"Elves," Simon repeated quietly. "I would never have in my entire life thought I'd be entertaining the idea that they were real. But... it seems I'll be having to accept things that I'd thought were impossible, right?"

He nodded.

"It does," he agreed. "But as far as we know, there have been no other sentient species. Of course, that was the official version presented by the government, and it happened so long ago, who knows if it is true? They may well be just outside of where we've explored already."