Planet Ignis | Ch. 4

...the results of the poll were quite interesting. We discovered that the ninth truth was one of the most used in the Collegium, ‘Better not to burst than to burst twice blindly.’

I find that even though we want our tribe members to think well before they burst, hesitation is something complicated to correct and can be potentially lethal to the tribe. I want to rephrase this truth to give it a more decisive tone. I recommend changing this truth to ‘better to burst once true than twice blindly.’

From “A Proposal for the Review of the Nine Truths” by Trother, the Wise

“Why can’t we just make more nanites, sir?”

“We just don’t have enough materials. It’s impossible to replace other metals more suited to advanced electronics with ignium, so we make do with what we brought here from Earth. What would you do if you could have a nanite just for yourself, Bryner?”

“Give it to the tribe, sir,” said Bryner happily. This giddiness was a good sign. It means he feels joy in giving to others. Good. Zawa was next.

“Sir, why can’t we do more transmutations, like the one in Midas’ reign? Wouldn’t that make it possible to make more nanites?”

Trother liked the question asked by the yellow girl. She built on the exchange he had just had with her classmate. That was an efficient approach. Trother was looking for more than just intelligence in interviews. His goal was to assess his students’ insight and feelings. Children were unaware that the thing that Trother paid the least attention to was their answers. Often, the students’ questions, or their reaction to exchanges between their fellow students and their lit, revealed more about their intellect and emotional makeup than their answers ever did.

“Turning ignium into other metals is not usually viable. A blue flame is the only fuel capable of generating enough energy to transmute ignium. As you know, it is extremely rare to find someone suited to be a blue, even among the combined population of all four Settlements. The Midas’ reign was atypical because all three Midas triplets had a blue grade. Since it was an uneventful reign, two of them could terminate in the mines, transmuting ignium into other metals more suitable for electronics. It is statistically unlikely such an event will happen soon, child.” The girl looked thoughtful. She had asked the question not to impress but because she didn’t know the answer. Good. That means she wasn’t wasteful. Few things were as wasteful as a desire to show off.

“There are ten children in a chamber. They are all in peril. Two are blues, three are yellows, and five are oranges. Only you can save two of them. Which two would you save?”

“A blue and a yellow, sir.”

“Why not the two blues?”

“Since you said that only I can save two, I would have to save myself first if I was to save others. I’m not sure yet, but the light in the little ball was yellow. I think that means I’ll be a yellow, right? Trying to save the two blues might mean no one gets saved. I would need to know more to be sure, though.”

Trother smiled, pleased.

After Zawa and Bryner, in fifth place was Eli. Trother was looking forward to this.

“Your question, Eli?”

“Sir, can I ask my two other questions after hearing all others ask theirs?”

The children murmured. Trother stared at Eli, thoughtful. Asking questions last was very meaningful. Only then could you be sure that no other student would end up asking a question that you had wanted to ask. That allowed you to potentially get more answers you wanted, even if you had to sacrifice your first question on this gamble. No student had ever asked him this. Great Hearth, what an interesting brat, thought Trother.

“Yes, you may. Provided I ask you some extra tough questions when your next turn comes. Deal?” Eli nodded. “Eli, is ignium the only edible metal?”

“No. It’s the only nourishing one.” Trother noted how Eli only spoke the bare minimum to provide a satisfying answer. This was a good sign. Efficiency could be perfected in many things. Trother appreciated those who said much with little. It was true that other metals could be ingested without poisoning the human body. Pure enough gold and silver fell into the category of edible metals, but they didn’t provide any of the nutrients needed for human survival. The only reason why they weren’t toxic was because they just passed by the body without interacting with it. Silver and gold were worthless in Ignis. Ignium was the only metal that could sustain human life.

“Good answer, boy! Let us continue. Cret, your question, please.”

“Can I ask my questions after Eli?” the child cheekily asked.

“Since I already told Eli he could ask his questions after hearing all others, which would include you. So, no. Next.” Nice try, but a bit careless.

The three rounds soon ended. Children had quizzed and been quizzed about all sorts of things. Biology of Celeria. History of Earth and the Phoenix. The names of the satellites of Ignis, planet geography, density, radius, and standard depths for different ignium alloys. The Nine Truths. Tales of the blue kings and queens and the lessons that could be learned from their lives. Finally, it was Eli’s turn again.

“You have heard all others and now know if any questions you had in your mind have been asked already. That was a smart move. Sacrificing one question in exchange for two potentially better answers. Ask away, little red.”

“Sir, other than this one, what’s the best question I could ask you today?”

The brat! He had a blue IQ, alright. Patience, foresight, and strategy. Good! He also made sure not to leave any loopholes in his question. That means he learned from Cret’s blunder earlier.

“I told you that your wish would come at a price. I will answer you with a question of my own. Eli, which of these two questions would be the most meaningful you could ask me? What is the most important Truth? Or who was the greatest of the Ignian Monarchs?”

Trother was enjoying seeing the gears turning in the head of the child. Finally, Eli answered.

“I see. Both questions, together, answer mine and yours. No truth is less important than the other. There’s no second truth without a first. There’s no first truth without a ninth. All of them are part of a whole—the same thing with the kings and queens. There could be no current blue king without his predecessor. There could be no next monarch without a goal. Just like in the tribe, we need all of them. They are all important.” There was a moment of awe from the other children. Trother hoped that the little red would get there, but he was paying particular attention to the emotion in his voice. Knowledge meant nothing if you didn’t love your tribe. This child did it with a passion.

“Well said, boy. You have earned a straightforward answer to your last question.” Without taking his eyes from Eli, Trother reached out his hand toward Sylar. Sylar stepped forward and hurriedly passed on the report that had been transcribed.

“What does the gray in my evaluation mean?” Trother had known this would be the boy’s last question. No doubt Eli had waited to see if any of the other children, out of curiosity, would spend one of their questions answering Eli’s since all had seen the colors in the nanite. It had been worth the wait. Now he was sure he wouldn’t get his answer today unless he asked.

“Physique evaluation is just an estimation. However, no one can tell the future for certain, not even a fully operational AI. If malnourished, someone with a genetic predisposition to be tall can turn out to be shorter. If not guided and properly educated, someone with the potential to be smart and self-sacrificing can become foolish and selfish. Gray parameters appear when the computer can’t make a proper estimation. In other words, when the computer simulates how you will grow, small deviations in your life can hopelessly shatter your potential or completely elevate it. In your case….”

Trother started to read Eli’s report on the gray parameters and frowned. He looked at Eli with pity and then reread the report and thought of the implications.

Breaking the silence, Trother started. “Eli, you have an interesting metabolism. Your height and body mass will not grow much if you don’t eat above a certain threshold. At the same time, you have a genetic predisposition for gluttony and obesity.”

Children frowned at the last word. They had never heard it before.

Trother explained, “Obesity was a disease back on Earth. People became overweight because they overate. Such waste…” Trother reminisced sadly. “Back on Earth, since calorie intake was not a problem, people ate excessively. They then engaged in extreme physical activity doing something called ‘exercise’ to burn the excessive energy and to try to compensate for the imbalance.”

Few people knew this. Trother noticed how Eli, the other children, and even the batteries were lost in their thoughts, imagining such an alien world.

“In your case, Eli, this essentially means that when you burned ignium in a long burst for the first time yesterday at Initiation, you awakened this latent genetic tendency. Your hunger will be overpoweringly strong. After the rekindling yesterday, have you felt hungrier than usual, even after you ate at the mess hall?”

Eli gulped and nodded.

“I see. Essentially, this means that if you hunger all your life, you will certainly become a yellow, maybe a lit, or perhaps, even a blue. If you don’t fight this eternal craving all your life, you will cripple your potential and become an orange. This is why the AI assigned your predicted EQ a gray grade. You see, depending on how you deal with this eternal torture of always being hungry, it can either make out of you a bitter, selfish man or shape you and refine you into a selfless, brilliant king. Oh, child… Yours will not be an easy life.”

Eli looked scared.

Ch. 5