2175 C.E.

XVI: Interview with the Telepath

Hey guys! Before I begin, I'd just like to thank you all for your patience; this has been a rough week for me, writing-wise, so I've not been able to keep up with my self-imposed deadlines quite as well as I'd like. Rest assured though that I'm finding my method again and I think normal content will be resumed. Big thanks to brianshaber, WalterHarding Misain.

Thanks once again to everyone reading. Be sure to vote and comment if you like what you see! Thanks, the real jonbrain.

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Official Transcript: The Recap with Michael DeVoris: 07/29/2175

DEVORIS: Welcome to the Weekend Recap for the week of July 23, 2175. As always, I'm your host Michael DeVoris. We're coming back off of one of the biggest news weeks in Hegemony history, from the monumental encounter with intelligent aliens on Monday, to the ongoing investigation into Novan influenced terrorism on Hegemony soil. We'll have more on those stories and more. But first, new Hegemony national security regulations passed by the President's office and taking effect immediately require all Hegemony citizens to register with Hegemony-issued identification codes fitted to your personal fourth gen Interlink device. Just another reason to comply with regulations and install the fourth gen model immediately and avoid police action and possibly being labeled as a Novan traitor. Not a threat [chuckles] but not everyone in the Hegemony is as understanding as its leaders and administrators. And now to the news. We turn now to the biggest story of the week, probably the biggest story of the century, the official first contact with the Zaha-Katchem, an incredible and enigmatic species from the far reaches of the known galaxy. Although they arrived in orbit several weeks ago on the fifth of July, they were unable to decipher the language barrier until only a week ago, when a probe sent from the black ship landed in Beijing, China, and leaders met with Hegemony officials and Grushan diplomats. It was a historic moment, and we are all witnesses to the coming of the Zaha-Katchem. Joining us now in our very studio is a representative of the Zaha-Katchem. Please welcome, here with us today, Kazek of the Zaha-Katchem. Kazek, allow me to say what an honor it is to have you here in our very own studio. Your people are noble and generous to have come to Earth.

KAZEK: Indeed we are.

DEVORIS: So, your people are obviously very different from ours. However, many Terran scientists have been unable to study your people up close. There's still so much we don't know about your people's physiology and biology.

KAZEK: Well, would you like to have a detailed description of Zaha-Katchem anatomy?

DEVORIS: I personally would not want to intrude upon the privacy of the Zaha-Katchem in any way, that's not my place. I've met a number of Terran scientists over the years who would though. My question though is why have your people been so reluctant to share information about your biology and physiology with humans?

KAZEK: We do not wish to and therefore we do not. The body is a mysterious and inconsequential entity in any case; what any of us sees and records with biology or anatomy may or may not be real, and if it is real it certainly has no bearing on what it really is to be Zaha-Katchem. The body is an absurd vessel for the mind, and the mind a vessel for the consciousness. In any case, you will find Zaha-Katchem anatomy significantly beyond your understanding. And before you ask, it is the unfortunate side-effect of escaping beyond the confines of the limitations placed upon us by our unfortunate animal nature, one of the few similarities between your people and mine.

DEVORIS: Your people often refer to themselves in that same way. They say that they have understanding beyond human reach, that they are not limited by the things that humans have faced since time immemorial. You suggest that Zaha-Katchem have achieved a higher being than humans. What sort of higher being are you describing, and how have you achieved it? Is it a scientific accomplishment, through gene editing and nanite enhancement, or is it a natural evolutionary process?