Their disappearance did not go unnoticed. The collective consciousness was aware of the absence of those who had been absorbed by the Gate. A small group detached from the usual activities to study this new, apparently dangerous thing, as it had made some of their own disappear. They approached the monument and observed it attentively, but without further aspiration to activate the passage, it showed only a vaporous surface.
Time, immeasurable in the Absolute where time means nothing, passed until one of them wished to see one of the disappeared, and the Gate showed them. They could observe him and all the things he had created. He communicated his discovery to the group of researchers, and they all focused on the same Fallen Creator, acting collectively. The perception expanded, and they not only saw images but also heard muffled sounds through the fog and the thoughts of the observed world. The cacophony overwhelmed them. They broke off contact, disconcerted by this lack of harmony.
Following this, the group observed the worlds of other Fallen Creators, scrutinizing the results of the desires of their former companions. And what they saw became part of the collective consciousness, shared with all those who inhabited the Absolute. But no one approached the passage as close as the disappeared, fearing to be propelled in turn into one of these disharmonic worlds.
As time passed, more and more changes occurred in the worlds beyond the Gate. The realms of Autarcauste became disordered, each struck by a catastrophe generally caused by the creatures of these worlds. Those of Mennon, so vast and populated, tore themselves apart in power struggles over the vital resources of overexploited planets necessary for the continued evolution of technology. Those of Synchron, though less vast because on the scale of a planet, were no less terrible, confined in this limited space and making any escape to other places impossible. Those of Faerie seemed the most protected, but wars of power and ambition still occurred there, less deadly than the others only because of a smaller population and war weapons with more contained effects. When the observers concentrated on Okotade, they perceived only insane laughter, screams of terror, and lamentations...