Once the councilors were all seated, Gaia wasted no time and, acting as the general secretary, immediately began speaking.

[Ladies and gentlemen of the imperial council, thank you for your attendance today. There are a few ground rules you should take note of regarding protocol in the council chamber, but those are all in your introductory data files and you should have read them. Everyone here is an adult, and all of you have been entrusted with the weighty responsibility of the empires day-to-day operations. Anyone who violates those protocols will be ejected from the council chamber at His Imperial Majestys sole discretion.

[Todays session of the imperial council only has one item on the agenda: progress reports from each of your agencies ongoing projects, if any. I fully expect, though, that this will be a long meeting, as nearly everyone in this room has been assigned a project with the goal of strengthening the empires foundation. We are not here to judge, but to assist. Tell us what issues you are facing and those issues will be resolved.] She panned her gaze across the room, a professional smile on her inhumanly perfect, elfin face.

[Once the progress reports have been entered into the Akashic Record, you will all be provided with individualized feedback based on your specific circumstances. Even if everything is going well, there will always be room for improvement.

[With that said, please welcome His Imperial Majesty.] Gaia dropped to one knee and lowered her head toward Aron, a personal gesture she had come up with on her own. Nowhere in the council protocol did it call for anyone to kneel, except in very specific, ceremonial situations.

Aron stood from his seat, the desk in front of him becoming a podium with the imperial seal on the front of it.

He symbolically cleared his throat and began delivering his speech.

Ministers, councilors, and imperial citizens, good morning, afternoon, and evening. Today marks four months since the foundation of the Terran Empire, and though there have been tragedies, triumphs, blood, sweat, and tears, everything has mostly settled now and youve begun enjoying the blessings earned through the price paid in hard work and innocent lives. After every trial comes an opportunity, as a wise man once said in the past, and that is on display before us already. And better things are on the horizon, as well.

But a wise man also said to begin at the beginning, and that is what weve been striving to do. Its a difficult task, but a worthwhile one, as no amount of advanced technology, and no mysterious particles blessings can replace the will of our species united in the face of all adversity, foreign and domestic. With the impending visitors arrival and the growth of a homegrown terrorist cult, were indeed facing enemies both foreign and domestic.

That is why, in order to fight for our survival as a species, in order to fight for our homes, our loved ones, our families... we must build something grand. Something that will outlast everyone here today, and everyone watching from home. In order to provide our children a future where humanity stands tall against the cosmic winds of the universe, we must begin at the beginning, no matter how difficult that beginning may be.

Over the past four months, We have ordered work on a number of projects. Atmospheric and oceanic cleansing, orbital cleanup, launching new and more capable satellites, building a space elevator and station, digging lines of defense where we as a united humanity can righteously claim this far, but no further! We have ordered the construction of fortress megalopoleis, the recruitment of soldiers willing to bravely face the enemy, the cleanup of government corruption and the dismantling of oligarchies. Aron swept his gaze from left to right, then returned it to the camera directly in front of him.

We have decreed that humanity must stand united under one banner, and you have answered, my citizens. And as part of that decree and demand, We issued a promise in return. We have promised you that Our government will be transparent, and that Our research will be made available to all who choose to view it. We have promised that you will have food on your tables, roofs over your heads, clothes on your backs, and luxuries that make your life worth the struggle. We swore to educate Our children, the future of humanity, and to provide each and every person on the planet a place thats most suitable for them to display what talents they may discover in the pursuit of their dreams.

And that, Our dear citizens, is a tall task. We have accomplished much, true, but there is still a vast distance to travel between the beginning foundation of an empire and the solid edifice of a humanity united with one voice, one will, and one direction that boldly strides forward under a single banner. He briefly paused to allow the reinforcement of his rhetoric to sink in, then continued, Today, We have taken another step forward toward reaching that goal and shoring up the empires foundation. We have appointed more than a hundred leadership cadre spread out over every imperial agency, as well as hired just over fifteen million more imperial citizens to fill empty positions in the imperial agencies, from the humble janitors cleaning what physical structures are still required to be maintained all the way up to the aides and assistants to the agency heads you see before you today in this council chamber.

And as Our foundation strengthens, We will regularly appear before you with progress updates on all of the tasks that We have ordered Our agencies to complete. That, my citizens, is what the council has assembled to provide you with today.

We understand many of you have gone through many changes over the past few months. Some were devastating, some excessive, and some were out of this world. Some were even completely out of this worldout of this reality, in fact. Some of the events of the last four months, or even as far back as The Last War, have in fact seemed like they were only possible in dreams... or, perhaps, nightmares. And We understand that its impossible for you to have adapted in such a short period of time. But each and every one of those changesyes, even the horrific and cowardly terrorist attack perpetrated on innocent people through the machinations of the despicable progenitor culthas laid brick after brick in the foundation of our future.

Nobody ever said that change, especially an abrupt and all-

encompassing change like the formation of a species-wide empire, would be easy. And if anyone ever did, know this: they were lying to you. It hasnt been easy, it isnt easy now, and it wont be easy in the future. But as you adapt to the changes being forced upon you, you will grow more capable, stronger, smarter, and better able to bear the weight of the future.

Humanity has never been the strongest species, nor the fastest, nor the most durable. Ours is a race of feeble weaklings that crawled out of the primordial soup and evolved step by step, winnowing out our weak and selecting to fill the evolutionary niches available to us. We became tenacious, we became tribal, but most of all, we became smart. We learned. We invented, we innovated, we adapted, and we overcame.

And that same process is what humanity is once again undergoing. And just like australopithecus, who took the first step as a two-legged, upright mammal; just like homo habilis picked up the first sticks and rocks to purposefully use as tools; just like homo erectus lit torches to brighten up the night, and archaic homo sapiens and neanderthals carried those torches forward until homo sapiens came about, we are now tasked with carrying the undying drive to survive into an unknown future!

But We will not take more of your time. Citizens of the empire, imperial councilors, and supreme ministers, its now time for you to take the stage and let everyone know just how far youve carried the torches of your predecessors, and how far you have yet to go. We thank every one of Our brothers and sisters in humanity, and We yield the floor for this meeting of the imperial councils agenda.

A long standing ovation followed Arons speech as the councilors and ministers rose to their feet in raucous applause. Even people watching from home were inspired; many survivors of the progenitor cults attacks even stood to join the standing ovation and swore to contribute their efforts toward the future of mankind because of those inspiring remarks.

It would even give rise to a nascent movement among humanity that would come to be known as torchbearers in the future, those whose faith in the Terran Empire and His Imperial Majesty would brook no challenges.

That day, with those remarks, Aron set many events into motion. Some were intended, some werent, some would be significant, and others wouldnt even raise a single ripple if thrown into a pool of still water.

And some of them would come back to bite him in the ass a long way down the road.