The voice that greeted Mira was familiar—ancient, wise, and kind. She stood in the core chamber, the crystalline sphere pulsing with light.
"Who are you?" she asked.
"We are the Architects," the voice said. "We have returned to see what you have done with our gift."
Mira felt a surge of awe. "You're alive?"
"We are echoes," the voice replied. "Our physical forms faded long ago, but our consciousness endures in the core structures."
The Architects showed Mira visions of their civilization—vast cities, floating gardens, a people at peace with the universe. They had created the se