Part Four

Yatima glanced hopefully at the star they’d called Weyl. If it wasn’t the last link in the chain, it had to be close. "Eight and a half centuries later, the Diaspora reached Swift. From there, you know as much as I do."

Paolo said, "Forget Swift. What about Orpheus?"

"Orpheus?"

"Just because your clone didn’t wake there—"

Yatima laughed. "It’s got nothing to do with that. Do you think an ancient, space-faring civilization will want to hear about every last novelty we’ve encountered in our travels?"

Paolo was unswayed. "We wouldn’t be here, if it wasn’t for Orpheus. Orpheus changed everything."