june 3, 2021

the maroon sand floated around the sixteen graphite obelisks 
that lined the entrance to eclesahra: a tall jade pyramid.

naima approached the tower, which had been concealed well by 
the desert's clifs. they walked along the sand-ridden steps, 
thinking about everything they had read about this ancient 
architecture...

     eclesahra was built hundreds of years ago, after a 
     third of this planet had suffered a cleansing fire.
     through it, those that had survived or came to 
     explore would be able to ask for a resource, which the 
     machine inside would attempt to provide.

     the civilization had since collapsed entirely. there is 
     no proof that eclesahra did what it was made to do.

naima stepped inside and took their hood off. to the left, 
tables and stools. to the right, stems of flowers. directly 
ahead there was a small slot in the wall with an inscription 
engraved above it:

     et nobis aedificare domum nostram iterum

naima took a class-9 audio diskette out of their pocket. 
they only wanted to see if eclesahra could function, so the 
diskette contained a simple recipe for fukst cookies, which 
called for simple ingredients, all obtainable within the 
sector.

they put the diskette inside the slot. the tower started 
shaking, and a loud rumble could be heard from deep below 
the ground.

they heard what sounded like a chain snapping, then a gear 
being jammed, and everything went quiet again.

naima started heading back to the crawler. this was a larger 
project than they had expected. they'll come back another 
day, more prepared.