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As Mura and Verta traveled to the Territory of Aklana on <strong>An</strong>la-Purum for their audience with the<br />
Aklan Council of Justice, they had deep consultations about how to present their experience of<br />
teaching Akla's Faith. They also consulted about what Verta's ability with plasma communication<br />
meant in both their lives.<br />
Verta seemed to have forgotten about Alunur but her mother had trouble keeping her mind<br />
away <strong>from</strong> the impending meeting.<br />
~~~<br />
When they arrived in Oaur, the seat of the Council of Justice, they discovered that the Council had<br />
granted permission for a News Mesh team to be present at their meeting. The only word directly<br />
<strong>from</strong> the Council was that they considered the coverage to be critical for increased awareness of<br />
the necessity for Worlds'-wide recognition of the Oneness of all <strong>An</strong>gians.<br />
~~~<br />
Alunur was sitting in his favorite chair, under the tree by the pond in the Besul's backyard, when<br />
he heard a voice in his mind:<br />
I've heard you calling and I'm very near now.<br />
He stopped his sketching and, with trembling fingers, set aside his pad and pencil. He tried to<br />
stand up but found his legs unwilling to support him. In his mind he, with a feeling of<br />
ridiculousness, said: Who are you?<br />
The answer was immediate: My name is Verta and you should be standing outside the<br />
building that houses the Council of Justice, two days <strong>from</strong> now, two hours past midday.<br />
Alunur passed out in his chair. He was discovered “sleeping” by the children. When they<br />
couldn't rouse him, their mother was called. When she couldn't rouse him, a doctor was called.<br />
Three hours later, when he regained consciousness in the hospital, he began murmuring: “Verta,<br />
Verta, Verta...”<br />
~~~<br />
He was standing outside the Council's building, at the front of a large crowd, at the appointed<br />
time. Suddenly, a gaggle of Mesh reporters rushed out of the building and set themselves in front<br />
of a podium at the bottom of the steps. The next thing he saw was a woman and a young girl<br />
walking down the steps. The woman began addressing the reporters and the young girl began to<br />
stare at him.<br />
A man jostled past him and stopped a few feet away.<br />
The man screamed: “In the name of God!”<br />
A bolt of plasma shot <strong>from</strong> the man's chest.<br />
It hit a metal box the woman was carrying.<br />
The box seemed to emit a stream of plasma that engulfed Alunur, swiftly followed by a bolt that<br />
killed the man and sent Alunur sprawling.<br />
The woman collapsed.<br />
All was silence but for a voice coming <strong>from</strong> the box: “I have failed in my mission.”<br />
The young girl was testing the woman's pulse.<br />
She stood and said: “She's dead.”<br />
Then, she walked to Alunur, who was groggily getting to his feet, and said, “She died for your<br />
sake. Now, I will live for your sake.”<br />
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