“Uncharted lands,” Rovender answered as he rubbed his whiskers. “These beamguides work simply by communicating with other beamguides buried in numerous locations. This is as far as Solas’s explorers have recorded.”

“What’s that?” Eva pointed to a small, flat depression in the map. It was located halfway between their current location and their destination at the ancient ruins.

“It looks like a small body of water, perhaps even an oasis.” Rovender knelt close to get a better look.

“Well, we could certainly use more water.” Muthr rolled over to inspect it. “And it does not seem far off from our projected course.”

“No, it doesn’t.” Rovender stood with his eyes still fixed on the landmark. He peered out into the landscape toward its direction. “I wonder if that’s where these turnfins came from.”

“Let’s find out,” Eva said, handing the cube back.

“Okay, Eva Nine.” Rovender climbed up onto Otto. “Lead the way.”

Rovender sat high atop Otto, enjoying his lunch and feeding turnfins, as the giant water bear trailed behind the Goldfish. Everywhere Eva looked it seemed the turnfins were about, swooping and squawking—like the holograms she’d seen of crying gulls as they followed ocean-bound ships.

Eva navigated the craft up toward the crest of an ashen gray linear dune. “Muthr, what do you think we will find at the ruins?” she asked.

Muthr was silent, save for her clicking eyelids, as she seemed to process Eva’s question.

“I do not know, Eva, dear.” Muthr looked out at the horizon. Little lights flickered on the back of her head. “To be truthful, we are so beyond the limits of my programming that I have had to continually reprogram myself as we continue our journey.”

Eva glided the Goldfish over the crest of the dune, and down the slip face. “I feel like I’ve had to reprogram myself too. No holography chamber prepared me for this.”

Muthr nodded. “I have to wonder what our makers had in mind when they put us on this planet. It can be such a volatile environment.”

“You’ve got that right.” Eva chuckled and steered the hovercraft up the next windward slope. “But it is beautiful, too.”

“I agree, but honestly, none of our programs were accurate.” Muthr let out a static sigh. “I feel like I failed you, Eva.”

Eva looked over at Muthr. With her head looking down at her wire-veined hands, the robot appeared to be despondent.

“You didn’t fail. And it’s going to be okay,” Eva said, patting Muthr’s hand. “We’ll go to this place and see if we can’t find some clues, or even other humans. And, if we don’t, we’ll keep searching . . . right?”

“Right,” Muthr repeated. “I just want you to know that I am so very proud of you, Eva. I believe in you. I believe that we are doing the right thing.”