"So, you're calling me to another war? To serve as someone's body, a living vessel for a parasite?" the woman asked.
"If it were that simple, no one would even ask," Isara replied. "But yes, this is another war in space, against the Old Gods of Earth, who have enslaved the human race and scattered it across the galaxy."
This was yet another interview, which, frankly, made Isara sick. Especially with how often candidates refused. A significant part of Szareh's plans depended on Egeria having a host, but Isara had no intention of lowering her recruitment standards or deceiving anyone.
"But are the Goa'uld fighting the same?" the woman clarified.
"Biologically, yes. However, ideologically, the Tok'ra share control over the human body with the individual themselves, granting them an additional 300-400 years of life."
"If this is such a good offer, why don't you accept it yourself?"
"Because Egeria is a queen. She will bear Tok'ra, and the host will regard each one as their own child. We are going to war, and they will be born for war. To treat one's own children as tactical units, toying with their lives… I'm not sure I'm capable of such a thing," Isara answered honestly, holding nothing back. "You think I'd agree to such a thing, do you?" the woman asked.
"Everyone has their price. My planet is a forge, a forge for the liberation of the galaxy from the rule of megalomaniacs, compared to whom all Nazis are but pitiful imitators. In the struggle for his independence and ascension to System Lord—the highest feudal title of the Goa'uld—Baal destroyed two planetary systems. 60 million people died. This was not out of malice; it was simply the arrival of his master's fleet, to whom he submitted. It was destroyed by a star explosion—it is not known for certain how Baal accomplished this. But with the death of 60 million, the star of a new System Lord rose. The Goa'uld do not build death camps like the German ones. Slaves work to exhaustion in mines or fields. If they work poorly, they are killed."
"Isn't it possible to rise up?"
"The Jaffa are the Goa'uld's samurai, fanatically devoted. Their immune system is linked to the presence of a Goa'uld larva in a special sac located in the Jaffa's abdomen. If they betray their masters, they will die without receiving new larvae. And rebellion... The Goa'uld have air and space superiority, so any rebellion without a technological advantage is simply foolish. Szarekh, as a demonstration of the power of his ship, destroyed a mountain with a single shot. In space warfare mode, the Goa'uld can exchange plasma charges with a yield of 200 megatons. So any rebellion is pointless unless it has significant technological advantages, the resources to build a fleet, produce food, ammunition, and recruit new recruits. And Earth cannot become such a power. Even if you were given technology, you are relatively close to the territory of Ra and Heruur. Long-range scanning stations would have detected the movements of ships in hyperspace, large ones at that. And ships would have been dispatched here to investigate. Earth would have been forced to fight the United Goa'uld Empire, which would have amassed thousands of heavy battleships in the system. Thus, they would have destroyed the threat to their existence. It's far more profitable to be one of them, since the rise of yet another feudal lord attracts less attention than the rise of a new spacefaring species. Szarekh doesn't need to fight the entire Empire immediately after declaring himself lord, only minor incursions.
"However, he captured your planet, as you claim."
"Yes."
"And this doesn't bother you at all?"
"It was worrying before, and it still is. But this is the reality: the galaxy is ruled by serpentine parasites, and to defeat them, you must ally with parasites more loyal to you. Isn't that what your own country did to survive? It allied with the capitalist United States to supply it with military products that saved countless lives. Given Asgard's power, Nox and the Furlings retreated because the Goa'uld could mobilize massive fleets. Even if an Asgardian ship outnumbered them five to one, the Goa'uld, with an even greater force, could win. From that perspective, my decision isn't so wrong. It's questionable from the standpoint of the interests of the human race, but I can't speak for all of humanity... It would be too arrogant, after all, humanity lives on thousands of planets, perhaps tens of thousands."
"What if I refuse?"
"I'll erase your memory. There's no need for you to know such things and constantly question your decision," Isara said firmly. To avoid constantly being present during the negotiations, Szareh's wife created for her a primitive version of a ribbon device capable of autonomous actions, such as creating a shield.
"Can I see Egeria?"
Isara nodded.
"To do this, we must travel to my home planet, Urvashi. We will be happy to welcome you, but I will introduce you as one of my handmaidens. The Jaffa of Szarekh are not supposed to know much."
"Aren't they his loyal army?"
"No. Loyalty is acquired over time. When a Jaffa has children, they serve a new Goa'uld. Szarekh bought the Jaffa from Ra. The only loyalty these people currently owe is to the Supreme Ruler of the Goa'uld, Ra. They must believe we act with the blessing and sanction of the supreme 'god.' In the past, Egeria lost to Ra because he unraveled her plan to crush his forces with a coup."
"An army of slaves is strange."
"In fact, it's simply the truth. They think they're warriors of the gods, but in reality, they're just slaves. The same is true for any army."
"That's not true!" the woman objected.
"On my planet, there's only one state. Our army is a police force. Earth is different in that regard. A US Marine general wrote a very good book: 'War is a racket.' There's a lot of money to be made in wars. The Nazis, the Americans, the British, and, of course, your government did it."
"They are capitalists."
"So you didn't conquer new production facilities for your country, where, under the barrel of your machine gun, communists were found who raised the flag and agreed with Stalin's opinion that they would produce for the benefit of the USSR?" Isara asked ironically. "I'm not trying to dissuade you from your political ideals, for which you shed your blood. I'm simply pointing out that the Goa'uld, commanding an army of slaves, are the most honest politicians. I say this because, in the 500 years of my planet's independence, we have never waged war. The army existed to maintain order—against criminals and organized gangs. The concept of war against other states or planets is unusual for me, so I studied everything I could on the subject. And I discovered that as the highest political leader, I must take one important step: convince my soldiers that the enemy is not human and not worthy of life. This gave the Jaffa significant advantage over you." "But these troops will carry out orders without question—to kill a village, a city, or even a planet. They don't see other Jaffa as sacred enemies. To them, they are equal and worthy enemies, fulfilling the will of their god. And by killing them, you send them to heaven. Just as you yourself, when you die, go to heaven. So there's no particular hatred between the different Jaffa."
"Fighting in the name of the gods is nonsense."
"The same as in the name of political nonsense," Isara smirked. "However, if you're so curious, four races I know of have achieved communism: the Asgard, the Ancients, the Furlings, and the Nox. Mainly thanks to their technology for infinite energy production, as well as the ability to synthesize any object using this energy. Essentially, they could turn energy into food or synthesize it from surrounding molecules. But these are the elder races, far behind us. And any other 'fair' distribution of resources is impossible in human society. But that's my personal opinion, which has no bearing on the situation being described."
Isara's first step was to study Earth's history and find it "crap." These people were little different from the Goa'uld, and in some cases, the System Lords were more honest. As ridiculous as it may sound, Earth was developing. Szarekh obtained most of the technology for Urvashi on Earth, and while Isara might not like that blue ball with schizophrenics for rulers, she could use their knowledge.
"In that case, follow me, Evgenia."