The presences in the Void were becoming more active. Sarah could feel them pressing against the boundaries of normal space, examining human civilization with an intensity that suggested more than casual observation. Void Walker Prime was aware of them, was in fact somehow facilitating their observation, but the old cultivator had not yet revealed who or what these watchers actually were.
"There are at least fifty distinct presences," the collective consciousness reported to Sarah during one of their coordination sessions. "Each with different methods of observation. Some are using techniques to perceive our development through cultivation pathways. Some are examining our genetic structures. Some appear to be monitoring our consciousness patterns."
"They're measuring us," Sarah said, unde
