"Reverend," a voice behind Ervin called.

Ervin turned around to see Farshid standing in the doorway of his pavilion.

"May I come in?", he asked in a manner that sounded friendly, yet could not be denied.

"Of course, your Providence," Ervin resigned.

Farshid closed the door behind him. "I am sorry to impose myself, but I must ask you to hear me under the seal of confession, for I have wronged you," he said in a voice that sounded genuine and solemn.

Ervin successfully managed to suppress his surprise. "Your Providence," he said, hurrying to gesture to a small seating area with colorful, embroidered benches.

Farshid took a seat, staring at the bright carmine ocean sunset. Ervin sat down opposite. Suddenly, Farshid seemed to change noticeably. Ervin could not pinpoint it, for his appearance remained unaltered. As if a mask had dropped, Farshid turned from a figure of unquestionable authority to something that resembled an old, broken man. Ervin could see the sorrow in those dark eyes, and the crooked neck and shoulders that seemed to bear a terrible weight.

"I have wronged you, for I withheld the full truth from you on the matter of Luara," Farshid began, still looking into the distance. "An unspeakable sin rests on this family, one for which we must all atone. This is the true reason we should not marry outside our family."

Ervin remained quiet, letting Farshid speak his piece rather than interrupting him with questions.

"Would you please tell me what you know of Earth’s history, reverend?" Farshid asked. "What do you remember of our family, back in your time?"

Ervin sighed. "Those were very different times. The masses were little more than indentured serfs subsiding under the regime of the Universal Economic Council. The five Great Families had stakes in every corporation and were the de facto rulers of humanity in all but name. They controlled all wealth and were above the law…"

"This is the heart of the matter. We broke the very laws we set for others. We banned artificial intelligence, but we used it to retain our own wealth. We tightly regulated genetic engineering, but we freely enhanced ourselves. We held humanity back, so our control would forever remain beyond challenge. Worst of all, we condemned all of humanity to death, while we would live forever."

"Forever? Back in my days, the members of the Great Families would live for over a thousand years, but death would catch up eventually."

"Yes, ultimately, we died. But we stored our experiences externally. We created clones, engineered to a distinctly different appearance but identical in its responses, and transferred our experiences into it. This was all extremely primitive technology compared to what the Providers now offer freely to every human being, but similar in its outcome. There would be an entity perpetuating the same behavior and responses and contributing to and drawing from the same pool of experiences for all eternity."

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Ervin thought of the implications. "Were you already around in my time?", he asked.

"Indeed I was," Farshid admitted. "I was living on Earth, like most of our Great Family. I was egotistical and ambitious, but not particularly important yet. It took many lifetimes before I acquired the wealth and influence to fund the commissioning of my own colony ship. I arrived here in the 24th millennium and founded my own local branch of the Great Family. Much to our regret, we seceded from Earth in the 32nd millennium and became the leaders of the Ophiuchans. This abandoned the ideal of human unity, which we had always sought to accomplish as part of the UEC. While conditions for the masses were greatly improved compared to Earth, we did perpetuate the same method of control. We ensured the masses would eventually succumb to death, while we would live and rule forever."

"All of this should have ended when the Providers arrived. It violates their Policies. Yet here you are? A Provider, no less..."

"So it did. Compliance was quick to find out and arrest us for Policy violation, abuse of power. The choice given to each of us was simple. Be banished from our own worlds forever, or agree to be conditioned to the very faith we had betrayed, and serve the people we had wronged for the rest of eternity..."

"Conditioning…" Ervin gasped. "You mean Exaltation, don’t you?"

"The basis for Exaltation was in fact not devised by religious extremists. The Providers did, within days of arriving here. They learned of the Faith and were quick to note how the rulers of society were hypocrites that eschewed many of its principles. Yet, we were the longest living and most advanced human beings. We could be redeemed and be of service to the Empire, if only we would become, and forever remain, faithful."

"I assume you, as head of the family, were most strictly conditioned."

"Indeed."

"And as Max pointed out, the principles of the Faith and the Provider principles are the same…"

"Thus in time, I became a Provider. The others now hold titles as well. We will remain here and serve God and our people to atone for our past sins. This is why you cannot establish a relationship with Luara. That path would ultimately result in her banishment and bring grief to her and to our family. I am sorry."

"I understand," Ervin nodded.

"There is one more thing I must tell you," Farshid said softly. "Your son…"

Ervin immediately realized where this was going. "The Da Feng were using the same trick to achieve immortality?"

"Indeed. I have already contacted them about the matter. I am sorry to say your ex-wife is not with us anymore. The Providers may have reinstated her somewhere, but I leave it to you to decide whether or not to follow up on that. However, your son did well and rose to prominence. He is still alive on Proxima and would very much like to meet you."

Ervin was silent, thinking about the consequences of the revelation.

"I must ask you to keep these words a secret. In time we will atone publicly for our sins, as the truth should not remain hidden. But that time has not yet come. We must first fulfill our duties."

Ervin snapped out of his thoughts. "Your words are safe under the seal of confession," he said after a brief pause. "I forgive you for any wrongdoing against me and wish God’s peace upon you."