In the end, the choice was never a choice. Eleonore had so much left to, so much she had failed to accomplish. The power to change that was something she could not pass up.

The place that Finn guided her to was unlike any space she’d been to before. There’s nothing natural about it. The lighting is flat and omnipresent, the walls soaring up towards a ceiling she could not even see. The atmosphere was comfortable, neither hot nor cold. Regardless she felt unnerved by the location. Eleonore sometimes expected to get lost in the flat whiteness, as though it was a blizzard and never find her way back out.

“It’s to give you some drive,” Finn said, when Eleonore remarked on her uneasiness. “You wanna get out of here, right? Then come up with something and we can all get out into the great out there.” He waved his hand, burdened with silver rings and dotted with faded black ink, at some unseen beyond.

Eleonore raised her eyebrow. “That seems exploitative.”

Finn barked a laugh. “You’d be entirely correct lass.” He brought her a cup of tea and Eleonore was left to think about making things.

• Bluesky