Narchi had looked at his master, Gar Moderaan, as the sun had come out from out from behind the sparse clouds. On the surface with light through the clouds, things looked softer. The android that they had recovered from the ancient Golden Orb had wandered over and was playing with one of the Talak land-crabs. Aldus Panchetta had run over to keep her from harming herself. Narchi had moved into the shadow of the ancient edifice, adjusted his sun-visor, and looked up at his master and asked, "Master--was solving the puzzle of the ancient Orb, the only reason I was made?" Professor Gar Moderaan looked surprised. He fidgeted a little, straightened his turban and answered straight away, "No. I had Aldus help me design you specially for special tasks. Of course, you have the standard servant package, like vehicle use and repair, and body-guarding and such things....but with NEW genes..." Gar drifted off in thought. Narchi looked around at the ancient shrine and looked off into the distance at the twenty mile tall fortress of Shalmiraine, barely visible in the moring haze, like a ghostly form on the horizon. Narchi looked back at Gar Moderaan and remarked off-handedly,"...BUT you need a new point of view to look at an old world with new eyes? One not already poisoned by fundamentalist religious regimes, or molded by political mechanisms?" Gar looked shocked and dismayed, as he stared at Narchi with an edge of fear. What had Aldus wrought with his 'help'? Gar cleared his throat and swallowed, and choked out, "How did you come up with that? Did Hermoz tell you that?" Narchi shrugged and said happily, "I have ears. I listened for the eight months I worked on the puzzle on the surface of the old orb. The Jade Empire has killed the oceans through neglect. THEN murdered Adamesh! The Emporer feared replacement. THEN the Church took over! This world is in piss-poor shape. It may be too late for this dying planet already. People want something to hold onto, to hope for the future. You and Aldus are hoping I might have the insight to see what that might be, when night falls on this civilization." Gar shrugged and muttered, "It sounds pretty damned ridiculous put that way." Gar laughed amd patted Narchi on the shoulder and said, "You don't have any experience. You're only a year old! You do have genes in you that have not existed on this world in over four thousand millennium! You have abilities we cannot measure and insights we have yet to see. Take life at your own pace." Gar continued,"Narchi, the human species needs ALL the help it can get! That's the truth! We've been poor stewards of this world. IF, and I mean IF, you can help, GOOD. If not--you can still be my friend.You also have those animals we made to take care of,too. What were they named? King and Levi?" Narchi blinked. "They're more than pets to me. They're my friends. Like Aldus' late wife,Maddie. Do you think the Church of the Holy Child will run the world better than the Jade Empire?" Narchi knew he was on dangerous ground now. "Some think so. Aldus' friend Hermoz didn't and left planet yesterday. He doesn't even know you opened the Golden Orb. I guess he figured it sat here for twelve thousand years, there wouldn't be anything worth having in it! I can't think he'd be afraid of disease in Apharis!" Narchi had shook his master's hand as an equal and friend that day. Narchi had a warm and fuzzy feeling for that day. The harsh realities of life would intrude all to quickly. The Blight was starting to spread already. Narchi would never be a slave again. He swore it. Within weeks, the world would fall apart and BILLIONS would die off as the Blight would ravage the world. Narchi would survive. He would be free. --TO BE CONTINUED-- Media Poser7, Wings3d, and Blacksmith Suite2.2 This is a redux of the last one with modifications from the comments of the Critique club! (I like this one better, I think.)