Thief of Time - Terry Pratchett [24]
Lu-Tze nodded to the minor acolytes who opened the big varnished doors.
“How is His Reverence today?” he said.
“The teeth are still giving him trouble, Lu-Tze, but he is maintaining continuity and has just taken his first steps in a very satisfactory manner.”
“Yes, I thought I heard the gongs.”
The group of monks clustered in the center of the room stepped aside as Lu-Tze approached the playpen. It was, unfortunately, necessary. The abbot had never mastered the arts of circular aging. He had, therefore, been forced to achieve longevity in a more traditional way, via serial reincarnation.
“Ah, Sweeper,” he burbled, awkwardly tossing aside a yellow ball and brightening up. “And how are the mountains? Wanna bikkit wanna bikkit!”
“I’m definitely getting vulcanism, Reverend One. It’s very encouraging.”
“And you are in persistent good health?” said the abbot, while his pudgy little hand banged a wooden giraffe against the bars.
“Yes, Your Reverence. It’s good to see you up and about again.”
“Only for a few steps so far, alas bikkit bikkit wanna bikkit. Unfortunately, young bodies have a mind of their own BIKKIT!”
“You sent me a message, Your Reverence? It said ‘Put this one to the test.’”
“And what did you think of our want bikkit want bikkit want bikkit NOW young Lobsang Ludd?” An acolyte hurried forward with a plate of rusks. “Would you care for a rusk, by the way?” the abbot added. “Mmmn nicey bikkit!”
“No, Reverend One, I have already eaten,” said the sweeper.
“Ludd is a puzzle, is he not? His tutors have nicey bikkit mmm mmm bikkit told me he is very talented but somehow not all there. But you had never met him and don’t know his history and so mmm bikkit I would value your uninfluenced observations mmm BIKKIT.”
“He is beyond fast,” said Lu-Tze. “I think he may begin to react to things before they happen.”
“How can anyone tell that? Want teddy want teddy wanna wanna TEDDY!”
“I put him in front of the Machine of Erratic Balls in the senior dojo and he was moving toward the right hole fractionally before the ball came out.”
“Some kind of gurgle telepathy, then?”
“If a simple machine has a mind of its own, I think we’re in really big trouble,” said Lu-Tze. He took a deep breath. “And in the Hall of the Mandala he saw the patterns in the chaos.”
“You let a neophyte see the Mandala?” said chief acolyte Rinpo, horrified.
“If you want to see if someone can swim, push him in the river,” said Lu-Tze, shrugging. “What other way is there?”
“But to look at it without the proper training—”
“He saw the patterns,” said Lu-Tze. “And reacted to the Mandala.” He did not add: and the Mandala reacted to him. He wanted to think about that. When you look into the abyss, it’s not supposed to wave back.
“It was teddyteddyteddywahwah strictly forbidden, even so,” said the abbot. Clumsily, he fumbled among the toys on his mat and picked up a large wooden brick with a jolly blue elephant printed on it and hurled it awkwardly at Rinpo. “Sometimes you presume too much, Sweeper lookit ’lefant!”
There was some applause from the acolytes at the prowess in animal recognition.
“He saw the patterns. He knows what is happening. He just doesn’t know what he knows,” said Lu-Tze doggedly. “And within a few seconds of meeting me he stole a small object of value, and I’m still wondering how he did it. Can he really be as fast as that without training? Who is this boy?”
Tick
Who is this girl?
Madam Frout, headmistress of the Frout Academy and pioneer of the Frout Method of Learning Through