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I can’t make out much of the images.They’re moving too fast and with a staccato rhythm.Here and there, I recognize human forms.And… flying cars?I peer closer.Maybe.Skyscrapers?Yep, I catch a flash of a tall building here and there.

Was there an advanced civilization here on Zerra at one point, after all?

The existence of these “scrolls” certainly seems to imply that.

What happened to that civilization?If it existed, why don’t I see signs of ruins everywhere?

I motion at the kneeling men and keep my voice to a whisper.“Aside from the infamous prophecy, what do they believe these pictures say?”

Aruan crosses his wrists behind his back.“All kinds of things.Some that make sense, such as us having mates.Others are rather nonsensical.”

“For instance?”

“Some priests believe that at one point, the Alit were like the humans on Earth, without powers.Then they took tiny smart particles into themselves, made them part of their brains, and gained the ability to manipulate matter the way we do.”

The way Aruan says it makes it clear he thinks it’s all bullshit, but my heart is beating faster.

Tiny smart particles?Like nano-computers?Maybe quantum nano-computers with advanced artificial intelligence?

I suck in a breath.

Could the humans of that long-ago Zerran civilization have merged with AI using brain implants, thus becoming the superhuman Alit?

It’s a wild theory, but it would explain so much.

“Can the priests slow the images down?”I ask in excitement.“So we can better see what the recordings show?”

The red, green, and blue light plays over his face as he studies the wall.“The priests don’t control the projections.They run on a loop.The best they can do is watch them repeatedly and try to form a bigger picture in order to decipher them.”He points at a corner where an image of a smiling couple is already disintegrating before it’s been fully shown.“That part refers to mates.”

I blink at the bright light, trying my best to make out something, but the picture is gone as fast as it appeared.“What do they think it says?”

His voice is gruff.“That every Alit has only one mate, and that mating is for life.”

I glance at him quickly, catching the piercing look in his eyes as he scrutinizes me.Unable to hold his intense gaze, I turn back to the images.

If the Alitarepart AI, could this whole mates business be a byproduct of their programming?Ensuring that pairs are perfectly matched to avoid the unhappiness stemming from breakups makes a lot of sense.Maybe some kind of code in the AI part of the Alit seeks a complimentary code in the mate.

I’ve already concluded that Zerra must be a parallel Earth.Only here, an asteroid didn’t end the existence of the dinosaurs.Maybe the human race developed in coexistence with the animals which, on Earth, are long since extinct.They could’ve created powerful super-computers and artificial intelligence, just like humans are starting to do, and merged with the latter to become a new, stronger race with seeming superpowers.

I’m so lost in the incredible possibility that I jump when Aruan touches my shoulder.

“You look pale.”He frowns.“Are you all right?”

My voice comes out scratchy.“Yes.”I clear my throat.“It’s just a lot to take in.”

He strokes my arm before taking my hand.“Shall we go?We have to get ready for the banquet.”

I look up at him as he leads me back into the sunshine.“Aruan?”

He smiles at me.“Elsie?”

“Does Vitai have a mate?”

“Every Alit has a mate.”

“Does he know who she is?”

He steers me around a puddle of mud.“He hasn’t sensed her yet.”