The Oracle looked away for a moment as birds chirped softly in the distance.

“Why lie to us? Why give us false hope when you knew it would wind up like this?” Marcus asked.

“Would ye still have tried if ye knew how it was to be?”

Suddenly, Marcus grew enraged—the words flying from his mouth like fire.

“That’s not the point! I would have done things differently—we would have. You shouldn’t have decided for us how to spend our last days on our world!”

Tim joined in as his own ire grew.

“I could’ve spent more time with the people that I loved and less time chasing ghosts and shadows! I would’ve worked less and enjoyed life more regardless of what little time I had left.”

&...

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