THE END OF BEGINNINGS

TWENTY-NINE (Part 2)

"And what would you have us do," asked one of the council members.  "You now wish to pass judgement on us?  Explain yourself, sir!  What are you doing about this situation?"
"Here, here," Toro Ras chimed in.  "You say shame on us.  But, have you not been hiding out on your own planet?  What have you been doing in your self-imposed isolation?  Why have you turned your entire city into your own personal cloister?"
Aronos lifted his chin, staring proudly over the table.  He looked first at Toro Ras, then the others seated around the smooth, stone fixture.  "So, I am a cold-blooded killer and a coward?  Perhaps it is as you say.  I may be these things.  But, what if I am not?!"
"Please explain yourself, Aronos," said the leader of Atlantis.  "The whole point of this endeavor is to allow the council to understand exactly what has occurred.  If there is context to the situation, this is the time to provide it."
Aronos sighed, nodding his head slowly.  He turned to his side as he began to speak again.  Instead of standing still near the witness box, he began to walk at a patiently paced gait around the outside of the table.  "Despite generations of effort by our peoples, our civilization has failed to find an antidote for the biological poison that has chased us across the stars.  Experiments, endless research, countless sacrifices all have led to the same place: here.  This very moment.  A moment, seemingly, once more without new answers."
Aronos stopped walking.  He was standing behind the councilors directly across from Geras.  The troubled leader turned his body back toward the table.  "But what if that perception was proved to be false," Aronos asked, his gaze landing squarely on Geras.  "What if there was a way to push back against the plague?  What if a resistance to its mortal devastation had, at last, been discovered?"
"Are we to assume that you have made this discovery," Toro Ras asked incredulously.
Aronos briefly flicked his gaze toward the leader from Camrial.  He was still staring at Geras.  He was trying to read his old friend's expression, to figure out his thoughts.  This was a subject especially sensitive to them both.  This was the moment Aronos would begin to get the man he needed to put the plan into motion.  From this point forward, he was going to change the galaxy forever.  Aronos could feel it.
"If such an assumption were made," Aronos said evenly, "it would be correct."
Another anxious murmur swept around the table.  Geras never broke from the tense gaze Aronos was keeping on him.  He barely even blinked until Aronos turned away and continued his pace around the table.
"You may doubt," Aronos said over the chatter, "but I do not.  I cannot.  A way to stand against the pestilence is at hand.  Here, in our time!  The key to our victory over this long fought enemy, this giant of fear and destruction, is a small and simple life form.  Within this humble galaxy we call home exists a creature.  It is stout in size and shape, plentiful in number, and at the top of its food chain.  Most importantly of all, thanks to brave and tireless research-I, myself, have spearheaded-it is the undeniable core of the next step in our evolution."
More chatter circled the dense stone Aronos was walking near.  He had just passed the chairs occupied by Toro Ras and Geras Aurallio when his old friend spoke up at last.
"What creature," Geras asked simply, his voice hushing the mumbled voices around him.  "Does such a mythical life form truly exist?"
Aronos stopped.  He was back near his chair and the spot he had started from.  He pivoted around to face the council.  His eyes locked onto Geras, alone, once more.  "Yes," he said.  "It is the iratus."
Geras quietly scoffed, shaking his head.
A councilor a few chairs away furrowed her brow.  "The iratus is an...insect, is it not?"
"It is, yes," Aronos said.  "A hearty and prolific one."
"Is it not located on only one planet," another councilor asked.  "I can't remember the last time I have even heard of anyone seeing one."
"I think there is one on display at the museum on Peractus," a third councilor chimed in.
"Perhaps," replied the second delegate.  "I was referring to a living specimen, however."
"The insects nest primarily on my own home planet," Aronos said, pulling the council's attention back to himself.  "Though, over the last few centuries, due to various means, they have ended up on at least three other worlds where they are also thriving."
"A plague itself, then," Geras commented.  "And this bug is the key to our salvation?  This bug is going to save our own species from the ancient virus?  How?"
"Through its own immunity," Aronos declared.  He blinked and breathed deeply, towing his flared temper back down to a more even state.  "The iratus is incapable of falling victim to any of the effects the contagion is long known to cause.  Its blood immobilizes the viral cells.  Its genome is perfectly designed to destroy this plague."
"So you've developed an antivirus," a councilor across the table asked.  "You've produced a kind of medicine?"
"No," Aronos answered flatly.  "The attempt was made, however.  A great deal of research was exhausted in pursuing that end.  Ultimately, any compound we derived from the iratus blood or venom proved to either be a complete failure or a temporary measure, at best."
"So, if it is not a cure," Geras began to ask, "what is it?"
Aronos let himself smile just a little.  "As I said, it is evolution."
Geras watched his old friend carefully.  He said nothing else for a long moment until the realization of what Aronos meant suddenly struck him.  The surprise inside of himself was betrayed by the expression on his face.  Aronos' smile widened when he saw the flash of shock and simultaneous understanding.  "Yes," Aronos said, confirming what he knew was at the forefront of Geras' thoughts.
"If I have the council's permission," Aronos said a heartbeat later, looking away from Geras once more, "I would like to present two valiant citizens of Ninev who have traveled with me as key members of my delegation."
Iohannus looked at the others seated around the table.  There were no stated objections to the presented request.  The leader of Atlantis lifted his eyes to meet Aronos' expectant gaze.  He nodded at the man standing opposite him, gesturing for him to continue.
Aronos turned his torso slightly toward the observation room.  Shadows at the back of the small chamber suddenly shifted and moved, becoming a pair of lean figures dressed in silky, dark cloaks.  "Some of you may have already seen them about in the city," Aronos said as the two moved toward the table.  "But here I will formally introduce you."