229 Record

The Sanctuary Bubble was several tens of kilometers in diameter and had the appearance of an enormous drop of liquid mercury. Its surface texture undulated and distorted like the surface of an ocean under the influence of currents and winds.

The Oracle Guardian that guided them finally slowed down until they were close to their starting pace. Like an airliner guided through an airport, he sailed among the millions of Players until he found a vast open space that seemed to have been reserved for them from the start.

Upon arriving at their destination, Jake expected to meet all sorts of more or less human aliens in the neighboring groupings, but he was startled to find that he was able to recognize some of the languages. Some of the participants were chatting in English, Chinese, or Spanish. All kinds of languages that he did not speak, but whose sounds he recognized. Of course there were extraterrestrial languages, but not that many.