Page 396 of Light Leech

“Is there any other way I can be of assistance?” the and asked.

“Nah, I think we’re good.”

The ands bowed in unison and our floating panel proceeded down the hall.

We passed through another set of airlocked doors and heeded the command to seal our visors which was followed by another pressure adjustment. We exited the hub and started on another path towards the Hadrian Palace. The floating panel remained beneath us and stopped to let me on after I fell off. The drop was only a foot. But it was still embarrassing enough to earn a laugh from Ralia.

I shook my head and ignored her and found it easy to return to solemnity in the dense quiet of space with a palace before me. Our hotel–if one could call it that–was the pyramid I had seen on the way to the hub.

The grandeur of it forced respect upon me, as if my body knew it was more than a hotel.

“I know,” Zhu said. “Don’t claim my knowledge for yourself.”

Fine, then what is it?

“A building.”

I knew that already. What else is there to it?

“Fraud.”

What do you mean?

“Just as your people bow to the violet elites, this is for some false god.”

Knowledge?

“What is knowledge?

Information.

“Information according to truth.”

Life as it is.

“Free of lies.”

Right.

“So any false truth one bows down to is a false god. Anyone who believes your Earth is the true Earth is, in a way, obeying a false god.”

So what is true? Your information?

“Where does my information originate?”

The true God?

“A connection to that being, perhaps.”

Nuwa?

“Light. True light.”

And that is?

“Something I hope you can understand by doing away with this heresy.”

I still don’t think you know what this building is.