Reese, David, and their parents were ushered into the first vehicle, bypassing even Senator Michaelson, and their guide was Dr. Brand. It was clear that the Imria were trying to make Reese and David feel special. Akiya Deyir greeted them personally before handing them off to Dr. Brand, but Reese was wary of them both. She noticed that neither attempted to shake her or David’s hand, though they did shake their parents’ hands when they were offered. She didn’t know what she would have done if they had tried to touch her. She was nervous about their ability to sense what she was feeling, and she wasn’t sure if she could block them.

Most of the brief drive was along a wide, paved road with spectacular views of the bay on the right, but the final descent to Camp Reynolds—the abandoned nineteenth-century army post where, Dr. Brand explained, there was enough room to land the large spacecraft—was down a bumpy, gravelly road that probably hadn’t seen this much traffic in years. Through the SUV windows, Reese caught flashes of the giant ship in the spaces between pale yellow farmhouse-style buildings. Reese was the first to climb out of the SUV at the bottom of the road, and when she opened the door, the triangular ship was crouched on the ground scarcely fifty feet away from her. Its dull black walls rose smoothly into the sky, and even this close, she couldn’t see any seams or windows. The shorter end of the triangle took up the entire width of the upper portion of the field, which sloped downhill toward the bay, and the nose of the ship pointed at the water like a giant arrow. Boarded-up, whitewashed buildings lined the left side of the field, dwarfed by the vast ship, and the juxtaposition of the nineteenth-century houses with the futuristic spacecraft was jarring. Reese felt as if she were trapped between times: the human past on the left, the alien future poised to swallow it on the right.

A ramp descended from the rear of the craft, and Dr. Brand headed toward the ship. “Please follow me,” she said.

Reese knew the media was obsessed with guessing how futuristic the spaceship would be, and Julian had pestered her with dozens of theories of his own. As she stepped onto the metal ramp, she thought, This must be the future. Her anticipation, though, was laced with trepidation. She also remembered the way the spaceship had moved, silent and fast, a black shark in the sky. It was frighteningly far beyond human technology, and here she was, walking deliberately into the belly of the beast.

The ramp led into a bare, utilitarian space; the floor rang hollowly beneath Dr. Brand’s heels. All along the walls, clear plastic cases held silent erim, their eyeless heads unnervingly motionless. Reese felt the collective shock that passed through her and David’s parents as they saw the robotic soldiers.

“Don’t worry,” Dr. Brand said. “These are erim, our soldiers, but they are not active right now. They would not harm you.”

“They shot the Blue Base soldiers,” Reese blurted out. “I saw them die.”

“They did not die,” Dr. Brand said in surprise.

“I saw them get shot too,” David said.

“The weapons that the erim fire are not guns like the ones your soldiers used.” Dr. Brand went to one of the cases, and when the plastic slid open, she removed the snub-nosed weapon attached to the erim’s side. “This is our equivalent of a stun gun,” Dr. Brand explained. “I cannot fire it myself. If I did, I would collapse. Only the erim can fire it because it emits a charge that disables biological organisms.”

“How long does it disable them?” David asked.

“For several hours. They would have awakened in perfect health, though they would be a bit groggy at first.”

“So the Blue Base soldiers are alive?” Reese said.

“As far as I know. They may have been injured by the explosion, but not by our erim.” Dr. Brand replaced the weapon, and the door slid shut. She gestured toward the hatch in the wall that led into the interior of the ship. “Shall we begin the tour?”

Through the hatch was a short steel corridor—an air lock, Dr. Brand explained—that opened into a triangular atrium at least three stories high. Overhead, perforated steel walkways crossed the open space, creating a star pattern through which white light shone. Glass-and-steel balconies wrapped around the atrium, and on the bottom level—where Reese and the others were standing—was a floating globe that looked exactly like the Earth. It was suspended in midair with no visible support.

“This ship is built for interplanetary travel,” Dr. Brand said as she crossed the atrium. “So there are no real luxuries here; everything is made to serve a purpose. The lights here simulate sunlight, as there are no windows on this craft.” She paused next to the globe. “This is a three-dimensional map that can show your Earth, our home planet, or anywhere else in the universe, depending on where we’re traveling. Currently you see the Earth.”

Reese walked across the floor—it was covered in slate-gray tiles that absorbed the sound of their footsteps—and stared at the globe. Clouds moved slowly across the surface, and she could make out the ridges of mountains running down the spines of the continents. “How does this work?” she asked, her voice sounding hushed in the multistory atrium. “It’s just hanging there.”

“It’s a holographic projection,” Dr. Brand said.

Reese caught David’s eye as he followed Dr. Brand across the atrium. He grinned slightly. “Way better than three-D,” he whispered in Reese’s ear as he passed her.

Dr. Brand left the atrium through an archway, entering a corridor with dark, metallic walls. Tiny white lights ran along the seams at the top and bottom. They passed sealed doorways on either side, and came to another brightly lit triangular atrium that had a globe hovering in the center. “This is our home planet,” Dr. Brand said. “Kurra.”

It was very similar to Earth, with blue oceans and white clouds, but the shapes of the landmasses were different. There were few giant continents; instead there were many smaller islands scattered across the blue.

“Here is my home island,” Dr. Brand said, indicating a landmass shaped like a crescent. Several dots of light shone along the edges of the island. “Makkas.”

“It’s beautiful,” Reese’s mom said.

Dr. Brand smiled—a real, genuine smile—and Reese suddenly recognized Amber’s face in her. “It is,” Dr. Brand said. “At this time of year, all the flowers are in bloom, and our artisans make perfume from the blossoms to scent our homes during the rainy season.” She turned away and headed toward the corridor. “If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to the bridge first.”

They went down another corridor that ended in a locked hatch. Dr. Brand pressed her hand to the door and it opened into a small, round room with matte metallic walls and a shiny black floor. Once they were all inside, the door slid shut again and the room began to rise.

“The ship has three levels,” Dr. Brand explained. “The first level is for common spaces—the dining hall, recreation areas, and the kitchen, as well as ship administration. Level two is for labs and offices. The third level contains all sleeping quarters and private spaces, but it’s also where the ship’s bridge is accessed. This elevator goes directly to the bridge first, and after you’ve seen that we’ll proceed back down to the first level.”

When the elevator came to a stop, the doors slid open to reveal a triangular room with a circular table at its center. The table’s surface was a hard, polished black, and above it another globe was suspended. This one showed a star system, hovering like a tiny spherical universe in midair. A man who was seated at the table slid his hand across the surface, and Reese noticed something flicker out of sight, as if a computer screen had been shut off.

“Welcome,” the man said, standing to greet them. He had light brown skin and dark hair, and he was dressed in what looked like a flight suit made out of black synthetic material that resembled scuba gear.

“This is Hirin Sagal,” Dr. Brand said, “the captain of our ship.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you,” Sagal said.

He reminded Reese of Malcolm Todd. They had similar features—sharp cheekbones and an angular jaw leading to a pointed chin.

Dr. Brand went to the table and touched the surface. A light shimmered beneath her hand, and the two facing walls rippled to show the entire vista of San Francisco Bay, just like a window. “This is an image of the view outside,” Dr. Brand said.

The image was so crystal clear that Reese had to walk right up to it to convince herself it wasn’t a real window made of glass. She saw sailboats on the bay, the sunlight glittering over the brownish-gray water, and Sausalito in the distance.

“Is this table a computer?” David asked.

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