<meta name="LineWrap" content="true"><TITLE>SR_Bk1 0152</TITLE><A HREF="SR_Bk1-0153.txt">Next (Page 153)</A><BR> A room in the castle went all weird was all. It had a street at night in it. Once on that street, they were in another world. And there were people. And it was raining.<P><P>"This is new, Mound," Beathcat said. He always called Natt "Mound", her last name.<P><P>"It is, Cat. It's a breath of fresh nighttime."<P><P>Natt was wearing a pink dress, which she had found in the castle. Among the supplies there was a great amount of clothing. And while there was water in the castle, from a spring, washing clothes was a chore, and Natt preferred to pile up laundry that would never be done in a castle chamber and use up the supply of fresh clothes, which even at the time of their leaving the castle wasn't anywhere near being exhausted.<P><P>There were streetlights and cars, and storefronts with glass windows and neon signs. These sights were new to Natt and Beathcat. And they liked the sights.<P><P>A few drunk teenagers were approaching, and one of them, a boy, spotted Beathcat and pointed.<P><P>"No way!" a girl in the group shouted. "Circus is in town!"<P><P>Natt's heart leapt. She hadn't been in the presence of another human being for eight years, and the sight of these kids was a shock to her. She wanted to run to them and embrace them, but she didn't dare, both because of the potential danger and hurting Beathcat's feelings. The platonic love she and Beathcat shared was passionate, and she had feared the time, if it ever came, when she might meet a man, a human man, and start a relationship. And she knew it would hurt Beathcat greatly. She even spoke to Beathcat about it on occasion, in a jesting way, but the security of their castaway state seemed so certain. But now, they were no longer stranded together.<P><P>* * *<P><P>***THE SOLVENT IJSANE***<P>Story Treatment by Nurship<P><P>The top of a skyscraper.<P><P>People live and work there.<P><P>There are a number of Screws, of great power.<P><P>When a very powerful microphone is placed by the Screws, sounds can be heard.<P><P>The Screws respond to various colors of light.<P><P>Violet/indigo light produces a harmonious sound, other frequencies produce a discordant sound, especially red/orange.<P><P>Each Screw is maintained by a single person.<P><P>The Solvent Ijsane is a liquid which is the only means to destroy the Screws.<P><P>The only supply of Solvent Ijsane is also in the place, and the place is called The Solvent Ijsane.<P><P>The exact nature of the Ijsane Screws is not known.<P><P>Each of the Ijsane Agents is autonomous... each maintains his or her own Screw.<P><P>This arrangement is meant to prevent any one Agent from gaining the ultimate power of the Ijsane Screws.<P><P>By analyzing the sound from the Screws, the Agents can determine whether or not all the Screws are at The Solvent Ijsane.<P><P>The Agents seek to obtain all of the Screws.<P><P>Once they have all the Screws, with the means to destroy them, the Agents will have a great power--a power, defining the nature of which is another of their goals.<P><P>Combining two or more of the Screws, touching them to one another, produces more complex sounds.<P><P>Every individual Screw is miked 24 hours a day, and recordings of the sounds they produce are stored in a central computer.<P><P>The Screws came into existence after the death of Fox.<P><P>The Agents know that the Screws are related to the death of Fox.<P><P>Fox was the Primal Entity whose purpose was to end the universe.<P><P>With Fox dead, the universe no longer had a definite end.<P><P>The Screws therefore relate to the end of the universe, but the Agents are not sure how.<P><P>There were four Original Ijsane Agents. Their quest took 150 years, and in that time they obtained five Screws, plus the Solvent.<BR><A HREF="SR_Bk1-0153.txt">Next (Page 153)</A>