It seemed such a simple step, a motion more of the mind than of the body. I remember so clearly the feel of the ground against my back, the smell of the incense that the savages always used on their spiritual journeys. I never had believed in such superstitions, the knowledge of sciences had always served me well -- all 12 of the Seraphim were watching over me, especially Ezekial, the Seraph of Electricity. I, however, had come to the savages for help, and so I had let them have their rituals to appease their own minds.

I remember the boy putting the monitor, blank and unspeaking despite all my sciences, beside my head. I could hear the slight disturbing rattle of bits of metal from inside, bones of things shaken loose by the weather of time. The feel of my back faded, as did the smell of stinking herbs, as I dreamed of what that box must once have held, knowledges and sciences that would shake the world forever.

In my mind I saw the screen come to life, Ezekial filling it with a humming sound, a buzz so soft that only the subtle ear could hear. A hand was upon the screen, above words in the Old Tongue. The hand was my hand, and I moved it over the words that were illumed in blue, the color of Ezekial's science. The finger moved, and my mind washed away in a river of light.

I have walked a thousand worlds, I have seen a thousand things that are lost to my people and the savages both. I have learned things that could shake the mind to its roots. But in my mind it remains locked, for I have never found my way back after that first click sent me down the electron river.

-- From the Words of Maxim Jordain, Keeper lost in the River of Dream.