human
You came with all the stealth of a plains ox, she said.
gpt
I could have shot you a dozen times over.
human
Are we already at war?
gpt
We Saints have to let you Vogarians kill some of us, first--our penalty for being ethical.
human
Listen to me, he said.
gpt
We tried to fight the inevitable in the Lost Islands. When the sun went down that day, half of us were dead and the rest prisoners.
human
And you rose from prisoner to officer because you were too selfish to keep fighting for what was right.
gpt
I saw them bury the ones who insisted on doing that.
human
And you want us to meekly bow down, here?
gpt
I have no interest of any kind in this world--I'll never see it again--but I know from experience what will happen to you and your people if you try to fight. I don't want that to happen. Do you think that because a man isn't a blind chauvinist, he has to be a soulless monster?
human
No, she said in a suddenly small voice.
gpt
But I had hoped ... we were talking that day of the mountains beyond the Emerald Plain and a frontier to last for centuries ... it was just idle talk but I thought maybe that when the showdown came you would be on our side, after all.
human
You don't mind if I have a silly sentimental fondness for my world, do you? It's the only world I have. Maybe you would understand if you could see the Azure Mountains in the spring ... but you never will, will you? Because you lied when you said you weren't my enemy and now I know you are and I --the lightness faltered and broke--