Security Feed Video Record

Vohtu Interdisciplinary Research Center, Draconis System

Terra-Sol date 3803.319

Transcript below

Dr. Lasalia Nadar: So, you’re actually head of the Intersystem Alliance of Scientists. [shakes head] Is this what happens when someone applies for reconsideration? I like the personal touch and all, but it seems excessive.

Dr. Yalena Vasile: [nods] It would be, if that was why I came here. Unfortunately, the IAS has still decided to reject your membership.

L.N.: [a pause] In that case, I really don’t understand why you’re here. What can I possibly do for the IAS?

Y.V.: In part, I wanted to apologize for the outcome of your application. I wasn’t the first to vote no, but it was my decision that pushed the count into the negative.

L.N.: And now you’re here. [pause] But not on IAS business.

Y.V.: Do you know who Zoyani Ilunga is?

L.N.: [looking surprised] The rights lawyer?

Y.V.: Exactly. I kept you out of the IAS because I hope to convince you to join a different organization, one Zoyani is forming. If you say yes, you’ll be part of something with more potential to impact and improve lives in the quadrant than any group or project in existence.

L.N.: That’s quite a claim. [pause] What happens if I say no?

Y.V.: I’ll dose you with a compound that will erase your memory of this meeting. You’ll get a letter from the IAS in a few days with the application denial, and it’ll include a note urging you to consider reapplying in a year. If you do, you’ll be accepted, and you’ll get to continue with the useful, but ultimately pointless work you’ve been doing.

L.N.: [bristling] Pointless?

Y.V.: Poor phrasing. I’m sorry. [sympathetically] It’s hard to see the whole playing field when we’re talking in terms of galactic quadrants and relative centuries, but you must be able to understand this. No matter how much the technology of space travel improves or how many more stars and planets full of resources we find, this war won’t end. We’ll find reasons and ways to fight for as long as we’re allowed to continue.

L.N.: Allowed, huh? So, is that what you’re trying to do? Force an end to the war?

Y.V.: Yes. If we can.

L.N.: [fists clench] And how many lives will that cost?

Y.V.: As few as possible. None, if we can manage it.

L.N.: [a pause] I don’t know if that’s wishful thinking or a complete ignorance of reality.

Y.V.: Maybe both, maybe neither, but that’s one reason I’m talking to you today. The plan we’ve been developing needs someone with your expertise to bring it into the realm of possibility.

L.N.: This is… I mean, you must be joking. This sounds like the beginning of a quest in an old-Earth fairy tale, but I’m no adventurer and you’re definitely not what I imagined in a good witch.

Y.N.: [laughs] True. The people who’ve called me a witch rarely meant anything good. But I am asking you to undertake a quest of sorts, and I’m afraid I need an answer now. If you say yes, you’ll start immediately. Zoyani and Padraigin Ó Catháin are waiting nearby to meet you.

L.N.: [with wide eyes] The chairperson of the ILCRC and the president of one of the most cutting-edge research hospitals in the quadrant are both involved in this and waiting to meet me? Me?

Y.N.: Your application and research history made an impression. As did your articles on ethics.

L.N.: [covers her mouth] This can’t be happening.

Y.V.: But it is, and you need to decide if you’re going to be part of it. It will require a bigger commitment than anything you’ve ever done, and it will involve sacrifices which won’t be easy to make, but I promise you this—the goal is worth the struggle.

L.N.: And how do I know you’re telling the truth about any of this?

[Yalena opens a file on her hand terminal and hands it to Lasalia]

L.N.: [after watching silently and handing the terminal back] I may be making a huge mistake, but I don’t think I’ll be able to live with myself if I turn this down. So…yes. I’m in.

Y.V.: We should get going, then. You can turn in your resignation after the directors have convinced you this isn’t a scam or a lie. [both turn to leave the conference room] You know fairy tales. I wonder, though, what else you studied of ancient Earth history? Do you know much about the story of Prometheus?