THE Opportunity’s inner air lock door was closed. When the other three had joined Cherry in the airlock, the exterior door slid shut too. The chamber was small, about the size of the elevators on the Nova, and the surfaces were the same pearly white the exterior had been a few moments ago. The walls were also wet and water puddled on the floor.
The four companions floated in close proximity, not making eye contact or talking. No security panels or door locks could be seen anywhere. Cherry had a brief flash of panic that this was how the threads expected them to travel to the Assembly, but then the interior door opened.
Balmy air flooded out from inside the ship. Cherry instantly began to sweat. Why had the threads made the atmosphere so hot?
Beyond the airlock was a bigger chamber that
