“She waited barefoot beneath the great reflector for the Kyprian to come and take her to the outer sands. She didn’t scream when they came, she didn’t cry, she simply faded away in silence. I woke to the eye shining through the lattice of my shanty. I could hear Bendo gnawing on the blades of grass outside. Minosh had told me she was sure many more species existed before the Kyprian arrived but only a few survived the induction of gold.”
