Prologue
"To all new arrivals, welcome."
They walk through the doorway, blinded momentarily by the brightness, the cleanliness, the welcoming.
"Welcome. Come this way."
The soft voice echoes from the amber walls. The children look up around in awe.
Lyara6's gentle voice ushered the children through the corridor. This batch was the fifth in the space of a week. Would their numbers ever diminish?
When she inherited this position from her predecessor, she had been cautioned about the sheer number that she would guide into their world. Once, when she asked Lyara5 if she'd had ever visited the worlds from where these children streamed, she was met with a shattering grimace and an emphatic no. Now she understood.
She turned her attention back to the line, which had stalled as one tiny, dazed female child had stopped, her tiny fingers tracing the pristine cleanliness of the wall. A wave of sympathy passed through Lyara6.
"Please keep moving, children. There is something wonderful waiting for you at the end of the hall."
