Alunur said: “Are you Verta?” “Yes...” “Is that your mother?” “No. That's the body my mother was borrowing. She's a part of me now.” The crowd was still standing in shocked silence. The metal box could be heard murmuring: “In the name of God, In the name of God, In the name of God...” 86
17 ~ Sovereignty This is Sena again. I promised I'd return to continue the story of my people when the history reached my birth. That happened not so long after my grandmother died. Mura had just been in a meeting with the Aklan Council of Justice. Her daughter, Verta, my mother, was with her and my father, Alunur, watched the scene as a religious radical tried to kill Mura. I say tried to kill because Morna's task was to make such a thing impossible. As you've just read, my mother said to my father: “She died for your sake. Now, I will live for your sake.” Verta knew Alunur would be there. My grandmother knew, too, though she knew much more about Alunur than Verta did, primarily through information <strong>An</strong>glana had given her. Grandma, deep in her heart, knew Alunur needed a powerful demonstration of love to galvanize his being, help him prepare for a life with Verta. Mura, without conscious thought, had redirected the plasma shield Morna had created to protect her on to Alunur. She died for the sake of my father—demonstrated sacrificial love— because she knew my mother would marry him and, through <strong>An</strong>glana, knew that Alunur was critical to the evolution of the Aklan Faith. Mom and Dad got married only one month after Grandma's death. They had me after the nominal period necessary to grow a new child. The situation in the Worlds at my birth could be summed up by saying that the Worlds' government was about fifty-six percent trustworthy, the state of trade and commerce was growing at a rate of ten percent per year, and the Aklan Faith comprised around thirty-four percent of the population. Religion again... No matter my personal beliefs, the Aklans as a group are the most industrious, most trustworthy, most giving people of the <strong>An</strong>gian star system. Whether that came <strong>from</strong> their adherence to the dictates of Akla or was just some chance result of the <strong>An</strong>gian evolutionary path has little practical importance for the folks who benefit <strong>from</strong> having people like this around. I think the Teachings of Akla are brilliant. He covers everything <strong>from</strong> how to maintain mental hygiene to how a government can best serve its citizens. Was He a Prophet Who spoke for God? You decide. I have more of the story to tell. After my father had exposed the leaders of the Independents their force in our society quickly dwindled. Their henchmen, the Disciples, went on a brief rampage and killed thousands but the Worlds Protective Force had already been strengthened and if there are any Disciples of Faith left, even the nicer ones, they don't dare bother anyone. Mom and Dad teamed up to carry on the teaching work that Mura had been pursuing—the work that my ancestor, Delva, had first championed, even though she didn't cling to organized religion. I, naturally, went wherever my parents went until I reached my thirteenth birthday. That's when I went to stay with <strong>An</strong>glana. That dear, sweet Consciousness completely convinced me that our Worlds were well on their way to an enduring peace. She also gave me my life's work. Mother could use plasma communication out to about 3,000 miles. <strong>An</strong>glana and I discovered that I could use it at a much greater distance. I was able to reach out to other star systems! This was a complete surprise to me and, without <strong>An</strong>glana to translate and explain, I would have thought that the extremely strange things I was receiving were only some very disturbed <strong>An</strong>gians. I spent the next twenty years, mostly emerged in <strong>An</strong>glana's liquid embrace, experimenting with receiving and translating information <strong>from</strong> five nearby Worlds. Three were in one star system and the other two each in its own system. Still, the three <strong>from</strong> the same system were very, even radically, different. Nothing like the amazing similarities we of <strong>An</strong>gi's Worlds enjoyed. Even 87
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