He felt Horng’s quiet gaze, heavy with centuries, resting on him.  They were are those sciences questings which Kor proclaimed informed were sacred part of the essence.

“Part of Kor?”

Horng’s head dipped to one side.  Approximately.

“How is this known?  Tebron broke the power of the priesthood, didn’t he?”

Tebron replaced the priests.  The knowledge was given to Tebron.

“Including the information that these sciences were prohibited?”

Horng shifted forward, like a massive block of stone wavering.  His fingers moved briefly and then rested.  The memories are buried deeply.  Tebron proclaimed this prohibition after communicating with Kor.

Rynason’s head jerked up from the interpreter.  “Tebron spoke with Kor?”

After a pause, Horng’s dry voice came.  Approximately.  There was ...  Communication Rapport.  Tebron was king priest.

“Then Tebron made this prohibition in the name of Kor.  When did this occur?”

The knowledge prohibition was communicated to Hirlaj when Tebron assumed power right.

“The same day?”

The day after.  Tebron communicated with Kor immediately after ousting replacing the priests.

Rynason watched Horng’s replies as they were recorded by the interpreter; he was frowning.  So this dawn-era king was supposed to have spoken, perhaps telepathically, with the god of the Hirlaji.  Could he have simply claimed to have done so in an effort to stabilize his own power?  But the fact that this race was telepathic threw some doubt on that supposition.

“Are there memories of Tebron’s conversation with Kor?” he asked.

Horng’s eyes closed and opened in acknowledgement, and then abruptly the alien rose to his feet.  He moved slowly past Rynason to the base of a long, sweeping flight of stairs which led upward toward the empty dome, trailing the wires of the interpreter.  Rynason moved to unplug the wires, but Horng stopped at the base of the stairs, looking up along the curving ramp to where it ended in a blunt, weathered break two-thirds of the way up.  Rubble lay below the break.

Rynason watched the grey being staring silently up those broken steps, and asked softly, “What are you doing?”

Horng, still gazing upward, dipped his head to one side.  There is no purpose.  He turned and came slowly back to his stone seat.