The first extraterrestrial merchant arrived three hours after the apocalypse began. This irritated Elias considerably. He had expected diplomats. Conquerors. Scientists. Perhaps soldiers. He had not expected a solicitor. The thing appeared in Ritual Chamber Four without warning.
One moment the chamber was empty. The next, someone stood inside the copper circle.
Elias raised his pistol.
The visitor raised all three hands.
"Physical aggression prohibited."
Its English was flawless.
Elias stared.
The being was approximately five feet tall, narrow, covered in pale green scales and dressed in a dark garment resembling the unfortunate child of a business suit and ceremonial robes. Three arms. Two eyes. One mouth. No visible nose. A collection of metal rings hung from one ear. Elias kept the pistol aimed.
"You teleported into my laboratory."
"Incorrect."
"Really?"
"I projected a contract-authorised representative interface into your laboratory."
"You're not physically here?"
"No."
Elias shot it.
The bullet passed through the visitor and shattered a display panel.
Silence.
The alien looked at the destroyed monitor. Elias lowered the pistol.
"Confirmed."
"You could have asked."
"Questions permit deception."
The alien tilted its head.
"You are Elias Vale."
"Doctor."
"Doctor Elias Vale."
"Better."
"Your species has activated unusually quickly."
Elias's eyes narrowed.
"Activated?"
The alien ignored the question.
"Approximately zero point zero zero three percent of newly integrated populations develop structured arcane practice during the first local cycle."
"How many have we?"
"That information is commercially restricted."
"How many?"
"Purchaseable."
"You've been here thirty seconds and I dislike you."
"A common response."
The alien produced something from its sleeve. A rectangle of black material floated between them.
Symbols appeared.
Then English.
PRE-INTEGRATION RESEARCH ACQUISITION AGREEMENT.
Elias stared.
"No."
"I have not presented the terms."
"You called it an acquisition agreement."
"Correct."
"No."
"The compensation may interest you."
"It won't."
"Four hundred and sixty thousand Standard Exchange Marks."
"What is that worth?"
The alien's mouth moved slightly.
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
A smile, perhaps.
"Approximately enough to purchase exclusive ownership of a modest inhabited moon in several frontier regions."
Elias stared.
He lowered the gun.
"Continue."
The alien brightened.
"Excellent."
"I didn't say yes. I'm recalibrating my understanding of the offer."
The document expanded.
"Your archive contains pre-integration theoretical models with unexpected compatibility to active arcane mechanics. My principals seek exclusive acquisition of all unpublished materials, removal of publicly accessible copies where possible, and a ten-standard-year restriction on further dissemination."
Elias became very still.
"You want me to delete it."
"Correct."
"Why?"
"Commercial advantage."
"For whom?"
"Restricted."
"Species?"
"Restricted."
"Government?"
"Restricted."
"Corporation?"
"Restricted."
"Cult?"
The alien paused.
"Definition dependent."
Elias smiled.
"That means yes."
The being continued.
"Upon agreement, your personal status would be recognised under protected commercial research provisions. You would receive relocation privileges, private laboratory access, a substantial resource allowance and protection from several foreseeable local threats."
"Humanity?"
"Your agreement would apply only to yourself and explicitly registered dependants."
"So no."
The alien blinked.
"Elias Vale, the offered compensation exceeds the likely total economic output of your current personal holdings by several orders of magnitude."
"Doctor."
"Doctor Vale."
"And I said no."
"May I inquire why?"
Elias walked closer.
"You arrived on a planet currently experiencing mass casualty events."
"Correct."
"You know what's happening."
"Broadly."
"You possess information."
"Some."
"And your first action was to purchase information from the people being attacked."
The alien considered.
"That is not precisely accurate."
"Explain."
"I was not permitted to arrive earlier."
That stopped him.
"Permitted by whom?"
The alien glanced upward.
Not at the ceiling.
Beyond it.
"The Integration Accord."
Elias said nothing.
The visitor seemed to realise negotiation had entered useful territory.
"Newly opened civilisations are protected."
Elias laughed.
He pointed at a monitor showing something eating cars in Birmingham.
"Poorly."
"Protection does not mean safety."
"What does it mean?"
"Direct annexation is prohibited."
Elias's expression changed.
"Direct."
"Correct."
"Define direct."
The alien hesitated.
Elias smiled.
"There it is."
"Established powers may not deploy military formations for the primary purpose of territorial conquest during the protected period. They may not intentionally cause species-level extinction. They may not forcibly transfer planetary sovereignty. Several categories of coercive technological uplift are restricted. Direct interference with native governance is limited."
"But trade is allowed."
"Yes."
"Recruitment?"
"Within restrictions."
"Buying land?"
"Subject to local consent."
"Buying governments?"
The alien's silence lasted slightly too long.
Elias laughed.
"Wonderful."
"You misunderstand."
"I understand perfectly."
The treaty wasn't designed to protect Earth. It was designed to regulate competition over Earth. Old powers could not simply invade.
So they would buy.
Influence. Bribe. Recruit. Sponsor. Manipulate. Let humans kill each other. Then purchase whatever remained. Elias thought of history. Nothing about the concept was particularly alien.
"How long is the protected period?"
"Variable."
"Based on?"
"Integration metrics."
"Which are?"
"Restricted."
"Everything useful is restricted."
"Everything useful has value."
Elias looked at the contract again. A moon. Protection. Knowledge. Access to alien magical science.
The offer was absurd.
For forty-one years, he had wanted nothing more. There were laboratories elsewhere. Real magical laboratories.
Libraries.
Civilisations with thousands of years of spell research.
Artifacts.
Teachers.
Answers.
He could take the offer. Protect Catherine. Protect Lucy. Leave. Let governments fight over scraps. Let humanity stumble through magic without him.
Elias imagined it.
For approximately six seconds. Then he opened a terminal.
"Myrddin."
"Yes?"
"How much of the Archive has propagated?"
"Complete copies confirmed in twenty-seven countries. Partial copies in eighty-nine. Peer-to-peer distribution accelerating."
The alien's head snapped toward the speaker.
"You have already distributed it?"
"Most of it."
"You must cease."
"No."
The being's polite demeanour cracked.
"You do not understand the value of what you possess."
"I've been telling people that for thirty years."
"This is different."
"Apparently."
"Your models could shorten native arcane development considerably."
"Good."
"No. Not good."
The alien stepped forward.
"Your species is not unified."
Elias looked at it.
That was the first sensible thing it had said.
"Obviously."
"Then consider the consequences. Your information will not empower humanity. There is no singular humanity. It will empower governments. Criminal organisations. Ideological factions. Militias. Corporations. Cults. Individuals."
"Yes."
"They will kill one another."
"Yes."
"They will create weapons."
"Yes."
"They will commit atrocities."
Elias looked at the screens.
"They're already doing that."
"And your archive will increase their capability."
That landed.
Not because he hadn't considered it.
Because he had.
The Children of the First Circle. Blood rituals. Idiots modifying his procedures. Human beings now possessed access to an energy source nobody understood. Public information could save millions. It could also kill millions.
"You still refuse?" the alien asked.
Elias looked at the contract.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you want me to accept."
The alien stared.
Elias smiled without humour.
"I don't know you. I don't know your principals. I don't know your economy, politics, laws, history, biology or intentions. But I do know you're willing to pay me the equivalent of a moon to delay humanity's magical development."
"That is an oversimplification."
"Then the information is worth considerably more than you're offering."
The alien was silent.
Elias's smile widened.
"That's what I thought."
The contract vanished.
"You may regret this."
"Almost certainly."
"My principals may return."
"Tell them to bring better data."
The being began fading.
"Doctor Vale?"
"Yes?"
"Do not mistake protection under the Accord for equality."
Elias's expression hardened.
"I wouldn't dream of it."
The alien disappeared.
Myrddin waited three seconds.
"Would you genuinely have accepted a larger offer?"
"No."
"Then why imply otherwise?"
"Because now they'll increase it."
"What purpose does that serve?"
Elias sat down.
"It tells us how frightened they are."