There was plenty of truth in Raymond's statement. Khan's relationship with humankind had always been complicated, to say the least, but even he couldn't deny that claim.
Most accomplished species in the regulated universe had mana since birth or had possessed it for millennia.
Meanwhile, humankind had obtained the mana a mere five centuries ago, paying a steep price for it on top of that.
Five centuries weren't a long time in the grand scheme of things, and humankind couldn't have had a worse starting point, either. The First Impact had mangled Earth and its population beyond recognition, almost pushing the entire species toward extinction.
Nevertheless, humankind hadn't only risen from the ashes of that global catastrophe. It had also expanded far farther than other species, achieving an unquestionably superior status in the regulated universe.
