To make it easier for Boss Slick to understand, Cegorach also projected a sequence of evolving images into his consciousness, beginning with the Big Bang.
"Our existence and that of the C'tan are two sides of the same coin. You could call us brothers. The difference is that they chose to concentrate their divine authority and power in individuals, evolving toward the greatest possible individual strength.
Whereas we chose to expand our population like ordinary intelligent life, evolving as a civilization of social groups."
"We developed into two groups. Though our paths differed and we had our conflicts, with periods of both war and peace, those conflicts were controllable on the whole."
"We began using our extraordinary powers to change this universe. We saw ourselves as gardeners, striving to turn the Galaxy into a beautiful garden."
"We dispersed high-energy particles to lower the temperature of the universe, making it easier for more life to emerge. We pulled massive gravitational sources such as black holes apart to prevent them from attracting one another and merging again. We made our garden orderly and neat."
"Our technology and power grew ever stronger, and we gained access to more universal constants. The C'tan gradually became the pinnacle of physics. We could alter certain physical constants and make the universe operate as we wished."
Cegorach's words left Boss Slick deeply shaken. He murmured to himself, "You were like almighty gods..."
"Yes, we were like gods. Many newly emerged intelligent species also regarded us as gods, and we possessed the pride and arrogance of gods. But..."
At this point, Cegorach's voice grew despondent and subdued...
"But... the moment the Higher-Dimensional Beings set pen to paper, everything changed..."
"Everyone-us... and the C'tan-went mad. We began fighting, slaughtering, and destroying one another. It was utterly meaningless, yet we