Hutch took a breath to calm his nerves, watching as Ren hurried himself to his grandpa's side where he was speaking to a young woman at the service counter in the grand lobby. Made of dark wood and white resin, it had been sculpted in a way to make it appear as if it was flowing from the counter, the live edge of the wood to the employees, down to the floor, where it spread outwards, like paint spilt from a can. The wall behind the desk was made of the same wood, but in large horizontal slabs, polished to a shine, highlighting the beauty of the tree's grain; the story of its life on display.
The rest of the walls were covered in grey and white marble tiles, the wood carried through with the trim. To the right of the desk, behind a row of security gates was a long hallway, and next to it was a wide staircase leading up, the railings made of steel and suspended glass panes. The ceiling, two stories above had been painted a matte black and from it hung thousands of tiny lights on near invisible threads. While not a perfect replica, there was no mistaking what Hutch was looking at; Euvhalon, the cradle of life.
"Hutch," Ren called to him, waving him closer.
"Sorry, was admiring the stars," he replied, pointing up as he joined him at the counter.
"That's remarkable. Most don't realize what they're supposed to be," the attendant, whose name tag read Hannah, said as she placed a clipboard and a pen on the countertop. "Please fill out your names, a number in which you can be reached, and while it is entirely optional, we do like to know where our visitors have traveled from, for the world map, that you'll see up on the observation deck. We update it frequently with new markers."
"Unfortunately, we're locals. Won't be adding anything new because of us," Mr. Dodge remarked as he filled out his information.
"Perhaps not, but if you have a piece of identification with your current address, if you're local enough, there are certain perks I can provide to make your experience here even more enjoyable."
"Well now, I do like a good perk," Mr. Dodge replied as he passed the clipboard and pen to Ren with one hand and pulled out his wallet with the other. "As it turns out, I work right across the road in the city hall."
"Then I suspect, unless you commute a hundred miles each way, that you will qualify," she replied with a sugary sweet giggle, taking Mr. Dodge's driver's license when he handed it to her.
Turning to her computer she began to type, and by the time she was finished, Hutch had also completed his line on the visitor's log, opting to use Ren's phone number since he hadn't bothered to learn his own yet.
"Thank you so much," Hannah said as she handed Mr. Dodge's license back to him before picking up the clipboard, her smile momentarily flicking out of existence as she read over what they had written. "If you would please wait here, I'll be back in a minute with those perks I mentioned, and then we can finish getting you all set up with your visitor passes."
As Hannah hurried herself away from the counter, disappearing through a side door, Hutch turned to the sensation of Ren prodding at his arm.
"Did something about that seem odd to you?"
Hutch nodded, whispering, "Thought it was just me."
"Nope. She was definitely in a hurry. What did you write on that thing?"
"My name."
Ren stiffened as he took in a breath. "Well, then. I suspect by the end of the tour, if HE has any connection to this place, he's going to know you are here."
Hutch smirked. "If I can't get to him, maybe he'll come to me."
A minute or two later, Hannah returned with a small, blue fabric pouch in hand, her demeanor returning to one of absolute professionalism as she set the pouch on the counter before Mr. Dodge.
"Thank you for waiting. Your patience is appreciated. Inside, you will find three vouchers for lunch at the restaurant on the sixty-fifth floor," she said, looking down and doing something behind the counter.
"You mean a discount voucher, right?" Ren questioned causing her to stop and look up at him, her eyes locking onto his.
"No." She was blunt. "As guests of Cascel Tower, your lunches are complimentary. Simply hand those vouchers to the host when you arrive." Returning her attention to what she had been doing, she set three paper wrapped lanyards onto the counter, and then handed each of them a plastic card labeled as Visitor with a unique number and barcode beneath it. "At the end of your time here, you can return your passes at the security desk, and keep the lanyard as our gift to you. You're free to explore the lobby and art installation in the exhibit hall, located through the double doors on the other side of the security station. Your tour guide should be with you in about ten minutes and will meet you at the entrance of the hall. There are also more comfortable benches in there to sit on. I hope you enjoy your day here."
"I'm sorry miss, but haven't you forgotten something?" Mr. Dodge asked tapping his wallet against the counter as some sort of hint.
Hannah looked at the lanyards, the cloth pouch, and the cards they were holding in their hands before returning her attention to Mr. Dodge. "I don't believe I have."
Leaning forward, he lowered his voice, "The admission fee?"
Hannah smiled, in an unnatural and unsettling manner. "The fees are waived for locals during the holidays. Enjoy your time here at Cascel Tower. If you need anything else, we're here to help."
Mr. Dodge appeared shocked, uncertain of what to say next, when Hannah casually pushed the lanyards and pouch closer to him.
"Oh, uh, thank you. These really are quite the perks," he remarked as he took the items and walked away.
Regardless of how suspicious Hutch found Hannah's behavior, seeing only a single line connected by an asterisk to the general admission prices listed that read *10% discount to verified locals, he followed behind Mr. Dodge, taking the lanyard when offered to him.
Depositing the lanyards packaging in the trash bin, they attached their visitor passes and wore them around their necks as most of the other people moving about wore their employee ID's. Following Hannah's directions, they headed to the other side of the lobby and passed through the double doors marked Exhibition Hall, each taking a flyer from the stack that had been left on the small table just inside the doorway.
The room was larger than they had expected, opening into what felt like a museum; a corridor of three rooms stretched the length of the building with high plastered ceilings, low light, color blocked walls, wooden floors, and comfortable benches set before works of art, so one could sit and ponder the why of the piece sat behind thick ropes or protective glass.
"Think this is going to take more than ten minutes," Ren remarked as they moved further into the first room, a large metal sculpture displayed in the center.
Mr. Dodge huffed, motioning to a bench located between the sculpture and a painting of a blue square with an orange circle in the center of it on an ivory background splattered with black paint. "You two should take a better look around. Soak up some of this culture. Apparently, this artist is considered a modern conceptualist. I'm going to sit on that bench and ponder the concept while I wait for our guide."
"You give it a good ponder gramps, I'm going to need you to explain this to me later," Ren remarked as Mr. Dodge wandered away from them. "Not sure what three rusted sheets of metal welded together is supposed to be a concept of though." Tilting his head towards Hutch, he nudged him with his elbow. "Any chance I'm just missing something? Cause I don't get it."
"According to the pamphlet, you picked up and didn't read, it's supposed to make you feel something," Hutch replied, as they began to walk around the sculpture.
"It makes me feel like I should be finding a way to throw it out."
"Really? I just want to scrub it. Get all that rust off and give a fresh coat of paint. Something in white."
"Planning on mopping the floor while you're at it?" Ren questioned, motioning to the odd path of colored footprints that had been stamped onto clear film and laid on the floor in random places, no apparent rhyme or reason as they created no path and rarely pointed directly at the artworks.
"Don't tempt me," Hutch replied, frowning as he rolled his eyes and then proceeded to stare at the sculpture in silence.