CHAPTER 1

Dudley's Observation

• Focus Characters: Dudley Bose, LionWalker Eyre
• Location(s): Gralmond, the observatory, the Carlton AllLander, CST's planetary station, Verona station, Tanyata
• Core Narrative: Dudley Bose, a 92-year-old astronomer, observes the Dyson Pair at his university's observatory on Gralmond. He witnesses the envelopment of Dyson Alpha, which he believes occurs in under 23 hours. Dudley is concerned that his observation may be dismissed as an error, and he decides to travel to Tanyata to confirm the event. He meets LionWalker Eyre, a wealthy and eccentric individual who has a four-foot reflecting telescope on Tanyata. LionWalker agrees to let Dudley use his telescope to observe the Dyson Pair and confirm the envelopment. Dudley and LionWalker travel to LionWalker's observatory, where they set up the telescope to observe the Dyson Pair. Dudley's e-butler establishes a link to the unisphere, and they record the event as it occurs, confirming that Dyson Alpha vanished in under 23 hours.
• Broader Implications: This event sets in motion Dudley's quest to prove the existence of the envelopment, which has significant implications for the understanding of the Dyson Pair and the capabilities of the civilization that built the shells around them.