“The Magma-scope provides the ears of the earth,” I muttered, pacing before the map of the Highlands laid out on the table. “But it was designed to listen for geological shifts, the tremors of the planet. Not the meticulous, self-assured footsteps of a madman.”
Valkyrie, seated gracefully in a high-backed chair, watched me. "Then we must teach it, Thaddeus. My Difference Engine is the finest mind forged in brass and iron. It must learn to recognise the pattern of arrogance, the signature of a mind that believes itself beyond scrutiny.”
I ran a hand through my already dishevelled hair. "It's a complete re-programming. The algorithms for astronomical prediction are elegant, yes, but for human malevolence? That’s chaos, disguised as order. He thinks in complex rhythms, you said. How does one quantify arrogance into a series of gears and levers?"
"You will find the variables within the chaos," Valkyrie suggested, rising and walking to the window, gazing out at the looming grey of the Scottish November sky. "Ashworth is precise, meticulous. He would not choose a crude method. He will select a pathway that he believes is impenetrable, unknowable, by any modern scientific means."
"Which means it's likely something ancient, a forgotten weakness in the defences that he would deem beneath our notice," I concluded, a spark of the old me firing in my belly. "Something only he would think to exploit with his specific brand of over-engineered solution."
"The North Postern Gate." Valkyrie ventured, "It's been unused for decades. The wood is old, the mortar likely crumbling. I suggest we leave it as it is. If we fortify it now, he will be alerted and we do not want that."
For the next few days, the subterranean vault of Caisteal Inbhir Lòchaidh became my world. The vast, intricate brass gears of the Difference Engine, the sentinel of our very lives, whirred and clicked with a new, urgent purpose. I was stripped of my usual waistcoat and tie, worked with a singular focus, my fingers flying over blueprints and the machine's complex controls. I fed it data from the Magma-scope, no longer seeking tectonic shifts but filtering for any unusual, rhythmic, non-biological anomalies within the deep acoustic data from the castle’s ancient foundations. I theorised about the kinds of resonant frequencies Ashworth's devices might employ, the subtle oscillations of mortar being softened or stone being dissolved.
I sketched new schematics, meticulously recalibrating gears, and rewriting logical sequences. The challenge was immense: to teach a machine designed for mathematical certainty to anticipate human intent. I programmed it to listen for the "sound of arrogance," a phrase Valkyrie had coined, which I interpreted as an almost imperceptible, high-frequency hum that would signify complex, mechanical intrusion rather than natural erosion or animal activity. The air in the vault grew thick with the smell of ozone and hot brass, a metallic perfume of pure intellect at work. I rigged an additional indicator light- a stark, red flare that would ignite only when the machine detected this specific, malevolent rhythm.
While I wrestled with the brass brain of the Sentinel, Valkyrie was equally immersed in the castle's physical defences. She moved through the ancient stones with the quiet authority of a Laird, young James by her side, eager to learn. He would be master of all this one day and the need to protect his legacy was imperative.
Her presence radiated a calm, unyielding resolve. Together they inspected every gate, every postern, every ancient passage, not for conventional attack, but for the subtle, meticulous breach Ashworth would favour.
One afternoon, Valkyrie found me hunched over a particularly stubborn set of relays. "Thaddeus," she began, her voice calm but firm. "It is time you met another crucial member of our defence."
I looked up, blinking, my mind still half-lost in cogs and numbers. "Indeed? Has the baker taken up arms?"
Valkyrie smiled faintly. "No, merely grown a few more legs and a good deal more fur."
She led me from the vault into the grand hall, where a roaring fire blazed in the massive hearth. The warmth was a welcome change to the chill of the vault, but it was the creature lounging before the flames that truly captured my attention. A magnificent Scottish Deerhound lay stretched out, a regal, tawny-grey beast of immense size and gentle power. Its amber eyes, intelligent and ancient, watched my approach.
"Thaddeus, meet Mairi," Valkyrie said. "Her name means 'Star of the Sea' and she is the final alarm. The Sentinel will find the mechanism, but Mairi will find the man. She is loyal to the stones and to the Laird. Her instinct is not flawed by mathematics or pride."
I wasn't well acquainted with dogs and I approached the massive creature with some caution, extending a hesitant hand. She lifted her massive head, took a quiet, assessing scent of my hand, and then laid it gently back on her paws, her amber eyes never leaving mine. It was a silent, solemn acceptance.
"Ashworth and his arrogance will fail before a Difference Engine and a Deerhound," I murmured, finding a strange comfort in the ancient loyalty of the beast.
Valkyrie nodded, satisfied. "Now you are ready, Thaddeus. The machine is set, and the castle is listening. We need only wait for the sound of Ashworth's certainty."
go to Chapter 5- Foresight Versus Arrogance