"Adomas, there's something wrong with Fabricator 5."
He slid into the seat, feeling its cushions fold around him as the mind-bridge warmed up, preparing for the transfer. "Oh?"
"Says that there's an obstruction. Either a shipment fell into the corona or the assembler's melted."
There was no time for a response, his mind was already flitting away to the crystal fractals of the sun-scourer. By his perception, the movement was fast; the scourer had to be built of sturdy enough stuff to survive at the intersection of the Jewel and the sun's corona, so the mind-host was slower than most. Something about jumping into it bothered him; like he was wasting time. Of course, death was just a legacy.
He'd grown up on Jupiter, in the rough and tumble spirals of a habitat that hardly had enough air and water to fight over. That was eighty years ago. His mind had gotten him out, taken him from body to body and planet to planet.
Now he was building the Solars their paradise. A shiny gem for humanity's crown, a celebration of their accomplishment. He looked directly into the corona of the sun, as much as he could with the scourer's limited sensors. It flowed as if it were living, energy rippling across the surface. He clung to the spindle of the habitat, making his way toward the assembler. If he fell, the scourer would last just long enough to send his mind back the way it came. A perk of being non-expendable.
One of the indentures had fallen in a week before, and he'd been skipping the mandatory backups. Unfortunately, he was in a shell without the emergency transmitter. It would've cost the company a lot of money, had he not been in breach of contract. As it stood, it was a small tragedy, but entirely preventable.
Adomas didn't think too hard about that. He looked for the assembler. He should have been able to see it now, but he couldn't. He sent a message back.
[[There's nothing out here. Assembler's gone.]]
"Odd, we're still getting a signal. Check closer."
The end of the spur shimmered. He climbed up dark-side to get a better look. Part of Fabricator 5 still clung to the superstructure. Beyond it floated something: a rock of some sort. That was odd: it should have been ejected by the energy or drawn in by gravity. From the looks of things, it had consumed the assembler unit and part of the fabricator.
[[Looks like there's a rock. Not sure what it did to the fabricator, though.]]
"Pardon?"
He reached out, diamond fractals approaching the stone. It had a faint pink glow, as if the light were struggling to shine through a layer of dust.
The light was blinding. He thought he had fallen, the stone in his hands, into the sun. Then he realized that he should not have hands, and the light subsided to the void.
The stone still floated in front of him, tethered to him. He merely observed the cord linking it to his body, following it back to his navel. It wasn't like the last time he died. He reached out for it, his fingers growing longer as they developed. The stone detached, floating away, and he realized in terror that it was the only thing he could see. He clutched at it, trying to place his hand around it before it was out of reach.
Then he saw the woman. She nudged it back toward him, and he closed his hand around it.
"Who are you?"
"Don't you know me? We've met before."
He couldn't prove her wrong, even though his mind raced to think of anywhere that he'd recall her face from. His form, while fully developed, was still merely human.
Pandora. The name flooded into his mind, filling up his consciousness. Beneath him he saw the void become water, above him the stars ignited in glory. Adomas held his breath as the ground ascended around him, and life sprang up all around them.
He saw himself standing with Pandora, yet they stood apart. He knew the rest of the story from here.
"I offer you nothing but knowledge, Adomas. It's your choice whether or not to take it."
"What if I do?"
Pandora's voice was a half-whisper. "The ones who arise after you will be wicked."
The stone hung in the air in front of him, now red and shiny like an apple. He reached out for it, bit into it. The Garden fell away from him, and he knew he could never see it again.
"Mind, spirit, body. Don't forget that the three are one."
The gates unfolded into gates like petals of a flower opening up to receive the sun. He stepped out of the chamber, the gold filigree beneath his feet giving way to silver and then to night. He turned around and watched himself go back and forth, memorizing the process. Each movement, each shift. The distillation, separation, the projection; they all etched themselves in his mind.
He was lost and had to find his way home. Further and further the gates kept on opening, taking him far away. Adomas could feel his mind drifting away, his body fading. They had been left behind. They fell into the sun. Reduced to atoms of carbon and tungsten. He became air, pushing himself away.
Blood rushed over him, the foundations of his life that had been lost. He found home in sulfur and fire, drawing himself into it. He drew out the pentagram, bounding it within circles. It had become second nature to him. Pandora guided his fingers as they drew the diagram. The stone burned in his chest, starting to beat a slow rhythm.
He realized that without it he would have been gone. Instead, he could feel new flesh sprouting around him, a new body for a changed spirit.
When he stepped through the doorway, he recognized the twists of the tunnel instantly. He caught a reflection of himself in the glimmering light, and he knew that he was home.
Pandora stood beside him, her approval clear in the resting lines of her face.
"Go forth and teach the ignorant."