by Kevin Gordon
‘blasphemy’ and ‘heretic’ as Arciss merely relaxed in his chair.
^You cast of accountability?^ Uonil began to lose control of herself, and liked it. ^When will you take responsibility for your contribution to the fall of Graid? You isolated him as a child, deprived him of a mother and father, treated him as a deity instead of as a child. He learned early on, from the likes of you, to harden his heart. It was you that set him on a path of decadence and self-destruction, you that hardened his heart to those around him, you that brought about the circumstances we are now dealing with!^
^I will not nest this,^ Devring cast dismissively. ^You clearly have lost control, lost all perspective on this situation.^
^We have given you the correct perspective on the situation,^ rebuked Arciss. ^The totality of multi-dimensional existence is collapsing, due to our interference.^
^That is ridiculous!^ cried Rilltin. ^What if the capital ships merely came from a shipyard in an alternate dimension? What if OLMAC and the TELREC discovered inter-brane technology? The LN-Suigenea still exists, somewhere, and on that ship still rests an inter-brane engine. Wouldn’t that explain the presence of those ships?^
^Then why weren’t they seen in the last timeline?^ retorted Uonil. ^Why was there no aggression in prior timelines? Think before you cast. You embarrass yourself, and the council, Rilltin.^
^Be careful Mentra,^ cast Devring coolly. ^You do not have the threat of Graid to scare us into silence. We can convene a recall, and elect a new Mentra.^ The others murmured in agreement. ^It is something we should have done long ago.^
^And go against the will of the Kal-Durrell?^ she cast, clearly amused. ^Who is the heretic now?^
Devring was silent, for the moment.
^We need to decide what to do about this situation, and leave this petty bickering for another time,^ cast Uonil, trying to cool tensions. ^Do we assist Suld, and OLMAC?^
New information streamed in, as Suld’s forces disabled capital ship LN-01.
^Can Suld prevail on his own?^ asked Devring.
^Unknown,^ replied Arciss. ^If those three capital ships were hidden from us, we do not know the full extent of either force.^
^We do.^
Odre and Unti stood in the doorway, their golden eyes a little unnerving to Uonil.
^Thank you for coming in so short notice,^ cast Uonil, as she welcomed them with a curt bow. ^What do you know?^
^OLMAC is hiding a great deal,^ began Odre, as they both sat at the table. ^They have over eighty oreships, retrofitted for battle. They have fifty thousand metas, independent of our forces, fitted for battle. The remnants of the Iganinagi are commanding his dromons, and Gan-Elldon is well prepared to fight off an invasion. And Suld is hiding still more, waiting for the right moment. As to the scope of the TELREC forces, we do not know.^
^Assessment?^ she asked.
^You should wait,^ cast Odre. ^A full scale battle between Rell and Novan would turn public opinion against Rell, suggesting it had compromised OLMAC. It is the reason we, the meta, are not entering this battle as a people, for this will not be the decisive battle, and there is still much good we can do in secret. The only way the TELREC will be overthrown is with the addition of a full scale public revolt. For now, patience is required.^
^Arciss?^
^I agree. Suld will weather the storm. I can feel it. He may be damaged, but he has extensive resources. He will turn to the cast-net when this is over, and go on the attack against the TELREC. That will be the start of the public dissent we need.^
^Devring?^
Uonil waited anxiously for his reply, ready to engage him with angry words.
^We, the council of Alçons, agree.^
She relaxed. Arciss smiled at her.
^But we do not agree with your conduct, Mentra,^ he continued. ^We will explore every option to replace you.^
Their images faded from mental view, Uonil sitting far back in her chair, thinking for a moment on Devring’s conduct. She slowly turned to the meta, wishing they hadn’t seen that part of themselves.
“Here is an update of our discussions,” said Uonil, as she downloaded a situation update to them.
“Intriguing,” said Unti. “A cross-brane breakdown?”
“Yes. It is the only explanation for all the discrepancies in the timeline.”
“We have reviewed your past attempts, studying with great interest the histories in those timelines. We also have become concerned about the differences.”
“Do you agree?” asked Arciss.
“We do,” replied Odre. “The bigger question is what will happen after you journey back in time again, even if it is the last attempt. Do the changes extend out of the Novan system? What is the radius of infection?”
“All good questions, to which we have no answers,” said Uonil with a shrug. “The Kolob problem is of more immediate concern. Have you have reviewed the past introductions of Kolob to our team?”
“Yes.”
“Suggestions?”
Odre and Unti sat, each exactly alike, with their legs pressed together, their hands resting in their laps, loosely closed. Uonil was tempted to describe their mannerisms as feminine, but knew there was no such thing as gender among the meta, unless imposed by a souman engineer.
“Is it true Graid will be unable to participate in his initiation?” asked Odre.
“Yes, the Kal-Alçon is occupied. Why?”
Odre leaned forward, its eyes focusing on Uonil. “We feel that it would help to have a figure for Kolob to begin to feel an attachment to. A male, preferably. With the death of Rhonva, there is a great void in Kolob’s life. You seek to humiliate him, make him better understand the many betrayals of the TELREC. You seek to break him down even more, to force him to a psychological crisis, at which time, he will depend utterly on Nahlai?”
“Yes.”
“We suggest this male be present at this grouping, and be the lone sympathetic voice. That when he faces this psychological trauma, that this male extends a hand out of compassion. That when Nahlai dies, he be the one to turn to, to help Kolob focus his grief and anger.”
“Whom do you suggest?” asked Uonil.
“We hoped for Graid. But on review, we feel Arciss would be an able substitute.”
Uonil turned to Arciss. “What do you think?”
“I understand the logic in their assessment,” he replied, a little surprised.
“You know this will mean we will need to get quarters for you on Core, and you will need to be assimilated into the Novan society.” Suddenly the reality of what she was saying became clear to her, and all she would give up. “I will lose you.”
“Only for a time,” he said, seeking to comfort her. “If all goes well, we will need to bring him back to Rellcine for training in three dcas.”
Uonil nodded as her advisors started making the necessary preparations. She examined the meta again, who had been on Rell for the past several troas. Most of their interactions had been of a purely professional nature, but lately, she yearned for an objective assessment of her people.
“Tell me, Odre,” she asked, leaning forwards in her chair, “describe your interactions among our people. What are your observations?”
Odre and Unti lowered their heads slightly for a moment, then Odre spoke.
“It is remarkable to us the rapidity to which your people become accustomed to our presence. On Novan we are ‘thrael,’ and either thought of as objects to be given instructions to, or we are feared as semi-sentient beings that possess immense physical strength. Here, we notice only a small deviation in how people treat us compared to other soumans.”
“Here you are unique,” said Arciss. “Though we have machinery, and a limited robotic infrastructure, we see the danger in having a sentient race function as the working class. While once meta were marveled for their technological advancement, and great thought went into the development of their cerebral functions, the Novans are comfortable at the place you occupy, happy to leave you at t
his stage of your evolutionary development.”
“It always surprised me Mal never took the form of a meta,” said Uonil.
“That would leave Mal too vulnerable,” replied Odre. “To be in one body, in one place at one time? Never. Mal can exist anywhere between Malhrer and Novan. We cast with Suld concerning the possibility of eradicating Mal’s consciousness, and it would be a difficult prospect.”
“You know,” ventured Uonil, “we often speak of the future, of the destruction of Mal, and of the TELREC. But what do you see for yourselves, if you were no longer treated as thrael, if you no longer had to hide your sentience? Would you continue to exist with us, or would you venture out on your own?”
Unti spoke, as Odre leaned back.
“It is with just such an eventuality in mind that we have explored the non-scientific aspects of existence. Creating art, discovering intuition, exploring reports of dreams among our kind, we know there is more to discover within than without. Soumans are our only point of reference. If we were to leave, to found another world with only meta, what would it look like? Would it be a reflection of Novan, or of Rell? Do we abandon the safety and security of a logical, dispassionate existence, or do we explore an existence of emotions fraught with danger and destruction? Is there a truth that we should search for, or merely exist?”
“Do you have any answers?”
“No. What we do have is observations of Mal, the most advanced artificial intelligence ever created. We know Mal has emotions. Mal even has the ability to see into the future. And what has it done? We do