At first, Lancet saw only gold. A vast fog surrounded the region below, thick enough to hide the land beneath it and bright enough to rival the sun.
The ship entered the outer edge of it slowly, and the fog moved away from the hull in smooth waves rather than being disturbed by the engines. From the movements, the fog looked almost… alive.
Lancet leaned closer to the window, and then he saw what was inside it. Tiny red lights moved through the gold haze, smaller than birds and most insects, but bigger and more conscious than dust.
He focused harder and caught the shape of one as it crossed close to the glass. It was a machine, almost microscopic. Hundreds of thousands of them drifted through the fog, each one flashing red as the ship passed.
Lancet's eyes widened. "So that's how they do it."
Renan looked at him. "Do what?"
