“If someone does not have enough strength to fight for his own life, why should others rush to save them?”
“Because people should help each other!”
“Help was never denied to them: Andre’s knowledge was, and remains to be, accessible to everyone – the Gates of Life as well.”
The young man sighed deeply.
“How can your ideas be so rational and simultaneously so contradicting with everything I believe in? All this philosophy is totally void of any compassion!”
“It’s not true,” answered Lora calmly. “Compassion and help are not foreign to our society. However, any conscious living being must take responsibility for his life.”
It took more than a month for the ‘Solar Flotilla’ to settle on Vistana’s orbit. Lora and her friends patiently waited for the Council’s affairs to go back to normal and asked for a meeting.
Soft dim sunset lighting in the councillor’s office didn’t prevent Lora from feeling fresh as if it were early morning.
“The Council is meeting tomorrow at eleven,” Jean sat in an armchair and looked intently at the girl opposite to him, “We’ll consider your suggestion, but you must be ready to provide strong arguments in its favour. The distance to Earth is quite long; moreover, the lack of information about the current events there doesn’t guarantee the safety of such an expedition.”
“I’ll get ready for the meeting. I don’t think the Council will be against Derek and Paul being there? Our guest has his own reasons…”
“… And the shuttle captain will tell us about the technical details of a possible expedition,” the councillor finished her thought.
“That’s right.”
“You’re already quite well prepared! Alright, let’s see what the Council will say.”
Excited with the appointment, Lora immediately headed for Paul’s apartment. When she went inside, she saw him working on the holographic interface of the central computer. Derek was holding a thin transparent tablet displaying data from the archives.
“How did it go?” asked Lora. Both men simultaneously took their eyes off their work.
“I’m almost done with the calculations,” answered Paul.
“And I got to learn about the history of the ‘Solar Flotilla’ voyages in more detail,” added Derek. “Any news from the Council?”
“Tomorrow at eleven we’ll have an opportunity to present all our arguments to them. We’re all going to attend the meeting, no exceptions.”