Emma-the-second was forty-seven when she discovered the hidden structure.
It was buried deep in Kepler-442b's crust. Three kilometers below Singular Commune's surface. Hidden. Deliberate. Ancient. Built nine hundred years ago by someone who'd known extinction was coming. Someone who'd prepared for it. Someone who'd created something to outlast singularity itself.
The structure was massive. City-sized. Built from materials that wouldn't decay for millions of years. Powered by planet's geothermal energy. Self-maintaining. Automated. Designed to function long after its creators were gone.
Emma-the-second descended into the structure with excavation team. Fifteen singular humans exploring what their ancestors had built. What someone had hidden. What had been waiting for them to find it.
