The last time I was here the whole place was bustling with scientists and researchers, that was the whole reason I was able to come here. I posed as a scientist myself and offered to give my opinion on the site. Now, there’s nothing but the remnants of their presence, which I expected, the whole time they were here they made almost no progress, which was why it was so easy to get invited, they were looking for any help they could get.

“Sensors are reading that the atmosphere isn’t friendly. Way too much carbon monoxide here for any length of time outside. Atmos suits are going to be a must,” Juno says.

“That’s going to be a problem, we only have five suits and we’ve got six people, someone’s going to have to stay behind,” Liam responds.

“Don’t worry, there’s no need for that. If it’s just carbon monoxide I should be fine,” I say.

“If you say so. Thomas, come here, watch how I put this on,” Juno says, standing up from her seat and heading into the back.

Outside Star Fury, the whole place looks like no one has been here in ages, nature has made large strides in retaking its land. To call this place a port would be overselling it. A large concrete slab with a few hangers for spacecraft more aptly describes it. One of the hanger doors was left open years ago and inside I can see several metal shipping containers and excavation vehicles.

“So which way are we going?” Gabriel asks no one in particular.

“It should be that way,” Juno responds, pointing out to the east. So along we go, trekking down the trail left behind by the research teams.

Upon arriving at the base of the structure, I’m reminded of just how massive it is. Human form was undoubtedly not the target demographic, with each step up at least a head taller than any of us. Luckily for us, the makeshift scaffolding from the research crews saves us from the act of heaving ourselves up one stair at a time. Liam moves to get closer to the base where there is an endless stream of indiscernible symbols etched into the stoneface. I can’t make sense of any of it myself and so I doubt that he’ll have much luck, as far as I can tell, the entire structure is covered in little more than truly random markings with no meaning at all. At least no meaning that our minds and computers can grasp anyway. The rest of us start the accent up the scaffolding towards the topmost part of the structure, where the interesting swirls from the picture are at.

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By the time we get to the top they’re winded and Thomas looks as if he could lie down and take a nap, but the swirling complexity of whatever lies before us captivates him enough that he keeps walking.

“Well, was it worth the trip here?” I ask everyone, to which I get mostly assenting responses. “I’ve always thought that the swirling movement of it is just mesmerizing,” I say.

“What do you mean movement, its standing stock still,” Cicero responds. Which I find quite odd, as the white swirls, while not moving particularly fast, are most definitely moving in a slow steady and ever unpredictable circular pattern.

“Cicero, as much as I respect your opinion on the matter, it is most definitely not standing still, you just have to be still and watch for a moment,” I say, with a bit too much sarcasm I guess, because it seems Cicero is not alone in his assessment, based on the look I’m getting from Gabriel.

“Not to contradict your all-encompassing wisdom, and I think I can speak for the rest of us as well when I say that this thing is very much still, if not oddly so,” Gabriel says. I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised when I consider what we’re dealing with, but I do like to prove a point.

“Fine, I’m going to go hop on one of the pieces moving down this way, and I want you to tell me when happens when I do,” I say, as I walk over closer. One of the pieces is moving down towards me and I should be able to hold on long enough for them to see it move me up and around. It’s approaching slowly enough that it shouldn’t be difficult to grab onto. I go to grab onto it, and suddenly I can’t quite see my situation the same way. An extremely odd feeling, to be ripped out of one’s body and into the third person but nonetheless here I am observing myself not just in this moment but in every other. I see my life laid out on a timeline with no beginning or end but just as a single thing, and I’m not looking at it alone, I can feel an entity with me, a rippling of the quantum fields of probability. I feel longing, then pondering, and a solution to my problems appears before me in a way that feels so simple that I should have thought of it ages ago. It occurs to me that the piece of the swirl that I intended to grab onto seemed to drift right through me as if I were smoke. I still seem to be viewing myself from a third person perspective. I move to turn around and everything clicks into place. There I am standing in front of myself, the solution to all my problems, If I were to give myself up, Sequel would stop chasing me, and I would be free, a contradiction in the normal sense but here we are, the both of us, and the only thing left to decide is which of me will stay and which of me will go with the others to live out our days.