[Teacher], the Shroud Mentor hired from the Shroudwalker Enclave, had never revealed his true appearance or species. No detector could penetrate the psionic barrier that surrounded him.
He carried the secrets of psionics.
[Teacher] undoubtedly understood psionics extremely well. He was an absolute authority on all things spiritual.
"Aha, that is precisely why we are so determined to pursue the mysteries of psionics."
An arthropod approached on four exoskeletal legs.
"Te-riaz, my friend, how is life on the Ring World?" Xi Yan shook the arthropod alien's hand-a large pincer.
"Oh! Wonderful! Fantastic! I can't hunt whenever I please, but your Plant People biomass is truly delicious! I bet every organic life-form would love it! It reminds me of the big-neck trees on my Homeworld. The two taste almost identical. Someday, I'll visit my Homeworld and bring back some snacks for you. I'm sure you'll love the flavor too!"
Insectile hisses rang out as the translator continuously rendered the language of this somewhat mantis-like alien Insectoid.
This was no ordinary Insectoid, but a Leader Xi Yan had hired from the Curator Enclave at a hefty salary. Rather than exploring aboard a Science Ship, he was currently staying on the Ring World to assist with research.
Teriaz's species was unknown. In any case, he was a bug like Gorpious, though much more slender. He was about the size of a human, but had an enormous triangular head. Perhaps that was why he had become a Science Officer rather than a fleet commander like Gorpious.
He was an excellent engineer who specialized in organic-machine interfaces, and he currently led the Academy of Sciences' research in that field.
Organic-machine interface research focused on adapting and converting neural signals from organic life-forms for use with mechanical devices. Neither cybernetic ascension nor synthetic ascension could bypass