>Gunderson: humanoid fish people?

>Leighton: Ever hear of the aquatic ape hypothesis? It's not unbelievable.

>Gunderson: pseudoscience

>Gunderson: anyway this thing is fucking smart

>Gunderson: in case either of you missed that it just hypothesised our evolutionary ancestors to use as an analogy

>Gunderson: i propose an information quarantine on the other side

>Leighton: Approved. Malomer, start the arrangements as soon as you're through.

Before long, the 13 minutes and 49 seconds are up. The team lines up, ready to march through.

The Pandora Gate does not open.

"I hate these Gates," Malomer mumbles.

"Stay calm, we're still within standard tolerances for delays and drift. At worst, we'll be camped out here for a week until the next opening window in the schedule."

And then the cage shifts and separates, twisting back as though to present the naked singularity as green lightning washes over it in sheets, and the team moves forward as one on well-rehearsed instinct.

The gem takes its place in the rehearsed dance, and steps through on cue.

If this is how it dies, well, it's been fun.

There's a subjective instant of perfect darkness.

- countless branching paths, countless points of light distributed along vast filaments -

And then they're all through. On the other side of the singularity, the Martian Gate is barely visible beneath the superstructure of diagnostic tools and security installations around it, only glimpses of the angular black arms can be seen. Even inside the spherical cage that holds the singularity, there are interior walls fabricated by Pathfinder that include shaped charges, sensors, and rails to allow bulk freight.

The team emerges onto a platform that rotates around beneath them so that the next Gate connection can be made with as little delay as possible. Colourful patterns on the floor light up to indicate the route through to the quarantine facility. The air hums with EM signals being exchanged, there are giant electric motors beneath the floor, multiple redundant generators distributed throughout the facility, billions of credits of transhuman technology all set to the task of using the Martian Gate to make trillions. For Leighton, it's inspiring. For Gunderson, it's overwhelming. For Malomer, it's just another day on the job.

Welcome to Mars.

The gem basks in the radiance of all this energy!

It is growing bigger and sturdier and more sure-footed with every step.