[Cyril]

"How long?" Ophelia asked as our newest family addition, Nyx, not yet one season old, slept peacefully in her arms.

"Soon." I answered, seated in a rickety wooden chair at the controls. "We are almost in alignment."

At five cycles to the day since the Gods Fall, it was a fitting time to announce our presence to the Cosmos. It took me nearly two cycles to build a tight-beam radio transmitter based on specifications from the Ark Library. Half of the village was here to witness this historic event.

We did not expect an immediate reply to our message. In fact, it would be a very long time, if ever. Over twenty cycles would pass before the message even reached Earth, or eight to the Paradise colony.

Little Pedar, named after my father, let out an impatient whine and wriggled in my lap. Not being one to be confined, he slid through my arm to the floor and bolted toward the open door with a 'come and catch me' grin on his face. I pointed at the escaping toddler and called out to his Aunt, "Selene, would you?"

The little boy giggled in delight as Selene scooped him up and laid him over her shoulder like a sack of grain, a very squirmy sack at that. Ever since Pedar learned to run, he rarely stopped. Selene knew our children from the start, being the one who delivered them. She had become well known as a skilled Healer, using some of the amazing medical technology rediscovered on the Ark.

I wished Kit was here. But she and Dash were out guiding a group of immigrants and scholars coming from the Lands, the last batch of this cycle before winter weather closes the Piso Dráckos Mountains pass. Kit had grown to be a strong woman with the spirit of an explorer. Next warm season she plans to map unknown portions of this world.

Ophelia came to my side and winked at me, slowly rocking our daughter in her arms. Between juggling babies and me, she studied at the Ark Library, what we called the extensive collection of information that the Ark contained. She would teach the teachers, then send them back to the Lands to pass on the knowledge and technology they learned.

Unfortunately, the news that Kit brought back from her last trip was not good. Rival groups fought for power, and there were talks of impending war. Many refused to accept the truth of the Gods Fall, clinging to the false religion even as the Seers lost their connections. People aligned into clans, many of them self-serving and oppressive. I suppose when people choose their own destiny, they did not always make wise choices. We cannot blame the Gods for all our troubles.

"What is it?" Ophelia asked, apparently noticing a pensive look on my face.

"Oh, nothing," I responded as I stood. "Just thinking back." I kissed baby Nyx on the forehead and Ophelia on the lips, then announced to the gathered crowd in a loud voice. "It is time." Turning to Tamir, the senior village magistrate, I said, "Would you like to do the honors?"

He shook his head with a grin. "You built this strange contraption. Might as well go all the way with it."

With a nod, I stooped before the cobbled collection of wires that connected to a transmitting dish outside and flipped a switch. A blinking yellow light and brief hum announced its operation. That was it, not very exciting.

"It is done." I said to the quieted crowd.

"What did the message say?" someone asked.

"Well," I replied, "It said, in so many words, we are here."