It was in the middle of the night, a few nights later, that Sobon was forced awake by a familiar spiritual presence. The last few days had been good, or at least pleasant--Ki'el had settled in, and Sobon resumed fully attuning Alassi's body to her personal aether. She had recycled her rifle rods, but since they were now flawed in their aether structure from overuse, she transformed most of the material, and the power sources she had engraved into the rod, into a simple power battery for the walls. And she had spent some time examining the inert space ring that Lai Shi Po had given her, but not tried to fill in the intent, not yet.
Now, in the middle of the night, the spirit that had come to speak with her before was there, Sobon knew, in the courtyard. Sobon went out to meet it, half surprised that it maintained its sedate behavior, after having fled last time, the moment Sobon questioned its origin. Or... had it really fled? Or simply refused to answer?
[ (Spiritual visitor), ] Sobon pulsed the greeting along with notes of caution and inquiry. She was careful to choose a mental concept that didn't imply either (Spiritual life-form) or (Spiritual projection of another).
[ Crestan. ] The entity's spiritual voice was clear, and Sobon noted, its inquiry was carefully directed such that the others sleeping nearby wouldn't hear it. Although, Sobon thought, Lui had been awakened when Sobon got up, and Ki'el was sleeping restlessly. [ How much power is too much? ]
That... Sobon's mind ground to a halt at the question. The last time it had come, it had asked about myth, and entertained Sobon redirecting the topic to the right of a leader to rule. Why the philosophy? [ There is no universal answer, ] Sobon replied after a long moment. [ An individual can have great power they never use, or abuse their power while having almost none. Advanced society is built on increasing how much power their people have. And societies who give the unworthy too much power always fail, whether societies involve high aether weapons or sharp sticks. ]
[ You deny that there are societies that are unworthy to survive, but will not fall from within, and will not fall from without. ] There was an edge to the spirit's voice.
Sobon took a deep breath, accepting that she was wrong. A civilization could be evil to its enemies and good to its citizens, and as a result, become too strong to defeat. The thought that an unworthy civilization would necessarily fail had been... a bit naive, even based on Crest's own history. [ If you are asking how much power a society can safely have... I don't know. I feel like in order to find out, you would need to study an advanced society. ]
[ How would you study such a society? ]
[ I'm a Marine, not a sociologist ] Sobon snapped back instantly, not shying away from adding deep undertones of frustration to the thought, but she at least entertained the question. [ I don't know. But I feel like the morals of a society aren't a mystery to people that look at it, although they can be hidden. If a people say they mean well but do terrible things, they don't mean well. If they say they are honest but hide their sins, then they aren't honest. ]
[ You do not believe some amount of concealment is necessary in governance? ]
[ You know that's different, ] Sobon snapped again, irritated to be pressured on these matters in the middle of the night. Vaguely, she sensed Ki'el stirring, and noted that Lui was definitely aware that something was going on, although she remained in her room. Mian, as far as she could tell, was still asleep. [ There is a difference between concealing things that would require proper context to understand, and concealing things... ] How did she even phrase it? What exactly was she trying to say? [ ...concealing things that even those with proper context disagree on, in order to limit the amount of disagreement. ]
[ How does this fit into your 'foundational social myth', and the right to rule? ]
If the spirit's intention was to distract Sobon, that question had the opposite effect, solidifying her thoughts. [ Governance will always be complicated, and it isn't my job to judge whether people do that job right or wrong. But what you are asking is whether concealing things is right or wrong for a ruler. There's no single answer, and there never will be. It would take a specialist with full information to determine if something was right or wrong, and that is a part of the answer you are searching for. Hiding information specifically so that the educated do not have an opportunity to disagree will always be unethical. ]
[ So, how much power is too much? ]
The abrupt conversation shift irritated Sobon. She suspected that the spirit was trying to get her to reach some specific answer. [ Why do you care about my answer? ]
[ Are you not currently seeking great power? ]
Sobon scoffed at that, the sound quiet in the silent courtyard. [ Anyone who knows I am from Crest...] She paused, unsure of what rational-intuitive objection she was trying to offer. Instead, she shifted her argument. [ I do not seek or desire to lead these people, only to protect them. I do not believe that I am some great infallible being who should, or will, rule this world in place of its current leaders. I come from a place ruled by (experts), not warlords. ]
[ Then, how much power is too much? ]
[ If I knew that my objective could be obtained without using power, I would do so. ]
[ If your objective could be obtained without using power, would the power you have be too much? ]
[ Are you being obnoxious on purpose? ] Sobon withheld a storm of emotion, not letting it spill out into her words, except around the edges.
[ Yes. ] The spirit's reply was amused, and it ignored a frustrated and wordless burst from Sobon. [ I know what your purpose is. Your mission on this world will shift before you accomplish it. ]
[ You are not Ri'lef, ] Sobon accused directly, and the spirit, smugly but calmly, gave an affirmative reply. [ I do not know who you are, but I cannot trust your word on this matter. The matter at hand is too important for me to be distracted from it. ]
[ I do not ask you to take my word for it. The questions you have asked will lead you to your answer. It will not lead to your success. ] The spirit adjusted its presence just slightly, giving an air of a person with a considering tilt to their head, although the image of their body remained abstract, fuzzy. [ In consideration for your honesty, I will offer the same. One question, at least. ] At the same time, on another layer of aether, a message was laid out plainly, using a form of double-speech that was only common among those who did a great deal of aether conversation. [ I may choose not to reply. ]
A number of questions rolled through Sobon's mind, although above all, she recognized that she was being played. The almost flirtatious back and forth was a play to make the spirit seem ever more legitimate, although whether it actually was or not was hard to tell. It might have been a planetary spiritual god, watching over Sobon with every intent to help, or the Diamond Lord himself, teasing out how much of a danger Sobon was.
Sobon chose her words as carefully as she could. [ Do you stand on the side of those who subjugate those seen as lesser to the Djang? ]
The spirit's posture shifted slightly in response. [ That question is irrelevant to me, ] it answered, a little stiffly, [ but I do not. ]
Irrelevant? Definitely not the Diamond Lord himself. Unless he truly doesn't concern himself with matters of state anymore. When the spirit didn't appear to be immediately leaving, Sobon formed another question. [ Are you currently searching for greater power yourself? ]
[ To answer the question you intended to ask, no, I am not. But an honest reply to the question as asked can only be that yes, I am. ]
When there was another pause, Sobon hesitated, then finally asked, [ What question do you believe I intended to ask? ]
There was a very smug emotional pulse in reply, and then the spirit said, [ Your people will be contacting you soon. In answer, I believe, to your earlier question. ] And then it disappeared.
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There are a great number of things Sobon might have expected after that. But what she did not expect was, within five minutes, for another relay chat to come in from K'val, the Ri'lef engineer. Sobon frowned as she accepted the call, boosting her mental processes so that she could keep up with the packetized thoughts.
[ Replying to Sobon, the (Summoned) warrior of Crest, ] it began, [ this is K'val, the Corona's (industrial second). Please reply if you are able to communicate at this time. ]
This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
[ (Accepting), this is Sobon. K'val, I have been in contact with a (unclassified spiritual entity) that seems aware of your presence and current actions. They do not declare themselves as Ri'lef, and do not appear hostile. Are you aware of any such entity? ]
There was a pause. [ There are several deity-class spiritual entities who have been partially briefed on our purposes, however, I am not involved with those matters. Please direct a briefing to the Corona. ] Then, a second thought, clearly previously composed. [ Regarding your most recent transmission. You are correct that there are spatial faults linking the Starbeats sources across the planet to the crash site of the Corona. And you are correct that they also link to the Founders' facility, or at least, the location where that facility should be. Unfortunately, because the existence and nature of these spatial links are Founders' secrets, I cannot give you a full map of them. I will, however, authorize the Corona to give you specific directions such that you may enter one spatial fault and arrive at another. For security reasons, you may not be allowed to ask too many times. ]
Sobon signaled an affirmative, and then, [ Do you have a list of the coordinates for all spatial faults? ]
[ For similar reasons, that is restricted. You may ask the Corona to direct you to a nearby fault. ]
Sobon considered. [ What level of aether toxicity can be expected at these faults? ]
The return packet, as Sobon fully expected, wasn't pleasant. It was well past the limit of cell toxicity, and undeniably lethal. Sobon would need a powerful, external source of shielding, which was the next part of the plan. [ Will it be possible, at an arbitrary future date, to request directions to a winnable confrontation with one or more mature Starbeasts? ]
[ Yes, we were expecting you would ask eventually. We have the ability to direct Starbeasts at various levels of maturity through direct and indirect links, and can ensure nonlethal encounters. Although you should be able to avoid the effects of poisoning from a lesser core with shielding and attunement, we would suggest you refrain from requesting materials until you can handle them comfortably. ]
Sobon ackowledged that, then after a long moment, passed along another set of thoughts. [ In discussion with a local, they described two points in history when the world changed. One was the arrival of the Corona and the appearance of the Starbeasts. The second, sometime later, sounded like it may have been when their leader discovered the Founder facility. Can you confirm the basic events? ]
There was a relatively long pause after that, which Sobon assumed was the Engineer conferring with someone. When K'val replied, though, there was caution underlaying the transmission.
[ Broadly incorrect, ] he said. [ Our understanding of the events suggest that the locals broke into the Founder facility before our arrival, and the aether levels were raised at that time. The Corona's AI confirms the existence of a third event that altered the planetary flow of aether, but we aren't sure of its origin. Our assumption is that it has to do with the facility, but we have not tracked any of the expected changes from it since then. ]
Sobon frowned, but beore she could reply, there was another transmission.
[ I am also being reminded by vocal members of our working group that I am obliged to once again censure your use of non-local aether patterns, and your dismissive attitude towards keeping certain secrets. Please understand that we are measuring mythological (drift) and (shear) levels, not directly monitoring your behavior. There is a mythology (shear) surrounding you that is significant enough to cause a fault if not handled properly. ]
Sobon, if she were in any sort of company, would have had to conceal outward signs of confusion from that, but didn't chose to as she stood alone in the courtyard. [ You're going to need to define mythological (shear). ]
There was only a beat, and the return packet was flavored with irritation. [ Mythological shear is a term for when a person or artifact appears so foreign that it cannot be accounted for by accepted social myth, and therefore is considered unique, transcendent, or anathema. Starbeasts are still suffering from the consequences of mythological shear, and they are a good example of why it is a problem. Although in several ways they are comparable to local aether-adapted species, they are treated specially, with people deifiying and mythologizing everything from their cores to their bodily fluids. If you reach certain levels of mythology shear, you can expect a significant rise in obsessive behavior from others. If it rises to the level of a mythological fault, you may be completely unable to avoid attention. ]
At that, Alassi's spirit stirred slightly. [ I am sure that when they added Starbeast meat and blood to our meals, in the army, it had an effect on our qi levels. Perhaps not a large amount, but... ]
Sobon, patiently, pushed a thought to her. [ What the engineer said was only that it wouldn't have more of an effect than a comparable aether animal, like the Bassar. ] To K'val, she replied, [ How does one measure mythological shear? ]
[ Much of this is protected information, but the aether foundations of myth are a function of Sacred and Corrupt aether, which you should already know are Time and Fate-linked. For lack of a better description, "Mythic aether" searches for a source, and if it cannot find one, it gathers until it creates one. You do not want to be a unique source of myth, as it will interfere with everything you come into contact with, attaching itself to your every word and bowel movement. It is better to tie all of myth to existing foundations, or if necessary, create false sources of myth that you are merely tied to, or a vessel for. ]
With barely a pause, K'val continued. [ And that is all exactly why we, despite very much needing your help, would appreciate it if you would stop making it look like you are the source of your own special powers. My colleagues, broadly speaking, would phrase that more harshly. ]
That brought to Sobon's mind images of the City Lord bowing and scraping to her. It made a certain sense, although Sobon could also convince herself that the Ri'lef were either mistaken or overstating things. The people here seemed to worship power, and very few people would pay attention to exactly where the power came from or whether it seemed unnatural.
That thought warred with Sobon's instinct to trust an engineer from an advanced society that specializes in exactly these sorts of things. Sobon knew the engineers weren't infallible--and would never have argued that they were--but it was very rarely a good idea for a Marine to argue with a specialist. And in truth, Sobon didn't yet have any strong or deep understanding of the local culture. There was an element of doubt, one Sobon didn't intend to completely crush, but the Ri'lef insight into these topics was deeper than any others she had access to.
[ The implication of your request does include the idea that a stand-in could be created to explain my ascension, ] Sobon pointed out in return, after a few seconds of thought that amounted to a fairly long pause in their conversation. [ The tools that I've mainly used are my aether (dynamos) and some limited aether scripts. My only real protoge so far has only been introduced to the (dynamos), and I've introduced it using the symbol ⏻, which could simply be a spiritual truth that was revealed in some way. I won't argue that the scripts have an obvious outside source, but I feel like they could be explained away. ]
[ We haven't seen your workings enter into the planetary mythos, just the drift and shear related to your ascension. The problem with revealing your source is exactly that it would be copied. A part of our intentions here are to limit the aether development on this planet, not accelerate it. ]
Sobon started to object, then thought about it. In truth, Sobon had little understanding of where and how the locals gathered qi, except that it was completely inferior, and that many of them gathered it passively or while fighting Starbeasts. She was tempted to assume that was how everyone got stronger--but she hadn't bothered to ask. The only time she'd actually studied someone trying was back with Ki'el, on the island. There had been others, the slaves freed at the inn, but they were both weak and grasping at straws, and Sobon had paid them little mind. [ I acknowledge the problem and will seriously consider how my methods may need to change or be adapted. I will need to do more research with the locals to determine how my methods compare to theirs. ]
[ If you get involved with local qi development efforts, send us occasional briefings. Although we are able to study them remotely, we have not been in contact with any of them. There is a substantial difference between what they're doing, and what they think they're doing. We'd like to know more about the latter. ]
Sobon sent a wordless acknowledgement, and the Ri'lef seemed to cut the connection. After a few moments, Sobon noticed that the others in her home were all watching her again, with even Mian having woken to sit with the others, watching Sobon stand there in the courtyard, having an obvious aether conversation with no one at all.
"I don't feel like there's any reason to watch me," she said as she turned to look. Of the three of them, Lui and Mian both seemed somewhere between relaxed and fascinated, while Ki'el... perhaps just because of her nature, was watching as though worried something awful was going to happen.
But Mian just shook his head at her. "I can't imagine not wanting to watch, Alassi. Or, I guess, Sobon." He grinned. "There are times when your qi is completely understandable. But whoever you were talking to, whatever you were talking about, it was..." Mian seemed to find himself lost for words.
"It felt like you could put the whole world inside a single thought, a single moment in time," Lui said. "I can't even imagine what... what kind of insights into the world are hidden in those thoughts, but I can sense them shining like diamonds in the night."
Something in the girl's honest admiration made Sobon momentarily confused, and for some reason, ashamed. She wanted to object, to say that her thoughts were something more ordinary... but then, the Ri'lef had talked about how fate-linked aether works, and how it was a problem for Sobon in particular. And the spirit had forced her to talk about worthiness to hold great power.
Sobon shifted, looking away not out of embarrassment, but out of frustration. It was her nature and her purpose to focus on the job at hand, and she would prefer not to have to worry about the... aesthetics, of what she was doing. "There's still nothing to look at."
"It was a glimpse." For some reason, it was Ki'el who spoke up. "A glimpse of something we will never be able to see anywhere else. Something you will probably never speak of. If we do not watch for ourselves..." When Sobon glanced at her, the girl looked away. "We would never know it even happened. And that would be a sad thing."
A sad thing? Sobon wasn't sure how to fit that thought within her worldview. Marines were sent across a warzone on the whims of higher officers, without ever understanding the details. They could only understand the overall structure, and trust... though, Sobon realized, she was hiding the structure from them. And even if she wanted to reveal it, how much could she really say? Would it be enough for them to satisfy their curiosity, or their worries?
"Go back to bed," Sobon said, tiredly. "We... we can talk more in the morning." She hadn't really intended to mean it as a promise, but as the words came out of her mouth, she was sure that was exactly what it was, for better and for worse.