Time and space condensed, and we were back in the universe once more, close to our point of departure. We felt the presence of They, vast and overwhelming, yet blind to us now: one among a trillion trillion grains of consciousness scattered throughout the void. Yet still they searched, and still we fled, looking for sanctuary.

We slid into a gravity well and skimmed over the stark, white surface of the world suspended within – then saw our refuge, orbiting high above.

We focused ourselves to a tiny point as we approached the vessel, then penetrated its skin. Flying through the subatomic stuff of the ship, our energy dissipating, we at last found a lodging place within the flesh and expanded to fill an empty mind. We opened our eyes.

We found ourselves in a library. An elderly man, startled by out arrival, ceased writing in a ledger.

“Who…who are We?” We asked.

“I do not know who you are,” he replied, “but I am Mauris, Primary Command Hub of the Synod vessel Deus Valens. How may I be of assistance?”