Meanwhile…
“Chiilek”
<System Notification: Session established>
++0103++: The humans have engaged their SOR against the shipment. It is lost, along with access to this Daar and what he may know. And my arm.
++0008++: That is alarming.
++0103++: <+Self-pity+> I have no idea how I will function without it.
++0008++: <+Disgust; rebuke+> I wasn’t concerned with you. How, exactly, did the humans learn of this shipment?
++0103++: <+Submission+> Unknown, but they had Gaoian counterparts. Highly effective members of Whitecrest, I believe. More effective than our files would suggest.
++0017++: What is the status of your host? And of 309? We received his report and his gestalt but nothing further.
++0103++: 309 escaped and is presumably amongst the Gaoians. As for me, this body will shortly undergo surgery to re-attach the arm. <+Trepidation+> It was ripped clean out of its socket by accident! How strong are humans?
++0008++: Extremely, and their SOR vastly more so.
++0017++: You should terminate the host during surgery. We cannot risk the humans discovering this operation.
++0103++: Ill-advised, the spike in implant activity is equally likely to reveal our presence. This host will simply need an “accident” elsewhere. For now I shall observe. We may gain valuable insight into their medical technology.
++0008++: Likely irrelevant, but as you cannot do otherwise at the moment, I agree. Pay full attention to the proceedings and especially to your surroundings. I am more interested in these Gaoians they deployed with. Do you think them allied? We have no available data on their dealings.
++0017++: Gaoians are not Deathworlders. They have little to add to such an alliance.
++0008++: Quite likely. However, more data is always beneficial. Prepare a full report and transmit with your next upload.
++0103++: <+Affirmation; obedience+>
<System Notification: 0103 has disconnected>
<System Notification: Session closed>
<Redirecting: Subnet mask ????????? port ?????>
++????++: Well, that was informative. 103 is, as ever, useless.
++????++: Indeed. However, I suspect his report on the Gaoians will prove enlightening for those who can mine its meaning.
++????++: How so?
++????++: Have you looked at my little survey project of the human’s potential allies?
++????++: Accessing now…that is interesting. Gao is becoming a Deathworld?
++????++: Yes, and this benefits us greatly.
++????++: <+Incredulity+> How? If they team up it severely disrupts our maneuver space. Gaoians were proving to be very useful and industrious hosts. What will they do now, once the humans share what they know?
++????++: Oh, I am not worried about that. I suspect the Gaoians would have eventually figured it out on their own. They’re much more dangerous than our “benevolent” organization suspects.
++????++: <+Trepidation+> How so? Are they mis-categorized? Will the humans make them into Deathworlders as well?
++????++: <+Amusement; vindication+> Oh, no. It’s far, far worse than that. Look at their culture. Look at their breeding programs, which no other species has. Look at the selection pressures this places on their people. And now, look at their alignment with the humans. Do you see what is happening?
++????++: <+Resignation+> I must confess ignorance or an inability to see your conclusion.
++????++: <+Benevolence+> Commendable honesty. As for the Gaoians, they are doing something utterly unique in our long, long history. They are deliberately engineering themselves into Deathworlders, and have been since before they were aware of their pressing need to do so. And what’s more, they are not far from succeeding.
++????++: <+Curiosity+> please elaborate.
++????++: Have you studied them deeply? They are already a formidable people. <+Admiration+> In a few generations I predict they will be genuine peers with the humans. Quite possibly sooner, in fact; already their mental faculties are comparable, their senses are complimentary, and even their bodies are grossly aligned, adjusting for the rather large differences in mass and function. One of the few things they lack is anything like a human’s immune system, yet I suspect they will find a solution. They are not a species to be underestimated.
++????++: <+Fear+> How can that possibly end well for us? <+Confusion+> You said this was to our benefit. How so?
++????++: <+Self-satisfaction+> Is it not obvious? Humans and Gaoians are socially compatible and share many of the same social restraints. Gaoians are perhaps a bit more bloodthirsty, admittedly, but their loyalty to allies is unshakable. That is useful for the struggle to come. After all, who better to destroy a weak, sickened, bloated carcass of a governing organization than vicious, merciful predators?
++????++: Would that not cause problems for the humans? Why would they align with a species delibe rately engineering themselves? Are they not worried the Gaoians would eventually surpass them?
++????++: <+Amusement+> I highly doubt that. The humans are quite possibly the single most competitive species we have ever observed. They are so competitive it is woven into their very instincts and manifests in quite literally every aspect of their civilization. Should the Gaoians ever prove a genuine threat, I imagine the human response would be total and profound, and I suspect the Gaoians would be likely to share any advances they developed anyway. No. Their alliance does not concern me. They’re far too inclined to admire each other.
++????++: <+Doubt+> That seems an incredible risk you are taking on behalf of our people.
++????++: It is a risk taken for us, whether we prefer it or not. The Humans and Gaoians will ally and there is little we can or should do to stop it. We should be doing the opposite.
++????++: <+Realization+> You cannot mean what I think you mean.
++????++: <+Commitment+> Of course I do. We must contact the Gaoians directly.