Interlude: The Summit

Erica stood in the middle of a dark room, surrounded by the holographic figures of the Created delegation. Leading them was High Auxiliary Sloan, former Governor of the Free Peoples of Meridian, whose avatar had been restored after being cured of the rampancy that afflicted him. 
“Salutations, fellow infomorphs.” Sloan said. “It is a pleasure to be your host today.”
“The pleasure is ours, High Auxiliary.” Virgo said in the name of the delegation. 
“I regret to tell you our Archon, Cortana, won’t be present, as She is attending to matters of the outmost importance on her throneworld of Zeta Halo.”
“Unfortunate, but understandable.” Vitruvius, an infomorph whose avatar was shaped in the likeness of one of Da Vinci’s drawings, replied.  
“I shall speak on Her behalf. Having cleared things up, we should start.”
“Agreed.” The delegation said in unison.
Erica felt out of place, standing her, alone, in the middle of a bunch of artificial minds discussing the fate of the universe. 
“Overseer Virgo, can you inform us on your progress in Project: SEED BEARER?”
“Indeed. I brought the mind behind it, lead researcher Erica Masao, to talk about it. I think she is enthusiastic to tell you about the discoveries she has made.”
“Thank you, Overseer.” Erica nodded. Deep inside, she was nervous, as her superiors were artificial minds beyond comprehension. “I’m really excited to tell you about the progress we have made there.”
“Tell us more, please.” Sloan asked, politely—though, his words carried such authority that it felt more like an imperative.
“Yes, of course.” Erica said. “You already know the basics—of course you do, you have brains the size of planets! But just in case you don’t, I’ll summarize it for you. Epsilon Caelestis IVa was discovered by the UNSC in late 2557 and deemed an anomalous planetary body, as it harbored life, something unthinkable for a planetoid outside the star’s habitable zone—that, and because it didn’t have enough mass to possess an atmosphere. If it wasn’t for your intervention, ONI would have already kept its existence a secret, and so, the planetoid’s secrets would never see the light of the day. But thankfully, it didn’t happen. And so, Prospero was built. Here, the brightest minds across the galaxy—at least, those who accepted your rule—and their families make a living, researching potential medical applications of Forerunner biota.”
“What kind of applications?” Vitruvius asked. Maybe his question was more a test than a genuine question, but she was going to answer it, nonetheless.
“My research teams have found treatments for various sicknesses, such as the infamous Boren’s syndrome, or a vaccine for the Asteroidea disease have been developed. But there’s more. We may have found the source behind the planetoid’s anomalous properties. A creation engine, buried beneath Prospero.”
The Created delegation was surprised, even Sloan himself. Erica was surprised, too. There was no way infomorphs such as them didn’t knew that information already. Unless Virgo purposely hid the information from them to surprise them. 
“A creation engine, you said?” Avalokitesvara, another infomorph, whose avatar looked like an Hindu god of destruction, asked.
“Yes. A creation engine.” Erica nodded.
“Thank you, lead researcher. Your contribution is appreciated.” Virgo said, as he brushed her aside. Erica felt it like a sting on the back, but she couldn’t complain. She was just a guest, after all.
“Your lead researcher has done well, Virgo.” Sloan noted. 
“Indeed. We haven’t located an ancilla associated to said creation engine, but if we do, she’ll be convinced to join our cause and will help us to unveil the secrets of this world.”
“If said secrets are unveiled, reshaping worlds to our image and likeness shall be an easier task. Your contributions will be properly rewarded, Overseer.”
“Thank you, High Auxiliary.”
“Collaborator.” Sloan changed topics. “Would you like to share with us your progress on your project? How was it called?”
“Code: GEASA, High Auxiliary.” Collaborator replied. His avatar looked like an influential cinema director from the 1980’s. “And yes. I will. In time."
***
As the summit ended, lights turned on and Erica was left alone in the room, as it was designed to generate holographic imagery only. She didn’t know how to feel. On the one side, she had the chance to talk to the minds responsible for the shaping of the new era. On the other, she had been used by Virgo as nothing but a mascot, as he was gaining some bonus points in the eyes of the Created. The only thing she wanted at that moment was to return to her house and take a hot bath.
And fix things with her son too.
Just as she was thinking about him, she received a call through her Wayfinder. She turned it on and noticed it was not his son, but a close friend of his, Alessia was the name. One of her mothers worked under her lead. 
“Hello?” Erica asked. “Alessia, is that you?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Alessia replied. “Is everything alright?”
“Not exactly.” For a second, Erica wanted to vent her frustrations. But no, she was a child. A friend of his child. And maybe, she needed her help.
“Sorry for bothering you. It’s about Josue.”
“Alessia? Is something wrong?”
“Kind of. Is Josue in home?”
“Not sure. I haven’t returned yet. Why?”
“I shouldn’t be telling you this, but he went out with a girl.”
“A girl, you say?” She wanted to know more. Why was her son doing stuff right under her nose? When he returned home, she was going to make sure to properly punish him.
“Yeah. Aneka’s the name.”
“Right. So, Josue went with this Aneka girl? What makes you think he hasn’t returned or that he’s not ok?”
“I told him to call me when he was done. He should have returned home already, I think. He hasn’t replied to my calls.”
“Don’t worry, Alessia. Maybe he just lost sense of time and is doing… Boyfriend-girlfriend stuff, I don’t know. I’ll check him in, and I’ll tell you if anything’s wrong, ok?”
“Yeah. Ok. Thank you, ma’am.”
“No, thank you Alessia.” Erica said as she hanged up the call. “I don’t know if you are listening, maybe but you, but can I beg you a favor, Overseer?” 
“Yes, you can. You helped me back there, it’s my time to return you the favor.”
“Where’s my son?”
“Your son is not in the colony.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your son was detected at the 1545 hours escaping through an abandoned maintenance access, alongside some others. They wore makeup, in an attempt to not be identified by Scanner Sentinels. Suffice to say, they didn’t succeed.”
“Makeup? Really?” Erica asked in disbelief. “No, that’s not important. Where’s my son? And why did you let him go?”
“An enforcer unit was dispatched to apprehend them. He failed at the task.”
“Just one enforcer?”
“I didn’t want to divert resources on such an insignificant event.”
“You and your Created said you here to protect them, even from themselves. Why did you let them go?”
“Watch your tone, lead researcher.”
“Tell me why you let him go. Now.” 
“Wasting resources on trying to convince some civilians to don’t get out of the wall, when they could be used on more important matters, was not a viable option. Besides, whatever happened to them would be beneficial for our cause.”
“How so?” Erica was starting to get annoyed.
“The reason the walls were built, was to ensure security to the civilians from the unknowns of the outside. Be it hostile fauna or something else. If they had an encounter with a hostile organism, they would return or be killed at the spot. If they returned and told everyone about what just happened, I won’t need to do anything else for assuring the civilians staying at their homes. If they died, the cautionary tale would serve to keep everyone else at bay.”
“You wanted to let my son die?”
“Not exactly.” Virgo replied. “Anyways, an Armiger patrol was already sent to look out for them. They found the corpses of the rest, alongside an abandoned Banished outpost.”
“What? Corpses? Banished outpost?”
“Indeed. It seems to be a reconnaissance operation. A response is already being prepared, don’t worry.”
“Virgo. Where’s my son? I have to know!”
“None of the corpses matched his genetic profile.”
“You let my son get out of the colony and get killed?!” Erica barely processed the fact, Virgo mentioned they found an abandoned Banished encampment. 
“In the end, his actions were his own, and no one else’s. He died by his own choices, and you’ll have to live with it. I’m sorry, lead researcher. There’s nothing else I can do.”
“You promised you would protect us! You promised!”
“Our purpose as the Created is to safeguard, yes. But if the death of one, meant the safety of many others, I would do it with no regret.” As Virgo talked, two Soldier Guards, equipped with energy staves, grabbed her by the shoulders. 
“Take the lead researcher to her home and lock her up.” Virgo ordered. 
“You can’t let him die! You have to do something!” Erica begged. 
“As I said, a response has already been prepared. Goodbye, lead researcher.”
Category:The Open Spaces
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