S1E5 - Into the Wanderers' Library - Episode 5 - Time is Relative

Right, quick note to Madeline. You are currently in the editor's chair, so to speak. You have editor's responsibility with this one. So you're welcome to cut this out. Actually, it is preferable if you do cut this bit out. This is just a message for my kids. Mostly because some of them do. Aw. Sorry. I just got a message from. Who is that now? Yeah, just. Just Marie and Grace. Oh, they're at the park. Sorry. Sorry. It's very unprofessional of me, but they're at the park. They're. They're safe there with one of their godparents. But I. I just wanted to leave a little message for them because I know some of them are a little bit worried since dad hasn't turned up in maybe a couple days. Just to let them know. Just to let you know he's alright. He's fine. Theo's completely okay. He's just doing some. He's just finishing off some foundation stuff he did this last year. It's completely fine. He just has to stick to the proverbial shadows, as it were. And you know Theo, the shadows are practically his realm. Yeah, yeah. The dark is his ex is. The dark is his realm of expertise. Expert. Give me a minute. I can't express how much I hate using a human mouth. Human tongues do not work with me. As tasty and chewy as they might be, they're not fun to actually use. But pardon me there, you can cut that bit out. Theo's fine. The kids are fine. The kids are alright. I'm alright. So it's all good. It's all good. Oh, we're already in the two minute mark. Right, Come on. Hello and welcome once again to into the Wanderer's Library with Professor Artyom Harkin. Today we have a slightly shorter journalist entry and this one is provided to Us by Dr. Everett Mann. Don't know what he's a doctor of, but I have seen that name before. He's done several entries in this series. I think this is. This might be a full journal of his, actually. But I have a random one of his. I say random one. I. I picked this out ages ago. It is called 81st turn, 7th year, 20th cycle Tres Day. And there are translations in the digital copy in Chinese and French. Should you want to read this in those other two languages if it will make it easier for you to follow. So, without further ado from the Journal of Aphromos Long Journey Pilgrim with notes by Avos Tor, Scholar of reeve Library Tresday, 20th cycle, 7th year 81st turn 57th day in the trees we remain in the cave. I believe that Torn will be ready to move soon. It is fortunate that his break was not worse. So long as he does not move his arm too much, he should be fine. Until then, I will be carrying both of our packs. Torn argued with me, but I held firm. He must take care not to hurt that arm further. In the meantime, I have caught several rabbits that came too close to the cave. Soldier caught her own dinner. An animal like a rat, but three times the size of any rat I've ever seen. Footnote A capybara, perhaps. I must confess I've never been very good at identifying the mid sized rodents. Beautiful animals. Capybaras. I've always wanted a pet capybara. She's spending several hours a day gone. Where does she go? I keep asking myself if she will return the next time. She's currently laying in the crook of my arm. She has grown so much. She is nearly the size of her mother now. She has traveled with me for seven cycles now. A short time for a barrow, but for a cat she is nearly grown. I think. Torn says that she will be leaving us soon. It is hard for me to bear that thought. I do not want her to leave. I wish for her to stay with us where we may protect her. Where I can enjoy her company. But that is not fair to her, is it? She must leave us at some point. She is a friend and not merely a pet. It was a mistake to try to take her mother for a pet. I now see she was a wild thing and I was meddling in things I knew nothing about. Many people take wild things and make them tame. Horses, elephants, goats, cellophans. They have success with it. But it is still a serious business. It is not right to do it lightly, as I have tried to. I did not know what I was doing. Martap paid the price. Soldier's mother paid the price. I will not make the same mistake with Soldier. I will not try to make her tame. She must leave soon and I will not stop her. Seven cycles. I think it's been about seven cycles since I've seen my kids. I was gonna say a lot of them are grown now. Grownish, mind you. I suppose that's due to their parentage. They're growing a little bit faster than most. My eldest is already around five'five now. Thereabout, which is odd considering how short both their parents are. I reckon one of them's gonna be six one, maybe six'two Funny how these genetic Works how? These genetics work. It's odd being where I am. I do have a perception of time. But I know that time works very differently in the Library compared to the world that I left, compared to the other worlds that I've been in. As a matter of fact, an hour in here could be a year out there. And one second in here could be a century. I think the Library sometimes messes with our perception of time. To mess with us, to confuse us. I believe she's entertained by that confusion. She's like a trickster, a mischievous little imp in the form of a dimension that stretches out to eternity, which I wouldn't mind. I love a good prank as much as an ex bloke. But I would like a level of coherency with how these events go on, because I can't for the life of me decide if I've been here for centuries or if I've only just gotten here. I just know that my family's out there. My husband's out there, and maybe he's still. Wait. No, he's not. Pardon me one moment. Matt, if you're. If you're listening to this recording. Cut. Cut this out. Just. It is you. Don't you just stare at me. Just. Just wave if it. What are you doing here? They'll find you. They'll just stay there, right? Stay there. Please. No cameras. They don't need cameras. They have eyes in the walls. Okay, okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. This. This changes things. Okay. Okay. Don't worry. Just thought I saw something moving in the shadows. I'm in my study room. We're lit by candlelight because the fluorescent lights aren't currently working. Sne. Bother. It's all good. It's all good. Oh, yes. I've got a message from my husband. He's just saying that he's fine, that he's safe, that he's with friends, and he's just working hard and doing what he does best. Living in the shadows. Like I said, the shadows are his realm. If you know Dr. Harkin, you'll know just how accurate a statement that actually is. But sorry. Sorry for the. For the rambliness of this. And apologies for the shorter segment. It's a marvellous thing, time. So is learning about the past, watching our present, anticipating our future. And when you live in a place like this, past, present and future, practically simultaneous. If there's one thing to learn from this, perhaps it's that we may all learn to be kind to our past and set goals to be better in the future. There's a lot of things we can't avoid. There's a lot of things we can't shake. The eternal marching of time is something even my people weren't able to stop. But eternity isn't nearly as long as you think it is. And sometimes the impossible, given enough time and preparation, is far more achievable than one gives credit. Our next episode will be on following the Paper Trail. I was wondering for the longest time why I wasn't able to be saved from this wretched prison. I thought I'd never see the end of it. The exit always being something. Teased. Waved in front of me like a bottle of water to a thirsty man in a desert. I know of course I will never get out of here. But maybe one day I will. Perhaps it's all just a matter of time. Time and preparation. But for now it's just me. Me. The revolving door of staff members that they keep sending that keep mysteriously disappearing. I say disappearing. Their organs and their limbs normally remain here and there, dotted about the place. Don't know where what happens. I think something's eating them. But I wouldn't know anything about that. But yes, for now. This is Professor Artyom Harkin here in the study room of the Wanderer's Library. Alone but not lonely with the shadows keeping me company. Thank you for listening. And kids, don't eat anyone while I'm gone. Don't make my mistakes. And if you do, just make sure to clean up thoroughly. People can track a paper trail or a blood trail or an odd stray bone. Thank you for listening. This has been into the Wanderers library from by. This has been into the Wanderer's Library with Professor Artyom Harkin. Thank you and until next time. Have a good day. Good night everyone. You. You need to be more careful. No, but don't look at me with that tone of voice. You shouldn't even be here. How did you get here? No, don't giggle away. If they find you. Don't you understand? If they find you, there won't be anyone left to go home. They'll take you away. And then they'll kill me. Yes, I know it's technically impossible to kill either of us, but they'll try. Lord knows they're capable. I wouldn't have minded. I just would have preferred a little bit more advanced warning. Of course. You put out a birthday banner. It's not even my birthday. Yes, I know. Confetti would have been messier. Just stay there, okay? You're very lucky. The shadows are your realm. The shadows are your place. They can't take you there if they try to venture in. You've got the high ground in Satanic and Skywalker reference here. But I haven't, right? I'm still stuck here with a physical form for now. We need time. I'm grateful for you for being here. I'm grateful and I thank you, you strange, daft muppets. But just be careful, okay? We'll talk later tonight. I'll have words with. What do you mean, don't threaten you with a good time? Oh, God. Is that still recording? Bugger. Not a word. Not a word. Don't mind me. Just talking to myself. Just me and my shadow. No, that wasn't a pun. Yeah, sorry, Madge, you gotta have a lot to edit. But it's fine, it's fine. It's all good. It's all good. Right, see you next time I record one of these. Don't. Don't bloody wave.