The Keynote (End of Book 1) (Page 170)

~~~(POV: Scott Autumn)~~~

~~~(Location: Immortalitas, Leaving Primordium Prime)~~~

Aurora takes complete control of Immortalitas. We're heading straight for the portal that leads to The Keynote. I've had so many questions after first gaining knowledge about The Keynote and The Coda Arrey...

When we cross into that portal, it'll be the first Megastructure I see that's been left behind by The Primordium. My mind still hasn't recovered, and it won't for the next 8 days, but after that. I'll be back to my old self.

"We're crossing into the portal in 5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."

Immortalitas is taken over by the dark purple hue of the portal, and all power to Immortalitas is lost. The only systems left on are life support.

"Where are we?"

My question doesn't get a response from Aurora... Meaning she doesn't know either. It's like we're moving through hyperspace, but it's almost completely dark. The only source of light is the mixed purple in this place.

"I don't know where we are... It's not a part of space I've ever seen before..."

If my mind was at full power, Aurora and I could probably figure it out... I don't like being ordinary after being extraordinary...

"When do you think we'll arr-!!"

The entire ship shakes as we're suddenly taken out of the dark and purple dimension... And as power returns to the Dreadnaught, I look at the massive Primordium Megastructure before me... I've never seen anything like it.

A Giant Octagonal creation... One the size of a small galaxy... Even though we're about 1 minute away from it using sub-light speeds, its size makes it seem right outside the window.

"How can something like this even be possible... Wouldn't something this big be too brittle?"

Durado asks a good question for a change, and I can't give an answer. I'm not capable of making the calculations in my current state.

"The Primordium don't build anything using materials known to the current level of science you're used to, Durado."

Aurora is the first to answer him, and I'm barely paying attention. I'm focused on the large octagonal opening in the center. It's intentionally designed, but I don't know what for. If I access the information still downloading into my mind, I could know. But I'm not in the mood to pass out again.

"Aurora... Where should we go to connect with The Coda Arrey? I don't know where to go, not in my current condition..."

She pops up in the terminal next to me and looks out the window too. She hasn't answered yet, which usually means she's stuck on something.

Her face tells me that it's not good news, and she rubs her holographic temples to emphasize her difficulties trying to find out anything.

"Scans are being blocked by some kind of interference generated by The Keynote... We'll only find out anything if we find somewhere to land and then connect to the local network. Even that is risky..."

The sheer size of The Keynote is what makes it such a difficult challenge. I don't know the correct mathematical terms at the moment. But I can say that we need to start somewhere.

"I want you to bring us down to the largest continent, you see... How big are they anyway, Aurora..."

The Keynote is like a galaxy-sized flat world... That's octagonal in shape, and the oceans and continents can't really be called that. They're larger than some galaxies... That amount of ground to cover is insane.

"I'll have to do it based on what I see since the scans are useless. Is that alright with you?"

She sees me give a nod, and she starts moving Immortalitas closer to The Keynote.

"If I knew that I was signing up for all this when we met for the first time back on Empyrian, I wouldn't have bothered, kid... But shit, I'm here for the long haul now... Remember, we'll still find my daughter..."

Durado and I have come a long way together, and I didn't know I'd find such a good friend in my Mentor. Maybe when we're searching on this giant fucking thing, he can finally teach me some things.

"Don't worry. Our journey together is just getting started, and you still have yet to teach me anything you know, old man."

He cracks a smile as Aurora brings us down, and this starts the next step in our mission to stop the Parasite and The Primeval Inherent that commands it.