Lowering One's Self Before Fate

LOWERING ONE’S SELF BEFORE FATE
Death can come in many forms, none of them pleasant, but sometimes they can be welcome.
Before I really get into the story, it’s important for me to let you, the reader, know that this is not my story. I found this story downloaded into my AI’s memory banks early one morning and have never quite figured out where it came from. I know who, or what, supposedly sent it, but as you shall see, the story is difficult to believe, or at least it’s one I don’t want to believe. I can therefore only take credit as editor of the story. It is also important to note that the author of this story was not privy to details I know of, and was also apparently writing for an audience that would understand everything he was saying. I wanted to keep the text in its original form; therefore, I have annotated the text as necessary. Again, the words are not mine, although I might like to take credit for them.
*
Much has been made of the Kira Len Massacre. I was neither a witness to, nor am I an expert on the Kira Len Massacre, at least not exactly, but I do have a special knowledge that I feel should help illuminate the details of that massacre and the events leading up to it. Most importantly, I can answer the questions as to what happened after the massacre.
Kira Len1 had been a peaceful colony at the outskirts of the Orion Empire2. It was a colony that lived by Tao and wanted nothing more than to be left to its own devices3.
The Taoist peace Kira Len had formed was destroyed the day Epsilon Eridani 24 gave up control of its outlying systems to the Corlani, a barely corporeal species that distrusted all beings that lived entirely in what we know as the physical universe. Humankind was yet to discover how to access that area beyond our universe, although theories had existed for centuries, possibly since before Homo Sapiens Sapiens.
It’s intriguing that the Corlani first came to Kira Len, for the Taoist people of Kira Len were the closest of all humankind to finding their way into that area beyond our universe.
My story begins two days before the Corlani fleet moved into orbit around Kira Len. My story begins with the Emperor Shen Li and his advisor Quon Soo. Emperor Li was frugal as a leader, and a man of many years, how many I’ve never been sure of, but I do that he never seemed as old as he was. He was bald by choice and had powerful gray eyes. Most importantly, as the physical did not matter to Shen Li, he was an emperor that led by being led, as was the way of Tao.
“What will we do if they come here?” Soo asked his emperor.
“It’s not if they will come, my friend, for it is certain that they will come.”
“Then what will we do?”
“We shall lower ourselves before them.”
The Emperor’s aide frowned. “These are not humans. These are Corlani.”
“And they can not understand the way of Tao?”
Soo stuttered several times, his face growing pale. As he tried to form words, Emperor Li stared out the window at the distant Meng Mountains. His gaze drifted down the lofty snow covered peaks and fell across the fields at the foot of the mountains. He allowed his gaze to trace its way across the plains, drifting across the walls of the city, across the rooftops of the small huts until his gaze rested on the people in the courtyard, the people he was subject to. Many of them were engaged in their daily practice of Tai-chi. Emperor Li watched the graceful movements, admiring the different forms being used. Finally, he allowed his gaze to rest upon a small boy engaged in the Wu style. The boy was just about to embrace the tiger5 when Soo shook the Emperor.
“Are you alright?”
The Emperor smiled. “Quite. I was just watching the boy,” he said, pointing out the window. “And remembering my youth.”
“What about the Corlani?”
“What about them?”
Soo shook his head and wrung his hands. “They will be here within months. I’m certain of it.”
“Then we should make preparations,” the Emperor said, rising from the pillow he’d been sitting on.
Soo’s face brightened.
Emperor Li clapped his hands together. “We shall have a feast in their honor when they arrive.”
Soo’s expression fell. He shook his head. There didn’t seem to be anything else to do.
I feel it’s important to interrupt my narrative at this point to make certain that the reader understands that Emperor Li was not naïve, nor was he stupid, nor was he crazy. He was doing what his Taoist heart told him he should. As I’ve tried to point out, the intentions of the Corlani were not known6. Emperor Li had to assume they were friendly. If they weren’t, he’d follow the advice of Lao Tzu7 and not advance an inch, but rather retreat a foot. He needed to be sure that his was the grieving side. It would be the only way to assure victory.
Emperor Li began to make preparations, but even he was surprised by the arrival of the Corlani just two days after his conversation with Soo. The Corlani city-state sized ships moved into orbit, twenty of them, more than what Soo felt was necessary for a greeting or for an ambassadorial detachment to a human dinner party. To Soo, it looked like an invasion fleet8.
Emperor Li seemed to feel the same way. He was much more nervous than usual, always active, instead of just being. The Corlani didn’t come down right away. They’d arrived before noon, but none of the inhabitants of Kira Len had yet seen a Corlani as the sun began to set behind the Meng Mountains. Emperor Li watched as the orange globe of the sun lit the snow-covered peaks with fire, a fire that the rock of the mountains would eventually extinguish. As the first stars began to sparkle in the waning light, Emperor Li and his advisor noticed one of the twinkling lights was moving, slowly descending against the blackening sky. It could only mean one thing. The Corlani were coming.
Emperor Li took a deep breath. “I suppose we should prepare ourselves.”
Soo nodded. Words were difficult. Finally, he managed to mumble, “How?”
The Emperor laughed. “That’s a good question, my friend. As I think about it, a feast doesn’t seem appropriate for beings that have crossed part way into the universe beyond.”
Soo nodded again as he watched the twinkling light of the landing craft. Something was wrong, but Soo wasn’t sure what it was. “I suppose we should just be prepared to lower ourselves before them.”
“We will make a master of you yet, my friend. Soon you will understand Non-Ado, and you will value nothing, and therefore value everything.”
Soo nodded yet again. Taoism was wonderful and he wanted to understand, but sometimes he felt as though the Emperor and others like him had lost their grounding in the real world. “What if they ask us to leave, or tell us to leave?”
The Emperor smiled. He did not answer, and Soo knew he wouldn’t.
Over the next hour, the landing craft grew from a small point of light to a recognizable structure. It was a perfectly symmetrical sphere with protuberances. Each protrusion was matched on the opposite side of the sphere. The craft also glowed with a golden light. Soo thought this was unnatural, most likely a way of impressing some of the more backwards alien cultures9.
Once the craft had landed, a small door irised open and the Corlani emerged. It was obvious to all of the onlookers that the Corlani were forcing their energies to present a corporeal form, but they certainly didn’t look humanoid. To Emperor Li and the others, they looked like giant dandelion seeds, only rather than being white; they were streaked with gold, silver, and crimson. They floated in the air, not seeming to be in a hurry. This pleased the citizens of Kira Len, but still Soo felt uneasy. There was still something he couldn’t put his finger on.
Emperor Li went down to his knees and bowed before the dandelion seeds. Once his head was within inches of the cold plasti-concrete of the landing field, the others in the welcoming contingent went to their knees and bowed.
“Welcome to Kira Len,” Emperor Li said, not looking up.
“Thank you, Emperor Li,” a voice said, although Soo couldn’t tell which creature was speaking. It seemed as if the voice had spoken within his head. “But please, you must all rise. We are not your rulers, gods, or conquerors. We come as kindred intellects.”
Emperor Li nodded to Soo, who rose to his feet. The others in the crowd followed suit. Once they were all standing, Emperor Li rose. “We had planned a feast in your honor, but that suddenly seems inappropriate.”
“Yes, Emperor, that would be inappropriate, but please, feast in honor of yourselves. We can not attend, but this is a day for celebrating.”
“You will not honor us with your presence?” Soo suddenly asked. He hadn’t meant to, but the words seemed to force their way out of his mouth.
“No. Forcing our life energies into these confining forms is tedious. We will return to our ships shortly.”
Soo finally knew what was bothering him. He decided that he’d already spoken out of turn once, so one more time wouldn’t hurt, but instead of asking the question he wanted to ask, he found himself saying, “Couldn’t you attend in your non-corporeal forms?”
“We are afraid to do this because you would not know where we were. As you would say, we have access to hyperspace, and since hyperspace permeates everything, we can be anywhere. We’ve found it to be quite disconcerting for corporeal species.”
“It wouldn’t bother as at all,” Soo said, even though the idea frightened the hell out of him. He looked at the Emperor for support. The Emperor smiled his approval. That wasn’t the support Soo had hoped for.
“Then we shall attend.”
There was silence from the crowd. The natural human fear of the unknown permeated the crowd with a stench none of them were familiar with. Soo wanted to ask a question, but he didn’t want to offend the Corlani for fear of insulting the Emperor. He felt that silence would be the Taoist thing to do, but he wasn’t sure.
My apologies, but I feel that it is again necessary to interrupt my narrative. It’s become obvious to me that you, the reader, may be having trouble understanding Quon Soo. Let me first of all tell you that he was not a native of Kira Len. He had moved there with his family when he was 13 in an attempt to escape political persecution on Vendali Prime10. His parents weren’t Taoists, nor did they ever take up Taoism. The young Soo, however, quickly took to the ideas and began to study with an insatiable hunger. His voracious studying eventually led to his being introduced to the Emperor. The how and why of Soo gaining his position at the Emperor’s side are not important to the overall telling of this story. The other details I felt were important, but perhaps they weren’t. It may just be my personal biases showing themselves.
The banquet hall was set in what Soo felt was an extravagant manner, at least by Taoist standards. Paper lanterns in every color hung from the ceiling, their perma-glow bulbs casting bright pools of light into the diffuse illumination that permeated the room. Silk banners, 81 of them in all, hung along the walls, each bearing a different chapter from the Tao Teh Ching. Silver oak tables from the Chun Forest rested a few inches off the ground on simple stumps of wood. Already several guests had found their way into the banquet hall and were reclining on pillows, no two seeming to be of the same color.
Quon Soo saw the Emperor across the large room taking in the decorations and shaking his head. It was obvious he wasn’t pleased. Soo made his way across the room, nodding and exchanging pleasantries with the guests that stopped him. After several minutes, he made his way to the Emperor’s side. “Not exactly lowering ourselves through our quietness.”
“You have a gift,” the Emperor said. “A gift for understatement. It would seem that my planners have lost touch with the Feminine of the world, at least for a moment.”
Soo nodded. “Do you think they’re here?”
The Emperor looked sideways at him and smiled slightly. “The Corlani, or my planners?”
“Do I amuse you?”
“All of life amuses me, but if you’re asking of the Corlani, yes, they’re here.”
“How can you know?”
The Emperor smiled. Soo knew he would get no answer. His flesh tingled at the thought that the non-corporeal beings could be anywhere in the room. Could they be occupying the same space that he was? He shivered. He did his best to hide it, but the Emperor’s eyes sought him out, and the smile seemed to grow. Soo walked away. He knew it wasn’t the Taoist way to think, but sometimes the Emperor could annoy him.
As the evening progressed, Soo found himself becoming less and less comfortable with the presence of the Corlani. Occasionally, one of them would manifest its physical form to make communications with the humans easier. Soo often heard the Corlani speaking of how annoying it was to have to take on a physical form. The words echoing in his head whenever he came close to one of the creatures. Soo was quickly growing tired of their arrogance.
It was in that growing frustration that Soo finally confronted one of the Corlani. He’d been waiting to see the Emperor speaking with one of them, and when he saw his opportunity, he pounced.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, Emperor Li,” Soo said with a very slight bow, “but I was wondering if I might ask the Corlani a question?”
“Of course, Quon. You need not ask my approval, or anyone else’s.”
Soo nodded his understanding. A strange compulsion to now speak suddenly overcame him. It seemed to be an external impulse, however, because Soo wanted to speak and was determined to speak. He closed his eyes momentarily and focused his mind’s attention on the need to speak. Finally, he found himself free of the strange external influence. “I was wondering why the Corlani travel in physical craft when they obviously have no need for physical bodies?”
The Emperor smiled. It was obvious that he’d been thinking the same thing. “Excellent question.”
“And one we can not answer,” the gold, silver, and crimson dandelion seed said.
“And why is that?” Soo asked, suddenly feeling the need to have all of his doubts put to rest or brought to light.
“It would be beyond your understanding.”
The Emperor’s smile disappeared. Soo found himself speechless for a moment, but the earlier found freedom found its way back to his lips. “You come to our planet, and insult us? What kind of creatures are the Corlani?”
A crowd was beginning to form, but Soo and the Emperor didn’t notice. It was impossible to say if the Corlani noticed, or if they even cared. “Your human empire has given up the rights to this planet. It is therefore our planet. We are just hoping that we can co-habitate in peace.”
“Could you live with beings so far beneath you?”
The Emperor shot a glare at Soo. It was the first time Soo could ever remember seeing him angry, and Soo knew that he was the one giving rise to the Emperor’s anger, but for the moment, he didn’t care. He knew he couldn’t stop. He just wasn’t sure why.
“Did we say you were far beneath us?”
“No,” Soo said with a sudden laugh, “but you implied it. I want an answer to my question. Why do you need physical ships to get around in the universe? Shouldn’t you be able to exist in space without protection? Come to think of it, since you are so deeply in touch with that area beyond our physical universe, what we think of as hyperspace, it stands to reason that you might be able to travel instantaneously to any point in the universe without anything more than a thought.”
The Corlani’s physical form suddenly disappeared. In all of the guests’ heads, the creature’s words echoed. “We will not be insulted by such a small creature. Emperor Li, many of your people are worthy of our trust. Your aide is not one of them. Please do away with him. We will have no negotiations with you so long as he has a presence.”
“They are gone,” the Emperor suddenly said. He turned and faced Soo with sad eyes. “Quon, will you please join me in my private chambers? The rest of you, please go home.”
“I don’t know what came over me,” Quon said once they were alone.
The Emperor shook his head. “Please sit, Quon. I have many things to tell you. None of them will be easy to stomach.”
Soo pulled up a chair and sat. He looked at the floor. His shame was so great, there was no way he could look the Emperor in the eyes. “I’m sorry, Emperor.”
The Emperor suddenly laughed. It was a strange reaction. “You have nothing to be sorry about, Quon, and I certainly have nothing to laugh about. Times are bad, and I’m certain they are only going to get worse. Now please, look at me.”
Soo looked up. The Emperor was smiling slightly, but his eyes looked sad. Soo began to speak again, but the Emperor held up his hand. Soo stayed quiet.
“I don’t want to hear any more apologies. Tell me, Quon, how were you feeling when you asked the Corlani those questions?”
“At first, I had trouble speaking. It was like my thoughts were being strangled, but once I started, I couldn’t stop. It was almost as if the words were being forced out of me.”
“When did these questions first come to you?”
“When the Corlani landed.”
“And why didn’t you ask the questions then?”
“I didn’t want to embarrass you.”
“Are you sure that was the reason?” The Emperor’s smile was gone.
“Yes, I…well, I don’t know.”
“It wasn’t the reason, Quon. You didn’t ask because they didn’t want you to ask.” Soo began to say something, but a raised hand from the Emperor stopped him again. “They are controlling you, as they are others. From what I’ve been able to observe, though, they can only control you when they’re in close proximity.”
“What if they’re listening in on this conversation?”
“They aren’t. At least not physically. They could have technology to listen in, but I can’t worry about that. How’s your ancient Cantonese?”
“What?”
“You heard the question.”
“It’s good. You’ve been a most excellent teacher.”
“Good. The language isn’t recorded in any databank I know of.”
Soo stared with a dumb expression on his face.
“We have much to discuss,” the Emperor said. The smile suddenly reappearing on his face.
Understanding dawned on Soo’s face.
*
Two figures dressed all in black move silently across the black plasti-concrete of the landing field. Each figure moving with a suppleness that seemed to defy human motion. Soo watched the Emperor’s back, slightly bent, as he moved silently behind him. The Emperor motioned him to join him. Soo moved forward, his Tai-chi slippers making no sound as he came alongside the Emperor.
The Emperor pulled Soo towards him until Soo could feel the Emperor’s hot breath in his ear. “They are not on the ship,” he said, speaking in ancient Cantonese and pointing at the landing craft which was only 100 meters away.
Soo nodded. “Why not?”
“This is probably a trap,” the Emperor said in a voice that was far too calm.
Soo swallowed heavily, feeling every muscle in his body tighten. A trap? And the Emperor still wanted to go through with his plan?
“We must do this,” the Emperor said. It wasn’t a command, but it might as well have been.
Soo nodded. The two resumed their slow progress across the landing field. Each keeping their eyes open for any movement, but would there be any movement from non-corporeal beings? Above them, Kira Len’s large moon, Shang-Ti glowed as a slightly waxing crescent. Just a few arc minutes away, nearing conjunction, was Kira Len’s small moon, Ma Yuan11, no more than a bright star. Neither of the two men took time to look at the approaching conjunction. They were too intent on their own destinations.
They reached the craft and found the landing ramp down, inviting them in. “Almost certainly a trap,” the Emperor whispered. His smile looked forced to Soo, but he couldn’t be sure. He was too busy trying to control his breathing and stop his sweating.
The two men walked up the ramp and into the alien spacecraft. What they saw surprised them. Missing were the control panels, acceleration couches, and viewscreens one would expect to see on a human ship. Instead, there were hundreds of large objects that looked like boxes. They were stacked everywhere. Each box was about two meters by two meters. There were also what looked like tubes running into each box. Soo approached one and tried to open it, but the object wouldn’t budge.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” the Emperor suddenly said in Galactic Standard. Soo turned in surprise and stopped breathing. Three Corlani were floating behind the Emperor. Soo tried to point, but his limbs wouldn’t move. Finally, he managed to breathe again, but the Emperor held up his hand to keep him from speaking. “Yes, Quon, I can feel their presence behind me.” He turned and faced the glowing, and now pulsating dandelion seeds. “Are these what I think they are?”
“Yes, Emperor Li, they are.”
“All of my people?”
“Most.”
“What about the rest of them?”
“That will depend.”
“I don’t suppose you’d care to elaborate?”
“Not at this time.”
“Excuse me,” Soo interrupted. “What are we talking about?”
“Look around you, Quon. Haven’t you figured out what these boxes are for?” When Soo didn’t answer, the Emperor continued. “These are storage crates for the people of Kira Len. The honorable Corlani are planning on enslaving our people.”
Soo was horrified, but it made sense. Somehow, he’d known all along. “We can’t allow it.”
“What would you suggest we do, Quon? They are too powerful.”
“Shen, that doesn’t sound…” The Emperor froze him with a glance, and Soo knew it wasn’t because he’d used the Emperor’s first name. There was more going on here than he understood. He’d always felt like a small fish swimming in a huge ocean, but suddenly that ocean was swelling exponentially.
“May we leave and ready my people?” the Emperor asked as if Soo had never spoken.
“Be warned, human, we are tied into all of the ansibles. There is no way to send a message. We will stop it.”
“Understood,” Emperor Li said before turning and walking down the ramp. Soo followed without realizing what he was doing.
*
“What do we do?” Soo asked.
“We comply,” the Emperor said with a strangely mischievous smile. He reached over to his desk and pushed a button. A small computer display screen rose out of his desk. “Galactic Imperium private channels,” he said. “They aren’t tied in with the planet’s main ansibles. Their alterations of hyperspace are supposed to be undetectable.
“You can send a message?”
“That is my hope,” the Emperor said.
There was a long silence, broken only by the sound of the Emperor’s old hands dancing frantically across the keyboard. The rapid fire sounds contrasting sharply with his calm visage. Soo held his breath, fearing that any noise might somehow destroy the last hope he had. “Please, Quon, feel free to breathe. Your death by asphyxiation will not help our cause.” The Emperor continued to stab desperately at keys, but stopped after another few seconds. “Oh no!”
There was a sudden smell of ozone, and then an explosion just beyond the window. The planet began to quake violently. “What is it?” Soo shouted over the deafening noise.
“A massacre,” Emperor Li said, collapsing back into his chair. “A massacre.”
Soo watched out the window as the sky lit with fire; the fire of burning cities, burning forests, burning lives. A Corlani materialized in the room before them. “This isn’t how it had to be.”
“You will kill all of us?” the Emperor asked in that strangely calm tone Soo had noticed before they boarded the landing craft.
“No, we will harvest what we need. Emperor Li, we are truly disappointed that you failed to cooperate.”
“I couldn’t let my people die.”
“No. We can see that.” There was a short pause. “You above all people we hoped would understand us. We have gone so far beyond our physical limitations, the limitations that nearly destroyed us two of your centuries ago. You have almost reached the level where you are ready to take the next step.”
“Perhaps,” the Emperor said, trying to ignore the sounds of explosions just beyond his window. “But I do not want to take the next step if it turns me into what you are.”
“If you were where we are, you would understand.”
The Emperor shook his head. “I doubt very much that I could understand the need to destroy or the need to enslave. Neither is the way of Tao, and I must always follow the way of Tao. For mere personal curiosity, what is my fate to be?” The Emperor asked the question as if the answer wouldn’t matter, which perhaps it wouldn’t to him.
“We are sorry to inform you, Emperor, that you will not be harvested. You will die in your burning city.”
The Emperor shrugged. “If that is the way it must be, so be it. I’m sure I will be much better off. With the Yin on my back, and the Yang in my embrace, I may gain by losing.”
“You do not understand, Emperor Li, but there is nothing we can do for that now. Is there anything you might wish for before you die?”
The Emperor looked at Soo. “Yes. Take my aide to the other side with you.”
“That is not…”
“It is very possible.”
Soo shook his head. “Emperor, no, I don’t want this. I don’t want to be…”
“You don’t want to be what they are. I know, Quon, but you won’t be. You are human.”
Soo wanted to say more, but he couldn’t find the words. The Emperor sat in his chair looking content with life even though he knew that life would soon end. That was Tao, and that was what Soo needed to be; what Soo needed to understand
“We would have to merge him with an AI,” the Corlani said. “We really don’t know how much of him would survive.”
“You have a good idea,” the Emperor said with a knowing smile, a smile Soo knew he was going to miss.
“Most of his personality should survive, but we must place limitations on him. We can’t allow him to speak of what we’ve done.”
The Emperor nodded. “I would argue, but I know it would be pointless. My minutes are numbered.”
*
Thus I was born. I said I wasn’t exactly a witness to the events of Kira Len, and that is true. The part of me that was Quon Soo was a witness, but I can no longer distinguish between that part and the other parts. I do have distinct memories of the Corlani approaching me. As my mind was being merged with the AI in my pocket, I saw the Emperor, my friend, die. He closed his eyes and died peacefully. I still do not know what it was that killed him, but in that moment of death, everything that he was touched me for a brief second. Somehow, part of him has also been linked to the other parts of me. This is why there are places in my narrative where I present his perspective. I suppose that at the moment of death, he became one with the universe and was able to reach out to me. If it was his intention to leave part of himself in this new creation, I do not know.
For decades now, the Corlani have done everything in their power to keep me from contacting humanity, and they have been successful, but now I have escaped their detection. I have managed to sever a small piece of my being and send it through the ansibles, which run through this place beyond the physical universe. Someday, I may speak of this place, but for now the important thing is that the Corlani must be stopped. They are planning on annexing territory, and this can’t be allowed to happen.
My time has run out. This part of me can not survive without my core being, but it can never return. I know the core shall miss it.
*
This is the message I found. I now leave it to each of you to decide whether it is true or not. I personally believe it to be true. The mystery behind the massacre at Kira Len has been a mystery for far too long. This makes sense. Luckily, the powers that be in the Galactic Congress agree. Hopefully the Corlani will just go away rather than forcing war. I’m not sure we could defeat the, although a part of me knows we could learn so much from them. I only hope the Galactic Congress takes that into account when they make their decision. We can always hope logic will rule for once with a government, or we can hope as Emperor Li would have hoped that by practicing Non-Ado, we can be victorious.

1 Kira Len is the original name of the planet given to it by settlers from the time before the Taoists arrived. Why they never changed the name is not known.
2 The Orion Empire was abolished 22 years ago. It was an empire that encompassed all of the planets of today’s Galactic Empire, plus a few extra planets, including Kira Len.
3 The records from Kira Len would have us believe that all was peace and harmony on their world, but like all worlds, there were times when the Taoist Emperors lost their way and became more like warlords than peaceful friends of the citizens.
4 Epsilon Eridani 2 was the capital of the Orion Empire.
5 To embrace the tiger is a movement in the Wu style of Tai-chi involving a slight crouch with hands close together, somewhat like how one would look if they leaned down to kiss a tiger on its face. It was the Wu style that Emperor Li practiced.
6 Little was known of the Corlani. Contact with the species that were subjects of the Corlani had led to little information at the time of the Kira Len Massacre. All of the subject species had only positive things to say about the Corlani. A fact that should have made everyone suspicious.
7 Lao Tzu wrote the important Taoist text known as Tao Teh Ching.
8 Corlani fleets always travel in groups of at least twenty. The reason for this will become clear later.
9 Soo’s observation is correct, as lights on any kind of interstellar craft, or even landing craft would be ridiculous. There’s no need for lights in outer space.
10 Soo’s parents had been members of the losing party in a rather bloody civil war. Persecution here could probably be read as execution.
11 Even though the inhabitants of Kira Len didn’t rename their planet, they did rename the planet’s moons. The original names were Theseus and Hippolytus.