Episode 2

Walking through the doors of the Nexus Machine, Arii almost steps out into space; her coordinates were slightly off! There is a strange looking planet in the centre of an emerald nebula, with huge revolving arms extending out of it. Arii did, however, open the doors next to an orbiting asteroid which seems to be some sort of gift shop. It's hard to believe that this planet that she has never heard of is some sort of tourist destination. Looking out into the nebula again towards the planet, Arii notices that the metal arms extending from the planet's centre appear to be driving the surrounding gas into rings. The spinning nebula appears to be some sort of resonance system, driven by the planet's arms. A serene chord also fills the nebula, appearing to emanate from every direction and bouncing off vast orbiting acoustic mirrors. The spectacle is mesmerising.

After a small readjustment of the Fray coordinates, Arii walks out onto the planet's surface. Immediately she hears the chatter of crowds reverberating across a large plaza. She wonders again how she doesn't know about this place; she doesn't even know the planet's name. Her footsteps echo as she takes her first steps on the strange planet, bouncing endlessly between the acoustic mirrors surrounding the plaza. Everything seems to shine like polished gold and the chord playing throughout the nebula also permeates the surface of the planet. Looking up the nebula fills the sky alongside oddly shaped asteroids riding along the spinning rings of the system.

At the centre of the plaza is some sort of fountain surrounded by five metal discs. The iridescent fluid in the fountain dances seemingly of its own accord. Arii explains to her friends across the cosmos that the fluid most be something akin to oobleck, a non-Newtonian fluid, responding to the reverberating chord playing throughout the nebula. Behind the fountain, at the far end of the plaza, is a golden palace or temple, topped with acoustic mirrors. The echoing ethereal chord seems to amplify the splendor of the structure. It seems no wonder so many are drawn to this mysterious place.

Arii walks towards the centre of the plaza, but is stopped abruptly by one of the beings who appear to be custodians of this place. The being introduces himself as Choir Zan and welcomes Arii to the Order of Perfect Concordance on the planet Sontu. Zan and the fellow members of the Order, who Zan refers to as his Chorus, appear remarkably still, with any movement across the plaza seeming to happen within a blink of an eye. They all wear large golden masks, emulating the architecture of the plaza. The rest of their forms are covered with deep red flowing robes that flow over what appears to be hands held together in prayer, but no hands are visible under their robes.

Zan wishes Arii balance at the heart of their Order, but Arii is still perplexed as to why she has never heard of Sontu or Zan's Order. Inquiring more, Arii asks about the origins of the Order and its purpose. Zan's response about the origins of the Order is evasive, claiming its origins are "mysterious" and not known to the the present members. However, he explains that its goal is to maintain "a system of sublime balance" to control the chaotic forces of the nebula which surrounds Sontu with the "perfection" of their machinery. They claim they represent the "emergence of serenity from discord". Arii deduces that Zan is referring to the vast mechanical arms which extend from Sontu, driving the surrounding gas in the nebula into a resonant ring system. Looking again at the asteroids, she realises they all have holes drilled through their centres, making this nebula operate like some sort of vast musical instrument! The asteroids are the source of the etherial chord that fills the planet and the nebula surrounding it. As quickly as he appeared, Zan returns to his Chorus.

One of Arii's friends suggests Arii do a quick scan of the area. While no one's looking, Arii scans the molecular composition of the nebula. While the nebula is composed of mostly molecular hydrogen, she finds an unusally high abundance of other molecules, such carbon monoxide, water and methane. While these molecules are found in nebulas, they are usually very sparse. It's not clear to Arii why this nebula would have accumulated such a high abundance of complex molecules.

In search of more answers as to why Sontu is connected to what happened on Beisa 22 and why Arii has never heard of it in the first place, she heads inside the large temple-like structure.

Once inside, Arii finds herself in a long chamber with walls adorned with acoustic mirrors and what look like musical pipes or horns. The chamber gleams like the exterior of the stucture and the chord playing throughout the nebula seems more intense as it bounces off its walls. The floor is inexplicably covered in rows of golden button-like objects, extending towards a large disc standing on a raised platform at the back of chamber. Zan is waiting inside, despite not appearing to have crosssed Arii as she entered the chamber. He greets Arii again, this time welcoming her to the "Chamber of Shifting Song". He continues by explaining that the Order approaches "imminently the Change of the Chord". Arii interprets this as the Order changing the chord of notes that reverberates in the nebula and chamber halls. The current chord is in the key of "Conis", which is the symbol at the top of the outer edge of the large disc at the back of the chamber. Zan refers to this disc as the "Wheel of Song". He says that Sontu is moving to the "era of Entali and the notes of her chorus", appearing to mean that the chord is going to be changed to a different key. The wheel somewhat resembles a circle of fifths used to construct musical chords by humans, most notibly by using perfect fifths. Zan describes the chamber as a guide to their "new balance" and asks Arii to attempt to find the method of their "perfection".

Arii quickly discerns that the room resembles a some kind of musical instrument and that by standing on the buttons, or keys, on the floor, different notes are played through the pipes on the walls. As she stands on one of the keys, panels in the centre of the Wheel of Song begin lighting up in sequence. After some trial-and-error and deliberation with her companions, Arii finds that the wheel is directing her to follow a course along the keys on floor in order to play the correct combination of notes; Entali and her chorus. Zan congratulates Arii, enigmatically describing the sequences as:

First is the heavenly pair. Second is the grounding centre. Third is the neighbour to the leading voice. And Fourth sits below the heavens.

Zan asks to meet Arii outside and, somewhat perplexed, she follows.

Outside, Zan explains that the Order of Perfect Concordance would be honoured if Arii were to change the song of Sontu. The "song" seems to refer to the chord playing throughout the nebula. He continues by telling Arii that she should look to her work in the chamber for what to do now, and that the "key" is the fountain. Zan departs abruptly, leaving Arii with no time to ask questions. She moves over to the strange fountain, still bubbling with the iridescent fluid dancing to the song of Sontu. Inspecting the five discs around the fountain's base, her and her companions discover that the discs can be rotated both clockwise and anticlockwise. After revisiting the chamber a few times, they find that the disc positions relate to the Wheel of Song and the keys they had to stand on. Once the five discs are set correctly, a loud pulse fills the planet and, for a brief moment, the song of Sontu stops. Then, rising from the silence, the new chord emerges, the chord they had created in the chamber earlier. Zan appears again and announces that a "new era of balance has begun".

After the ceremony, Arii continues to question how Sontu is related to the events on Beisa 22 and, moreover, how it is that she has never heard of the place. It troubles her, as she surely would know about such an remarkable place. The nebula that surrounds Sontu should be in a pretty barren sector of this galaxy. She begins to walk back to Zan to ask more questions, when a deafening explosion followed by the piercing grinding of metal erupts from the planet. The ground shakes under her feet and the crowds start screaming hysterically. Getting up from her feet, Arii tries to calm people down and starts a call to evacuate. Using the Nexus Machine, she views Sontu from above and sees that one of the huge metal arms extending out the of planet has been completely destroyed. The remains of the metal arm float aimlessly in the nebula while the planet groans alongside the ailing mechanism, as if mourning a lost limb. This grinding and creaking replaces the serene chord that had filled the air only a few moments ago. Amongst all the commotion, the monks of the Order are nowhere to be seen. In an effort to find them, Arii runs back into the chamber.

As Arii makes her way back inside the Chamber of Shifting Song, she sees that panels have been opened on the chamber walls, exposing a miriad of controls, buttons and flashing lights. Zan sees Arii and demands that she leave immediately. Evasively, he tells her that his Order's technology is too "mysterious" and beyond her comprehension. Eventually, Arii convinces him to to drop his facade of "mystery" and explain what is happening.

Zan reassures Arii that the Order's reasons for deception are well-intentioned. He turns away and lowers his golden mask revealing nothing underneath but a translucent emerald cloud. This rolling gas is somehow self-contained and autonomous, filling out Zan's robes, giving the illusion of a solid form. Somehow, Zan continues to speak. He explains that everything from the satellite acoustic mirrors to the plaza on Sontu were part of his crew's ship when they arrived at the nebula thousands of years ago. They were attracted to the nebula because of the high levels of molecular matter, which their technology could use for fuel. However, they soon discovered that the nebula was in-fact a single organism; one that ingests molecules as food. In this deserted region of the galaxy, the Nebula had never tasted something as complex as Zan's ship and his crew. It consumed the crew first, but the Nebula was interrupted by one of their ship's alarms. Zan's crew regained some sort of consciousness, despite their physical form having been consumed and transformed into the gaseous substance that comprises the Nebula.

Scared and confused, the crew tried to leave the Nebula while it seemed dormant. However, as soon as they got to the Nebula's edge, crew members started to dissipate and their consciousnesses were lost. Slowly, they accepted that despite having their autonomy, they were part of the nebula. They also discovered that it was the sequence of notes in their ship's alarm that had rendered the Nebula in a state of suspension. The technology of their civilisation centres around resonance and how it can be used to control their environment. This was the origin of the Song of Sontu. Using parts of their ship, Zan's crew was able to create a vast mechanism to placate the Nebula; a way to reverberate sound throughout the system, rendering the whole Nebula inert. In time, they began to see themselves as custodians of the Nebula. Now it had tasted the complexity of life, it may not keep to this quiet area of the galaxy. The crew felt the Nebula's voraciousness, it's hunger. However, Zan's people are a passive civilsation that carry minimal armaments. They would be unable to stop ships from coming across the Nebula and their presence may only encourage curiosity. So, they decided to hide in plain sight. They created a specticle that visitors would dismiss as "vague and esoteric" and question no further. The ceremony around the "Changing of the Chord" was merely disguising the necessity of rotating the chord played by the asteroids in order to keep the Nebula quiescent.

Arii is left reeling from what she has heard. The "Order" literally created a nebula-wide musical instrument. The gas is driven into rings with precise velocities by the rotating arms embedded in Sontu. The required notes are then played by hollowed-out asteroids, which they propel through the gas. The magnitude and ingenuity of their creation astounds Arii, however, she still doesn't understand why Zan's crew would have been out so far in what should be a barren part of this galaxy. Inquiring why they were in this region, Zan reveals that his crew had been hired for a mission in the Actra 5 sector. Their skills with resonance and sonic containment were apparently of particular value to their client. Zan continues by explaining that some ancient and forgotten race had placed an intense infrasonic field in the vicinity of Arctra 5, one that caused panic and madness in all those who approached. Whoever had left this field in place may have created it to convey danger in a way that transcends words or iconography for races in millenia to come. However, Zan's civilisation possessed technology that could nullify the effects of the infrasonic field, allowing them entry into the sector.

Arii is shocked and confused by the involvement of Arctra 5; the banned region of this galaxy and home of False Neuron. She knows this has to be the connection between what happened to her Nexus Machine on Beisa 22 and why the entanglement drive brought her here, to Sontu. Hastily, she asks Zan the specifics of his mission in Arctra 5. He tells her that his crew were to take a sample of something from a planet in the system, something that would require their skills in sonic containment. Zan also implies that they may not have been the only crew tasked with the mission from their client and, given that they never got to Arctra 5, others may have been contracted after their disappearance. Immediately Arii thinks of the crashed ship on Beisa 22. Could that have been another failed mission for this enigmatic client? A crew that had made it to Arctra 5, but had underestimated the danger of their False Neuron samples. The similiarity between the way in which the Nebula and False Neuron consumes matter is also not lost on Arii; the causal connection between here and Beisa 22 is strong, as if the story were echoing throughout the cosmos.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Arii asks how the crew are going to subdue the Nebula before it begins to consume the crowds of visitors out in the plaza. With a resigned tone, Zan says that nothing can be done, that the Nebula is already upon them. His crew can feel its hunger growing inside them and expect their consciousnesses to be dissipated into the Nebula as it devours what remains of them. Running outside into the plaza, Arii sees that the green swirling gas of the Nebula is already descending on Sontu. The crowds continue to cry out in confusion, desperate for escape. Arii runs back inside the chamber and emplores Zan to find some way to stop the Nebula from devouring every soul on Sontu. Exasperated, she asks whether the asteroids are still under the crew's control. Zan confirms that they are, but that they're unable to play the precise notes needed to quell the Nebula without their resonance system controlling the velocity of the gas. There is no way to stop of the Nebula now.

Arii pauses a moment and looks at Zan's crew, still diligently attempting to restart the damaged resonance system. She wonders, given that the Nebula has already descended on Sontu, shouldn't there be some sign of Zan and his crew coming under its control. Determined, she confronts Zan, asking him to consider the possibility that his crew should already have lost their autonomy to the Nebula. Zan is resistent, but Arii persists, arguing that all they feel from the Nebula is hunger, an intelligence far less sophisticated than his crew's. She proposes that Zan's crew retained their consciousnesses not because of the alarm on their ship, but because their minds were far too complex to be unravelled by a creature that only operates on base instincts. Aware that this is a long shot, Arii argues that Zan's crew may be able to control the Nebula, at least briefly, if they allows themselves to dissipate and become one with the organism. Zan is afronted. Such an action would destroy what remained of his and his crew's distinctiveness and autonomy. He also doubts his crew's ability to control such a vast and powerful entity. Arii reminds him of what they have achieved on Sontu; they made a nebula-sized musical instrument and a whole culture just to keep the beings of this galaxy safe. She knows they are more formidable than they think. If they could control the Nebula, they could placate it once again by recreating the resonance system with just their will. Zan and his crew are silent for a moment. He then announces that they have "concordance" and will attempt Arii's plan but may need her assistance. They promise to give her a sign once, and if, they have control. One by one, starting with Zan, the clouds of gas filling the robes of each crew member disperse, leaving their robes to fall to the ground as they rejoin the Nebula. The Order of Perfect Concordance is no more.

Arii runs outside to the plaza once again, this time hardly able to see anything through the dense Nebula, now fully descended on Sontu. There may be only moments now before it begins to feast. Desperately looking a sign, Arii runs up and down the plaza, terrified that this may be the end not only for the crowds on Sontu, but for her. Looking up, she suddenly sees a group of six asteroids, which were previously stationary, move towards each other. The movement is strange and precise. As they come to rest, they arrange themselves into a circle in the sky above Sontu. Arii knows this has to be the sign from Zan and his crew. Then, the asteroids appear to brighten sequentially; one at a time and moving around the circle anticlockwise. Instantly, Arii and her companions recognise this as a portrayal of the Wheel of Song. They are telling her that she needs to move the asteroids into new positions using the discs around the fountain as she did previously. With haste, Arii moves the discs into the correct positions. After a silent pause, a new chord fill the air and the Nebula slowly disappears from the plaza. No longer blinded by the descending gas, the crowds cheer with relief.

Relieved, Arii runs back into the chamber, hoping that by some chance Zan and his crew managed to regain their autonomy from the Nebula. All that remains in the chamber though are the pile of robes left by the crew when they dissipated. It's unknown whether any of them will retain any sense of self now they are one with Nebula. For now, Zan and his crew are nothing but red robes strewn across the floor of a golden chamber used to make music.

As the crowds begin to depart Sontu, Arii quietly departs into her Nexus Machine. Inside, she can't help but think she let Zan and his crew down. As an Ark'torii, she is meant to be a guardian of the Universe; it's her who should have made the ultimate sacrifice. Ordering her thoughts, she speaks to her companions. Despite everything that happened on Sontu, they know its connection to what happened on Beisa 22 when something reached into the Nexus Machine and made changes across the Fray. The connection has to be the mysterious client who instructed Zan's crew to harvest samples of False Neuron. Without their intervention, Zan's crew would never have stumbled upon that Nebula. Sontu would never have existed. It has to have been them who used another failed attempt to acquire False Neuron to trick Arii into allowing them access to the Nexus Machine on Beisa 22.

Arii has no idea where all these threads of alterations to the Fray lead to; who or what is waiting at the end of this causal trail. What event could this race have altered to reverberate and echo through the Fray like this? This client though, this mysterious race that instructed Zan's crew, Arii has a feeling that their hunger will make the nebula's look mild by comparison.