They are fragile things. Less sturdy than their cousins who are told aloud and learned by heart.
And there are always those who would watch Alexandria burn.
There always have been. There always will be.
So there are always guardians.
Many have given their lives in service. Many more have had their lives taken by time before they could lose them in other fashions.
It is rare for a guardian not to remain a guardian always.
To be a guardian is to be trusted. To be trusted, all must be tested.
Guardian testing is a long and arduous process.
One cannot volunteer to be a guardian. Guardians are chosen.
Potential guardians are identified and watched. Scrutinized. Their every move, every choice, and every action is marked by unseen judges. The judges do nothing but observe for months, sometimes years, before they issue their first tests.
The potential guardian will not be aware that they are being tested. It is critical to steep the tests in ignorance to result in uncorrupted responses. Many tests will never be recognized as tests, even in hindsight.
Candidates for guardianship who are dismissed at these early stages will never know that they were ever considered. They will go about their lives and find other paths.
Most candidates are dismissed before the sixth test.
Many do not make it past the twelfth.
The rhythms of the first test are always the same, whether it occurs within a Harbor or without.
In a large public library a small boy browses books, biding time before he is meant to meet up with his sister. He stands on his toes to reach volumes shelved above his head. He has long since abandoned the children’s section but is not yet tall enough to reach all of the other shelves.
A woman with dark eyes and a green scarf—not a librarian, as far as he can tell—hands him the book he had been reaching for and he shyly nods his thanks. She asks if he will do her a favor in return, and when he agrees she requests that he keep an eye on a book for her, pointing out a thin volume bound in brown leather sitting on a nearby table.
The small boy agrees and the woman leaves. Minutes pass. The boy continues browsing shelves, always keeping the small brown book in sight.
Several more minutes pass. The boy considers looking around for the woman. He checks his watch. Soon he will have to leave himself.
Then a woman walks by without acknowledging him and picks up the book.
This woman has dark eyes and wears a green scarf. She looks quite similar to the first woman but she is not the same person. When she turns to walk away with the book, the boy seizes up with mild panic and confusion.
He asks her to stop. The woman turns, her face a question mark.
The boy stammers that the book belongs to someone else.
The new woman smiles and points out the fact that they are in a library and the books belong to everyone.
The boy almost lets her leave. Now he is not even certain it is a different woman, as this woman is nearly identical. He is going t
o be late if he waits much longer. It would be easier to let the book go.
But the boy protests again. He explains in too many words that he had been asked to watch it for someone.
Eventually the woman relents and hands the book to the small flustered boy.
He holds the hard-won object to his chest.
He is unaware that he has been tested but he is proud of himself nonetheless.