“Song?”

  “For one hundred four years, I thought there was no hope.”

  “What I found out, Song, why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you brothers tell me? Anders didn’t tell me. Neither did you. Why?”

  “You were not even real brothers, Song, but you seemed like twins. Why not say? I noticed that sometimes it is better to say too much than too little.”

  “I can hear you commenting on it. I am aware I talk a lot, which is not the point here… and didn’t you like me talking?”

  “Song?”

  “I destroyed my projection. It felt like dying a second time. I hoped that perhaps I wouldn’t survive and thought that I might be lucky enough to die.”

  “What luck I survived.”

  “Song? I need to find you. I need to find your test Crystal. That you didn’t mention…”

  “However, Anders? I read his notes. He was struggling with it; he knew he should tell me. Why didn’t he…?”

  “Did you know about it? I didn’t. Did you?”

  “Truly. How was I supposed to notice when he was often angry at me, saying many unnecessary things? Once he called me garbage from cartels. Something like this. I think I told you. Who would have thought?”

  “Anders. I didn’t know. Did you? I didn’t; it never occurred to me. If it did, then I would respectfully bow to reject.”

  “Could that be the reason he didn’t tell me?”

  “O, no, impossible. He was a good person. I am not doubting his integrity. I think… though, Song, your brother thought I would cheat on you. Truly… because what else could he mean? He respected you; he couldn’t think like this about you. About me, I can imagine.”

  “Anders, who would have…”

  “I need to find your Crystal, Song. That you exist somewhere… I hadn’t been aware of this for so many years. How bad.”

  “I have it noted—the exact words Yura had said before his death, and I am certain he meant the other Crystal, your prototype. Not the eighth only—this one I destroyed. I hope it was the eighth one, not yours, Song, because then—no, it was Lan’s, I sensed it.”

  “I need to find you.”

  “I ran some checks, and in the notes from the Sect’s board meetings, I found that you mentioned testing some Crystals’ prototypes. There was a note that, I assume, was about what Anders noted as well.”

  “Anders. How foolish! An additional case? He didn’t listen to Wei or me. And he noted that he had downloaded some documents onto his messenger!”

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  “Whoever has it—it was them who steered the attacks, then disconnected the Gate, closing the connection between us and Planet Three.”

  “Song, I am sure your Crystal is on Planet Three.”

  “Planet Three, it has to be there. I checked the name this boy mentioned—Dennis; Lukai also said something about someone with this name—it was supposedly a coordinator who worked with Yura. I took a closer look, and Song. Imagine that.”

  “Dennis has a connection to the laboratory I was captured by. Not directly; it was too long ago, but his surname is connected with someone who worked there. The lab—you know—the one with which your teacher Amber cooperated.”

  “I wonder, could it be that your teacher, who was hiding, perhaps needed money and sold some knowledge from the Sect? It would explain why some people know things no one should. Despite Anders’s notes, some knowledge I assumed was lost, destroyed by us, is circulating.”

  “Could it be?”

  “Of course, I am not certain; the search will take place everywhere from now on.”

  “Many assumptions, how frustrating.”

  “Planet Three. A planet I cannot reach. It is even more frustrating.”

  “We must restart the spaceship program. Plus minus… fifty years it took to fly to Planet Two, then around ten years to fly to Planet Three. Si said that it would take around three years to build one ship. Could we build a smaller ship and transport it through Gates to Planet Two? Or in parts? It would be faster…”

  “Crystal, I will grow myself; it took us four months then. Then I will add a bit… who, me? Would Gates allow it? Si said he wanted to, but he cannot split yet; he is slacking. Not slacking; he is busy. Luna could learn quicker because she has energy from her ancestors… o, no, she is a lazy shrimp… no, it has to be Si, but I need to train him. Two-three years? If he focuses… he won’t focus now; he needs to take over, longer…”

  “Song, it is not amazing.”

  “Shrinkage, everything is shrinking. No one currently could pass our exam, no more Elders possible, and I wasn’t the strongest one. How come?”

  “I must train myself further. I destroyed myself; I absorbed Lukai’s collision. And Song? I felt it. Somehow, I felt my split better.”

  “I think I will try to do something here today. I have to do something, or I will go crazy. I will try.”

  “Why did terraforming work on all the planets? It’s strange there is no note about it anywhere. It was my split; Lan asked me to add it to Crystals. This is why it is impossible to recreate them—without me.”

  “Crystals’ navigations worked because of my split.”

  “This Riggs, how outrageous, this man, what he did. I told Anders not to trust him; I can recall our talks about it. Yet, he went there.”

  “Was Anders killed? His ideas taken, all Crystals stolen? It looks like. Anders’s notes ended too abruptly. How bad.”

  “Song, my apologies, my thoughts are scattered… Song? Your Crystal dissolved back then—the one we knew about. Could it be because you were in the other one, the other one you had created earlier?”

  “I hope so.”

  “I hope you are somewhere there. Or is this prototype also dead?”

  “I need to find it, to find you.”

  “If your Crystal is dead, then I will destroy it. If there is a possibility of waking it up, I will try. Then, there could be a bit of you in Gates. How amazing it would be. I would transfer you to Gates to protect you. The same as Lan’s bits, her energy is here; it feels familiar. To have a bit of your energy, how amazing…”

  “Song?”

  “Thinking it could be possible to find you, to wake you up.”

  “I do not even dream of finding your full consciousness. I think it is impossible. I guess? I am not sure if the prototype, the test Crystal you created earlier, could do the same as what my Crystal did. Who knows, though?”

  “Why didn’t it work as you planned? Who knows?”

  “… I need to find you.”

  “Song! What if someone uses you as they used Crystal with Lan’s bits? To use your Crystal as a weapon… o, no.”

  “I won’t allow it. No one will use your Crystal in a shameful way.”

  “Song, I must find you.”

  “I would burn everything to find you. I will burn everything to find you.”

  “… Song? I need to calm down, no?”