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(7x20) Nurbal Enemy: Part 1, Episode 2

The Nurbal network of worlds reels in the aftermath of The Machine's destruction, and the entire Quelouvan Alliance is rocked by it as well, though not as hard as the Nurbal who are used to being in continuous contact with The Machine and don't merely rely on its automatons. Amouch and the secular leaders working with him scramble to keep order in the wake of the attacks. Panic breaks out among the Nurbal in the absence of The Machine's guidance, and Amouch's religious guidance is of no use there, so he leaves it to the secular authorities to assemble an old-fashioned police force while he focuses more on interplanetary diplomacy.

Basic infrastructure remains intact even after the attacks. It's not as if all technology was destroyed. Civilian automation that was already on task continues functioning as before without interruption, and even smaller, less autonomous artificial intelligences remain operational and available for consultation. It is only military infrastructure and the guiding central intelligence of The Machine that are destroyed. As such, Amouch is able to take a civilian transport ship off of Entu and see what has become of the rest of the galaxy meanwhile.

Other worlds have suffered a similar fate. Ehrban casualties are almost nonexistent and mostly attributable to the general chaos and panic rather than direct enemy attacks. All vital, civilization-supporting infrastructure remains intact. But widespread panic is spreading across the galaxy anyway, as the Ehrban diaspora fear that the enemy that destroyed their ancient empire has returned and will come back to destroy them all as soon as it regroups. Amouch uses his influence as the heir of Keius to calm those fears and stall the panic by publicly expressing his belief that it was not their ancient enemy that did this, because of the modus operandi of the attacks. He believes it is something else, something not hostile to Ehrban life per se, and he pledges to get to the bottom of it.

Next: Nurbal Enemy: Part 1, Episode 3