CHAPTER 13
Obi-Wan felt as if his throat had been squeezed. His feet were planted on the floor, or else he could have sworn that he staggered.
"Kad Chun." Obi-Wan spoke his name numbly.
Kad looked just as surprised. He gathered himself with a visible effort."Obi-Wan Kenobi. I am Uni now."
Kad approached until he was standing close to Obi-Wan, closer than Obi-Wan liked. His pale eyes flickered as he registered the signs of maturity in Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan remembered the face of the boy, burning with hatred in a Senate hearing room.
"So they sent you."
"Yes."
"I suppose they do not know who I am."
"No."
"Kad Chun is no more."
Obi-Wan's curiosity overcame his caution. "How did you come to be here?"
Kad turned and began to stroll about the room. He did not give Anakin a glance, but the boy watched him steadily.
"After the hearing, my father and I returned to Telos. We led a quiet life, recovering from our double tragedy--the loss of our son and brother, and the inability of the Senate to bring his killer to justice."
Obi-Wan stiffened, but Uni did not look at him, just strolled about, picking up an object here or there, studying it and putting it down.
"Many good things happened on Telos. I understand you were there at the beginning. A new government was formed, and the reclamation of our natural resources began. But as the years passed it became clear that the corruption that had destroyed our institutions and government had taken a deeper hold than the good people of Telos imagined. Special interests again took over. Telos began a steep decline. Corporations owned our natural resources and plundered them."
"I am sorry to hear this," Obi-Wan said.
"I found myself in a position of some leadership," Kad went on. "I gathered followers. I knew it was too late to save Telos. We were wasting our time. We could never fight that kind of power. In order to save the remaining examples of responsibility and honor on Telos, we had to bring the last of the best with us. Which we did. We boarded a ship, taking our plants and minerals with us. We traveled through the galaxy. We did not look for another world. We did not need one. As we traveled I saw that Telos was not unique. So many worlds in the galaxy are corrupt. The noblest beings protest and are drowned out. We welcomed them aboard. Our core ship began to grow. We have the most brilliant scientists, the greatest innovators, teachers, poets, musicians, doctors. We all believe that given the state of the galaxy the only choice for the best of us is to disengage from it completely. After the galaxy destroys itself we will be the seed for a new community."
Obi-Wan felt as if his throat had been squeezed. His feet were planted on the floor, or else he could have sworn that he staggered.
"Kad Chun." Obi-Wan spoke his name numbly.
Kad looked just as surprised. He gathered himself with a visible effort."Obi-Wan Kenobi. I am Uni now."
Kad approached until he was standing close to Obi-Wan, closer than Obi-Wan liked. His pale eyes flickered as he registered the signs of maturity in Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan remembered the face of the boy, burning with hatred in a Senate hearing room.
"So they sent you."
"Yes."
"I suppose they do not know who I am."
"No."
"Kad Chun is no more."
Obi-Wan's curiosity overcame his caution. "How did you come to be here?"
Kad turned and began to stroll about the room. He did not give Anakin a glance, but the boy watched him steadily.
"After the hearing, my father and I returned to Telos. We led a quiet life, recovering from our double tragedy--the loss of our son and brother, and the inability of the Senate to bring his killer to justice."
Obi-Wan stiffened, but Uni did not look at him, just strolled about, picking up an object here or there, studying it and putting it down.
"Many good things happened on Telos. I understand you were there at the beginning. A new government was formed, and the reclamation of our natural resources began. But as the years passed it became clear that the corruption that had destroyed our institutions and government had taken a deeper hold than the good people of Telos imagined. Special interests again took over. Telos began a steep decline. Corporations owned our natural resources and plundered them."
"I am sorry to hear this," Obi-Wan said.
"I found myself in a position of some leadership," Kad went on. "I gathered followers. I knew it was too late to save Telos. We were wasting our time. We could never fight that kind of power. In order to save the remaining examples of responsibility and honor on Telos, we had to bring the last of the best with us. Which we did. We boarded a ship, taking our plants and minerals with us. We traveled through the galaxy. We did not look for another world. We did not need one. As we traveled I saw that Telos was not unique. So many worlds in the galaxy are corrupt. The noblest beings protest and are drowned out. We welcomed them aboard. Our core ship began to grow. We have the most brilliant scientists, the greatest innovators, teachers, poets, musicians, doctors. We all believe that given the state of the galaxy the only choice for the best of us is to disengage from it completely. After the galaxy destroys itself we will be the seed for a new community."
