Chap. 418 The Rock in the Sock

Commo entered the library, her arms full of L’ichen’s clothing, and stopped in shock.

“What in the world? What’s happened, did we have an earthquake?”

Chief Elene shook her head, with a grin. She and the Security Chief were at the entrance, watching a pack of kids cleaning up the mess L’ichen had made during his rampage.

“Hello, Commo!” Security said, “Um, this isn’t the laundry.”

Commo was so distracted she failed to hear it as a joke.

“I, uh, of course not, I, um, we found-what happened here?”

“Briefly,” Elene said “Dragonrider L’ichen came in here after I’d left with a backpack and he went berserk looking for it. He threatened people inside and out of MY Library with a dagger and then fled when Security showed up.”

“A backpack? He lost a backpack?”

“He claimed to have had one but came in without one. A boy brought one in from outside, and I took it to Jansen’s office to open it. It’s definitely L’ichen’s, it had stolen artifacts in it, which we kept. The backpack itself is in Security’s Lost and Found, now.”

“That’s true, Commo and as soon as I get back to my division, I’ll have a complete list of the contents made up save for the artifacts. Which I trust are safe in Science’s hands?”

Elene nodded.

“You were smart to take it to Science division first. I shudder to think what he would have done to you, seeing as to how he threatened people in and outside with a dagger,” Security said. He turned to look at Commo. “What’s the deal with that bundle of clothing? I don’t think they’re for you?”

“No. We found them in a bunker in the warehouse district. L’ichen’s been using it to stash his stolen artifacts. One of the Chiefs mentioned that I should bring them to you, Elene, because you’re our Historian.”

“Well, that’s odd, because I honestly don’t know much about clothing other than I wear it,” Elene said.

Commo dropped the clothing on a table that had been uprighted.

“Chief, if I may look at them?” Security said.

“Of course, if you tell me why.”

Security laughed. “I come from a long line of tailors. I was expected to take up the trade myself, until I realized after a year’s apprenticeship that the last thing I wanted to do was make clothing.”

They laughed. Security began to examine the clothes. “I immediately see that these clothes don’t look like ours. They, uh, I’m guessing they come from some other period of time, not the present.”

A teen came to Elene and said, “Pardon, Chief, but do you want us to pick your desk back up? L’ichen knocked it over after he pulled out all the drawers. There’s stuff all over the floor. It’s a mess.”

“Would you please, lad?” Just pile the stuff from the drawers onto the table, did he knock that over? If so, just pile it up and put the drawers back in. I’ll go through it tomorrow. And thank you for you and your friends cleaning up the mess.”

“I will, ma’am. It’s okay. We didn’t really want to rake dirt, this is a lot easier.” He left and began calling orders.

Commo shook her head. “It astounds me the amount of damage he did in a short time.”

“Aye, but most of it is cosmetic. Maps torn off walls, tables overturned, that sort of thing. The stuff he wanted isn’t here, it’s in Jansen’s possession. Even the notebooks he brought in, although, given his state of mind, I don’t know how good his data will be.”

“What in the world caused him to go mad?”

“I’m sure it was the death of his dragon, even though he never attempted to be with the poor beast when he got here. But his dragon was killed by too much time jumping.”

“Huh. I’m not surprised, there’s been a law against time jumping since Lessa brought the Old Timers forward.”

“What little I read from his personal journals is proof that he was going WAY back in time,” Elene said, “even, possibly, to when the colonists first arrived. He’s from fifty years ahead of us in the future.  If you see him, he’ll appear to be in his seventies and in very bad shape, when in reality he’s no older than twenty six or twenty seven at the outside.”

Security said, “When I heard the dragons cry I knew one of them had died. I was so afraid it was one of Landing’s.”

“It wasn’t, but I can tell you, our five dragonriders are EXTREMELY pissed at L’ichen’s abuse and neglect. Not of himself, of course, they could care less. But of his dragon. It’s so sad.”

“My word,” Commo said, “No wonder there’s a law against dragonriders timing it, as they say.”

“No one has ever seen the physical damage that time jumping does-until today. I will definitely write this up in my “History of Pern” book,” Elene said.  And maybe someday I’ll have it published, although given what little time I have to writing it, that may be posthumously, she thought.

“These clothes?” Security said, “I’ve never seen anything like their cut and design, and, as I said, I was raised a tailor. My guess is they’re from all periods of our history. This one shirt? It’s a very odd fabric called ‘nylon’. The colonists clothing was made of it. We can’t make it now, we don’t have the chemicals they used to create it.”

“Why in the world would he want clothes from the past?”

Security smiled. “That, Commo, is why I love being Security. I had to learn how a criminal thinks by talking to a lot of them. They’re not right in the head, you know. Chief Elene just gave me a key to the puzzle. If this L’ichen was truly time jumping to steal artifacts, the best way to do it is to look like you belong in that time. If he’d shown up today wearing this ‘nylon’ shirt, for instance, we’d have all thought, who is he, where is he from, I’ve never seen nylon before. He would have drawn attention to himself, and attention is the last thing a thief wants. He wants to be just another face in a crowd, especially here at Landing.”

“Ahhhhhhhh,” the women said.

“Now then, Commo, do you have any plans for those clothes?”

“Oh, shards no. They’re for someone bigger and thinner than  me. I have clothing, and these aren’t mine anyway. So, I guess, I’ll give them to you for your Lost and Found box.”

“Maybe, before you do? If they’re historical, I should have pictures drawn of them for my files on Pern’s history,” Elene said.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

“THEN I’ll take them to your Lost and Found box, Chief.”

“That is exactly what I want. Jansen turned in his backpack to me just before he attacked the folks in Elene’s Library. I plan on putting all his stuff in a carton, and put out a sign on the Main Bulletin Board that says, “Found: Backpack and personal items, some valuable. See Lost and Found in Security to claim.”

Elene cackled. “What a way to catch a thief, what?”

Security laughed. “Precisely. Like catching a tunnel snake-use the right bait and he’ll stick his head in the snare. All we need do then is pull it tight.”

He picked up the bundle. “Chief Elene, I’m going to post a guard on the library for the next few days. If you could provide a cot inside for them they would very much appreciate it. I don’t want them sitting out in the rain. Which promises to start any moment now.”

“I will, Chief, and I’ll have a pot of klah and some goodies from the dining hall for them. Thank you so much!”

________________________________________________________

Elene looked at the pile of things from her desk and sighed. I didn’t realize how much Stuph I had in the drawers. I don’t use half of it. It’s getting late, it’s raining pretty hard right now, I’m going to have to dash through it to get to my quarters because with all the excitement, I forgot to bring my rain slicker.

I think I’ll wait until tomorrow to put my office back together. Thank those kids, they did all the work. Security’s night watch will be here soon, I hope, I’ll show them where the klah kettle is and the goodies.

I am so grateful I took the notebooks he’d left to Jansen’s office. She said she would scan his personal journals. Oh, the pilot’s logbook! I hope Acquisition can salvage what’s in it. It sounds absolutely fascinating. No one has any idea what the average person’s life was like back then. It’s why I love history.

She felt the nylon shirt. Yes, I think you belong in my book, shirt. Tomorrow I’ll have K’ndar, maybe, sketch them. He draws very well.

She absently began to sort the drawer’s contents into logical piles-and found a sock.
Ah, yes, a sock. A dirty sock, from L’ichen’s pack. K’ndar said something about it having something in it?

She pulled it out of the pile and felt it. Yes. There’s something solid in it.  Nothing else, I hope? No crawlers or things that sting?

Well, it’s had enough time for any creature that may have been in it to escape she thought.

She reached in and felt it. It’s a rock. She pulled it out.

It was bigger than her half opened fist and a warm, honey color.

It’s not a rock, she thought, it’s a hunk of amber.

And there’s something in it.