About a day had passed since the atomic explosion on Frigeria when Sobek showed up in front of the doors of the building where the leaders of the Eden Union had met.

Within twenty-four hours, the world had entered a state of panic. Though national leaders maintained a facade of security and the Empire had yet to issue a declaration of war, all of humanity was in turmoil. Many people had abandoned the cities and had run to take refuge in the countryside. Those who had bunkers had moved into them and brought all their dearest possessions there. Even though governments had tried to keep speculation to a minimum, the supermarkets were crowded with people rushing to stock up on supplies. Many had even let themselves go, abandoning themselves to carnal pleasures completely regardless of their economic loss, because they were convinced that they didn't have long to live.

All of humanity seemed convinced that the world would soon end. Most of the people were trying to convince themselves and their families that they would survive if they took action, but the words were so unconvincing that even they didn't seem entirely convinced. After all, even if they had been able to survive the bombs, how could they have resisted for years and years waiting for the planet to cease to be a place hostile to life? Except the wealthiest people, none possessed the means to hold out so long. If nuclear war had broken out only a small part of humanity would have died from the bombs: most people would have died later from hunger, cold and lack of services.

All the scientists of the world believed that the risk of an apocalypse was now almost certain, and although people didn't often listen the men of science, after seeing the devastation unleashed by the thermonuclear bomb there was hardly anyone who did not believe those words . Many even ran to churches and monasteries in the hope that God or someone for him would hear their prayers.

Sobek knew he had no time to waste. If he hadn't done something, nuclear war would have broken out and the world would have been destroyed. He had to act. Thus, on his own spontaneous initiative, he presented himself at the power center of the Eden Union, where for almost a day the world leaders had been intent on discussing what was happening.

When he entered he was greeted by silence. Of course it wasn't out of amazement: he'd warned Jocelyne and she'd told the others. It was a cold silence, where he was surrounded by great hostility. It was clear that the top management of the Eden Union was furious with him. He couldn't blame them.

"Salutations. Forgive my unexpected arrival" he greeted them.

"You have much more than an unexpected arrival to make up for, Lord Sobek" President Palma exclaimed without giving him permission to continue. "The world is on the verge of an unprecedented disaster because of you! You have broken international neutrality rules and now your actions are affecting us all! Not to mention that you have kept valuable information hidden!"

Sobek knew that none of those present really thought saving Frigeria from the atomic bomb was a bad act, but they couldn't say it out loud. The role of the heads of the nations was to think about the security of their nation. Even if the atomic bomb had annihilated millions of people, the nations of the Eden Union would not have been affected. And given the risks involved, it was clearly preferable to leave Frigeria to her fate rather than risk an all-out war against the Empire that would almost certainly have resulted in total annihilation.

Sobek noticed Jocelyne sitting among the heads of state. She wasn't saying a word and from her expression she looked like she was about to fall asleep. She had probably spent the last twenty-four hours doing the impossible to prevent the situation from escalating.

The spinosaurus raised its head. "I am aware of my mistake, and it is right that I apologize. I acted without thinking and I didn't think about the consequences this would have on you. I cannot say that I regret having saved Frigeria, for that would be a lie; but the decision was not up to me alone. Also, I haven't been completely honest with you"

"We have noticed that" President Carter said. "What were those skills you showed? Teleportation? Getting bigger? Metallokinesis? It seems you have many secrets indeed, lord Sobek. And it seems you aren't good at hiding them, since the enemy has discovered them!"

The heads of the nations nodded and many began to protest. Even though many suspected that Sobek hadn't told them all of his secrets, they still decided to pretend that was the case, since the Eden Union was based on mutual trust. But now they could no longer turn a blind eye: Sobek had shown many unknown abilities and this was putting their alliance in jeopardy. In addition, the Empire had obtained technology capable of teleporting bombs, most likely by studying his powers.

Suddenly Jocelyne spoke: "Lord Sobek was not required to reveal certain information to us, and we never asked him. And given the tense situation we are living in, he probably hoped that this would avoid further destruction" she said. "But I don't hide my disappointment. I expected more transparency from you and more foresight"

Although Jocelyne was apparently scolding him, Sobek thanked her mentally: as usual, the girl showed that she knew well how to navigate politics. In a few sentences she had justified Sobek, clearing him of any accusation, but at the same time she had accused him of having been negligent. In essence, she was pretending to be against him and in doing so she was demonstrating that Sobek had had reasons for doing what she had done. In essence, she was softening the hearts of heads of state so that the spinosaurus might have a chance to explain itself.

Sobek didn't hesitate to seize the opportunity: "You are absolutely right, miss Jersey. Your words are all true. True, I didn't have to reveal some of my skills to you, but I was still the first to talk about founding this organization based on mutual trust. I acted like a hypocrite. And it is true, I did not disclose certain information because I hoped to avoid further destruction, but as we have all seen this has backfired on us. Somehow, the Empire has discovered and replicated my power, and this puts them at an advantage over you. I can't blame anyone here but myself and my lack of wisdom. I should have had more faith in you just as you had in me, and I shouldn't have acted on my own initiative. I made myself a judge without anyone asking me, and now you all risk paying the price. The whole world, because of me, is about to pay a very high price. I don't intend to be responsible for a massacre. I caused all of this, and I will fix it"

The heads of state remained silent as they listened to the spinosaurus. They were surprised: they hadn't expected Sobek to admit his guilt so quickly. Generally, when one nation accused another, the head of state of the latter first sought to avoid the accusations, or at least to mitigate them.

"The mistake was mine" Sobek continued. "Humanity… well, most of humanity trusted me and I didn't reciprocate in the right way. I have not been sincere and I have not shared all my secrets with you. Even if my intent was to avoid what unfortunately happened, that doesn't erase my guilt. Therefore I have decided to take two very serious measures. The first will be what I should have done years ago: adopt absolute transparency towards you"

The heads of state looked at each other in amazement. All of them understood what Sobek was saying… and they couldn't believe it.

"From now on there will be no more secrets between us. No more lies. I will reveal all my abilities one by one and allow all your scientists to study them, studying me too if necessary. I will detail how they work tonight before all of you and the leaders of non-warring nations not yet allied to us"

An astonished murmur came from the heads of state. Even though they all scolded Sobek for keeping the existence of [Teleportation] from them, none of them were really angry about it. They were more of a show. After all, each nation had its own secrets, and surely if any of them had discovered such a great weapon they would not have revealed it to anyone.

From their point of view, Sobek after being exposed to the accusations should have limited himself to apologizing and then using an excuse to avoid revealing the secrets of [Teleportation] to the rest of the world, at least until the tensions with the Empire end. That would have been the guideline any of them would have chosen to take.

Instead, Sobek had made a decision that many would have defined as completely illogical: not only had he admitted his faults, but he had chosen to reveal his greatest secrets to the whole world, even to those nations that were not yet his allies!

"However, I will do it on one condition" Sobek added. "What I reveal to you must remain confidential. You can carry out any research you want on the abilities I am about to reveal to you, but you must do it in secret and without revealing anything to the population. This was until the end of the war. I don't like to keep people in the dark, but I can't risk that information leaking to the Empire. They could be our trump card in the near future, just like [Teleportation] was in the first war we fought with you"

That condition was reasonable. Now world leaders were more relaxed: Sobek seemed to be returning to reasoning in a way they understand. He didn't much care to keep what Sobek revealed to them a secret: after all, each nation was used to conducting certain research in secret. With the world on a war footing, no one would risk revealing their information to the enemy.

Nonetheless, his decision was still a big risk. "Are you sure of this, lord Sobek?" President Carter asked. "I can understand revealing these secrets to us, but why to other non-warring nations as well?"

"I am aware that I am taking a leap of faith" Sobek admitted. "But I have to. For mine and for your people. We need to stop keeping secrets from each other, all of us. We must rely on the precepts that created this Union and have absolute trust in each other. All of humanity must understand that they can trust my people, just as they can trust other human peoples. No more lies, no more secrets; if we want to build a new world that is more just, equitable and united than ever before, then we need to stop being selfish. I thought keeping secrets might have prevented more suffering, but now I realize that this is not the case. We have to be better than our predecessors were"

The heads of state were appalled by that statement. Not so much for Sobek's intentions, but for the message those words carried. Sobek wasn't just speaking for himself.

Sobek was asking humanity to trust each other. He was using his mistake to show how harmful keeping secrets was and he was urging people to forget individualism and work together, even sharing what many would term 'dangerous' knowledge.

It was quite a request. Nations used to carry out experiments and projects in secret even when allied with others. After the establishment of the Eden Union this division had eased a bit, given that now many sectors were supervised by the leaders of the international organization, but in any case some nations still had their secret projects that they carried out in military bases or industrial complexes.

But now Sobek was urging them to stop. To be really completely honest and trust each other. To make someone's knowledge available to everyone, because that someone would have absolute certainty that it would not be used against him. Total trust, for the construction of a more united and solid world.

If Sobek had proposed such a thing not even five years earlier, everyone would have laughed at him. International transparency was a ridiculous utopia. But now, the world was slowly uniting and if the Empire was defeated in the impending war then in all likelihood the whole of humanity would abandon all individualism and join the Eden Union. In that context, the idea of abandoning secrets and sharing any information in order to be able to obtain absolute trust between nations was not so far-fetched.

Of course, this also had its downsides. Many heads of state would have been against this. But fortunately, Sobek hadn't made any requests: he had used himself as an example and had launched a veiled appeal. He was basically yelling at world leaders: "If I did it, which I'm not even one of your species, why can't you do it? Come on!". Even if current politicians wouldn't have listened to him, the beauty of democracies was that politicians were always changing. In the future, when the war was over and peace returned, a faction could very easily emerge within the Eden Union that professed the absolute transparency of all nations, thus facilitating the union of humanity.

Jocelyne, who understood all this, couldn't suppress a smile. Other important personalities such as queen Mackenzie and president Palma also nodded to the words of the spinosaurus. In the future, that decision of his could have changed many things and fostered a world that was stronger and more united than ever.

"Now, this will be the first action I will take. Like I said, I've got a second" Sobek declared, then he raised his voice: "I'm the one here who's made tons of mistakes. Not only have I kept secrets, but I have also acted covertly to support the Sinai army and finally publicly declared my support for one of the warring nations by going to their aid without even consulting with you. Therefore, I alone am to be held guilty both by the enemies for violating the treaty of neutrality, and by you for ignoring the stipulation that I myself have suggested for this organization, which is that war will only ever be chosen as a means of defense of their allies. Since I'm the only one who made a mistake, I'm the only one who has to pay! I intend to take full responsibility for what happened!"

The heads of state uttered a shocked cry. They certainly didn't expect that twist!

"A war between you and the Empire would surely result in a nuclear conflict, and as I said I don't want a massacre to happen. Furthermore, even if we magically managed to convince the emperor not to use atomic bombs, you would still have to send hundreds of thousands of men to their deaths, and this is not right. My people and I chose to go to the aid of Sinai and then to war with the Empire, but you didn't. Therefore, I ask you to stay out of this conflict" Sobek said. "My people will go to war, but alone. Since we have violated the principles of this Union, you have no reason to support us, and we will not ask you to. I ask you to make an international statement revealing my decision, so that everyone knows that the Eden Union does not intend to go to war with the Empire!"

There was a moment of silence, and then all the heads of state stood up and applauded. The crash of the hands that continuously clapped against each other was so intense that it was heard even outside the palace. Everyone knew that Sobek had just saved the world!

All of humanity already expected that since the Eden Union and Sobek were allies, after what happened in the Sinai they would go to war with the Empire side by side. Which meant that the outbreak of atomic warfare was closer than ever.

Instead Sobek had reversed the situation: only he and his people would go to war, by his own will. And since the Eden Union had not yet taken any action against the Empire, it could not be accused of anything. And since the dinosaurs had proven they could teleport and sense threat in advance, the Empire would hardly have wasted atomic weapons on them. In practice, nuclear war could still have been avoided! Humanity had potentially just dodged the greatest disaster in history!

Jocelyne nearly had tears in her eyes as she clapped back to her. Perhaps, the world would see another day.

Sobek sighed. He knew he had just averted one crisis, but another awaited him. Now, the world's future lay in its ability to win a war against a nuclear power without risking obliterating half the planet.