The council members were still in the meeting room when the leader asked about the progress of their assignments without mentioning the nature of those tasks.
Ar was the first to speak:
"My lord… he has returned. You have most likely sensed his presence. He has already moved he eliminated one of my servants, then took a human with him."
Everyone was stunned. Their faces turned pale… except for the leader, who didn't move, showed no reaction whatsoever.
Ani: "We must develop the serum quickly. We have failed for years… but with his return, we can no longer afford to fail. If we don't succeed in developing the serum… we will all die."
Hugh stood up and slammed both hands on the table.
"Damn it… we're already dead. He's going to kill us all."
The leader, calmly: "All of you silence."
A moment of silence.
Then the leader continued:
"Humanity passed through all those wars and crises. They faced the impossible… and ended up living in this small geographical patch of land, instead of the vast world they once had. A small territory with a population that grows every minute. The more they multiply… the less space there is. The fewer resources remain.
So they resorted to a new system for survival. A classification system one that granted priority in food, medicine, and shelter to those who contributed to the advancement of society. They divided themselves into small states with fixed, limited populations, and fixed quantities of resources each state could exploit. The higher a state climbed in the rankings… the more resources it received, the more citizens it could hold, and the stronger its military became.
This remarkable system which some call unjust is in truth the most just system in the history of humanity. Do you know why? Because it gives every achiever what they deserve… while marginalizing and punishing every burden who has no role and no value.
And so, under these conditions, humanity continued living this way drawing on their scientific knowledge to discover new food sources, benefiting from this continent which provided fertile land and seemingly endless underground water. Or so they believed.
Then the moment came forty-five years ago when the underground water began to run dry. Agriculture began to fail. Resources began to shrink. Yet for a long time, it was still enough to sustain them.
But today… one can say they have less than ten years' worth left.
And yet as always they found a way. This time, their solution was to eliminate ninety percent of the current population… and preserve only ten percent the elite. They waged wars to achieve this. Useless wars. The numbers remained too large.
So forty-five years ago… they came to us. They risked everything they had built. They turned to the very ones who were responsible for the destruction of their previous civilization all for the sake of survival.
What selfish creatures they are.
But nothing is free. We too only help those who are useful those with value, those who can give us what we ask for. We presented them with three conditions. The first has been fulfilled. The second is in progress… but the third has yet to be achieved. Even so we will begin the culling. For our own amusement… and to apply pressure."
Suddenly, the door opened and a man entered carrying a briefcase.
He said: "My lord… the second condition has been fulfilled. State Number 1 achieved it just now."
The leader began to laugh.
"Hahahaha… this is exactly what I was talking about. No one can stop us now… not even him. Even if he tries to hold us back."
"One month from now — destroy everything. Kill them all. Leave only State Number 1. Do not touch it."
Ar: "I'll handle State A and the rest of the lettered states."
Ani: "Leave States 10 through 2 to me. I'll destroy them all."
Lloyd, smiling: "Finally… we get to have a little fun."
The leader: "Lloyd head to the lower regions where the negative-ranked states reside. And be careful."
Then he added: "Israj and Hugh go to the Void Lands."
Hugh and Israj, stunned: "The Void Lands? But"
The leader, with deadly calm: "Don't worry. We have the serum. And he is no longer what he once was."
He paused.
"And if you refuse… out of fear of death… I will kill you both here and now."