"I arrived on this planet as an explorer. My usual tasks involved observing the flow of rivers, examining the materials of the city's bricks and tiles, analyzing the steepness of roads, and documenting the number and distribution of chimneys... These duties aligned with people's imagination of preserving a planet's 'memories.'"
— However, such efforts were far from sufficient.
Once I started working in secrecy, I would often come across that girl. Sometimes, sunlight would dance through the leaves as she walked beneath them, disappearing around corners once the street lamps illuminated the surroundings. On other occasions, her gaze would follow a carrier pigeon, which left the High Priest's quarters every Wednesday night, only to return the following morning to the palace's chief of the guards — a known political adversary of the High Priest. Occasionally, she would quietly observe rain trickling into sewers scarred by artillery fired from the opposite shore. And sometimes, waves would dampen her skirts, while an elderly woman washing clothes by the river recounted the story of the previous sovereign and his five illegitimate children.
— Few individuals, apart from us, understand that a planet conceals and safeguards its "memories" in such a manner.
I trailed behind her until we reached a rock on the moor. I knew that it was the time to invite her.
"What do you see?" I asked, in a form visible to her.
She pointed at a patch of weeds and the lingering traces.
"I see a stone, perhaps once part of a fireplace... But it must hold more significance."
I nodded and assisted her in removing the weeds and dirt from the crevices of the stone.
"It was once a monument," she murmured, gently caressing the engravings adorning its surface.
"Indeed, but the 'memory' holds more significance."
Thus, I revealed to her that the stone on the moor had once served as a fireplace, a monument before that, a flowerbed, and even an altar... And before all that, it had simply been a stone on the moor.
"What price would I pay if I want to witness those 'memories'?"
"People will remain oblivious to your presence unless you are willing to reveal yourself."
"Just as people fail to acknowledge the existence of black swans until they encounter one?"
"Yes, just like that."
— An Explorer's memoriesMemokeepers travel to numerous planets, collecting the memories of each city they encounter. They are careful not to leave any trace of their presence, ensuring that nobody remembers them, unless they come across someone with the potential to become a Memokeeper, whom they then take away from the city into the vast expanse of the stars.