“And here we are,” Sittas murmured.
“Exactly,” Clanthas said. “The situation is completely out of control. All we want is for Shinar to be left in peace. We do not want to become a cog in your Empire. Neither do we want to become vassals of the Komani. Yet the Terrans and the Komani are fighting over us, turning our own world into a battleground. No matter who wins, we will lose.”
“All we want is to be left alone,” said another Shinarian.
Vorgens answered, quietly and patiently, “That is a dream that will not come to pass in my lifetime or in yours. Shinar will not be left alone. It can’t be left alone, no matter how much you wish it to be. If the Terrans don’t make you part of their Empire, the Komani or someone else will. The simple truth is that Shinar is not powerful enough to remain completely independent. You never were. Before the Terrans, you were ruled by the Masters, remember. You were never alone. No nation is. Or could be.”
“Then what choice do we have?” a Shinarian blurted miserably. “Must we stand meekly by and watch you and the Komani rip our world to pieces in a battle to see which of you will be our overlord?”
“Your choice.” Vorgens reasoned, “is one of degree. It may be possible. I think, for you to work out some system of self-government within the Terran Empire. I know that other nations have done this. I can’t see why Shinar couldn’t—in time. Within the Empire, there is the hope of eventual self-government. Not the total freedom that Merdon wants, perhaps, but a good part of it. Under the Komani, you have nothing to look forward to except destruction and death.”