Quoted By:
<span class="mu-b">”...Ribbonfin, after allowing your investigation and to confiding in the Threemind to make absolutely sure you can come to a satisfying conclusion; you will now explain to me what happened to Cijan Anak. Consider your words very carefully.”</span>
The very young and inexperienced Swall science overseer fidgets nervously; as if by instinct he wants to run into a small rocky hidey hole and not come back out. He knows the list of questions you will ask, because you rehersed for this in such a way to best calm your fast growing temper.
“...He turned into flowers, your Majesty.”
<span class="mu-b">”What kind of flowers.”</span>
“They are Jaxtian flowers; from your homeworld of Jaxt. Westlander flowers in particular.”
<span class="mu-b">”Are they Jaxtian-Hybrid flowers? Cijan Flowers?”</span>
“No, your majesty. They have exactly 9 base pair chromsomes; exactly as they do on your homeworld and are capable of interbreeding with the homeworld flowers. They do not seem to be spreading faster then normal flowers and they will wilt and die when out of the presence of water or carbon dioxide. Besides being very healthy and well-adapted to life on Xin; they have no genes that could not be found in the flowers on the homeworld. They are indistinguishable from normal Westlander whites.”
<span class="mu-b">”Did Cijan have any of this “flower” DNA before he went to Xin for his vacation?”</span>
“No, your Majesty. His last gene sample was but four months ago. His genome is 100% normal for a Jaxtian of his time period.”
<span class="mu-b">”Did Cijan have any seeds on his person, or in his possession, before he went to Xin on his vacation? Are there any of these flowers on Xin already? Is there any fucking way for these flowers to end up on another planet five lightyears away?!”</span>
“...No?”
<span class="mu-b">”That's all my questions. Now get out of my sight and go do something useful.”</span>
“Y-Yes your Majesty!”
With Cijan gone, only one of the three Supreme Anaks represented by your black, funerary robe remain alive. A more superstitious man would see this as an omen.
You're at a loss. Checking the Threemind's records and speculations; all models point to Cijan being perfectly sane and healthy; as usual. While some observation of the immortal Jaxtian-Supreme had slowed down in recent years due to a lack of any changes; Cijan had remained the same. Unaging, totally healthy, working always on his archival duties. He left first hand accounts, of which he was the only one, on the Andoen massacre as his only unfinished work; enscribed on golden tablets that will last long after paper decays and AI-cores succumb to oxidation. The only mistake was allowing him to work alone; increasing the probability margin of the Hegemony's current historical simulation from 94.5% to 97.2%. For one person? This is incredibly impressive. You tell the Threemind to fast track some promotions in the archives and finish up his records, you need to know what...
Oh shit, <span class="mu-i">Jale</span>!
