“Don't worry about that. When we came through, the machine expelled the dirt and rock behind us. By attaching the tube to the front, the machine will suck up the debris it has expelled and replace it in the tunnel. It won't be as solid as it was before, but I doubt anyone will notice. I'll just compress the first two cubic feet by hand before continuing.”
“You're always prepared.” Lena kissed his cheek and then crawled into the hole.
Vor pushed in the machine behind her and turned it on. The thing whirred and started to move, urging Lena forward with its twirling, enormous drill bit. She made a yip, and the machine stopped.
“I've got it,” Vor called to her from the other side of it. “I'll hold it here until I've got enough dirt to fill the opening. Go on ahead, Lena.”
“All right.” Lena crawled after the Nethren soldiers, looking back several times until she heard the machine start up.
Lena had a head start of about sixteen feet by then, so she felt confident in crawling ahead without looking back. It was unlikely that anyone would search the escape tunnel anyway, but it was good to cover their tracks.
The tunnel was wide enough that Lena had a good six inches between her and the sides, making it easy to avoid the tube. The thing compressed as they went, folding in uponitself. Crawling through a freshly dug tunnel wasn't the most comfortable way to travel—her hands got dirty, and she felt claustrophobic—but it was over within ten minutes. The tunnel let out into a much larger one. A soldier helped Lena out, and she stood up to dust off her knees.
Before she was done, the machine came whirring out of the tunnel, and Vor with it. The soldiers rushed to help him get the machine set off to the side, and Vor turned it off. He packed up the tube, unpinning the end from the wall, and then stepped back for two of his men to pick it up.
With that done, Vor hurried over to take her hand. “Are you all right?” He leaned over to brush some dirt off her pants.
“Yes, I'm fine.” Lena was still wearing the clothing he'd given her that last day, and she motioned at the pants. “You were right about me needing sturdy clothing.”
“I had a feeling you would, but I never thought you'd be crawling through a tunnel in them.” He lifted her hand and kissed it. “It's an easy walk from here.”
At first, the Nethren tunnel was bare dirt, but then metal light fixtures appeared on the walls, connected by metal tubes. Then the walls and floors became metal, whirring with tech. Lena's eyes went wide as she peered at the wires in the wall. Even their walls were a product of technology!
“This is just the path to Ranuvul,” Vor said. “It's not all like this.”
Lena nodded, but a ball of fear tickled her belly. She had left the surface behind. All her friends and family. Her harp. Everything she knew and was comfortable with. Before her was anew life, and the only one to guide her through it was Vor. What the fuck had she done?
“Lena?” Vor leaned in.
She stared at his face. Felt his hand warm in hers. All of Lena's fear left as the connection between them brightened to reassure her. “I'm all right.”
And then the walls came to life.
With whirs and flashing lights, the metal walls seemed to speak to Lena. The lights came on and off rapidly to form moving lines that led her forward. She gaped at the singing metal as she felt the Source of Technology more strongly than ever before. On the surface, it was a gentle warmth she could blend with the coolness of magic. But down there, it flared and danced for Lena, luring her deeper into the ground.
“I see now why your ancestors dug so deep,” Lena looked from the walls to Vor. Then frowned at him.
Vor was gaping at the walls as if he'd never seen them before. And he wasn't the only one displaying shock. All the Nethren stared at the light display with wide eyes and open mouths.
“Is it her?” Greis asked, looking at Vor.
Vor looked at Lena. “Lena, did you do this?”
“No, it wasn’t me.” Lena stared at all the amazed faces. “I thought this was normal.”
Vor chuckled and laid his hand on the wall. With a sharp inhale, he flinched, and then he smiled. “Technology is welcoming you home, Lena. Source is happy. That's what thisis.” He looked around the tunnel, even glancing at the floor. “It's celebrating your arrival.”
“Can a source feel happiness?” Lena frowned at the wall.
“Evidently it can.” Vor took her hand again. “Come, there's so much for you to see.”
In awed silence, the Nethren escorted Lena to the end of the metal tunnel. Light as bright and warm as sunshine poured into the tunnel. Lena stepped to the edge with Vor and stared out across a vast cavern. They were high in the cavern wall, and many other tunnels spotted the walls around them. Metal lined the cavern walls, supporting platforms that rose and fell from the tunnels, transporting Nethren to the city below.
Ranuvul. This was Vor's home. It spread across the cavern floor in shining glory, with buildings made of steel, stone, and glass spearing up toward a ceiling covered in tech, most of it alight. Streets divided the city into a grid, portioning off buildings into groups, and were full of moving vehicles. People strolled down sidewalks that lined the streets, just as they would in any Medean city. There was a shocking amount of plants growing in parks and also in huge planters on the sidewalks and rooftop gardens. They gave a freshness to the air that made Lena feel as if she were on the surface.
“It's wondrous,” Lena whispered.
As if in response to her words, the city brightened, all the lights turning on at once. Building windows, street lamps, vehicles, and even the cavern walls lit up and then pulsed like a heart. Tha-thump, tha-thump, tha-thump.
