Anne and Priam exchanged a long look but Priam was confident. The enemy fighters did not want to fight him, and a good leader knows when to listen to his subordinates. I'd like to see them order their n to attack and see no one move.
Albin stepped forward to intervene.
"Are you willing to promise that in front of the Concepts? To bind your word to your Potential and die if you perjure yourself?
Priam had no idea that this was even possible. But his answer was imdiate.
"Are you stupid? The only reason you're still alive is because I was a re student ten days ago. I'm not exactly in the habit of beheading people. But my patience is wearing thin."
Albin wanted to continue, but Anne raised a hand to stop him and then looked at Priam.
"Thank you, Priam. We are grateful to you for remaining civilized in these complicated tis for humanity. I did things that I considered necessary to survive. You manage to remain noble, and I admire that."
"I don't care what you think of Anne, answer the question."
Turning her head away first, Anne looked in Claire's direction.
"Of course, we agree. I wonder if Claire could also look for our families. Claire, we haven't maltreated you, have we? There is no tension between us. Ultimately, we all want the sa thing, to find our loved ones. Can you help us?"
The question wasn't directed at him, and Priam frowned. Claire had been a hostage and had no reason to take sides with them.
After a second or two, the young woman stepped forward. Coming out of the mist, she looked at Anne for a long ti before declaring:
"I will notify the do authorities and ask them to grant you an interview. But I'm doing this for your families, not you."
Priam wouldn't have bothered, but if the young woman wanted to help, who was he to stop her? However, Claire didn't strike him as a saint. Either she was particularly attached to the concept of family, or there was sothing else going on... Suspicion seeped into Priam's heart.
Priam liked the young woman and didn't want to break up their budding friendship, but he faced a dilemma. Any friendship was based on trust. He hoped that the young woman would be able to share with him quickly. It was possible to rekindle a friendship by being honest. If not, he would have to confront her.
Taking a breath while closing her eyes, the perfect image of a woman who admits defeat, Anne announced:
"Then you can go. Don't forget your promises."
The sentence pulled Priam away from his dark thoughts, and he almost burst out laughing.
"That's very kind of you, Anne," replied Priam sarcastically. "We're going to go now. But before we go, I think we forgot to discuss sothing important. Twenty n are dead, and you didn't tell about the threat... Let's be honest for a mont. I don't like you. Neither do I like Albin; when you get angry, you look like a slab of undercooked bacon. There you go again!"
"... aning?" asked Anne.
"You tried to control my thoughts. This System offers too many opportunities to control your fellow man. In any case, you wanted to deprive of my freedom of thought. There will be no trial for that. You will pay."
Priam had long been an introvert. As a child, when he had things to say, he didn't dare speak up. He had changed since then, but so valuable habits had remained. The first was to let his enemies speak. He had not forgiven Anne for anything, but every sentence she uttered could provide him with information. The discussion was ending, and he could now let loose the anger that had been boiling inside him for the past few minutes.
"I understand," Anne replied. The bitch kept her head up, and that annoyed Priam. She seed to think the trial would acquit her.
"There is one thing that bothers . There's going to be a trial, but maybe you're going to run away? Or try to manipulate the judges? Maybe even fight the do dwellers to escape your trial? In our old world, you would have been acquitted with the benefit of the doubt. After all, if you deny in court that you committed the cri, it's your word against mine. In this new world, however... So would sentence you to death just for your power, and others would tear out your vocal cords. But as I said, I won't kill you."
Priam pointed to Albin. "However, you did sabotage humanity by killing fighters. I'd like for humanity to withstand this integration into the Concept universe. Reducing our strengths is madness in the long run. The System pushes us hard to improve and to fight. Historically, wars have been the fastest way for humanity to progress.”
War, in all its horror, allowed n to push their limits. Many of the objects of everyday life have been invented thanks to wars. The microwave, the radio, the tin can, and even the GPS originally ca from military research.
"The Concepts know this, and they want us to progress. How long will it be before we are at open war with other civilizations? Today, you may have killed a general who would have led us to victory."
Priam paused for a mont to organize his thoughts. Anne's face was expressionless, but Albin's was now pale.
"That's partly why I'm proposing a trial rather than an execution. To give you a chance to repent and fight for us. Until then, you will at least be useful to . I'll ask for information and so resources."
"We have nothing. We just..."
Priam cut off the weeper's plea. He was in a hurry to get back to his loved ones.
"I hope for your sake that's not true, Anne. If you have nothing to give , I will force you to use your Potential to find answers to my questions. Do we understand each other?"
Using one's Potential to help anyone other than oneself was almost impossible. Otherwise, an emperor could gain almost godlike powers by sacrificing a few thousand subjects. But there was nothing to prevent one from seeking answers with this Potential and sharing one's findings afterward.
"... Yeah. What do you want?"
"First, I want to be able to hide my information like you. Second, I want to unlock a resistance to ntal manipulation. Moreover, I have a lot of questions! Let's start with the Tribulations..."
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