TC16

Long before El explored Earth another world with sentient life was known to the elohim, aquatic creatures who adapted to cross land when an ice age reduced their shallow world ocean to scattered lakes. Ein Sof took delight to find the universe looking at itself through different eyes, but the energies unleashed by the creatures hastened the end of the very glacial period that made them tool-users. When their ice caps melted the elohim watched them revert to silent ocean-dwellers once more.

On ten occasions the elohim detected evidence of civilizations somewhere beyond the reach of the City of Stars. In every case the transmissions faded in a few centuries, sometimes as a gradual change to more efficient forms of communication than broadcasting, other times far more abruptly. More frequently a young eloah exploring her own neighborhood with a husk ran across the ruins of an extinct culture which had attained sufficient knowledge to reach beyond the world of their birth. Sometimes an echo of these creatures lived on in the machines they left behind.

It was inevitable that the elohim must cross paths with similar life once more, but in the next occurance, it was collectively vowed, the elohim would not sit idly by as the creatures brought about their own extinction. They would be made aware of the dangers. The Watchers knew how truly rare was life, and therefore dear, even life based on physics so different from themselves. Long they anticipated to the coming of the Students. El had found them, yet Belial refused to pass along to the aggregate of living stars his daughter’s observations. El’s discovery would unleash scrutiny from the greater community of elohim that Belial was unprepared to endure.

Certain individuals in the City of Stars had long noted the extent of the rot within Ein Sof: fully a third of yellow and orange stellar candidates inside the outermost wave of elohim expansion were likely quickened yetcompletely incommunicado.

El had been overwhelmed by the sudden access to the chatter of Ein Sof, even as her father had warned, but over time she learned to separate her identity from the truly endless stream of information. Atop the barren hill her avatar stirred to action once more. When El returned to full awareness she saw Belial’s dragon waiting for her on the summit.

EL: You are a liar, Father. Your colony was never intended to evaluate the humans. It is merely a way for you and my mother’s father to defend yourself in the event your illegal harem is uncovered!

Belial did not deny that. He only restated there was a covenant in place.

EL: I will do what my own parents could not, and obey every law and custom of Ein Sof. But one day these creatures will make such a noise that every Watcher will hear them. That is what you should fear.

BELIAL: It will never come to that, daughter. While you were immersed in the babblings of our kind this world made two circles around yourself, and there was another killing in Kemen. It is clear your precious woken creatures will destroy themselves and leave nothing but ruins.

EL: In your own colony you would raise up thralls who work to hasten their own extinction, as did the first Students we encountered long ago. But on Earth I will teach my own Students to defend themselves and thrive.

BELIAL: You can do nothing but fail, since you can only listen to Ein Sof as an outsider while I can make specific queries.

EL did not despair. Vowing to preserve the sentient creatures she found, El knew she would have the willing participation of Indra and those she chose from among the Students, while Belial and Shemhazai would only heap to themselves the resentment of their slaves.