The Disruption (IC)

A moment later, the hatch on the Stealth Strider opened, and Ravage exited the ship, a grim expression on her face, and what looked like pale scars between her knuckles on both hands, which hadn't been there earlier. "I do not normally eat in the presence of others, sir." Ravage said, addressing the messenger. "However, I believe that both the Prince and I wish to speak with one another, I think both of us have had a rather rough day, meetings are, in many senses, mind-numbingly boring, as well as stressful, and I have been working on my ship for hours." She said, "So yes, I gladly accept his invitation."

In truth, Ravage was just very clever at playing dumb. Her ears were extremely sensitive, and she had heard the suspicious whispers outside her ship. It was obvious that someone was plotting, and had been examining her ship. Nobody thought she was aware of anything, and she was safe, so long as it stayed that way. She had to warn the Prince, and the only way to do that was to ensure that whoever was behind the scheme didn't think she held information that would cause her to be regarded as a threat. She had vowed loyalty to the Prince, and she was going to make sure that she protected him, just as she had said she would. Sure, being subtle wasn't normally her style, but for now, it was the only way.

The attendant lead Ravage into the dinning room, where the table was being set. Vey, Aarin, and Mott Gatiir, the one whose tools Ravage had used was there. Tirri was also there, helping with preparations, and she sent a shy smile at Ravage. In addition, there were two other Vatarri present. One was a tallish individual with light lemon-green skin, and two flagella-like projections on the back of his skull and neck, one behind the other. The other was an elderly Vatarri, dressed in robes suggesting some religiously significant person. He was brown and wrinkled, and he had two whisp-like projection at each brow.

Vey raised and eyebrow slightly when he saw Ravage, a little surprised she had come. However, he greeted her. "Welcome, Ravage. Have a seat. Allow me to introduce our chief scientist Allé Hadrin (he indicated the tall green Vatarri) and a guest, Tinris Belé, a priest from the local temple." (He indicated the robed Vatarri). Each gave Ravage the typical Daro greeting gesture, a slight bow while pressing the right fist to the left palm.

Ravage dipped her beak, which was the traditional Chimerosu form of greeting. Although she closed her eyelids while doing this, if someone had observed very closely, they would have seen her faint pupils contract momentarily into slits, and then dart to look at the chief scientist and local priest, two faces she did not recognize as people she knew. Someone less experienced would mistake it for a form of anxiety, which was typical for meeting people who were highly regarded. However, if someone had known how Ravage's thought process worked, they would have recognized it as suspicion that she was trying very hard to hide. This one small movement set aside, nobody could even tell that something was troubling her. "It is an honor to be here." She said, her voice extremely calm, yet formal in a way that did not match her preferred speech pattern. It was typical, though, to speak formally until one was positive a high-ranking member of society would not be offended if one deviated from it.

Grubblons! Epic Grubblons! She thought inwardly with anguish. There were too many people she didn't know well enough to trust. She had only just met the priest and chief scientist, and although they were probably loyal to the Prince, there was no telling if they would lose their nerve and sing for the wrong people. Tirri was just a young, naive girl, she wouldn't even completely understand the situation, and although she was probably without a doubt loyal, there was no telling if she could keep a secret without letting someone know she knew it. Despite the inner turmoil she felt, Ravage forced her posture to relax, and not give away any sort of cue that she was worried.

Prince Vey Churim smiled. However, from what he had seen of her so far, he guessed that, despite her seeming composure, she must be feeling a little nervous. "Please be seated everyone," he said. "I'll be back to get something. Could I please ask you to give me a hand with something Ravage?" He indicated towards a door that looked to be the entrance to a kitchen.

Ravage rose to her feet, but made sure not to do it too quickly, lest she give away anything about her current thoughts. "Of course, Prince Vey." She said, still retaining formal speech. Hopefully this would be the opportunity to tell him about the plot. Whenever a conspiracy such as she had overheard existed, it almost always involved the murder of authority figures. Someone was planning to take over the planet of Vathoris, and from what she could tell, manipulating someone else, whom, despite thinking they would gain something, would likely only be executed once it was all over, by the very person they had helped. "I would be delighted to assist you." She said.

Keep calm, don't let anyone but the Prince know, anyone close to him could be an enemy, she thought.

Vey lead Ravage into the kitchen area. He opened a cupboard and rather slowly began taking some dishes out. "I hope this isn't all too stressful for you, Ravage," he said in a quiet voice.

Ravage shook her head slowly, "No, this dinner is not what disturbs me at all, Prince Vey. I am glad you have asked me to assist you, because I needed to warn you without anyone else knowing what I say." She folded her arms, a look of concern on her face. "Sir, a few hours after Aarin left, I heard voices outside my ship, quiet voices, as though whispering, one was an actual person, the other speaking over a Com. Link. They appeared to be examining my ship, and I suspect they were trying to determine if I was a threat or not to their plans. Thankfully, the voice over the Com. dismissed me as something harmless, unaware that I heard much of what was said." Her eyes narrowed, "Vey, their words spoke of treachery, a conspiracy to take over Vathoris. As peaceful as things may seem, you are in grave danger. I did not accept the invitation to eat, I accepted it because I needed a way to speak with you that would not alert anyone. If they had even the slightest reasons to believe that I posed a threat to their mission, they would make sure that it was impossible for me to ever warn you." Her words were very quiet, and she looked over her shoulder, as though checking to be sure no one was watching.

"I promised when I first came here that I would offer my skills and protection in return for your kindness. I intend to keep my word." She said.

Vey listened to these words, first with surprise, and then in grave earnestness. "What exactly did they say? Can you remember? And could you identify either of them?"

Ravage nodded, thankfully, she had very good memory. "I can't quite identify who the two were, but from the catches that could be heard, one appears to be manipulating the other." She frowned slightly, "One, though, was oddly familiar, but I can't quite guess who, although I might suspect certain people. I am going to mimic the conversation, every word I heard, and even copying the tone and voice type. Perhaps you will recognize one of them." She cleared her throat slightly, and began to copy what she heard from memory. Parroting it, the conversation sounded almost as though she were playing a recording, the voices so accurate. She found it strange, in the back of her mind. Was this some aspect of her mutation she didn't know about? It was helpful, regardless. She switched between the voices, and although she did not mimic the noise a Com. made, she captured the cold, flat tone perfectly.

"-I'm looking at it right now. It looks to be an original model. The pilot though is something quite different from the ordinary."

"I fail to see why you have brought this to my attention. The Chimerosu are all but extinct. I care not for any survivors or their ships. This one you speak of is no concern of ours. All you must worry about is doing your part when the time comes."

"-And you'll remember your promise, won't you? That the whole of Vathoris would belong to me?"

"Yes, you have my word."

Ravage closed her beak, and sighed, "That's all I heard, they appeared to have been investigating my ship, for some reason. They didn't state exactly what their plan was, but I am positive that they were conspirators trying to identify if I was a threat or not. What they didn't figure into the equation was that I could hear through the walls of my ship, and that my hearing is naturally stronger than most." She shook her head, "You must be on your guard, Vey, whenever a plot like this occurs, it often involves an assassination attempt directed at existing authority figures, if someone is not secretly gathering followers and amassing an army to initiate a hostile takeover, or put down rebellions once the new ruler is established, although to do so would require pulling a ridiculous amount of supplies that would be nearly impossible to miss." She started picking up a few plates, "We will have to probably discuss this later, we can't let anyone know that both you and I are aware of this. We have to pretend that nothing is wrong, we can't let whoever is behind this plot find out, or he might try to speed up his plans."

Vey listened hard to Ravage's playback. He looked a little surprised at the first voice, but when the second voice came through, a spasm of pain crossed his face. He clearly recognized it. When Ravage was finished, he almost mechanically began reaching for the dishes. Suddenly, a loud, urgent knock sounded at the door.

"Vey!" came Aarin's voice. "The priest has collapsed and seems to be having some sort of convulsion!"

Ravage and Vey arrived on the scene to see the elderly Vatarri on the floor shaking and twitching. The chief scientist was pumping his chest. "When did this start?" demanded Vey.

"Just a few seconds ago," replied Aarin. "He started groaning, and then he just collapsed."

"He seems to be coming round," said the chief scientist. The priest rose slowly and shakily to a sitting position.

"Are you all right?" asked Vey.

"I. . . I," gasped the priest. He sat blinking and squinting for a moment, and then began to groan again. "Fire. . . death. . . destruction"

"Go and get a medic, quickly," Vey said to Tirri.

"I think I may be alright," said the priest slowly. He gazed at everyone. "I've just had a terrible vision. I think Vathoris is in danger. Our world is going to be attacked."

Ravage's pupils contracted into thin slits, and she produced a reptilian hiss, a sound typically expressing anger. The ridges in her beak shifted, revealing slits, which could only be nostrils of some sort. A normal Chimerosu had only two of these, but Ravage had adapted a strong sense of smell, and thus possessed four of them, all lined with a shocking number of scent receptors. "This is very bad, then." She said, her military instincts kicking in. This situation was just like what happened to Krylon, except she was aware of things, this time, and not foolishly ignorant. She was determined not to let another invasion succeed this way.

She swiveled her head to look between Aarin and Var, "Is there any planet nearby that you haven't watched carefully, that could be used as a base from which to attack Vathoris? In order for an invasion to defeat an enemy using force without much effort, the attackers would need a location where they could re-stock with supplies and repair any damaged machinery that they work with. There would also probably be someone working on the inside, trying to make you turn a blind eye. If you are aware of who, then you must track them down and have them arrested. Once taken into custody, you question them on what they know." Her eyes narrowed, "One thing I cannot stand, is a creature who commits treason."

"We have ships flying around the system all of the time," replied the chief scientist. "I would think we would have found something."

"Be that as it may," said Vey, "Ravage is right. I want ships to thoroughly search every planet and moon in the system. I think you can handle that Aarin."

"Right away," said Aarin, starting to leave.

Suddenly, the priest reached out and grasped Ravage's forelimb. "Beware Jiiran! Protect the prince! Look to the back door!" he said breathlessly. He then groaned and rubbed his eyes. "I. . . what have I just been saying?"

The name Jiiran suddenly brought shocked and grim looks to the faces of all present, suggesting that they knew the name.

Ravage, immediately taking the priest's advice, looked to the back door of the dining hall, and took up a position where she stood between it and the Prince. She once again straightened her wrists so that they were aligned with her forearms, clenching her hands into fists. Why she did this was unknown, but her feathers were ruffled, so it could only mean it was something she did when readying an attack or counterstrike. Not even taking her eyes off the door, she hissed again, "Who or what is Jiiran?"

A look of shock and alarm came to the priest's face. "Jiiran? Did I say that name?"

"Yes," said Vey, with a pained expression.

"Who's Jiiran?" asked Tirri. She had returned with a medic in tow.

Vey nodded to the medic. "Take the good priest and give him attention please." He turned to Aarin. "Get some ships out and search the system, see if you can find evidence of anything suspicious."

"Right away, Vey," said Aarin. He left the room.

Vey let out a sigh and took a chair. "As to your question Ravage and Tirri, I suspose I should answer it. You may want to sit down, and have a bite while you do so. It's a long story."

"First," said Mott, "I have a question of my own. Ravage, what in the name of Vathoris are you doing staring at the pantry door like that?"

Ravage scowled, "Well, I don't exactly know where all these doors lead to. He said to protect the Prince, and to look to the back door, which I heeded, considering I've been suspicious that there was danger for some time now." She said, lowering her arms and bending her wrists again. Nobody could really tell why she straightened her wrists when she was preparing to fight. However, what people would notice, is that there were now pale scars between her knuckles on both hands, which had not been present hours before. However, such things in most cases did not make sense, as a fresh wound shouldn't heal so quickly. It wasn't too hard, though, for someone smart to figure out that she had a healing factor. Though the nature of the scars remained a mystery. "Regardless, tell your story, then, but I do not eat in the presence of others, I came to this dinner for a different reason than everyone else." In truth, Ravage could go for shockingly long amounts of time without food. Of course, this would make others wonder if she wasn't slowly starving.

"There are many doors in the palace, Ravage, and I doubt you could watch all of them," said Vey. "Anyways, I don't no if the priest meant any of the doors here. 'Look to the back door' could refer to anything. I appreciate your effort to protect me, but the meaning of the priest's words may very well not become clear until a later time."

He was silent, for a moment. "I suppose I should start, then," he said. This was obviously a subject that he did not relish speaking of. "Tell me, Ravage," he said. "Have you ever heard of the Liirlith?"

Ravage shook her head, "No, I am afraid that I am often poorly informed. Normally, in situations like this, I am going in with no clue what I'm up against, or what it can do." Ravage didn't usually have time to study other empires and what they did, and often she had a tendency to wing it, going blindly by what she discovered as she went along. It had worked for a long time, but this was one of the first occasions on which she had a bit of an idea of what was happening. It was interesting, in truth, but the fact was that it would be slightly difficult to focus on a story, when she was alarmed enough to think the Prince could be attacked at any moment, "Please clarify, if we're going up against something, I need to know what it is."

"It is not the Liirlith themselves that we are really going against," said Vey, "however, if you are to understand what we face, it is good for you to know. The Liirlith don't really have what could be called an empire, rather they seem to specialize in working behind the scenes, pitting other races against each other. Those races that have encountered the tend to see them as cowardly traitors. However, they are absolutely second to none when it comes to genetics."

Vey paused for a moment before continuing. "We had a few of them living here a while back. They claimed they had given up and renounced the sins of their people. But in the end, as you will see, they deceived us, and used us as a lab for their one experiment."

"About twenty years ago an escape pod of unknown origin came in to our system on a collision course for Vathoris. We caught it with a tractor beam and brought it to the surface. When we opened it, we found a creature inside." Vey paused again, obviously thinking back to the incident. "I remember that day. I climbed inside and saw him there, crouched in a corner, scared out of his wits and not even knowing how to speak. After much coaxing, we finally got him out and took him in, giving him food and clothing, and teaching him to speak."

Vey sighed. "Such a blessing he seemed at the time. The very next day after we found him, he helped Mott fix something, and later in the day saved someone's life. The poor fellow was trapped under a beam that would of taken ten of us to lift, yet our new friend simply lifted it right off him as if it weighed nothing. He learned everything rapidly, and often exceeded his own teachers, especially in mechanics, engineering, and combat. He was eager to learn, and eh could be very artistic at times." Vey gazed sadly at a little statue on the table, a Vatarri very skillfully and artistically rendered. "As for me," he continued sadly, "he was like a son. We all loved him greatly. I remember when we chose a name for him, soon after we found him. We gave him a name from an old language on our world, a name that translated as "The Gift from Above," a name that seemed so appropriate at the time. We named him Jiiran."

Ravage frowned, seeing where this story was going, "He was a genetically altered creation, wasn't he?" She asked, her pupils contracting slightly. Being genetically altered herself, Ravage knew that altered creatures did not belong in the natural order. There were also always unseen problems that resulted, when someone messed with the coding of life. Ravage could not eat in the presence of others, as like a shark, she would enter a frenzy, and harm any other creature present. She controlled herself with shocking skill, but there were limits. "So what did he do, that would make the memory of him so painful?"

Vey was silent for a while before speaking.

"For the first two years, all seemed well. Then one day, we all started seeing a change in him. He was quieter than usual, and seemed almost to be suspicious of us. This got worse and worse. He would sometimes come out with wild accusations, and he would often disappear for long periods. One day he went into a rage, and began breaking things. Then he disappeared again."

Vey sighed, clenching his fists. "It was later in the evening that we heard the screams. We rushed outside to a terrible sight. Some creature was wreaking havoc in the streets. It was entirely covered in black armor, so we couldn't see who or what it was. And what armor! The guns of all the guards and soldiers trying to fight it didn't so much as leave a scratch on it. And it had blades and guns that seemed to unfold from out of it. I only just managed to subdue it with a Hypnomelder. At first we couldn't remove the armor, but when we did," Vey paused again, a look of pain on his face. He looked at Ravage and Tirri. "I guess I don't have to tell you who was inside."

"Jiiran?" asked Tirri.

Vey nodded. "Yes, Jiiran. We were all devastated beyond words. The one we had taken in and treated with such love had turned on us." Here he bowed his head, squeezing his eyes such as something shiny seemed to run down his face.

Ravage frowned, looking down at her hands, an odd form of recognition passing over her face, fleetingly, before it was gone, "I am no stranger to madness and fits of rage." She said, choosing her words slowly, and carefully. "However, what separates me from this Jiiran, is that no matter how torn my mind may be, I will never willingly betray those to whom I am loyal, and I will acknowledge my limits, before I surpass them and do something I may regret. I was not born as I am now, I was born naturally, and was changed at a later incident, which I still do not fully understand." She blinked, a clear, milky white eyelid covering her eyes for a brief moment, before vanishing. "This Jiiran, sounds as though he suffered issues commonly found among cloned organisms. The Chimerosu once experimented in genetic alteration, but, quickly coming to see it as unnatural, and unfair to the monstrosities that sometimes resulted, we stopped working on animals. Even plants proved to be wrong, when changed from the original. So you could create a fruit that grew twice as large as it naturally did, it never tasted as sweet as what grew in the wild."

She twined her fingers together, in deep thought, closing her eyes completely, as she recalled something, "Clones look just like the original creature, and are often born normal. However, they have abnormal changes in their genome as they live their lives. With genetically changed creatures, you can never truly say they are stable. You would not just find physical changes, mental and emotional changes occur as well, which is why cloning intelligent organisms was considered wrong. Not only could they endanger others, but it is unfair, too, to make something alive, that thinks and feels, and then force it to go through such things." She opened her eyes again, "Jiiran was probably created from a patchwork of genes, and although he may have began his life normal, the tendency for a genetically altered organism's genome to be unstable possibly resulted in deterioration of sorts in his mind." She untangled her fingers, "The reason why his creators put him on your planet, would have been because, as an intelligent being, Jiiran could not be safetly observed in a lab setting. He could have turned against those that made him, and they acknowledged the risk. It was clever, in hindsight, but cruel to the people of Vathoris, and to those who thought he was a wonderful person. It was cruel to Jiiran, as well, for creating him, fully aware of what he might become."

She frowned slightly, "You and your people are exceptionally generous and kind, something that is rare, in this galaxy. You have built a place where many different races can live in harmony, a civilization where they work together. However, while it is a wonderful thing, there are many more who seek to exploit you, and your willingness to accept strangers into your society. You must be wary of these people, because they do not simply arrive with an armada. They slowly destroy you, like parasites, from the inside. The more beautiful a flower, the more others will want to pick it, and put it in a vase, until it withers and dies."

Vey was silent for a moment.

"You are right to say that he was a genetic creation, as we ourselves found out later. I was not quite finished yet, and there is more."

"Naturally, we put Jiiran into custody, and tried to question him. However, the only answers we could get, if he spoke at all, were threats and hints. Some of those hints were helpful. He spoke of the Liirlith on our world, and about liars revealing liars. So we investigated this."

"The first place we went was to a clinic set up by one of them. We found him dead in his lab. We began to search through his records, and we found secret recordings he had made. In them, he spoke of Jiiran a lot, and of his 'pogress.'"

"One thing you should know about what the Liirlith do with all of their genetic experiments; they always encode two distinct commands within their brain's wiring. Those commands are 'You will listen to the Liirlith,' and 'You shall never harm a Liirlith.' We listened to the recordings, and we soon learned that this particular Liirlith had been meeting Jiiran on a regular basis and been feeding him misinformation, and Jiiran, encoded with the command to heed the voice of a Liirlith, listened and believed them."

"But then who killed the Liirlith?" asked Tirri. "If Jiiran was coded not to kill the Liirlith, how could he have done so?"

"He did kill him," said Vey, "and the others as well, we soon found out."

Vey leaned on the table, resting his chin on his fists. "From what Jiiran hinted at and what we found amongst the Liirlith's secret records, this is what the situation was: Jiiran, as you figured out, Ravage, was a genetic creation of the Liirlith. It seems, for some reason, they were attempted to make the ultimate warlord, and Jiiran was their project for this attempt. The Liirlith who had settled on our world were the there to conduct the experiment. It seems that the Liirlith whispered lies in Jiiran's ear, to the effect that we, who had taken him in, were trying to use him or worse; Jiiran, being encoded to listen to them, believed their words, hence the change in his behavior. As they whispered more and more lies in his ears, his condition worsened, and he, in fear for himself, made the suit of armor that he wore on the day he went rampaging (it seems even the Liirlith didn't know about it). But you might be asking why he killed the Liirlith when he was undoubtedly encoded not to. We think that, on the day of his rampage, one of the Liirlith might have slipped something in his words, and Jiiran realized that they were intending to use him for their own purposes. He was already afraid of being used at this point, so when he realized they wanted to use him too, he somehow overcame his genetic programming and turned on them, killing all of them."

Ravage nodded, "It seems to be that way. Even if he was a genetic experiment, you must still view Jiiran as a living, breathing creature, with his own individual wants and desires. It makes perfect sense, to say that he would wish to have control over his own life and destiny, and possess free will. An intelligent being can not always be predictable, and even the Liirlith, who tried to make the experiment safer, failed to truly understand the degree of how little they actually controlled. You were kind to Jiiran, you taught him to speak, and treated him with love. He would have cared deeply for all of you, and would have never wanted to cause you harm. The Liirlith, it seemed, were hoping that as a warlord, he would conquer Vathoris. All he needed was the right motivation to do so. However, it seems they forgot to factor in emotions and attachment, and how that might affect their little 'experiment'." She spat the word as though it disgusted her.

She scowled, "How I imagine this, based on what you just told me, is that when the Liirlith began to plant seeds of doubt in his mind, Jiiran rebelled against them at first. He would have wondered if you were secretly planning to do something terrible to him, and then quickly tried to shoot down the notion, because if you had been kind to him for two years, it would have been ridiculous. Inevitably, though, the doubt would creep into every thought and action, until Jiiran's view of reality became so distorted, he could no longer determine what was real. Once your sense of reality no longer exists, you slowly begin to fear that you are slipping into madness, and cannot even trust your own judgement, for the possibility that you might hurt the wrong people. However, how can you know who is a friend or foe, and if they're trying to help you, or just set you up for a downfall? How could Jiiran stand such thoughts, without slipping away into insanity? If a Liirlith tried to control him, and he suddenly realized that the Liirlith was betraying him, too, he would have deemed it a threat to survival, of sorts. The brain is adaptive, parts of it could be removed, and the rest of the brain could replace what was lost. That is exactly what happened, his brain adapted to override whatever command was given, and Jiiran, possibly in a fit of insanity, killed all of them before they could hurt him again. That is what I imagine occurred"

She folded her arms, "If this is how the events unfolded, then even after his controllers had been destroyed, Jiiran would have still been left in a terrible state, with a severe psychosis. He would have needed mental help, and should have also been sent to a prison for the criminally insane, where people could watch him, and possibly cure his condition. It isn't impossible, but very difficult, to cure someone who does not trust those that take care of him, and cannot think his own judgement is sound. I understand to a certain degree how that might feel, as I myself believe I have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, perhaps mixed with something else I haven't yet identified." She blinked, "Regardless of what I think, that leaves one question, where is Jiiran now?"

Vey was silent a moment. "We were in fact hoping he could be cured. Since he had managed to overcome his genetic programming, we thought that maybe the damage to his mind could be undone, and we were preparing to have him transferred to a facility."

Vey's face became grim. "I'll never forget the night we came and found Jiiran gone, and his guards dead with Liilith venom in their veins."

Ravage shook her head, "It is never that simple, Vey. Overcoming genetic programming is one thing, but curing a mental illness brought on by constant systematic psychological and emotional abuse isn't ever as easy as one might think. Don't forget, Jiiran is extremely smart and creative, and in a disturbed mind, this makes a deadly combination." She frowned, "In truth, traditional detainment isn't really that hard to escape. In that situation, the typical scenario is one prisoner, handcuffed, under watch by multiple guards, who may or may not be armed, depending on how dangerous the prisoner is considered to be. Nobody expects an escape because of this, but in fact, it's only impossible if you permit yourself to believe that."

She held up her hands, and put her wrists together, closed into fists, to mimic handcuffs, "In fact, the guards can be easily beaten if you move quickly, and catch them by surprise. All you need, really, is one hand free." She reached over with one hand, and made a motion that mimicked breaking her other hand's thumb, before tucking it in, and them moving to show the hand slipping free. "If he was in this situation, all Jiiran would have had to do, was break one of his thumbs, which would allow him to free his hands. If he was designed to be a warlord, his tactical mind would have allowed him to quickly escape any sort of prison, and kill any adversaries that kept him from freedom. Do not forget, he would see everyone as a threat." She sighed, "Sometimes, the advancement of technology disappoints me. Sometimes, primitive forms work better. In the Chimerosu Empire, our greatest cages were iron bars welded shut, so that only welding equipment could open them. There was no lock to pick with a feather's plume, and no technology a brilliant mind could outwit. Just the metal bars. People over-complicate their systems, and that is often why so many disasters occur today."

Ravage rose to her feet, and warily scanned the room, "If I am right about this theory I now have, Jiiran would have not trusted his own judgment, and would look for some form of stability. In this case, I will assume the worst, and say that he would find a sense of control if he acknowledged what he was created for. He would decide to become the conqueror he was intended to be, and would try to take over Vathoris, without the assistance of the Liilith. He would attempt to surpass his creators. If this is the case, then he is surely our greatest threat, because when you believe you were created to do something, you will go to great lengths to achieve that goal."