Bulwark

The once imposing orange monoliths were now hairline fractures in the sky above; the networked constellations disappeared beyond the distant mountians as Naomi waited for Kai to make the last leap to the edge. It was night (true night) once more and she couldn't pull her gaze from the strange starless sky. Both pairs stood at the edge of the pit the animals once congregated around, a breeze at their backs.

We fall again, into an entrance amongst the caves in the upper substructure

This massive abyss stretched from horizon to horizon with a warm orange glow emanating from deep below the surface. The image of the black hole framed within the mirrors had burned itself into my memory; not unlike totality. The only difference being the knowledge that something lay behind the disk of the moon, here there was no knowledge. Were the beings that built Syaksa as ignorant of black holes as we are? Surely not, one would think that making such exotic constructs must come bundled with complete understanding. However, humanity has proven that it has had its fair share of attempting to utilize powers it knew little of.

"Hey Naomi, you think these are what we saw through the dust clouds? and what's that chipping away at it"

they said upper substructure... how big is this place exactly?

They fell towards an open shaft in the wall, slowing down gradually, until they touched down in a cave system. the Emissary and Sentinel led them through the worm-like tunnels back into the bowels of the station. As they walked, the loose, shifty dirt ground gave way to gravel, and then firm stone, footsteps echoing as the walls became more dense, reflective. The circular winding tunnels gradually transforming back into the angular, artificial passageways and corridors they had first encountered before they made Contact. Before the Forest.

...a logistics problem, all energy transfer. Nothing works if energy doesn't get to where it needs to go.

Something tugged at the back of her mind, a notion of oneness. A notion that Syaksa was much more than the sum of its parts, no mere station. Much like in her own body, there were systems for transporting resources, transporting energy, dealing with unwanted intruders, maintenance and upkeep, the whole of it. As different as she and Syaksa were, they shared a great deal. She knew she was conscious and aware, so what sort of awareness could the Overseer, could Syaksa, truly have?

...they speak of engineers...progenitors...there's no direct translation for it. what mad creature sought dominion over entropy incarnate, and won?

Why is a peculiar question, each time it is asked betrays a desire to understand, and perhaps an intention of mastery. The increasing amount of power a civilization requires displays yet again the impermanence of the natural universe butting up against the drive of life to persist. You see it in civilizations and their desire to build great things, to try and etch themselves into the unending halls of time. Monuments serve as physical evidence of their existence, but as time goes on they fall into disrepair. Become co-opted for different purposes. Are stolen. The only way to ensure that what you have built remains is if you also remain with it, becoming a bulwark of your dreams, a shepherd to your future. That is what the Builders have done here. Engineered a system that is self sufficient and will maintain itself into perpetuity, along with agents who see to it that the only thing that can break that self sufficiency is the death of the Universe itself. However, the only way that can be done is if a vision of the future exists. Without one, there is only noise, and you will be subject to the whims of the Universe and those around you. Lacking a metaphysical rudder to properly steer you through the oceans of eternity you become merely a product of your environment, a passive observer.

...cycles of cycles. This is what [null] understood. How could anything be sustaining if there was an end to the process, or no vision of the future?

We must generate a path from the Noise

...a Glider...attaching its fate to black holes...

...what about proton decay?

"Hey can you see?"

"Yea, let your eyes adjust a little"

"wh-"

"why what?"

"-eh nevermind, suit batteries are low, we need to get back blind. your drone still there?"