Chapter 26
Part 5
“And they’re damned hard to kill. If you cut off one of their limbs, or even two or three, it won’t kill them,
and they’ll probably be back in the battle in two or three days. Assuming that one of their own doesn’t
take advantage of their weakness to kill them and eat them. You pretty much have to destroy their
heads, or more than half of their torsos, in order to kill them. They breed like flies, and they give birth by
vomiting up a few hundred tiny demons about five centimeters tall, all of whom are battle-ready a
moment after birth. They double in size every three months when well fed, and they can change the
shape and configuration of their bodies as they’re growing. They can add extra limbs, tails, wings,
spikes, horns, whatever they want.
“I mean, I knew a lot of this already, from what Somonik said at the beginning of the War of The
Founding. And we just read about it a couple of months ago. But knowing it is a lot different from
seeing it, hearing it, feeling it like you were there. I don’t know how our babies haven’t beenpletely
traumatized by this. It just amazes me. Fifty-four years of the demon war, every experience of it, taken
in a blink.
“I’m so worried about them now, but I don’t know what to do about it, or even if we should do anything
about it.
“And beyond that, I’m worried for us all. I think we’re not taking the threat of the demons seriously
enough. But I’m not sure if there’s anything we can do about it. I don’t know that it’ll really help things if
everyone knows in advance how horrible the demons really are. Many are having a hard enough time
dealing with their fear as it is.”
“No doubt that was Quewanak’s thinking.” Talia mused. “And Povon and Kragorram’s as well, since
they have the memory too. Quewanak’s training pushes us pretty hard. He could make it harder, and
we could improve faster, but then it would start to detract from people’s ability to enjoy their lives
between training. That in turn might slow our progress.
“We have the time to train in the healthiest manner possible. It would be different if we had less time. If
we had to fight the demons in six months it would be worth it to hurry and intensify the training. But we
can’t sustain that level of intensity for twenty four-years.
“On the other hand, the simtions of demons that we face in the training should be just as dangerous
as real demons. If we have to face less of them in the exercises in order for any of us to survive the
battle, then we’ll just have to do that. They just don’t have to be as horrible as real demons, not yet
anyway.
“Tell me; when we faced the demons in Quewanak’s training dream, do you think they were the same
as in Somonik’s memory of them?”
He cocked an eyebrow. “Huh. I haven’t thought about that training since before you got pregnant. It’s
like a dream that keeps fading with time. We didn’t face demons until thest part of the training, and
by then I was pretty emotionally numb from it all, and they were just distractions from the task of
beating Zarkog anyway. But yah, now that I think about it, they were pretty much the same, they were
just as poisonous and tough and horrible in the training dream as they are in Somonik’s memory.”
“Good. I remember Quewanak’s training well enough to know that those demons were bad enough. I
haven’t thought about it enough recently topare it to the training exercises we’re doing now
though. I spend most of the exercises thinking about how well the others are doing.
“And they’re doing well, considering how inexperienced most of them are. Quewanak allows us enough
victories that the exercises are… Well not fun, as I was going to say. But with the joy and triumph and
celebration thates from the asional victory, I think it’s an enjoyable experience overall.
“I’m still worried that we may be forming bad habits that will lead us to underestimate the enemy.
“Quewanak, what are your thoughts on this?” she asked of the thin air, knowing the dragon god’s vast
awareness would insure she was heard.
“You’re correct in assuming that I designed thismunity’s training with equal consideration for their
emotional health and for theirbat capabilities.” He psionicly answered. “And you’re correct in
thinking that this training program has been designed to advance steadily in difficulty over the full
twenty-four year span of our time here.
“For now, a victory over a more numerous enemy feels far better than defeating a small but realistic
band of demons. The realism of the enemy, and their numbers, will gradually increase over the full
score of years, culminating in fully realistic simtions. You need not worry that you will form bad
habits that lead you to underestimate the enemy, because your habits will gradually change as the
training changes. The only long-term habit you will form is the expectation that the demons will always
be a bit more dangerous than they were thest time you faced them, which is likely to be a realistic
assumption.”
“Ah.” Mark nodded. “That’s good thinking, so long as the time-bubble isn’t ended early for some
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reason.”
“I see no reason to think that it might be, though that is within the realm of possibility. If it ends without
warning, we will have to see that these people receive elerated training in the main time stream,
assuming that the time-bubble cannot be resumed for some reason. If we have some warning that the
time-bubble will end early, the training program will be elerated ordingly.
“But you can trust me on this; so long as things continue as nned, in twenty-four years these people
will be as fully prepared and trained to wage war against the demons as it’s possible for them to be.
Ourselves included.”
“Thank you.” Talia nodded.
“Do you have any thoughts on the twins’ mental health?” Mark asked. “Or ours, for that matter?”
“You’re all doing fine. Don’t worry so much. The twins have a good grasp of their own abilities and
limitations. When they’re ready, they’ll ask to join themunity training program, and shortly after that
their worth will be known. Then everyone will want the twins in their squad. Their poprity will take
care of itself.
“You should have heeded your son’s warning, and been better prepared for the emotional shock of the
memory he gave you. You were still filled with loving parental concern, which is a foolish state of mind
to be in when a powerful psionic says that they are about to pass you something traumatic.”
“I guess you’re right.” Mark chuckled. “He did say it wasn’t very nice. I should’ve known from that.”
“He told you in three separate sentences that it was a bad thing. You are his father, and he loves and
respects you very much. That was as much warning as he feltfortable with giving you. He trusted
you to know what you were doing. You failed to take him seriously enough.
“He and his sister were less traumatized by the memory than you were because they actually spent a
minute considering that a memory of the demons was likely to be a horrible thing, and they were far
more emotionally prepared for it than you were. You let your parental concern over-ride your intellectual
consideration of what they were telling you. It’s amon failing of first-time parents.”
“All right, all right, I get it!” Markughed.
“You’re doing fine. Don’t worry.” Quewanak repeated, and then his mental contact was gone.
“Hmm. Maybe we should go in and see what they’re up to.” Talia said as she stood with a smile, then
took his hand and pulled him to his feet with magically-augmented strength.
“Yah. And we’ll tell them what Quewanak said about the training. Hopefully it’ll set their minds at ease
about us taking the demons seriously enough.”