I watched Pirad, hard at work on his lab on the ship. He convinced Bisillipians and Aryllans to work together to create Deesamor. After his success in helping Sigan Masans create Sigan Mas, a multi-level place of learning, and Fereshah, which at first was the best place for students to learn diplomacy, everyone celebrated Fereshah for scientific pursuits.

  But, a lot of Elshars were jealous of Fereshah. So many students got hurt, they encouraged more people to learn healing there. Even required all the diplomats to learn healing! On Sigan Mas they felt it was too much for the students. Diplomats have to prove themselves on many of the worlds they visit. Especially on Elshar worlds. And Rentappenen influenced many species to test diplomats and be suspicious of their motives. But healers have to take care of themselves. If they haven’t had enough sleep or good food, they can make fatal mistakes healing others. So Fereshah lost a lot of students to injuries and attempts to heal their friends!

  Rentappenen’s people stirred up a lot of trouble on all 3 of these worlds of learning. Slavers invaded Fereshah and made it a plague planet.

  Morgan came on the ship this morning and told Ry’nao that a Zbbat controlled Llsam, a Bisillip who created the Biehshah, and made him create a plague to turn the peaceful Aryllans into monsters. They misused their telepathy to enjoy others’ pain, and infected each other. Horrible!

  Morgan got contact with Llsam’s mind when she discovered his body in a building Molly didn’t let anyone enter except a few healers who wouldn’t die. The people in that building came from that world Snafanas traded to Ray. Pirad saw how Morgan got contact with Llsam, because stasis can’t hold him, so he put them in a chamber on Dromie’s world, Eda.

  Morgan’s sitting in a corner crying in Kia’s Council Chamber on Ye~ in the Biehshah Colony.

  But, Llsam knew a lot Pirad and Kirnonos never knew. I reached into that chamber, which had a lot of brilliant scientists from Fereshah and Deesamor. I turned the clock back. Rentappenen’s already been there to their timeline, and contaminated both worlds with upper level herbs. I went back to the early days of both, before Rentappenen got herbs to control Bisillip and Aryllan minds. Before Rentappenen did his grotesque experiments to make them his puppets!

  They all woke up! I ported Morgan there. They know how to defeat the rogues that infected Eda. I gave them their lab and all their materials.

  Llsam looked at me. “Who are you? Why do you have my pin dat shea?”

  I didn’t. It’s in that lady’s yard, Bess, who brought the magnolia seeds to Perretau, Wtensau’s son who will be prince. In the other future, she gave it to Ry’nao. But, Llsam needs it back. I showed him, and he ported her. They got to work.

  The date changed. January 23, 2022. Everyone on Earth got a green cube, with an aandat in it. And, a 24 hour period off from work.

  January 25, 2022. The UN voted for Earth to join the Alliance. People worried that they’d have to settle for the silvery coins they got with the green cubes, that didn’t have free alt storage, and they’d have to pay for everything they got. Elshars believe in earning everything, and they don’t support disabled folks.

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  January 31, 2022. Now the UN voted for Earth to join the Unified. Earth’s leaders now grumbled about the cost of supporting all those disabled folks that can’t work, even with the help the green cubes give. A fifth to a fourth of Earth is disabled, but only a tenth of them are so disabled they can’t do any work. Half of them can’t do as much work as a non-disabled person, so that’s what the griping is about. Zheien run the Unified, and the Aryllans just joined it, too. They believe in supporting everyone, not just able-bodied people. Life is precious.

  Earth now has 50 colonies. Most of the billion of Earth’s people who decided to emigrate went to them. Slavery is banned, not only on Earth, but on all 10,000 Elshar worlds and all other worlds of the Alliance. The Unified already required that. Those 2 trade nets are 95% of our tech level!

  Every Earthan who saw their future went to Alb and they all got Cubes. But many people across our Thirteen got Gifts, and later, Cubes to fight in this War. Pirad’s been busy for centuries, but most of the new Cubes went to Earthans because Pinda used his people’s Gifts here, randomly, on Wednesday, January 19, the day I opened the Time Bubble.

  My palms sweated. It’s time for Adia to go out there!

  People keep coming to Adia’s Ship. Ry’nao directed his diplomats to tell anyone who saw their future, go to Alb. I’m still giving those out. Not by actively thinking about it and saying, here, I can tell you your future! No. Pinda gave Gifts that went to people, and boom! They see their future at a random time. His Gifts are like a magnet that allows my Cube to target them. My Collective is doing it.

  Irdaktin’s father’s Collectives, because Lenses have a huge number of Collectives working together on a lot of worlds, they are making Cubes for every one. Those Earthans in the Biehshah Council are porting there, and they are becoming members of Collectives that are part of Collectives each person with a Cube has. They are forming Lenses.

  No one in a Level below The Padrisa is supposed to have a Lens. Rentappenen started it by making the Cube Of Many Colors. The Lens Of Many Colors that he created in secret, powers it. That gave him the skill of time travel. It also allows him to pluck tech from higher levels, to keep himself in power.

  It doesn’t make sense to me why the upper levels don’t just stop it. They have more powerful Lenses. But, in the past, they acted quicker and messed up a lot of things. Our past got changed a lot! They decided they don’t know enough. But, Rentappenen just started changing things to give himself a huge concentration of power. Which he is now losing.

  In the other future, slavers took over Earth. Rentappenen did that. In this future, he sent hordes of slavers to Earth to do it again. This time, it’s not working.

  Progs are running to prevent anyone from hitting, or even saying hurtful things. Slavers are trying to break them, but it’s not happening. Everyone has a house, and food, and jobs or education and health care so they can get one if a healer says they are able.

  We sold all our toxic waste and mining is now non-polluting. Trading is making Earth’s economy competitive, as it does for virtually every new member of a trade network. But, like in that other future, people are making trade, and they are losing trade. Experienced traders from other planets are making the lion’s share. At least no one honest is going to Ih Esta.

  Lots of slavers are getting transported to Gowa’s prison mines and prison worlds. They have to work in temporary slavery. Most who leave that don’t break the trading rules again.

  Large numbers of Rentappenen’s slavers are getting the death penalty. Inspectors use their telepathy to see if they can get redeemed, and if they decide they can’t, it’s the end. A vaporizer instantly takes their molecules apart. You can’t hide dishonesty from someone’s telepathy.

  Unless you have a Cube. And the person looking in your head doesn’t.

  Ry’nao is using Councillors against Councillors. This isn’t allowed, either. So he’s just as guilty of breaking upper level rules as I am, and as Rentappenen is. But, to win against him, we are having to break the rules. I agree with Ry’nao. Maybe I can take the punishment for all of us. But to do that, I have to survive this battle. Can I do that, for my emperor?