An individual charged with protecting something important following the worst case scenario
E.G. A very confued 15 year old girl named Taylor Hebert, charged with rebuilding an ancient Extragalactic Peacekeeping Order after their destruction by an unknown power
It was darker than pitch in the bleak, empty void between star systems, where the only thing that can be seen are the distant pinpricks of color that are distant stars, which exist more than a Trillion, Billion, Googolplex kilometers away. It is a distance so far as to be entirely incomprehensible to the mortal mind - In fact, the number itself is so large as to be essentially meaningless to mortals, it is the number 1 followed by two hundred ten thousand 0s.
POTENTIAL CANDIDATE DETECTED! ANALYZING...
...
ERROR: CANDIDATE UNSUITABLE
It was here in the ass end of nowhere that the silence was shattered for what may very well have been the first time in the entire history of the universe as a tiny speck of matter carves through the darkness, wrapped tightly in an aura of bright green.
The tiny object, a ring of emerald green travels further and further, passing from system to system at velocities as far beyond the speed of light, as light itself is beyond the speed of a planet's spin.
Here and there, now and again, the ring stops for a few moments.
POTENTIAL CANDIDATE DETECTED! ANALYZING...
...
ERROR: CANDIDATE UNSUITABLE
Sometimes it pauses to spit its words into the vast wastes between star systems, and others the message is stated while the ring holds in orbit over a planet, inhabited or not.
Other times, the ring comes to a sudden stop, hanging in the exact same location for hours at a time before stating a different message and rocketing off in a completely different direction.
ERROR: LOCATION UNDER QUARANTINE
...
RECALCULATING PATHFINDER ROUTE
The ring continues on like this for a great length of time - How long, the ring does not know, nor does it care. It is long enough that had the ring been truly sapient it would have lost its mind long ago. All the programming in the ring knows is that it is to continue to travel, continue to search for the individual that must use it.
However, the ring is not sapient, it is not truly aware, and thus it cannot feel. It cannot become anxious as candidate after candidate are found, examined, and discarded. It cannot worry as each moment slowly eats away at the charge that powers it, and it cannot wonder why it is so difficult to complete its task. No, instead it simple continues on and on and on, repeating the same messages again and again as it travels across the galaxy.
Eventually, it reaches the edge of the galaxy, a great expanse of nothingness that is even deeper and darker than the empty end of nowhere that the ring passed through some point in the past. Had the ring been burdened with a mortal mind, such darkness may have called to the deepest parts of its evolution, that instinctual fear of being unable to see that which may be hunting it.
However, as stated before, the ring has no such mind, it lacks such an evolutionary development, and instead simply accelerates faster and faster yet in order to cross the void in as small a scale of time as possible, for that is what the programming told the ring to do.
Then, as it nears the edge of the galaxy, the ring's sensors pick up a potential candidate -
POTENTIAL CANDIDATE DETECTED! ANALYZING...
...
ERROR: CANDIDATE INCOMPATIBLE
This brings the ring up short. This is not the message that has been repeated ad nauseam up to this point. Had the ring a mind, it may very well have been curious, yet instead it simply reexamined the Candidate. Again, the ring spat the same response, however...
However, now that the ring's attention was brought to bear, that the ring's sensors were brought to bear towards this oddity...
There were multiple different candidates on this planet. Such was indeed the same on the many, many, near uncountable number of worlds that the ring had passed before, but this was the first that had been categorized as INCOMPATIBLE. Such a designation activated programming flags in the ring, ordering it to travel closer to the planet in question. Once the ring reaches the edge of the system that the Candidate originates at, many of the systems aboard the ring shut down, all of its power - both energy and processing - are shunted into the ring's sensors, allowing for a far more powerful scan to be initiated.
Nearly the instant that the ring turns its sensors towards the inner planets, its systems begin to be battered as notifications of candidates being analyzed and categorized flare as bright as the light the ring shines with.
UNSUITABLE
UNSUITABLE
INCOMPATIBLE
UNSUITABLE
INCOMPATIBLE
Again and again and again and again the messages repeat. Millions of times, billions of times. The search began at a random point on the planet, spreading outwards along the surface of the planet like a great invisible wave, each and every mortal on the planet are weighed...
They are measured...
SUITABLE CANDIDATE FOUND - INITIATING SECOND LEVEL ANALYSIS
CANDIDATE COMPATIBLE
INITIATING CONTACT
All but one are found wanting.
For the briefest of moments, the ring goes still, hanging in the void as the system around it turns. The moment passes, and the ring suddenly starts to fall towards the third planet of the system, as if it were somehow captured in the planet's gravity well, even from its location at the edge of the system, just beyond the orbit of the star's eighth planet.
None of the billions of individuals living their lives upon the system's third planet ever realized that their home had just been scanned, that something had looked over each and every one of them. That this foreign intelligence had found nearly all of them lacking. But how could they have known such a thing had happened? The source was an object smaller than a walnut floating near the edge of their system, and for all the satellites and stations the species have lifted up into low orbit over their planet, they are stilled trapped within it's gravity well...
Unaware of the ring coming closer and closer as the hours pass and the planet turns, life continues much as it always has on the surface of the planet below. There, on the coastline of one of the planet's continents, the early light of dawn creeps past the hilly horizon, painting the sky in swathes of gold and purple as fingers of morning light stretch down the valley and spill into the commercial district of the city.
The rays of early morning light dance across the windows of the towers of glass and steel, slowly rousing the city from it's slumber. It's not a particularly fast process, but it's an inexorable one none the less. At first, the city tries to fight off the start of the day - Pushers and Dealers hurrying to finish up the last deals of the night. Cafes and Restaurants see managers slowly unlocking doors and beginning the earliest checks of ingredients and tools. Soon enough, the time will come for those who rise with the sun to come marching down for their coffees and their Early Bird specials.
The next to rise are the loudest of households, mothers and fathers helping each other out of bed as one marches to the kitchen in order to prepare for the noise, while the other starts to wake sons and daughters. It won't be long before the school bell rings, and before that happens the parents must wrangle food into their kids, the kids into their socks and their shoes and their school bags before either giving them a ride of their own, or placing the children at a stop for a bus.
Soon enough after are the salarymen, those who have sacrificed their souls on the alter of industry - With the rise of the sun comes the clarion call of their masters, and answer they must. Food must be eaten, coffee must be drank, and they must ooze into the suits and ties that are the distinction of their role in society. It is there, as they stand at the door, keys in hand that they look back to the bed, wishing to return to the embrace of night, but much like the city itself, the march of day cannot be stopped. It is amidst all of this that a single soul awakens.
The rays of early morning light dance across her face, and with a groan of frustration, slowly rousing the girl from her slumber. It is not a particularly fast process, but it is an inexorable one none the less. At first, the girl tries to fight off the start of the day - tossing and turns as she tries to hide away from the light, but it is useless. Her eyes slowly opening and blearily checking the room and her clock.
Soon enough it will be time for the girl to rise and face the day... She may not wish it, but the sun comes with its clarion call, and she must answer. A shower must be had, food must be eaten, and with the turn of the year... School must be returned to. It is there, as she stands at the door, her house key in hand that she looks back up to her home wishing she could simply skip school and return to the warmth of her bed... but much like the salaryman, the march of day cannot be stopped.
It's just under a five block walk from the girl's home to the bus stop, so if the girl doesn't want to end up missing her bus and having to explain why to her dad... she needs to get moving. It takes the girl a long moment, where she breathes deep and steels her heart. One foot forward, then the other. Step after step, foot after foot...
It's only been two weeks that she's been out of classes due to the Christmas Holiday... and... yes, the month and a half before that haven't been as bad as the entire previous year of schooling... but a year's worth of bullying leaves its mark, and the way that the bullies simply... stopped, it never sat right with the girl.
There is a part of her that has been waiting for the other shoe to drop for close to two months now, and given that the girl who she seemed to have made friends with in those two months appeared to suddenly not be willing to speak to her once the Holiday began...
There is a tension now, and the girl expects that things are quite quickly going to go badly. Still, as much as the girl needs to stop and steel herself outside of her home, that doesn't mean that she is going to stop. The girl doesn't stop, doesn't quit.
Never learned how.
It's a stupid thought, but it's one that the girl can use to power her steps, to keep going. It gives her the strength to acknowledge her fears, to see them for what they are, and to accept them before continuing with her actions despite them.
That ability to push past her fears was not the attribute that the Ring's primary scans were looking for, but it was what allowed her to pass the arguably far more important secondary scan. There were hundreds on Earth who could face their fears, and had this ring not been programmed with a particular mission, any one of them could have been the ring's user...
But this ring was not an average of its kind, no, it had a special mission. One that only this girl could accomplish. The girl continued to trudge forward, towards the bus stop, even as the ring finally entered into the planet's atmosphere, fire licking away at the edge of it's aura as it descended faster and faster.
The air echoes with a thundering BOOM! Windows rattle and the girl pauses, confused as she looks around and up, trying to find the source of the sound.
Wait...
There. The girl can barely see a green dot, high up in the sky above her. Is it a bird? A plane? Alexandria? It takes the girl a moment to realize first, that no it isn't any of those, and second it is both much, much closer than she expected it to be, and it is moving even closer.
Stumbling backwards, the girl starts to turn, limbs flailing to keep her balance. She's only barely managed to keep her feet as she turns, when the green light snaps down in front of her. It doesn't slam into the ground, no - it stopped just at the level of her eyes.
A ring? Held tight in a glowing light. Not bright enough to blind, but still quite-
TAYLOR HEBERT OF EARTH, OORT CLOUD, ORION ARM, MILKY WAY GALAXY
I am aware, and sorry if I was a bit harsh there - I'm just a stickler for grammar at times.
Also, I'm pretty sure that there is supposed to be an 'and' between the hundred and the ten if that's what the intention was, since there usually is when adding a smaller unit after a larger one (e.g a hundred and one dalmations - could be wrong though).
Ether way, it a pretty minor error (again, if it even is one).
I am aware, and sorry if I was a bit harsh there - I'm just a stickler for grammar at times.
Also, I'm pretty sure that there is supposed to be an 'and' between the hundred and the ten if that's what the intention was, since there usually is when adding a smaller unit after a larger one (e.g a hundred and one dalmations - could be wrong though).
Ether way, it a pretty minor error (again, if it even is one).
There are some that would consider the form with the "and" to be incorrect, claiming that it signifies a fraction/decimal. (I recommend ignoring people who spend their lives making such pedantic comments about grammar.)
Hoo boy, outed as a cape before even becoming a cape? That's gotta be a record or something boss. Assuming anyone took note of the random green meteor in Brockton Bay... so... 50/50 odds?
For reals tho, this seems interesting, and I can't wait to see what comes next!
There, floating in the air right in front of me is a... ring? Surrounded by a shimmering field of light... And it... It knows my name. It knows who I am. I was already worried and confused by the explosion of sound, but this...
Was this some kind of joke? Was someone I knew a Tinker, and they wanted to freak me out? Who? Why?
As stupid as the thought is, I won't deny that there was a brief moment where a part of me wondered if Emma or Sophia were the cause of this. It was a stupid thought, but after a year of dealing with them, I guess there was a part of me that was trained to blame them.
My confusion is only able to last for a few moments however, because before I can manage to untangle my thoughts and run from the strange tinkertech, the ring flips over sideways once, and then a flare of green light billows out of the front of the ring, forming up into an image... of a blue person in the air before me.
While the fact that he was blue was the first thing that I noticed, the second thing was that he was injured, and bleeding an almost luminescent gold blood.
The figure is leaning against a sparking computer console, his fingers dancing across the keys, even as more golden blood leaks from the figure's wounds, staining the white of his robe a deep gold. "I hope that no one ever sees this video... but... to whosoever it may be that is viewing this... My name is Ganthet. I am the last Speaker of the Council of Guardians. If..." The figure stalls for a moment, running a bloody hand back through shock white hair and pulling out of his face. "If you are seeing this, then that... that means that the plan worked. That my brethren and I died to stop it. That the universe is safe..." Ganthet looks away, down at his bloodied hands. "I know you must have so many question. I wish I could have been there to answer them for you, but... Regardless. There is another video that I have prepared... must have been months ago. It all seems so fast... Another video to play after this message. Please. All I can ask is that you watch that before making a decision about this ring."
He looks directly at me, or the camera... I guess.
"Accepting the ring, and the responsibilities that comes with it will be a heavy burden. The ring believes you capable of carrying that burden, of holding your head high and not breaking. I have to believe that the ring will choose correctly. There isn't much time left for me before the final push... but by the time that you see this message I will likely be years dead already. I know it is much to ask of someone you have never seen before, of a race alien to your world... But all I can do is place my hopes on you... Torchbearer. Goodbye."
I... It's funny, a little part of my brain notes. I've heard the phrase, lost for words. I'm the daughter of an English teacher, I've heard most idioms before. I can't say that I've ever actually been so confused and baffled and just... WHAT... that I haven't been able to think of words to say...
Let alone so confused as to not even know what to think.
It's a first for me. Now, I'm not a cape fanatic, not like some people at school are. I like capes, more than the average person, I'll admit that. So I've seen a lot of things dealing with capes on the internet. My favorite hero is Armsmaster after all, the leader of the Local heroes, and a Tinker.
But just as I have seen things on the internet, that means I have seen a lot of special effects. It's not so much that I have an eye for them, and more that even with the help of Tinkers CGI still tends to stand out from the things around it.
That... That wasn't CGI. That was real.
I don't know how to process that.
Of course, that is when the image of the floating screen thing suddenly changes. Showing the same figure, but now he is pristine. His robe is white as snow, and his hair is clean, pulled back into a long flowing ponytail that seems to float after him.
That wasn't the thing that really drew my eye... no. That was what was below Ganthet. He was floating in the air, high above a city. A city that stretched out to the distant horizon. Figures cloaked in the same green as the ring gave off were flying back and forth below Ganthet. Some were moving with purpose, and others seemed to be almost lazy in their flight, gathered together in groups. The figures themselves were as wild and varied in shape as the city was large.
It was unlike anything that I have ever seen before.
"Greetings, I am Ganthet. Honorable Councillor on the Council of Guardians." Ganthet said, a small and sombre smile on his face. "If you are seeing this video, then that means that the Torchbearer protocol has gone active." He pauses here, sighing as he turns away, looking over the city. "Which means that Oa, my home that you see before you, is most likely gone." There is another moment of silence, as the figure shakes his head. "Given that this video only plays once the Ring has made it's offer and does not receive a reply, I would guess that you have a lot of questions."
Yeah, of course, among them is the question of why you are repeating things that the other video clearly also said.
"I'm afraid that I can only answer a few of them over this video. The Ring of the Torchbearer must contain all of my species knowledge, all the knowledge of the Entire Green Lantern Corps. Even for a device as sophisticated as a Green Lantern Ring, it can't contain all of that, and a Coded Intelligence. But I shall strive to answer as many I can in this short time I have." The figure held his hand out to the massive city. "As I mentioned before. This is Oa. It is, as far as out mathematicians can calculate, the planet closest to the center of the universe. It may not be my people's homeworld, but it is where we decided to move to when we established the Green Lantern Corps." A green aura glows to life around Ganthet, much the same as the figures down below, as Ganthet and the Camera start to rapidly lift up, the city falling way below him.
However, even as he continues to rise higher and higher, the city continues to creep along the edge of the horizon. It's not until Ganthet manages to clear the planet's atmosphere that it becomes clear why that is.
The entire planet of Oa is a single city. Even here, floating above the planet of Oa, I can still see more figures flying through space, encircled by that same green aura.
It is here that I can see a little smirk appear on Ganthet's face. "Now officially, I'm supposed to be informing you of the general history of the Green Lanterns, the rules and the regulations and all the minutiae that the Council of Guardians voted into Lantern Law when they created the Corps. Unfortunately for them, and fortunately for you, I disagree with many of the rules that they established, and since no one is supposed to see this video unless everything goes to shit, none of the others can call me out on what I do here without revealing that they broke the rules themselves. Arrogant Pricks." He nods to himself. "The Green Lantern Corps are... Were a peacekeeping force. We exist to protect young worlds from threats that they cannot handle themselves. Meteors and Galactic phenomena that races without space travel cannot protect themselves from, or more the aggressions of older more advanced worlds." Ganthet looks down at Oa, with the proudest look I have ever seen on his face.
"The full rules are stored in the ring's databank, and I would suggest that you look them over, but there are issues with how the Guardians rule the Lanterns, and as someone who we are asking to take up this burden, I feel it is more important that you learn of those. First and foremost, when the Corps was first created, the Guardians delineated the universe into 3600 sectors, and proceeded to choose one person from each sector to watch over it. I have long argued that that is madness, and that we need both more Lanterns per sector, and more sectors. One of the major rules that I do not disagree with however, is that unless asked for, the Lanterns are not to interfere with the governance of planets and species. We exist to prevent intergalactic law, not rule over others. Additionally as such, all Lanterns are expected to follow the laws of worlds that they are working on. I know that some species and governments enact a level of political immunity for those who work for them in other governmental spaces, but we do not. This was supposed to help prevent corruption and abuse of power. It didn't always succeed, but we tried. Perhaps, should you take this burden, you can do better. Of course, if you are on a planet that is suffering, and wondering why you have never seen a Green Lantern..." Ganthet sighs.
"Well, as I said, the Universe was split into 3600 sectors. That means that there is an average of five hundred and fifty five point five million galaxies that a single Green Lantern is supposed to be watching over. It's an absurd issue that I was never able to argue the council around to fixing." Ganthet sighs again, "But I am wasting time. I know that this isn't a lot for you to go off on, but as I said, this ring contains all the knowledge and technologies of the Guardians and the Green Lantern Crops. Even this small video is taking up precious space that could contain the information that you might need to learn how to properly govern this fine organization of mine." Ganthet turns to the Camera again, "And with this... I have but one last bit of video left. To ask you once more - The ring believes that you have what it takes the help make the universe a better place, and though I do not know you, I do not know your race, or your planet, or anything about you. I trust the ring, and that means that I am placing my faith, and my trust in you."
"Please. Take the ring, place it on the appendage that your species normally carries rings. If, after all this, you decide not to carry on this burden. I understand. Simply tell the ring "Tel Lok Nok' and it shall move on, to find someone else who can carry this burden." With that, the image, and the screen it was on, both disappear.
I am tempted to repeat those last words, to pass this off as some kind of joke...
But even as I think that, I know that there really isn't a choice here.
I mean, there is a choice, but it's a very obvious and straightforward choice.
Either I can work to make the world, the universe a better place. To work to make sure that no other worlds are under siege by monsters like the Endbringers. To fight to make sure that no other kids find themselves so afraid of going to school that they stop to listen to potential alien rings that fell from the sky rather than try to catch the bus...
Or...
I can walk away, I can pretend that none of this happened, that this is all some big prank, and that there is nothing that I can do. I can run away, and go back to huddling in the halls of Winslow, wondering why my best friend turned on me, and how long I have to suffer before she gets bored and starts to hurt other people.
Pfft.
Fuck that noise.
The ring fits perfectly on the ring finger of my right hand, like it was made for it. Or... Maybe the ring resized itself. Don't know.
What I do know, is that the moment the ring is settled in it's new place on my hand, the green glow races from the ring, up my arm and over the whole of my body. It's...
Well, I was going to think warm, but it's not that it's warm, but that I'm no longer cold. I barely have the time to think that, before I'm moving. Shooting up, up, up, higher and higher into the sky. The golds and purples of the morning light give way to blue, and then to black as I rocket upwards.
That had to be less than ten seconds, and the whole of the sky is now below me...
Holy shit. I'm in space. The laugh that bubbles up past my lips at that realization feel foreign. Then again, I guess I haven't had much reason to laugh in the last year and a half since high school started.
ACTIVATING ACCEPTANCE PLAYBACK
"Unfortunately," I almost hear Ganthet's voice in my head. "I might have been a little too wordy in my last video when I showed off Oa and explained the purpose of the Green Lantern Corps as a whole, and the next video absolutely requires video... so you're going to be stuck with just my voice for this bit." My god, I avoided thinking it when I was trying to understand all the information that this guy was throwing at me before. But this Ganthet is a wind bag. "First of all, Thank You. I cannot put into words how much it means that you have chosen to be our Torchbearer. Now, there are three very important things that you need to know about the ring before you go any further."
"If the ring is working properly, then it should have just taken you into Low Planetary Orbit over your planet. I want you to look down there, look at all those people. Your people." It's hard to explain how pretty the earth is in words, the colors so bright and sharp. I've read about how awed astronauts were when they first looked down at the planet, and they struggled just as much to explain what it was like. "Accepting this burden means that you'll be able to help them. However, before you can do that, you need to know what your ring can do. At least, the basics of what the ring can do. Explaining everything that the ring can do would take me... at least two hundred hours. To start with there are three major functions that you have to know about. The first is what is allowing me to explain all of this to you. The Universal Translator. I could go into the specifics of how it works, but I am once more reminded of the limits of data storage, so I won't. The important part is that the Ring allows you to perfectly communicate with everyone you encounter. Whatever you say will be translated for those around you. Idioms and turns of phrase become similar idioms in the listener's tongue, and even puns can be understood. Much to the displeasure of the other members of the Council."
That does manage to answer a question that I hadn't even thought to ask yet, being too busy trying to wrap my head around everything that was happening. "The second thing you must know is what the ring can do. I have already said that the ring can translate for you, and as you can see the ring is able to provide life support such that you can travel in space, as well as the ability to fly through space. However, that is only the tip of the iceburg. The primary use of the Ring is the ability to generate constructs of... Hard light... might be the best low level explanation. The more complicated explanation is that emotions are much more than just things that you can feel. They, like everything else in the universe have weight. They have mass, and they have energy. This ring allows you to create constructs of pure Willpower."
"So long as you can see what you want in your mind's eye, you can achieve it. You can create it. Unfortunately, it seems that police aren't a particularly creative lot, and the Council never approved of adding creativity training to the rest of the training that Lanterns already had to go through. That means for the most part most lanterns tended towards using their rings to shoot lasers, or make giant fists." You can practically feel the eye roll that Ganthet would have been doing if he were a human.
"Anything that you can imagine, you can create." Ganthet repeats, his voice firm. "As a good... hypothetical example... I want you to imagine returning back home. Soaring through the skies back down to your home planet, and your place of residence. Because, while I could speak of the last important bit of information you need to know about up here in orbit, that is if you are still up in orbit... well if you manage to lose the means of recharging your ring in orbit, that would be very problematic. So, once you get home, simply say 'Tilok Maltok Niknok, Nok."
Waaaait... Did Ganthet...
Did he just bring me up all the way up into Low Earth Orbit, and then leave me up here without any way to get down other than learning how to fly my Ring?
Did he just bring up all the way up into Low Earth Orbit, and then leave me up here without any way to get down other than learning how to fly my Ring?
Taylor now has not only the GL ring, but also all the tech of the Oan civilization, which is probably second 'only' to the New Gods in how advanced it is?
YIKES!
Tinkers, eat your hearts out.
Is it just an Oan ring, or does she have access to the Starheart like Ion did as well?
Is she basically a second Ion?
It is canon that the Universe is split into 3600 sectors, I just took the estimated number of galaxies in the universe, and divided it by the number of sectors there are.
However, the actual number of galaxies that each Green Lantern has to handle is never really brought up. There are also various situations where some sectors have more than 1 Lantern. But yeah... it's kind of insane.
Taylor now has not only the GL ring, but also all the tech of the Oan civilization, which is probably second 'only' to the New Gods in how advanced it is?
YIKES!
Tinkers, eat your hearts out.
Is it just an Oan ring, or does she have access to the Starheart like Ion did as well?
Is she basically a second Ion?
The torchbearer has the potential to become ION if they attune to the maximum with their willpower and overcome all of their fears (kind of like an apotheosis event), and by becoming ION they could recreate the central battery and revive the corps
The torchbearer has the potential to become ION if they attune to the maximum with their willpower and overcome all of their fears (kind of like an apotheosis event), and by becoming ION they could recreate the central battery and revive the corps
Now, while you aren't wrong about the Ion entity being able to kindle a new Central Power Battery, you have to also remember that the Guardians did not have access to Ion when they crafted the Original Power Battery (we can pretty determinedly prove that since Ion did not escape when Krona destroyed the Original Battery) so they must have had a way to create one without the Ion Entity.
Taylor now has not only the GL ring, but also all the tech of the Oan civilization, which is probably second 'only' to the New Gods in how advanced it is?
It is canon that the Universe is split into 3600 sectors, I just took the estimated number of galaxies in the universe, and divided it by the number of sectors there are.
However, the actual number of galaxies that each Green Lantern has to handle is never really brought up. There are also various situations where some sectors have more than 1 Lantern. But yeah... it's kind of insane.
Also, more recently, the GLC has scaled back. Oa is at the center of the galaxy, and this galaxy is divided into 3600 sectors. And, they have at least 2 Lanterns for each sector, plus some honor guards. Still insane numbers, but less insane than before.
Prevent would be accurate. Their creed seems to be to prevent galactic civilizations from fighting each other by beating up the aggressor, but otherwise leaving them to their own devices. They prevent any galactic state from enforcing their will on others, thus stomping out most attempts to enforce intergalactic law apart from the lantern's no-touching rule.
Not only are there are ridiculous number of stars in each sector, each sector is a ridiculous shape in Canon they all radiate out from a Nike spokes in the wheel so they each are a one 10th of a degree slice of the Galaxy I can't imagine a cilia way to divide up the Galaxy into areas of responsibility.
Following a particular critique/explanation that was given to me over on the SB thread, I have made a small correction to the Prologue chapter.
I had been mistaken in thinking that the International Space Station went up after the appearance of the Simurgh which would have prevented it from going up at all.
so now the Prologue mentions that there are Space Stations in orbit.
