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The large square was crowded. It felt like all the inhabitants of the city had gathered there. Marzia searched in vain for her new friends in the crowd, making her way to the other side of the square, but her gaze was constantly drawn to its centre. She was too small to see over the crowd: but from what she could see, it looked like a circle had formed. It also seemed like colorful lights coming from there.

"Wolf!"

Mariza turned in the direction of the call. But it had been drowned in the general hubbub, and she wasn't even sure that she really had heard her last name.

She hesitated. Then, a hand landed on her shoulder: she recognized Rhysa's voice next to her ear.

"You're finally here. Come on, it's about to start."

Then she turned around and rushed towards the centre of the square. A curious smile hanging on her lips, Marzia ran after her. Strangely, she felt a kind of serenity in the midst of this crowd.

Marzia had always been very sensitive to atmospheres. Those produced by a special environment, the state of mind of the people around it, or a mixture of both. She could easily allow herself to be plunged into an emotional state that corresponded to that atmosphere.

In this case, the crowd that surrounded her and the darkness of the night, only lit by the led signs of the buildings, inspired her a feeling of serenity. It was strange. But looking at the faces surrounding her as she crossed the main square, Marzia realized that this atmosphere mostly came from the locals. The air breathed good humour – and impatience.

She didn't know what all the excitement was about, but she suspected it was something important for the town. A traditional celebration, perhaps? There was none on the capital planet. But she had already attended all sorts of strange feasts and customs when she was travelling as a child.

"Hurry up!" pressed her friend.

Suddently, they came to a stop. Marzia raised her head: they were standing just in front of the circle which she had noticed a little earlier. People of all ages, with screens in their hands, were trembling with impatience. Some were laughing with their friends. Rhysa took the young woman's hand and pulled her towards a member of the circle. Marzia recognized one of the boys in their group of friends. He also held a thin tablet between his fingers, tapping on the screen at breathtaking speed. She slowly catched her breath while the excitement also gained her.

"What is this? Is it a party?", she asked.

"No, it's a contest. You're really lucky – it was supposed to be last month, but it got pushed back because of the weather."

Marzia smiled. Since she arrived, the sun had not left the orange sky. She was indeed lucky.

"What kind of contest?" she asked.

Her gaze ran through the circle; the participants, she guessed. She realized that what she had taken for impatience was actually nervousness. Or perhaps a mixture of both. Marzia suspected that the competition had something to do with the tablets they were all holding, but she wondered what the members of the circle intended to do with a simple tablet.

One of Rhysa's friends turned to her to respond to her question, but Rhysa cut him off with a menacing look.

"Surprise. A little patience, Wolf."

Marzia raised her eyes to the sky and turned her attention to the circle. The whole square had suddenly died out. The silence was electric: impatient. A chill ran through her spine. Rhysa had a big smile on her face.

The competition began.

A light snap in the air resonated over Marzia's head. She looked up at a bird. He crossed the square in a few powerful flaps of its wings. 

No, not wings. Flames in the shape of wings.

 He suddenly uttered a cry, and the fire increased in intensity, illuminating all the inhabitants with an orange glow. Suddenly, a new bird appeared from the top of a building. Colored rays were moving all over his body, passing through it. And then he disappeared.

Marzia uttered an exclamation of surprise when he reappeared a few meters away, making a figure in the air.

The tablets. The participants were controlling these birds with the tablets – but they weren't holograms, they were far too realistic. Were they some kind of... robots?

Flying fish, snakes, and all kinds of other fantastic animals filled the sky. Hundreds of coloured lights ran in all directions. Marzia no longer knew where to look, her eyes were attracted by all the luminous movements above her.

The sounds faded around her until she heard nothing but the beating of her own heart. Her feet, anchored to the ground, allowed her to keep a sense of reality. Otherwise... Marzia would have had the impression of flying in the sky in the middle of all these iridescent machines. Her face was the very representation of wonder.

So many shapes, colors, movements. The sky was almost no longer visible. 

Suddenly, Mariza's gaze landed on a machine that stood out from the others.