Delver
| Delver | |
|---|---|
| |
| Type | Extra-dimensional entities |
| Sapient | y |
| World of Origin | Detritus |
| Universe | Skyward universe |
“ Ancient things stirred. And in that moment between heartbeats, they not only saw me, but they knew me. ”
The eyes are ancient, extra-dimensional beings that live in "nowhere", the space beyond the world where matter doesn't exist, but which is accessible to cytonics users.[1][2]
Appearance and Behavior
The eyes can be seen by cytonics who attempt to use their powers. Initially, they appear as hundreds of pinpricks of light across a vast blackness, which open to reveal small, white eyes that watch the cytonic.[3] The effect is often compared the the attention of the entire universe suddenly focusing on the cytonic.[4] The longer one obseves the eyes, the larger they seem to appear.[5] Perceiving the eyes leaves a person with a sense of cold that persists for hours afterwards.[6]
The appearance of the eyes is preceded and accompanied by a pleasant sound, akin to a thousand musical notes playing together in harmony. It grows louder the closer one is to seeing the eyes.[7][3]
The cytonics can sense what the eyes feel. The entities appear to be hateful, despising the one they observe, and grow moreso the longer the cytonic holds their attention.[8][5] They are also capable of "knowing" a person upon prolonged contact, and assessing the person's action in regard to their own wishes. What those wishes are at the moment is unknown, although it appears they are opposed to humanity's survival.[1]
Safeguards
“ Use physical cords for data transfer, avoid broadcasting, and put shielding around faster processors. To do otherwise risks the attention of the eyes. ”
The ancient humans who constructed M-Bot considered the eyes to be a hostile and dangerous force, and took measures to avoid catching their attention. This involved abandoning more advanced technologies in favor of the radio and shielding faster processors, suggesting that the eyes are capable of perceiving some sort of electronic activity, or perhaps only the mix of cytonics and technology.[9] Spensa also speculates that M-Bot's faster-than-light capacities have been disabled due to the hostility of the eyes; however, short-distance jumps seem safe to make.[1]
The Krell, on the other hand, do not appear concerned with the eyes, freely using the nowhere space for their own purposes. M-Bot also seems to use the nowhere to augment his processing capacity with no ill effects, although he could be shielded to protect him from the eyes.[10][9]
Notably, the eyes don't appear to human cytonics several centuries prior, before the war that decimated humanity.[11] As such, it can be surmised that they were either created or awakened during the war.
Trivia
- Brandon once began writing a science fiction novella called The Eyes, inspired by Fermi paradox, the question of why we can't find any aliens despite the statistical probability of their existence. The story remains unfinished, although a chapter of it was posted as a reward on the Writing Excuses Patreon page.[12] Its setting was eventually absorbed into the Skyward universe, with one of its alien races set to appear in Starsight[13] Given the title, it's possible that the eyes in Skyward originated from the story.
Notes
- ↑ a b c d Skyward chapter 54#
- ↑ DragonCon 2019
— Arcanum - 2019-08-29# - ↑ a b Skyward chapter 43#
- ↑ Skyward chapter 40#
- ↑ a b Skyward chapter 52#
- ↑ Skyward epilogue#
- ↑ Skyward chapter 1#
- ↑ Skyward chapter 48#
- ↑ a b c Skyward chapter 31#
- ↑ Skyward chapter 55#
- ↑ Defending Elysium#
- ↑ State of the Sanderson 2016
— Brandon's website - 2016-12-19# - ↑ General Reddit 2018
— Arcanum - 2018-12-21#