Elder Cultivator

Managing hundreds of individuals who all wished to have opportunities to speak was a grand task. Certainly, people did it all the time, but they didn’t always do it well. In the specific circumstances the Shining Cooperative was dealing with where the official representatives weren’t all used to their normal customs, it would be much more difficult.

However, Aerona was handling it and nobody could stop her. She picked people to speak and everyone knew her choices were fair. It wasn’t a matter of convincing people, it was simply the truth. Her abilities revolved entirely around influencing people, and while they might choose to disbelieve the immediately apparent truth, they still knew.

The current state of things was not what the Lower Realms Alliance wanted, what the Shining Cooperative had promised, or even what many of their members thought. How many of them visited a wide number of systems, comparing the differences in their development? Even if they did, they might think that the few disadvantaged locations they saw were the exception. Except for some who didn’t care.

But speech only brought things so far. It was enough for people to understand the circumstances, but not enough for them to come to a conclusion. Anton had previously asked Aerona what conclusion they should come to… and of course the response was simple.

“We’ll find out when they reach it.”

His job was to stand around and make sure they reached a conclusion. Devon was in the same boat. They had been brought for their power… but people probably hadn’t thought that the majority of their influence would be leveraged on those who were content with the current state of things.

Words were done. That was where Aerona’s true powers came into play.

He had experienced it previously, in other systems. He’d also helped her guide people from the upper realms, as much as he could, to draw people to Bounty. But just because he’d seen it before didn’t mean he was less impressed. After all, a sunrise was no less marvelous because he’d seen one before. Waterfalls weren’t less beautiful simply because he’d witnessed them before. He didn’t grow numb to the beauty of the world so easily.

Cultivation and what could be accomplished with energy produced truly beautiful results. Anton felt that as Aerona connected everyone to each other… with little warning. She had forewarned them of the possibility, but when the time came she swiftly swapped from calling upon new speakers to implementing her techniques.

“All of you are members of the Shining Cooperative… even if you hold no current desire for such a state,” Aerona said. “Within your hearts you hold the desire to help your fellow humans. For that, I applaud you. Even if it should be expected, it is still honorable.” Her dramatic pause made clear that was the end of that moment of praise. “But some among you hold selfish thoughts. You chose, intentionally or not, to make things worse for everyone such that you and your groups would rise above others.”

Aerona amplified certain impressions. She didn’t link anything to specific individuals- not yet at least- but people could make educated guesses. It was a small minority, from what Anton could feel, yet they’d had an outsized impact on the future of the Shining Cooperative. Particular systems had been marginalized by the process, regardless of individual malice.

“This is your opportunity to feel shame. And if you do, you can turn that shame into something useful. Let it not be a transitory feeling that you toss aside in the morning.”

Her words weren’t the end of things, of course. Aerona wasn’t forcing anything upon anyone, but she truly would solidify their shame- but not without providing them avenues to remove the burden from their hearts. In some ways, it was better than going through life unburdened, as they would know precisely when they did the right thing. Not because Aerona would be watching their every move, but instead because their own heart would be amplified and connected to those around them.

The ones who could judge a person best were those who lived around them, as long as they were truly aware of how an individual lived and acted. Her techniques would provide a lasting connection. It was a deep connection into the heart of an individual to be judged by those around them… and yet at the same time it would also prevent that judgment. Humans were much more likely to accept the circumstances if people didn’t actually ‘know’ their heart, even if it was in some ways revealing their secrets.

Even Anton felt like subconscious connection might be better. That was just how humans were… though he couldn’t say the same was necessarily true for other sapient species. Void ants were highly social but physically couldn’t experience Aerona’s techniques, but perhaps they had no need of them on most levels.

Devon took a deep breath as he felt people begin to display their own energy. Even if it wasn’t clear to others, those whose negative thoughts and actions were revealed would know it to be from themselves. If they chose to attack…

But he didn’t even have a chance. The surrounding cultivators reacted more swiftly, the connection making it impossible for a small number to display their energy beforehand. Thus it was that the entire chamber filled with energy fighting at cross purposes. Most of it was united, however. Devon knew Aerona could drive her techniques to focus on the major points, and if the heart of the Shining Cooperative was truly corrupt it would have been discovered long before.

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The only thing that happened was that those who acted unwisely were instantly restrained, their energy overwhelmed by neighbors. Nobody even got to the point of drawing a weapon or activating a technique, it was pure energy suppression. And that was enough. Cultivators were forced to their knees. Normally, they might not have been so foolish, but Aerona’s abilities provoked certain responses.

However, she also controlled the pace of things to prevent real harm coming to anyone- even those that had revealed their selfishness. “As has been revealed, there are many among you that need to work on certain aspects of yourselves. And unfortunately, some of you have displayed willful corruption. I’m certain you can handle that amongst yourselves, now that it has been revealed.”

It was a promise of hope. And a warning. After all, the systems of the Shining Cooperative were neighbors to the Lower Realms Alliance. They refused to abide by corrupt neighbors. And in the future, their covert operatives would be looking at a wider variety of factors to determine if said neighbors were acting reasonably. And while the Alliance might blame themselves somewhat, it was their devotion to the ideals of allowing independence that had brought them to that point.

“I have a suggestion,” Izaak commented. “We must look into the affairs of those who acted out. No…” he could immediately tell that was unfair, and incomplete. “We must form an independent team to audit the reasoning behind… everything. The distributions of resources and knowledge. Where it went off track unintentionally, people will be corrected. But others must pay reparations in excess of what they siphoned from our future. That may be in the form of promoting growth with their current strength… or a more direct contribution of resources.”

He didn’t have to ask if there were any objections. If there were, he would have changed his words. However, there were additions.

An older woman from the core worlds was next to speak. “While I sense the will to restrain our brothers, we should not restrain anyone like criminals… until such a time as it is proven. With a reminder, of course, that there is nowhere to flee. The Lower Realms Alliance would be less than pleased to accept criminals.”

Technically, they weren’t the only option. Fleeing to the upper realms wasn’t possible for anyone relevant- if they already surpassed Life Transformation they had no chance. If they had not, they weren’t likely to be able to suddenly break through. At best, they’d end up among the Scarlet Alliance as their cultivation styles would still be registered in their ascension retrieval formations.

Still, the Adamant Federation and Free Planet Guardians weren’t going to be much more welcoming than the Alliance, and it would be difficult for anyone to flee there- especially not with the whole of the Shining Cooperative watching. And they would be, because the vast majority of their leaders were in sync. Even those who were part of the ‘problem’ shouldn’t have any reason to flee if it was unintentional, which put them on the side of the majority.

It took some time to iron out the rest of the agreement that was forming between them- but it was a matter of days, not months or years. The contract that was written was more of a formality and a reminder for those not present. It didn’t need to have a great number of complicated details, though the most immediate provisions involved a distribution of knowledge to certain systems that should have had such things long before. As for the full details of the accord, powerful cultivators wouldn’t forget so easily, nor would this group choose to disregard anything. Not without being acted upon by outside influences, nor anytime in the next few decades, and Anton suspected they should carry this with them far longer.

At least, the reasonable ones would. Even if nobody was immediately jailed, some might be. They had already come up with plans for how that would come about in a coordinated effort- the rank and file of individual small groups wouldn’t stand up for certain individuals against the full might of the Shining Cooperative.

It was an impressive level of trust in each other- and Aerona’s techniques, but the very core of that was filled with conviction. Plus, they had all heard of her before even if she wasn’t quite so famous as Devon or Anton given their higher stage.

When the end of things came, everyone was exhausted- mentally, emotionally, socially. Even as cultivators, going without sleep for several days could be tiring. Being aware of a wider pool of thoughts and feelings was part of that.

People wandered around on their way out. Anton saw a situation coming and could have easily avoided it, but he didn’t mind letting people make mistakes if they were up to it. Besides, he didn’t want to avoid one of those coming closer, and they were walking near each other.

“Thank you for your aid,” Ezhil inclined his head to each in turn. “The presence of the two of you were critical for things to happen as smoothly as they did. And as for you,” he bowed a second time to Aerona. “You guided our hearts in a way I hope to match in the future.”

“I’ll gladly discuss it,” she said.

Kazimir also came with Ezhil. Or near him, at least. Anton could see the fatigue in the man’s face. He could also predict he was going to do something stupid. But Anton didn’t feel like stopping it.

“I suppose this resolution is… acceptable,” Kazimir said. “Since you couldn’t do anything yourself.”noveldrama

Anton slapped him across the face. There was no point in waiting for a greater provocation. He could have slapped him through the nearest wall… and following that out of the atmosphere. However, he didn’t feel that was quite appropriate. “That’s for trying to get me to kill people for you.” Anton’s other hand came across from the other side, snapping his head back the other way and scattering a few teeth. It was simple to use precisely enough energy to pierce the man’s defenses without decapitating him. “And that’s for being an arrogant fool who thought I would follow your orders to ‘suppress’ people.”

“B-but- you-” Kazimir stammered. “I didn’t even-”

“Everyone knows what your words meant, even if they were technically polite.” Anton said. “The Alliance will sell you some new teeth if you want.”

Anton turned away. His gut feeling hadn’t been wrong. Kazimir’s words were true, to some extent. He hadn’t wanted death… at his own hands. Or maybe he’d truly at that moment believed it. Not that anything would have changed even if Anton had known the full depths of the man’s heart at the time- after all, they would have still had to visit the various systems and bring people together.

Now it was up to the Shining Cooperative to show that they could manage themselves peaceably, once they had the necessary information.