Eighth Circle

The troll at the gate was a palace troll and almost human. Palace trolls were bred like that because they worked in the palace and came into contact with the guardians. Patrol trolls came into contact with ordinary people and were monstrous because fear was a very effective way of keeping people under control.

Palace trolls were always polite and well dressed. They performed services such as cleaning and bookkeeping. The troll at the gate was checking the passes of people entering the Biodiversity Resources Bank. He was of slight build, exceedingly polite and dressed in a white coat with a red sash. A machine would have provided a far more reliable service but the guardians liked to see flesh-and-blood servants rather than mechanical ones.

Crispin presented his pass and the troll bowed.

'Your royal highness will be inspecting which collection?'

'The grass seeds and their derivatives,' Crispin replied.

'We are honoured, noble prince.'

The troll bowed and waved them through.

It was the ridiculous sort of encounter that occurred whenever he went there. Crispin never ceased to be amazed by the lack of security. All he had to do was present a pass showing he was a member of the royal family and he would be let in. The troll was there for show. The idiot was so overawed by the royal presence that it failed to ask Peter for his pass. All Peter had to do was tag along behind. Getting into the Forbidden Zone was as simple as that.

They passed through the gate and entered a covered garden with orange trees. It was there for show and the enjoyment of guardians who sometimes paid a visit. An imposing building stood at the far end. The boys mounted the marble steps and entered an exhibition hall with elaborate displays illustrating life on the planet before The Fall.

Images of the former world came and went on the walls. Huge animals with long noses and gigantic tusks grazed in open grassland. Creatures with long necks nibbled at leaves high in the branches of trees. Crispin marvelled at what had been lost and what could have been saved if more care had been taken.

Numerous attempts had been made to preserve the incredible biodiversity of the past. The Seed Bank was an example. It was established by people who wanted to salvage something from the destruction caused by seed companies attempting to control the world's food supplies. In their quest for power, they eradicated everything that competed with their products.

The exhibition hall had been built as a tribute to these people. But, as so often happened with the guardians, the good intentions of the past were soon forgotten. The Seed Bank and its priceless treasures were allowed to decay. The hall was still maintained but the thing it was meant to celebrate was neglected.