Mad at Mouse Part 21

There used to be a whole lot more travel between the Worlds.

I’m not just talking about when I was active, because back then we didn’t have a lot of ships. Those we did had, went to the War. Travelling, when I was young, was a matter of finding a gap and flinging yourself through the dark, or the madness.

It wasn’t something done lightly. People did it. But there was always the chance something would go wrong.

I know taking the pathways is dangerous, but I do it anyway.

My first memory was the Mirror paths. I grew up in the pathways.

But that isn’t important. What is?

There used to be a whole lot more travel between the Worlds.

A thousand years ago there were hundreds of Worlds who reached out for the stars.

A hundred years ago that number had been reduced to a few dozen.

Today? There are no fleets, there are a few traders, but most of those stick to a few known planets.

It didn’t make sense. Why had the fleets retreated? Why had people stopped yearning for the stars?

I stepped out on a World I knew once had a fleet, had once expanded out to several nearby Worlds.

It was in ruins.

I listened and watched.

There was no sound, no movement, no wind.

The World was dead.

I walked.

If there was Heartless I didn’t see them. I didn’t see anyone.

There was a thin layer of dust over everything.

The people were gone. Dust in the wind.

I found a library. It had a rack of newspapers and magazines which I briefly scanned through. What had happened here?

There was fear. Terror. People had been afraid. The Fleet had been called home.

I don’t know what happened here. I don’t know but I can guess.

I hope I’m wrong.