25- Morana
The Hive was abuzz with activity. And yes, I am allowed to use that pun.
The large, mostly empty room I was using as my throne room was almost completely bare and a shadow of the glory that the Fourth Hive's throne room maintained.
But it was mine, and we were always improving it. So I sat behind a desk hastily set up in front of my throne, working away while Luna held the attention of most of the room's occupants. Before me, the heads of the Fifth Hive's alcohol network, Thrips, was telling me of something urgent.
I didn't have time to hold court- far too many things being rushed and put on the backburner for that- but I could talk to a few changelings and run the Hive for a hoofful of hours. The First Fang had really stepped up in the months since moving into the Crystal Caves, but with two of us heavily involved with the trial, the work had quickly started piling up.
“Now that Coxa's little pet project is underway,” Thrips began, “I feel like the Royal Acquisitions Bureau is gonna need a higher budget. After all, if you wanna make money, you're gonna have to spend it first.”
“Costs are rising across the board,” I told him, quickly signing off on Coxa's submitted plans for additional changeling bureaucracy. “Not to mention the fact that we're going to have to spend a fortune on improving the armor of the changelings we're sending to fight the Nightmares. Better armor means less- fewer deaths.”
“Didn't ‘cha already get armor for everyling from Nisir?” Thrips asked.
I nodded, “Yes, but the enchantments have all faded. We need to renew them, and not even the E.U.P.’s personal enchanters are cheap.”
Thr drone scratched his chin, “Just outta curiosity, how big is that bill looking?”
I glanced up from the whittled-down stack of papers, “We're still working that out. If we're sending five hundred drones, then we'll need five hundred sets of changeling armor enchanted. So…. twenty million bits?”
‘All that money and I can pay it with a single signature. Man, being a king is crazy.’
“Is that the official number?” Thrips asked.
“We've still got to figure out who is filling the enchantment order.”
“Five hundred changelings?” Thrips clarified.
I leaned back and across the room over to Luna. The Princess was surrounded by three dozen nymphs, and was raging to them the tale of the Grand Galloping Gala, and the subsequent defeat of Daybreaker and Discord.
“The ponies will be making up the majority of the military present. Two hundred thousand mares and stallions will be digging in around Nisir. Considering the entire population of our species is a tenth of that… we will only be sending a nominal force.”
Thrips bristled, “Now, I might be a businessling, but even I would love a chance to kick the asses of the bastards responsible for making our entire king so miserable! You ask any ling, King Phasma, and they'll beg to fight back! We should be sending the entire body of the main fighting Legions!”
I chuckled and shook my head, “This is something I'm talking about with the First Fang and Captain Katydid. If you want to volunteer, you can get in line when we start drawing lots. Should I expect to see you up on the front lines yourself, Thrips?”
Thrips glanced around nervously, “As much as I would love to, there is the fact to consider that I can best help the Fifth Hive as a support role…”
“Thought not,” I said quietly. “Leave this to us, Thrips. We've got to balance the needs of the Hive with the needs of Equus.”
That seemed to mollify him, “As you say, My King. Two hundred thousand ponies… all soldiers, no less.”
“The budget, Thrips?”
“Oh! Yes. The market is soon opening up, My King. The pony Parliament is due in three weeks to review the ban on alcohol. Our monopoly will come to an end. I suggest we pour as many bits as possible into expanding our operations and grow as much as possible while this feast of love is on the table. The demand is there, My King, we just need the supply!”
I laid my quill down and regarded the drone, “And just how much are you asking for?”
“As much as we can spare, Your Majesty.”
“Your budget is already fifty million bits a year and growing with every month, Thrips. How much more can you even spend?”
He steeples his hooves, “Every bit we can get our hooves on. I've worked ahead, King Phasma. I've been working with Thalamus, and we're assembling a plan to expand every part of our alcohol network. Suppliers, transportation, storage, and sales. We think we can get a speakeasy up and running in every city from Vanhoover to Trample Bay before the legislation goes into effect. And beyond that, we can line up deals with stores to have our products on the shelves the day the ban ends. No pony can negotiate these deals ahead of time. Just us. So, My King. Every bit we can get, we'll quadruple that in five months' time! In a year, forty times! The stronger of a hold we establish, the wider the margins.”
‘That's…. A massive return on investment. The changelings would no longer be just the runners of speakeasies, we would be the number one supplier of alcohol in Equestria. And that's just the alcohol part of our business side. Once we hit the ceiling on that, we can use the profits to pivot into funding the Diamond's technologies.’
I looked back at Luna. Her happiness was almost literally warming up the nymphs and drones gathered around her. I found myself smiling widely as she spoke of the terror of Discord's destruction, gesturing wildly over the heads of the nymphs.
‘Each and every one of these nymphs could get an education. A real one. They could get healthcare, housing, food, safety, and opportunities only afforded to the rich. The changelings could get a future brighter than we ever could as conquerors. Bits make the world go ‘round, and we could have so many that we won't know what to do with them. I guess I can go full Scrooge McDuck and get a pool of gold to dive into– and break my neck! What a way to go…’
I turned back to Thrips, still thinking it over.
‘So what's the catch? It has to be time. We'd be investing all of our resources into growing our economic strength at the cost of our military. Profits a year from now won't matter if Sombra attacks seven months from now. There's no way I could risk everything for greed.’
‘Where are we on our timeline? The Nightmares can attack any time between four to twenty-two months from now. This is gonna require some help.’
“Get your plan together by nine in the morning tomorrow, Thrips,” I said, “Present it to Coxa and get his approval. Then run your plan by me.”
Thrips bowed quickly, “Yes, My King! But I'll need an estimate of how many bits we will receive for our plan. How much can we spare, My King?”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to secure a loan, and I can’t be sure they’ll give us what I ask for... If Coxa and I approve your plan, you will have two months to spend five hundred million bits.”
The drones blinked. Then blinked again.
“Five hundred million, Your Majesty?” He said slowly.
I sighed, “I'll have to put the expansion of many projects on hold for a bit, and most importantly I'll have to secure the loan from the Royal Bursary. So get to work, Thrips. The door on that closes tomorrow.”
He scrambled for the door, “You got it, boss! I'll get something worthy of your attention by tomorrow!”
I watched him leave. Then I resolved to go over to Luna, leaving my work unfinished on my temporary desk.
‘I'll need to also speak with Lace. If we're expanding that much that soon, Division-P will swarm like hornets at the opportunity of infiltrating our networks. Every speakeasy will be a target. Every caravan a risk. Every employee put in danger. It will be war with Division-P all over again.’
‘... But it’s better to draw those bastards out from the holes they cower in before the real storm gets here than to let them join forces.’
I weaved my way through the seated changeling nymphs to Luna. Seeing me coming, the closest to Luna scooted aside. As I sat down, Luna immediately wrapped a hoof around my shoulders and pulled me against her as she continued her story. This close to her, her mirth was like a furnace. Feeling and seeing her happy made me happy in turn.
“The Elements stood side by side against Daybreaker!” Luna exclaimed. “The ponies stood against their Princess that they had looked up to their entire lives! Enough was enough, action demanded to be taken against the evil that infected her! Enraged, Daybreaker let out a roar, her fiery mane doubled in size, and she stamped a hoof down on the floor. Stone cracked as she declared that she would burn us to ash if we would not stand with her! She gathered a mighty spell of fire, coiling it around her like a whipping lash, and whipped out to kill our heroes!
“But her fell lash was met by a mighty bulwark, as I stood between her and the Elements of Harmony! ‘No more,’ I cried out! ‘No more shall your hatred burn the kingdom we built together! Celestia, I will not rest until you are saved!’
“Again and again, her fiery rage broke upon my shield. The world turned over itself as Discord's madness made itself known, and everypony fell to the ceiling. The bearers scrambled to their hooves and channeled their power into the ancient Elements as Daybreaker and I exchanged blows. The walls shook, the ground cracked, and the skies split as I stood my ground! Every blow intended to end us was met with a counter-blow against her! Even as my attacks were blown to pieces and my shields crumbled, Daybreaker was doomed to fail; for I had stalled her long enough for the Elements to end the Nightmare.”
I grinned wide as I looked out over the small sea of black chitin and blue eyes. The little nymphs were utterly enraptured by Luna’s story, and their enthusiasm was infectious. That was, until, unbidden thoughts suddenly found themselves at the forefront of my mind. I had realized how easily I could kill these little children: a single flex of a muscle, a single thought.
The smile slipped from my face as I forced myself to think about anything else. I had been experiencing such thoughts with increasing frequency- though those were memories more than anything else. Nowadays, when I pick up my hammer for practice, I am forced to think about all those I killed. I didn’t regret what I’ve done… for the most part. The drones I carved through at the Canterlot Massacre, when I cut through the loyalist forces to reach the Palace like Sauron cut down men and elves… They didn’t deserve their deaths. Their last moments stuck with me, stuck like barnacles on the underside of a ship.
Rather than letting this train of thought slip away, I resolved to speak to Luna about it later.
Meanwhile, the gorgeous Princess had been continuing her tale, “By the powers of Magic, Kindness, Generosity, Loyalty, Laughter, and Honesty, the burning rage that cursed Celestia was cleansed. Struck one by one by their beams of magic till Daybreaker was caught like a fly in a web, the Nightmare was scoured from this world, now and forever. Her cries of rage were drowned out by the sound of the sheer volume of magical power coursing through the air into her. In a bright flash of white light, Daybreaker was scoured from reality. Never to rise again, never to threaten the world and its inhabitants, the Elements ended her like they ended Nightmare Moon. Though there would always be more threats on the horizon, dangers of other Nightmares taking Daybreaker’s place, as well as the regular failings of mortals. More to the point: Discord was still free and wreaking havoc across Canterlot. With no time to rest, the Elements set off to find and once again seal away his maddening, terrible power…”
Luna slowly looked across the gathered crowd of lings. With a mischievous smile, she spoke her next words quietly.
“But that is a tale for another time.”
The crowd’s reaction was immediate and unanimous.
“Aw, come on!”
“No!”
“What happens next?!”
“Awww!”
“Does anyone die?!”
Luna raised a hoof, “Be calm, little nymphs! I promise I shall regale the end of this tale to you all, next time I have the chance. But I have duties to attend, and so do you all. I am certain the hour of your curfew draws near, hmm?”
One of the clutch leaders chuckled and spoke up, “Yes, Your Highness. The little ones should be heading to bed. I am sure they are all very thankful for the chance to listen to your story, Princess.”
The nymphs nodded– and a few bounced in place.
“Thank you, Princess!”
“Thank you, Your Highness!”
“Thank you, My Queen!”
Luna chuckled, “Then sleep well, little ones. Sweet dreams.”
The clutch leader bowed as he started to gesture and push the nymphs towards the throne room’s door, “Thank you again, Your Highness. This was truly an honor. And good evening to you too, My King.”
“G’night,” I responded with a short wave.
The nymphs swarmed towards the exit, excitedly chatting with each other– and more than a few reenacting the fight with a few tussles, tackles, and mimicking the sounds of spellfire. Luna breathed deeply, turning slowly to give me a kiss.
“And good evening to you too, Phasma. Finished with your duties for the night?”
I grunted wearily, “Far from it. I’ve got two meetings to get to before the sun rises.”
She nuzzled the underside of my muzzle, forcing me to smile. “Oh? The daylight has run out, my paramour. I know you are a night owl, but the trial starts early tomorrow. You still must carry out your daily training and magical studies. Whatever tasks you have will have to wait.”
“Mmmm. Unfortunately, there are still hours of the night which I can squeeze out productivity. I need to send the summons to Cricket up in Nisir, and I’ve been meaning to talk with Lacewing. So I’m gonna meet up with each in the dreamscape briefly.”
Luna grimaced, “I would be a hypocrite if I said using the Dreamscape for business is…. Highly distasteful. But I use it to safeguard ponies and their dreams. I do not conduct royal business using it.”
I sighed, “I know, and I’m not going to do it often. Goddess knows I get few enough hours for myself as it is, but this is important. Besides, my talk with Lace will mostly be pleasure, not business.”
Luna relaxed a little, “Very well, then. You know, it has been some time since we have had a night to ourselves. Perhaps tomorrow night you and I should relax together in the dreamscape?”
I gave her a kiss on the cheek, “Actually, I was thinking that once I’m done with my, uh… testimony, we can take a short vacation. A week or so. Maybe even visit Nisir and see what they’ve been up to?”
Luna grimaced again, “Our time is in very high demand, Phasma.”
I slumped, “I know. It’s just… It’s just that this is all… a lot. The trial makes me feel like I’ve just stepped out of the ocean, feeling the waves still pulling me this way and that way. The constant practice both physically and mentally with my training and Celestia’s tutorship leaves me feeling tired constantly. Then there’s the… you know, assassination attempt. I… I understand how ponies feel, now. Sometimes I just look around and wonder who might be a spy trying to kill me. It’s… exhausting.”
My marefriend hugged me tighter, “It is a lot to take in at once. This was the life my sister and I had while we were uniting the tribes. It is not easy, it is exhausting, and the scars will remain forever. It is hard, Phasma, but I am here for you. We all are. We must share our burdens with each other, lest one of us stumbled and be dragged down… again.”
I nodded, “Luna? Can I tell you a secret?”
“Of course.”
“... In the space between moments, when your mind wanders, random memories come to mind. Most people will often be reminded of embarrassing moments, regrets, or whatever else their mind randomly shunts to the forefront of itself. None of those come to mind anymore. I haven’t thought of an embarrassing moment in… well, ever since I arrived to this world.”
“What do you think of instead?” Luna asked, tilting her head.
I looked down at my hooves.
One moment, I was sitting next to her, our broken reflections looking up at us from the polished crystal floor. The next, I was swinging God-Splitter. Blood splattered across my armor and face. Bone cracked and crunched as I murdered with ease. Death rattles rasped from broken, dying changelings. It was one thing to see a picture of someone whose skull had been crushed. It was another to crush it yourself, see the blood and brains ooze from it, and listen as the person slowly died.
“War.”
“That’s… normal,” Luna said quietly. “Have you spoken to your therapist about this, Phasma? She can help start the healing process.”
I drew in closer to myself, “I don’t trust her.”
She frowned, “Dr. Sweet Dream has been vetted–”
“I don’t trust her,” I stressed. “Someone told Division-P about my past. She’s the most likely candidate.”
“You will have to,” Luna sighed. “I’m sorry, Phasma. I wish I could say more. I wish I could take the pain away. I wish I could fix all that’s broken around me. But I can’t. I’m as mortal and fallible as you are, and I am no therapist. Celestia trusts this doctor. I trust her, too. We are certain that she is not the source of this leak, if the circumstances of that ambush was, in fact, not merely coincidence. You have given her a chance already. Has she disappointed you?”
I didn’t reply. Silence dragged on for a full minute as I stared at my warped reflection, till I stared past it at the scenes of mayhem that played out earlier in my mind. Shaking myself free from Luna’s grip, I stood and rubbed my head, forcing the images out of my mind once more.
“It’s getting late, Luna. I’m going to bed. Will you be joining me?”
“Wherever you go, I go,” she replied, slowly standing. “But do not think this conversation is over.”
“Yes, and isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black,” I snapped. “We’d have a better job of using our time more effectively if we weren’t glued together.”
“You still bear the scar on your foreleg of what happened last time I let you out of my sight,” she snapped back. “Do not think that I intend on rushing back to my previous follies. I can protect you best when you remain at my side.”
The happiness from Luna had been bled away. Frustration and anger replaced the warm joy that I felt minutes ago from her. I had ruined the moment she gained from opening her heart to the nymphs and sharing her story.
“... Sorry,” I mumbled. “I just… let’s just go.”
A snowstorm raged outside as the room was lit and kept warm by a flickering fire. It's orange and red glow cast across the refurbished chamber, giving everything a similar hue.
Huddled up near the fireplace, a changeling drone was cursing under her breath. I watched as she chucked more logs onto the fire, sticking out her hooves to warm them up.
I stepped out of the shadows behind her. The soft scrape of my hooves on the stone floor caused one of her ears to flick towards me. She turned fully, looking at me. Her pupils widened as she turned away from the fire and looked towards the dark.
“... My King?”
“Cricket.”
She rose to her hooves and bowed. I squinted as the fire was no longer obstructed, and stepped closer. The room was bitterly cold despite the fire's presence, and even just a few paces closer made a world of a difference.
“I didn't think I would…” Cricket trailed off. “I didn't expect to see you so soon, King Phasma.” She rose, looking up at me, “This is my dream, isn't it?”
I nodded, “It does not seem like a pleasant one.”
Cricket grimaced and glanced at the fire, “By all means, warm yourself at the fireside, My King.”
I stayed where I was, between her and the darkness.
“You are being summoned. You will testify in Canterlot at Chrysalis’s trial. Tomorrow, you will begin the journey south, and will attend the trial for however long is required. All other duties can wait.”
Her eyes drifted away from me, to the ground by my side. She lifted a hoof, as if wanting to step closer.
“King Phasma. I… I am sorry for not telling you.”
I remained silent.
She looked back at me, “Please, you have to understand. I wanted to tell you, but I couldn’t.”
“I don’t understand,” I said, looking down my nose at her. “I invited you into the Fifth Hive. I made you a member of my inner circle. I gave you a duty and purpose that was integral to the survival of everyling around you– with benefits matching that. In return, your every word was a lie to me.”
“I couldn’t say anything!” She stomped her hoof. “I couldn’t! I couldn’t!”
“Couldn’t or wouldn’t?”
“Couldn’t!” She insisted.
“.... Explain.”
Cricket slumped, rear dropping to the floor, “I… Infiltrators can’t break our vows, King Phasma, in the same way you can’t really stop breathing. Theoretically, you can, but realistically… We are all sworn to silence. No, we are made to be silent. In the same way we are built to be the perfect tool for the Hive Eternal, any ability to dissent is removed.”
‘There’s something more to Infiltrators, isn’t there? Chrysalis was oh-so-subtly hinting that there was some sort of limiting factor on their creation, aside from the obvious. So what is it? The way Cricket is describing it, it’s like they are psycho-conditioned, like the gene-warriors of Warhammer. Hmph, why bother speculating when I can just ask?’
“Cricket, how are Infiltrators made?”
The smaller drone hugged herself, fearfully glancing at the window. Outside, the snowstorm raged on, heedless of our conversation.
“They aren’t. Not anymore. Not after the rebellion. The Fifth Hive can’t make any new Infiltrators.”
“What are you talking about?”
“My King… it's the Weaves. I don’t know how, but Chrysalis used her own Weave and the Weaves of the captive royals to imprint memories, skills, and directives onto us. In addition to all the learning in the classroom, in the field, and in tutorship, we were ingrained with the skills needed to be a perfect spy using the gestalt memories held by the Fourth Hive’s Weave. That was its main purpose, beyond all others. It could only make a few a year– the process took time and was dangerous.”
“So it is psycho-conditioning,” I muttered.
Cricket blinked in surprise, “My King? You… know about what I’m talking about?”
I nodded slowly, “I’ve read about it. In fiction, that is. So… my brothers and sisters– and I suppose aunts and uncles– were turned into prisoners in their own mind so that they could be used to fabricate the perfect spies? Is that right?”
“Yes, My King.”
“And rules were imprinted onto each of you, preventing rebellion?”
“Yes, My King.”
“Then how did you side with me? You lied to me, but you didn’t… actively sabotage me. Why? How?”
Cricket pointed to me, “Your Weave, My King. We are bound to the will of the Pontiff. Spending so much time away from Chrysalis’s Weave and being around yours weakened its hold on me– on all of us Infiltrators in the Fifth Hive. That’s how Infiltrators are… inherited. It’s not like our souls can read and adhere to legitimacy and inheritance, it has to be… simpler and more biological than that. Even now, in the Dreamscape, I feel your Weave. I feel the pull to obey every order of yours. I haven’t felt it since I left for Nisir.”
“Is that why you acted so dedicated to me? Because you were nothing more than a slave to what I am?”
“No!” Cricket shouted in surprise. “No! My King, you… I’ve already told you the truth. You fight for drones. You’d die for us. Compared to Chrysalis, you are a Saint!”
I scoffed, “That’s a poor comparison.”
“It’s all we have,” she said. “You were all we had. Not a Prince, but a promise. A promise of a future where changelings no longer starve, no longer hide in the dark, no longer worry about extinction, no longer have to die in duty to the Hive Eternal. Not because we stopped serving the Hive, but because our lot would be improved by so much that nothing would threaten us. You were a promise to end the cruelty of Chrysalis’s reign. She was our Queen, and we all were bound to her, but… You can witness only so many executions before you wish for the same pain to be visited upon your ruler. She was wasteful. Cruel. Unfit. We could never rise against her, but we could help you in what ways we could.”
“So if the hold was weakened, why didn’t you tell me the truth?!” I demanded.
“Because I was scared!” She yelled. She sniffled and breathed hard, “... I… All my life, I have been bound to Chrysalis’s will. Supporting the Fifth Hive instead of returning to the Fourth was… new. Unknown. Terrifying. I shouldn’t have been able to stay, but I could. I shouldn’t have been able to ignore the Fourth Hive’s situation, but I could. I didn’t know what I could or couldn’t do anymore. All I could do was take one more step, one more step further away from Chrysalis. I… can still hear her voice. I can still hear the will of the Fourth Hive in my own voice in my head. That’s what it’s like, you know, to have those rules pressed into your soul like a hoof into clay. You hear your own voice telling you that you can’t do something, or you must do something else. After a month of this, you no longer are able to tell which thoughts are yours and which aren’t. I’ve been an Infiltrator for over a decade, My King.”
‘There is still so much I don’t know. I… My Weave… What is it capable of? What does it do to the changelings around me? What is it doing to me? Is it even doing anything to me? Infiltrators… we need them. Even if we are allies with Equestria in perpetuity, having access to the best spies in existence is an asset that cannot be ignored. But there has to be a way to get them without brainwashing people. I… need more information.’
Finally, I stepped closer to Cricket. Entering the firelight, the orange flow flickered across my chitin as I stood before the crying drone. Sighing, I extended a hoof and gently lifted her head so that she was looking up at me.
“Return to the Fifth Hive. Testify against Chrysalis. Then, you will tell me everything you know about Infiltrators. I want to know the specifics, and if the process can be recreated. I want answers, Cricket. I want the truth.”
“Y-yes, My King!”
“Are you obeying my orders because of what I am, or because of who I am?”
“Because of who you are,” she insisted, “My King.”
“How can you know that? You just said you can’t tell which thoughts are yours or not.”
Cricket hesitated, “... Because unlike Chrysalis, you give me hope, not just a sense of duty.”
After thinking about this, I turned away, towards the darkness, “I want the truth about Infiltrators, Cricket. We will talk further after the trial.”
Before I left, I noted that the howling wind outside had subsided, and the warmth of the fire had finally filled the room.
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Thanks for the update, one glorious update for the end of the year. Magnificent
👍
Pure chance I got woken to read this update first
Never was that happy to have insomnia
Damn... a very deep chapter, magnificent work
👍
Their future aspects to peace in one picture:
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Nice
Great! Thank you for update.
11776573
I don’t get it.
Will this story be as long as Changing Expectations?
I guess the infiltration units are made via
'Total recall' methods, with implanted memories.
What are memories but a electrochemical reaction in the brain?
They simply skipped the first steps and imprinted the end result, the brain will make connections to justify the new knowledge and memories.
Everyone rejected by the process will be executed for simplicity sake.
No need to waste ressources for a defective agent with potencial:
'Paranoid dissociative break'.
After all the ressources that get shorter and shorter in the past, this is all Chrysalis could do.
But even now, a defective infiltration unit might better be dealt with on the spot.
11776609
No rest for the wicked, especially the relativ non wicked
The day and night have not enough hours, no matter what... their aspect for a peaceful future are bad at best currently.
It is going to be a lot worse, before it gets better. Even than it will always be hectic.
Luna confirmed that mutch.
The unification is millenia in the past, yet they are still in trouble because of one thing or the other.
11776610
I... don't know. I don't expect it to, but there's a chance.
Kinda alpha legion tier shitfuckery?
11776669
Always count on alpharius to be a pain in the ass
Ever thought about making a physical copy (paperback or hardcover) of Changing Expectations and its sequels? I'd love to buy one but a 500K words book is gonna be thicc asf.
Cricket is literally and technically compromised. This is predicted to be an extreme disaster unless they can completely isolated her from the Weave and all possible contact with Chrysalis. Regardless of her conflicted loyalties, she can not be trusted ,unfortunately. Who knows what backdoors she has hidden away? It's entirely likely there are protocols that can be enacted that can be used to aid in the Queen's escape...
Luna most likely be a great mother one day ♡
11776774
You forget that Chrysalis isn't against Phasma, something like that would only come up if Division P for example try to pull something.
Whoa... this got deep all of a sudden.
Nothing is simple. Everything is more complex.
- Infiltraitors Creed
Damn. Phasma has the same relationship with therapy as I do. Can't trust the doc because shit that was said in confidence keeps leaking into the general knowledge base of the public... that's fucking rough, man
My memory fails me after all this time. What did Lacewing not reveal sooner that sparked this conversation?
This chapter changes everything, Chrysalis, Tarsus, Cricket and others all get shaped by the old weaves.
I can imagen that every royal in the fourth was a dingel special library worth of knowledge.
Economy
Espionage
Military tactics
Etc etc etc.
Chrysalis probably was economic survivel in general, especially under extreme starvation.
In that regard every Royal could be indeed used individually to teach passively, slower over time to not leave jagged recipients.
Phasmatodea King of the fifth... you better start to making eggs