Natalia’s thoughts drifted away from the conversation about Keynes’s bond and requirements to hatch it. Bonds on Earth were only products of Talents and hence exceedingly rare, and more often than not kept away from the public eye.

  She found them not that interesting, though her spiritual companion insisted that bonds were significant as they augmented ascenders in some ways. She still found no shred of interest about the subject.

  Instead her mind latched onto something else, something the creepy child for some reason called a visage of Lem Solaris had said.

  The True Soul.

  First of all, the concept of some higher purpose to their existence or what not sounded nuts but she just couldn’t shake off the feeling that resonated with her in a way she couldn’t explain.

  And the consequences of that scared her because everything they’d done here was wrong. And not just that. The societies on Earth were built on a very simple but fundamental principle: you were your Talent. It was grudgingly hard to succeed without a powerful Talent.

  Talents defined ascenders; they made or broke them. She always hated that principle but understood why it existed. Talents were the only source of power on Earth.

  Until outbreaks that is. The outbreaks have changed everything; they added another avenue of power and yet, I still act with the same mindset. We’ve been building our organisation here in the same way we did on Earth. We must change.

  A sudden silence pulled her out of her thoughts but it was the attention she sensed through her spiritual aura that made her look at others.

  “A penny for your thoughts,” the child called Lem Solaris said with a mix of seriousness and frankliness. It was somewhat difficult to discern her emotions, especially that the so-called visage didn’t possess spiritual aura.

  Natalia frowned because hearing an idiom from a thing that was both super AI and memory of an alien god-like creature was disconcerting. But she didn’t dwell on this and told the others what she thought about the concept of the True Soul.

  By the way, did they finish their conversation about the bond? I kinda should listen to that.

  “I can relay it to you, master,” her spiritual companion said.

  “Do it but later,” Natalia agreed.

  The visage of Lem Solaris nodded sagely. Others looked also convinced.

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  “Also, by realising this we gain a substantial edge over Earth. We must capitalise on it and change,” Natalia added, feeling bursting with productivity and energy. Once she got back to the surface base, she would start drafting new plans and rules.

  “True, but don’t lean too hard into the True Soul in the beginning. At Level 1, ascenders are simply unable to sense it and you’ll only waste your time trying to figure it out for them.”

  “So what should be done about this then?”

  “Create a system that does it automatically. That lets people join jobs and departments they gravitate towards as they Level up,” Jedd answered instantly.

  Natalia looked sharply at him but then her expression softened. Jedd didn’t try to be condescending. He was right. Micromanaging every little thing would be time consuming and exhausting. Having a system in place to do that automatically would be far more efficient. However…

  “Any idea how to do such a system?” Natalia asked.

  “We can use the spaceship’s AI for that,” Jedd replied.

  Everyone looked at the visage with expectation and she replied.

  “Yes, the AI can easily handle that, but I’d advise you to first do it manually before you automate it.” She raised her fingers, silencing Natalia and Jedd who were about to speak up. “The group here is small and can be easily managed. But the true reason is that it’ll bring you all closer together and will foster your understanding of what you are actually trying to achieve here.”

  “In other words, don’t get ahead of ourselves,” Natalia concluded.

  “Indeed.” The visage nodded. “In truth, I have technology, knowledge and capability to shoot your little colony into an age that has never existed here in this universe. I have means to solve every single problem you are and will face. Of course, if I tried, the System would descend and destroy me, dooming you in the process, and if it didn’t, then such knowledge would do the deed. It isn’t that a journey is more important than a destination but simply one cannot exist without the other. So, I’ll say it again, take small steps and learn. Do not jump even if you think you can make the jump.

  “Take, for example, Keynes’s mysterious skill. On the surface, it looks like it opens so many possibilities but the truth is, using it in the current manner is asking for death. You have zero idea of what rifts are capable of, what they can produce and bring to life. You have seen a few thousand instances so far. That is nothing, when some instances appear once every trillion times or less frequently.

  “Don’t get me wrong here. I’m not telling you to not use the skill. I can tell you this because you already know it, I have never heard even remotely as busted as your skill. But take baby steps, Keynes.”

  “What about the semi-soul space?” Keynes asked.

  “Unheard of at your current Level but very common for anyone above Level 40. How to use it best is outside of what I can tell you.”

  Their discussion lasted for another hour as they talked over less dramatic and important ideas. Because of the restrictions placed on the visage, her answers were mostly general and indicative, rather than detailed and conclusive. But as their conversation progressed, some else occurred to Natalia. The visage formed her answers that made Natalia rethink many different aspects of her life and work. Others seemed to come to a similar conclusion as they looked lost in thoughts.

  With a sole exception of Keynes.