A to Z 2026 - V - Contessina’s Collection of Human Treasures

“Michelangelo,” she said, “I think the time has come to put the cards on the table.

“So let’s talk about Vikings. As you may know, no Vikings called themselves Vikings. That’s a term humans came up with in retrospect. Viking culture swept through Europe along with their ships. It was the last great barbarian invasion before the continent began to resemble what it is today.

“It’s only possible because the truth of what Vikings were was replaced by an image, the helmet with its thorns, the epic saga, the heroic image…They were the first Europeans to travel to North America, but they saw no value in it. They had no infrastructure to support making it viable. 

“The single unifying aspect of every spacefaring people is that their civilization has the ability to sustain useful ventures.

“Nonetheless, even the stories of the Vikings have purpose, in hindsight. In recent years there’s been one legend that emerged from the shores of time, about a Danish sea captain named Esmer, and how his death changed everything, how the obsession of a defector named Duende, in the lands of Normandy, his disappearance, the disappearance of two competing clans, changed everything…But now we know what happened to them, now they are significant, now they explain…everything. And their story is emerging. 

“I think our friend knows a thing or two about these affairs. I think she’s the one person who will be able to answer…all of it. 

“So I’ve laid a trap for her. I made sure she decided to live aboard the Whitfield. I arranged that we would be neighbors. 

“Settle in, my friend. We’re going to enjoy ourselves.”