“The more Tec is Infused into an AI Matrix, the smarter and more self-sufficient it is,” the alien explained. “Fully aware AIs are rare—as their cost is prohibitively high.”

“Sounds like an evolving ship,” Nori said flatly.

Alzigo shook his head. “An evolving ship is much higher on the evolutionary ladder. It is alive, not merely sentient.”

Nathan nodded. He had no doubt about the truth of the Exahr’s words. He could sense Unity’s consciousness, even from here. She was still in her infancy, but she already had a personality of her own. It was only a matter of guiding her along the path of maturity for her to reach her full potential.

Lana snapped her fingers suddenly. “So that must be why I was able to extract Tec from the excavator. That gizmo-metal thingy behind the console was its AI matrix.”

Nori nodded slowly. “You’re probably right.”

“And we all leveled up from it.” Lana smiled.

“I have noticed that,” Alzigo said. “Congratulations on making it to level five. I see you have already selected your crossroad Paths.”

“Yeah, what are those, exactly?” Lana asked.

“Every five levels a Path reaches a crossroad. It’s an opportunity to focus and adapt it to your needs. It also makes one significantly more powerful than before.”

“Is that why the level five and six Warped were substantially stronger than the level fours?” Nori asked.

“Of course. They don’t have Paths like enlightened species, but they do get more powerful abilities as they level up. Take you, for example. I see you have narrowed your focus to become a Pilot. That is good. In space battles, a Pilot will always beat a Navigator with the same path score.”

Their host's comment reminded Lana of something. She narrowed her eyes and studied him closely.

Alzigo, Exhar, Level 8, Faction: Toref clan

Path: Merchant → Broker
Highest attribute: Appeal

No. of implants: 17

She was obviously getting less information on him than he was on them. He probably has a more advanced implant than mine, she thought, then she forced herself back to the conversation.

Nori nodded at the alien. “While we’re on the subject, there was something I was wondering about. Different people with the same Paths - their score is based on the same set of attributes, right?”

Alzigo nodded. “That is correct.”

“That sounds very limiting. It means there’s hardly any variation. Two human Navigators will always have roughly the same score, same capabilities. You also mentioned that some species have attributes that start naturally at fifty. That means they start off immediately with a high score, how is that fair?”

“These are good questions,” the alien said. “But it shows your ignorance of the enlightened universe.”

He paused and stared for a long moment through the window.