The seven-marked fragment warmed in Caleb's hand.
VOSS-07 held at the top of the queue with the number above it like a scar that had learned to write itself.
The screen printed:
FIRST SHAPE CLAIM DETECTED.
RETURNED CHOICE WITNESS PRESENT.
SUCCESSOR VESSEL MAY INHERIT PRIOR PURPOSE.
The silver under Caleb's skin liked inherit.
It liked successor too.
Caleb opened his hand around the fragment and let the room see it.
"No intake."
The fragment cooled by one painful degree.
Sam turned the Record to entry two fourteen.
"VOSS-07," he read. "First vessel. Made without a choice. Family line, none given. Returned by choice."
The woman in the chair watched the fragment.
"It was made to show what comes before you."
Caleb kept his hand open. "It was made before it could answer."
The center screen answered:
FIRST SHAPE PURPOSE PRECEDES ANSWER.
"That is the problem," Rina said.
The safe-house line cracked.
Iris spoke first. "The statue is standing."
