Page 239 - TruthAboutLyingFinal

Nicholas Boothman
“You will.”
He let out a quiet breath. “That’s not comforting.” “It is not meant to be.”
Silence stretched between them.
“You learned the essential truth,” the Curator said. “Survival is not achieved through perfection, but through balance.”
“Doesn’t feel like balance.”
“It is not,” the Curator said. “It is process.”
“How many made it this far?” Henry asked.
“You are the first.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
“It is not meant to be.”
The Curator extended its hand.
Henry hesitated.
Then took it.
Not fully solid.
But real enough.
“You broke your world,” the Curator said. “And chose to rebuild it without certainty. That is rare.”
Henry held on a moment longer.
“One last thing,” he said. “Why bother with worlds like us at all?”
The Curator was still.
“When your kind was young, you believed advanced life would seek resources. Territory. Power.”
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