Universal brotherhood will welcome you into its fold.

Amitiel Citadel, Neptune Orbit

The cold, cosmic satisfaction still resonated in the command room after the outline of the plan for the restructuring of human society on Terra. Amitiel watched Cthulhu's manifestation, his Netlin mind already processing the myriad variables for the implementation of the "New Rules."

Then, Cthulhu's vast, alien consciousness stirred again, his guttural, reality-warping "voice" filling the psychic space.

"Next, Younger Brother Amitiel..." the Ancient One projected, its many wandering eyes seeming to focus on the distant, turbulent regions of the solar system where Lyran fleets still offered a fragmented and desperate resistance. "The... splinters... of those broken civilizations. The Reptilians, the Grays, the Insectoid Swarms." Their current 'truce' with your legions is a convenience born of their terror, not their loyalty. They are... unstable. Inefficient in their current state of anarchy.>>

Amitiel nodded, his face a mask of serene attention. "Their resistance against your Truth and our Order is... predictably futile, Great Dreamer. But their continued existence in a state of defiance, however impotent, creates dissonance in the Grand Design."

<> Cthulhu vibrated. <>

"'Convince' them?" Amitiel repeated, a nuance of his own cold logic in the question. "Or 'recalibrate' them to a more... harmonious understanding?"

A ripple that could be interpreted as a mirthless, cosmic laugh emanated from Cthulhu. "Both of you, Younger Brother. Both of you. As with the dust motes of Terra, we will sow... or rather, nurture the already existing seeds of... internal conflict within your own fractured populations. Faction against faction within your own species. Ideologies that seem born of your own desperation or ambition, but whose roots we will nurture in the darkness. Let you weaken further. Let you fear the anarchy you breed. Let you yearn... for a firm, ordering hand to guide you out of your own self-inflicted chaos."

"An echo of the strategy for Terra," Amitiel observed, "but tailored to your greater... complexity and resilience."

<> Cthulhu continued, and a trace of what might have been cosmic disdain filtered into his projection, <>

The Ancient One focused his vast intent. <> A catalyst for the reconfiguration of local reality and the sustenance of those who devotedly serve the Ordered Void and the Cold Light of Absolute Knowledge.>>

Amitiel processed the directive. "A masterful approach, Great Old One. We will offer them 'protection' from the chaos we ourselves will subtly foster. We will support leaders 'chosen' for their... 'wisdom' to embrace the New Order. We will guide them toward an apparent 'era of stability and renewed purpose' under our aegis."

Cthulhu gave another pulse of approval. <> and here Cthulhu's "voice" became almost a whisper that chilled the stars, <<...always with a much purer intention behind it, the intention of Absolute Harmony, of the Perfect Silence that precedes and follows all creation... Or at least, that is what they, and perhaps even some of our less... evolved... will fervently believe.>>

The directive was clear and terrible. <> Cthulhu continued, <>

<

Populations... everything will be... utilized and redistributed according to the Cosmic Order that was always meant to be. An order that we, together, will finally impose upon this rebellious and chaotic sector of the universe, preparing it for the Grand Unification.>>

Amitiel's smile widened, a vision of cold and perfect symmetry. "The Grand Confederation will expand, encompassing the prodigal children of Lyra. The Universal Brotherhood will welcome them into its fold... whether they like it or not. And their 'adrenaline,' their fear and their controlled struggle, will fuel our ascension and the stability of the New Aeon."

In the citadel of Neptune, plans for the subjugation and exploitation of multiple alien races were being woven with the same cold efficiency as those destined for humanity. The game board was the solar system, and Cthulhu and Amitiel moved their pieces with the certainty of gods who had already won the game.