Thread: Heartless Alliance (Mr Master and Oreo)

Sadness? Grieving? I know nothing of these. Telkrans know anger and pleasure, there is nothing more. Dizzik nodded, absorbing that. Interesting. I wonder if you replicate humans, our bodies, and our brains, with all the specialized emotional response areas, the hormones, the endocrine glands... I wonder if you'll start to experience them. Human emotions are as much biochemistry as the operation of the mind, after all. Hm. We'll have to keep an eye on that. There are telepaths among your people? To find even one, would be invaluable to the Consortium. We have long craved the ability to read races other than our own. He nodded, and the circuits in his mind started to flicker again, starting to calculate, evaluate. How valuable was invaluable, really? Perhaps he wasn't totally without leverage, after all. Before I go on, let me ask you I understand why telepaths would be of value, since the Reticulans work their control telepathically, but why did you mention psychokinetics, specifically? I have reason to believe... from my touch earlier, it might be possible to share your cranial structure with my race... He listened to her discuss the possibilities, and the need for psionics. He found it somewhat suspicious that all of a sudden, telekinetics were in high demand what had she read from his DNA? However, when she spoke of the Launtur, psychokinetics with psionic technology, including telepathic shields, it suddenly hit him, and his eyes widened fractionally. He hoped he didn't start sweating, or turn white, as the possibilities and connections coalesced in his thoughts, but she didn't react, so either she didn't notice or she didn't interpret the changes as anything wrong with an alien you couldn't always tell. Still, he thought he might have an answer, and the realization energized him as more and more pieces fell into place in his mind. If we could acquire the ability of telekinesis, I can assure you the Telkrans would join your fight. We would still need to locate the technology of the Launtur, but we would have the means to fight back for the first time in known history. Not just the Telkrans, Lya. If the Reticulans are the scourge you say, then the market for telepathic shields would be enormous. Entire species, those who weren't naturally resistant or who didn't operate on a different telepathic frequency from the Reticulans, would pay for such shields. And the weapons if enough humans were freed from control, they'd want to buy as much weaponry as they could to fight back against the Reticulans, plus shields, plus ships. Wealth beyond imagining, and you'd also be hailed as the savior of a species, with all the fame and privileges attached thereto. And that's just on the Reticulan front there's no doubt profit to be made from learning how to reproduce psionics, and maybe even emotions, if you manage to develop them. He was guessing on that last, based on what she'd said before, but it seemed reasonable. He gave her a sharp look. The guardedness of his arrival was gone, and the depression sparked by the Reticulans' arrival had been dissipated by this new idea. Now he was showing his straight-up intelligence. I may have information. Certainly, I'm human, obviously, and I know a few telepaths, if they've survived. I also know other psionics ESPers, temperocognitives, and yes, even a psychokinetic. I may have even more. But I want a partnership. My goal is the freedom of my species, yours is profit. There's no reason we can't accomplish both if we handle it right, the by-products from the liberation will rake in more wealth than can be counted. If we work together on both, we can both reap the benefits. I'm proposing equal shares for you and me in this venture and all the proceeds and by-products that shake out from it, less a small percentage commission to any human psionics that we find who assist us in the project. I share all the information I can with you, about humans, about psionics, and about the Launtur, and you provide the equipment, he gestured around to the ship and the weapons and gear. Together, we'll use humanity as a test case for how the Reticulans can be fought and beaten, and then the marketplace will be the universe. There's a human tradition, a symbolic gesture, he said, straightening up and turning to face her, still in his suit on her deck. He held up a hand, and took off his suit gauntlet. An empty hand, symbolizing no hidden weapons, clasped with the empty hand of the partner. We call it a handshake, and it is a traditional gesture to seal a deal. Of course, my computer array and your Ship are recording all of this, too, for purposes of registering the agreement, but I am, occasionally, a traditionalist. He held out his open hand, palm sideways, fingers extended, toward her, and looked her in the eyes. What do you say, partner?