Chapter Zero:
Rameau, a young boy, is slowly pacing around an ethereal space that is referred to as a cathedral. Any further physical description is omitted, as its revealed that the space takes on a form depending on the subconscious of the person inside of it. From "above," the Dream Matron, some sort of teacher or guide, furiously cleans and tidies from the last student she met with, who presumably had a messy, disorderly state of mind. She even gently reprimands Rameau for moving objects out of order in his fidgety state while he waits for her to be ready, a sort of irony that a person who's supposedly an expert on dreams is such a neat freak. Rameau is a sort of favorite, even friend, they get along especially well.
Once she is no longer distracted, she expresses her surprise that Rameau is here and not out on his assigned field day. Some exposition about the structure of the school, how he is always welcome to seek help even when another class is happening. Rameau explains that this cannot wait any longer, and he must talk about the current state of his dreams with the Matron. She talks about how he has always had a particular interest for and affinity with dreams, more than any other of her students, and how this is an unusual state for Rameau to be in. His problem is that his dreams have taken on a realism: where he had often used the fantastical, surreal dreams in the past either simply for delight or to show him new insights in waking life, now his dreams are just like real life. He goes to sleep and dreams of waking up, going to school, meeting with his friends, and then going to sleep, and then waking up for real.
The Dream Matron concludes that this is a sign of the boy being called to something in the real world, a larger purpose or goal that he has yet to determine/pursue on a conscious level. Rameau protests, wanting the Matron to "fix" his dreams so that he isn't so uninspired when he sleeps, but the Matron tells him he knows that's not how it works. He must embrace his current state, and that although the dreams are boring, it's exciting now because every one is a path to revelation due to their real world content. Rameau wonders what he could even do about such revelation.
As Rameau closes his eyes and prepares to leave the cathedral, claiming that "Nezet and Mahlia are asking for him," the lack of physical description of the space is finally called attention to, and the Matron asks Rameau what the cathedral looks like, in hopes that she will learn more about Rameau's state of mind after their meeting on her own time. In a defeated tone, without opening his eyes, Rameau answers: "Exactly as you'd expect."
(Later, the Matron urgently warns Rameau about the content of his dreams, telling him to pursue them with the utmost caution. Some symbol appears in one that gives her an "oh shit" moment and finds him, maybe just as the head teacher is found to be dead.)
Prologue:
It is morning. Nezet and Mahlia, two students slightly older in age than Rameau, are crouched down, outside, in a plot of dirt, watching and discussing the behavior of strange, mechanical insects that are rapidly drawing patterns on a fashioned grid in some sort of impermeable layer over the dust. "Is it some sort of language?" "Is it a map?" "Are they instructions?" Each insect takes a turn giving a command, like a coordinate, and then the set patterns on the grid shift, sometimes being removed entirely. Eventually, the insects "reset" the grid, usually after a high concentration of pieces surround a specific one, or after all have been removed from the grid.
Nezet and Mahlia attempt to replicate this behavior, drawing the same 8x8 grid next to the insects and the fixed patterns in their starting positions. They realize that, like letters making specific sounds, a horse moves like this, and a spiky tower moves like this. Initially, they copy the insects' decisions but then try to make some of their own. They copy a position that the insects reach and try to find the next move, but are delightfully frustrated by their lack of ability to ever find the right one. Nezet's approach is more aggressive/attacking Mahlia's side of the board, and Mahlia's is much more defensive/calculated.
It is revealed that it is the students' "field day," and their assignment was to go out to this place and gather information on the behavior of the mechanical beings that reside here. Mahlia considers it highly likely that the robots view this as a game as well, but she is almost certain that this is objectively what this is. She recalls reading about a game that humans used to play, to test the limits of their logic and creativity and to establish themselves as superior to others, that was eventually "solved" by robots, after which it was rendered obsolete to humans. This is clearly chess at this point. Nezet bemoans the need for accuracy in this game, wanting to attack and win in flashy, exciting ways, even if his methods aren't logically sound, that "this game, the robot's game, isn't fit for humans!"
"This game isn't fit for humans…" echoes in the mind of a third figure present, Rameau, just as he emerges from his telepathic meeting with the Dream Matron. A single raindrop falls, followed by more. Staring off into the distance as mechanical pipes slowly, slowly spread throughout the land, the focus zooms out onto a gray, post-apocalyptic world, smokestacks pumping in the distance and metalwork almost like a labyrinth. Nezet calls out to Rameau, mentioning the rain again and that it's time to go back to school, gathering their outdoor packs. (The two older children think/understand Rameau to be mostly uninterested in the real world, but all three love and respect each other like family.) Rameau takes a moment of silent contemplation, before joining them, Mahlia helping him over a girder as they head back, more of the same mechanical insects flying through the smog overhead, buzzing in their language of logic and reason through their own "chess games." The landscape is described in great detail as the three make their journey back, the rain remaining a light drizzle.
Field school (in Canyon, below desolate, post-apocalyptic world) > some students eventually “graduate”/defect, form Shaga Ayra (eco terrorist group), some stick with teacher (“game-master”). Consists of children rescued from the factory.
Rameau = leader, maybe (dangerous to act without self knowledge)
Cracks in earth = ripped fabric of a dress. Fought over when they open up due to the spread of Factory pipes — point of contention as to how the head teacher single handedly acquired the School of the Fourth Canyon
Eventually cliffs will erode and debris from the ruined above-world will spill into their dwellings, filling the canyons. Then the world above may be trashed all over again (?) (doesn’t actually happen, but the threat/prediction of this exists…why invest/worship the lower land if this is the case?)
Rameau dialogue with oracle about dreams (sign of purpose). Enjoys dreaming, takes pleasure in interpreting and exploring his own dreamscapes, is disturbed by the realism his dreams have taken on.
Mahlia: is inspired by the game of the machines and attempts to become more machine-like herself, by slowly achieving superhuman strength and developing an immunity to various toxins that would otherwise prevent her from infiltrating (The Factory). Notices a foul smell in the air while observing the chess game.
“The Cooler Daniel”: teacher, outwardly insane. Normal name because a normal person, anyone can express his level of care for his students. Mysteriously disappears in an attempt to find the Factory's heart.
Rameau sat across from the Dream Matron and looked up to the ceiling. It was different this morning. Of course, the Oneiric Citadel could take on as many forms as there were possible symbols of a child's sleep, even simultaneously during sermon. Its reflections depended on the student's inner states, manifesting in often surprising ways, the citadel itself aiding with recall and representation in all its psychic liquidity. The boy knew this, of course, but something was giving him an unusual difficulty, like the normally viscous path deeper within had been replaced by sandpaper.
Despite her obvious preoccupation, the Dream Matron noticed her student's struggles to complete the usual regiment required to achieve any level of convergence for their meeting.
"Deep breaths, my boy! Ride those theta waves…my apologies, I'll be riiiiiight with you," she sang out while she tidied her sanctuary at a frantic pace. Her voice echoed off the undulating, iridescent walls, trying to ease Rameau's mind further into stillness.
…
"Exactly as you'd expect."