Once they had time outside of the crisis, Anton actually got to sit down and speak with Nalini. From what he could surmise the other planetary guardian was resting, and any others were either keeping themselves fresh for more distortion beasts… or keeping themselves concealed in case Anton himself was a threat. But he didn’t mind that, since Aipra had to take care of itself.
“Why are you here?” the straightforward question came from Nalini.
“I spotted you during my travels and I was intrigued,” Anton said.
“... is that all?”
“I don’t know if you realize how uniquely situated you are. Unless you are aware of other rogue planets in subspace?”
Nalini shook her head, “We have vague knowledge of other cultivators from long in the past. But we have no records of encountering anyone from the outside since our current state.”
“Your current state…” Anton asked, “Were you not always here, in subspace?”
“I don’t know,” Nalini shrugged. “This… not-space you speak of, it is here?” She gestured around her.
How to explain that? His growing familiarity with the language was still lacking in deep concepts. “Let me see if I can explain with few words. You know of stars?”
“The dim lights in the sky,” Nalini nodded. “The records say they are made of fire.”
“So you were outside of subspace… or at least have knowledge of it,” Anton frowned. “Probably. Regardless, they are more real where I am from. They have many planets around them, like Aipra. The suns provide light and heat.”
“Truly? That sounds… nice.”
“It is much easier to live with such a source of energy,” Anton agreed.
“Do they not burn up quickly?”
Anton shook his head. “At such a size, they last unfathomable amounts of time. Years numbering in thousands of thousands are the shortest lived.”
Nalini nodded. “So you came here because we were strange. Where were you traveling?”
“I was looking for other cultivators. If you do not have contact with others, then that also means you are not troubled by the upper realms. How should I explain it…” Anton briefly explained the conflicts with the Trigold Cluster and Exalted Quadrant, and how he wanted to help others stand against them.
“... if this world of stars is so full of disunity, perhaps it is not worth living there.”
Anton shrugged, “I think most lives are worth living. And there are so many people…” he shook his head. “Compared to here, even a single similarly sized planet can sustain many more people. You have… a few hundred million people, perhaps?” Stating that number was more roundabout than the direct words, since million hadn’t been in his common usage. He didn’t want to think about how many might have died in the recent disasters. Too many. “Even the less populated worlds tend to have five or ten times as much. Some have many more. With the ability to expand, people fight over resources.”
“It is… a shame,” Nalini said. “It should not be necessary, with so much available to them.”
“It shouldn’t,” Anton agreed. “But not everyone is good. Even here, you have criminals do you not?”
“Lapses of judgment come upon many,” Nalini agreed. “Most understand their duties to the whole.”
“If they didn’t, I don’t imagine you would still survive,” Anton said. “I quite admire what you have here. I would offer seeds for plants… but the majority of them are meant for planets with sunlight.” Though he did have a few they might make use of. Along with other things, if they wanted his help. “But I would not want to disrupt things.”
“You have caused no harm,” Nalini said. “Though perhaps we will not dazzle the common populace with stories about an outside world. Here, we have unity.”
That was fair enough. Revealing information without making it possible for people to leave might only cause despair. And thus, simply informing the populace could cause harm. So if it was a difference between keeping secrets and informing everyone, Anton had to err on the side of the decision making of those who lived here. Though if it were wholly up to him, he would have liked everyone to have the choice to learn more.
Besides, they shouldn’t be fully trapped here. He could leave, and while it was difficult for him to bring anyone with him using his techniques… there were still options. Even if they would take a long time to come to fruition. “What do you know of Ascension?” Anton asked. They didn’t have a proper word for that, actually. “Cultivating to attune to another source of power beyond Life Transformation, leaving behind a world?”
“It sounds awful,” Nalini said directly. “Leaving a world behind after everyone brought you to such a status… it should be disdained.” She drew back, “Did you do such a thing?”
Anton shook his head. “I am on a different path. But where I am from, individuals are responsible for gathering their own natural energy for their cultivation, or at most they work with a sect. Even if we have alliances on a grander scale, or cultivation is individual.”
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“That sounds wasteful.”
“Perhaps,” Anton said. “But I am certain there are risks to these methods as well. Nothing is perfect. I intend to stay some time until I can speak in depth about cultivation, if you wish to. Or I can leave at any time.”
“We do not need you to leave,” Nalini said. “You have aided us, even if you were not part of us. Many lives were saved. As long as you cause no harm, you are welcome.”
So he would stay. But while Anton knew he could probably spend an eternity learning about any individual world, he knew he had to leave eventually. Another year at most, and even that seemed like it might be too long.
-----
The architectural style of the buildings Engineer Uzun had constructed was now familiar to Catarina, but she had ascended before contact with Rutera was established. The style had only followed a century behind her, and it was still limited to a relatively small population of those who actually considered it their own. A few other ascension cultivators from Rutera and their few generations of descendents.
Engineer Uzun himself had no children. Catarina could have easily ended up the same, were it not for Timothy. And just having one child had been difficult enough. They might plan to have another, but based on Chidi it was clear there were risks. They likely wouldn’t get so lucky again.
“You asked for my assistance?” Catarina asked, joining Engineer Uzun in a sort of conference room.
“Assistance and consultation, among other names,” the man nodded. “I have been presented with a puzzle from the lower realms. A challenge, even. But fulfilling the requirements to answer might cause more trouble.”
“Doesn’t it always?” Catarina asked. “Every development has risks.”
“Indeed,” Uzun nodded, “But these are greater and require careful consultation. In the worst case, it could open up the lower realms to invasion at the whims of the upper realms without relying on the tides of the world.”
“That sounds… problematic,” Catarina agreed. “What is the issue at hand?”
“Simply this, making ships that can travel between upper and lower realms.”
“I can’t imagine that would be good for cultivators,” Catarina said. “Immersing oneself in upper energy, or facing the desert of lower energy… this is why ascension is so difficult.”
“But part of the problem is solving those risks. And if we can do it for ourself, then it can be stolen and used by others. Or it must be kept very small scale and unknown. The origin of this conundrum is the void ants. They wish to colonize the upper realms.”
“They would be of great help,” Catarina said.
“And a threat to the surroundings powers,” Uzun pointed out. “But at first, not in a beneficial way. They would wish to wipe us out.”
“Of course,” Catarina nodded. “We will carefully consider it… though there is a chance they will decided to do so regardless.”
“I will bring the matter up to the council, and lean on the guidance of those in the lower realms as well. But it matters little until there is a practical option. There are concerns for every option. The Great Queen proposed some… interesting options. They all come with some risk. Among other things, the separation of the void ants from the Great Queen. She has the respect to keep all in line within the lower realms. Possibly even as they continue to expand. But if colonies are established here and decide they are better off without us as allies- or even joining the other side?” Uzun shook his head. “It would be a disaster.”
“From what I have heard, the void ants are unwaveringly loyal.”
“They are still imperfect beings,” Uzun said. “And some of these concerns came from the Great Queen herself. For example, the simple method of freezing a queen and sending her through the gap to land on a planet. Should she awake, will she remember her goals? The lessons the void ants have learned in community with cultivators?”
“That is a slight problem,” Catarina admitted.
“And there would be no one to guide them back on the correct path. Especially if they do not speak. Should they become aggressive, the only option is to wipe them out quickly or risk death. It is not like sending a stronger cultivator to suppress them is beneficial.”
“You could use a flamethrower though,” Catarina pointed out. “If necessary.”
“I… could, yes.” Uzun admitted. “Mundane flames could likely kill all but the sturdiest of them. Not that I expect to be involved in combat with them, nor would I want to. The point is to avoid it even being an option. The Great Queen spoke of rising… independence… among her people. A few individuals have their own take on her ideals. So far, she finds she supports their interpretations.”
“But there could be some that fully go rogue,” Catarina nodded. “But the logic for cooperation still exists. And our enemies would be hard pressed to even begin communications with them. I imagine that won’t be a problem.”
“They could turn feral, though,” Uzun said. “Another possibility presented by the Great Queen, you must understand. If the queen does not grow to the point of sapience, her offspring may not gain it either. And while it is assumed that they would quickly gain it feeding on upper energy, that is only an assumption. Should it be otherwise, they would simply be clever ants capable of hunting down anything with great energy and seeking to devour it. And while a few dozens of colonies limited to a few billion ants is already a great many, imagine if they took over whole planets. They seem to have innate knowledge of conservation, and thus are unlikely to wipe themselves out by devastating the ecosystem.” Uzun shook his head. “But that wasn’t the point. I want to ask about formations. And you have also made the switch from lower energy to upper, so you are aware of the pitfalls.”
“I can indeed help you with ideas.”
“And it may be that we should create purely technological ships, without even the old Ruteran methods,” Uzun said. “Running on alternate power sources. But there is still the issue of capture and reverse engineering. I know our enemies don’t currently understand technology, but I would not want to bet that they cannot. They might be arrogant old fogeys, but that doesn’t mean we should be arrogant younger versions and assume they can’t learn… given time.”
“Time is something cultivators have in abundance,” Catarina agreed. “I suspect that the spread is inevitable, but the slower we can make it outside of our control, the better. And of course we can have self-destroying technology.”
“That will slow them down,” Uzun agreed. “But nothing like that is perfect.”
“Yeah, even Everheart’s reckless disregard for people surviving intended uses of his formations… well, it is possible to learn much he doesn’t want people to learn.”
“Exactly. But we’re not here to solve all the problems. Just to get things started, in case we go forward with some of these options.”