I make small talk with the King as we finish our meal. He, too, is curious about Earth and humans, but I can tell his questions have a more strategic bent. Nothing hostile, of course, but he's probing—how many humans? Have we expanded to other planets? What’s our history with war?

He’s not as simple as I first thought. I need to stay sharp. I avoid revealing too much information masterfully and I think he notices, because the questions soon change to more mundane things.

Eventually, the topic of my reward comes up. I describe the concept of the Internet—how in human culture, everyone has free access to information on philosophy, art, engineering, architecture. Of course, they have something similar, though it isn’t open to all. Authorization is required. I swallow nervously. I need that.

“I see,” I say. “A shame, I would’ve loved to explore your culture more in the short time I have left on your planet, but if it requires authorization, It can’t be helped..”

I carefully let a hint of disappointment seep through my otherwise casual tone. A small crack. A trap for him to step into. Will he?

“Nonsense! That can easily be arranged for Jonathan, right father?!” Tal-Vira exclaims, and I swear I can almost feel myself ascending to a higher plane. If I don’t calm down, I might actually start floating. I could kiss you right now, my mediocre-looking feline friend!

“Well.. sure, I don’t see why not” The King adds.

“Your kindness is moving…” I reply, without showing my excitement.

After dinner, Tal-Vira and I walk to the palace library. She asks if I enjoyed the meal, and I tell her which animals it reminded me of from back home. Honestly, I don’t mind talking to her tonight. Maybe she’s growing on me—or maybe it’s just the euphoria of being so close to my goal.

I also make sure to compliment her choice of dress for tonight.

I notice her tail moves more than before while she talks to me, and she holds eye contact far longer now. I suspect she might be attracted to me. My only surprise is that it took her this long to realize it.

The library is... a library. With books. I guess no matter how advanced a civilization is, we all had a not-as-advanced past. At the center, however, stands a more modern structure. Vira hands me a small tablet-like device, which requires identification. She easily takes care of it. She shows me how to use it. It's simple enough—a holographic display, nothing too complicated.

But then the problem arises. I can read their language just fine thanks to the translator, but writing it is another story entirely. She laughs, teasing me gently. “You can just use voice controls. The translator will pick it up.”

Her mocking laughter doesn’t bother me—at least, not now.

I’m so tempted to dive into the system, but I can’t exactly ask about FTL travel in front of her. It would be too obvious what my true intentions are. So I play it safe.

“Look for star systems—medium-sized yellow star, four rocky planets closest to it, four gas giants farther out,” I say, waiting for results.

Nothing. I try again, adding more details...

Still nothing. I can feel my frustration mounting.

I notice the princess watching me. She places her hand gently on my shoulder, sensing my frustration. “Maybe I need higher clearance? I could ask my father…”

Could such information be locked for everyone but the very top of the ranks? I don’t see why, I am not asking for anything secret, just information on a random star in the galaxy.

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“Try looking for your own planet. See if it yields any results.” I suggest. I want to rule out the possibility of such basic information being classified as top secret.

She nods and inputs a few settings. The device pings, and information pops up instantly. I can read it clearly through the translator. So it isn’t a matter of authorization, as much as the solar system is simply not mapped? It does make sense, if I think about it. Explains why Humans were never noticed.

As I think, I read through some of the information displayed on the screen.

Xilthara is 4.6 billion years old, and slightly bigger than Earth. Alright then, what else? I see some coordinates, climate… Situated in Arm B-8 of the Andromeda Galaxy.

.. What?

I don’t understand. This doesn’t make sense. I knew I wasn’t in the solar system, but I figured I was somewhere close—Proxima Centauri, maybe? One of the nearby stars. But Andromeda? That’s millions of lightyears away.

I start sweating. How am I here? This breaks the laws of physics—no, even traveling at FTL speeds, this doesn’t make sense.

“Are you alright?” she asks, worry in her voice.

I don’t know if I am. I need to regain control, quickly.

“Y-yeah. Just the heat, it’s getting to me. So… we’re in the Andromeda galaxy, right?”

She looks at me, confused. “Yes, of course. Why?”

Wormholes, of course. That is the only explanation. Well, the other would be my cryosleep pod broke and I floated in space for.. what, a few hundred million years? Until I somehow made my way to Andromeda by some divine intervention. And that possibility is quickly ruled out. Why? Well, because my ship would’ve broken apart long before that.

“I… Is there any way to travel between galaxies? Like, wormholes or something?”

She tilts her head, her brow furrowing slightly. Does she sense my panic?

“Wormholes, yes, but they’re mostly intra-galactic. Can’t say I ever heard of species traveling between galaxies..”

This can’t be.

“O-Oh, how so? So many alien species in the universe, haha—surely someone would want to explore beyond their own backyard, right?” I try to make it sound casual, but it’s hard. The implication here is quite scary. I am afraid, a little bit.

“Well, the fastest ships can only travel about a thousand times the speed of light. I’ve heard of species sending lone voyagers to other galaxies, but none have receiv—”

I don’t hear the rest of her words.

I’m staring ahead, but I don’t see her. A thousand times the speed of light. Impressive.

If I could take that knowledge back to Earth… this tablet alone would be worth trillions. No, more than that. I could be the most powerful man on Earth. Hell, I might even be crowned Emperor of mankind. But that’s a big if.

A few days’ travel between stars? That’s easy, of course it is. Even Earth has systems 5, 10, 15 lightyears away—at 1000 times the speed of light, that’s practically next door One, two, maybe four days. But galaxies… Galaxies are a different story. The distance is unimaginable. Andromeda is 2.5 million lightyears away, if my memory doesn’t betray me. At the fastest speeds, it would still take 2,500 years to return home.

My head spins. I feel myself slipping, losing control.

The princess is still speaking, but her words blur together.

“…Jonathan? Jonathan, are you alright?”

I drop into the nearest chair, burying my face in my hands. Is this really happening?

Tal-Vira calls over some servants for water. Good idea—my throat is dry.

No. This can’t be real. It can’t.

Jonathan Trent. The hope of humanity. Gone. Lost somewhere in the depths of space. His body? Never found. What happened? Probably screwed up and crashed. How embarrassing. Maybe a brief speech from the president. Maybe a moment of silence at the next Super Bowl. An empty casket buried in Seattle.

One month, and no one will remember my name.

The cold water helps. A little. I drink it all.

“Are you feeling better?” Vira asks, concern soft in her voice. I glance at her—she looks genuinely worried. That’s it. That ticks me off.

Why are you looking at me like that?

This has nothing to do with you. You didn’t even know me until a few days ago. Why do you care? Why does you pretend to care? It’s none of your damn business.

I shake my head. No. Stop. You’re spiraling. Get it together. This isn’t like me.

Tal-Vira watches me, waiting for a response, ears flicking.

“I’m okay,” I say, forcing my voice steady. “Sorry about that. The heat on this planet is getting to my head, you know? Haha..”

She doesn’t look convinced. I don’t care.

Maybe I should’ve let Derek destroy the ship’s controls back there. At least we’d all be miserable together.

No. Stop. I can’t keep thinking like this. I’ll be fine.

It’s fine. Relax. Relaaaax. You’ve been through worse.

I inhale. Exhale. Then I force a smile.

“I’m sorry you had to see me like that.” I nod toward the displays in the center of the room. “Would it be possible for me to get one of those? There’s some stuff I need to look into.”

“S-sure, of course…” she says, still uncertain.

This isn’t over. I don’t know how I got here, but I did. And if I got here, I can get back.

There has to be a way. And I will find it.