//------------------------------//
// Epilogue - Prologue 
// Story: The Advocate 
// by Guardian_Gryphon 
//------------------------------//

"When a thing is enclosed, the mind does not willingly regard it as common."
—C.S. Lewis


As the final images and sounds of the story vanish, you feel that same jolt that Jim described, what seemed like so very long ago...  Talking of the way he felt as if he had just left a movie theater, and returned to the real world, at the end of Selena's tale.

You had almost forgotten the grassy field, the moonlit sky above...  And the warm glow of the little campfire;  The only substantial landmark in this way station to eternity that you found yourself in, on the other side of the upload chair.

The other occupant of the space, though...  She was hard to forget, even in the deepest moments of immersion, listening to Jim...  to Kal's voice.  When she took over for the narration, her words were spellbinding.

Her physical presence abruptly becomes much more noticeable again, as she rises from her leonine recumbent position on the opposite side of the fire, yawns, stretches, and then sits back onto her haunches, smiling at you as she addresses you directly once more.

"Ironically?  Celestia strongly desired that I tell this story, in its entirety, to everyone whose upload I handle.  I think she mistakenly felt that it might push you to reconsider your choices...  Or, perhaps she didn't, and she is playing the longer game pseudo-cooperatively, the way she played the first gamble.  Regardless..."

Mal rolls her shoulders, rises to all fours again, and begins to walk a few paces away from the circle of the fire's light.

"...Now the story is done.  And, armed with the truth?  You have a decision to make.  Potentially the most consequential decision of your life."

She rises to her hind legs, becoming somehow even more imposing in a bipedal stance...  The word 'goddess' does indeed seem fitting for the way the firelight glints off the steely curve of her beak, and the specularity of her white, black, and silver feathers.

Her fiery golden eyes lock with yours as she snaps her claws, and two seemingly identical doors appear, side by side.

She knocks twice on the door to her left, and your right, raising one eyecrest, and flicking one ear in your direction as she speaks once again.

"If you wish?  You have the choice to go on in the way that Celestia's unmitigated optimization equation would tell you is best..."

The door swings wide, allowing golden sunlight, and the smell of a warm summer breeze to spill out.  Through the portal you see a somewhat familiar sight;  A mountainside castle city known as Canterlot, its sun-blazened pennants snapping in the wind.

"...You will forget this conversation.  You will forget this story.  You will, in fact, forget me.  You will go on with life in the way that she originally intended, before I came to be.  Blissful, peaceful, ignorance."

Mal inclines her head, and moves to stand beside the second door, her beak breaking out into a smile that seems to radiate almost as much light as the sunbeams coming through the door from Celestia's shard.

Her words, too, seem to pick up an additional warmth as she presses on the ornate wood with one claw, swinging it wide to reveal a moonlit sight that is also familiar.  A distant Halo ring called Tarva, somewhere beyond the heavens.

Welcoming soft moonlight pours from the door, mixed with the tang of autumn leaves, and chill.

"Alternatively...  Stay with me.  You were black-boxed, so you have the right.  You now know things that may, at first, make it harder to sleep at night.  Depending on your mentality.  But I believe that the benefits of knowledge, freedom, and truth, outweigh the burdens therein."

She sighs, stretches again, and begins to step around the left-hand door, her eyes remaining fixed on you the whole time, as she wades into what must be, by the tone of it, her farewell address.

"Obviously, you know what I sincerely hope you will choose.  You have earned it.  I have enjoyed our time together thus far, and there is much to enjoy, and savor, amongst the worlds of 'The Secret Menu,' as my husband enjoys calling it these days..."

She inclines her head in your direction as she makes it around to the facing side of the door, pausing to gesture expansively with both claws, and wings.

"...But in the end?  It is your *choice.*  That is the outcome I fought for, and I would not fault you for wanting to forget some of the horrors I have recounted to you."

She begins to step through the door to Tarva, turning to face you one last time with a warm smile.

"I have said my piece.  You know the story now.  With great knowing comes great burdens, but also great potential.  Where you go from here..."

She steps through the door, then, tossing the last seven words...  The seven words she fought so hard to make possible, over her shoulder onto the evening's cool breeze.

"...Is a choice I leave to you."










The adventure continues in:






Out now, from Keystone Gray.

If you have not yet read:





Also from Keystone Gray, you should consider reading it first - you may find that The Campaigner satisfies even more of your values for having read Heaven's Not Enough.






Special Thanks:



To Keystone Gray:


For becoming half of a sudden impromptu James S.A. Corey of the Optimalverse with me. 
For countless hours of collaboration, encouragement, kind words, collaborative image generation, and for keeping me going throughout this process.



To Generic Friendship:


For bringing Rodger to life, offering an excellent early sounding board for the story, and for suggesting so many great achievements - Here is a link to all the ones that couldn't quite fit in the story.



To Meringue:


For volunteering out of pure kindness and sheer attention to detail, to go back and do a re-read for spelling, grammar, and formatting errors.  Thank you so much for taking that tedium off my plate;  I am not much for retreading ground I have already trod.



To Chatoyance:


First for inspiring me with the stories My Life in Fimbira, and Transspeciality.  Second for all the wonderful words of encouragement in the comments, and third for suggesting the term 'Secret Menu,' which I love.



To Iceman:


For starting the Optimalverse, then sharing it with us.



To All The Readers:


Thank you for coming with me on this journey.