The Cosmic Chronicle

Asterzine Quorl Well, eh... Glad you made time. Can we start right away? My recorder isn't in your way, I hope?
Wormhole Graazh I should think not; I don't have arms to fiddle with buttons anyway. Go on, but keep it brief.
Asterzine Quorl Okay, to begin: you're a living wormhole. What do you actually do in a place like the Syntarion Archipelago?
Wormhole Graazh I offer a few resonance gates to the Committee each starday, move a vessel or two every so often, and mainly try not to implode from the local dialect. Occasionally I participate in the Cosmic Game of Muscles-passively, since I clearly have no muscles.
Asterzine Quorl Do you have a permanent home, or do you just float freely above the Exopool?
Wormhole Graazh More like floating reluctantly. Officially, I'm not allowed to leave Segmentarum Delta-23 without approval from the Oracle Council because of... incidents back on stardate 4418.180.
Asterzine Quorl Incidents?
Wormhole Graazh Yeah. A delegation vanished through me and returned four police sessions later. All of them metaphorically stretched out. No one talks about it, except the tabloid oracles.
Asterzine Quorl How is it, being so scrutinized here with all that collective mistrust?
Wormhole Graazh Frustrating. They only see a passage, not a personality. As if you’re just a talking lift with existential dread.
Asterzine Quorl But do you actually feel... eh, welcomed here?
Wormhole Graazh Haha, well... No. They recently installed oracle holograms right next to my opening. "For safety." That’s code for: we don’t trust you at all, Graazh.
Asterzine Quorl Is there perhaps something you wish was different?
Wormhole Graazh I’d prefer to be a festival portal more often, instead of an emergency entrance for bureaucrats. Or at least have one day a year off, no explanation needed. Uh, sorry... Is your microphone buzzing now?
Asterzine Quorl I don't hear anything, probably plasma weather. Um, next topic: what do you think about all those interdimensional harbors at the edge of the archipelago?
Wormhole Graazh Oh, those! Competition, I say. They filter their inbound traffic through seven kinds of detection layers. I can’t compete-I’m either open or closed. No shades of grey-literally.
Asterzine Quorl Do you have friends here on Syntarion?
Wormhole Graazh Friendships are tricky for a wormhole. I mean, I tear relationships apart faster than a holographic wedding during a barcode glitch. Sometimes I chat with the prism oracle down the way. That... usually ends up awkward.
Asterzine Quorl Sorry if this is rude, but are you ever afraid of yourself?
Wormhole Graazh Yes. Accidentally ending up somewhere else, suddenly snapping open or, uh... losing someone in my inner bends. Not exactly peaceful dreaming.
Asterzine Quorl Someone said you got angry in the arena recently. What happened?
Wormhole Graazh That was a misunderstanding! They tried to push a miniature space station through me while I was napping. Someone lost a shoe, I lost my temper, and the holographic audience started booing. Embarrassing, you hear me?
Asterzine Quorl If you had the chance, would you leave Syntarion?
Wormhole Graazh Sometimes... yes. No. Yes. But in a way, it would feel empty, even for me. No floating temples, no echoing chaos. You only miss it when you can’t loop around it anymore.
Asterzine Quorl Last question-eh, if I may. What would you like to say to the inhabitants of Syntarion?
Wormhole Graazh Learn the difference between a passage and an escape. And give a living wormhole an occasional compliment, not just a set of directions.
Asterzine Quorl Thank you. Eh... Can I go now or will you return me to the beginning?
Wormhole Graazh *subtle whooshing* We'll see where you end up, Asterzine. Good luck.