"Isn't that dangerous?"

"It would be more dangerous to leave them unsealed. It lets us control the situation until you all decide what to do about it."

"I don't like the clusivity implied in that last sentence."

"Minister, wise as we are, the High Council cannot unilaterally bear the responsibility of opening relations of other worlds. Academy can advise on what decision to make. Bureaucracy can claim a degree of latitude in how to implement decisions. But the decision on how we proceed must be as close to democratic as possible."

"'As close to democratic as possible' sounds like you're prepared to overrule Parliament if we don't make the decision you want."

"It's worse than that, minister. This is a decision being made on behalf of everyone on the planet. Unfortunately, the majority of everyone lives outside the Republic's borders and lacks any representation in your parliament. In my opinion, the decision to re-open the cave lacks democratic legitimacy if representatives from our trade partners, direct and indirect, aren't included."