I thought that was it. That I was gone, swallowed up forever by the Horus. Lured into a clever trap, an alternative portal to the storm’s voracious maw, my soul about to be compressed and assimilated into its infinitely dense core.
But no. My senses returned. I felt myself being jostled and hefted into a standing position. Me, totally passive and inert, like a slab of meat.
Voices in the darkness, close to my ears. Taro and Brian bustled me out of the chamber, one arm slung over each of their shoulders. The corridor, devoid of light when I had traversed it, now was faintly aglow in a muted indigo, providing a dim suggestion of the passage’s dimensions.
Control restored to my slack limbs, I reasserted my posture and began walking under my own power.
“You back?” said Taro.
The guys up to this point had been unusually quiet, sharing a terse whisper or two, as if they were afraid of waking the dead.
“Yeah. I’m back.”
“So ... you like … actually channeled, dude?” said Brian.
“I don’t know what that means.”
“Through Rafael … he showed you the Singularity?” said Taro.
“Yeah. I guess so. I guess that’s what it was.”
“What was it like?” said Brian.
“You mean, you never—?“
“Fuck no. Nobody channels but adepts. Like Lady An … and you. At least … not before the big sleep.”
“But then that’s not channeling,” said Taro. “You’re … uh …. actually there.”
“Not to mention. Not everybody gets to know the big sleep. Adepts, for sure, but—”
“Rafael wasn’t any adept,” said Taro. “He was an ordinary soul like you and me.”
“True,” said Brian. “So I guess there’s hope for us. Something to look forward to, I guess. Get a nice, quiet chamber all to your own. Cruise the universe.”
We reached the top of the spiral ramp and went back the way I had come, past the piles of rubble on the floor, which I saw was not construction debris, but rather places where the roof of the corridor had partially collapsed.
The bluish glow followed as we walked, anticipating out approach and blinking out behind us. I peered into the large, vacant rooms that I assumed to be shelters from the Horus, stunned by the intricate, back-lit lighting that filled the walls from ceiling to floor.
“Where are you taking me?” I said.
“To Lady An’s,” said Taro. “She’s sitting Old Ned till they get the new vault ready.”
“Ned?”
“Ned Abelord. The guy the runner came to warn us about. I tell you, he’s the last person I wanted to see hit the big sleep.”
“Why’s that?”
“Cuz it sucks to lose him. He’s needed here. He keeps ... kept ... the settlements together. When someone’s been around forever, I guess it just seems all wrong when they finally go.”
”It’s ... a better place,” said Taro.
“So they say,” said Brian. “Can’t blame him for wanting some of that.”
Light from the ventilation shafts now took over the illumination of the corridor. Past the song chamber, we turned down a well-lighted passage that skirted the central courtyard. Ventilation shafts were numerous here. These brighter chambers bustled with residents. It seemed like there were a lot more folks wearing armor and carrying staffs and spears and pole-axes. The place seemed to be gearing up for battle.
