It tried again. “Opening certain doors is not simply a matter of pushing or knocking or triggering proximity sensors. It is a matter of the right influences coming together. At the right moment.”
“I have no idea what that means. Why don"t you just show me?”
She followed the Aetheral, which again proceeded on all fours like some hound sniffing out a trail. They wound around the familiar passageways, rising up within the tetrahedral structure. She thought the entity was going to climb to the top observation deck, but it stopped unexpectedly, half-way along an insignificant section of passageway. She must have hurried along it a thousand times without giving it a thought.
“Here,” said Surtr, one hand upon the wall. “The ship"s inner eye is through here. I can feel the Mind. It is weak a
