[401] 5.25 The Arbarra Summit II

The buttons, I quickly realize, are some sort of mechanism to request permission to speak at this meeting.  I do not understand all the nuances of the rules, but the basics are clear enough.  The Chancellor has the role of something called the chair, and chooses which individuals are allowed to speak.  When called upon, they are allowed to speak on any topic that they see fit.

Ninety seconds, that’s all the time they’re allotted, unless the chairman chooses to give them additional time.  Once he did, just five seconds to finish a speech.  Never again.

Madison, I’m sure, is frustrated that she has yet to be called on.  I am as well.  They speak about tax policy and trade routes and immigration and other matters that I am sure are important to some people and probably a big deal to certain individuals.  They sound important, given the impassioned speeches both for and against various esoteric proposals that I do not fully understand.

Taxation of unrealized capital gains?  Anti-dumping provisions?  Visa reciprocity and the normalization of diplomatic relationships?  I vaguely know what the individual words mean, but I do not understand the concepts, nor do I understand why people care so much.  All of my time has been spent either reading about combat or reading stories about the brave young heroines in books who went on to save the world from evil invaders or monsters from another realm or maybe that genre of books I like where people grow stronger and journey with their friends and family over the years.  It’s nice to see how other people live their lives.

They do and I struggle to follow along and instead I’m just cycling [Ether] through my body and standing at full attention the whole while and trying not to embarrass Madison too much by demonstrating just what a colossal waste of time everything has been to this point.  I swear half of these people just really love the sound of their own voices.  I, however, most certainly do not.

“The Chair recognizes Governor Mazerie of Planet XSQ-1827,” he says.  “You will have three minutes.”  That much has already been well-established.  Maybe he also likes the sound of his voice.  His is more tolerable than some of the screeches that have to be translated automatically into the common tongue.

“Thank you, Chancellor,” she says.  “I would like to submit the following documents as an exhibit to accompany my speech.”

With a flash of blinding white light, hundreds of pieces of paper appear in her hand.  She places them on a panel on her desk.  They vanish.  On the monitors, I can see them each reappearing, one on the Chair’s saucer and one each in each diplomat’s respective station.  From the monitors I watch as they read the reports.  If any of them are bothered by the harrowing facts Madison has presented, they do not show it upon their faces.  None consult with their bodyguards.  There is no communication with the outside world.

Madison continues after barely a second.  “For the last forty-five years, ever since I thought I had retired from public life on the front lines, I have dedicated myself to cosmological and System-related research.  Throughout the last forty years, I have dedicated my scientific pursuits to the causes of the cosmological disappearances in regions of far space in the range from five hundred megaparsecs up to two gigaparsecs.  Disappearances of star systems and galaxies at a rate far too quick to be attributed to natural cosmological phenomena.

“I had modeled these changes, revised them in response to new data, and after ten years of refining them, extrapolating outward and then retrofitting to fit new data, I have come to the harrowing conclusion that the entirety of the observable universe is being eaten alive.  Moreover, the rate of decay is accelerating, and has been accelerating for at least the last one hundred years.”

Still no one says a word.  The Chancellor listens neutrally, no sign of anything but polite acknowledgement as his paw flips through the pages.

“We have fifteen years left.  Slightly less than that, if my calculations are correct.  The System invaded this universe sixteen thousand three hundred and sixty-nine years ago.  It is my professional belief that when that timer reaches sixteen thousand three hundred and eighty-four, the entire universe will cease to exist.

“I have not brought this to everyone’s attention simply to cause alarm.  Over the previous fifteen years, ever since confirming the data to a seven-sigma tolerance, I have been working on countermeasures.  About six years ago, my co-principal investigator Dr. Martin Chotono and I made a major breakthrough in the seemingly intractable Glyph Design Problem, with which I assume most of you are familiar.  What I did not reveal publicly at the time, and what I have kept to myself and my senior research staff until now, is that we had reverse engineered a glyph with undefinable characteristics.”

This revelation causes the Chair’s left eyebrow to rise slightly.  He does not speak, but that demonstration alone speaks volumes after hours of complete dispassion.

“Undefinable characteristics?  What do you mean?”  The snake woman I saw before hisses her discontent, uncoiling out of the strange pillar that has been serving as her chair.

“Quiet, Queen Lissell,” the Chair says.  A single raised paw and a terrifying surge of [Ether] nearly makes my own knees buckle despite not being anywhere near the target of the demonstration.  “You will wait to be addressed before speaking out of turn again.  Dr. Mazerie, your time will be extended by five seconds.”

Queen Lissell scowls at the admonishment, but acquiesces.

“Lady Lissell is correct to be skeptical.  However, skepticism does not change the results, nor the potential of this design to fight against the System itself in an attempt to reclaim our universe’s autonomy from the System.  If it is our destiny to succumb, then so be it.  But I believe fate has not yet been fully written.  That is why I have come to this meeting and seek to address the regional council.  I wish to mobilize a proper war effort to strike back at the System, to undo calamity before it one day devours all that we know and love.  Please, Mister Chair, members gathered here today.  I beseech each and every one of you to lend your support in our most desperate hour.”

Madison’s speech is impassioned.  I know she speaks sincerely; I can see it on her face and I know it without even being told.  I am the product of that research she mentions and the weapon with which she intends to fight.  It is the reason why I was created.  Now, I understand the reason why I was summoned here in this role.  Not as a diplomat, but as an exhibit.  I feel a bit betrayed, but I understand her reasons for doing so.

I will still express my frustrations, later, in private.  But for now, I shall remain as unexpressive as the Chair, tuning out all heckling to the contrary.

“I yield the remainder of my time,” Madison says.

The cacophony is immediate.  Even though these barriers are designed to block sound and the walls obstruct most avenues for other forms of spying, it is apparent from the way people are going into an uproar on the monitors and the continued banging of the Chairman’s paw to call the chamber to order.  Through all of this, Madison looks like she is about to roll her eyes and pass out from a headache which I know she could heal at any moment.

“The Chair recognizes Prime Minister Salarin to speak.”

“My fellow delegates,” he says.  “Mister Chair.  With all due respect to Governor Mazerie and her known accomplishments both in the field of combat and in the scientific realm, I must raise the question with you and my fellow representatives.  What, exactly, is she asking of us? 

“Is she seriously suggesting that we try to fight against the System itself?  How does she propose to do that?  And why should we suspect even for a moment that these figures and models are accurate to reality?  I understand that there may be some anomalies on the outer edges of the universe, but for her to come here and demand we drop everything— lives, finances, upend our entire systems of government and representation, politics and economics, frighten zeroth ascension workers and even children in the name of some hypothetical boogeyman?  Is that what we’re really stooping to?  Or is this just some scare tactic to corral additional funding from this body for her own personal projects?  Because that’s what all of this is sounding like to me.  With all due respect, and yielding the remainder of my time.”

Madison raises a hand in objection, though her face is unmoved.  I want to sneer in my own contempt, because the amount of ‘due respect’ he’s clearly implied is ‘no respect due at all.’

“Representative Salarin,” the Chairman says.  “This body does not tolerate personal attacks on any member.  Governor Mazerie, you have one minute in rebuttal.”

Madison stands once more.  “Everything we know is in peril.  I understand the hesitancy, the unwillingness to cooperate on a proposal that seems outlandish.  However, I personally vouch for and stake my professional reputation on the veracity of my claims.  We have the methods thanks to these new advancements in glyph design.  What I ask for is the means to put this proposal into motion.  An investment not in more money and wealth and status for the more established and central planets, but one in a coordinated effort for universal survival.”

An insectoid woman who looks like an oversized ant that learned how to stand up and walk on just its two hindmost legs is called on by the Chair.  She furrows her antennae as she pores over the documents— one of the few who seems to be taking Madison’s entreaties at least somewhat seriously.

“The Chair recognizes Hive Queen Xythra.”  Again that man’s words are spoken with a calmness that belies the finality of that dictum.  Just how powerful is he, truly?  Is he more powerful than even Madison?  The thought that there could be someone her superior makes my heart shiver with dread.

“Thank you, Mister Chair.” The melody of the words is eerie, carrying with it a sort of harmony not quite in sync.  It’s as though multiple voices are trying to speak at once.  Is this Xythra really just a single individual, or multiple beings sharing a body who aren’t fully in agreement?  My curiosity is stifled by the terror of what would happen if I was caught using [Anomalous Decryption] on someone with a hundred level-equivalents on me.

“Naturally, we are sympathetic to Dr. Mazerie’s testimony and the compassion she shows to those who operate under her.  Her commitment to her hive— her community, we beg your pardon, is laudable.  However, we do not have enough information on any sort of an action plan on how you intend to employ this anomalous glyph you claim to represent a sort of ‘freedom from fate,’ if we understand this executive summary correctly.  Can you demonstrate at least some sort of proof of concept?  Dr. Mazerie?”

Madison turns to me.  I have the self-control to avoid a physiological anxiety response.  The fear in my mind is harder to suppress.  I nod.  I again do not like where this plan is going, but neither do I like the idea of this world and all these people and places and opportunities just vanishing.  It might be just because this was the reason for which I was created.  I still wish to fight, on my own initiative.

“Thank you, Queen Xythra.  And yes, I completely understand your predilections about this proposal.  The glyph in question, which I have named ｢The Anomaly｣, is not subject to or bound by the same principles and rules which underlie the general theories on enchanting and spellcraft.  It is, as its name suggests, in a class separate from all others, and we have not been able to find a way to utilize it in conventional weaponry.  However, we discovered that the glyph would take when embedded into a sapient host, not wholly dissimilar from the way a class imprints upon a person when reaching their species’s unlock age.

“Four months ago, we were successful.”  Madison turns to me.  Thousands of other eyes follow.  The silence grows even heavier, but I remain motionless, caught in the moment.

“I present my life’s masterpiece, the bearer of ｢The Anomaly｣, the centerpiece of Project Seraphina, and my pride and joy.  My daughter, the cyborg Seraphina herself.”