Jayani wanted to stop at every known outpost between Jaffna and Earth to find out. She'd been overruled, of course, which she'd known would happen, the primacy of getting to Earth and exploring the origins of Lemuria overriding any secondary concerns. At least they'd agreed tentatively to explore other worlds once their primary mission had come to fruition.
What would they find on Earth?
The ambiguity introduced an anxiety that Jayani was quite unaccustomed to. Even her rapid descent from ecopreserve Protector to banishment hadn't disrupted her equanimity to this extent.
Be as Buddha, she kept telling herself, and despite her frequent prayers and meditations, she was unable to retrieve her characteristic wa, that ancient Japanese word that meant harmony, balance, and unity.
Hence her f
