Chapter 5: What Is New?

The Continuance did not rush them.

That was the first thing Darius noticed once the initial disorientation faded. No alarms. No sudden motion. No sense that time itself had become urgent simply because they were no longer on Earth.

The ship existed in a state of readiness that did not require tension.

Amina stood beside him at the wide view port, hands folded loosely, posture composed but not ceremonial. She wasn’t performing authority.

She was inhabiting it.

The stars beyond the glass did not streak or blur. They held their places, distant and precise, as if the universe itself were waiting to be addressed properly.

“The briefing will begin when you’re ready,” the Royal AI said.

Darius glanced at Amina. “That’s new.”

“Consent matters,” she replied quietly. “Especially when knowledge can’t be put back.”

He nodded once. “Okay. Let’s hear it.”

The chamber subtly reconfigured—not mechanically, not visibly. Space simply reorganized itself around function. The floor became a projection surface. Light formed without source, resolving into a map that made his breath catch.

It wasn’t a star chart the way humans made them.

It was layered.

Depth. Motion. Time.

Systems pulsed with activity. Others dimmed, scarred by something older than conflict—consequence.

“This is known space,” the Royal AI said. “Or rather, the portion of it that remains stable enough to be mapped.”

Darius folded his arms slowly. “That’s ... a lot.”

“Yes,” the AI agreed. “It is.”

Amina spoke before Darius could ask the next question. She always seemed to know where the weight would fall.

“My people learned early that expansion creates attention,” she said. “Attention creates interest. Interest creates pressure.”

The map shifted.

Civilizations flared into existence—bright, confident; then faded. Some violently. Some quietly. Some simply ... gone.