Tonedeaf: Part 1

In the News this morning - Preparations for the Bi-lunar eclipse are underway in Avian Square this week and organisers are promising the party of the century; the investigation into the anti-Harmonic drug Din and its connection to a spate of murders in the lower nests has run dry according to senior Police officials, they are now pursuing 'other avenues'; the Orbital mission to repair the BBL Telescope is in its second day and a spokesman for the programme told us that everything was going well. In the weather today, skies will be clear with a chance of showers in the late afternoon; Global Harmonics will be below twenty-five decibels throughout the day, with a slight increase in the Nasal Count, from three to five at midday. Thank you for liteni - - -

Kay looked up from her notes and around the cafe - he was coming. She could feel the waves of disapproval wafting her way. Then she saw him. She leaped across the cafe and banged the window, waving like a lunatic until her brother finally noticed. Typically, his white headphones were dangling from his ears and around his neck like noose. He turned to her and smiled, waving like they were the only two there, casually unaware of the stares and frowns they were receiving from the cafe's patrons.

Only when he sat down from her did he pull out the earphones, she watched his smile falter as his ears grew accustomed to the noise beyond his private world. She pushed over a small mug of coffee and swept aside her work. He was looking ill again, his clothes ragged and unwashed, his face unshaven and eyes glassy. He nodded his thanks for the coffee and took a sip. Her hand moved across the table to his and squeezed.

"How's business?" She asked, casually.

He smiled, "Awful. As ever, but the ongoing mysteries keep me going. Creaks under the floorboards and whistling drafts - you know, the ones that take weeks to find."

She nodded, "And you?"

"I'm good." He lied, smiling. He looked across at her spread of paperwork, the colours on the different sheets, the pheromones they were giving off. Already the noise around him was giving him a headache. He took out some pills and washed them down with coffee, burning his tongue.

Kay was looking smart, dressed in one of her tailored suits, her make-up and perfume were sending him confusing signals - in anyone else the overall effect would, no doubt, have conveyed elegance, beauty and professionalism.

"How are the parents?" He asked.

"They're fine, wondering when you're going to sum up the courage to call them." Kay replied.

He nodded, and changed the subject. "You look good. I can't quite tell what the Harmony is trying to tell me, but I assume it's something nice."

"'Chirpy'," She replied, blushing, "Someone at work suggested I combine my perfume with a different shampoo and change the tone of my clothes."

"Chirpy?"

She nodded, sipping her coffee, avoiding his gaze.

"And how is the Space Agency? Still with its head in the stars?"

"Haha," She replied glibly, "It's going well - the mission is underway, safe and sound."

"Working late again?"

"We both work late, so you can't throw that one at me."

They were silent for a time. Jon was beginning to attract attention. His inability to Harmonize his appearance always put him at odds with his surroundings. People were turning away from him, staring in disgust or pity and generally conveying their annoyance by signals he simply couldn't pick up. Kay, on the other hand, was wriggling uncomfortably as the inevitable waiter crossed the floor, shoulders raised in preparation.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted." Jon said, finally noticing the waiter. Kay crossed the name of a cafe off on a list she kept in her diary. "Where are we meeting next week?"

"The Bird Flew - it's on the other side of the Branch." She replied, gathering her things together. Their coats were on before the waiter arrived and the odd couple left the cafe, arms linked and smiling.

**

Jon waved goodbye to his sister and immediately put his earphones back in. He smiled as the music drowned out the sounds around him and the threat of a headache receded. It was time for some work, he decided, or at least, time to pretend there was some work to do. He began to walk back towards the office, his legs on auto-pilot and his mind drifting away to wherever the music took him. These were his favourite moments of the day, the mechanical process of getting from A to B transformed into a journey into the unknown.

The white lettering on his door read 'Jon Card, Clash Investigator', the man who'd installed the letters had told him that anyone passing would get a strong sense of relief and satisfaction from reading the words. Jon had nodded, grateful but guessing it would probably make his eyes water.

He opened the door, pushing the pile of letters across the floor and into the corner, to be ignored and opened at a later date. The office was an absolute mess - papers strewn everywhere, old clothes piled head height on chairs and sofas, decaying food clinging to forgotten plates and crockery. Jon smiled - next to the ordered world around him, this was paradise.

A man sat up from one of the chairs in front of Jon's desk and turned to face him. He was tall, smartly attired in a long black coat and had a perfectly crafted face - long nose, yellowing eyes and hair slicked back and feathered. In short, he was Jon's exact opposite.

"Mr Card," the man offered his hand in greeting, "How nice to finally meet you."

Jon shook the man's hand - he was wearing a greeting pheromone, his hand started to tingle.

"I'm so sorry - I meant to wash my hands before coming."

"It's fine," Jon replied, "It tickles."

The man was gleefully excited, he cast a look around the office, "May I congratulate you on your office - it's sublimely awful. It's almost as if you'd designed it to be intolerable - I can barely keep my dinner down. Your reputation as the best Clash Investigator in town is well deserved."

"Thank you." Jon replied, not sure whether to be insulted or complimented, yet another difficulty his condition left him with - the struggle to read emotion.

"I'll get to the point Mr card, I'm sure you're a very busy man, (may I call you Jon?) - I'm here with a request from the government. I work with the department of complaints and we have a particular difficulty which needs a professional's attention."

Jon gestured for the guest to sit down as he waded around his desk, undoing his coat.

"We've had reports of an incident in the Mine near the perimeter wall - the one which supplies the city with its basic minerals. Apparently, there have been reports of a disturbance deep within the lower shafts, beyond the range of the mechanised equipment. Obviously it'd be impossible, what with all the noise that the machines make, for someone apart from yourself to investigate the matter. We're willing to pay quite handsomely."

Jon sat down, the earnest man's owl-like eyes regarding him with warmth and anticipation. "Why not?"

**

The industrial areas of the city were built in such a way that they didn't interfere with the Harmony. Even one loose noise, or interfering smell could upset an entire neighbourhood so, precautions were made to keep the factories and mines as enclosed and separate as possible. The young man from the government, whose name was Oule, drove Jon out along the outer Branch and into the Industrial Zone.

Mr Oule parked the car and they got out, the government man walked towards the main office with Jon hanging back. Oule emerged from the office with a young woman around Jon's age, wearing overalls and a hard hat. She walked over and shook his hand, her smile faltering slightly at his appearance. "My name's Teos - you must be the Clash Man."

"I prefer Clash Investigator," Jon replied, Teos looked away sheepishly but Mr Oule laughed, clapping him on the back. Jon failed to see the humour as did Teos, they shared a look of mutual bewilderment, an unusual occurrence for Jon who was usually on the receiving end.

Mr Oule left them, preferring to take care of other business, he promised to return in a couple of hours.

"So, how long have you been a Clash Investigator, Mr Card?"

"Going on five years."

"And do you enjoy it?"

"After a fashion - there are not many things people like me can do."

"People like you?"

"I'm Tonedeaf."

"Oh." Teos looked away, blushing furiously, "I'm so sorry - I didn't mean to intrude, I thought that Clash Investigators were born with an immunity."

Jon shook his head. "Anyway - what exactly is wrong with your mine?"

Teos led Jon into the office. Before them, laid out in a holographic image was a cross-section of the Mine. The colours and twittering sounds made Jon wince. Teos began calling up different windows.

"I noticed it about a week ago - in the lower shafts, there was a sharp note coming from the processing centre on that level. I thought I was hearing things for a while but it became obvious that something was wrong. Look." She showed him some graphs and figures. The pitch was fluttering into the red in several places.

He nodded. "Okay, I'll take a look."

**

Jon stood in the maintenance shaft elevator, its reinforced walls designed to be totally sound-proof, but they weren't much use against the cacophony coming from below. Jon smiled, this kind of noise he could deal with - there was something quite soothing about natural, everyday sounds. Teos had politely declined to come with him, Jon knew that there was no way she could come down here, the lack of Harmony would send her into shock.

Tonedeaf. The word rolled in his mouth like a curse, he rarely had to say it out loud because normally people would guess, but sometimes someone would have to be reminded. Luckily, he'd never really thought of it as a disability, it was just something you had to live around. He remembered his sister telling him that it wasn't the disabled person who had problems with the disability - it was the able who had to truly learn to cope.

The elevator ground to a halt and a red light flashed. 'Ensure your ears are protected.' The warning above the door told him. He ignored it and opened the doors. The noise that greeted him was incredible - a vast chamber of mechanically carved stone was filled floor to ceiling with incredible machines, all automated down to the repair units scattered around, so that potentially a human being would never have to set foot down here. He was truly alone, Jon thought, in a place that no one else would dear to tread.

The map Teos had given him led him down a series of carefully mined tunnels, following a network of conveyor belts and strategically placed mining units, drilling away at the polished walls.

He could hear distinctly the high pitched sound above the din, and on a Harmonic Display in his hand he watched as the readings bounced increasingly into the red. He was getting closer.

At the end of the current branch of tunnels he came to a stop. There, before him were three new branches that had been cut but hadn't been installed with belts and mining units yet. It was down the longest of these that the alien sound was coming. Carefully he began to walk down the tunnel, following the wall in the gloom with his hand. Before long there was only the light of the Harmonic Display to light his way.

At the end of the tunnel he found a small chink of light, it was here that the sound became clear - it was the whistle of wind coming from a chamber beyond this wall. Carefully, he peered into the gap and squinted. The chamber was tall and indistinct, the shadows marked out strange shapes but this was nothing next to the smell - it was unlike anything he had ever smelled before. Earthy, smokey and wholly alien to the Harmonic balance - anyone else would gag and pass out.

Suddenly the wall seemed to move, he stepped away and watched as the hole became bigger, the stone falling away and opening to reveal the chamber beyond. The Harmonic Display whined its disapproval, flashing danger signs at him and giving off a stimulant pheromone. He dropped it in the dirt and crouched down through the hole into the room beyond.

The light was coming from a distant hole in the ceiling. A shiver ran through him as he imagined that he was beyond the limits of the city. Above him was the Wasteland, a forbidden land of absolute silence where people feared to tread. The thought was exciting - would it be possible for him to venture beyond, where no one else could tread?

Another stone moved behind him and Jon was brought back from his reverie to the chamber. On closer inspection the irregular shaped walls channelled the draft from above creating a spectrum of different sounds. He laughed - it was an incredible feeling, to hear a totally natural sound, not one that had been crafted to appeal to the human being's higher senses. He leaned in and looked at the rock formations, it was then that he noticed that the shape of the stone wasn't entirely natural. He brushed away the loose stone and squinted - ancient words, carved into the walls with crude tools, below the lines of text were images - men, tools and enormous winged creatures. The men were bent in supplication to the moons and the skies were full of giant birds.
Jon's heart began to beat faster and faster - this was incredible - he'd found evidence of an ancient civilisation. He laughed, the sound bouncing off the walls, rising in an echo higher and higher until it sounded indistinguishable from the raucous cry of an eagle.

**

Later, armed with pictures and an incredible story, Jon stood before the Harmonic cameras, telling the entire city of what he'd found. Overnight he became the centre of attention - suddenly everyone wanted to know about the Tonedeaf misfit and his historic discovery.

Deep in the chamber, the wind whistled down the rock face to the floor below and out into the mine. The wall, with its story, written in an unintelligible writing stood patiently waiting the return of the people, armed with their learning to decipher its secrets.

In the dark recesses of the cave, something moved. Jon's discarded Harmonic Display peaked again - the pattern changing as the sound grew louder. Into the light a pearly blue object rolled out from the darkness. Its uneven surface shimmered in the soft light -the pattern cracked, splitting into fragments as it moved. A new sound emerged, one that the Harmonic Display simply couldn't read - its cry was soft and even, like water over stone - the Display changed, the red spikes diminished and softened until the hard line of equilibrium was restored. All other sounds were gone - the wind and clamour of the Mine diminished until there was only the gentle, rhythmic song from the egg.