"The truth?" Takasugi's lips wrap around that word as if it tastes acrid. If there's anything of that sort here, he hasn't found it. He'll spare the mystified man his philosophy (for now), because while there may be no such thing as truth, there are some habits aliens tend to fall into.

"They wanted to show off. Like a charlatan and his tricks. They've tricked everyone living on that planet into thinking they're gods. I imagine they were hoping for the same reverence from us." And some of the refugees have bought into it, though Takasugi isn't among them.