Above the Vaulted Sky - Page 198

                ‘Whatever you like,’ Tarquin says. ‘We have a number of things we do here. Those of use suited to physical labour work in the quarry. Our school here is thriving…’

                ‘You have a school?’ I chip in.

                ‘Of course,’ Sandra says. ‘I run it, it’s a beautiful place. You’d be surprised how many people want to continue learning after they arrive here.’

                ‘Are there children?’ asks Elle. I know what she’s thinking. These would be dead children, their lives gone before their time just like hers.

                ‘Of course,’ Sandra smiles like it’s the best news she could possibly give. ‘We understand that newcomers might find it strange, we’ve even had people telling us that it’s morbid, that the children don’t know what they’re doing. The ones we’ve shown are always converted though.’

                ‘How?’ I’m intrigued at the idea that anyone might be. I see the nay-sayers’ point. The children, no matter how they end up here deserve a choice to leave if they want to. But then how do you educate a child on travelling? On the dangers of travelling through the Edge for too long. ‘What exactly do you teach here?’

                ‘Oh all sorts,’ Sandra replies. ‘We have a thriving literature class, history, all sorts of languages. We find it’s the best way to help children expand their minds.’

                ‘No science?’ I’m a little disappointed that no one here wants to pass on scientific ideas to the young. Maybe they’re the ones that left? The experimenters, the adventurers. I’ve always loved books from an outsider’s perspective, but does this show the cleft in society between people who stay and people who want to find the next grassy plain?

                ‘We’ve had a lot of intent,’ Sandra says. ‘And rightly so, but our resources are limited here. Science is something that needs to be seen. What we care about here is people and how people survive and how we carry on. We remember the greatest writing and the greatest moments in earth history so well when there are no distractions. It’s let us appreciate things a little more.’

                ‘What about if children want to leave?’ I venture. Elle shoots me a look. I do regret my words as I say them. I want to get out of here as much as she does. I can’t let things lie. The question was in the air so I asked it.