FILE 2
Mr. Dolly's Game II
The geology of Talos-II... unlike the volcanoes she knew, brimming with the vitality of expansion, eruption, and flow. Under erosion, it showed more of corrosion, withering, and consumption. The rock layers lost their logic, the earth as if diseased. Its skin peeled away, veins twisted, some areas warped by aberration.
Ardelia came to study the Blight, to keep pace with its unpredictable spread. She often ventured into high-risk zones alone, turning her life into lists of tasks.
She started to speak less, no longer weaving her thoughts into poetry. Her voice grew quieter, meals were often forgotten, and at night her fists clenched unconsciously in her sleep. The things she had fought so hard to protect — her eyes, her ears, the rhythm of her pulse, now filled her with a quiet unease. The health she had regained was slowly being eroded by an unseen dread.
"How much time do I have left?" she wondered. It wasn't death she feared, it was a desperate race against the crumbling of this strange new land.
Until that day Mr. Dolly leapt out from a shallow pit.
He knocked over her rock hammer and snatched the instrument case. Ardelia followed, shouting in vain. They ran farther and farther — off-route, off-plan. She was supposed to be surveying a newly-formed Blight rift, but instead, she found herself in a quiet valley, sheltered by cliffs.
A vast outcrop of columnar igneous rock stretched before her. Hexagonal pillars rose from the ground like piano keys. Beneath her feet lay ancient volcanic ruins, so well-preserved it was as if time had paused.
That familiar spark kindled in her heart once more. Ardelia knelt down, pulled out her notebook, and began to sketch — not for a mission, nor for data, but simply because it was beautiful and captivating.
That evening, Ardelia and Mr. Dolly made camp nearby. A cool breeze whispered through the air as stars rose between the jagged rock spires. Mr. Dolly, curled at her feet, let out a sneeze, sending her pen cap tumbling into the grass.
"You led me here on purpose, didn't you?"
Mr. Dolly didn't answer. It rolled over and tapped her boot with its leg.
"You think I've stopped being myself... that all I do now is worry, racing against the Blight."
"But I'm scared, too. Scared that if I slow down, even for a moment ... it'll be too late."
She ran her fingers along Mr. Dolly's back and closed her eyes. The warmth of its fur against her palm was so comforting that for the first time, she slept soundly and sweetly under the open sky.
The next morning, she logged in her journal:
"Ancient volcanic ruins discovered in the northeast. Columnar joints well preserved."
"Led here by Mr. Dolly. Reconnected with my love for geology. Mood: content."
"Note to self: Slow down. Stay healthy."
