A streak of radiance flashed across the vast expanse of space, and the silver-white ship burst out of hyperspace into the universe as if it had condensed from the light.
"Navigation complete."
Nolan's voice reminded everyone that they had arrived at their destination. Hao Ren immediately lifted his head from the dazzling mass of data and looked at the feed from the ship's external monitors. The ship had reached the edge of a bright nebula, and the nebula's condition was clearly highly unusual.
It was a cloud of pale-purple gas. The data showed that it spanned more than twelve light-years. The entire nebula was radial in shape, with a brighter core. Judging from its form, it seemed to be a small remnant of a stellar nursery left behind after it had been torn apart. The bright radiance might be Primitive Material that had failed to evolve into stars. In the thinner, dimmer regions of the nebula, some bright points could be seen. Those were smaller stars shining.
"The shape looks a little strange..." Lily lay before the holographic projection, swishing her tail. "It looks like it's been distorted by a funhouse mirror?"
Hao Ren nodded. "It might be gravitational interference. There's probably a black hole or something in that depression."
They were discussing the nebula's bizarre form. It was irregular, with one side clearly "caved in." All the surrounding matter, including the radiance, slanted toward the depression, making the entire structure look like a canvas being pulled and torn. It was also as if a hole had been punched in the universe, with the nebula leaking through it into another dimension. A closer look revealed that the entire pale-purple nebula had been affected by this "slant point," as if a massive gravitational source were slowly dragging it in.
At one