— Because I’m human. — I sighed. — AX, do you have access to the historical archives of the First Envoy?
— Nothing recorded by the Known Universe is inaccessible to me, Willian — he replied, with the characteristic calm of an Observer.
— Read file 7781-A. Out loud. I want Aluram to understand what other peoples think about “love.”
AX positioned himself before us. His voice, once friendly, became neutral and official — the tone of a diplomatic recorder from millennia past.
— “The Litany of Sekvens Love.” That is the title. — he announced.
Then he began to read:
“There is no conquest without struggle.
There is no conquest without death.
There is no conquest without subjugation.
Even so, I needed to see with my own eyes something that could explain the words of one of the greatest leaders ever known:
‘She came in the form of an angel and penetrated our defenses, enchanting us with a gentle smile.
No one could have imagined that such a creature — apparently harmless and in need of protection — would take away our freedom of choice, subjugating and dominating the lives of billions. Not even my species, the oldest and most powerful in the universe, is capable of freeing itself, for that would require desire.
Yet the only desire we possess is to remain beneath her love.’
There it was, in the words of the renowned Beacon Heidench, the litany of love.”
— Wait... — Aluram interrupted. — Who was this leader?
— Farol was — and still is — the leader of the Xerantos. — I explained.
— Of the Xerantos? — he startled. — Continue, AX.
AX resumed:
“How did a people composed of little more than two hundred thousand individuals build an empire that subjugated more than two hundred billion beings across twenty-two planets without spilling a single drop of blood?
It is unacceptable to claim, as the Sekvens do, that everything is merely the power of love. To begin with, their love is profoundly different from any other known.
The angel mentioned by the Beacon has a name: Milena Liebe.
A creature who, it is said, concentrates within herself the power of all others of her species, for their biology allows them to function as a single individual. They are, at once, one and all.
Milena is the starting point — an evolution of a species known to be the most violent and dangerous ever recorded and which, for that very reason, is not part of the association that gathers intelligent species: the Known Universe.
Descendants of humans and welcomed by the Known Universe, the Sekvens do not fully comprehend many of the feelings of the species that gave them origin — among them violence, greed, and cruelty.”
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— Yes. We are the most violent and dangerous people with whom the Known Universe still maintains contact. — I interrupted. — Something you paid dearly to discover.
— That is true. But there are only two hundred thousand Sekvens for that absurd number of people?
— Currently, a little more than two hundred and fifty thousand. — I answered.
AX continued:
“They say that those who see the smile of a Sekvens female never recover, becoming incapable of living without the feeling that takes hold of their chest.
The Sekvens are an addictive drug. Destroyers of cultures. It is not I who say this. Everyone knows it.
Milena claims to desire nothing, for she already possesses everything she needs: love — and she shares it with the billions who surround her.
It is no surprise. It is enough for a Sekvens to verbalize a desire for planets to be created and stars to be moved. The desire of a Sekvens is law.
They try to deal with the consequences of their own existence as best they can, for History tells that all they want is to love.
Today I will attend Milena’s three-thousandth birthday.
I will meet her personally.
I am the representative of the most recent planet accepted into the Known Universe.
In other words, I represent the next people who will live beneath the smile of this immortal people.
I am afraid.
Will I still be myself after meeting them?”
— End of report. — AX concluded.
— His fear is understandable. — said Aluram, scratching beneath his ear. — They call you destroyers of cultures. I don’t believe that is the case. Perhaps a symbiosis. The culture of the peoples involved always changes, sooner or later.
— The Known Universe is aware of that.
— What happened? Were they human?
— They were not human. And the same thing happened that happens to you: once they meet them, even briefly, they accept without question.
— Humans, then?
I smiled awkwardly, kicking small branches along the ground.
— You are speaking with the only people capable of saying no to a Sekvens. But that is not a good thing...
He frowned, waiting for an explanation.
— Did you consider saying no to Melissa? — I asked.
— There was no reason not to accept.
— Exactly. The Selium possess the intelligence to understand what is best with very little information. But more than that, it was their emotional intelligence — far superior to that of humans — that allowed them to be accepted the instant Melissa touched Tariel.
I breathed in, watching the people dancing in the firelight while the Selium played their instruments.
— According to that document, humans were not accepted into the Known Universe, even though the Sekvens originated from humans.
— Humans can love and disagree at the same time. We are unpredictable. We are capable of creating on one side while destroying on the other. There is so much diversity among us that, to a human, all Sekvens are the same. All Selium are the same. All Xerantos are the same. That makes us unpredictable, cruel... and completely clueless. — I laughed.
— Are you telling me that humans do not have the maturity to choose what is best for themselves?
— Exactly. That diversity is our greatest strength... and also our downfall. A human prioritizes themselves, not the group. — I took a deep breath. — Aluram, do you feel powerful for being a leader and deciding the future of your people?
— How could that be possible? — his eyes widened. — It is clear that power comes from the community. They were the ones who chose me. It only fell to me to bear that responsibility.
— At this moment, my people see me as the most powerful human of the current era. And if I were only an ordinary human... I would probably take advantage of it.
And I was no exception.
— That is a distorted view... forgive me! — he panicked. — The culture of each people is different. I cannot compare it to my own.
— Culture... — I repeated. — You accepted belonging to the Sekvens. Would you accept belonging to humans?
He smiled awkwardly and remained silent.
— Did you know it is possible to transform a human into a Sekvens?
He looked at me, surprised.
I continued:
— The Sekvens say that if a human has a “strong heart,” they can transform them over the course of a few years. But they compare the energy spent in the process to the explosion of a star. In other words, the cost is absurdly high for them.
— What does it mean to have a strong heart?
— I have no idea. But when Melissa said she would only not transform me into a Sekvens because of my involvement with the Selium... that was already happiness enough for me. It was like receiving something greater than immortality itself. Perhaps that was the problem.
Without realizing it, I searched for someone among the shadows around the bonfire.
Elvinia, Nissi, Aerin, and Karen approached. I hadn’t noticed when they had stopped dancing.
— Willian, what do you intend to do with Karen? — Nissi asked bluntly.