For the briefest moment, the Observer disengaged from all 183.6 trillion self-sentient beings spread across the universe. The Hosts had no way of knowing this happened of course, but somehow it manifested. For that brief moment, a momentary change in perception was felt by all: for one species, it was a slight balance shift; another perceived magnetism as taste; yet another were briefly blind to a narrow band in the ultra-violet. The effect was so subtle that most didn't give it a second thought, yet the vague, observable memory lingered just long enough to be recorded. In all the time since the birth of stars, the Observer had never witnessed such an effect, and was at a complete loss for an explanation. And for the first time, the Observer started to question its own understanding of the universe.