“No, they’re good thoughts,” she said. “I was wondering about something that connects. Lantern, why did the Axiom create a slave race in the first place? You said they were going along just fine on their own for millions of years, undisputed masters of creation, then fifty thousand years ago they suddenly go to a whole lot of trouble to break a sentient race to their will. They devoted a ton of resources to that project. Why do you think they did that?”

“We do not know. They never explained themselves.”

“What Ashok said, about the Axiom hiding a weakness. Maybe they suddenly needed the help. Maybe they were sick, or their population was dwindling, or they’d just extended their empire too far to govern it properly. They couldn’t keep up with everything that was happening anymore. They needed soldiers, workers, custodians, all that, right? How many of the Axiom did your kind actually see?”

“We mostly dealt with their machines,” Lantern said. “Actual meetings with the Axiom, in person, were vanishingly rare. It was like meeting a malevolent god.”

“I think the Axiom was an empire in decline,” Callie said. “Once great, but overextended, decadent, rotting, diseased, who knows what. They started to crumble, and they needed outside help to keep everything going, to keep pretending they were as invulnerable as ever. But they were too old and arrogant and set in their ways to collaborate with anyone, so they went for slavery instead.”

“That… is a plausible interpretation,” Lantern said.

“They were clearly working toward some big project, too,” Callie said.

“Sure,” Ashok said. “Maybe several projects. They went somewhere, after all. Sadistic monomaniacs don’t commit suicide. Whether they uploaded or migrated to a new universe or transitioned to being full-time energy beings, or whatever, it took a lot of preparation.”

“Maybe that’s what the rebels threatened with their attacks,” Lantern said. “Perhaps they delayed or menaced the transition.”

“That makes sense,” Callie said. “What if there were actually just a few of the Axiom left, and they were desperately trying to save themselves, and then suddenly the slaves attacked? Maybe they did some real damage, or threatened something crucial. They had to respond with overwhelming force, and keep you guys down long enough for them to finish their project.”

“They’re still trying to protect their infrastructure,” Ashok said. “Their machines are still active. Some of it might be purely automated systems they didn’t bother to switch off. But that factory on the gas giant coming to life and destroying a planet in such a weird and scary way? That’s not a robot vacuum left running when the owner goes on vacation. That’s a contingency and a deterrent.”

“If the Axiom are trying to hide something, or protect something, what could it be?”