Standard Day 194, Standard Year 19,868

They used to call it The Hall of the Innocents, a name left behind from a far distant time, back when this world was actually populated. Ten thousand years ago it was rediscovered, having been left silent and abandoned for almost 1,500 years, hanging hidden in a dark dust cloud off the Core Worlds. It and the five star systems near it stand empty, mute reminders that the Presidium almost managed to return from the dead.

These worlds were the last-ditch backup for the Presidium, duplicating all of their communication, data, and manufacturing infrastructure. They were supposed to turn on at the fall, at the touch of a signal from the Emerald Palace, the home of the Presidium Council. The signal never came.

Now, they are silent, empty, mute reminders, kept intact by the nanotech swarms dutifully carrying out the simple commands of their makers from eleven thousand years ago. If there is such a thing as a haunted world, these worlds are it. Haunted by the long-dead and thrice-dust ghosts of the ancient Presidium.

It gives me the heebie jeebies. Like someone's walking cold fingers up my spine, setting my fur on end. Prospecting here for data, especially on the Presidium's research into so-called fringe sciences, is pure creepy, and has me jumping at shadows and on edge.

I am Edrie Alynss, explorer, freelancer, so-called "hedge magus", and I ply the deep, old parts of the universe, looking for the things once hidden, longing to be found.

Edrie Alynss, Standard Day 194, Standard Year 19,868




All pictures taken in Backdrop City under ambient lighting conditions using Alchemy Viewer