Page 168 of Light Leech

I looked at Naoma, eyebrows tented in confusion.

“How long have you been living in this body?” she asked.

“A few decades, enough to—“

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“How so?”

“Zhou’s bones would have died with the old Earth.”

“What good is an organization without a proper historian to collect such important relics?”

“Explain or I’m going to rip out that tube.”

His voice went higher. “Have you met the Correction yet?”

“Yes,” I lied.

“Then you know what they keep in those vaults. That and so much more.”

She eyed me. It was best to keep it at that until Ralia and I could explore whatever we found at the end of the neurocore journey. I felt an itch to use the “realignment” file she had sent me.

“Why you?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” he replied.

“What does some ancient king have to do with this?”

“Pleasure. That is all one needs in entertainment.”

Naoma sent me a message.

Naoma: A quick search on the neuronet shows that he was a tyrant known for debauchery and an absence of morals. Who better to run the entertainment side of the tide?

Petya: Are you being sarcastic?

Naoma: No, I’m serious. If you need someone who can lull the public through entertainment, he knows the pleasures more than most. To build a legacy on debauchery fits it well. It takes a hedonist to make a nation of them. If he claims to understand the essence of pleasure, he knows how to inspire it in others. Most humans today aren’t like you. They’re simple creatures that feed their pleasures and look for nothing more in life. That is what entertainment thrives on: finding what creatures pleasure and using that for gain. Learn how to please and you can control the mass. That’s why he writes the plots.

Petya: You kept talking with him about those “plots.” What does that mean?

“You see it now, don’t you?” He pulled me away from the messages. “Life is simple and you’re overcomplicating it with a false heroism that will get you killed.”

I shook my head and returned back to my neurospace.

Naoma: That’s what his Dynasty is. I had heard about him before but my conversations with him after you passed out solidified my understanding. The Violet elites, like the Hollywood you hear about in those stories of the old earth, is a society of stories used to move the public. Give them these false gods to worship through music and mindshows and they will move with them.

Petya: I always thought it was tragic to see so many people base their lives on mindshow actors whose very job is to lie for a living.

Naoma: Exactly. Relationships between stars to stir up drama, fabrications written by Zhou and his people to get people more invested in these elites and their products. Conspiracy theories and similar scandals aimed at certain elites? Those are written to those who betray the Dynasty. Philanthropy and political activism? Stories to make the public adore these liars like you said. None of these people are living real lives. They are doing what Zhou says to raise his empire, kingdom, or whatever it is. It’s the tide. All of these schemes and stories that breed devotion for false gods are aimed at raising the Gondtide.

Petya: And you were part of that?

Naoma: I can’t even guess how many narratives I was a part of.

Petya: But you’re out of it. Let’s use that.

I exited the neurospace and spoke to Zhou. “Who is Naoma?”