“I have never seen the Omnipod act like this,” Muthr said, reading the slew of information displayed on the screen. “Let us get closer.”

With Eva driving the Goldfish, Muthr navigated the group down the large slope of the dune toward the ruins. As they approached, Eva realized that the corroded spires were gigantic, towering high above them into the afternoon sky. Hordes of turnfins swooped around them and flitted about among the spires. Their chattering had risen to quite a din as the explorers had traveled down the sandy pathways.

Eva felt a tickle in the back of her brain. She glanced back at Otto and Rovender.

“What is it?” Muthr watched Eva.

“It’s Otto.” Eva closed her eyes for second, trying to get a better read on him. “He’s uneasy for some reason. Something is bothering him. . . . It could just be all of these birds.”

“And I am sure he is anxious to reunite with his herd,” Muthr said.

“You’re probably right. I bet he can’t hear their song with all of this racket.” She focused on driving, still not quite at ease. Eva guided the craft under the remnants of a magnificent steel archway. “So, what’s the Omnipod say?”

Muthr continued to read the charts displayed by the device. “Well, according to this, there may actually be some sort of computer system online here.”

Eva’s eyes went large. “Are you serious?”

“I would say it is improbable, but judging from what we are seeing, it appears to be so,” Muthr said as Eva brought the Goldfish around the crumbling remains of a building. She continued, “The signal is weak. It is coming from an underground source.”

“A Sanctuary!” Eva’s pulse quickened.

“I will not be able to tell for sure until we investigate,” Muthr said, studying the location of the signal.

Eva picked at the skin around her thumbnail while she held the steering yoke tightly. As they journeyed past the remnants of a still-standing tower, she looked over at the Omnipod. “Does it . . . Does it detect any others like me? Any humans?”

“At this point, no,” Muthr said, her eyes still on the device. “But that does not mean we will not find any sort of clues here.” They approached a pair of similarly shaped lichen-encrusted rocks, and Muthr said, “Stop here, Eva! This is the place.”

“Rovee!” Eva shouted as she parked the Goldfish. “Over here!”

“We are on our way,” Rovender shouted back as he and Otto rounded the path to join them.

“According to this,” Muthr said as she exited the vehicle with the Omnipod, “there is a faint signal coming from directly below us. Though the Omnipod is not very accurate at detecting subterranean elements.”

Eva stepped out of the Goldfish onto a wide, flat half-submerged rock. “Hey, Rovee, is it okay to walk around? Are there any sand-snipers here?”