Proy: Orb

Out in the deep black, the Orb pulsed on. It had waited a billion years for someone to hold it. Now it knew: it had never been a lost thing. It had been a homecoming.

But that night, Elara opened the container. She held the Orb again. This time, it showed her the day she’d left Earth—not the launch, but the hour before, when she’d stood in her daughter’s empty bedroom and chosen to go anyway. The projection filled her with the exact texture of that guilt: a cold stone in her stomach, the taste of burnt coffee, the sound of a door clicking shut. proy orb

The captain ordered it sealed in a lead container. “Unauthorized psychotech. We’ll hand it over at Port Azure.” Out in the deep black, the Orb pulsed on