Dreams

"We travel on the shoulders of giants, Sio." Said her grandmother. They packed as she began her story. It was an interesting premise. Both were filled with a mystique Sio couldn't quite place. She had never been to The Mirror nor had she ever heard the story of their people on Helix-One. 

"Our people once came from Earth, walked with giants who then became the constellations. We follow their spirits." She paused, stuffing the tent supplies in a portable rover that would follow behind them. They set off after their goodbyes. Sio's mother held her close before letting go, Sio's father pat his daughter's shoulder firmly. It was a typical goodbye, one that meant they would see one another soon. Sio walked away, waving. Her grandmother was only a few steps ahead of her. 

"We mustn't ever forget our origin, nor the places we make our home." She continued. Sio simply listened.

They walked on in silence for a few moments, passing by villagers and waving goodbye to those whom they knew. Sio's grandmother waited until they were nearing the outskirts of the village to continue. 

"Our ancestors held technology that could alter whole dynamics of a planet, and so they made homes in nearly every system long ago. But the Great Void began claiming every planetary system. It forced all intelligent life to gather to the few clusters of space unclaimed by supermassive black holes. We were lucky to find any system left, only to find those systems occupied by intelligent species."

"Do you mean the Rai Kiri, like Dr. Tausidi?" Sio asked, walking along the path next to her grandmother.

"Yes, precisely, and the Sentii. The Symphony holds a variety of sentient creatures in its melody. We were the fortunate ones to survive the Great Void's Consumption." Sio's grandmother cleared her throat. "We've lost countless to the jaws of space." 

"We are a new addition to this section of space, but we must always remember our ancient roots. Today I will teach you about how Helix-One came to be." Sio's grandmother paused and looked at Sio as if to make sure she was still paying attention. While her shellsuit's helmet covered her face, Sio was attentive. Her posture was straight, and her gaze unwavering. 

"Everything has its place in The Symphony, especially stars, they resonate Their Melodies. As you know, we are a species unlike the others. We do not naturally resonate or detect our star's melody, but we create technology that does. It is how we have survived this long. It's how we know The Symphony is with us."

"The Comet of the North lead our predecessors to this planet. It's said our founders followed its melody to the planet, and finding it pleasing, planted technology to transform the surface of the planet to better suit human life. But the Symphony was displeased with human intervention and foiled its plans for the planet, making it turn from dust to ice. To this day, no one knows why the terraformation truly failed. The place where we're going is its result." Sio's grandmother looked to the red sky and motioned for Sio to stop. They had been walking for quite some time. "Remember this Sio, although we are a species insensitive to The Symphony does not mean we get to ignore its promptings. That is what I hope to teach you when we arrive at The Mirror. There you will see the whole of creation reflected in this planet's very soul."

They continued in silence, a kind of reverence. Sio bristled with excitement. Her imagination wandered to The Mirror. What would she see that reflected the soul of a planet? Would it be like the aurora that sometimes decorates the sky? She wondered what beauty awaited her, or perhaps what ugliness. Sometimes the very soul of things wasn't so pretty. Grandmother did say that their predecessors tainted this planet. Was the planet very angry? She would find out, she thought. Time saw the eclipse of day into night. They rested their bones until dawn and began their journey anew. 

–

Sio woke. In her room, the red dwarf's light peeked through the curtains. She moved to close them, but saw Lurio. He stood there talking with someone she couldn't see. She couldn't make out the words either. It was still fairly dark outside. She moved the curtain to take a peek. The other person was gone, but she saw footsteps in the snow. Lurio looked furious and stormed off. She wondered what that was about. She closed the curtains.