Sera appeared in the chair at 3:17 in the afternoon.I know the time because the clock on the east wing wall, the one Jax had fixed, showed it clearly, and I had been watching it the way you watch things when time is the only variable you can measure. 3:17. November, grey light through the window, the covenant network humming at the frequency it had maintained for three weeks of full integrity.The entity had learned from every previous approach. This one had no preamble. No gradual shift in atmosphere, no slow development of presence. Sera was simply there, the same uncanny completeness as before, the eyes exactly right, the posture exactly right, the hands in the lap with the fingers loose.It had been decided that the deliberate approach gave me too much time to orient.I was already oriented.I stayed in the network. Didn't speak. Let it open."You've been waiting," the thing in Sera's face said."Yes," I said."That's new." It looked at me with an assessment that was very good bu
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