Before they set out, Miles finally met the newly awakened Gateway in another truck.
"Hello, Mr. Gateway."
Miles studied the old man before him and said with some emotion, "Come to think of it, I believe this is the first time we've actually met."
Gateway was in very poor health. After helping Miles open a portal a second time, he had been resting ever since, and only now had he recovered a little of his strength.
He was an Australian man who looked exceedingly old, his dark brown skin covered in wrinkles, his cheeks gaunt and his cheekbones slightly prominent. Short, gray-white hair lay in a disheveled tangle against his forehead. He wore a loose, old cloak over simple, coarse clothing, with a few faded bone ornaments and wooden pendants visible around his wrists and neck.
He really was ancient, so frail that a gust of wind seemed capable of knocking him down. Under their current travel plans, he was among those who needed to be taken to Oasis to recuperate.
The old man sat quietly, watching Miles through slightly clouded eyes. He opened his mouth but made no sound, slowly forming a gesture instead.
"What does that mean?" Miles asked, puzzled.
"It's the sign language his tribe once used in their rituals," Cable explained beside him. "He's wishing you smooth sailing."
"Oh... thank you."
Miles paused, then nodded. After some hesitation, he asked, "This may be a little presumptuous, but there's something I need to confirm with you... can you still open another portal?"
"No, I'm not asking you to do it right away. I mean as an emergency measure under extreme circumstances in the future..."
Miles forced himself to explain.
This was something he had to confirm. Of course he knew that asking anything of a dying old