Thief of Time Read Online Free PDF

ice in the wind, even at the height of summer.
    There are the Listening Monks, seeking to discern within the hubbub of the world the faint echoes of the sounds that set the universe in motion.
    There are the Brothers of Cool, a reserved and secretive sect, which believes that only through ultimate coolness can the universe be comprehended, and that black works with everything, and that chrome will never truly go out of style.
    In their vertiginous temple criss-crossed with tightropes, the Balancing Monks test the tension of the world and then set out on long, perilous journeys to restore its equilibrium. The results may be seen on high mountains and isolated islets. They are small brass weights, none of them bigger than a fist. They work. Well, obviously they work. The world has not tipped up yet.
    And in the highest, greenest, airiest valley of all, where apricots are grown and the streams have floating ice in them even on the hottest day, is the monastery of Oi Dong and the fighting monks’ Order of Wen. The other sects call them the History Monks. Not much is known about what they do, although some have remarked on the strange fact that it is always a wonderful spring day in the little valley and the cherry trees are always in bloom.
    The rumor is that the monks have some kind of duty to see that tomorrow happens according to some mystic plan devised by some man who kept on being surprised.
    In fact, for some time now, and it would be impossible and ridiculous to say how long, the truth has been stranger and more dangerous.
    The job of the History Monks is to see that tomorrow happens at all.
    The Master of Novices met with Rinpo, chief acolyte to the abbot. At the moment, at least, the position of chief acolyte was a very important post. In his current condition, the abbot needed many things done for him and his attention span was low. In circumstances like this, there is always someone willing to carry the load. There are Rinpos everywhere.
    “It’s Ludd again,” said the Master of Novices.
    “Oh, dear. Surely one naughty child can’t trouble you?”
    “One ordinary naughty child, no. Where is this one from?”
    “Master Soto sent him. You know? Of our Ankh-Morpork section? He found him in the city. The boy has a natural talent, I understand,” said Rinpo.
    The Master of Novices looked shocked.
    “Talent! He is a wicked thief! He’d been apprenticed to the Guild of Thieves!” he said.
    “Well? Children sometimes steal. Beat them a little, and they stop stealing. Basic education,” said Rinpo.
    “Ah. There is a problem.”
    “Yes?”
    “He is very, very fast. Around him, things go missing. Little things. Unimportant things. But even when he is watched closely, he is never seen to take them.”
    “Then perhaps he does not?”
    “He walks through a room and things vanish!” said the Master of Novices.
    “He’s that fast? It’s just as well Soto did find him, then. But a thief is—”
    “They turn up later, in odd places,” said the Master of Novices, apparently grudging the admission. “He does it out of mischief, I’m sure.”
    The breeze blew the scent of cherry blossom across the terrace.
    “Look, I am used to disobedience,” said the Master ofNovices. “That is part of a novice’s life. But he is also tardy.”
    “Tardy?”
    “He turns up late for his lessons.”
    “How can a pupil be tardy here ?”
    “Mr. Ludd doesn’t seem to care. Mr. Ludd seems to think he can do as he pleases. He is also…smart.”
    The acolyte nodded. Ah. Smart. The word had a very specific meaning, here in the valley. A smart boy thought he knew more than his tutors, and answered back, and interrupted. A smart boy was worse than a stupid one.
    “He does not accept discipline?” said the acolyte.
    “Yesterday, when I was lecturing the class for Temporal Theory in the Stone Room, I caught him just staring at the wall. Clearly not paying attention. But when I called out to him to solve the problem I’d