Stephen felt alone. Above, an ocean of stars settled in restless rotation. The forest lay in silence and a mile back the passing of motor cars on M11 was heard.  He followed a thin streak of light pollution reaching for the sky, below visible outlines of a city sprawl, and up ahead the night-sky and stars, entangled in cosmic brawl – the spiral arm of a galaxy beckoned.  He knew its implications, he knew the forces at play, being maybe one of ten in world history able to fully estimate the beauty. The cheek gave away a twitch – the interface lit up.  A single-syllable monotone tune danced in the dark. ``` "Do you. remember still. the falling-stars. that-like swift. horses. through the. heavens raa-ced." "and suddenly leaped. across the. huurdlees. of our wiii-shes. -- do you recall? An we." "did. make so many. For there. were countless. numbers. of stars: each. time we-looked. above we were." "as. tounded by. the swift-ness. of their daringplay. while. in our. hearts we felt. safe aa-and secure." "watching. these brill-iaaant bodies. dis-inte-grate. know-ing. somehow. we had sur. vived their fall..." ``` The forest was silent. The sounds of the motorway died out. Above, a starry ocean lay still in suspended motion. Stephen was alone. **.pol** ![[stephen.png]]