Morning, afternoon, and evening no longer existed, at least as far as Kel was concerned, despite just waking up from a long meditation. He awoke as always floating in the darkness of space, among spaceships, a huge junkyard of them in orbit around one of the yellow-white stars of a binary system. Beyond lay nothing but empty space, and the distant stars of the galaxy, pinpoints of light sprinkled all around like--like--
Kel's Memory took a moment to locate the desired metaphor. Ah yes, like dots of confectioner's sugar. Such an ancient image. Humanity's ability to leach the necessary energy for life out of the quantum foam of the vacuum had rendered such things as sugar irrelevant, but perhaps Kel would recreate some, just for the experience. After all, Kel had retreated to this isolated system countless millennia ago, solely for the purpose of glorying in the ancient.
Another consciousness impinged upon his own, startling Kel into intense curiosity. He accessed his Memory again in order to calculate how long it had been, and with a shock discovered that no one had ever visited him in the long time he had been here. His last real interaction with others, as opposed to interactions drawn and replayed from his Memory, had been before he had chosen to isolate himself from the rest of Humanity.
The thought, Fancy that, came unbidden to Kel's mind. Surprise came next, surprise at the idea that another member of his race would actually be approaching. By long-standing agreement, the individual members of Humanity, as well as the group members, had agreed to give each other all the room desired, in both the universe and in personal space. Nothing he could derive from his Memory led Kel to believe that this could be otherwise.
Unless, of course, things had changed, and his Memory was unable to project such a change, leaving it to Kel. Could the other consciousness be coming to--dare Kel hope--engage him in confrontation?
The consciousness was approaching the edge of what Kel considered to be his space, a volume consisting of a sphere about a light-year in radius. He could not allow it to get any closer without challenge, or he would be admitting that he did not consider his space--and what it contained--to be his own.
Do you have a name? Kel projected, and the visitor stopped dead in space.
Yes, replied the other. Ria. I have come to discuss--
Not now, Kel interrupted. I would rather do this in person.
Echoes of confusion reverberated from the visitor. In person?
)
With the ability to convert matter to energy, humanity has progressed beyond the physical limits of biology to the unlimited consciousness of space. Light-years from Earth, the entity known as Kel watches over a collection of ancient human spaceships, unaware that his self-imposed exile is about to be broken, threatening the last existing reminder of human history.
