“I don’t know its name. But we were on a world that apparently belonged to your people a long time ago.”

He seemed overwhelmed and needed a moment to gather himself. “I am sorry, but are you talking about one of the other planets in this system?”

“No. It is several light-years away. We found—” He stopped in midsentence, realizing that a light-year might be an unfamiliar term, and in any case, depending on the length of their year, a different distance. “It was in a different star system.”

“I have no idea what we are speaking of. This is the only world which we’ve inhabited. In the distant past, we established stations and even a colony in this planetary system, but that has been the extent of our reach.”

“That is strange, Shalon.”

“Why do you say that?”

“On the world that I’m talking about, there is a statue in front of one of the buildings.” Derek had to be smiling. “It is one of your people.”

Shalon’s eyes took on a tolerant gaze. “If you say so. I wish I could have been there with you.”

“How far back does your history go?”

“The first cultures we know of appeared several thousand years ago.” Shalon rearranged himself in his seat. “How old is your culture?”

“About the same.” Derek cleared his throat. “Have you any legends, myths, about how everything started?”

“We do. At one time, according to the sacred texts, we lived on an island. There is much debate about its location. Even which ocean it was in. There was an eruption of some sort and the island began to sink.”

“And what happened then?”

Shalon laughed. “The gods came in and saved us. But let’s move on to more significant matters.”

“Of course. Tell me, do you have the technology that would allow you to travel to other stars?”

“Not any longer. We haven’t had that kind of capability for a long time. Haven’t for generations.”

Again Tasha spoke to Hutch: “I made up ‘generations.’ Not familiar with the term he used. It could have been ‘centuries’ or ‘ages.’ ”

“What happened?” asked Derek. He sounded surprised.

“I’m not sure.” Shalon looked confused. It was an unsettling moment. “But it was during the imperial ages. If you’re thinking we came originally from another star, had that kind of technology, and then lost it all, that simply doesn’t stand with the facts. We’ve only had electricity for a thousand years.”

“But the island—”

“Adjuban is a myth. Obviously.”

“Adjuban is the island?”

“Yes.”

For a long moment, both were silent. “Do you,” said Derek, “know any details about them? About the gods in the story?”

Shalon was smiling again. “Not really. We have legends, but they contradict one another.”

“Shalon, do you know about the black hole?”

“What is a black hole?”

“A collapsed star. So heavy it rips apart anything it gets close to.”