“Sometimes, you just have to choose yourself.”

***Outer Rim***

***Antioch***

“Why are you so moody?” Silith steps closer and links arms with me, waking me from mindlessly staring at the emptiness of space. It’s something I often do when I am alone in the throne room. The holographic window draws me in at times, so much so that I didn't even notice her approach until she announced herself.

“Is it that obvious?” I ask while I keep watching Haven's miniature star through the throne room's holograph. In reality, this room is deep within the ring-like superstructure, protected by layers of armour and shielding. Nonetheless, the quality of this fake window is good enough to deceive even my senses, and over the decades I accumulated more than a few enhanced senses. It takes quite a lot to trick me. One could say that a king deserves only the best, but the real reason for having a window like this in the throne room is no other than to show off to random visitors.

Feeling Silith's hand on my arm, I stroke it and smile, finding solace in the physical contact. “Just a little bout of depression, that's all. The Cyber and the G.S. won't be happy when they indeed lose control of this sector. And if we succeed, we will have killed millions. Billions more once our plans come to fruition. Carving out a place in the galaxy is just the first step and it will be done over the corpses of countless sentient species. Having firm control over a few star systems won't change the fact that our enemies are still numerous and strong.”

To be truthful, the toll won’t be uncountable, especially with access to Jill’s Myriad. The strange instrument is still puzzling to me, and only grudgingly gives up its secrets. It’s not like Jill didn’t try to explain it, but when she goes into the details and formulas, it’s like listening to the arcane teachings of a druid. Intellectually, we get that it somehow manipulates quantum states by affecting the electromagnetic field. Though, nobody understands why special conductive paint which is arranged into strange symbols achieves such an effect.

My better half huffs and gestures at the blue miniature star. “Have a little faith. Just look at what we accomplished in a few generations. Who can say what we might come up within a few more decades, or even a century from now? Yes, nobody can tell for sure that our enemies won't learn a few tricks of their own. But once we have established a few colonies like Haven, nobody will be able to stop us.

“We won't even have to be at the front lines. Others will venture out and spread our influence. Hob will have distributed our 'gift' to any who might want to take it. The G.S. will lose the support of those who were forced into servitude. As we approach the core worlds, our numbers will increase exponentially to the point at which not even their pet-A.I. can stop us. The Cyber will be the only real problem, but there are other factions who we haven't even met.”

She straightens, sounding confident. “The human factions have existed for eons within the V.C. and they weren't able to wipe each other out. The Cyber might have a little head start here in the real world, but that advantage will fade. Currently, they are only coming after us because it still might be possible to wipe us out with comparably few resources. That will change once we have this sector of space under control.”

I smile weakly. “So you are really content with starting a war that might last an eternity?”

“If it means that otherwise I would have to live under the oppression of others who tell me what's right and wrong, then yes. Let them have their eternal war if they want to spend their single life on it. Their eyes will bug out once we attack their forces and we show them what we can do. Let's take the first step with Haven, and then we can stay here and coordinate things. The Lifers just need us to take the first step. Others will walk the rest of the way.” She pats my back. “So, how's the tactical situation?”

A thought of mine is enough to turn the window into a three-dimensional map, showing a star system with seven planets. The second planet is a large and rich in resources, easily capable of supporting the G.S.'s industrial base. It also vibrates with life, turning it into the perfect choice for colonization.

There are also three large moons, serving as natural dockyards with low gravity. Long range scans showed that they are stuffed with weaponry, turning them into fortresses. The G.S. gathered all their forces to protect this priority target. Despite the odds, they somehow managed to do it, but I have no doubt that the Cyber are already in the process of accelerating some large rock to light-speed in order to crush their enemies. It's the easiest trick in the book when you want to deal with a large object that's on a predictable ballistic trajectory.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Throughout the system are signs of mining operations, but earlier incursions and fleet operations must have brought the work to a stop and forced the G.S. to pull back all their assets. It looks like some miners could have gone underground on the fifth planet, a dead rock without atmosphere which is perfect for digging deep, considering the low gravity. Scans indicate that there might be a solid iron core inside it, which would be useful.

My attention wanders to the three wormholes which orbit the local star like planets. They are two lighthours further out, but they provide the Cyber enough strategical coverage to impede any action the G.S. might take. The Cyber placed them there intentionally, just outside immediate weapon range of the G.S., but close enough to bring in resources quickly.

I would really like to know where those wormholes lead, but the only possibilities to find out are to either fly through and meet whatever is on the other side or to hack the Cyber's computer systems. Given the Cyber's nature, both possibilities are either very risky or de facto impossible.

We still aren’t entirely sure how versatile the wormhole technology is, but there must be either distance- or mass-related problems. Otherwise, the G.S. would be drowning in Cyber ships. One obvious weakness is that the wormholes only let through single ships. Our long-range reconnaissance confirmed that. There are minute-long intervals between each ingoing or outgoing ship. Depending on the ship’s size, the time until the jump varies, but it’s still noticeable. So at the very least, we don’t have to worry about them spawning a fleet with thousands of ships out of nowhere.

It doesn’t rule out that they are still able to bring in mentionable resources in the span of several days. My only solace is that those wormholes will be gone if our plan succeeds. Unlike the incident between the Cyber and the G.S., we won't leave behind a permanent disruption of n-space.

I admit that the ability to transport matter from one point to the other instantly is alluring, but if it means giving up on the advantages of n-space, then I don't want it. G.O.D. provides us with instant communication through the network. Not to mention that being in close proximity to a wormhole allows for the chance that the resurrection process of a personality might not work. Our scientists are now of the firm belief that dying close to a wormhole will cause severe memory loss at the very least. The only way to work against that is to backup a personality completely.

The Cyber don’t seem to care about the negative effects, a sign that they may have forsaken more of their humanity than anyone might think. From my observations, the Lifers are very concerned about the continued existence of each and every individual.

Compared to that, from what I heard about Cyber society, they are like a death-cult. Most of their followers are people who are sick of their endless existence within the V.C. They edit their personalities in an attempt to delete anything that makes them feel emotions, turning them into fancy automatons who are satisfied with their state of existence. Maybe that’s why they don’t care about final death.

I put my arm around Silith and pull her into my embrace. “You are right. From the first day when I started this journey, it was about achieving what I wanted, and not about what others intended for me. We will continue down this path and do our best to ensure the safety of those who we care about.”

A smile spreads all over my face as I remember a certain scene in our living room. “That aside, how are the kids doing?”

Silith’s relaxed expression immediately turns anxious. “I had to pay out Julie and her sisters for allowing their son to date V. I mean, they are first generation children of Fiona’s, so they shouldn’t make such a fuss about it.”

I laugh. “They were living on their own for quite a while. I am not sure if we can insist on family relationships after two decades of separation. I find it funny that V got together with a guy Jill chose for her. How did that even happen? They got to talk for maybe half an hour before you interrupted them.”

“Thankfully we interrupted them! I don’t want to think of what scene his mother would have made if the two were humping each other. And in regards to Jill’s choice, I am sure that she used some lowly trick!” Silith complains.

I stop laughing. “Like drugs? Mind manipulation?” That would be bad. Influencing the minds of others is one of the very few things we have strict laws against. Worst case, I would have to judge a legal against the Blue!

Silith shakes her head. “Nothing like that, though I think that Jill would be perfectly capable of doing so. Her moral compass isn’t the best. No. What I meant is that she somehow searched through every possible candidate and assessed their compatibility. She probably hacked all the available databases and social registers to gain the necessary information.”

“Well, that’s… slightly less problematic...” I am actually not sure which prospect worries me more. “I just hope that V and that boy get together and that they take Jill with them. I might even build them their own colony so that they can live somewhere with enough safety distance. Preferably one or two star systems away.”

Silith sighs.

“What?”

“Whatever Jill did, her selection process was a little too good. V doesn’t want to share,” Silith shares with a demure tone in her voice.

“Now, we can’t have that!” I take Silith’s hand and squeeze it. “We have to teach her how a proper Demon behaves!”

My wife rolls her eyes. “That’s probably exactly what Jill intended to happen. It’s the reason why I didn’t do anything. For once, I feel like I am a step ahead. We can't destroy V's happiness for our own good. If we want to teach Jill a lesson, then we have to stay strong and do nothing.”

I knead my chin, trying to follow Silith’s train of thought. “But… but… if we don’t tell V to take care of her sister, she might run off with this boy… alone... and then we are stuck with Jill! I was looking forward to having a few lightyears of safety distance between us and her!”

Silith nods. “It’s a real devilish plot. Having us choose who we love more. Our brave, well-behaved daughter, or ourselves.”