Umbe kept on the margin, close to Meknáni. Ever since the Recognition Mission in the fluctuating asteroid-belt world of Kámna, east of the Boor colonies on the outskirts of the lower galactic ring, where the Oombyr had saved his life, there had been a reserved, but unbreakable bond between them. He teased him at times, but was never unkind. And now Umbe could vouch that as long as Meknáni was in sight, chances of ever reaching Umbar again were significant. How long that would take, however, was an entirely different question.

"We cannot both remain here and choose a path," said Uiio.

"But if we distance ourselves–" Arít began.

"How can we distance ourselves if we find ourselves in a fluid reality?" Sakna-Sa interposed. "Theoretically, the very thought might have elongated this"–she pointed around–"space indefinitely by algorithms we do not yet ascertain."

"True," assented Menior. "Which is why our choices ought to be reached calmly, limiting potential variables to a minimum."

"What do you mean," asked Maýla-i; "that every time we think a thought we alter the shape of this reality?"

Both Menior and Sakna-Sa nodded.

"Exactly," said the former mentor in the Architect's Temple. "Consider this," she carried on: "in the type of reality we are familiar with, there are fixed structures, both physical and non-physical, such as scientific facts, that enable us to have a coherent view of said reality; but, in theory, a fluid reality lacks these components, having dynamic thought-mass instead, a term used to define the ever-shifting reality produced by the sum of thoughts of the sum of its components."

"We're fabricating spacetime," Uiio drew the conclusion. "But to what degree?"

Sakna-Sa shook her head mildly. "That cannot be determined, for a fixed answer would imply a fixed structure, which is, by very definition, impossible."

"But we are fixed," argued Uiio, and they pondered upon her words. "We are the fixed structures inside this fluid reality. What does that mean?"

Arít asked, "Might it mean that this is not a fluid reality – or, can there be non-fluid components in a fluid spacetime?"

"Water's fluid, fish are not," Menior retorted.

"True," Arít agreed. "However, fish do not bend and alter their fluid environment according to their thoughts."

After a momentary pause, Menior responded, "Very well. There are two possibilities worth considering. One is that our thoughts affect this spacetime; the other is that they don't. We ought to exclude neither and find the middle way between them."

"We might or might not alter this place," Uiio summed up.

They agreed on that.

"In case we could, we do not know how," she continued.

They assented to that aspect as well.

Silence. Then she continued. "This place is fluid. Our whereabouts have changed, but is this space expanding indefinitely by default," she turned, a bluish flicker across her pale blue eyes and sandy hair, "or does it also shrink?"

The thought made Umbe struggle for breath and he leaned down, hands above the knees, drawing rhythmic breaths alternating with sighs.

"Perhaps silence would do Umbe some good," suggested Sakna-Sa, and Umbe was receiving support to overcome the panic attack.

"We've lost it," came a faint voice after a while. They all recognized it as Umbe's.

"What have we lost?" inquired Sakna-Sa.

"The rope system that connected us to the surface ground," Umbe replied. "Without it, we are lost. We'll be here forever." He drew a trembling gulp of air in. "Or much less, for we're not as fluid as to not starve or dehydrate."

Menior approached. "Remember the exercise in the Architect's Temple," he asked, "where you were given three geometric figures to gain access out of a room? What were they?"

Umbe tried to focus. "Um. A cone, a cube, and an icosidodecahedron."

"Very well. Do you remember what the solution was?"

Longer breaths in, Umbe answered, "Spreading them out and creating a replica of the confinement, whereby gaining insight of its most probable position within the edifice and inferring, based on standard architectural models, that the room I was in was on the eastern facet – consequently facing the sea – and that it was situated on the second floor, which made option 4D the most viable: escaping through the window."

"And was your insight accurate?" Menior asked.

Umbe nodded. His breath had become noiseless again.

"Good. And you could infer all that based on knowledge previously attained, but unavailable at that time, is that so?"

"Yes."

"However great the examination strain."

A new nod.

"Consider this an examination as well," Menior suggested.

Umbe lifted his eyes.

"We have limited knowledge of our surroundings," the Savier explained, "but also previous teachings that we can use as reference points, just as you did at your exam."

Umbe stood up, drawing his shoulders up.

"Now, since we are fixed and our surroundings, fluid," he carried on, "we can consider ourselves the axis of this new world. Let us regard it as an indefinitely large chamber adjacent to a fixed reality – that is the world outside, where Umbar is. We are part of that fixed reality and in being so, we are still linked to it – do we agree?"

Pensive nods all around.

"So we are not lost, nor separate from it. We are one, and this fluid physicality is interposing only at the level of perception. Our task, therefore, by remaining calm, is to disempower its effect on our perception. Once we solve that, our very nature will be drawn to a similar one: Mé, and after that, the world outside this space."