Sev's communication with Apex Corporation, his employer, was unidirectional. All his reports were met with automated approval messages, as long as they fitted into prescribed budgets. Come to think of it, this was true of Earth in general. It was living in its own world, with refined ore coming in and orders pouring out. Initially, its orbital factories were pumping out ships and prefabricated modules for the Big Expansion, and it lasted... for as...