“It would have been impossible, completely and entirely, for any hybrid to have grown up in our society, under the force of the commonality and the synod like any other child. Even to grant the survival of such a hybrid, how harmless and gentle however, was not an easily task. Let us imagine, what would have happened had Da'ma had a wonderfully gifted sibling, called Ma'an, let us say. Da'ma himself went, very probably - his parent high ranking in the warrior cast - to all kind of schools our world has to offer to an intelligent and beloved child. He learned the elements of grammar and logic in his early ages, able to understand our greatest writers and thinkers soon afterwards. Very young he has learned all about our history, believings and has been taught how to behave as an diplomat as well as to lead a war when necessary. But he was most interested in the arts and music of our world. After a escapade about poaching some animals, he left his family rather sooner than he should have done to seek his fortune in our capital. He had it seemed a taste for our version of theater this days. Very soon he got work in the theatre, became a successful actor and lived at the hub of the universe, meeting everybody, knowing everybody, practising his art on the boards, exercising his wits in the streets, and even getting access to the place of the synod.

Meanwhile his extraordinarily gifted hybrid sibling, let us suppose, remained at home. He was adventurous, as imaginative, as agog to see the world as Da'ma was. But he was not send to school, to keep the deadly secret. Ma'an picked up a book now and then, one of his brother's perhaps, and learned as much as possible from it. The other, faster way to learn, to communicate with the commonality or the share with someone else than his parent was forbidden to him. And his parent was not eager to spend time with this one of his offsprings. He really loved both of his children, but was also always reminded of how he had been raped by an alien who had escaped the scientist caste when he saw Ma'an's young innocent face. His full functional glowing Shaqarava, his partly alien thoughts prevented the parent from showing his love. Because of fear? Perhaps the bound of love was not so strong as I think now it was?! Or for what ever foolish other reason, I don't know! Every time Ma'an tried to escape the cage his home was for him, to spend time with his older beloved sibling he felt so close to, or just to go outside as everyone else could, the parent would have spoken sharply but kindly to him. For he was a very realistic person who knew the condition of life for his hybrid child and loved it really - indeed, more likely than not he was the apple of his parent's eye. Perhaps Ma'an scribbled some pages up in an apple loft on the sly, but was careful to hide them or set fire to them, only Da'ma got access to this early works of Ma'an, and was surprised how skilful his younger sibling was with words. Feelings like love valued above all else in his plays, persons were described in a way that they started to live in the reader's mind, even if the play was not performed. And the most important thing: every play would be able to open the eyes of the audience to all kinds of injustice without judging anybody, because Ma'an could clearly see that no evil occurred without reason, all actions of a person where only reactions to his world. The same deep understanding was shown in his political speeches, all written in the dark and hidden forever...... Perhaps they would have changed our history, but perhaps nothing would have been different.

Soon, however, before he really left childhood behind, he was to be betrothed to a friend of the family the only other taelon who knew about Ma'ans dark secret. He cried out that bounding was hateful to him, and for that he was severly mentally beaten by his parent. Then the parent ceased to scold him. He begged him to reconsider and to give in for his own good; and there were tears in his parent eyes. How could Ma'an disobey him? How could he break his parent's heart? The force of his own gift alone drove him to it. He made up a small parcel of his belongings, let himself down by a rope one summer's night and took a road to our capital. He was not out of his childhood. The birds that sang in the hedge were not more musical than he was. He had the quickest fancy, a gift like his brother's, for the tune of words. Like him he had a taste for the theatre. He stood at the stage door; he wanted to act and without thinking Ma'an opened his mind to the stranger before him to introduce himself and ask his questions as well as to show his undoubted gifted mind. The commonality, curious about it's so long so well hidden member of theirs, started to read every thought and every memory out of the overwhelmed child's head. It only took seconds to break all his defence and Ma'an's young live and - more important his origin - were open to everyone. He didn't understand the significance of it, he knew he was different and was told that this differences endangered him, but he was too young, too open minded to understand the extent of his predicament. Da'ma, sensing the shudder in the communality, did understand! Fortunately, he visited the theater his smaller sibling had chosen to ask for his chance. He almost jumped out of his energy stream and ran as fast as possible downstairs, to grab his brother's hand and to pull Ma'an with him. They made it almost to the nearest shuttle airport, but were caught before they could enter the craft. Knowing very well what would happen to his younger sibling Da'ma grabbed his brother's hand to sooth his thoughts and forced a deep sharing with him. He told him how much he cared about him, that he should stay on his path, how much he admired his work and how much he loved him.... and he instructed him how to protect himself and how to behave after his next actions. Ma'an didn't understand what his brother had in mind, but didn't asked, for he trusted his sibling with his live. But he was not prepared for what happened next.

Da'ma concentrated all his thoughts and strength, and pulled in addition as much energy from his surroundings and the commonality as possible. He started to glow brightly and still in mind contact with his sibling, too occupied with his task to break the contact, he searched for the contact with his parent. He gave him all his knowledge about Ma'an and parts of his own essence to his fellow taelon. Than he put all his energy in an intentional mindburst, than he faded away and with him all the knowledge the commonality has had about his brother, except of his parent. In the same seconds he transferred his own line of life to his brother, so that everyone would think everything Da'ma had reached in his life would have occurred to Ma'an. Screaming inside, tears rolling down his cheeks Ma'an obeyed the instructions his brother has given him. Not knowing to behave otherwise he went home and stayed for month in his room. First just sitting in his chair, thinking over what had occurred, willing to embrace the void, when ever it would call for him. But with the time passing, his thoughts, his very being hardened. He trained his new ability to hide the “different” parts of him from the communality, not willing to let them find out what he was and to hunt him again. He also hardened his heart against his parent, not without reason if he would have gotten a little bit more room for his own thoughts and believings for his opinion, if he had not had to face this hated bounding, he would never have left his home and his brother would be still alive. Ma'an started a career in the diplomatic cast and was soon higher ranked as anyone else his age had ever been. But all love, understanding and gentleness has died in him in the second Da'ma has given his live......”

Here cracked Da'an's voice and his head was bent down to the floor. Liam has realized that Da'an had changed involuntarily from the “let us suppose” in which his explanations has began to a story - true and certainly concerning his own life. The further the story went, the more his friend has become agitated and........ upset?

Patiently the young protector, younger than he seemed to be, waited that Da'an would precede of his own. But the alien remained silent.

An almost unthinkable idea came to his mind, could it be that................... NO, no that was entirely impossible. Or was it not? He heard himself break the silence and ask in a low pitched voice: “ The child, it is Zo'or, is it not?”

A short nod from the seated alien.

“And..... and..... you are his parent?” he wanted to know, his voice shaking with emotion.

Again a short nod.

“Why did you change his name in the story?” Liam asked to break the silence again, not because of real interest. He was still too shocked by this unexpected revelation to be curious about anything.

First it seemed that the North American Companion was not going to answer.

“I didn't really change his name. That would have been his name - his true name - build from my own and the one of my sibling when he would have had his origins, as his brother had, only from taelons. I thought I could not bear it to call him like that, so he got a name nothing to do with my own or my family.”

Then the alien lost control of his facade and did not bother to try to regain it in front of the human standing in front of him again.

A barely audible voice asked: “Do you understand now, Liam, why I can't take *any* actions against him? No matter if he is a threat to my life, or not? No matter what mistakes he made as leader? No matter how cruel his actions seemed to be? All that is my fault, my fault alone....”

“Do you understand now?”