“If you have to ask that question they you do not understand the concept.”
“I wonder if it is I that does not understand or you,” Plausious said honestly. “With what we have shared with you, if your lightside is truly stronger, then you should surpass us in time, correct?”
“In theory, yes. Though we’re quite busy with the Hadarak at the moment.”
“Then time will tell if you have found a superior path or not. If that proves to be true, then we will adapt to follow yours.”
“I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that.”
“What do you mean?”
“One’s motives are critical to unlocking the power of the lightside. Without unlocking your conscience, you will not be able to walk it. You will be blind to the path and stray from it for you cannot track it.”
“This conscience you have spoken of is your tracking mechanism?”
“That is one way of speaking of it. And my conscience says a galaxy full of people should not be left to die when some of them can be saved.”
“And my practicality says they are a lost cause and we must consolidate what we currently have in order to survive the challenges ahead.”
“Our Archons do not just survive challenges, they crave them. And they have guided us into a habit of looking for potential allies in all situations rather than cocooning up and ignoring all else in hope of survival.”
“Those who are doomed typically embrace the fearless philosophy.”
“Death before dishonor is our way, for we wish to be better than everyone else, not just the last to limp on in survival.”
“To be the last surviving is to be superior.”
“Or just lucky.”
“I find our conversations to be most curious, Count. I am almost learning from you.”
“Can a message be sent to Utovi?”
“If I wished it.”
“Can you direct the survivors here, even if not under your protection?”
“I could do that, but I will not. It will weaken you and diminish your ability to defend this galaxy. Neofan who have been exiled are rumored to be…predatory and unstable in nature. Many go mad, and if they stray into our path we must kill them before they kill us. It is also for this reason that House Atriark will not abandon our race. We must not lose who and what we are. And I will not risk becoming lost to save those who are already lost.”
“Would it be possible for us to acquire some of your servant races then?”
The Reignor studied the Bsidd closely, with his demeanor changing slightly. “You wish to maximize your odds in the coming invasion by salvaging useful tools that we have crafted and are now discarding. And in the process this works with your lightside philosophy. Multitasking indeed. It would require an amount of Essence procured by you and the use of intermediaries, for record of a transmission coming from us cannot be allowed to exist.”
“If the Essence amount is not extreme, we can provide it.”
“There are certain…items left behind in Utovi that we would like retrieved, but we were not allowed to take them with us. If these castoffs end up here possessing these items, and you take them in independent of our advice and counsel, and you were to deliver these items to us, we would have yet another mutually beneficial agreement.”
“Are these items living?”
“No. They are technological and nostalgic. Nothing that will conflict with your lightside philosophy. They are things left to be destroyed that we value.”
“Heirlooms?”
“Some. Others are more practical.”
“Weapons?”
“No. Some things more useful for our current situation.”
“Then let us negotiate the terms,” Count Meerkan said, feeling optimistically victorious, for rescuing anyone from the Neofan home galaxy was a mission objective the Director had given him long ago…and perhaps today was the day he found a way to make good on that particular entry on the wish list he’d been given to negotiate with the Neofan if various opportunities ever arose…
7
April 15, 154930
Poolion System (Home Two Kingdom)
Turron
“And why did you bring me here?” Paul asked as he and Cal-com were walking the busy streets of one of the smaller cities on Turron, again wearing cloaks to disguise themselves amongst the alien traffic on a world populated by a branch of the Virri race that was widespread across this quarter of the galaxy as the Archon walked viewing the ground in front of him and little else.
“What do you feel differently than on Ha’shavi?”
“You want the list?”
“Give me the highlights,” the Voku said, having to walk sideways to get between a group of shorter aliens and a hovercart full of fruit as they got sandwiched between the two when the traffic flow ebbed the wrong way.
“Naivety, positivity, cluelessness, happiness, angst, boredom…”
“And in yourself?”
“My senses are still limited, and there’s a danger in that, but I’m less worried about the environment. I felt more open before.”
“You need the danger for the contrast?”
“I believe that would be an accurate assessment, though I’ll admit I’m mostly blind as to what’s going on inside my head right now. You didn’t answer my question.”
“You must find the answer yourself, or it won’t process,” Cal-com said dismissively. “The Voku never had your problem, nor did we ever have full control. We always served the Elders and trusted in their guidance and forethought. You are an Elder, so one extreme of yours is untethered. This creates imbalance if you do not have a quest to push in that direction. Without this pressure…I speculate…that you will become lost in matters of that direction. I have not noticed your leadership of others to have flagged in the least. It is your connection to the unknown that is lacking.”
“I can’t argue that.”
“But you also can’t confirm it?”
“Everything you’ve shown me, and we’ve discussed,
