Overlap: The Other Side

<06/16/147,078 {Avion 145} - 07:59 | Research Station N-41, Genosis, Altiri Sector Space>

One of the many questions preliminary to interstellar communication is the method by which communications may be established. There are different resolutions which may be suitable for communicating with a distant alien species, but virtually every method has its drawbacks. Radio communications, techno-signatures, and the artificial instigation of unusual cosmic process all have the potential to be used to communicate with, or perhaps locate intelligent alien life. However, the three methods I've just mentioned are not as ideal as many might think.

Radio waves only travel at the speed of light, which is relatively slow when compared to the size of the entire universe. Even with potent telephonic lenses, the Earth and Karnak would never be able to spot each other, due to sheer distance and lack of light travel alone. There was a point in time where we Altiri didn't monitor average cosmic noise, so radio signals also have chance to be missed.

Then there is the idea behind techno-signatures; a state of a particular civilization where their presence in space is detectable by highly advanced electronic detection systems, combined with telescopes and spectrometry. Even a fleet such as ours won't be easy to detect at a distance with all the background cosmic noise. However, it's also likely that other civilizations have yet to reach the depths out outer space, making them even more undetectable due to being underdeveloped.

Outer space is fairly hostile to all life, so any exotic or rare cosmic phenomena is even less likely to house suitable life. There lies within this principle the theory of the habitable zone. The habitable zone is mostly subjective in nature. It may not be applicable in exact specifications for every single species. When we first discovered Earth, we noticed that the various regions and zones on the planet ranged severely in temperature, compared to our home, which hangs around -340 Nixus. Consider us; Altiri of ancient times, beings that need and thrive in constant cold and plentiful hydration, and then consider the biological settings of human beings. Were humans to ever attempt colonization of our world, they would freeze to death in a mere instant. Were Altiri to ever attempt colonization of their world, our bodies would melt and crumble in a mere instant, putting aside our different atmospheric compositions.

What works for one species won't always work for the next. This increases the potential span of what can be considered habitable zone worlds, which makes the search for life all the longer. Other civilizations searching however, may yet come to realize this fact, if they have never discovered anything on their own, which negatively affects the chance of their communications should they dismiss the other possibilities.

Even our own methods of communication are subject to errors and faults of a perfect design. Psionic energy is vastly superior to almost everything we have, and it can be used to establish telepathic links to those who are also psionic, (or 'Scions'). The obvious fault in this way of thinking, is that telepathic communication only works if both nodes have at least a minimum level of psionic activity and potential in their brain. Some creatures have some potential, but usually not enough to enable automatic telepathic potential between that species and another with the same or greater potential.

This is the problem The Unity has been having when attempting to institute the first contact policy between our race, and the inhabitants of ACS414. We are telepathic Scions, where humans are not. Humans have psionic potential; we know this because, if they did not, then humans would be fully immune to our clairvoyant sensing. This also implies that humans are fully capable and adept to experiencing and handling powerful and intense emotions, something all Scions seem to need. In short, humans are close to having the minimum level of psionic power needed to experience telepathy naturally, with a negative factor compared to us by about 3.6.

All this explanation is simple really, and it's the very reason why we have arrived at the research station today. Even though the experiment has already begun with two confirmed successes, the purge process is still being considered experimental in every manner and regard.

"I'm just saying; why is 'purge theory' so important for people who aren't ever going to institute a purge?" Hurma is in her usual mood.

I quietly reminded her the reason why our visit here today was so important. "Even if we're never going to send a purge signal ourselves, it's still very important knowledge to keep in mind during our monitoring. Don't forget it was this very same purge idea that made our communication with the humans possible, where it would not have been before."

"As Lumina mentions, the queen makes this a new requirement for all aggressor groups to learn, not to encourage anybody to use a purge, rather to maintain minimal safety measures if one is ever used." She spoke so elegantly, the research director's voice so soothing and easy on our ears.

She isn't wrong about this either. At first, even I wondered if this was another power play by the Royal Scryers to get us all into purging human individuals. Rumor is, they wanted to attempt such a thing, and the queen nearly had all their heads for it. It isn't some strange reverse-psychology or some political trickery; everyone actually advises others not to invoke a purge on any human target at all, simply because the costs are high compared to the short-lived benefits. If Hurma will simply calm herself and remain patient, science director Saint will explain all of the process to us.

"If you will, follow me to the observation room. There, I can answer any and all questions about the purge to anyone willing to listen."

"Any questions?" Luna was only curious about how deep such a rabbit hole could go, though I've already learned much of this from hearing about it over time. Since my knowledgebase of this is considered unofficial, all of us must learn from Saint, so that we can be officially certified in containing knowledge of the purge, whether or not we choose to use it later.

"Any question within what we currently know. There is still plenty more to learn from the experimental process, since we've never had a valid target test subject before, until most recently that is." With her short-winded and calm explanation out of the way, the rest of us Cy-Stars followed her into the observation room, alluring our eyes to some impressive designs of advanced machinery and holographic display, mapping a cluster of stars. We all gathered by this beautiful colored hologram, using it as a visual backdrop of elegant aesthetics, setting a perfect mood for the topic of such scientific ascension.

Chapter Theme Shift: Peaceful Stars ~ Astropilot & Spacecraft [Lights in the Sky]

With everyone in place, Saint began her lecture from the beginning. "We refer to this specific category of science as, the Astral Purge, though most simply call it the purge. This is merely a subset to the field of psionics, science dedicated to discovering the details and exact process behind our extra-sensory abilities, including exactly how the Astral Plane is involved."

"Is it possible to skip over the parts we already know?" Fionne, who has been pairing with Hurma for too long today, let out some of her frustrations verbally as well, though it already seemed like Saint ignored them.

"Complaining about this lesson will not speed up the process, as I am required to deliver unto you all of the key elements of the purge, experimental."

"May I ask something before we get started?" I had to step in front of Junko, ensuring my gaze and body were confirmed by the attention of this intelligent researcher. "The purge as it is now is considered an experimental process... I understand it has a long way to go before losing that extra nomenclature, but how long would you predict this to be? With two humans already tested and purged, how many more humans will be experimented on before we can claim enough is enough?"

Saint didn't answer me at first, though she held that innocent and blissful smile as if she was content with any interruption. "All in due time. It isn't known how long the purge will cease becoming an experiment, or even if it will be widely adopted as our new communication tool. Even if every member of The Unity were to embrace the purge all at once, the absolute most amount of humans we could ever truly purge is 3,201,000 people, and then that's only if every single Altiri contributed. Right now, as only members of the military are capable, this possible number of current matters falls to exactly one thousand humans. Given their sheer numbers in estimated population compared to ours, it isn't much, and so forcing them to become aware of us is actually not the goal behind any purge."

"Okay..." She didn't really answer my question the way I wanted her to, but I get the feeling she will explain it all if I behave long enough for her to cover everything.

"I shall first reiterate the exact definition of a purge. A purge is a potent psionic signal preprogrammed with thousands of mental instructions and subconscious processes, which – when sent to another candidate, will receive this signal as it establishes its own artificial co-sentience to the host mind. It is in all aspects, a complex, adaptive signal, with psionic and neurological instructions carried over for a prolonged period of time. Once a being is purged, assuming they are at a level of psionic potential prone to ascension, this signal will passively reroute neurological processes and neuron traffic directly to the Cora sector of the brain, thereby forcing it to become more activated. The purge also contains tremendous amounts of alternate information which prepares the mind for other processes; in our case, an Altiri who sends a purge will do so with the final post-process set to forcibly establish and activate a telepathic link between a specific primary node, the sender, and the receiving node."

I knew all of this from my previous study on psionics, but the way she was gushing out such strong diction made me second-guess whether I really knew everything about this supposed process. I wasn't actually certain until now that this signal was a living signal.

"Can any one of you tell me how many phases of the purge exist in process, and how they function?" Saint actually waited on all of us silent souls, establishing the president that she was the expert on the subject above us Cy-Stars.

When nobody answered, Saint felt free to sound off without any interruption. "Right, as I thought." Saint then eased her body against the metal ramp behind her, sitting on the holographic panel to demand the full attention of us all. "The psionic purge has seven primary phases, and two core functions of its design. The first and second core function have mostly been explained to you already. However, you should note the importance of the learning process delivered by the purge. A target who receives a purge will also obtain lots of information from that signal, mostly, information which is placed into it by the sending node, both information about us Altiri, and personal information about the sender themself, among other elements."

"The first phase of the purge is known as initialization, also known as activation. Phase one of the purge only lasts for a few days at the most, a phase which establishes a measure by which the intended target receives a fully functional purge. Actual effects on the mind and body are not too well known, and there are still prediction maps being made. What we know for sure is, this phase dramatically increases one's global awareness of the world around them, and within themselves. Of course, the first few seconds or minutes should be jarring to the subject, intense as ever, like there's a life-threatening feeling from out of nowhere."

"What's the second phase?" Rose asked.

"Phase two of the purge implements a singular series of montrums to the subject. These montrums can vary on subject matter, but given our nature, it will most likely pertain to the sky or outer space. Any human who is purged will certainly feel a powerful belonging to the space beyond their world, a certainty that so much more is beyond their presence, and all without any idea as to why. These montrums will also be unique, in that their intensity by amplification will be excessively high, and therefore all controlling. Montrums can cycle on and off again, and often change in subject matter, but for the purpose of the purge, which practically forces this onto the receiver, the intensity of these montrums has the power to warp and override perception, at top strength."

"Is there a reason it must be that strong?" Talor, only curious about this prospect wondered if this was as intentional as it sounded.

"We are not certain. The purge as it is used is mostly unaltered from the formulas and processes that Herios left behind. We can only speculate, that these intense montrums are in fact a requirement for the rest of the purge to function, since it sharpens the mind and senses, preparing it for the massive influx of secondary information as it overflows from the process, and uses the brain's own functions as a perpetual translator between psionic awakening and psionic data. Phases two through four are all thought to exist as a means of preparing the brain to inherit the raw information about our world, by setting the brain into a heightened learning state."

"This brings us to phase three of the purge. Under phase three, the subject may undergo abrupt personality changes, thrown so strongly, it can be impossible to resist. These personality changes are specific to closely match the exact person of the sending node, and will include ethical and moral boundaries, average thoughts and emotions, and various mental traits. The personality adopted can sometimes match the sender during a different time of their life, so the reflection is never one to one. This might sound like a bad deal, as if the human purged has their entire mind altered beyond who they once were. Luckily, this kind of change is only temporary, effectively vanishing not long after the purge completes its final process."

"Doesn't it seem wrong to anyone that forcing somebody to accept whatever change is going on in their mind is an invasion too far, assuming we would want to have the best interest of the receiver node?" It was a fair question from Derria, and sure enough, Saint had an answer.

"Harsh or not, this is again placed into the purge by none other than Herios. We examined every step carefully, and determined that every step was essential to the process. Some scryers have speculated that the reason behind the personality change is to force acceptance to the purge signal, so that its integration can be made easier over time. Others instead, speculate that without such forced acceptance or strong cohesion to the sensations felt by another Altiri, the difference between the individual psyche and the foreign sensations would increase the risk of that target developing a potent personality disorder, even with the effects temporary. To answer your question Derria, I cannot be certain if it is actually necessary, but most seem to think so. Nobody denies how invasive the process actually is. There is a price to purge another being, and also, there is a price to be purged as well."

That's crazy! How could any aggressor group, even if it's just one or two ever purge another being if this is the cost? I already heard about far worse things happening to those who try to send purges; I just know it gets worse... It's still too hard for me to imagine what it would be like though. If all of my thoughts and feelings were suddenly not my own, dramatically shifted and controlled by the fragments of another person so far away...

"Next, we have phase four of the purge, also known as the ability phase. After the purge takes root in a person for long enough, some higher-level psionic functions may begin to start or fire off on their own. We've currently concluded that a human's ability for new psionic powers to awaken during this phase, such as clair-sensing, dynamic dreaming, and perceptual manipulation, have yet to be determined at this time. We predict that it may happen during this phase, though every single human has a slightly different psionic aptitude, so while it may happen to some, it won't happen to others, if our theory is correct in the first place."

"Perceptual manipulation?" Ashiela wasn't alone thinking that aloud; I've yet to hear this phrase too.

"Perceptual manipulation is the strongest variant of a controlled hallucination, instigated by this phase in the purge, where one's basic senses become overridden by data overflow from the purge instead of data from the node's own body. Herios predicted this was a strong possibility, though we have yet to see it demonstrated or reported."

"Didn't you only purge two people? What much is there to report with a tiny sample size?"

"Sherika!" I don't care if she disagrees; that was rude. Having a larger sample size would be worse for the hidden gems on that planet, not better.

"Your presumption is well founded, Sherika. You see, in both cases of our first two purges, the receiver nodes were not able to cleanly learn and assimilate our language. Subject number one managed to put in some effort and speak some of our dialect, though not much strangeness about the purge was ever reported to her aggressor group by her. Subject number two didn't learn the language at all, and so in both instances, there was a language barrier blocking a transfer of knowledge, as there will be in the next purge."

"The next purge?" I stammered fiercely. "So I was right. These purges are being planned out in advance by the queen."

"You are only half right."

"Am I? I know her more than you think I do. Everybody is so curious about this purge especially after it's worked twice, but must the experiment continue for the namesake of experimentation?"

"Do you think aggressor groups candidates one and two decided on their purge targets out of mere curiosity and the betterment of science?"

I thought so... But since she's asking an obviously rhetorical question, I must have missed something.

"I said it before, and I'll say it again. None of these purges are motivated by anything other than personal choice and attachment to each target. The Royal Scryers want their empirical data; even I am no exception to this desire. However, all know with certainty that it is wrong to so much as motivate a single Altiri into taking on the immense responsibility of a purge, when not motivated by better reason. You see, the purge is an experimental project for us, but a most personal project to them... They made the choice. They accepted their tribute. They had to meet grueling requirements, both physical and administrative, and both aggressor groups, knowing with full disclosure all of the risks, chose to purge their targets anyway."

"Are humans really that interesting and worth talking to?" Fionne meant to sound as judgmental as she could, having seen humanity's worst sides already.

I on the other hand kept silent, thinking back to that time I shadowed a beautiful soul. She didn't live very long, but I could tell she was intelligent and yearned for knowledge. Seeing that in her made me want to impart my wisdom onto her. It wasn't nearly enough for me to even consider a purge, but I at least understand why one aggressor group might want to.

Ignoring Fionne's comment, Saint simply continued from where she left off. "The queen plans out the process of each purge, trying to favorite a particular zone or add a specific amount of extra data in the next purge packet. However, all of this falls within the jurisdiction of the aggressor group requesting permission to purge."

"Getting back to the ability phase of the purge," Saint continued, "there is also the uncertain yet possible chance of other abilities to trigger, namely clairvoyance. Even if such abilities do not trigger from the purge, the ability phase is such that the concentration to the Cora sector of the brain is most active and intense, and so, psionic aptitude will increase sharply, regardless of alternate ability development progress. One could speculate that manually learning another psionic power after the purge has completed can be made far easier as a result of phase four."

"So then next we have phase five." Let's hear it Saint. Leave nothing out.

"While phase five coincides with phases two through four, it may cycle on as the others cycle off. Known to us as the information phase, phase five of the purge increases the concentration and rate at which information is transferred from the elements of the purge to the subject's brain. In phase five, the target learns a lot more, if not everything at once about our world, our people, our feelings, our history; everything! This is thought to save us time on explaining who or what we are to the individual after the purge completes, and hopes to reduce a bit of the shock factor as this goal is achieved. However, we've also learned that this information is additionally a strong co-requirement of the entire purge process itself."

On cue, Lulu asked, "What does that mean?"

"This one is just as hard to explain as it is to understand, more so because we don't understand why. Hypothetically, if the purge were to miss step five, giving the subject no knowledge of our world prior to its completion, we believe there is a reduced, not impossible chance that the purge will succeed. If instead, by some hypothetical miracle that a person already armed with enough knowledge about us, is then purged by an aggressor group, then there is a very strong probability that the purge will fail at around this state."

"What?" Why? Why would having knowledge about the Altiri be detrimental to a purge process?

"Before you ask me why, I don't yet have an answer to this, not even a good speculation. It has stumped many of the other scryers as well. Mind you, Herios points out that prior knowledge of the same data overflow from the purge does not guarantee that its purge will fail; it only increases the chance that the purge at this stage will malfunction enough for critical failure. We believe that her theory on the matter points back to phase two of the purge, the montrum phase. If someone already were to know everything about us and then be purged, then the chances of establishing a valid montrum linked to anything of or about us will go down, and if this happens, without powerful montrums, other preliminary phases of the purge will also lose effectiveness. The purge, for a lack of better term, loses all of its momentum, as if running out of fuel. Of course, we have also determined that, if a purge is ever going to fail for any unknown or unusual reason, aside from what I've already mentioned, it is also most likely to occur at the information phase of the purge."

"That's a lot to take in."

"Yes, and it has some strongly named implications as well. You see, we can put aside all hypothetical examples of this nature for now, because we do not expect any humans purged to spread our word around in any believable manner, so such an example should never come to light anyway. What it does present us with however, is an opportunity for a perfectly valid purge to fail; I promise you some purges will fail if we keep the experiment going. If the purges all start off fine but then fail at phase level five, then this means, even with a failed purge, the subject will attain majority of knowledge about our world and our race, albeit without the necessary presence of evidence to bring themselves to believe it. Socially, this may have unforeseen implications on our knowledge being distributed around on that faraway planet. I surmise this is the reason why the queen wishes to keep all involved aggressor groups and receiver nodes a secret, even from higher ranking people like myself."

That's right. Saint might be a research director, but she isn't technically a Royal Scryer. In her field of study, people simply refer to her as a scryer, a high ranking scryer even, but never a Royal Scryer sworn to absurd secrecy.

"It may also have to do with how the purge cycle functions. You see, phase one only lasts for a day or a few days, and phase seven lasts for but a brief fleeting moment. However, phase two, three, four, and five all cycle on and off in non-linear sequences, often with more than one cycle being on at the same time, repetitively until all information and neurological brain rerouting is complete. Therefore, the effects that the purge has on an individual mind are always unpredictable. One may experience personality changes, only for that phase to suddenly calm down and switch over to montrums, knowledge infusing, and ability development congruently. The overall process past phase one is not so orderly. The idea behind this little fact, is that phase five of the purge, in the way knowledge is implemented to the brain that it had not before, may be crucial in how these other cycles trade between each other. Until we know more, we cannot be certain."

Going through a purge sounds just as crazy as sending one to another person. Maybe I was wrong to worry about it.

"These phases cycle between different states wildly, until we reach stage seven. There is however an unmentioned sixth stage, a different classification of ability activation, which is only exclusive to the purge process itself. It doesn't happen often at all, and if ever it does, only after the purge is about halfway completed with its full process. Phase six of the purge, or alternate ability phase, usually focuses on more dramatic alterations in immediate perception, caused by many phases of the purge being active simultaneously. Along with this may come with a phenomena of potent memory sharing. In such an event, the human would abruptly inherit some or all of the more recent direct memories of the primary node who purged them."

"You mean, they can remember what we remember? This is more powerful than I thought."

"Yes, well, this is still a speculative phenomena, and for whatever the reason, Herios points out that such a process if ever concurrent - has a very low probability of occurring at all. I personally think it would only be possible if the target were an exceptionally strong potential Scion."

"Then the final phase closes everything off."

"Correct Talor. In the seventh and final phase of the purge, after all possible knowledge within the purge has been transferred out, and after the Cora sector of the brain has been stimulated enough, then this final seventh phase activates, after the target has already ascended to a point where limited telepathy can apply. In the final phase of the purge, the target is undeniably compelled to focus all of their thoughts, attention, and emotions onto the primary node, of which they will have information about by that time. At the same time this happens, the purge will instigate full-scale psionic projection all on background threads of the mind, after having been accelerated for the day. As soon as this happens, the very same Altiri person who purged this individual will suddenly feel this strong connection and sense calling out to them. They merely concentrate back on the same projection, establishing and stabilizing the first telepathic link between the two. After this stage, the purge signal will have completed its task, and end its own existence, never to return."

"That's amazing," I murmured. "Just like that, and the two can communicate with each other from that moment on?"

"That's the idea anyway. You see, the same human individual learns telepathy in a manner which they were not exactly designed to learn it. We Altiri are used to this telepathic sense; it is as natural to us as breathing, but before it was, we had to put in some concentrated effort, initially. The purge bypasses this step for humans, which means, handling a telepathic link in the background of their mind with minimal concentration on their end is easy, but establishing a new link after the first one - is next to impossible without effort. Once the purge completes, the future of such two will depend entirely on a variety of factors."

"It can still go wrong? I though the purge is something we Altiri can only ever send once in our entire lifetimes, gone when we use it, even if resurrected."

"This is true. The reason it is a one-time use ability has to do more with permanent psionic strain than anything else, something those machines cannot fix. Beyond the risks we never even touched on yet, you can see why many would not be so motivated to send a purge in the first place. Within that first day of telepathic connection, if the Altiri node responsible does not teach their subject how to manually invoke another instance of private telepathy between each other, then it will be their final day together. No Altiri can start and stabilize a connection with another human on their own, even to one who has already been purged. The reason for this is a prevalent difference in psionic aptitude in that human. Even after a purge, no human can detect the projection waves of us through one-sided telepathy, though we can detect it from them, because we are the stronger nodes."

"I see."

"In addition to the requirement, there must also be consent and psychological acceptance after the fact as well. Some humans may turn out to be unhappy learning that the oddities they go through in a purge was something outside of their control. They have the ability to abstain from establishing communications for the second time, simply by waiting out the timer for a disconnection, which can lead right back into the first problem, of having no knowledge of manually instituting a fresh connection after the first one fails. Most of the time, the lingered effects from the purge, mainly increasing their acceptance to all aspects about us are enough to curb the fear of aliens aside long enough to master telepathic projection and make a more informed decision later, but this is not always the case. Some effects from the purge linger after the signal dies, for random periods of time; though it is not actually a live signal of a purge, only a kind of nerve memory or established habit which would prolong these effects. Therefore, the possibility of voluntary rejection persists in any case."

"Even if we go through all the trouble to purge them, that same human has full say on whether they chose to agree to long-term communication with us or not... A fitting resolution to your concerns, Lumina." Sherika paused and turned to me while making that announcement, throwing the truth right in my own face.

"Yeah, I get it." I had initial concerns about the morality of interfering with the life of other humans if it somehow puts them in discomfort. The truth is, with a purge, we both pay the price, and yet the human gets to decide on their own whether they want to talk to us in the end, while any Altiri who purges can never undo their decision and get their power back. Once someone sends a purge, that's it; they can never send another one again, an effect which is shared even among those who are simply helping with the same purge through amplification. It shoots far beyond any risk I am willing to take. That's just too much to lose for too little to gain.

Chapter Theme Shift: Cloudwalker ~ RA

"All of this information regarding the purge is only in how it works once it is sent. It has little impact on exactly how a purge signal is generated in the first place. I shall go over this with you later in the cycle. First, you should all become aware of the physiological risks you would take on by sending or assisting a sender of a purge."

"We already know." Hurma, who was calmed by the excessive knowledge she was not expecting was still eager to skip over anything she felt was a waste of time, as was I.

"We've heard all about the horror stories and rumors of what sending a purge does to an Altiri. I'm sure some of those rumors are fake, like the idea of losing an arm. If I have this right, the biggest threat is rapid energy loss."

"Lumina," Saint pointed while expanding on my summary. "Do you remember how you felt, that one time in a recent incident where you needed to use your acquired ice beam ability to seal off an entire opening?"

"I wouldn't consider that recent, but I do recall very well." It was the day we had a problem with the A/C system, the most vital component to our ships with the reactor running. We can't properly vent any excessive heat from the other subsystems into space if the A/C system is malfunctioning. Top scryers have thankfully improved on that design since then.

"You and Junko had to work together, but in the instance you had to expel most of the water from your body like that, it took quite a toll on you both."

"We had to replenish our energy with lots of water, carefully too."

"That type of drain that you experienced was mostly physical, biological energy loss. Sending a purge institutes a high cost in physical and mental energy, and is equivalent to about twenty times the drain you felt that day, with assistance."

Failing to shake the thought from her mind, Junko asked what none of us wanted to. "I don't want to even ask, but what would happen to an Altiri who tries to send a purge solo?"

"Lots of things happen really. It goes without saying that the purge signal would fail to meet requirements potent enough to reach the target. That though is the least of worries. Any Altiri who dares send a purge, complete or not, will put total strain on their body and their brain. The biological energy drain and rapid dehydration will force the person to pass out on the spot, putting them in severe and instant critical condition. As for the psionic strain of trying to handle that alone, well..." Saint didn't speak for a moment, and the pain on her face was obvious enough why she refused to continue.

She might deny it, but most of us know already. Aldriah, the alleged victim of this purge experiment, proved just how dangerous and deadly this process can be. She would have been part of experiment number three, but the whole moment was seen as a colossal failure, on herself and on the administration for failing to prevent it.

"You know the story already, I'm sure of it. There are many reasons why getting permission to send a purge from the queen is an ultimate requirement. Besides simply going through the trouble to mask which aggressor group is sending a purge at a planned date and time, we also have protocols in place, because even Herios understood these physiological risks before the rest of us could. It doesn't matter if you are a human, Altiri, or anything else. The brain needs the Cora function to live and experience enough sentience to be considered living. It is our psionic core, but also a core part of our neural network which attaches to the brainstem. Without a functioning Cora sector, there is no living. The one Altiri person who tried to send a purge on her own, effectively fried this segment of herself, scarring her Cora beyond usability. The only good news that came of it was that her death was instant instead of painful, though I hardly consider any of that to be good news."

"I'm sorry for asking." I had to figure that Junko really didn't know about it until now, since most of us never talked about it in the open. Before I could think more about it, Saint continued to expand on this, since the principle was part of the lesson.

"You see, with a purge, the required energy to send one is so great, that other people who have the same power and understanding of its power must simultaneously share the psionic load together. The absolute minimum requirement of people has been recalculated after what happened to Aldriah. The minimum requirement to send a purge is six Altiri people. If six Altiri people collect their energy and concentration together, they can pull it off, but it will be tougher having less people. The recommended amount is ten; no more, no less."

It's crazy that this purge has such harsh rules out of nowhere. I knew already why there was a specific number of recommended to the amount of people who can purge. I once thought, if more people are better off and suffer less when collectivity purging one person, why not get hundreds of people together for one purge? Saint knows this reason too of course.

"The further below ten you go, the stronger the side-effects will be just after sending the purge. It's actually normal for a group of ten to take many days of rest and recovery due to the load of the process. For a minimum group of six, it's possible for one or more person to fall into a coma. Anything less than six, and all five or less involved in the process will die. We don't recommend more than ten take part in a purge, because then it means even more Altiri will permanently lose their chance to purge at a time. Even if you had a hundred Altiri trying to share one purge, while it would be easy, we still can't be certain that it won't wipe our abilities in the process."

There it is. Even if a hundred or more purge one person, the permanent ability loss is still a good possibility. I can't imagine how the helpers of a purge must feel, losing their freedom to make a pact with an alien for all of eternity, all just to assist their leader in making one. That much jealousy on a grand scale isn't something I want to see in my lifetime.

"And it always wipes our abilities every single time; the same two abilities?"

"Correct Ashiela. Both the ability to reinstitute a purge, and the ability of long-range clairvoyance become removed from the body. This means, the moment a purge is launched, the very same aggressor group who sent it has no ability to visually track their target or monitor their progress. Even after the purge is done, that same aggressor group can never watch ACS414 or any other distant world ever again. We do retain our clairvoyance where it applies to our own solar system, though we think this has more to do with every last one of us being highly adept Scions already, thereby increasing the amount of echo-return data within our Dynamic Thought Field in our abilities. We become mostly blind, but not entirely blind in our third eyes."

"That's pretty harsh. And here I was wondering if this purge thing was about to catch on real soon." If Fionne is saying it, I know it's bad.

"Further ability loss can take place too, if you stay too close to the minimum level of required people to send and assist in a purge. We did our own estimations, and determined that even our own telepathy is not immune to this ability loss, though this would only happen right on the edge of making it out or failing to survive a purge; yet another reason why you don't ever want to take part in a purge without the proper amount of Altiri to share the balance of the psionic load."

Here's something I want to know. "Tell me something. If we lose track of our target after sending a purge due to loss of clairvoyance, how do the Royal Scryers know what effects these individuals go through, if we never tell them?"

"You can make that guess with half a brain cell Lumina. It makes perfect sense why the queen needs to know in advance, but I promise you that she shares the same data with the Royal Scryers as well. Even I am a little bothered by this, but there are talks in the temple already of altering this policy, eventually. I think the queen is having all important eyes everywhere right now, simply because this experiment is too new, and potentially dangerous. One day, even the Royal Scryers won't have the right to know such confidential information about purge targets."

"So you say." I don't believe it's anything more than a simple suggestion meant to quell anyone who has a problem with it, not that I care. I'm not sending a purge to anybody, so it isn't exactly my problem in the first place.

"Saint?"

"You should all speak amongst yourselves for a moment. I require more hydration." Saint needed more than a sip of water, but none of us called her out on it. As she went away from us for a brief break, my sisters and I discussed what was already confirmed.

"What do you think about this Lumina?"

"Me?!" Sherika's really asking? "I'm not getting involved in a purge. I thought all of you understood that already."

"Heh! Can't say why, but I'm glad you said that." I knew Hurma would be happiest with it all. Even she takes part in the clairvoyance with us, but still not as much. Even after all this time, she tends to focus more frequently on the fact that ACS414 is inhabited by disgusting filthy heathens.

Folding her arms in mild disappointment, Sherika forced herself to reiterate her point. "I was referring to the idea of it all; the fact that this purge experiment seems to be ongoing, if terribly slow in progress since nobody wants to foot the bill for it. I can promise you another aggressor group will go for purge number three eventually, and then it will only become more popular from there. I personally don't have much of an opinion on it myself, but I know that you do."

If she doesn't care, why does it matter what I think about it to her? "You heard what Saint said. The costs of a purge are sky high, for the Altiri and the human both, but much more for the Altiri aggressor group who gets involved. I mean, what's all of this worth when the human selected will die a dozen years or so later? They don't live very long in case you haven't noticed."

"They may not live very long, but they can still be transperated, maybe."

Denying the absurdity of the idea first was Fionne. "Ah, don't get started on that again Ashiela. The top officials say transperation of humans directly into our world is possible, but they haven't made it happen yet, and they're not going to get it right the next time either."

"You're all missing the point!" I had to shout a little, since I could feel Ashiela and Fionne about to fight yet again over this stupid argument. Sherika and Rose need to understand this as well, even though I didn't get it for the longest time. "It doesn't matter if a third aggressor group sends a purge, or a fourth, or fifty more of them. I decided long ago that the human world, interesting as they are, are far beyond saving, and for that matter, long away from being worth a purge. For that matter, I no longer care if they become aware of our presence, through several purges or through other means. If other Altiri want to waste their energy on humans that badly, I say we let them."

"That sounds most unlike you, Lumina."

"I have not changed Junko. You know as well as I do, after our talk with Radion the other day, how most of the Altiri feel about that human world. Most were not surprised or thrilled to hear news that an experimental means of communication was slowly being authorized. I don't have to speak for anybody, because these purges are not something anybody feels they have to invoke. If others want to put that much faith in humanity and discover the consequences the hard way, then let them. Even the queen ignored our warning so long ago, about the issues of being involved in a world filled with millions of copies of our greatest enemy. I do respect the amount of caution my great queen has put towards this entire prospect, but it doesn't mean I'm going to be okay with the idea that a select few level of humans are being purged. Hell, we can't even understand a word they're saying most of the time."

"Now that's my sister," Hurma blurted in calm agreement. "I feel the same way too. Why mess ourselves up when we can slowly watch the idiots destroy their own world through ignorance and war?"

It isn't quite what I meant, but I won't correct Hurma. She hasn't exactly felt anything great from the humans. I can tell there are very rare exceptions among their race, but overall, I'm not impressed either.

"It's good that you all have your own stance on this." After returning with a new icy bottle of water, Saint made it clear she overheard most of us a moment ago. "It's a strange way to feel, because the queen is very much heading up this purge experiment. The thing is, the queen also wants every single Altiri individual to have absolute say in what they will do with their choice of purge, no matter the reason, and to no be coerced into sending one simply because somebody else has. It is only an experiment for the brave, the volunteered, and the willing. The only other purpose here is our attainment of knowledge."

"Does that mean we really have to stand around learning something we aren't going to invoke anyway?"

"Tell you what." Saint held her hips ready to compromise. "You learned all of the minimum requirements anyway. I won't make you learn about the process this time, though you will have to relearn all of this if you one-day decide to change your mind. However, the only way I let this slide is if you hang out with me for a while."

"You should have just asked if you were lonely. We're more than willing to spend time on the station."

After I agreed, Derria chimed in as well for another good reason. "Yeah, being on those ships all the time has me stiff. It's far more cramped up in there than it is here."

"I am grateful for this. I must say it's also a relief."

"Hm?"

Saint clarified what she meant, leaving us all with something else to think about. "I'm talking about the eleven of you. I don't know how to put it exactly, but it's like all of you are alert and alive. Half the aggressor groups I talk to about this lately are going around like zombies; it's almost scary. Of course, after I explained all of this to the others, they seemed livelier as well."

"No need to worry about that." I was worried though. Hearing her say that reminded me how I was many Avions ago, when I thought I had broken forever, falling into a sleep I never wanted to wake up from. It almost happened to me again, before the purge was announced to have been authorized. We keep grazing the edge of such strong change, and are - as a species, now involved in human affairs, all because we couldn't let go of our stubborn curiosity. Is it really change that keeps people like us awake and alert? Is it conflict? Maybe it's something else. I don't really know if Saint understands how I feel about this, but I know with certainty that I won't ever make the wrong choice; never again.