“The protos didn't die out, did they?” Perda's eyes swam again with gentle infinities. “No, Ushko. They only learned that secrecy is a better defence than all the weapons in the galaxy. They went into the river.” The sky returned to normal and Perda's eyes returned to normal. “Your empire is about to collapse. It's caught up in too many conflicts, too many complications. Your science is too advanced. Your wisdom is too stunted. You don’t know it yet, but you’ve invented your successors and they’ll be up soon. You didn’t step into the river. You pursued the fifth science. You were the only ones
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