Alternia Comics

   Jen traced her finger along the spines of the books, scanning slowly across one three foot shelf before moving to the next shelf down and tracing back the other direction. Paul watched her do this three times, then decided to try it himself. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, presumably something written on the spine, and hoped he'd know it when he saw it.
   A soft clattering noise disturbed him after two shelves as it rolled across the room. He looked over his shoulder; Jen had wheeled a cart from one side of the room, under a sign proclaiming "INFORMATION." She grabbed a book from the shelf and placed it on the cart, then returned to scanning the shelf. Paul shrugged and went back to pretending he knew what he was looking for.
   "Finding anything good?"
   The broken silence startled Paul and he jumped a bit, turning to face Jen. Her cart now had half a dozen books piled on it. "N-no. Nothing yet..."
   "Damn. I was hoping to find several volumes with the minutes of the council meetings. That would be incontrovertible proof that Jack existed and the CGC is lying about the colony history. I thought they'd be on one of those shelves over there. I haven't explored the whole library yet." Jen faced the bookshelves as she spoke, still tracing a finger across the spines.
   Paul sheepishly turned away from Jen and stepped a pace to his left, to a shelf he had scanned moments before and double checked the writing on several thin, tall boxes he had skimmed over. "I think I found something like that." He read aloud, "Minutes, 14 March 2021 through 21 May 2021."
   "Really?!" Jen dropped the book in her hands and ran over to Paul, nearly leaping in to the air to hug him.
   "Yeah, but... 2021. Wasn't that over forty years ago? That's gotta be too old."
   "Did Kevin ever let you read Jack's journal, or talk about any dates?" Paul realized he was holding Jen a few inches off the ground. She hadn't seemed to notice and didn't interruped herself as he set her down gently. "I read the first page once. Just part of it. When Kevin was nodding off in class one day. The year was 2031, and Jack's first words were that the colony had been sealed for ten years." She stepped back a pace and covered her mouth, staring at the row of boxes Paul had found. "I think this is it exactly."
   Paul piled the boxes on to Jen's cart and she wheeled it over to a table.