“We should at least study the seven cones. Perhaps we can discern where the tunnels attached to each lead.”
“How are you going to do that?”
“Perhaps an analysis of their arrangements will suggest something. I don't know.” It sounded weak, and he knew it.
They were slowing down, now, judging by the rate at which the mouth of the cone was receding behind them. She began to pick up detail from the dark surface of the structure, the ship's light faintly illuminating the cone's interior. They appeared to be manoeuvring to land upon the inner surface.
“For all we know, Concordance are coming for us right now,” she said. “Maybe they worked out which systems we could be in and have despatched ships to each one. They might even be here already, nearby. They could be using their fogging tech to hide themselves, or maybe they wouldn't even need to bother: with all this ionized gas and without proper access to ship-scale sensors, we just wouldn't know they were there.”
Ondo didn't reply. She could see from the frown on his face that he still didn't like it, but he eventually acceded with a nod of his head.
They would land upon the surface of the megastructure and hope to activate it to escape the destroyed star.
7. The Neverkey
She studied the inner surface of the cone as the gap between it and the ship narrowed. The material it was made from resembled some tempered metal, etched with complex, swirling patterns of densely-packed lines. As a girl on Maes Far, she'd been fascinated by the patterns the frost made on the windows of their house: branching whorls like the splayed fronds of plants, familiar and yet never repeating. The patterns on the ground reminded her of those, but whether they were decorative or functional, she had no way of knowing.
The ship kissed the surface with the slightest tremble of contact. Surtr said, “This point is the location of the lock.”
“Why this point?” It looked no different to any other spot on the vast, curving surface. “Do the markings signify something?”
“The patterns never repeat. I am simply aware that this precise point is where the lock was placed.”
“Anyone coming here without Surtr's knowledge would have to search for years to find it,” said Ondo.
“The Tok instructed me never to reveal the location of the lock, unless communication with the outside galaxy was absolutely vital. One such possible reason was the arrival of unexpected but benign travellers such as yourselves. These were additional commands relayed to me after my watch had proceeded for some time.”
Benign. Was she benign? She liked to think she was a little scarier than that. “Additional commands? Are you saying the Tok returned here after a long period of time and updated your programming?”
“A Tok individual came. It was he that installed this lock and gave me the means to open it in extremis.”
“Who was he?”
“He didn't tell me his name. He was old, his body breaking down. He was unusual for his kind, preferring to face his own death rather than go into the endless torpor preferred by the Tok. He was an outsider.”
“You trusted him? You didn't think he might be dangerous in some way?”
“I trusted him implicitly.”
“Where did he go afterwards?”
“He left. I don't believe he would have survived for much longer.”
Selene considered the exterior view again. “You do know we can't go outside without our suits, don't you? We can't walk in space like you do.”
“Your outer layers are in your rooms, fully repaired and recharged with the breathable gasses. But you do not need them.”
“There's clearly no atmosphere out there.”
“I can maintain a protective bubble so that you can respirate.”
“We'll wear our suits,” said Selene.
Surtr didn't appear to be offended. “Very well.”
“If this is the lock, then I assume there is a key somewhere?” Ondo asked. “Or, are you the key, Surtr? Will this lock open simply because you are here?”
“I am not the key. In order to unlock the way, we will need to acquire the neverkey.”
“What's the neverkey?” asked Selene.
“That is the name the Tok individual gave it.”
“Right, and, don't tell me, it was called the neverkey because it was never supposed to be used?” asked Selene.
“I do not know.”
“Where is this key?”
“On this ship. We can retrieve it now.” For once it appeared happy to offer a meaningful response.
“These Morn could have forced you to open the tunnel, held a gun to your head to make you retrieve the key and reveal the location of the lock,” said Selene.
“They would not do that. And the seal will not open if there are any Morn in the area. Once we are inside the tunnel, it will seal at both ends and the far door will again refuse to open if any are detected within. There is no override for that behaviour; it is intrinsic to the mechanism.”
“How do you know we're not Morn?” Selene asked. “We could have evolved from them, or they could have sent us here.”
“I consider that unlikely, but it is a remote possibility that I have considered. Partly that is one reason I wish to attempt to open the lock. If it does not activate, that can only be because there are Morn present.”
“Or the mechanism is broken,” said Selene.
“I consider that an even more remote possibility.”
“You seem suddenly very clear on the facts,” said Selene.
“Many things are obscure to me, but this is not.”
“Fine, fine. Let's go get the neverkey and try. The sooner we can escape this system, the better.”
Surtr manoeuvred the viewing platform, flying it towards the entrance to the observation dome. Once they were there, the Aetheral led them back into the familiar passageways that Selene and Ondo had explored. Except, this time, the passageways were different. She compared the maps in her head, and there could be no doubt that they had rearranged themselves, just like the pathways in the dome. Tok structures appeared to delight in reorganizing themselves
