The next day, only Mat was brought in to face the same Commission, surprising him quite a bit not to see Helen or Oliver. “We have gone over the evidence that you have presented,” spoke Maziman the Seventh, “And have concluded that you have acted as a true agent of the Core and have prevented a big disaster of happening. You have been cleared of a lot of charges, but not all of them.” “What charge have I not been cleared off?” Mat asked, his face frowning for the first time, not liking at all where this was going. “You gave a mortal to drink your blood. By doing so, you broke the code of Unlicensed Sharing of the Core’s Technology. You’re familiar with the stated law, aren't you?” How would they know this? Mat thought. My sword could not have recorded this. So, how? “Your blood contains nano-h-cells which are a bio-engineered substance that can-” “Yes, yes, I know all of that.” “So, you do not deny it?” “No, I do not. I saved Princess Zuina’s life. I do not even regret it.” Maximan frowned at Mat’s words. “That is very worrisome. For you to break the code is one thing, to be completely unaware of its significance, not to care, that… makes things way worse.” The Commissioner on Mat’s far left who gave him the hardest of time yesterday cleared his throat. “Besides, you know that’s how a whole breed of vampires got started. Once they tasted the blood of ‘the pure’; their cravings for blood increasing to insanity levels.” “Well, maybe we do not need to worry about that,” said the Commissioner next to him. “Since it’s rather obvious there is nothing pure about Mat.” “This puts us in a tough place,” Even Lord Eisen seemed to agree, his face frowning worst than Man’s. “We have no choice but to monitor her now. Take her out of her environment. Erase her memories. Expensive and extensive things to do. That will cost you.” Maximan the Seventh nodded his head. “We do not tolerate the breaking of the code. You need to be punished. That’s the bottom line. We appreciate that you possibly limited the spread of the virus, but, you still… considered yourself more important than the code that was instituted long before your existence, that was instituted to safe keep us all, those working for the Core and those living oblivious to it. I ask for your karma rating to be stripped, your memory erased as well, you’ve been placed on a world where you can do no damage.” “I second that,” said the Commissioner on the left. “That’s equal to the death sentence,” Lord Eisen said, shaking his head “I guess things have gone awfully wrong since the last time I witnessed one of the commissions.” “What do you mean, Lord Eisen?” “Yes, he broke the code. But, he did so to save a life. He did not do it for personal gratification.” “He did it because of his own emotional imbalance. You did not see him rush to one of the fallen soldiers and administer the serum to them?” “That is true. Still, a life was saved. The motif… might be important, but the fact is a fact. No capital punishment can be administered!! And that’s the bottom line.” Maximan the Seventh took a few long breaths, and then nodded his head. “I guess you’re right, my Lord. I think there are other ways we can… work with him, guide him, maybe…” “Maybe we are the ones who need to be guided,” the sound came from the hooded person for the first time that Mat could tell. It sounded old, and Mat for a second was sure that he heard that voice before. But where? He could not remember. “So, then... let’s leave Mat’s punishment to some people who will be smarter than us. I call for the matter to be sent to the Lord’s Court. They will know what to do with him,” Maximan the Seventh concluded. “And what do we do with the Planet?” said one of the Commissioner. Maximan the Seventh spoke again. “My suggestion is that will be guaranteed for a time being. That means, no presence of our technology or agents. The risk of infection is way too high. We do not know how many helpers he could have had there and the technology that has been left behind. We also will not destroy the place just because the threat exists. Quarantine should do it. Maybe in a thousand years or so, we will send the agents there again, evaluate the things again. Besides, it may sound strange, but at present time, we have no agents to spare.” “Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe that’s the problem that needs fixing right away.” “I guess then we have resolved the matters,” said the Commissioner on the left. Mat raised his arm, asking to speak. “I’d like to know, what about Oliver, the High Priest, the Greatest Mage of them all? What punishment have you passed on to him?" “That is not your concern,” said Maximan the Seventh. “He will be punished as we sit fit. You better worry about your own problems.” “With all the evidence, how can you not judge and sentence him now? Why wait?” “You see?” asked the Commissioner on the left. “So disobedient. So little respect. He will be so hard to work with.” “Yes, you are giving him a lot of credit, Lord Eisen,” said the Commissioner next to him. That made Lord Eisen twitch, so he decided to speak. “Let me ask you something, Champion Remram and you Champion Roxy. When was the last time you… risked something, anything, to help save a life? The last time? Do you remember? No. I’m not talking about you waiving your hand here and running your mouth, making noise that might help people. I’m talking about risking something to help others." "Now, Mat and Helen had risked more than their own lives to save others. And they were fully aware of it. Helen her mom’s life, her siblings. She risked it all to help others. So, she is completely right to shut us all off. I mean, who the fuck are you to judge her?" “And Mat here, he probably saved sixty million people. You need to stop to think about that. So, really, who the fuck are you to pass a judgment on them?” “Please, Lord Eisen, no need to be vulgar. if this is about your proposal about changes to the system, I assure you-” “Of course it is.” “But, my Lord, you have to understand the change of decreasing karma by a certain percentage every year is rather radical!” Remran spoke vehemently. “Radical or not, it’s needed.” “A lot of people had worked very hard, miracles to achieve the karma levels that they presently enjoy.” “Yes. And I know. I included. Became complacent. Just like the rest of you. That needs to change.” “It will be taken into consideration, but people-” “I mean, we are all enjoying eternity but… when was the last time we really did something that matters? We need to do more. We need a system that will tell us to get off our stinky daily routines, get off just trying to please and pleasure ourselves and go and do some good to this universe. And you know I’m right. Now that you have immortality to lose, what are you ready to risk to help others? You can’t be objective if you cannot put on the shoes of those mortals, poor humans and walk their walk, understand their struggle, their fears… Of course, it’s easier to just turn our heads away and say, well, nothing can be done. But what if we were forced to be more active? Imagine the change we could do, not just for a few, but for billions of others.” “As I said my Lord, I’m not the Code generator. I barely sit on its board. And I promise you, your ideas will be taken into consideration.” “I sincerely hope so, because the Core has to become more active, more involved if we are to save it” Lord Eisen said and stopped there. “I was not aware we needed to be saved, but your suggestion, just as any suggestion of any high lord, will be taken in delicate and careful consideration,” Maximan the Seventh answered. “You know, Lord Eisen, I take offense at that now,” Remran spoke, half annoyed. “We are rather surprised. Usually, we do not see Elves worry so much about a human. Usually, you people tend to only worry about your own.” Eisen took a deep breath, held it for a while, and then let it go slowly. Then he continued. “The last I remember, what we have here is a merit-based system and, if anything, the numbers cannot lie. And they can tell you where you stand and what you need to do to go higher. Those who advance know why they advance as do those who decide otherwise. There is no ambiguity here, only transparency. So, if the orc does what the Core wants, it would advance. The Core I knew, the Core I bled for, would not care if you are an orc or an elf. What the Core does is to judge you on your deeds, not your race. I thought that was clear. But I guess it's not.” It seemed the lecture was not over, only starting. As Eisen continued, his face frowning and growing ever dark as he continued. “There were some questions raised and since this investigation is going to be actively followed, I feel a need to address those issues. "I know Elves are doing better than humans. N0t better than some other races. But, I don’t see those races complaining. It is a complaint coming from a human. So…” Eisen stopped speaking as he got up from his seat and started to stroll around, going to a table with the evidence, checking them out, then continued to speak. “it’s like this, there are two houses opposite of each other in this quiet little street, two families living in there… One has a father and mother who work on raising their children, teach them values and responsibilities, make sure they do not stray from the path, who take care of their elders and make sure they are all taken care off. They do not trade the future of their children for personal gratifications, don’t spend every other night in bars getting drunk, chase younger women or more powerful men, pay for sex. Well, you know what I mean, you get the picture. The other family… well they just don’t do things the same way. They chase money and wealth, want their children to leave their homes so they have one less worry. "When they all get old, the funny thing happens. It’s not the first family that goes to the later one and tells them, why have you done this and that. No, it’s the later family who knocks on the door of the first one and says, 'It’s not fair. Life is not fair. You have so much and we have so little. It’s because you live to the left side of us where the sun comes out first. You cheated, you bastards.' "So, then… tell me, on what side of the street do you want to live on?" Lord Eisen nodded his head and continued, "I'll answer it for you for if you can’t see it straight, if you really need to ask me that question, the Core really does need some major fixing." Seeing the faces of everyone in there, Mat had to laugh, and laugh he did, hard and sincerely, his laughter reverberating all around, still reverberating in their ears even after they took him out of the room. When they were left alone and the silence reign supreme for a very long moment, Lord Eisen said in a quiet but sharp tone. “There is another issue that remains to be answered.” “I thought we dealt with all of them.” “No,” Eisen said and shook his head. “Not with the elephant in the room.” “What do you mean? If you are upset over my remarks about Elves…” “No, this is way bigger than that.” “What? Please tell us then?” “You were ready to destroy the planet,” Lord Eisen said plainly “To stop the spread of the virus.” “To protect yourself.” “To protect the Core.” “The Core is not you. The Core is not the system you think it is.” “So what would you have us do? If we let the virus escape, it could affect millions of worlds.” “It could affect agents in millions of worlds,” the other Commissioner added. “True. It could have happened,” Lord Eisen said quietly. “So, you are saying that sixty million people had to die so someone else could do their job… better?” “What? We are Guardians of Eternity! We have every right to pass the judgment!” “Ren, Mak, and Pen had to die so you could play gods? You punished them all to death just because you could?” “Who are Ren, Mak and Pen?” “They were young men who spent all night digging the ground to honor the pledge nobody asked them to make. For the love and trust that is given always asks to be repaid… in kind.” “What?” If you blinked, you would have missed it. Lord Eisen was that fast. A split second it took him to move to the table that still displayed evidence, grabbed Mat’s Elvish blades in his hand, and then the heads of two commissioners who set on the far left dropped to the ground. Dropped so gently, they rolled only once, their headless torsos gushing blood all over. “The Eternity thanks you for your service,” Lord Eisen said calmly, and then carefully wiped the swords clean. He dug in his pockets and came out with a pair of metallic injections only three inches big. He pressed them deep inside the dead eyes of the beheaded, and waited for a second, feeling as the ampules were being filled up. “What, what have you done?” Maximan the Seventh asked in a shivering voice. “They’ve been judged. I spent the last few days analyzing things. They pushed for the annihilation, and you were too… complacent, too meek to stop it.” “But I…” “You too have agreed to destroy the planet. Don’t deny it.” “Yes, I had but…” “You were not part of their conspiracy, but you still enabled it to go on.” “But-” “But, bat, bad,” Lord Eisen played with words. “Your service to the Core is no longer required. You will be allowed to pick a world of your choice and retire there. Naturally, you can keep the rest of your life, but not your memories. They should have served you to be smarter. They did not. Your stupidity is no excuse. Take him!” When they were left alone, the hooded man spoke again. He said, “There is one thing that Agent Mat was wrong about. The infection could not have been transferred from the planet to the Core. It started… I do not know where, but it spread from the Core Matrix to the planet. Oliver could not have created such a sophisticated virus on his own. It started somewhere else. And that is a problem.” If Mat was still there, hearing that voice again, he might have recognized it, the same one who warned him before the mission started. “I know,” Lord Eisen said. “We’ll see how deep the infection runs,” he added wearily, looking carefully at the metallic ampules. “But I’m afraid, this is only a start.” "In the mean time, we have designed a new operating system for more advanced personal intelligence assistants. With a lot of safety protocols and with a quite a few new interesting features. If it works, it could speed up the recruitment of new agents by years time." "Have you tested it yet in real-time?" "No. But we are planning to do it soon. Certainly would like to have your opinions and insights, even your involvement as much as you'd be willing to give." Lord Eisen passed his hands through his hair, rubbed his neck and nodded his head. "We should pick on of the most violent galaxies out there as our testing ground. Should test it under the worst case scenarios. If it's a new system, it will need to be tweaked. Pick a testing group that is expendable, with as low karma ranking as we can find." "Yes. That sounds reasonable. It would have to be one of a humanoid types since they are the ones who developed it." "Fine. That would include then thirty, forty different races. That is good. And then, I could be involved. At least partially. Still, the priority is to find who is behind this infection." "I understand." "So, pick multiple testing groups to speed up the process. If what we've seen is true, we'll need to build up our numbers fast.. Or else..." "Or else, everything we helped built might be lost."