by Lawrence
M. Schoen 
Read by Graeme Dunlop 
Originally Published in the Footprints anthology 
Introduced by Norm Sherman of the
Drabblecast
None of the first generation of Krenn
had lived long enough to reach the site, though none had expected to.
The very first Krenn had conceived of this journey in the distant past,
dedicating his life and his posterity to the pilgrimage with an ever
recycling population of clones. Like their clone-father, each was an
optimized collection of smart matter no bigger than a speck. Hundreds
of generations of Krenn had lived and died during the voyage, their
remains enshrined into niches in the very walls of the vessel that now
lay shattered at its destination.
The survivors flooded out upon the
steppes of the heel, rejoicing despite the crushing weight that gravity
forced upon them. They settled in, constructing
mansions of haze and shadow, and waited for enlightenment to come. The
mission and purpose of the first Krenn remained with each of them. This
place had been the site of the greatest triumph of the greatest archaeocaster
in all of history. Before the beginning of the quest, Krenn—the original
Krenn—had felt drawn to it. He had cultivated the tales, sifted myth
from coincidence, mastered the lost language of the interview-eschewing,
spatial curmudgeons of the ancient dark times, and recreated the route
through dimensional puzzles to this theoretical location. The odds of
success had been so absurd not a single entelechy of Krenn's crèche
dared invest time or expense in the project. And yet, here they were,
nearly three hundred unique individuals sharing the template of Krenn.
Rated PG for Space Exploration and Looking
into the Abyss

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