He'd originally calculated that the stars would only be Right for about three hundred years or so. Humanity was supposed to be able to hold out that long, keep the worst of it at bay, something- three hundred years wasn't that bad as far as times of horrors went. But the problem with that theory was that it relied on the rules of time and space and planetary motion staying reliable after the City at the Magnetic Pole was taken. He'd been there with all of the Ministers Frasier when that happened, he'd seen the wave sweep over reality when the Render of Veils managed to establish itself as the City's master-

There's an audible POIT! as Ray falls flailing away from that mirror. He's going to sit on the floor and pant for a while, mm'kay?