Yeah, that seems like the right balance of trust on this occasion.

Well then. The cult planet will happily take receipt of their conjured goods, and Sikyal will thank Cam for his help.

"You're welcome."

"Let me know if there's anything else I can help you with! We are interested in cooperating."

"I think right now the thing to do is try to calm the unstable planets down and send envoys who aren't me to that one that wanted eight days, which you seem to have in hand. At some point I will ask the humans if they want Earth back, but I don't know if they will, they don't remember it."

"Okay," says Sikyal. "Well, I'll be here whenever you want to speak to us again."

"I appreciate that."

"I'm glad I can help!"

Cam goes back to Suranse again and updates the king.

"I think I approve of this cult."

"I do too!"

"Well, thank you for destroying the Enemy."

"If that's what you want to call it."

"The problem seems to be pretty thoroughly solved. What are you planning to do now?"

"Keep an eye on the cult's attempts to stabilize their society. Probably conjure up the previous genocides' various records so they can be memorialized and studied. Do you want Earth back?"

"I can't imagine what I'd do with it. The Ceirene might feel differently, of course."

"I suppose at some point I should meet them too."

"You might find them harder to deal with. They change their system of government every several centuries, I can hardly keep up."

"The entire system or just the head of state?"

"Oh, they don't currently have a head of state. The rulers of each province jointly form a council that oversees matters affecting the exterior of the planet as a whole, and decide their policies by vote. I'm expecting them to notice how inefficient this is sometime in the next few decades and come up with a new, even less efficient system a few decades after that." He pauses. "That was me mocking them for personal amusement; they do seem to be mostly floundering in the direction of a robust and functional government, with a few steps backward every now and then."

"Voting-based systems are very popular where I'm from."

He shrugs. "It's not a bad idea in principle, but you have to watch out for the details."

"I suppose you get around a lot of the traditional monarchy pitfalls with the immortality thing."

"Yes. I've been king of Aluvanna longer than any of my subjects has been alive. I fancy I've improved with practice."

"One hopes. Anyway. The cult aliens seem downright friendly. I don't know if they'll want to have extensive diplomatic/academic/etcetera contact with you lot but if they do can you put something together, and how should I go about meeting some Ceirene?"