72. A Second Chance

        Once again, Zara found herself studying the overlooked and very dusty museum of historic architectural plans on the upper wall of the Printing Room, admiring the beautiful draftsmanship as the rollers worked their magic. Somewhat faded, they were nonetheless well preserved drawings, framed securely and safely out of reach they demonstrated amazing talents of the ancient races. The old plans were inspiring, so interesting to look at... Why weren't they on display for all to see?

         She reminded herself again of the ladder she was finally on. If she could be a be a good Draftsman like that, if she worked really hard she could get recognized, maybe even attract one of the exciting opportunities the New Empire offered! Everyone was planning to move up, the New Empire promised nothing but opportunities, even for Goldens. For a few moments, Zara lost herself in the fantasies of her future dreams. Perhaps this information of which no one saw was an exclusive opportunity... Perhaps if she studied the plans she would have a knowledge base that set her apart from the others?

         The idea sprung roots all on it's own, as she studied the plans more and more, she realized her unique architectural education of Atlan was much more interesting than the education she had received in school. She began to notice hidden things too, things she could hardly believe... There was a Secret Garden behind the Temple of Medel? And things she could believe... The Green Room was merely part of an entire chamber complex beneath the Royal Stage?

         Zara only had a few moments to study the plans while printing the drawings and she never wasted one of them. Every time she could, she would look a little farther down the wall until finally she made it to the last plan on display. This plan was different. It's organic line work separated it from the typical lineal patterns of the other architectural designs, as did the printing process, it was primitive, perhaps the oldest plan on display. She strained to look closer trying to read the faded title, so beautifully scripted in the corner of the plan in a language she didn't understand... Except for one word. "Underworld?" 

        She glanced at the scale bar in dis-belief, calculating... Referencing... Concluding... It was huge! She glanced again at the title, noting the elevation... It was below sea level? Confused, she scrutinized the plan for more clues, frowning, struggling to understand the unbelievable; it couldn’t be true. But when she noticed the familiar outline of the city walls dotted in around it, the green rooms under the royal stage, the Moha Lab, it dawned that this was real!!! She had been there!!! The Underworld? It was underneath the city? This was a huge secret!!! She had no idea but now it joined dots! The Green Room and Moha Lab 'basement' were both a part of an Underworld!

         She tip toed as tall as she could to zoom in on the lab, deciphering more details on the faded plan, the lab was merely a tiny corner of the huge underground network... What was going on down there? The tunnels stretched all the way to the islands???

         Suddenly, she remembered all the crews and their equipment, coming and going from the lab... Why hadn't she wondered where they had all come from and how they even got to Gorias? Here it was laid out in plain sight! There were tunnels! Trains? There were trains travelling underground?
         "That's dogon territory!"

         Zara spun around, pulse pounding... It was Nolan!

         "Just kidding" He winked, smiling, her guilt was amusing. "Listen, I'm sorry about the lunch thing, you know you should have told me."

         For a moment Zara was lost... She froze, although it felt like she was barreling through some strange and new dimensional version of the spinny vortex feeling. "The lunch thing?"

         "I'm looking for the latest prints... Are they ready?"

         "Prints! Oh, yes! Your Honor!" Panicked, she hurried back to the printing press, now stopped. She wanted to die, was this some sort of giant conspiracy? Without another word, palms sweating, she quickly stamped and rolled his drawings.

         Nolan didn't realize she was so stressed. "Don't worry, the dogons are under control. We feed them expired aribu to keep them happy" He hoped some humor would help, knowing she would never believe it.
         Zara handed him the drawings, speechless.

         "Thanks!" He winked again as he took the plans. "We'll need three more for tomorrow."

         "Aribu?"
         "No, no, no... " He chuckled. "Plans." He waved the plans in the air and headed out the door.

         Zara watched him leave with pounding heart, feeling worse than ever. Why couldn't she just keep her mouth shut? Why did she have to be such a loser and say such dumb things all the time?

         "You know..." He stopped a few yards down the hall and turned with an after thought. "I'm still waiting for someone to go measure up the furnishings in Culloom... I'm sure we can salvage some of the storage units for the Moha Lab. If you don't have any luncheon dates planned, why don't you go down there and tally it all up for me? You're familiar with Culloom?"

         "Yes, Your Honor" Zara obliged willingly, relieved to be given a second chance, even if it was a terrible time to go. The idea of seeing her old school was appealing, but even more appealing was having a second chance to prove her measuring skills, to justify a climb up the next rung.

         "You'll need to travel by train" he added, turning to leave. "Come by my office and I'll give you another pass."

         Zara nodded, trying hard to hide her enthusiasm as he walked away. The offer was almost too good to be true. Perhaps Nolan really did have genuine feelings for her?

         "Just watch out for the dogons over there!"

         Unsure if he was joking or serious, Zara now found herself second guessing the assignment. Watch out for the dogons? Was he sending her because he liked her or was it because she was such a loser? She had seen first hand the aftermath of the dogons, it wasn't going to be a pretty gig. Her thoughts began to scramble at the thought of such a dangerous trip. Culloom? Maybe it wasn't such a great opportunity after all.

         "I am a valuable Cog in the Great Machine" she reminded as she fed a new drawing into the machine. Perhaps she was being too hard on herself, perhaps Nolan really was sending her because he believed in her and genuinely wanted to give her a Second Chance?

         Her thoughts returned to the tender moment they shared at the Green Serpent that night... Maybe he was already impressed? Maybe he thought she was tough enough for such a daunting job? Maybe, just maybe he secretly felt the same way about her as she secretly felt about him?