Distant Gaze

Wei He changed his shoes, crossed the living room, went up to the second floor, and entered the study.

A huge circular colored map hung on one wall of the study.

As he passed the map, he paused, his gaze settling on it.

After thinking for a moment.

"Terminal, wirelessly connect to the study map display."

Beep beep. After two soft sounds.

The map on the wall flickered, gradually turning completely black.

'Map connection successful. Based on your permissions, you may access the Star System's highest-level map database.'

'Please select a starting point.'

The electronic female voice spoke continuously.

"Starting point: Olga Star."

Whoosh!

In an instant, the circular map, two meters in diameter, flickered from black, and a blue planet the size of a fist emerged at its center.

A line of text on the right identified it: Olga Star.

Immediately afterward, Milo, the massive star ten times the size of Olga Star, appeared around it.

Then came the other planets, including 184 and 228.

All the planets orbited Milo Star, forming elliptical orbital rings.

"Display the full extent of the Empire," Wei He tried ordering.

In truth, he did not know whether he possessed that authority.

'Loading.'

The female voice replied.

Immediately afterward.

The Olga Star System began to recede and shrink, going from filling the entire map to the size of a watermelon, then an apple, then a sesame seed, until it was nearly invisible.

The densely packed Star Systems around it also appeared on the map.

One Star System after another, like disks of different colors, densely filled the surrounding space, too numerous to count.

Moreover, they too were rapidly shrinking.

When they first appeared, these Star Systems were the size of cherries. In less than a second, they shrank into specks of light, the size