“One-dimensional minds are so easy to manipulate. Just point them in the direction you want them to go, and forget about them.”

- Mo

***Outer Rim***

***Antioch***

The cacophony of voices drives me almost insane! They are all talking and it’s almost impossible to keep up! There are about fifty Blue who managed to harness enough interest in the issue at hand to attend this meeting. At first, they were all silent, waiting for some hidden signal to start the meeting.

Then they started talking all at once.

Jill is standing next to us, recounting what we know about the Cyber. Though, her narration is less of a recount and more like telling the other Blue where to look for the important information. Apparently, they are using G.O.D. to dig for the information, spying directly at what they want to know. Here and there, I manage to concentrate on a voice, but the discussion is too chaotic, as every Blue seems to have a piece to add to the picture.

“Portal is crudely implemented, but works well enough…”

“Unlikely that one of us helped them...”

“Should search the memories of every Blue who had contact with...”

I squint my eyes and rub my temples as I stress my newly acquired ability to multitask. If I pay the discussion my full attention, I am barely able to keep up, but the Blue are treating this like a friendly chat at a bar!

Next to me, Mo grins, showing off rows of teeth. “Look what we have here. A limited mind which isn’t so limited after all. Though, you still have a long way to go. Don’t worry too much about keeping up. What you hear is just the surface chatter. You just get to hear the headlines of the information which is shared beneath the table, so to speak. Listening to all of it would fry your puny little brain.”

Silith gives me a weird look but returns her attention to Mo. “Do we even have a brain while we are in the V.C.?”

“Ha!” Mo laughs and draws his claws over the obsidian platform which is holding him afloat. “Good point! The first step to advancement is to realize that there is no spoon. Here in the V.C., there is only one form of evolution. The evolution of the mind.”

Lisandra’s expression turns confused and she eyes Mo with a glassy expression. “A spoon? What does a spoon have to do with this chaos?” She indicates the Blues who are talking with, over, and past each other, making it seem like we are at a large cocktail party.

The dragon-thing looks at her, somehow managing to convey pity in its expression. “It’s okay if you don’t get what’s going on. Actually, little lady, you might fare better if you try to adapt your friend’s attitude.” He points a bony claw at Fiona.

“There is the yellow dress, which fits my hair colour, but I guess that I could also take the green one and change the colour of my hair. Being a blonde is getting boring anyway. I never got a chance to wear the green one up until now. Then there is the question of panties. It’s our first date, but fat chance that it will end the way a first date should end, so either red or black for those...” She keeps talking to herself, somehow managing to block out the chaotic discussion. While doing so, she uses her fingers to keep track of her recount.

Lisandra returns her attention to Mo. “Can’t do that either. Once she gets going about clothes, she won’t stop for hours. Once, she had me decide between two dresses which she downloaded from a famous designer. As you probably know, even in the real world, our clothes are nano-tech which is a part of our body and we can change our outfit at will. Took her an entire evening to finally decide that she would switch between the two choices every ten minutes.”

Mo doesn’t answer immediately. When he finally does, he sounds frightened. “Please make sure that she never tries to become a Blue. Sounds like she would become a second Jill if she succeeds.”

I return my attention to the discussion at large and notice that someone projected several real-time pictures of the galaxy, highlighting the Cyber population. There are also some live-streams which don’t make much sense to me, but I try to commit everything to memory nonetheless. Whoever did this doesn’t seem to care that he just shared priceless tactical information with me.

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Here and there I catch other important pieces of information. Like the fact that there doesn’t seem to be a Blue who is responsible for the Cyber’s ability to open wormholes. Or that there seem to be several factions among the Cyber.

Some Blue are discussing the issue that the Cyber seem to have acquired this ability on their own, and therefore shouldn’t be interfered with. Others want to keep up the balance and protect n-space, which would require wiping out any wormhole technology.

Suddenly, the discussion stops and all the avatars look at our platform.

Jill turns to face me. “We are unsure of how to continue. Apparently, the Cyber managed the feat of linking their minds together, which resulted in the creation of an Overmind which is almost as capable as a Blue. It’s a roundabout method, but the results are indisputable, and it also means that they aren’t bound to any of our rules.”

I look at my wayward daughter. “So, this means that we don’t get any help?”

She clicks her tongue in displeasure. “It means that the way forward isn’t as clear as it should be. On one side, wormhole technology is annoying for us. On the other, it’s unlikely that the Cyber will come up with anything more disruptive anytime soon. From our current point of view, it would be best to sit back and wait for the Demons to contain the Cyber.”

Raising an eyebrow, I sweep my gaze over the silent crowd. “So, how are we supposed to do this if we don’t get any help? From when I almost blued-out, I got a glimpse of how powerful a fully augmented mind must be. And you are telling me that the Cyber have achieved something that’s almost like a Blue?”

“Didn’t we give you detailed information on the layout of Cyber controlled space?” an indistinct voice yells from a platform further away. “All of us noticed when you started paying attention to the information which we displayed so conveniently for your senses to pick up.”

Another one chimes in from a closer platform, a Blue with a yellow blob of an avatar. “And aren’t you yourself playing with augmenting your mind? The Demons also got a racial bonus which allows their leaders to observe any member of their kind anywhere in reality. Used properly, it can be misused as instant communication, even over a distance of hundreds of lightyears.”

I didn’t come here to have it pointed out that we have cheats of our own. We hoped for some help from the Blue.

Unfortunately, they don’t wait for me to come up with a witty response. Slowly, one Blue after the other vanishes together with their platforms and I look at Jill. “So all of this was for naught? I thought that the wormholes pose a threat to n-space?”

Jill shrugs apologetically. “They do, and none of the Blue who attended the meeting were pleased about it, but after looking at all the available data, it was pointed out that there is a high probability that everything will right itself if we do nothing and just give the Demons a little kick in the right direction.”

Silith crosses her arms and glares at her daughter. “I am sorry, but I don’t see how we can correct the situation for you without a serious technological advantage! We may be able to communicate instantaneously over lightyears, but so can the Cyber through their wormholes. Plus, they can also send ships!”

Mo yawns and I realize that except for him and Jill, all the other Blues are gone. The dragon-thing turns to wave a claw at Jill. “It was very unpleasant to waste time with you. Hopefully, there won’t be a next time.”

“Hey!” Lisandra raises a hand to stop the dragon. “Can’t you help us? You said that you were researching some new quantum mechanics when you showed up.”

Mo rolls his large eyeballs, which makes his avatar look ridiculous. “Limited mind, try to think at least a little outside the box. If you think that you need a technological boost, then why does the boost have to come from us? Or why should we Blue have to do anything for you? Every action causes a reaction of equal strength. If we try to fight the violation of n-space by releasing information which makes the violation of n-space even more likely, what would be the result?”

“Aaah...” Lis looks confused. “More violation of n-space?”

“Congratulations!” Mo claps his claws together, slowly fading out of existence.

Silith sighs, looking defeated. “Well, what a bust! Seems like all of this was for naught, except for the tactical information. I hope that Antioch and I weren’t the only ones who paid attention.”

We look at Jill, who simply shrugs, implying that we shouldn’t even ask. Then at Lisandra, who nods fervently. When it’s Fiona’s turn, the busty blonde is still recounting her options on clothes on her fingers. Of course, she notices the attention and looks up. “What?”

I huff, silently lamenting on Fiona’s shortcomings. But not everyone is perfect and so I have to admit that Fi’s strengths simply lie in different areas.

Still, there is a thought which keeps nagging at the back of my mind. It has to do with Mo’s last words about technology. The Blue said that we shouldn’t expect his people to willingly give us even more technology. “But who said that it has to be the Blue?” I ask.

“What?” Lisandra asks.

“Who says that we have to get the technological boost from the Blue? Why can’t we steal it from the G.S. or the Cyber?” I try to spin the thought a little further, remembering the days of our humble beginnings. “Who says that-”

“-we can’t just buy the tech!” Silith finishes the thought and the four of us look at each other.

But then Silith’s expression turns desperate. “Does anyone have the slightest idea how to contact Hob? The bastard said that he would show up when he finds important news, but he never lowered himself to actually do so!”

“Oh, that’s easy,” Fiona mentions casually. “All the survivalists have dealings with Hob at one point or the other. There is a code which can be sent through basic warp-tech. Usually, one of Hob's versions is close enough to react within a week.”

Then she returns to the issue of her clothes.