Shadow Dance by Aaron Rosenberg

Author:Aaron Rosenberg
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Catalyst Game Labs

“What the hell is that?” Hazard demanded, one hand going to the gun at her side.

The road had dipped down even as the general terrain had risen, and now they were riding through a wide defile, long rock walls looming on either side. Hazard was watching one of those walls, up near its top. Cole followed her gaze, and had to wince as light stabbed down at him. It was like he’d looked directly at the sun—except that he was facing west and it was still before noon, so the sun was on his other side.

Everyone studied the strange light, which multiplied as they rode until an entire constellation glowed down at them from the cliffs up above. “Are we under attack?” Alaric asked, ducking lower on his bike, though with that sort of elevation anyone up there would have a clear shot at all of them regardless. In fact, Cole realized with a chill, if those were people, they were sitting ducks.

But Doc chuckled. “Huh, I heard tales, but never thought I’d see ’em myself,” he muttered, rubbing his jaw through the beard. “Might haveta stop and take a closer look in a bit here.”

“A closer look at what?” Alaric asked. “What are those things?”

“Dead meat,” Hazard answered, drawing her pistol and aiming it at one of the lights. But Doc was already shaking his head.

“You can shoot all you want,” the dwarf told her, “and you’ll hit ’em, too—not like they can move outta the way or anything. But they ain’t dangerous, so you’d be wastin’ your ammo for nothing. Best leave ’em be.”

“You still haven’t said what they are,” Cole pointed out. “What’re we looking at here, Doc?” He’d already tried enhancing his vision to get a better view, but the light was simply too bright, it overwhelmed even his strongest filters, leaving behind nothing but a blurry afterimage and several glaring spots.

“They call ’em the Fairy Lights o’ San Juan,” Doc answered, “on account o’ we’re right near that San Juan forest. But there’s nothing fey, or even magic about ’em.” He laughed again. “They’re solar panels, is what they are.”

“Solar panels?” But now that he’d heard that, and looking up at them again, it made sense. They were blinding to the west because the sun was to the east and the panels were reflecting that. “What’re they doing all the way out here?”

“Providing power to Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, and every other city around here,” Doc replied. “There’s panels all through here, I heard, where the forests end and the desert starts. Lots and lots of ’em, all sucking up that sunlight and converting it to electricity and sending it on to all the towns and cities. Without the Fairy Lights, story said, all those places would’ve gone dark inside a month, at least back when they were first set up.”

That made sense too, Cole thought. Denver alone required massive amounts of power every single day. Solar power was plentiful and free, and out here was the perfect place to put panels.

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