Keno smiled. "I've seen this a lot on our planet until I got used to it. Maybe the matter here is bigger, deeper, and more intense, but the principle is the same."

Keno saw one of the red birds land on the hand of one of the inhabitants of Ghardaia, then its shape slowly changed; its facial features wrinkled, contracted, and sagged, and a long beard grew, as if it were an angry old man. Then they both heard the bird screaming in anger at the young man standing in a shop selling wood:

"Didn't I tell you, you clumsy fool, not to leave the barn door open? Now the livestock have escaped, and I've been running after them everywhere until my back is bent and I'm exhausted beyond measure. I'm coming to you to give you a taste of my cane's prodding until you stop your forgetfulness that is almost killing me!"

The young man swallowed, sweat pouring from his forehead. "Oh, woe is me. I've messed up again."

Leonis laughed at the appearance of the angry bird that resembled the old man and whispered to Keno, "This is a funny and nice way to communicate. This planet surprises me the more I delve into it."

Keno looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "Don't get distracted by the wonders here. Your planet had things that amazed me, and look what happened to it. Maybe all this will perish in a moment, just as planet Earth suddenly perished without warning. We must focus on our goal until we regain everything we have lost."

Leonis did not reply and remained silent, returning to observe the young man who began to gather his belongings and close his shop. As soon as he came running out of his shop, he collided with the body of one of the Franks soldiers and fell to the ground. The Franks soldier turned and looked at him with displeasure. The young man got up, knelt, and bowed his neck in apology.

"I apologize, sir. I didn't mean to. I was in a hurry because my grandfather's anger and displeasure are more severe and harmful than your displeasure and anger."

The young man said it and laughed to himself. The Franks soldier noticed his sarcasm and kicked him hard. "Apologize in the Franks language, you lowlife! You know that the language of the people of Ghlizan is forbidden in every area under the control of the Franks on this planet. Or have you forgotten this law?"

The boy slowly got up, dusting off his clothes and adjusting his turban, which had fallen off, revealing his soft blue hair cascading down his shoulders. He looked at the Franks soldier defiantly and said in his mother tongue, "I said I was sorry because I made a mistake, not because you are right. You have usurped our land and our planet, and you cannot impose your language on us. I will not speak this hateful language, even if my tongue is cut out."

The Franks soldier kicked him again in the chest, grabbed him by his hair, and began to drag him. "So your audacity has reached a great level, you insolent brat! You deserve nothing from us but execution according to law number 60 of the Franks Republic, which criminalizes speaking any language other than the Franks language in all lands under the authority of the Galactic Republic."

The boy began to hit the soldier's hand, screaming, "Let me go!" Then he began to curse him in his language.

Leonis's heart clenched. "The soldier will kill the boy if we don't intervene or someone else does."

Keno raised his hand to stop him. "Don't be a fool and jeopardize the entire mission. If they catch us now, they will interrogate us day and night until we confess the reasons for our coming here. And if they find the crystal, they will become even stronger, and then all our efforts to save your planet and ours will fail. The duty falls upon the people of this capital to save the boy. This is not our cause, and we have no business with this planet, even if we are pained by what we see in it because it reminds us of what happened to us."

Leonis gritted his teeth. "How many deaths will we witness without lifting a finger until we reach what we strive for?"

Keno did not answer him and chose silence, watching among the crowd just as the throng of Ghlizan people watched, who had gathered in the square, muttering, whispering, secretly cursing the Franks, and lamenting their situation.

The soldier stood in the middle of the square, tied the boy to a post, and summoned other soldiers. They answered his call, gathered, and stood in a line to carry out the execution ceremony.

The soldier said to the crowd gathered around the square, "We told you that the laws are clear and evident, and that we came here to teach you civilization and progress and to remove from you the garment of ignorance, illiteracy, and stupidity. And in order for you to receive a glimmer of the light of our great civilization, you must speak our tongue, understand our language, then read our books and philosophy, acquire what you can of our sciences, and delight in hearing our poetry and songs. Then you will reach what we have reached, and you can rule yourselves. But until we reach this noble goal and apply the principles of our republic, we must enforce the law with an iron fist, without pity or mercy. This is not cruelty, but a guarantee for your future. This reckless boy broke law number 60, which stipulates the prohibition of speaking any language other than the Franks language. He also broke the fifth law and insulted a Franks soldier, mocked him, and did not apologize. Thus, he faces two death sentences."

One of the Ghlizan intervened. "Doesn't he have the right to appoint a judge to rule on his case according to the tenth law of the Franks constitution?"

The soldier smiled. "This law applies in times of peace. But your alleged prince—whom you brag about and whisper about his heroics in your homes secretly and among the markets, thinking that we do not hear you and do not know what you are saying—has declared war on us and killed many of our men. Thus, we are now in a state of war, which means the application of military provisions and swift military trials imposed by times of war. If we are lenient in applying the law, we will lose this war against this criminal prince who disturbs the peace and wants to return you to your old ignorance and misguidance."

Panic appeared on the faces of the Ghlizan, and they were dismayed because the Franks heard what they were saying. Or were there traitors among them, sitting in the markets, farms, and gardens, listening to their conversations and reporting them to the Franks in exchange for some money? And how many traitors sell their own people for money?

The rebellious boy who was tied to the post said in a loud voice that reached far and wide, "You say that our prince is a criminal because he defends his planet and his people? And what about you, who usurped our planet, burned our farms, seized our homes and properties and turned them into military barracks for yourselves, and bombed the capital when you came here thirty years ago until it became ruins and ashes, and hundreds of thousands of our people were killed? Isn't this criminality itself according to your alleged laws?"

The soldier turned to the boy, sparks flying from his eyes amidst the screams of the Ghlizan for the boy to be silent so that he might survive this predicament.

The soldier hit the boy in the stomach with the butt of his rifle. The boy cried out in pain and spat blood. The soldier said, "Shut up, you conspiring criminal! Witness all of you that this boy supports the criminals, the warmongers, and the killers of the Franks, so that you do not say that I wronged him by executing him."

Suddenly, people parted on both sides of the road, and one of the Franks walked between them. But he was not a soldier; he was one of the civilians who had come from the planet of the Franks to settle this planet. He wore a long blue coat that extended to his knees, with ornate golden buttons, and he wore black trousers and luxurious leather shoes. He had long, wavy hair that fell to his shoulders, but its ends were styled in several successive curves and twists. He had a handsome, crystalline face and sparkling blue eyes. He leaned with his right hand on his thin cane and held a book in his left.

The man approached until he reached the boy. The soldiers greeted him with respect and reverence, while the Ghlizan whispered. Keno listened carefully and heard someone say, "It's Domarto, the founder of the principles of the new Franks Republic, which emerged from the heart of the despotic theocracy and the absolute dominance of emperors and clergymen. He is also the governor of the Franks colony on the planet Ghlizan."

Another said, "I heard that he led the masses of revolutionaries with his resonant words and eloquent speeches. A word from him moved hearts, shook mountains, and swept everywhere like the wind. But he incited against the Franks clergy who supported every king, bestowed upon him an aura of holiness, and convinced the people that he ruled them by order of the Lord and that objecting to him was heresy. That is why every king shared rule with them and granted them great powers and countless wealth. But they lost all that at the hands of men like Domarto."

Domarto advanced, walking with pride, splendor, and luxury, like a knight proudly riding his steed, until he reached the boy tied to the post. He looked him up and down, then said, "I see, boy, that you have gotten yourself into a deep trouble that is difficult to get out of. What is the reason for your act? And what is the motive behind it? Is it freedom? Is it dignity and self-esteem? Or is it blind fanaticism for your obsolete traditions?"