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"A hive mind might eliminate corruption by eliminating freedom," said Gohvis. "All would be done for the good of the whole. And each brain could be used in parallel with the others to achieve a level of collective creative potential that is heretofore unheard of. But yes. The individual mind may become lost in the shuffle. Hypothetically."

"...Only hypothetically? That sounds more like a certainty to me."

"No. A true hive mind among beings with human-level intelligence has never been observed. The actual consequences of such a network are, at this time, unknowable." His glowing red gaze shifted to Emiliana.

She felt like he had more to say on that point, but he remained silent. "...Why are you telling me all of this?"

"Because you wished to know, did you not?"

Hmm. Was is really that simple? Maybe it was. Not everything had to be complicated. But he could still be lying. He may have acted like he was above it, but she still remembered when Gohvis showed up at Dunehall and tried to lie to the Salesman of Death.

Emiliana wanted to keep pushing, to see if she could find some fault in his explanations. "...This seems like quite a lot of trouble to go through just because you dislike the concept of growth for some reason."

"For some reason, you say?"

"Yes. Trees grow. Animals grow. I don't see you trying to wipe them out of existence."

Gohvis's eyes narrowed. "I am not trying to wipe humans out of existence."

"But Abolish is."

"Some among them, yes."

"And you don't have a problem with it."

"I do. But not as much as you do, I suspect."

"Then my point still stands."

"Comparing human growth to that of virtually anything else on the planet is absurd. Trees and animals have not developed the ability to become the arbiters of their own destruction."

"Why should that make a difference? Especially if you're apparently okay with Abolish wiping everyone out, anyway?"