Agent047
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907 - Influence
🕑 Added 2025-05-12 10:29:16 +0000 UTCNo matter how slow time had felt, the month without VR finally passed. Aron could now receive the full report and witness for himself how they had discovered and recruited her.
{We found her through one of Seraphina’s faction members,} Nyx began as she materialized beside him. {He had been demoted to the role of overseeing the well-being of the Grand Xor’Vak’s concubines after he had abandoned her.}
Aron raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that… actually a powerful position? It puts him close to the Grand Elder through pillow talk. That seems like a contradictory punishment for a demotion.”
{On the surface, yes. But the reality is far more twisted. The position carries full responsibility for everything the concubines do, but none of the power to manage them. If one of them tries to escape, for example, you can’t punish her, because that would mean laying hands on the Grand Elder’s concubine. But you will be punished for failing to stop her.}
She paused to let that sink in, then added, {It’s essentially a trap, used as a convenient way to justify punishing or removing individuals the Grand Elder no longer favors.}
Aron let out a low whistle. “A clever political move. Makes it look like justice while eliminating annoying individuals… though I doubt anyone would complain unless they were willing to challenge him directly, and that would just be a flashy way to commit suicide.”
{Anyway, since you gave Seraphina the nanomachines to inject into all her faction members and helped them set up a local VR network, we were able to keep detailed records of everything that happened. The moment our VR towers went online, we collected the data, analyzed it, and identified potential recruits in positions of influence.}
Nyx’s expression shifted slightly, proud and calm.
{She was one of the high-priority targets. After evaluating her circumstances, we took action. With the right incentives, she accepted our offer, despite the enormous risk of crossing the Grand Elder.}
As Nyx finished speaking, the surroundings shimmered. The office dissolved, replaced by a hyper-realistic simulation.
They were in a dimly lit room adorned with luxurious silks and exotic materials, sterile despite the beauty. Sitting at the center was a woman, her skin shimmered like a living kaleidoscope, each movement casting new patterns of color across her body. She was mesmerizing to look at, yet impossible to get used to.
“You want me to risk doing all of that for you… In return for what?” she asked, her voice steady, but her eyes betrayed her exhaustion.
Across from her sat an angelic-looking figure, his presence calm, serene, and impossibly composed. A soft smile graced his face.
“What is your greatest desire?” he asked gently.
She looked away, her expression dimming with a quiet sorrow. “It’s impossible for you to grant them,” she said, lowering her gaze.
“Say it anyway. If it truly is impossible, I’ll stop asking.”
She hesitated before speaking, her voice laden with bitterness and resignation. “I want my people to survive. To not vanish from the stars. I want them to live in peace, without fear, without being hunted for their appearance or enslaved for the pleasure of others.” Her fists clenched. “But that’s not happening, not now, not ever. Not unless something unimaginable happens.”
She didn’t say the rest, but it was clear: either the Grand Elder would have to miraculously free them, which was unthinkable, or they would escape, only to be pursued, her family slaughtered, and her race wiped out completely. Even survival through isolation meant extinction through inbreeding, an end, all the same.
The angelic figure’s expression turned solemn. “If you agree to carry out our mission and follow our plan, I swear, on a mana oath, that I will give you one million unique members of your race. Genetically distinct. Strong. And a safe home, where they can live free from persecution and fear.”
She blinked, her expression blank for several seconds. Then she frowned deeply.
“........... That’s not funny,” she said quietly. Her face showed no amusement, only pain.
“I know it sounds unbelievable. That’s why I’m going to show you something.”
With a gesture, a projection bloomed in the air between them. The image showed the Fountain of Life, a liquid mass. After a human touched it, the transformation began. Slowly, the liquid started changing into a human. A child. Entirely human. Entirely unique. A living being with its own soul and completely original DNA.
The woman watched in silence, breath caught in her throat.
“This is one of the relics we discovered during our space exploration,” the angelic being said. “The beings born of it are entirely unique, not clones, not constructs. True individuals.”
She stared at the footage for a long moment, the realization dawning slowly in her shimmering eyes. She understood now who these people were. Who it was that had approached her. That knowledge alone was staggering, but even that shock paled in comparison to what she saw in the liquid.
“How do I know this isn’t a lie?” she asked finally, steadying herself.
“We’ll swear a mana oath,” he said, voice calm. “If we break our side of the deal, you may reveal our existence, and we receive punishment from mana. You risk your life, but in return, you stand to gain everything you wanted in your life.”
There was silence.
Then—
………
……
…
Aron watched in silence as the conversation between the angelic figure and the woman unfolded. It continued until they reached an agreement, sealing it with a contract of mutual benefit. The Little Protagonist would receive plans and intel on how to exploit them, while she, in turn, would use her influence, through pillow talk and other subtle manipulations, to sway the Grand Elder and increase her standing within the government. In doing so, she would funnel vital intelligence back to the Empire.
"Good job," Aron said, giving Nyx a thumbs-up, genuinely impressed with the results she had secured in exchange for such a bold promise.
{We’re working on other individuals as well, but it will take longer to position them where they can truly make an impact,} Nyx responded, carefully avoiding names. The operations were still in progress, and she preferred not to report on efforts that might fail.
Still, her reach was growing. She was quietly running a vast and varied program, funding and arming individuals like Dreznor, elevating others into powerful business magnates, political leaders, religious icons, and more. Bit by bit, she was embedding the Empire’s influence into every layer of the Conclave’s civilizations and governments.
Comments
GripenSupremacy
TYFTC
Sol_Invictus(Hail the Terran Empire)
Why is it useless(or not very useful)?
Katherine
What a great way to exploit an otherwise not that helpful resorce.
