Page 181 of Light Leech

She shrugged. “Get used to it.”

“You planning on staying long?”

“Who knows how long it will take to end this.”

“Perhaps Sha wishes for an extended stay,” Zhu said.

Our carrier panel brought us past another sealed doorway to a reception desk manned by two ands whose grey skin matched the moon’s surface. One was male, the other female–though both were mere presentations for genderless constructs–with silver clothing reminiscent of the retro old-Earth style of the Americas. They each had piercing yellow eyes that glowed like miniature suns.

“Welcome to Hadrian Palace,” the female said while the male scanned our faces. Our faces and associated data appeared on the small image cube on the reception counter. “Mister PetNeb and Miss RalEsp. Does that sound correct?”

I eyed Ralia, wondering if she, too, was speculating about what the ands thought of our Luminate League names being used for hotel reservations. Her confident grin gave no notion of it.

“Yes,” Ralia said. “Thank you.”

The female and bowed then reached out her hand. Ralia touched it and I saw a subtle flash of blue light pass from the and to Ralia. She then forwarded the room number, access key, and brochure of amenities to my neurospace.

“Is there any other way I can be of assistance?” the and asked.

“Nah, I think we’re good.”

The ands bowed in unison and our floating panel proceeded down the hall.

We passed through another set of airlocked doors and heeded the command to seal our visors which was followed by another pressure adjustment. We exited the hub and started on another path towards the Hadrian Palace. The floating panel remained beneath us and stopped to let me on after I fell off. The drop was only a foot. But it was still embarrassing enough to earn a laugh from Ralia.

I shook my head and ignored her and found it easy to return to solemnity in the dense quiet of space with a palace before me. Our hotel–if one could call it that–was the pyramid I had seen on the way to the hub.

The grandeur of it forced respect upon me, as if my body knew it was more than a hotel.

“I know,” Zhu said. “Don’t claim my knowledge for yourself.”

Fine, then what is it?

“A building.”

I knew that already. What else is there to it?

“Fraud.”

What do you mean?

“Just as your people bow to the violet elites, this is for some false god.”

Knowledge?

“What is knowledge?

Information.

“Information according to truth.”

Life as it is.

“Free of lies.”

Right.

“So any false truth one bows down to is a false god. Anyone who believes your Earth is the true Earth is, in a way, obeying a false god.”