In this excerpt, Aenil reports to the Supreme Ruler.

Chapter 3 (excerpt)


In her private communication room, which was equipped with intergalactic 
transmission devices, Professor Aenil Sy shed her annoying human robe and sent 
a signal to her Supreme Ruler; it was time for her report.  

While she waited for his convenience, she absently rubbed the darkened crest 
that protruded from the left side of her forehead, reflecting that it was the 
last remnant of her glorious past, an honorific mark that the Supreme Ruler 
had carved on her skin when they had celebrated their first important 
victory.  

She sighed forlornly.

For eons, that mark had identified her to her fellow Syllins as being favored 
by the secret Supreme Ruler while it had also distinguished her from all the 
so-called scientists who had never reached her ankle. 

She had simply been the best, had been her Lord’s most useful and closest 
ally; had brought him countless victories --- yet he had ruthlessly punished 
her second failure ever by condemning her to eternal psychological torment in 
exile.

It was her punishment, her Lord had stated the day that he had judged her; it 
was the torment that she deserved for her failure to destroy Mankind. 

Back then, even though the mission in question had taken place centuries 
before that shameful day, Hyn Li had held her freshly responsible for both the 
already paid-for negative results of her failure as well as the sudden 
resurgence of the humans on 5 B4.  

She had argued against his reasoning, reminding him that she had served him 
well ever since that failure and that, as their people’s best scientist ever, 
she was his most valuable asset in maintaining the construct of lies that they 
had created in regards to the different species of the Coalition.  

Back then, she had been confident that he had needed her in order to remain in 
power, but he had viciously scolded her for her defiance, reminding her that 
thanks to her past failure, they had had to wait for centuries for 5-B4 to 
regenerate its precious and sorely-needed resources before they could exploit 
it once again.  

Freshly infuriated by that reminder of her unforgivable blunder, he had then 
stripped her of her well-earned title of Destroyer of Worlds before he had 
sentenced her to exile on 5-B4. Then, to add insult to shame, he had also 
ordered her to forever keep under control the very reason of her disgrace.     

She had kept arguing for as long as her Lord’s guards had been pulling her 
battered body toward the sealed doors of his aide’s office, reminding him that 
if not for a then-unknown new chemical in the air of the planet, her strategy 
to destroy the humans would have worked just as well as her other strategies 
had on other worlds.  

Hyn Li had never listened to her arguments.

And, three-hundred-and-fifty Syllin years later, she was still stuck on the 
humans’ dreadful world, with those disgusting human creatures, and there was 
no end in sight for her…

Before she had the possibility to wallow further in her centuries-old grief, 
the reception field of her transmission device activated as it finally 
received an answer from her Lord.

The moment that his shadowy form appeared in the holographic field, she bowed 
her torso in respectful welcome and focused her attention on the Syllin man.  

As usual, his thin silhouette was intensely lit from somewhere behind him. 
However, despite the concealment of his features in dark shadows, the aura of 
power and cruelty that surrounded his figure left no doubt as to his true 
identity.

He was the true master of the Coalition, and he knew it.

So did she.

Oh yes, she shivered inwardly, she knew that the Supreme Ruler, whose true 
identity and existence was known only by her and a select few, was a man to 
fear and respect, a man who punished defiance without anybody being aware of 
his doings yet his victims always learnt, sometimes too late, not to try and 
rise above what was established and maintained in the Coalition’s Universe – 
a.k.a. his universe. 

Because of that, Aenil had never dared show again her anger toward him as even 
she, his once-confident, was not spared his wrath if she dared defy him.

*Your report, Professor," he ordered coldly, hiding in his veil of shadows 
instead of speaking with her face to face.  

While she was aware that he rarely deactivated it so as to ensure the 
continued secrecy of his identity, she strongly suspected that he also enjoyed 
reminding her in every possible way that he no longer trusted her even though 
they had once been staunch allies and that despite his actions with her, she 
was still his devoted servant.

Aenil, for her part, ignored his attempt to unsettle her and bravely gazed 
where she guessed his eyes were; she worriedly took note of his clenched three-
fingered fists, surmising that while such posture was not exactly unusual for 
him, it was still an unspoken testimony of his already-ill mood.  

She made a note to herself not to aggravate him further.

*The Zile,” she began coolly, *played his role as I wished it to and has given 
his support to the humans. As for Moock, he holds his position and utterly 
distrusts them, even without any manipulations from my part. In short, my plan 
is still working well."

*But the humans have not given up on their idea yet, have they?" the other 
inquired sourly, and then suddenly leaned forward in the reception field as if 
to loom over her.  

Aenil felt her lungs clench in slight fear as she consciously registered his 
attempt to intimidate her. 

Then, belatedly remembering that the cruel male Syllin was not with her in the 
room, she gathered her courage and bravely answered him: *Unfortunately, my 
Lord. They believe that traveling through space is their next step of 
evolution, yet they are still abiding by 

their promise not to lift off without unanimous consent from the Coalition.”

*Which the Gorgons are not about to give to the pestilence,” he mused out 
loud.  *Still, I sometimes wonder if we should not let the simple-minded 
brutes have their way with the humans and be done with this annoying third-
rate race.”

‘And her!’ Her mind reflexively screamed in dread even as she processed the 
double-meaning of her Lord’s words.

Downright frightened by the doubly lethal prospect of a Gorgon attack on the 
humans, she felt her black blood freeze in her veins--- *No! We must not!” she 
reflexively exclaimed as her worst nightmares seemed to come to life in her 
mind. She then realized what she had just said and swallowed hard.

While her first expletive had been normal considering her current location, 
the second one was another matter altogether as it betrayed her heretic 
thoughts in regards to the troublesome humans. Indeed, she had always advised 
her Lord to simply let the humans be so as to maintain them in their drowsy-
like state, but now, she had literally defended them from him.

‘Now that’s a good way not to aggravate him further,’ she silently rebuked 
herself even as she cringed at her Lord’s dangerous glare. 

*Oh?" he retorted sarcastically, *so now we must not destroy the humans? Since 
when?" he demanded, his voice growing icier, thus implicitly warning her to 
have a good reason for her treacherous reaction.

*It was not what I meant, my Lord," she apologized contritely, *but," she 
added promptly before she lost what little courage she had left and really 
lied to him, *I still don't think that challenging the humans in any way would 
do us any good," she finished cryptically. 

Besides, she mused worriedly, if he did exterminate the humans, what would 
happen to her? Would he kill her, too? Or would he leave her in complete 
isolation for the rest of eternity?

Since both prospects still failed to hit her fancy, she resolved to use any 
necessary argument in order to convince him yet again that they were better 
advised to maintain the status quo with the humans.

*Really?” the Supreme Ruler inquired meanly. *Might I remind you that you have 
yet to give me a satisfying justification for your doubtful advice."

Aenil took a deep breath at this implicit warning of retribution, and then 
locked her eyes with her Overlord’s shadowed ones. *My Lord,” she began as 
humbly as she could, *The truth is that I… I’m worried that should we, or 
anybody else, attack the humans, our actions could push them to explore their 
potential further than they already have. It has become increasingly clear to 
me that if this were to happen, they will become uncontrollable… perhaps 
even... our equals.” 

She quickly bowed her head in apology for her heretic comment for as a Syllin, 
she should never even consider the possibility that any species could even be 
their equal, let alone speak such thoughts. However, she had no choice but to 
say those words; the humans were a real if dormant threat. 

True, such fears were more related to the Princess on her own than the humans 
as a whole, but at the same time, she couldn’t ignore the fact that the humans 
were not a true third-rate species. No matter how much she despised herself 
for thinking so, the truth remained that the furless bipeds were as creative 
and as resourceful as any given first-rate species… perhaps even as much as 
her own people. 

She braced herself for her Lord’s vociferous rebuttal that would make her skin 
crawl in shame and abject humiliation, but to her surprise, the Supreme Ruler 
merely cackled at her before he turned sarcastic. *You are spending way too 
much time with them, Professor. Perhaps you are even beginning to think of 
them as already equal to us?” He was silent for a second, giving her time to 
ponder his insinuation, and then spat in disgust: *Those free humans aren’t 
anymore worthy of our consideration than any other lower race. They are 
nothing and will never achieve anything worth mentioning."

'Then why are we even worried about them leaving their planet?' she wanted to 
ask sarcastically but didn’t for fear of grave retribution. Still, the fact 
remained that she knew the humans better than he did and she had learnt from 
experience that where the humans were concerned, the future was not written 
anywhere, not even in her Lord’s well thought-out plans. *I beg to differ, my 
Lord," she began hesitantly, bravely meeting the cold glare that the other was 
undoubtedly giving her. *So far, we have managed to restrain the humans to 
their territory, but if the Gorgons were to take any direct action against 
them, these humans will defend themselves and---"

*With which weapons?" the other sneered in contempt, interrupting her feeble 
argument.  *Might I remind you that, according to your former reports, they 
are armless?"

*But more than capable of creating weapons if we push them in this direction," 
she retorted reflexively before she could moderate herself.

Her answer did not please the Supreme Ruler, who exhaled slowly in great 
displeasure.

To her surprise, however, she did not let his bad temper deter her this time. 
*If we consider their latest achievements, my Lord, they have just built a 
city out on the sea as well as a spaceship that is capable of true 
interstellar travel. They have also re-created species which had long since 
disappeared from their planet, and they have harnessed the energy potential of 
melted rocks as well as of their sun. They are more intelligent than we like 
to give them credit for. We can’t underestimate them, my Lord. Especially not 
their future ambassador," she added as an afterthought. 

*That child?” the other frowned in answer.  *According to the Gorgons’ report, 
she is but a puny female who didn't even take part in the negotiations today."

*It is better this way, my Lord, believe me," she commented earnestly. *Unlike 
her predecessors, this child isn't afraid of changes and even actively seeks 
answers of her own to her questions. If we challenge the humans even in a 
minor way, I'm worried that this child, who has already shown them the path to 
the stars, will guide them further, wake them up if you will."

The Supreme Ruler remained silent for a moment. Then, eventually, he tilted 
his head slightly, as if trying to read her mind despite the distance that 
separated them.  

If only they could also do this with the other species, Aenil wished 
fervently, and then added: especially with the humans.  

Indeed, with their minds opened to hers, her dealings with the pestilence 
would be much simpler, not to mention less humiliating. However, not only was 
she unable to read the humans’ minds, but unlike their ancestors and the other 
species of the galaxy, these new humans were shielded from even her telepathic 
powers. Hence, whereas no being had ever been able to resist the compulsive 
orders that her people sent directly into their victims’ brains, the Atlanti 
did not even subconsciously hear her mental voice.  

This fact greatly puzzled her.

*Perhaps she should be removed then," the man finally commented coldly, 
bringing her attention back to the here and now.  

Although it was not the first time that such an action against a human was 
suggested or implemented, Aenil was shell-shocked at the idea of killing the, 
admittedly, innocent girl --- “No!"  She reflexively exclaimed, and then 
quickly added: *this… would only generate another challenge for the humans…” 
She paused and swallowed hard before she explained more cautiously: *The… girl 
is already well-known, my Lord. She can’t simply disappear as it would arouse 
too many questions about the Coalition and the aliens in general. Besides, 
unlike in the Old World, humans can’t merely disappear anymore." 

While her Lord pondered her last argument, she dimly wondered what was wrong 
with her all of a sudden.

‘Defend a human?’ she frowned inwardly. Save the life of the very girl who was 
causing her so many headaches lately?  

It was not possible! 

There was also quite a margin between saving Mankind as a whole so as to avoid 
her own death… and saving one human life so as to satiate her curiosity 
regarding that being… 

Yet, the more she thought about the girl, the more she realized that she had 
definitely begun to care for the child. Perhaps it was because of the 
Princess’ intriguing intelligence, or perhaps it was simply because the girl 
had always treated her like a very good friend and not just like an alien 
ambassador as everyone else always had, but the fact remained that she felt 
something other than hatred for the girl.

As she pondered this thought, Aenil couldn’t help but remember that the child 
had, indeed, been the first being to ever hug her, kiss her on the cheek, or 
merely be happy to see her. She was---

*Then what do you suggest, Ambassador?" her Lord interrupted warningly.

She quickly composed herself. *Leave them to my care, my Lord, and I guarantee 
that the distrustful Gorgons will diplomatically strand the humans’ 
troublesome ship for us. Besides, I am working on a plan to discourage the 
humans from boarding their ships altogether, so I might save us even more 
trouble once the humans back out of the negotiations of their own free will."
	
The Supreme Ruler pondered her expert advice for a moment, and then finally 
nodded in agreement. *Very well, we will continue with your plan. I will 
contact the Gorgons and make sure that they continue to restrain themselves."	
*We will succeed once again, my Lord," she reassured him even as she bowed 
deeply one more time to show her unwavering devotion to him. Dimly, though, 
she really wondered what had gotten into her just moments before as 
eliminating the girl would really save her a lot of trouble, yet she had 
convinced her Lord of the opposite? 

Was she truly beginning to lose her mind?..

*We had better succeed, Professor,” he warned her, *or you will dislike the consequences." He interrupted the contact without further ado.

While Aenil was confident that her strategy would work, she was still unable 
to suppress the icy shiver of fear that ran down her spine once she was alone. 
Should the humans no longer accept the Coalition’s ruling and reach the stars 
anyway, then, yes, she would definitely have much to pay for.

Again.

(...)

(Atlantis 2, its characters and situations, are protected by copyright under 
the Canadian copyrights law, international conventions and other copyright 
laws. All rights to any Atlantis 2 material belong to Meryl Heavens 
(atlantis_2_2002@hotmail.com) ISBN: 141208992-1