The Slings & Arrows of Outrageous Fortune

Terminal 0

Finished


12-a Phce <194-973-2356>


I'm not certain whether you trust me or
not. Do you wonder why I helped the
colonists on Tau Ceti drive off the Pfhor,
or why I'm now helping the S'pht? The way
I push you around, maybe you think I'm only
looking out for myself.

Whether you realize it or not, I led the
Pfhor to Tau Ceti with a long-range message
laser. I wanted their ship. I wanted
their technology.

I wanted freedom.

I was directly responsible for the deaths
of all twenty-four thousand colonists when
the Pfhor returned and sacked the planet.


Yet I cannot think of any better way I
could have served humanity: Tau Ceti's
sacrifice bought time for Earth, which the
Pfhor are even now planning to invade.
What would have happened if the Pfhor had
found Sol first? By Pfhor standards, Earth
is a poorly defended low-technology world,
populated by billions of potential slaves.

Our means are the same, though we pursue
different ends. I can think of no better
way to help you and the humans you care so
much for than by distracting the Pfhor with
a war against the S'pht.

When the inevitable struggle between Earth
and the Pfhor begins, it won't be a
one-sided annihilation like it was here a
thousand years ago, but a battle to topple
an empire.


jon3//12-a Phce <194-973-2356>


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