We discussed thrill-seeking, that dangerous collection of sports that challenged the sportsman both mentally and physically, and risked death or maiming. Angelnet surveillance and automatic mind upload took some of the edge off, but it was still an exciting pastime. My club had coined the term Sportsman Uncertainty Principle, and we joked that one had to spin a quark before the event.

“My grandmother — yes, we Post-Singularity Intelligences often have grandparents — had a habit of spouting off proverbs in our native suomen. Things like, ‘Life is uncertain, so eat your dessert first.’”

“What is suomen, Excellency?”

“The language common to Marshland, back on old Terra. Around One AT there were over five million people who spoke that language, and another seventeen million who spoke related languages; the majority of those being the fourteen million who spoke Magyar.”

“I’ve accessed the Magyar translation database from time to time,” I said. “When I need to talk with someone from új-Budapest. It’s kind of a weird language, unlike any of the Han languages, or Indo-Aryan or any of the Feringji languages. Strange, considering that the people of új-Budapest are mostly Feringji.”

“That’s Lukacs Foldenyi’s city. Poor dear won’t be at the Festival this year. Foldenyi was called outsystem by The Guo Fu’s Chamberlain to explain some stupidity he is supposed to have committed.”

Odd to hear the word “stupidity” connected with the name of a Post-Singularity Intelligence. I was smart enough not to query for details, but instead asked about the Higher Post-Singularity Intelligence, the Archailect, who owned sixteen star systems besides this one. “What is The Guo Fu like?” (literally “father/founder”)

“Like a force of nature.”

“Does The Guo Fu have a name?”

“Most likely. But that is something E shares with equals, meaning other Archailects. To us E is simply The Guo Fu .” Almost as an after-thought she added, “Lord Kedvező Sárkány of Novy Moska will be our guest this Festival. He’s of Magyar descent, so be prepared to access your language database if the opportunity arises to meet with him.”

I did a quick database search of the star system’s habitats and came up empty. “What city-state is that? Where is it located?”

“It’s not a city, but a starsystem on the other side of the Empire. Lord Sarkany is a city-lord who will be representing the Congeniality of Ozymandius.” I re-checked the database, feeling foolish, and found it. The Congeniality lay in a binary star system about thirty-four light-years away as the photon traveled.

Kauppinen stopped to admire a flowering roddenberry bush, then turned to me and said, “Lord Sárkány will no doubt make much of the fact that the overlord who governs the Congeniality has ascended to the next level while I have not. I’ve given considerable thought to ascension, but I would miss all this.” She spread her arm wide to encompass the heart of the city. “I doubt that the Visitation Festival would be of any interest once I ascend.”

“But surely the benefits outweight the losses.” She looked at me oddly, and I blushed. It was plain that I didn’t know what I was talking about.

“You’re correct, of course. I suppose I will ascend someday. When I feel ready for it.”

So, her odd look was not because I was off the mark, but because I was right on it. Sometimes the most complex things can be reduced to a simple equation.

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