Roen took the cup and sipped the hot drink gingerly. He said, “The difference between us is that you think being a Genjix host makes you a gift to God’s green Earth. You’ve been Genjix so long now that you forgot what it means to be human. You think you’re so above the rest of us that you don’t value humanity anymore. Me, I’m quite fond of being human with my primitive beliefs and emotions. Call me old-fashioned.”
“It doesn’t matter what your perception is. Fact is fact, my young friend, as much as you deny it, you and me, all other Prophus and Genjix vessels, are superior beings. The difference is that the Prophus stoop down to humanity’s level. The Genjix choose to rise above it.”
The waitress came back with another coffee. Sean politely thanked her and continued. “Don’t you see that I’m trying to help you, Roen?”
“That’s what the first Genjix in the garage told me right before he tried to kill me.”
Sean smiled. “Let’s put that behind us, shall we? We’re acquainted now. I want to open your eyes.”
Roen snorted. “He said that, too.”
“You should have listened,” Sean said. “Why fight a losing war?”
“Who says we’re losing?” Roen snapped.
Sean looked genuinely surprised. “You mean, you don’t know? Tao didn’t tell you, did he?”
“What’s he talking about, Tao?”
Do not listen to him. He is just trying to spook you.
“Well, let me enlighten you then on your precarious situation,” Sean continued. “That little Prophus faction – and their philosophy that you have so enthusiastically embraced – are on the brink of collapse. They’ve been steadily retreating and losing ground since their inception and have had their backs against the wall for centuries now.”
“Tao, is this true?”
Tao hesitated before answering. The war has not been going well, but it is nowhere near as bad as Sean claims. I would not put too much stock in his words.
“Why don’t you sleep on that?” Sean said. “You might wake up tomorrow and realize that this might not have been a wise career choice after all.”
“You’re bluffing,” Roen shot back. “From what I’ve seen so far, they’re doing just fine. Brink of collapse? Give me a break.”
Sean shrugged. “Perhaps, perhaps not. I doubt they can survive the century.”
“A hundred years is hardly the brink of collapse. It’s not like you’re the Red Army marching into Berlin.”
“A hundred years is a flash in the pan. Roen, we’re not only in Berlin, we’ve surrounded it, blockaded the ports, and we’re about to throw a grenade down the bunker you’re hiding in.”
Roen struggled to control his temper. He said, “You know, that’s what your problem is. You’re so busy looking at this stupid big picture of yours that you ignore the small things that make the big picture matter. You treat us mere mortals like pawns for your amusement. But remember this; without humans, you superior Genjix are nothing. You need us, yet you treat us as if we’re disposable. You keep going down this path, and one day, you’ll find that there will be no more lowly humans for you to control.”
Sean bared his teeth. “Good thing there are seven billion of you. A few losses are perfectly acceptable.”
“We’ll see about that. Let’s see how acceptable your human losses are after I whittle down your ranks,” snarled Roen. He stood up, pulled out his wallet, and put a few bills on the table. “Thanks for the drink, but I can pay for myself. Next time we meet, I won’t be so civil.” He turned and walked away, not looking back. Roen was so worked up that he stormed back toward his room. He didn’t calm down until he jumped into the shower and then prepared for bed.
“Now I know why you think this conference is a waste of time. There’s no reasoning with these guys. By signing some rules of engagement, we’re just hampering ourselves.”
They play dirty. We just have to play dirtier. Be very careful of Chiyva, though. He is extraordinarily dangerous.
“Chiyva, isn’t that some Hindu god? God of destruction or something?”
Where do you think the name of the god came from?
“I see. Well, we have our work cut out for us then.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: DAY ONE
Zoras’s host, Armand, decided to slay the Prophus guards escorting the Chest of the Menagerie as a lesson and a warning. For he not only made sure that the hosts died, he made sure that the Prophus inside died as well. The hosts were all buried alive in the very chests that housed the Menagerie. Their cries underground could be heard for hours. This was in many ways, our original sin. For the first time in our history on Earth, the Quasing began to murder each other.
Armand released one prisoner as a warning to the rest of us. From that point on, there was no turning back. The war became one of vengeance rather than control. And to this day, both sides wage this misguided war.
The conference was surprisingly like any other convention Roen had ever been to – except no one was giving out t-shirts, and no vendors were trying to sell him anything. What would a slogan for the Monaco Decennial say, anyway? “Mediating ways to fight since the 1800s”?
The primary purpose of the Decennial was to discuss the return to Quasar and address how the Prophus Command and the Genjix Council could keep their war under wraps. The topic on everyone’s mind seemed to be this Penetra scanner and the consequences it could have on their species. Everywhere Roen went, Quasings on both side argued the risks it could pose to their species. Neither side was willing to share what they knew, though it was a hotly debated topic.
The Prophus feared that such a device could fall into humanity’s hands, and with it, knowledge of the Quasing. The Genjix were dismissive of that possibility, hardly acknowledging humans as a concern. The only thing that they cared about was wielding the scanner as a weapon against the Prophus.
There were also a dozen other less important panels going on at the same time. The topic of the panel Roen attended was conflict resolution. The Quasing definition of conflict resolution involved explosives, lots of them. It seemed that within the past decade or so, the loser of any of their major battles felt it was necessary to either plant excessive amounts of explosives or carpet-bomb whatever plot of land they were fighting over. The results led to more expensive repairs and increasingly frustrated public relations groups working overtime to calm the humans. The Genjix’s proposal prevented the losing faction from continuing such practices.
“This is stupid, Tao. It’s strategically sound to not give your enemy resources they can use. Why wouldn’t we blow it up before we leave?”
I agree. They obviously do not think much of Sun Tzu or General Sherman, who interestingly enough, were both Genjix. However, I believe this resolution has a good chance of passing.
“Why would any of us be all right with it? If we lose more encounters than we win, it’s to our advantage to blow crap up.”
There are other factors involved. The cost of covering up all these situations is astronomical. We do not have nearly as much money as they do. Financially, it makes sense for us to accept the deal anyway. Cleanup teams are not cheap.
Roen shook his head. “Always comes down to money, huh?”
Makes the damn world go round.
The resolution passed just as they broke for lunch. The vote for the resolution went over, even though the support to pass it was overwhelming. Roen looked away in disgust as the Prophus and Genjix who drew up the resolution together congratulated each other. Roen wolfed down his lunch as he tried to figure out which panel he wanted to go to next. His choices were “Political Balances of the Middle East” or “Quasing Metaphysical Mutations.” Not knowing exactly what a metaphysical mutation was, Roen chose to go to the Middle East one.