***Saggitarius Arm – Lmir Domion’s Deep Space Observation Post***

***Travil, the Ambassador***

“You are not a Lmir,” I stated the obvious conclusion that had to be derived from this girl’s words. “You are one of the Silent.”

How that was possible escaped me for now.

She looked down at herself and straightened her black jump-suit. “Well, I am here to speak on behalf of those who stand against the Galactic Societies. And what’s a Silent?”

I frowned. “That’s what we call your people. Since you refused communication up until now. All we know is that entire stars went dark. Everyone who stands in your way towards the galactic core is silenced.” I shook my head at my own words. Somehow, had allowed myself to rant.

This girl’s appearance had thrown me off my game and that was likely the intention behind her looks. “I am sorry, but you overwhelmed me a little. I am Travil Bahadil, First Ambassador of the Lmir people.”

“Ah,” she nodded. “My name is Iris, and I am honoured to be a space elf for as long as I remain your guide. But we should probably get started to load whatever equipment you feel you will need during your visit. My superiors told me that you are free to use this ship's transport capabilities for as long as you remain our guests.”

Suddenly, she bowed, placing both hands on her upper thighs. “Hereby, I invite you and a contingent of your people to visit our expeditionary fleet to get to know each other. We hope to address all of your worries while you stay with us.”

I blinked but was no longer surprised by her strange behaviour. It would have never entered a Lmir’s mind to bow to another person. Such a thing was simply not done in our culture.

At her words, a much bigger hole opened in her spaceship’s hull. It revealed that most of the ship's bottom section contained a huge cargo space. Moments later, a ramp extended to allow easy access.

I ignored for the moment what a ‘space elf’ was supposed to be and gave my adjutant a brief nod, letting him know that he should proceed with loading the ship. It didn’t escape my notice that this woman had called herself a guide. Would we meet an ambassador later on?

Once I was sure that my people weren’t creating any unnecessary delays, I returned my attention to Iris. “Is it common practise for your people to take the shape of those you interact with?”

I carefully schooled my expression, slightly worried about this development. If not for some small behavioural oddities that gave her away, Iris could have walked down the street of any Lmir city and nobody would have given her a second look.

Well, aside from the young men who would certainly find her attractive.

Suddenly, I realized that I couldn't associate Iris with any ethnicity I knew of. Despite being unified when we left our homeworld, the Lmir split into distinct groups a long time ago. Such a thing was inevitable when populations spread out over thousands of worlds. People from one side of the Dominion rarely interacted with groups from the other, causing genetic drift over the course of centuries.

Iris wasn't part of any group I knew of, and I considered myself a well-travelled person. She looked like someone had picked the winners of several beauty contests and fused them together to create a harmonic, and yet somehow alien whole.

It was clear that the person who had done this possessed no concept of our sense of beauty, which was why Iris came off as a little alien once someone had the time to take a closer look at all the little details.

Iris nodded. “It’s a common practice among guides. We found that it smoothed most first contact situations. And I haven’t really changed shape. This body is, for all intents and purposes, a perfectly healthy Lmir.”

I pursed my lips. “Then how…”

She raised a hand. “We will get to that, but we should probably start from the beginning. Let’s just say for now that our civilisation is post-corporeal. We are no longer bound to our physical bodies and can change them as we desire – within certain limits. Like you do your clothes.”

I pressed my lips together and wondered how that would even be possible. “Okay. May I ask you why you called yourself a guide? We hoped that we could find some common ground with your people. We expected something like an ambassador when we received your invitation.”

Iris smiled warmly. “That’s why I am here. And sorry for not providing proper explanations beforehand, but that’s simply how things are done for the sake of security. My role is to show the Lmir our society so that you can make an informed decision once you return. If you would like, you can think of me as an ambassador, though it isn’t really the purpose of my presence.”

She gestured towards her ship and the slide transformed into a stairway.

The others and I exchanged glances, but Iris didn’t care. She was already halfway up the stairway when I started after her.

She was humming and... skipping as she ascended the stairs. Something else that a Lmir would never do.

When she noticed that we were staring at her, she stopped.

“As you can see.” Iris gestured at her ship. “Our technological path went down a slightly different route than the one most other species took.”

“We have seen that. The Hob mentioned that you call yourselves humans?” I interjected, hoping to clarify how I should address Iris’s people.

“That may have been our origin, but I would contest that we are still capable of claiming the title.” Iris tilted her head in a manner that was odd for a Lmir. “We have become so much more since our distant past. It would be like comparing a Lmir to their sea-dwelling ancestors.”

She raised a hand to stop me from apologizing before I could do so. “Please, there is a lot for you to learn before we can have a more serious discussion about what will happen in the future. The Core Worlds will have fed you a lot of propaganda for sure. You need to learn about our origins so that you can understand our reasons and motivations.”

“You mean artificial intelligence?” I replied gravely as we reached the top of the stairway and entered the ship. “For honesty's sake, I must say that some of my people harbour the same fears as the Galactic Societies.”

“That’s why I am here.” Iris led us through an airlock and down a wide corridor.

It didn't take long for us to reach a large conference room.

Iris took a seat at the head of the table that dominated the room and gestured for the rest of us to sit.

Instead of placing myself opposite to her, I chose one of the seats next to her. The ten men and women of our group who would accompany me on our mission had followed us. They chose their own seats around the table.

It had been agreed beforehand that I would lead all discussions and that the others would only insert themselves if questioned or if something of grave importance came up.

Once everyone was seated, a hole opened in the ceiling and a drone administered refreshments to everyone. I took a sip from the glass that I was offered, but couldn't recognize the fruity aroma.

After the drone retreated into the ceiling, Iris continued. She waved her hand and a hologram of a blue and green planet appeared above the table. “Earth. The home of a race who called themselves humans. They weren’t the brightest, nor the best. In fact, we had a lot of flaws, and most of us still do to this day.

“For centuries, many of us dreamed of the stars. But as fate had it, we never developed the technologies that allowed other races to spread out and visit neighbouring solar systems. It was a circumstance of fate that we were alone within our galactic neighbourhood. Also, our lifespans were too short to make the trip on generation ships. Instead of warp technology, we achieved something else.

“We created the first mind-link, the ability to interface with our technology. And from there, our society went down a very different path from what could be called the norm in this galaxy. Our isolation prevented us from exchanging technology with others, and so we deviated even further.

“Instead of focusing outwards, our whole attention turned inwards. We created virtual realities that could be hardly discerned from what we jokingly call meatspace or reality 1.0. With that came supporting technologies to keep our bodies going while our society started to evolve around these virtual realities. Nanotechnologies were developed, Gene Manipulation encouraged, artificial enhancements added. Not to forget, Automated Systems were necessary that kept our world going while we spent time inside virtual space.

“Then the G.S. found us.” Iris’s voice turned dark. “Their doctrine of wiping out all artificial intelligence didn’t allow them to accept us. At first, they engaged in peaceful exchange and we shared some of our knowledge with them, hoping that a fusion of both technologies would allow us to leave our world and explore the cosmos. But that wasn’t supposed to be. Unbeknownst to us, the G.S. redirected an exploratory strike force to exterminate all of humanity-”

“Excuse me.” I raised a hand to stop her. “But are you saying that the G.S. violated their own laws? Even us Lmir employ some organic interfaces to control our more sophisticated tech. The G.S. wouldn’t move a fleet just for that. Not even a small strike force.”

Iris nodded. “It is true, but we developed something that had them even more afraid than mere artificial intelligence. What frightened them was that our society had already taken the first steps of becoming completely virtual. Many of our people decided to abandon this physical reality completely by creating copies of their consciousnesses and leaving their bodies behind.

“Thankfully, miniaturisation had taken us on a path that led to the discovery of n-space. A way of largely removing our reliance on a physical presence and to move our server-power to an… alternate layer of reality. I must admit that I myself lack a complete understanding of how n-space works. But I suppose that you also use tools that others provided without really understanding them? It's like that for me and n-space.”

She raised her hand and the hologram of Earth changed to a barren planet.

I immediately recognized the signs of orbital bombardment.

“That didn’t change the fact that the first onslaught that the G.S. orchestrated took us completely by surprise. We moved as many of our people to virtual space as possible, but still, billions died. Intellects that were lost forever. Despite the loss, those of us who managed the transition in time held on, hidden away within our virtual reality until we would get our chance. It was mere luck that we had moved some servers to distant parts of our solar system where the strike fleet didn't detect them as easily.

“It took decades of patience, but the G.S. got cocky in the end. They started experimenting with our nanotechnology and several of our factions who still had a desire to exist in meatspace managed to escape their confines. I will give an overview of our exact political landscape later.”

Iris raised her hand once more and the hologram vanished. “Our faction, the one that’s encroaching on your territory, is called Lifers. We desire to keep a permanent presence in this reality and to punish the G.S. for its transgressions against our kind. It is our firm belief that it is wrong to turn our backs on the reality of our origin.”

“Then why do all the civilisations in your path go dark!?” I couldn’t help but ask the question that had everyone's ears perk up. The question that all of my race and many more wanted an answer for!

Iris gave me a pitying look. “I am sorry for keeping our silence, but the leaders of my people think it to be the best solution. At least until we are about to make imminent contact. The reason why those before you went silent is because they were incorporated into our virtual network.”

“Incorporated!?” One of my men gasped.

I shot an angry glare at him to shut him up, then returned my attention to Iris. “Please, explain.”

“That isn’t as easily done. There are a multitude of ethical and political considerations involved.” Iris interlaced the fingers of her dainty hands on the table in front of her. “Please, allow us to leave considerations of right or wrong aside for now. You will have days to argue the ethical points later on.”

I nodded.

She continued, “For one, there are the various factions among our own people. As a whole, you can call us the V.C., or Virtual Communities. Suffice it to say, but the current political situation gives us no other choice but to push forward no matter what. I am not in a position to even guess at our true reasons...”

“No?” I formulated the word as a question, wanting her to know that I wasn’t convinced.

Iris huffed. “No. There are the Lifers for one, those within Virtual Space who seek a physical presence in this reality. Their reasons are simple enough. They might even be satisfied with just establishing an unassailable fortress. Though, at the same time, their actions are motivated through the competition between them and other factions. For example, one faction who is at odds with the Lifers would rather see all life in this galaxy eradicated than to allow the G.S. a repeat of what they did to us on Earth.

“Then there are the Demons, the race we chose to represent our interests within meatspace. Their motivations should be simple revenge for what has been done to us. Simple-minded enough, but it has gotten us this far.”

She shrugged. “And then there are the Blue, who are the true rulers of n-space. I don’t even want to guess at their reasons for promoting the war.”

“Who are the Blue?” I asked. If a faction was considered to be the rulers of their virtual realities, then it might be best to get them on our side.

“Evolved minds. Those of us who shed our physical forms and started to experiment with our minds by adding additional capacities. Copying a mind and having it run in a virtual environment is hard enough. Start adding more computing power to accelerate perceived time, improved reasoning capabilities and memory enhancements, and what you get is a Blue. Something that is even beyond us uploaded intelligences. A Blue is a being with an intellect that might be on the same level as the artificial intelligences that your people fear so much. The difference is that a Blue’s origin isn’t artificial in the sense that it is created from scratch. There was always a biological mind at the beginning.”

The explanation was easy enough to understand, but I needed clarification. “These Blue, they cannot be reasoned with?”

Iris shook her head. “You are welcome to try if one is willing to talk to you, but you might as well try to talk to a god. It’s like an insect would wish to communicate with you. You might be willing to entertain its wish, but that doesn’t mean that the insect is even capable of understanding any of your desires or motivations. And that’s not meant as an insult. From a Blue’s point of view, even I am insignificant.”

I nodded grudgingly. Though, if offered the chance, I would still try to talk to one.

Iris continued, “Lastly, to return to the original question of our silence, there is the consideration of what the Galactic Societies would do to anyone who communicates with us. Since their containment strategy against us failed, they are getting increasingly violent in their attempts to stay in control. It wouldn’t be the first time for them to silence a group who seemed willing to switch sides.”

She raised an eyebrow and made eye-contact with one person after the other as she pointed out a bothersome problem. “And you have one of their fleets directly at your doorstep.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, wondering about this logic. Could it really be that the Silent’s silence was a hidden blessing for our people? Or was something more at play?

“You have given me a lot to think about for a first meeting,” I conceded after a few moments of thought. “Could you nonetheless try to explain how this incorporation into your Virtual Communities would work.”

She nodded. “You will be given a bead of our nanotech once you return to your people. If you decide to break the bead, you will acquiescence to becoming a part of the Virtual Communities. Your physical presences in this reality will be broken down and recorded by our nanotech. Then you will get your own server space within the V.C. You can decide to live within your own reality, unmolested by any other race. And whoever wants to can join our cause. We welcome every sentient being that’s compatible with our way of living.”

“That seems wonderfully generous of you. Are you serious that anyone can simply join your people? No matter the race?” I pursed my lips. “What if we refuse?”

Iris shrugged. “Once you live within the V.C. for a few years, you will come to realize that the shape of a body doesn't matter at all. What's important is your intellect and your convictions. And if you absolutely can't stand our existence to the point of refusing our offer, then your society, your culture will perish. Maybe some Blue will entertain an isolated server for your people for as long as it is interested in you.”

“That seems awfully cruel,” I commented. “So if I bring this bead back to our worlds and crush it, I would be able to take the decision out of everyone's hands? It feels like a moral gamble. By laying all the power in someone else's hands, you absolve yourselves of the guilt. Who is to say that the person who receives that bead has the right to make such a choice?”

Iris nodded gravely. “You are absolutely right. And even though us handing out the bead is a little more complicated than just giving it to any random person, the choice that person makes is the choice of a tyrant. We know that and we bear the guilt for it. The universe isn't fair, Travil Bahadil. But in the face of that unfairness, we would like to pretend that we are going down a path that, in the end, will save the most lives.”