“Song?”

  “I destroyed it.”

  “Lan can rest in peace, no? It was the eighth. No, she cannot, as one spaceship was lost. We assume it crashed somewhere, but who knows? Though it shouldn’t be used as a weapon… no, it is not the truth. Someone managed. How did they manage to use Lan’s Crystal as weapons? We thought that her consciousness would be strong enough to decline wrong usage.”

  “This was why Anders was allowed to take Crystals with him; we were very certain it was safe. When I think about it, how is it possible someone got our Crystals? Anders was supposed to lock them in the case. Wei had prepared this case in a way no one could ever break in. It was lost on the route, but no leakage was possible. How, then?”

  “What did Anders do back then and didn’t tell us about? It disturbs me.”

  “About the death of this Yura. I didn’t manage to prevent it. I need to train myself better here in the Gates.”

  “The data is a mess. All is a mess here.”

  “Song, imagine. Domini had said recently that his ruling was data-driven. If I were in person at the meeting, I would laugh. Laugh to death, no?”

  “The good thing is I can access everything using artificial energy. I can reach it. It only needs to be connected to the net. Rarely are data centers completely separated from the net. With effort, I can reach almost everywhere. I only need a reason.”

  “Yura’s death means we won’t easily find out what it was about. Lukai repeated his words. He cannot recall when and where Yura broke his record. Lukai needs to focus; recall it.”

  “Lukai… I observed him today. He was anxious; he was also angry that I didn’t wait for his order and that we didn’t discuss my action. For contrast, Si was disturbed that we lost our people and Yura. Si was concerned about Planet Three. Lukai though, complained I didn’t ask for his permission.”

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  “Mhm… o, Song? I understand why Wei often only said his ‘mhm.’ With politics and people together, sometimes the only comment on events is just to ‘mhm’ it, no?”

  “I assume Yura was talking about Anders’s notes. He had this funny habit of writing diaries. What did Anders note? What did he describe? I hope nothing about matters we all agreed back then to treat as classified. However, how could someone get them?”

  “Song?”

  “The entire planet is disconnected. I am worried about the boy I met. I couldn’t prevent it, and I feel ashamed. I need to learn how to navigate these Gates—all the energy here, everything; I need to be able to protect.”

  “I know Song. I’ve been here only for a few days. Still, not amazing, what happened today. This boy, his family, and all the people there on Planet Three are now in a very difficult situation.”

  “I must talk to Lukai and Si. We have to build a spaceship and fly there. I can help with Crystal navigation.”

  “What this Yura had said… was he running away from problems? I can even relate. I was not running in marathons, though. I hid in my Crystal and in the form of my projection, not fully loaded, for decades… I do not judge; I can relate.”

  “This boy and his family… I am worried.”

  “I need to learn these Gates and then be able to protect, regardless of who would be in charge. No more families should suffer.”

  “Song?”

  “Me and my family. I wonder, did our ancestors do something outrageous, so we are paying for it? I feel my parents were doomed to die that miserably. As this, I also recalled, I saw it. And me, my past. As if I were doomed.”

  “I know it is not relevant now; nobody cares, but you would. I recalled my mother and my father. My mother was Elder… I wonder what you found about the reason for her death. I saw your notes—no details, unfortunately. And my father, I recalled him as well. I have his look. I wonder if he had as many problems with it as I had.”

  “Not relevant, I know, and yet. I am still amazed; it is only days that I can recall their faces and names. My family, killed for a reason still unknown to me, despite all the data I have in the Gates.”

  “… Was what happened to you, Song, my fault? Because I am doomed, and I dragged you down?”

  “Song? My surname, however, is quite a funny thing. I wish you were here; I would tell you, you would laugh. My surname is Mann, not Manh. It was written with a typo for all these years because cartel two didn’t care to write it down correctly. Hilarious?”