“But there’s more than that,” Nilis said. He started to describe the condensate superstructure of the craft. “Now, condensate matter was common at a certain stage in the early universe—but a different stage from that when the spacetime defects emerged. It was a cosmic age as alien to the first as will our own far future be to us, that age when all the stars have died, and dark energy dominates the swelling of spacetime. . . . But the Xeelee, or their forebears, managed to form a partnership, a symbiosis, with these remote beings. Through that symbiosis they have managed to survive the slow unravelling of the universe—and it persists still, in the fabric of their craft.

“How do we compare, then, with the Xeelee? There are some who argue that there have been ten crucial steps in the evolution of humanity. . . .”

The ten began with the development of a DNA-based genetic code, and continued with steps Pirius understood only a little: the exploitation of oxygen to provide free energy, the use of glucose in energy metabolism, the development of photosynthesis, and the incorporation of mitochondria—like miniature power plants—into complex cells. “The first great triumph of symbiosis,” Nilis said enigmatically. His remaining steps were the formation of a nervous system, the evolution of an eye, the development of an internal skeleton to allow the colonization of dry land, the evolution of the backboned animals.

“And finally,” said Luru Parz dryly, “the magnificent emergence of Homo sap ourselves.”

Nilis said, “You might get picky about some of the steps—and alien creatures, of course, would have their own set of developmental steps—but the idea is clear enough. And certainly, for better or worse, humanity has not progressed beyond my step ten.”

“But perhaps in the Xeelee,” said Luru Parz, “we get a glimpse of what step eleven might be.”

“Yes,” mused Nilis. “We see extensions of the possibilities of life. A deep merging with technology. And a symbiosis, not just with other denizens of the same biosphere, but with aliens, different biospheres altogether—even with creatures from different ages of the universe, creatures governed by different physical laws. It’s actually a remarkable vision,” he said, almost dreamily. “It’s as if the Xeelee are more deeply embedded in the universe than we are.”

“Oh, but this is all—” Gramm seemed outraged. “Is that the message you want me to take back to the Grand Conclave, Commissary? That the Xeelee do not only possess better firepower, processing capability, tactics—they are also, in some sense, biologically superior?”

Nilis sighed, the hollows around his eyes deepening. “Minister, to destroy something, you have to understand it. We now know that the Xeelee are far older than we are, that we are dealing with relics of the antiquity of the universe. This battle of ours concerns the past as much as the present, or future.”

That hung in the air for a long moment. Then the meeting continued, even more stormily than before.

Chapter 15