The Rift Inspector

Si Da'e adjusted the black-rimmed glasses on his nose for the third time. As his fingertips brushed the plastic-wrapped cover of A Study of Shang and Xia Bronze Designs, the library's closing announcement seeped from the loudspeaker, accompanied by the distinctive hum of an old-fashioned PA system. The glass of the circulation desk before him reflected the deepening twilight outside, as well as his own faded blue work uniform, standard issue for a junior librarian at the municipal library. On the name badge pinned to his chest, the ink on the three characters of “Si Da'e” had smudged at one corner, making them look like a clumsy duck.