As she walked, the map gently shifted, updating her position with a soft pulse. When she reached each corner, Lyra sent a light vibration to prompt a turn.
The noise from the student-filled hallway faded as she followed the route.
Then the library came into view.
The library entrance stood framed by dark marble pillars. The double doors parted at her approach, releasing a controlled breath of cool air and the hush of concentrated silence.
From the doorway, she could only glimpse the scale of the place—vaulted ceilings, drifting lights, silhouettes of tall shelves—but not the full detail. The room stretched far beyond what she could see from the threshold.
Lyra dimmed the navigation map on her wristband.
"Library reached."
Isadora stepped inside.
Only then did the full sight unfurl around her.
The quiet settled over her first.
Vaulted ceilings stretched impossibly high, etched with glowing sigils that drifted in slow patterns.
Rows of towering shelves—dark wood threaded with soft tech-streams—framed the vast space. A massive hexagonal chandelier hung from the center, its crystal nodes casting shifting constellations across the ceiling.
Students were scattered across the room: some bent over manuscripts, others scrolling through hovering holo-screens that activated automatically when they sat.
Transparent chairs adjusted to posture with soft micro-shifts.
Ambient lights drifted lazily between aisles, illuminating both ancient volumes and shimmering digital archives.
Only after she took it all, her wristband flickered to life as the libary's systems connected.
A soft pulse of light swept across the interface.
"Establishing link to Library Mapping System…"
A faint scanning grid washed briefly over her wristband.
"Link confirmed. Navigation protocols synchronized."
Lyra's voice followed, now subtly enhanced—clearer, almost spatial, as if tuned to the library's system.
"Isadora, the Creisleigh Hall Library network is now active. I can guide you to any section, archive, or available study table."
Lyra dimmed her interface to a soft corner glow.
"Study stations require two points per hour.
Auto-calculates on exit
Shall I locate an available spot?"
Isadora breathed in, letting the stillness wrap around her like a settling cloak.
"Yes," she murmured. "Find me a quiet one."
Lyra's display pulsed once.
"Mapping route."
Isadora arrived at her designated study cluster tucked into a quiet corner.
Though the library around her was alive with other students, her cluster was shielded by semi-transparent privacy screens, soft glowing partitions that kept the focus inward, offering a quiet nook for reading.
She paused and let herself take in her surroundings: vaulted ceilings carved with faintly glowing sigils, shelves of dark wood threaded with subtle tech streams, and distant students moving silently, their wristbands pulsing faintly as they tracked points.
Tech streams, and distant students moving silently, their wristbands pulsing faintly as they tracked points.
Around her, most clusters accommodated four students—but she also noticed smaller two-seater tables tucked deep into corners for students who preferred quiet, private study sessions, navigating through the quiet aisles,
Lyra guiding her subtly around clusters of students. Eventually, she reached her designated spot.
Her own four-seater cluster was slightly recessed into the wall, partially enclosed by soft, glowing privacy screens.
Each transparent panel offered just enough separation to focus while still letting in hints of movement and light from the rest of the library.
The chair appeared to adjust automatically to posture, and a slim holo-screen was embedded in the table, poised to activate whenever someone sat, ready to display notes or navigation prompts.
Gentle ambient lights hovered just above, illuminating the immediate space without disturbing anyone nearby.
A small stylus port sat at the corner, and faint digital markings along the table's edge suggested it could display annotations as needed—perfect for a focused study session.
Isadora stepped into her assigned StudyPod, adjusting her wristband.
The privacy partition shimmered in response, unlocking as it recognized her ID.
But before she could sit, the partition slid open with a soft sigh—and someone emerged.
Elian.
She recognized him instantly from orientation, naelle's friend, one of the few familiar faces she'd seen since arriving.
"Oh—Isadora," he said, surprised but warm.
She smiled. "Elian. It's been a while."
"Yeah. Everyone vanished into their schedules after orientation," he said, shifting his tablet under one arm. "How're you settling in?"
"Still learning my way around," she admitted. "This place is… huge."
"I know, right?" he said with a small nod.
Their exchange was easy but not yet rooted—friendly in the delicate way friendships often were.
Isadora glanced at the towering aisles. "I'm supposed to find a professor's book, but I don't even know where to start."
"There's an interface over there," Elian said, gesturing toward a curved pillar glowing faintly green. "Your virtual assistant can sync with it and guide you."
"Thanks," she said.
"See you around."
He settled back into his chair, and the quiet hum of the library surrounded her once more.
****
The interface activated with a soft shimmer, unfolding into a wide holo-panel. Its menu organized itself into floating tabs, each labeled clearly:
Academia
Arts & Literature
Technical Sciences
Historical Archives
Entertainment
General Reference
Digital Media & Research Tools
Restricted Access (dimmed)
She selected Academia, then typed her course title.
Lyra pulsed once in her wristband, acknowledging the input.
A moment later, a small holographic arrow appeared in her visual field, projected only to her.
Transparent, elegant, floating just ahead of her line of sight. When she moved, it drifted with her, always pointing in the correct direction.
No one else could see it.
She followed it through the massive aisles—past spiral staircases, suspended walkways, silent reading pods, and shelves that rose like cathedral towers.
The arrow pivoted smoothly with each turn, guiding her deeper into the maze.
Finally, it flicked downward toward a specific shelf.
Isadora traced the arrow's direction and found the exact book nestled between two volumes.
"Finally," she breathed, relieved.
The book she needed sat neatly among others, spine labeled and annotated—its edges showing signs of careful, repeated study.
Book in hand, she allowed Lyra to quietly retract the path and guide her back toward the central walkway.
The journey revealed corners of the library: small niches with antique globes, sunken reading booths, and even a quiet spiral staircase leading to a mezzanine lined with rare editions.
When she returned to her reading pod, she noticed a faint shift in the adjacent four-seater.
Even with the privacy partitions down, subtle cues—a slight movement, the hum of a stylus—hinted that someone else was there. Elian peeked out just enough to see her.
"Back already?" he asked, nodding toward the book in her hands.
Isadora held it up. "Look at this ,what's it for ?," she said, pointing to the scan code printed neatly on the inside cover.
Elian leaned closer, his curiosity piqued. "Ah, that's important. Every book here has a scan code. You can use it to access the digital version, but it costs a fair number of points to download.
It also verifies the book's authenticity and tracks lending. Every volume in Creisleigh is scanned this way—it's how the library keeps everything validated and secure."
"That's… thorough," Isadora said, impressed.
Elian smiled faintly and returned to his pod.
They each closed their partitions, the soft whir of mechanisms blending with the ambient hum of the library.
Half an hour passed. Pages turned, notes jotted into her stylus pad, Lyra quietly tracing connections between concepts.
From within her private pod, she caught subtle signs of life around her: faint glimmers of holo-light shifting across the library floor, the distant hum of other students' devices, and the soft shuffle of movement beyond the partitions.
Silver and gold flashes hinted at nearby brooches.
A small shift in the adjacent four-seater caught her eye—a flicker of movement she hadn't noticed before. The privacy partition tilted slightly, as if someone inside was about to step out.
Elian lifted his privacy partition just enough to peek out. "I've got a class starting now. See you later," he said, giving her a small wave.
Isadora smiled and waved back. "Okay, see you!"
He gathered his stylus, notes, and a couple of reference tablets—the essentials for moving between pods and lecture halls—and slid smoothly toward the exit.
Turning her focus to the book, she read for another stretch, absorbed in the technicalities of narrative empathy and neural literature.
But after twenty minutes or so, her concentration began to waver. The words felt heavier, her mind craved something lighter, something entertaining
With a small sigh, she set the book aside. The library was enormous, its towering shelves and quiet corners whispering promises of discovery.
Curiosity nudged her gently, coaxing her to leave the pod, to wander, to see what other corners and hidden volumes the library might hold.
She deactivated Lyra, wanting the freedom to move without guidance.
Stepping away from her pod, she wandered slowly through the aisles, eyes scanning the shelves as she turned left, then right, then straight ahead, taking in the library's details.
Some corners seemed quieter, less frequented, their air heavier with stillness.
At the far end, a section drew her attention. The space felt different—like a hideout.
A big table and a comfortable chair suggested someone might linger here, yet the shelves were neat and cleaned, though the books themselves looked largely untouched.
Curiosity nudged her forward. She stepped closer, letting her fingers brush along the spines as she moved deliberately toward the shelves.
She pulled a few books at random—academic texts, historical accounts, novels—but none seemed remarkable.
Then, further down the row, one book caught her eye.
It was white.