the cage. When I flipped it, the cage lowered itself into a recess in the floor.

There was nothing else here, so I climbed down the ladder leading to a lower level of Gehn's office.

This lower level was nothing more than a tiny room carved out of the rock the office structure rested on. At the far end a rough opening was cut, exposed to the harsh environment of this Age. A bed was carved out of a niche in the back wall. The bed was a single sleeper mattress neatly made with a heavy brown leather blanket and a single pillow.

Next to the ladder was a red linen wall hanging with Gehn's five-pointed crest in the middle. In front of the hanging was a metal basin. A spout was directly above the basin connected to a pipe that ran up to the ceiling. I pulled on the spout and a spray of water came out. It was drinkable, although slightly warm.

On the ledge of the opening was a stone block with a wire cage on top. It looked like the other holographic imagers I had seen on Riven. I turned a crank lever on the side of the block and a blue ghostly image flickered into view.

It was a woman. She had a bright face and dark hair, covered by a white (or maybe blue) shawl. By Earth standards, she was in her late 20s or early 30s.

"Ke-ena natsu, shima," she said. "Shora-tay." She looked directly at me and then giggled. "Nah e meta."

There was another pause. Was she talking to someone? Maybe she was talking to the person making the recording. "Taga-mem, san unde gan shen."

Her face turned sad and she was silent again. "Haci," she finally said, and then the image faded away.

To my right I found two photos in circular frames. One was the woman that I just saw in the imager. There was an inscription written on the picture. "To Gehn, my husband and my salvation. I dedicate myself to the love that rescued me".

This woman was Gehn's wife. Atrus' mother perhaps, or maybe a second wife that he had taken in since his exile.

The second picture was of a man with distinguishing gray hair and a scruffy beard. He appeared to present a confident feeling of power or authority. He wore a D'ni uniform nearly identical to Gehn's. The photo was in black and white and it gave his eyes an errie white glow.

Hanging on the wall next to the photos was a long wooden musical instrurment. Probably the same one I had heard in the recording. It was as tall as a didgeridoo with a small mouthpiece like that of an oboe. At the base of the instrurment, was a sphere that connected it to the horn opening at the bottom. Tiny holes were drilled up and down the instrurment for keying notes.

Finally, there was a simple end table next to the bed. On the table was a metal plate with some eating utensils, a lamp, a metal ball, and a journal. Inside the end table was clothing.

I opened up the journal and read it, figuring that this might have the information I need to free Catherine. It was another journal written by Gehn. I recognised his smooth, clear handwriting. Ironically, the journal started its first entry with news that Catherine had Linked in to Riven.

Of course I knew the rest. Catherine escaped with the help of the Moiety. But later on she was captured again. It was strange reading about these events from Gehn's point of view now.

Unfortunately, the journal did not appear to contain the information I needed. In fact, the more I read of it, the more my feelings of contempt for Gehn grew. If Atrus had ever had any doubts of Gehn being evil, I would show him this book. While Gehn's lab journal was filled with scientific notes and reports, this journal was much more personal. Gehn referred to Atrus as an emotionally crippled child, and there was little evidence that he treated anyone else on Riven with any more respect.

After Catherine's initial escape he increased the number of executions in the Whark gallows. He used them as a show of his power and to subdue the influence that Catherine's arrival brought to the Riven villagers. He continued rambling about his hatred for his mother, who was aparantly somehow responsible for the collapse of the D'ni society. His hated of Catherine, Atrus, the Moiety, the Rivenese. He hated all of them. He casually mentioned killing, or inflicting suffering upon them, with no signs of remorse whatsoever. Gehn's self appointed god-status told him that he was above all that, and these people were his to do with as he chose.

But there was one person that was different. Keta. His wife, the woman in the imager and the photograph. He did express true love for her. Presumably Keta was long gone.

I put the journal in my bag along with the lab journal. Maybe later on I would go over them both and compare notes on Gehn's state of mind.

The only artificact left on the desk was a metalic sphere with two rings on opposite sides. An image was etched all around the surface of the object. It almost looked like a tiny globe. There were grid lines across the surface and the deeper etchings looked like continents or border lines

I picked up the sphere from one of the rings and it fell open. The sphere split in two revealing a thick black cylinder with D'ni numbers etched along the edge. When it opened it made a noise. "Bong, ding, bong, bong, clank," it chimed. The bells were followed by a ticking noise. The sphere pulled its two halves together again to close itself.

It seemed to be some kind of timepiece. I pulled the two halves open again and looked at the numbers. The cylinder was broken up into rows, so some rows of numbers could move independently of others. The object repeated the same sequence of bells. The noises sounded familiar. Didn't that bell in the Prison make similar noises?

I put the timepiece in my bag and turned to the ladder. Before I climbed up I turned back towards the two photographs. Keta. Atrus told me his mother died during birth. He may have never even seen her. More than likely this Age will never be visited once Riven collapsed. I took the two photographs and put them in my gear bag. My collection of souveniers was becoming unwieldly, but I knew this would be worth it. I climbed back up the ladder to the main level of the office.

I turned off the music box. If one of Gehn's guards linked in while I was gone, I didn't want them to know that anything was out of place. I walked into the middle of the room and turned to the Prison Island Book. I placed my hand on the gateway image and Linked.

Text taken from Wayback Machine's snapshot dated April 10th, 2009.

Restored and updated for modern rendering by Deka Jello. See the divergences page for known differences and alterations.