ETTING   OME   O   LFANDRA

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Shyriath's Little Trip (alternate) part 10

Cira is a bit overwhelmed by all of this. After hearing that the Sa'arunai'itai made many of the jungle's plants, he fully expects Shyriath next to tell him that they called the very island up from the sea. He thinks about all of this for a time until it clicks and he understands what Shyriath has just explained. By the time he replies he is on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry Shyriath." and he holds a paw out to Shyr.

Almost in a whisper and not really spoken to Shyriath he says, "I just realized that what you have described bears a passing resemblance to my own experience."

"That is the saddest tale I've ever heard." Shyriath's story conjures to his mind the vision of a society that will soon be completely vaporized by a warhead, and yet makes no preparations because they know not. "That's terrible. Can't we do something about this?"

 "If by 'doing something' you refer to preventing the Massacre from occurring..." he shakes his head. "I'd rather not. In all likelihood, I wouldn't exist if it hadn't happened... something which would not bother so much, except that, by definition, my daughters too would cease to exist."

"Not to worry. I've already done many things in the past which should have precluded my future existence, or who I am, without adverse affects. I think the causality stuff may not quite work the way it is usually portrayed. To not act may actually have adverse affects. I would feel bad if we didn't at least try to help them."

"I'm not really sure what happens when one returns to the past and 'changes' something. It may be that the change is actually already a piece of the past and this is how it turned out, or perhaps a new dimension is forked to play out the changes. For good or ill, I have never actually succeeded it altering 'my' past."

Shyriath admits to himself that the idea IS tempting... after all, just not doing anything about it WOULD be a bit cold-hearted... but what if it DOES do something adverse?

He shall see. Perhaps something can be done.

"What... What if we were Sa'arunai'itai? Do you think we could get them to help us? Even if they can't send us directly through time, perhaps there is some other way for us to get home."

Shyriath looks confused. "But... we are not Sa'arunai'itai. And even if we could somehow achieve resemblance to them, they would know us instantly; we would not be connected to the Overmind. Contact through the Overmind is something Sa'arunai'itai do every time they meet."

He nods with an odd expression on his face and a slight smile. "I can make us into Sa'arunai'itai. I may or may not be able to forge us links to the Overmind as I don't understand it quite. If it's just a matter of having the right biology we can do it easily. If not, I'd need to know more. Though, I can not predict what affect such a link might have, even if we succeeded in it's creation."

Shyriath looks intensely uncomfortable with the idea. "It IS possible for outsiders to become a part of the Overmind, at least indirectly... but it involves getting other Sa'arunai'itai to allow it. Trying to do it without their assent would be... well, very difficult... and, furthermore, would be tantamount to invading a mind against its will."

"Forgive me if I have suggested anything which should in fact not be done. I think I simplified the concept of the Overmind into something which I am more familiar with. I'm so used to the way computer networks behave..." He shakes his head.

"The Overmind reminds me a bit of the Hasta Dragons, they are a bit like that. Perhaps closer to the hive mind though, I'm not quite sure."

Shyriath can barely grasp the concept of the computer, on his side of this. Anything that thinks yet isn't an organic brain makes no sense to him.

"Anyway, we'd need some other way of dealing with the Sa'arunai'itai."
 
He nods.