The Orphaned Worlds (59 page)

‘All references I have ever seen discount it as a myth,’ said Rosa, cradling the Zyradin container in her arms.

Robert stared up at the stellar lens. They were seeing it from the side and perhaps ten degrees off the ecliptic, so he was able to make out the spiral arms, the clumped densities of stars and hot gas, the darker swirls and patches, and the brightness at the hub.

‘It’s breathtaking and magnificent,’ he said. ‘But I thought we were going to Darien.’

THE SEAT OF REGARD IS NOT A MERE OBSERVATION POINT
IT ALSO SERVES AS A TRAP
THE SILVER APERTURES DEPLOY COUNTERMEASURES AGAINST ANY AGGRESSORS WHO ENTER
I BROUGHT US HERE AS A PRECAUTION
TO CONTINUE OUR JOURNEY WE MUST TRAVEL TO THE PLATFORM AT THE FAR END

‘Let’s go,’ said Rosa. ‘We can afford no more delays.’

At ground level they found a couple of passenger floaters parked in a booth set into the stairway. The controls were simple and intuitive and moments later they were gliding leisurely along the avenue. As they did so, colossal holoprojections appeared on the jutting plinths, opaque, full-colour representations of many different species which shifted their stances and looked down as the newcomers passed by. Robert recognised a Kiskashin, a Vusark, and a Makhori, but the others were a mystery to him.

One hundred millennia separates us from the peoples of the Forerunner alliance
, he thought
. But compared to the thirteen billion-plus years of the galaxy’s existence, that’s almost recent history. Who knows what primordial eras and conflicts the Forerunners looked back at and drew inspiration or caution from?

Halfway along the broad avenue, Robert spotted something sitting off to the side not far ahead. As they drew closer he saw that it was another floater vehicle, abandoned and deactivated. Further on was another, and a third.

Rosa looked grim. ‘Zyradin, are you seeing this?’

THE SITUATION APPEARS ANOMALOUS
MY ATTEMPTS AT ESTABLISHING EXCHANGE PROTOCOLS WITH THE SEAT OF REGARD’S WARDENS ARE BEING IGNORED
PERHAPS THE PASSAGE OF TIME HAS ALLOWED DYSFUNCTIONS TO OCCUR AND PERSIST