her ear. She departed, and a few minutes later
returned with a bathrobe, presenting it to Bullet. "I want them to pay
attention to your story," explained Bright Serpent, "not to other
things that are attracting their attention."
100 Bullet laughed and put on the robe. To his surprise he found a
metal disk in his pocket. "What's this?" he asked. "It looks ancient."
101 "By The Lords!" answered Bright Serpent, "I've been looking
everywhere for that! It's from the archaeological dig down below Rail.
They found a tomb of some sort, several people buried in metal caskets.
In the walls around them, were thousands of slits with these disks in
them. This isn't one of the real disks, they're kept in a vault at
Northern. It's a copy of it.
102 No one as yet, has been able to figure out what the disks are for.
They believe they're some kind of record. There may have been a machine for playing them, but it was destroyed.
Archaeology is my hobby. I don't get much time for it, but I do enjoy
it."
103 Bullet kept looking at the thing, the strange grooves spiraling
into the center. He laid the disk on the arm of the chair. "We'd better
put this away," he suggested, "or I'll be asking you about other
things. I've always been fascinated about mysteries like that! They
really get to me!"
104 Bright Serpent looked surprised. "Interesting," he remarked, He
nodded to the secretary. She rose, took the disk, went up into the
office area, and put it in a cabinet. Then, she came back and sat down.
105 "All right," insisted Bright Serpent, "let's hear your story! But
don't just start with The Young Speaker. Tell us a little bit about
yourself, too."
106 So Bullet began, and before long everyone was paying close
attention. When he was done, bright Serpent leaned back in his chair.
"You've had an interesting life, young man, to say the least. It sounds
as if your uncle got his just desserts! I imagine he's having quite an
unpleasant time in The Darkness right now! His errors will weigh