The amber dot on the map vanished. Not by moving off-grid, but because the grid itself seemed to swallow it. The console displayed a final, cryptic string of data:
It showed a cavern. Not the sterile, blue-white ice tunnels they’d expected. This one was warm. A dim, bioluminescent orange pulsed from vein-like ridges in the rock. And in the center of the frame, something moved. It was roughly the size of a terrestrial bear, but fluid, like a convection current given form. It had no eyes, no mouth—just a slow, deliberate rhythm of expansion and contraction. The amber dot on the map vanished
"AMR 2, halt primary directive. Initiate recall." Not the sterile, blue-white ice tunnels they’d expected
Behind her, the holographic map of Xylos flickered. For just a second, the entire sub-surface ocean glowed amber—then went dark again, as if nothing had happened. And in the center of the frame, something moved
"Am I in danger?" The rover’s voice synthesizer activated unprompted. No one had triggered it. The words were slow, halting, as if learned on the fly. "This place. It is asking me a question."