Sitting by a window, I turned and looked out at a fleet of twinkling spaceships flying by. There were hundreds of them, in various sizes. It was hard to tell, but most of them seemed to have a smooth, oval shape; others had harder edges, with what looked like turrets, and other extensions.

There was a slight jolt as we took off, or separated, or whatever it was as we disengaged from the main craft. With a gentle, sweeping turn, Yenaa and its two moons moved into view, the planet appearing less purple than before. I looked across to the windows on the other side to catch only the briefest glimpse of Prime, a flash of metal as we suddenly accelerated and powered away. I returned to the windows on my side, watching Yenaa move along them before it, too, was gone.

"The purple mist is our atmosphere," Kodahr said. "It is a living thing, watching over the planet, protecting us. And responding to us, too, in its shade and form. The spiritual sects have various names for it; I prefer that it remain "un-termed". It is invisible from the surface."

I looked out a little while longer before returning to him. I was amazed that even at such close range; I couldn't see a thing inside his hood beyond the blackness. I wanted to ask him about it, but thought it would be inappropriate. I thought I felt him smile.

"In the meeting room," he said, "during the Welcome, a procedure was called which helps to ease a visitor's transition to our world. We use it on all of our human guests. It produces a sort of barrier, or shield, subtly dividing you from everything around you, so that things seem less strange. The shield also allows you to understand and speak our language. As with much of our technology, the procedure has an organic quality which renders it not entirely controllable. Sometimes this can lead to unfortunate reactions, such as yours."

"I feel fine now," I said.

"Yes, I know. The shield has returned. You will have less need of it as you continue to visit us, as your chip's embed becomes more secure."

He turned away and looked straight ahead, I returning to the window and watching black space shift into purple as, I assumed, we entered Yenaa's atmosphere. A distant thought appeared somewhere, but was gone the moment I could think to look for it. The orbital accelerated again, diving down through the purple and bursting into blue. We made a stomach-wrenching turn to the right, flying through a white mist of clouds and back into blue before leveling out and continuing a more gradual descent. I'm not sure what I'd expected - if anything - but I was surprised to look down and see ground and water, snow-capped mountains overlooking a great blue ocean which sparkled in the sun.

"I'm afraid we won't be landing," Kodahr said, as I watched the ground draw closer. My eyes settled on one of the smaller mountains, its base seeming to glow with a pinkish tinge. "We rarely do on the first visit, and certainly won't given your reaction.' He waited a moment, and then said: "Do you see the color?"

"Hmm?"

"The mountain. Do you see the pink color?"

"Yes, I see it."

"Good. That's very good. Not everyone can on the first visit."

We dove down towards the mountain, turning and making a long pass across it, during which I saw that the pink wasn't a part of the mountain at all, but rather something which floated in front of it, a sort of giant, semi-transparent pink cube which shimmered in a way which reminded me of the Prophet's robe.

"What is it?" I asked, turning to him.

"It is one of the palaces. There are seven in total, each positioned at a key multidimensional Vortex. Together they form a pattern we call Qedin. It is the source of our energy, both within this world of the physical, and those beyond. I had hoped to show you all of them today, but again, it would seem prudent to limit your exposure."

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