Chapter 233: Elysium (1/2)
Keeping on guard, I finished charging my singularity while gazing around. Stalling suited me just fine. Every second spent on this gave my forces more time for their retreat.
Tohtella Adair spoke with the Hybrid as her puppet,
”Aren't you curious what I mean by that?”
Suspending myself midair with a gravity well, I glared,
”What could we possible compromise on? Genocide? Manipulation?”
The Hybrid waved its hand, Tohtella voicing towards me,
”This is all a necessary evil. It is tasteless, abhorrent work-”
”Work you make other people do for you. Must be nice having the best of both worlds there.”
The Hybrid stayed calm,
”I understand your moral stance given your exposure. You've seen little of Schema's system, however. That much was apparent from our few conversations. You're simple-minded and short-sighted, but not willingly. Schema masked what it does, and it has abused your situation.”
The Hybrid reached out a hand, ”Give me a chance to express exactly how. I'm certain you will find most of what I have to say of value.”
She spoke with sterilized words, clean and unmarked by the reality of what she caused. It reminded me of Yawm and his disillusionment with Schema's system, just from a different source.
Still, I listened since she might carry some valuable info,
”Say what you're going to say.”
”We're doing this to ensure the safety of our union.”
I pointed at Polydra, ”You're telling me that doing this for safety is OK?”
”No. It isn't for my safety or anyone in the Adair family. We're competent enough for that if you haven't surmised that already. This process ensures safety for our citizens in the future.”
My eyes widened, ”Citizens?”
”Yes. We intend to create a nation that will stand against that robotic tyrant. We have the resources to accomplish this after gathering the gialgathens on Giess. They are a necessary, yet regrettable, need for this goal.”
I spread out my hands, ”Every bounty hunter across the galaxy is hunting you down. No one who allies themselves with you is safe. Period. Killing off a species doesn't fix that.”
The Hybrid raised a hand and a finger, but Tohtella's voice rang in my ears,
”You fail to consider the circumstances I'm suggesting. A normal citizen is far less safe within the territory we control. Exiled, unknowns, and others like them will gain protection, however. You should understand that. You were an unknown until recently. All you had to do was kill Emagrotha and Yawm for freedom.”
Frustration built in Tohtella's voice,
”You had to face impossible odds, win, then prove your loyalty time and time again. The reason wasn't that you didn't earn freedom earlier. Killing Yawm was more than enough based on current galactic standards for cleansing your unknown status.”
I shrugged, ”Eh, I figured that much.”
The Hybrid bristled,
”Schema calculated how much he could gain from you based on your history. With that data, he leveraged your situation as much as he could.”
I waved a hand, motioning her to move on,
”And?”
”And that doesn't bother you even in the slightest?”
I spread out my hands, ”You did the same thing.”
”My manipulation is out of desperation and necessity, not to gouge those that can be gouged.”
I believed her as much as I believed a timeshare salesman.
”Sure.”
The Hybrid raised a finger,
”My point still stands. Not everyone can defeat impossible odds as you did. People fail. People die. On a more personal note, most of my family passed in the pursuit of freedom from Schema's system. I worked for decades to the same end. I became a renowned Speaker. Do you know what I earned at the end of that path?”
Tohtella, controlling the Hybrid's body, threw up its arms in frustration,
”Endless work and endless toil. Schema wants everyone to become a machine that accomplishes its goals. I've read on your case files. He intends to use you as a bringer of destruction. Should you refuse, Schema intends to turn you into a mana battery.”
That declaration unnerved me even if she curated her words to incite that kind of response. I narrowed my eyes,
”I'm an investment and risk. He wants a payout. That makes sense.”
It took me off guard as she replied,
”You're a hardened individual, so you're resignment to your fate is expected. However, the Adair family is offering a sanctuary for those that want to avoid that outcome.”
I raised an eyebrow, ”How?”
”A nation that protects people with people instead of the consequences of an AI. The Hybrids, they will act as guards and hunt down those that kill members. Detectives will work in conjunction with scryers to find these murderers and bring them justice.”
She finished her words with an edge of anger infecting her voice. I narrowed my eyes,
”What makes you think you can control the Hybrids on that kind of scale?”
She lifted the Hybrid's hands, ”As you can tell, we've learned to control them well at this point. That is undeniable. Do you know how?”
I frowned and stayed silent.
”We use our innate psionic abilities. We gained those abilities through genetic modification millennia ago before Schema decimated our species. Our current abilities pale in comparison to what we once had. The reason for that is simple; our blood has diluted over time.”
The Hybrid tapped the edge of its head, ”We've relied on an inheritance that is slowly waning in potency. Our bloodline will fade given a few more generations. Even with this pitiful level of psionics, we still can control armies of these monstrosities, however.”
The Hybrid spread out its arms, ”And we aim to give this gift to the masses.”
Possibilities sprung into my head like fireworks at her words. The Hybrids existed above the eldritch. On the one hand, they endangered every species and living being across all of space. On the other hand, the Hybrids could be used to protect people as well, even those that lacked protection from Schema's system.
Despite her bold claims, her ideas still held a few holes. I calmed myself,
”How do you intend to handle the eldritch without Schema's incentives? Anyone joining your system will be exiled. People won't kill the eldritch without an incentive.”
The Hybrid tapped its chest, ”With the Hybrids in the manner you see before you.”
I scoffed, ”You honestly think they'll handle the eldritch?”
”Not by themselves, no.” She tapped where her temple would be, ”Using our minds, we pilot these creatures. This method will be given to those that earn the right to wield it. Hybrids stand above the eldritch, and they can be used to cull them utterly.”
She raised the Hybrid's hand, waving it across the sky, ”No one will be forced to risk their lives just to gain even the lowest of status. We will be equals standing with equal protection.”
I cupped my chin, genuinely diving into thought, ”OK, Schema's not agreeing to this, obviously. Every citizen in your nation will have a bounty, and they will be attacked. You intend to use Hybridized gialgathens to defend them?”
”No. The gialgathens will defend our planets from glassing. From Schema's previous history of handling rebellions, that will be his first course of action. The AI will glass every world that joins us.”
I pointed down, ”Like the espens on Giess?”
The Hybrid spread out its massive arms, ”Yes. Exactly.”
My voice grew grim, ”And you're murdering an entire species for this?”
The Hybrid nodded, ”Sacrifices must be made for the betterment of others.”
I pointed at her, ”Yeah, as long as they aren't your sacrifices? Right?”
The Hybrid leaned its head back, ”We have no intention of continuing this method of expansion post Giess. Once several planets are under our control, we'll rely on other methods. To begin this rebellion, we must stand on the corpses of many, however.”
She spoke out like a surgeon. Not only was she cold, but she lacked any real exposure to what was being done. She commandeered a puppet to fight for her. She manipulated a race to kill for her. She even offloaded moral responsibility with the classic claim, 'the ends justify the means.'
In a way, she mastered the art of rationalizing evil.
I spread out my arms, ”OK, so you've got this nice, idealistic concept. Have you actually accomplished even a trial run of the idea?”
The Hybrid lifted its chin, staring down at me with confidence,
”Of course we have. We're positioned on a planet. How else do you think we have this level of resources.”
I blinked a few times, all her claims blowing my mind. At this point, digesting the information required time and some other perspectives like Torix or Althea. Hell, maybe Hod could intuitively grasp this whole mess and give us some golden insights.