"I think it means that they can''t," Ismene shrugged. "I mean, you''re right. They would, if they could. So there''s got to be something real, that isn''t a fire-tale, that stops them. It might just be that the Assembly doesn''t want to get the temple faction angry, but there might be more. And it is true that visitors who cause trouble are dealt with." She took out a pamphlet on the new worker curfew and unfolded it, placing it flat in the reader.


    "Right. Bad dreams and Hands guarding the halls. That wouldn''t stop an army, though," Eryx mused.


    "I know the Assembly''s complained to the Voice about allowing unpaid access to works, and access to illegal works, but the Library won''t pull anything." Ismene took out the pamphlet and refolded it. "Well. At least, I know I''ve never seen anything stop being accessible, so the Assembly must not be able to force the matter."


    "Hmm," Eryx commented.


    "The Hands are stronger than they look," Ismene said idly. "When they do escort someone out, they''re gentle, but they seem to be up to the job. And they can lift a lot. And they have to have some muscle to get the food supplies up here." Come to think of it, she''d never seen them carting anything through the main entrance. Maybe there were lifts, down the mountains?


    "This place is just too odd," Eryx said.


    Finally, Ismene finished reading items in. "Definitely odd," she agreed. "It''s old, and it really doesn''t feel like it was designed by people. It''s all like a fire-tale. Sometimes I think it is one." She smiled fondly.


    "Haven''t you found its history, or something?" Eryx pressed.


    Ismene thought about it. She''d looked, before. "There''s histories by temple scholars, about how the Library was started. They''re some of the oldest Tyrenian works here. But no, there''s not much from before that."


    "And you trust that?" Eryx asked. "I''d be worried about that. What does the Castle gain by having a library at all, anyway? Since it does, why aren''t there any histories about the library, or the Castle, itself?" Eryx said. "Why is it so rich, and staffed? For you?" she smiled a little, despite the suspicions she was voicing.


    "...I don''t know. But I I love it here," Ismene replied, carefully repacking items. Eryx was making her a little uncomfortable. Was it that Ismene had never actually asked herself some of those questions? Or was it the idea that if she pushed too hard, she risked annoying Harmonia or, worse, insulting the Voice? "If I wasn''t a worker, and if it would have me, I would stay." She locked the case. Finally, if she stuck to it, she could relax about Harmonia and the schedule. "Do you want me to show you around?"


    "I''d like that, yes." Eryx said.


    Walking through the stacks, Ismene showed her the catalog display; a luminous plate which, at a touch, spun through a dizzying array of entries. She demonstrated how to narrow down the books by title or subject or any number of traits. "This is a good place to start, if you''re not sure about the shelving system. Letters, and notebooks, or things that aren''t already on the shelves, things without titles, those are harder to search. You can always ask the Hands for help, and they''ll give it. There''s usually one at the front desk."


    Eryx nodded. Ismene knew how she felt. It was surreal to see, in such an alien form, a clear catalog system; one that lacked drawers, cards, or sorting rods. The sheer volume of entries made the weird display a useful tool. Eryx looked around them, then tapped in a particular title, and grinned in fascination when it obediently came up on screen.


    Ismene noticed her caution; Eryx was conscious of the other visitors. That was good. "There''s a square inlay on the desks in the reading rooms; that''s a catalog, too. All of the reading rooms have them, so you don''t need to be out here in the open to look things up. You touch the corner and it''ll wake up. If you really want to keep someone from seeing it, you can ask for a temporary copy and it''ll turn up in the rack of books by the room''s door."


    Eryx blinked. She looked over to the wall, where a stand filled with a dozen slim volumes stood next to each reading room''s sliding door. The book would simply be there? "That''s... how?"


    They both fell silent as someone walked by.


    Ismene grinned, and picked a book out of the shelves at random. "You know how I said the books were different?" she asked, opening it.


    Eryx nodded and leaned forward, inspecting the book. The cover was rigid and smooth and light; it wasn''t that thick. She opened it. Inside was a single, tough, flexible page.


    "You read it like this." Ismene thought of it as a monopage, but perhaps omnipage was a more correct designation, she thought. She showed Eryx how it worked by flipping it to the next side, then back. The text advanced to the next page, unless Ismene brushed the page in a "back" direction.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    "Oh," Eryx said. "It changes."


    "They stop working if you take them down into the entry hall," Ismene said. "But they work up in our rooms. All the volumes here are like this. It''s just the copies we take home that are on paper. So that''s how it works; the bindings by the rooms are blank, and you can ask them to turn into anything. Keeps me from feeling out of place when I''m looking for something I don''t think someone would like."


    "But the copies you bring back are on paper."


    Ismene nodded. "I submit requests at least four days before we leave, and when we do, they''re ready for us."


    "That''s quick," Eryx muttered. "They can copy them out that fast?" Eryx pictured a room full of Hands with printing presses, running off copies like any Tyrenian print shop. She smiled.


    "They must have a way," Ismene said.


    Eryx hummed, and tapped something into the catalog. She scrolled, and scrolled, and finally looked up. "There''s so much information here. And I don''t need Harmonia''s permission?" she said lowly.


    Ismene shook her head. "Let''s see here," she said. Guiding Eryx into a reading room, she closed the door. "The Library does not care. Just don''t let her see anything too outré, if you''re worried. And if you don''t want any other visitors casually eavesdropping on you, or reporting back to their people, work in a reading room like this or up in your room."


    "Really?" Eryx asked.


    "It''s not like the House library at home," Ismene said. "Harmonia won''t get a record of what you look at. She mostly assumes we''re being proper. She only gets mad if I make the wrong guesses on what to take home." Even in the private space, Ismene''s voice dropped quieter. "And I do my best to make sure my guesses are decent."


    "And about taking books back," Eryx said.


    Ismene regarded her. She wondered how much of a conversation she could have about that. "Harmonia''s got her list," she said. "I put in an order for the ones I can find, and we take those home, in print."


    Eryx looked levelly up at her. "Yeah. So no one''s ever made it out with one of those magic books?"


    Ismene frowned. "They stop working when you take them too far, I''ve heard," she replied. "But I''d find it insulting to try."


    "Fascinating." Eryx tapped at the book she''d been holding.


    "What are you here to work on?" Ismene said, changing the subject. "I know it''s for the Prytane, but I don''t know much," she said.


    "Hmm." Eryx said. "A question, first. What do you think of how hard it is, to get books in Tyrene?"


    Ismene took a moment to respond. "That''s a hard thing to have a position on," she said. "I''ve been very lucky to be the person Lady Harmonia depends upon when she comes here."


    Eryx nodded. "I suppose you wouldn''t," she said. "It''s a luxury, coming here. It''s a pity more people can''t."


    Ismene looked away. "It''s true," she said. Was Eryx suggesting what she thought Eryx was suggesting? Should she tell Eryx what she did, behind Harmonia''s back? But that wasn''t safe, not really. She tried again. "I''d like to run a library one day," Ismene said. "Not Mellon''s House library, and not a subscription library for House members. One that lends to workers, too. I know I''d have to get a business license myself, and I know Harmonia would already be doing it if she thought it was profitable. I''d still love sharing books with people," she said. "It''s hard for us to get them outside of the House library." They were the business'' property, so trading them wasn''t technically legal. Ismene had done it plenty, but sneaking them around always made her nervous.


    Eryx looked her over. "Can you take a book back from here? On your own, I mean."


    Ismene froze. What should she do? It was a terribly direct question, and she had to wonder. Did Eryx know? Had someone found out? Had Harmonia?


    "I''d be in trouble, if I was discovered doing that," she said, feeling a void grow in her chest. "Harmonia would hand me off to the army or something." The punitive labor pool didn''t appeal to her any more than a factory contract would.


    "You mean you come here twice a year, and you''ve never wanted to sneak anything out yourself?" Eryx asked. Her tone wasn''t accusatory; it was disapproving. Perhaps she really didn''t know, Ismene thought.


    "I wouldn''t dare be caught doing it," Ismene said, trying to sound firm. "I''d lose everything I''ve earned here."


    There was a long, awkward moment while she, and Eryx, looked at each other.


    "I''m trying to look up information on House policies," Eryx finally said. Ismene had the impression that she''d failed some sort of exploratory character test. "The Prytane''s been kind enough to implement a thing or two that I''ve suggested, in the past. They''re the sort of things the Servant''s Guild wants to do, so it took some convincing. You know what I mean. The guaranteed day off, and the better food deals."


    Ismene nodded numbly. She knew. Mellon''s House wasn''t activist, but it had improved conditions for its servants in the past few years. She was a little proud of it.


    "I feel like we could do better," Eryx said. "The hard part is always convincing Mellon to do things that seem, on the surface, like they''re indefensibly expensive or lax. I''m here to get information to support my suggestions. I should get to work," she added. "I think I can start myself. You go ahead and do whatever you need to."


    "Let me know if you need anything," Ismene offered. She felt vaguely like Eryx had found her wanting, but she wasn''t sure. She couldn''t come straight out and admit that she did sneak books home. Ismene had never told anyone apart from the people she gave them to. Eryx seemed like she would understand, but Ismene couldn''t be sure she wouldn''t use the information against Ismene.


    "Sure." Eryx said, opening the reading room door and leaving. Ismene felt like she''d been dismissed, and she left too.


    Maybe she could tell Eryx later.