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"Avon, we shouldn't even be this close to that thing!" Cally cried, alarmed by what she saw on Zen's viewscreen.
"We're perfectly safe. We're far enough from the event horizon for it to not be dangerous," Avon said, continuing to observe the black hole with placid and disturbing fascination. "Don't you find it beautiful?"
"I find it terrifying," Cally replied. She was astonished by his casual reverence for such a destructive force. "We may be out of its gravitational pull, but it could emit an x-ray flare that would fry the Liberator. You of all people know that! It's an eater of stars, remember."
"But it's also a creator of galaxies. Look at that corona. I thought that you in particular would find it... lovely."
Cally turned from the viewscreen to give him a perplexed look. "Is that why you called me up here? Why would you think I would find... that... beautiful?"
"The juxtaposition of light and dark. The contrast. You're the only one of us who truly appreciates the universe in all its contrasting aspects. I thought you would find it magnificent."
Cally shuddered. "I find it ghastly, to be honest. And I think that we shouldn't be here looking at it. This is too reckless. Some things are not meant to be experienced at such close range and we're literally staring into the abyss."
Avon grinned. "Perhaps. But I think there must be something on the other side of it. I would like to find out what that is someday."
Cally gave him a skeptical smile. "Is that you being an optimist? No, sorry to disappoint you— I would rather look at a nebula. I don't have your morbid curiosity, Avon."
Avon only gave her a considering look. "Are you so sure?" He looked at the black hole again. "I would like to think I would be the one who would come out intact after entering the 'abyss', as you insist on calling it."
"And I'm certain you would be the only one of us who would survive," Cally said with a smirk. "But please don't let that happen. To you or to us."
Orac was nearby, silent, listening.
It considered: What an intriguing experiment! Cally must indeed be made to experience a black hole so that she would find it as fascinating as Avon did. Only the most suitable one should be sought for this purpose.
Orac set to work, delighting (if a computer could experience such a sensation) in the task.
It soon discovered a myth of Cally's people, the Auronar—of a being who lived in an abyss.
It was called the Thaarn.