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Now, humanity has become confronted by a more modern and alien version of the same notion.

"Let me ask you this, then. Which of the two emerged first: phase whales or phasewater?"

Everyone immediately fell into thought as they tried to formulate a personal answer based on the information that they had in their possession.

An associate spoke up first. "We do not have enough reliable information to form a definite answer. One of the greatest uncertainties is whether phase whales are a naturally evolved species that is indigenous to the Red Ocean or whether they are artificially created by a hypothetical predecessor race that is colloquially known in the local alien community as the mythical Elder Gods. If it is the former, then phase whales most likely evolved under the influence of the abundant quantities of phasewater in their home planet. If it is the latter, then there is a greater possibility that they were specifically designed to synthesize phasewater in their bodies."

The Master at the front grinned. "There are a great number of assumptions packed in your response. Let us go over them and consider whether they are viable, shall we? Let us start with the first assumption: phase whales are capable of synthesizing phasewater in their enormous physical bodies. This is one of the most prevalent myths among the indigenous aliens, but it also happens to be correct. Our Association has captured and examined the physical processes of enough phase whales to confirm that this theory is true. At a certain point in their life cycle, phase whales are able to produce phasewater in their own bodies."

This was a clear-cut answer that clarified the doubts of many of the attendees!

It partially explained why the other major races revered the phase whales so much. Calling them gods did not sound as unreasonable as before if the phase whales could actually generate phasewater that much of the Red Ocean depended upon to sustain their local technologies.

However, this led to a bunch of other questions. Ves had a more personal stake on this topic. As much as he did not want to portray himself as an attention seeker, he could not resist the urge to raise his hand at this time.

"Ah, the man of the hour desires to satisfy his curiosity. What is your question, Professor Larkinson?"

Ves stood up and tried his best to maintain his calm as hundreds of eyes scrutinized his form.

"You told us that phase whales can generate phasewater in their bodies. Does the same apply to phase lords as well?"

The Master Mech Designer responded with a rueful smile. "We are still undertaking research on this topic. We have yet to capture and dissect a sufficient quantity of phase lords to offer a conclusive answer to this question. It may take a year to solve this particular mystery. The clues that we have gathered so far suggest that phase lords are poor imitations of phase whales. What the latter are able to do with straightforward self-augmentations, the former must undertake vastly greater effort as well as dubious experimental procedures to catch up. The topic of phase lords deserves its own session, so let us return to the topic at hand."

Ves sat down as the presenter activated a projection that showed a simplified diagram of the internal organs of a \'typical\' phase whale.

"Phase whales exhibit an extensive degree of diversity in size, shape, evolution and abilities. This is because their natural growth stops at a certain point. Instead of settling for their mature forms like many other races, they have opted to utilize their high mastery in biotechnology to augmented their own bodies according to their tastes, their scientific knowledge base and the resources they have at hand."

The projection highlighted a number of interconnected organs that looked exceedingly mysterious and complicated. Even Ves understood nothing about it as his basic grasp of biotechnology failed to provide him with any useful insights.

"Every phase whale beyond a certain point of maturity boast a system of complementary and related organs that are capable of producing phasewater. We call this the phasewater production system or PPS for short. We have dedicated many studies towards these organs. This has enabled us to determine many important findings. For example, do you know that the PPS is not a product of natural evolution? When every phase whale ages and reaches maturity, the alien develops numerous precursor organs in their bodies that can help them regulate and control any phasewater they have absorbed from their environment. However, the precursor organs cannot produce the key substance itself unless the phase whales have upgraded them through biotechnological means."

That sounded both impressive and strange to the audience of the open session.

"What prevents the phase whales from altering their genes and make their future generations develop complete PPS for themselves as they age?"

"There are many possible reasons why that is the case." The Master replied. "We do not have any definite answers to this question. A probable answer is that a PPS is resource intensive. A phase whale must obtain a sizable quantity of phasewater in order to develop a means to produce it. If an adolescent phase whale grows up in a gas giant or other environment that is already depleted of the substance, then he will die of \'starvation\' if his PPS cannot receive the resources needed to grow to maturity."

That sounded plausible, but not too much. The phase whales should have enough grasp of their own genes to be able to develop a safety mechanism that pauses the development of their precursor organs if they were stuck in a region that was devoid of phasewater.

"Another possible answer is that the phase whales do not want their offspring to grow lazy. We have received scattered pieces of information that indicate that self-augmentation is a rite of passage to the phase whale race. Every specimen must use their own means and knowledge to transform their precursor organs into a working phasewater production system. This is a powerful motivating factor. It is harsh but ensures that the average quality of every mature phase whale remains high."

"What about the phase whales who fail this rite of passage?"

"They are shunned and treated as outcasts." The Master replied in a factual tone. "We rarely encounter them because the unqualified phase whales presumably remain stuck on their home planets without a means to travel to other places. What is interesting is that we have information that not every unqualified phase whale is content to stay in their home environments. There are stories where these delinquents have chosen to prey on other phase whales for the purpose of preying on the latter\'s PPS. This allows them to obtain the benefit of these essential organs without putting in the hard work of developing them on their own. There are obvious sequelae to this approach, and it is a great taboo in the phase whale community. It is exceedingly rare for these unclean whales to enjoy good lives."

That explained so much to Ves!

Having encountered these delinquents himself, Ves had always wondered about the motivations of their criminal acts. For them to be desperate enough to steal the PPS of more successful phase whales made a lot of sense!

The Master gazed into the crowd and more specifically towards Ves as he spoke his next words.

"While I have agreed to limit the scope of this session to phase whales, it may be interesting for you to learn that phase lords do not possess the precursor organs of a phasewater production system. This is one of the reasons why there is a hard line between lesser phase lords and greater phase lords. The vast majority of other native aliens who have attempted to imitate the so-called descendants of the Elder Gods have never moved beyond the stage of a lesser phase lord due to their inability to produce phasewater."

That caused Ves and many other people to look puzzled or curious.

"If that is the case, Master, then how have greater phase lords managed to come into being?"

"The answer is simple. They have obtained and assimilated the PPS of mature phase whales."

What?!

Ves never expected to hear such a shocking revelation in an open session!

"This is not an absolute certainty, but our confidence level in this conclusion is fairly high." The presenter spoke. "This is because in the rare cases where we have managed to obtain the bodies of greater phase lords, we have always found PPS embedded inside that are clearly foreign body tissue with vastly different genes and other biological markers. It is impossible for these native alien \'gods\' to evolve their PPS on their own or develop it through their own biotechnological efforts. They have gained the capacity to produce phasewater by \'taking\' it from the descendants of the Elder Gods."

"That should be impossible." A woman interrupted. "The native aliens revere the descendants of the Elder Gods too much to do the latter harm. The very notion of it is regarded as blasphemy. Sinners will be treated with the same degree of contempt as unclean whales in alien society."

The presenter shook his head. "That is a highly simplified perspective on alien society. The rules and relations between the different alien races are not as clear-cut as they like to present to the public. The other major alien races are in constant cooperation as well as competition with the phase whale race. The latter is regarded as primer inter pares in the alien community, but they may very well be treated as mobile PPS incubation livestock by the leaders of the other alien races. The actual truth is more complex, multi-faceted and nuanced."

"Is it possible for greater phase lords to come into power by relying on different solutions that do not depend on obtaining the PPS of other phase whales?"

"We do not know enough about them to issue a definite verdict. Our most predominant theory is that it is technically possible, but the threshold is too high. It is far too impractical for lesser phase lords to develop a means to produce phasewater themselves when they lack the tech and possess no native precursor organs to work with. The most accessible solution is to receive a PPS by any means necessary. We are not quite certain, but our studies on alien society has shown that there are a number of prominent greater phase lords who have most likely promoted their bodies by stealing the PPS of other phase whales. We do not know why they have not received any sanction from the phase whale race. It may be that checks and balances prevent the latter from overreaching."

That sounded rather complicated and hinted at a complicated web of interspecies relationships.

"However, we have also identified a number of greater phase lords that have been awarded with PPS by the phase whales after earning great merit. This shows that there is an avenue for a member of another alien race to obtain their own phasewater production systems through legitimate means. The greater phase lords who have come into power through this fashion are often regarded as the strongest supporters and sycophants of phase whales. This is logical as the latter only wishes to promote aliens that can promote their interests."

It sounded as if a large chunk of greater phase lords were effectively traitors to their original races.

They were the Red Ocean versions of cosmopolitans!

The presenter quickly went back to explaining his views on the relationship between phasewater and phase whales.

Ves listened with rapt attention as every piece of information he learned about this broad subject matter was highly relevant to his own interests!