Beneath Giantwood Tower, Number Seven looked at Big Sister before her and murmured:
"Why am I only finding out about all this now?"
"It wasn't my idea to keep it from you. It was Number Six's," Number One said flatly. "Number Six didn't want you burdened with any of this, much less shatter your rosy illusions about this family."
After a pause, she continued:
"Besides, under our original plan, everything could have been resolved perfectly. But because of that farce you orchestrated, Number Six died, and the Mother Tree came for you too."
Number Seven didn't argue. Instead, she asked softly:
"What was the original plan?"
"Number Six devised it," Number One said with a sigh. "After Number Two and Number Three died one after the other, Number Six began researching the Mother Tree. She was clever, probably the brightest in our family. She discovered a pattern in the Mother Tree's summons. Around the age of thirty, if we showed no signs of becoming Aeons, the Mother Tree would summon us. The fruit would fall, rot, decompose, and return to the Mother Tree as nutrients.
"I was fortunate enough to escape that summons of death. But there is only one seat at the head of the Alliance, and only one person can stand at the pinnacle of Order's Pyramid.
"Number Six came up with a solution: seize the Authority of the Aeon of Order while the Aeon slept.
"Remember what I said earlier? Our little brother, given to us by the Mother Tree, the Eye of Order.
"The Eye of Order gradually awakens as the fruit ripens, eventually causing Order to revive within him.
"We don't know why the Mother Tree made him the vessel for the Eye of Order, but we could use that opportunity to seize Order's Authority.