“I think,” Jakob Zimmer mused, “that these are meant to be our living quarters, one for each of us. The body-adapting ‘chairs’ on which we arrived molded themselves to our individual shapes.” He gestured at the interior of the room they were scrutinizing. “The pods on the shuttle vessel that Gavin referred to were of uniform size and only changed when we sat in them.” He indicated the chamber. “These here are all of differing size and dimension. They may have different functions from those on the shuttle. We should each of us experiment with the ones in our respective rooms and then assemble to share what we learn.” He smiled at his wife. “We will also have to explain to Vantolos why Chiasa and I only require one such habitation.”

“If they are habitations.” Pavesi was not yet convinced. “Maybe they’re all ejection ports, like Vantolos hinted.” Her expression was grim. “Maybe some of them are for freeze-drying fresh food. Or cooking it.”

Pessimist though he was, Reed did not agree with her this time. “If they’re unhappy with our presence, why have us eject ourselves? Or cook ourselves?”

“Cultural imperatives?” Katou-Zimmer’s suggestion was not well received.

Dev took a deep breath and started to step into the chamber. “Well, we won’t learn anything standing out here wondering why we shouldn’t be in there. I’ll go first.”

A hand came down on his shoulder. “Why you?”

Dev looked up at Reed. “I feel that it is part of my job description.” The big man grudgingly removed his hand.

Nothing happened when Dev entered the room. But when he turned to wave encouragingly at his colleagues, the portal through which he had entered vanished, leaving a solid wall in its place. It took him several increasingly anxious attempts, dragging one finger across the incongruously soft material, to make the portal reappear. Concerned faces gazed back at him.

“Okay,” he murmured. “Easy open, easy close. Just run a finger across the right spot. Some practice required.”

Zimmer nodded encouragingly. “Well done, Devali.” He turned his attention to Pavesi and Reed. “We should all go begin our own explorations, in our own rooms.” With his wife beside him, he started up the corridor.

Left to his own devices, Dev closed the ‘door’ to his chamber and moved to the largest of the cup-pods. Set on the floor near one wall, it was larger than the one that had transformed into a seat on the shuttle. Cautiously, he leaned into it and gently began running a finger around the black interior.

A minute or so of this tactile experimentation produced a soft popping sound. Like a rubbery balloon, the pod expanded in all directions, forcing a startled Dev to jump back. When the pod had finished expanding, he found himself staring at …