Utopia War

Epilogue

It took 100 years of coordinate effort to build New Proxima. Inarguably smaller and less magnificent than the original, built using her salvaged materials, it was instantly the most prestigious of the ringworlds. This ring was no gift from on high. This one had been earned.

It also represented the peace between two civilizations that, a century earlier, sought to utterly exterminate one another.

In the years that followed the war the Consensus and the Precursors had become notorious allies, and a very fruitful cultural exchange bonded them into a virtual metaculture. Children born after the war had a difficult time believing that the two sides had ever come so close to a war of annihilation.

Out from this new pride of the Consensus came two young friends, born of that generation of peace for whom the war was merely a puzzling piece of history, happily about to begin what they saw as a great adventure

* * *

In an office on an alien world the two humanoids, a man and a woman, had been brought in to explain themselves. A war was underway, or at least it was supposed to. Since killing the humanoids had proven impossible it was decided that the time had come to attempt talking to them.

"It is the two of you who are responsible for the sabotage of our weapons systems, is is not?" the alien, to the humanoids at least, diplomat resembled a mass of yellow-brown strings all tangled up in a ball. A series of six beaks arranged around his spherical body made all attempts to discern a front utterly futile.

"Oh most definitely," said Panthalassa, in the language of the locals "That was me. I have total electromagnetic supremacy over this world and I'm supressing the launch."

She waived her hand in a motion meant to convey supressing a launch. It was inapt.

"Not so much as a pop-gun is going to go off without my say-so until you lot get your act together," she continued.

<They're not going to have any cultural context for a pop-gun,> signaled Lucky.

<He'll figure it out from context,> replied Panthalassa.

"Why?" demanded the frustrated diplomat.

"What do you mean why?" asked Lucky "You were going to detonate atomic weapons inside your own atmosphere. I shouldn't have to explain to you why that's a bad idea. It's not like you have offworld colonies to fall back on."

"How your species ever split the atom in the first place before you figured out how death works I'll never know," added Panthalassa.

"Don't get too high on your horse there, Cerulean. You know you humans did the exact same thing," said Lucky "Like, immediately after developing the technology. Couldn't wait to try it."

"You're 75% human too Amaryllis," retorted Panthalassa.

"Them's fightin' words," snarled Lucky "I am a dog. A guard dog to be precise. We never detonated any superweapons."

"Your grandmother fought in the war. I bet she used all kinds of superweapons," teased Panthalassa.

"I was just joking before," said Lucky "But don't think I won't subdue you for your own good."

The diplomat had had enough of these two... children! How dare they treat this meeting with such frivolity after violating the sovereignty of Siracolamona!

"Who do the two of you think you are to meddle in our affairs like this?" he demanded "Who do you represent? Who should I hold accountable for this outrage?"

The two humanoids exchanged grins. Panthalassa tilted her head in amusement, her long hair dropping to one side.

"Interested parties," she answered "We're the people who handle precisely these kinds of... exigent circumstances."