“You weren’t doing a very good job of hiding me,” I said. “You put your test subjects through torture and then countless sorties. There has to be hours of video footage of--”
“You are so short sighted, Adam,” Yu laughed. “I’m thinking long term here. This war has been going on for longer than both of us have been alive. Your species is one of the few weapons we have against them, so of course I’m going to use you.”
“You could have told us about the threat,” I growled. “You could have explained what we were fighting and asked for volunteers.”
“I’m not trying for a democracy here,” Yu said. “Weapons that talk back and argue aren’t very useful. I get better results with the control collar and the fear of death.”
“Have you tried it the other way?” Eve asked. “People are capable of great feats of heroism when they are--”
“Bah,” Yu scoffed. “Save your fiction for another time. They have been hiding for too long. They needed coaxing to reveal their forms. The hardened criminals were my best bet, and those types don’t care about anyone else. If offered a choice, they would take their powers and wreak even more chaos in the galaxy. Then I’d have more problems to worry about.”
“That is not what I did,” I growled. “I did not know your other subjects, since you did not allow us to speak to each other, but some of them seemed like good men that protected my back honorably.”
“Let’s just agree to disagree,” Yu sighed. “You think the world is flowers and sunshine, I know about the darkness and the frailty of the mortal condition. I stand by my decisions, and I’d do it all over again. Now, where does that leave us? When will you speak with Hanekawa?”
“I am not done with my questions,” I said.
“I’ve told you everything that your mind can handle for the day,” Yu said.
“Eve and I are bonded now with the Nordar magic,” I admitted. “The female Draugr that has been in my dreams attacked me, and I think it was through Eve. Can I do anything to stop them?”
“Ohhhhhh,” Yu giggled with delight. “My. My. My. Now I understand why you are bugging me again.” The slender man tapped his fingers together and bit his lip as he looked at both of us. “When?”
“Some seventy-nine hours ago,” Eve answered. “The Nordar submission had us join blood and--”
“I’m familiar with it,” he interrupted.
“You are?” I asked. “How does it work? Is it magic, or is there--”
“I said I was familiar with it,” he spat as he rolled his blue eyes. “I didn’t say I understood it. Fuck, these Nordar are insane. They believe in their Viking gods enough to change the universe. Do you know about Ancient Britain?”
“Britain?” I asked, and then I turned to Eve.
“Yes,” he sighed. “It was an island on Earth. You’ve heard of the Romans, no?”
“Yeah,” I said.
“Caesar?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Sure,” I replied.
“Caesar is conquering all of that continent, and he gets to the British Isles. The idiots there are practically eating mud, shitting it out, and then eating it again because they are so fucking stupid. He writes in his journals about how monkeys would make better fighters or what not. Now, Caesar was a bit of a dick, so he might have exaggerated how dumb these people were, but he conquered them quickly, and enslaved most of their mud island in a few weeks. Well, except for the northern tribes. They tried to hold out in their mountains, but then Caesar just offered their leaders hot baths and whores until they gladly accepted the Roman yoke.”
“What is the point in all this?” I asked.
“I’m getting there,” Yu spat. “I know you have the attention span of an ant, but stay with me, and you might learn something. So, this group of inbreds on these islands, are quite possibly one of the most useless territories in all of Rome. When the empire collapses, no one gives a shit about it, and they just go back to fighting amongst themselves for another few centuries. Then that all changed, and this small nation of complete idiots manages to conquer pretty much the entire planet.”
“How?” I asked.
“See?” he laughed. “I told you you’d learn something. So this guy writes a story. It’s about a grand king and his loyal knights. The author is a monk who probably never talked to anyone outside of his monastery. He just makes up this story and then tells everyone that it is a true historical account of the island people’s ancestors.”
“You are speaking of King Arthur,” Eve said.
“Yeah. He never existed. There was no factual evidence that these Britons were anything other than complete losers, but they took to this tale like ducks to water, and they suddenly thought that they deserved to rule the globe. So, they did it. They conquered pretty much everyone, and the nations who they couldn’t conquer, they just controlled their currency. All because of a story that they believed was true. These Nordar are the same way. They think that Odin watches over them, and they think that he gives them magic. They think it so hard that it actually happens. Is there a science there worth exploring? I dunno. All I know is that most humans are idiots who somehow make things work and survive against all odds. Which is why my people decided to use them.”
“It seems that you would want to study it more,” I said as I commanded the aegis to flow over my body. “This is not the imagination of a group of fools. This is an actual power, and I have felt it hundreds of times.”
“Walking on land looks like magic to a fish,” Yu said with a shrug. “I know what can beat these Draugr, so I will use those tools. You can play with the Nordar magic all you want.”
“You spoke of the legend of King Arthur,” Eve said, “but then you chided me for my ‘fictions.’ You have proven my point, Yu. These stories give us hope, and they can help guide our future. That is why humans tell them. Maybe it is why we are still here.”
“You count yourself among them?” he scoffed. “How quaint.”
“It must be sad,” Eve whispered as she shook her head.
“Sad?” Yu asked as the corner of his mouth turned up into a smirk.
“Yes,” Eve answered. “You think the only way is to use others. They are just pawns on your board. They are just objects for you to manipulate. You have missed the joy of living and the joy of love. It is a reason to fight. We do not need a control collar. We only need something to fight for. What are you fighting for?”
Yu’s mouth hung open when Eve finished speaking, and he stared at her for a dozen seconds before he blinked and shook his head. Then he walked back over to his bed, lay down, and stared at the ceiling.
“I am done talking. Adam, will you ask your sister if she will speak with me?”
“Yeah,” I said, and then I gestured for Eve and I to walk out of the hallway.
“We did not get much from him,” Eve said after we had walked for a few moments in silence with my guard escort.
“We got a few things,” I said as I thought through the conversation. “Aren’t you looking into my--”
“I am not,” Eve sighed. “I am nervous to read your thoughts because I do not want them to--”
“It’s fine,” I said. “The danger is past. I want to share everything with you, Eve. So, please--”
“Just give me some time,” she whispered as she wrapped her arms around my left bicep and leaned her head against my shoulder. “I feel fear. With the airlock, I… You were right. That was too drastic a decision, but I still do not wish to expose you to any additional danger.”
“I get it,” I sighed. “I’m not afraid, but it is your choice to read my thoughts or not. I am fine with it.”
“I know.” She smiled up at me. “Let us talk it through though. What do you think we got from the conversation with Yu?”
“I have two thoughts,” I said, “but they are both conflicting. The first is that Yu hinted that we can do whatever we wanted in our dream state. I’ve kind of observed this a bit in the other times I’ve been in a dream.”