Nico this time: “And these doors…？”
“We’ll start with physicalities. Space,” said Atlas. “The fundamental laws of physics and how to bypass them.”
At that, Libby and Nico exchanged a glance; it was the first time, Callum noted, that Libby did not have one of her spectacularly awkward behaviors on display.
“Once you’ve proven you can be trusted with the most readily available of our findings, you will move on to the next subject. The five initiates will move even further, of course, over the course of their second year. From there, things become much more specialized; Dalton, for example,” said Atlas, with a reference over his shoulder to where Dalton had all but blended into the wallpaper, “works in such a narrow field of expertise that only he is permitted to access those materials at present.”
Parisa, Callum could see, found this to be a very interesting trinket of information indeed.
“Not even you?” asked Reina, surprising them once again with her voice.
“Not even me,” Atlas confirmed. “We do not, as a society, believe it is necessary for one man to know everything. We don’t consider it particularly possible, either, and certainly not very safe.”
“Why not?” （Libby again.）
“Because the problem with knowledge, Miss Rhodes, is its inexhaustible craving. The more of it you have, the less you feel you know,” said Atlas. “Thus, men often go mad in search of it.”
“And how do the women take it?” prompted Parisa.
Atlas gave her a curt half-smile.
“Most know better than to seek it,” he said, which sounded, to Callum, like a warning.
“When you say a system,” Libby began. Callum flinched, irked again as Atlas turned his attention back to her. She was like a mosquito; the effect of her anxiety wasn’t exactly painful, but it did seem to be unrelenting. Callum couldn’t sit comfortably in one spot.
“There are six of you,” Atlas said, gesturing to the group of them. “You each maintain one-sixth responsibility for the Society’s security. How you divide it is up to you. Now, before I leave you to it,” he said, seeming to startle Libby with the prospect she might have to go unsupervised, “I will say that while you do not presently have access to everything in the Society’s purview, you are very much responsible for the entirety of its protection. Please bear this in mind as you devise your plan.”
“Seems a bit counterintuitive, doesn’t it?” Tristan remarked. He was, as Callum had predicted, a natural contrarian. “We’re responsible for things we can’t even see.”
“Yes,” Atlas agreed, and nodded briskly. “Any questions?”
Libby opened her mouth but, to Callum’s immense relief, Nico’s hand shot out, pausing her.
“Excellent,” said Atlas, turning to Dalton. “Well, we shall all reconvene at dinner. Welcome to the Alexandrian Society,” he added, and inclined his head a final time before sauntering through the door, sealing it behind them.
REINA
THERE WAS A MOMENT of guarded curiosity as the remaining six appraised each other in silence.
“You’re very quiet,” observed Tristan, turning to Callum, the blond South African who sat on his left. “No thoughts on any of this?”
“No pressing ones,” said Callum. He had a certain look to him; something very old Hollywood, belonging to the perpetual plague of Westernization that Reina had come to loathe rather than admire, but his voice was soothing, his mannerisms almost comforting. “And you sound quite suspicious.”
“My nature, I’m afraid,” said Tristan, rather unapologetically.
Parisa, Reina noted, was looking at her intently. It prompted her to a bit of a shudder, bristling at the slight sense of invasion, which in turn upset one of the nearby ferns.
“That’s odd,” said Libby, for whom the plant had been within sight. She frowned at it before turning back to Reina. “You’re… a naturalist, then, I take it?”
Reina strongly disliked being questioned on the subject. “Yes.”
“Most medeian-level naturalists have more of a handle on their skill set,” observed Parisa, immediately revealing herself to be unpleasant. Not that that surprised Reina at all; most women who looked like Parisa had a lifetime of permission to behave however they liked. Normally she didn’t fault them for it, preferring only to stay out of their way, but this sort of shoved-together experience would obviously render avoidance impossible.