The talk

Bilanda froze for a moment, still holding Steven's neck with his right hand. He stared at Quentin.

Quentin was dressed in a stylish silver uniform with long sleeves, a black belt and polished black shoes. He was immaculate, without a speck of dust on him. A long red cape floated behind his back. He had the posture and physique of a military man. His face looked young, no older than 40, but Bilanda knew he was much older than that. His body had stopped aging long ago.

He was floating in the air, with one hand behind his back and the other holding a small girl.

Bilanda's eyes widened when he saw his daughter. He snapped Steven's neck without hesitation and blood sprayed over him. He spoke to Quentin calmly.

"Do you think I care if you get angry? Have I ever been afraid of you? How dare you come into my territory and say such things?"

Quentin watched his man die after his threat and let out a small laugh. He said, "You're right. You can call me shameless and I won't argue. I've never resorted to such a thing in my life and I feel a bit ashamed of myself for using this underhanded tactic. But with you, it's necessary."

Bilanda's heart sank as he listened to Quentin. His worst fear since the start of this attack had come true. He kept his face expressionless as he said, "So you're resorting to blackmail after all. I expected it from anyone but you, old friend. I was ready for anything but this."

Quentin's face twisted in pain but he quickly recovered his composure. The two men who had fought Bilanda had retreated behind Quentin and looked confused. They didn't understand what was happening or why these two titans were talking like this.

Tenko looked at his colleague with confusion. Then his eyes widened in horror as he saw him disintegrate into nothingness. He didn't leave anything behind. He barely had time to cry out "WHY??" before he too vanished from the surface of Beta-19.

Quentin didn't even look at his dying men as he spoke coldly to Tenks. "I'm sorry Tenks, but I can't risk anyone exposing what happened here tonight. Most of the council knows about the operation, but they don't know the details. If they did, my reputation would be ruined."

He continued softly "I will say it bluntly as you've already understood. You have a choice to do, your daughter or you. if you want us to fight to the very end, I have confidence in myself and i have enough fuel for this fight to last days even but the very first thing I'll do will be to kill her. It's dirty but I will live with it, then when we level down what's left of the mansion with our fight, I will also kill your son. I'm sure he's still there somewhere."

Bilanda listened to him calmly as Quentin went on. "But if you choose the second option, I'm willing to make a binding contract that I'll take care of your daughter from now on. She'll have everything she needs and the best education. I won't harm your boy if he stays out of my way. You have my word. But I can't take him with me. He might hold a grudge against me."

Bilanda replied "And that's the choice you want me to make ?"

Quentin didn't answer immediately. He sighed and said, "Why did it have to come to this, Onana? You are one of the few people I respect. We participated in many battles together. We had a common global vision and the same dreams. Why are you against the authority now when we are trying to fix a rotten civilization?"

Bilanda spoke calmly. "Not like this," she said. "The central authority's plan will cause billions of deaths. You want to take away the last thing that the poorest people in our society have: time. How can I accept that? For us elementals, time as a currency is irrelevant. We can always replenish it with the various crystals at our disposal. But what about the trillions of people who struggle every day?"

"Please don't use the death toll as an excuse," Quentin said dismissively. He waved his empty hand in front of his face as if he was swatting an annoying fly. "The Nembus system is a harsh place already. Wars are waged here and there, causing millions of deaths. The Kandu uprising alone killed nearly a billion."

He continued, "Yes, billions might die, but it's the necessary price to pay for change. Why do you only see the downsides? The benefits clearly outweigh them. Who wouldn't want to live indefinitely as long as he is willing to work for it?

I don't agree with this lie that humans are equal. There are people who contribute more and advance the society than others. They can't be compared to failures. Meritocracy should be restored at the heart of our civilization."

I never wanted to come here. When Collins told me that the zealots had consented, I searched for other possibilities, but you made it impossible with your constant meddling. You wield too much power. Most of the noble houses agreed to end it."

"Someone I trusted completely betrayed me by bringing you here tonight." Bilanda said. He continued, "I won't bother to ask who, since it makes no difference now. We've had this argument for too long and we'll never see eye to eye. I don't know how you could claim that we shared the same vision with such flawed logic. What about our human dignity?

He continued: "Is it ethical to let billions perish because they couldn't earn a fair living? I know how this goes, you may have all the goodwill in the world but you can't change human nature. We need social safeguards."

Quentin replied calmly: "We had our disagreements but we share the same goal. Humans should be at the heart of everything we do. The opportunities in this new world we're creating will surpass anything we've known before."

We were both there when the precog revealed that we are living in a damn sentient system. Everything is going to change!

Why are you resisting progress? Besides, it's too late to stop it now." Quentin stopped talking and stared at Bilanda.

Bilanda, who had already made up his mind, said with equal coldness: "Yes, it's too late now. Let's seal the deal then, but I have one condition. Never take off her collar."

Quentin then looked at the collar of the sleeping child on his arm and nodded.

"Good, i am ready" Bilanda Onana said decisively.