Crewel

idea. Although he had worked on this bomb himself, he was more interested in time and the very matter that made up the world. He called the building blocks of this matter “elements”.’ 
    ‘Elements? Like the raw materials we use to work the weave?’
    She nods. ‘He found a way to isolate the cellular makeup of his world – grass, trees, air, even animals – and to view it in relationship to the time that threaded through the space it was in. He knew if he could build a machine that showed how elements and time knit together, people could manipulate the world in unnatural ways. You’ve seen the drills that mine the raw materials, I assume.’
    I nod, trying to call the images to mind, but my memory of them is vague. They were monstrous and powerful beasts that smoked and ground, but into what? The training images didn’t show that.
    ‘They mine elements from Earth that we manipulate into the weave. The four coventries rest over four mining sites, and Arras streams from the compounds. There is a raw weave under Arras; it keeps our time and environment separate. Because we exist on the periphery of the weave, we can view it on the machines in far greater detail and manipulate it without risk to the weave. The scientist who created the machines called it Crewel work. Spinsters came after the initial mantle and protective field were created. We helped initiate people into the weave much like the Department of Origins brings babies into Arras now.’
    ‘But how could they build Arras without Spinsters? Only women can work the looms.’ I shake my head, trying to force my thoughts into a rational explanation.
    ‘They groomed women for this duty, but I believe some men might be able to do the work,’ she says, cocking her eyebrow suggestively.
    ‘But why give such an important job to us?’ I ask, my annoyance showing in the sarcastic tone of my voice. ‘Why leave it to women?’
    ‘The Guild can control women better.’ Loricel sees me start to protest and holds her hand up to stop me. ‘Whether you like it or not, they do a damn good job of controlling us.’
    Resentment toward the officials and Cormac and Maela and everyone who plays a part in this charade burns through me. ‘Who was this scientist from Earth?’
    ‘His name and the names of all those of Earth have passed from our collective memory. His real contribution was allowing for a peaceful resolution to the war.’
    ‘You’re telling me Arras doesn’t want to celebrate the genius of the man who created it?’ I ask, remembering the number of holidays reserved in honour of officials who have made much smaller contributions.
    Loricel sighs, and gives me a frown. ‘Don’t be stupid, Adelice. You know they clean and alter. If they think information is too risky to Arras’s stability, they remove it. The Guild doesn’t want the citizenry to question the looms, and they especially don’t want people to know about Earth. My grandmother confided to me that a long time ago she took an oath of loyalty to Arras to keep our family safe. I didn’t realise until I came here and began apprenticing to the Creweler that it was really an oath of secrecy. It was the only way to survive the war they left behind – to promise to keep Arras’s secret. But that wasn’t enough for the Guild. I assisted in the cleaning of the information from the collective memory.’
    ‘Why?’ I demand. ‘If they can’t do these things without you, why do you do them?’
    ‘Because no one else will. I can’t alter all of Arras alone. Like it or not, and believe me, I do not , the relationship of Crewelers and the Guild is symbiotic. We cannot do our work without the bureaucracy and aid of the Guild. I won’t risk a war, not after the lengths we took to end the last one. Arras is too fragile to withstand it, and for every man like Cormac in our world, there are a hundred innocent women and children.’ To her credit, there’s not a trace of anger or defensiveness in her voice.
    ‘I feel stupid,’ I say, ‘but how did creating Arras end the war? Didn’t we just drag our problems here?’ Now that I understand how Arras came to be, I’m not sure I buy the careful regulations-only-ensure-safety story any more.
    ‘Arras was created, and its leaders came together to form the Guild of Twelve Nations. The population has been carefully monitored and the coventries established to maintain peace and prosperity. The Guild, while inefficient and often cruel,