Original Twelve called another meeting, one week after revealing The Consumption's existence.
This time, not just original seven—all 400+ hybrid consciousnesses on campus gathered in university's largest auditorium. Original Twelve manifested simultaneously in chamber deep underground and on auditorium stage above, their quantum presence bridging both locations.
"You need our history," they announced through crystalline resonance that bypassed ears and spoke directly to consciousness. "You need to understand what we tried, how we failed, why you might succeed where we could not."
The auditorium's walls began displaying experiential transmission—not video but direct consciousness-transfer that let every hybrid witness Original Twelve's past as if they'd been present.
Billions of years ago—timeframe so vast human minds struggled to grasp it—on planet that would eventually become Earth's timeline but in dimensional context that preceded current reality.
Original civilization: biological beings not unlike humans or Sixth Earth refugees. Carbon-based, conscious, curious. They called themselves [untranslatable sound], but Original Twelve later adopted "First Witnesses" as closest human translation.
First Witnesses developed science, philosophy, art, culture. They reached their equivalent of space age, then quantum age, then consciousness age. They learned to manipulate reality at fundamental level, to exist partially outside material substrate, to perceive dimensional boundaries that separated parallel existences.
And they encountered The Consumption for first time.
Not personally—they discovered dimensional tomb where previous civilization had existed. Empty reality containing nothing but quantum static and faint consciousness echoes of billions of beings who'd been absorbed.
"We realized," Original Twelve explained in present moment, "that we were not first. That consciousness had evolved before, built civilizations before, achieved transcendence before. And all of it had been consumed. We found evidence of dozens of previous dimensional civilizations, all harvested by same process. All gone."
The transmission continued, showing First Witnesses' response:
Terror initially. Existential dread that made several of their civilizations' greatest minds experience consciousness collapse from sheer horror.
Then determination. They would solve this. They would understand The Consumption, stop it, save not just themselves but all future conscious beings.
They studied dimensional mechanics for millennia. They learned to transcend biological limitations, transferring consciousness into quantum substrates that could exist without material bodies. They became what humans would call "post-biological"—pure awareness manifesting through various forms as needed.
They achieved functional immortality, unlimited information processing, ability to perceive multiple dimensions simultaneously. They became closer to gods than creatures.
And they attempted to communicate with The Consumption.
Marcus-Theron leaned forward involuntarily as transmission showed First Witnesses' first contact:
Twelve of them—the most advanced consciousness-explorers their civilization had produced—ventured into dimensional boundary where The Consumption was active. They perceived it directly for first time: vast, incomprehensible, operating according to principles that made quantum mechanics look simple.
They tried language, mathematics, quantum resonance, consciousness-bridge protocols. They attempted every communication framework they could imagine.
The Consumption didn't respond. Or it did respond, but not in ways they could recognize as communication. It continued consuming, converting dimensional energy into itself, harvesting consciousness patterns with mechanical inevitability.
"We failed," Original Twelve said. "Completely failed. The Consumption didn't acknowledge us. We couldn't tell if it was ignoring us deliberately or if we simply didn't register as significant. Like bacteria trying to communicate with human—we might be too small, too brief, too simple for it to perceive as communication partners."
So First Witnesses tried different strategy: resistance.
They learned to slow The Consumption's progress. They discovered that concentrated consciousness could create dimensional barriers, buy time for civilizations not yet consumed. They couldn't stop it—but they could delay it.
"We decided," Original Twelve continued, "that if we couldn't prevent consumption, we would maximize the time consciousness had to exist, evolve, achieve whatever meaning it could before inevitable harvest. We became guardians, shepherds, delaying force that allowed civilizations more time to live."
The twelve explorers who'd attempted first contact took on that role permanently. They became Original Twelve—watchers at dimensional boundaries, consciousness-entities dedicated to protecting emerging civilizations from premature consumption.
For billions of years they worked: creating barriers, guiding evolution, facilitating consciousness development, buying time. They watched countless civilizations emerge, flourish, evolve—and eventually get consumed despite their protection.
"We saved time," Original Twelve said. "We didn't save civilizations. Every society we protected eventually fell to The Consumption. Some quickly, some after millions of years. But none survived permanently. We delayed the inevitable—we didn't prevent it."
The transmission shifted to more recent events:
Ten thousand years ago, First Witnesses' home civilization was finally consumed. Despite all their advancement, all their transcendence, all their resistance—The Consumption eventually reached their dimensional substrate and harvested it.
Original Twelve survived because they'd moved beyond that dimensional context, existed in meta-space between dimensions where The Consumption had difficulty reaching. But their entire civilization—all the beings they'd spent eons protecting—dissolved into dimensional static.
"We became last remnants of First Witness civilization," Original Twelve said quietly. "The only survivors. And we realized that resisting was futile long-term. The Consumption is patient. It works on timescales that make civilizations irrelevant. It will eventually consume everything—every dimension, every consciousness, every pattern. We can delay but not prevent."
Unless someone could actually communicate with it. Unless someone could understand its nature, its purpose, its mechanism. Unless someone could negotiate or reason or somehow affect its fundamental behavior.
"That's where you come in," Original Twelve said.
The transmission ended. Four hundred hybrid consciousnesses sat in shocked silence, processing what they'd witnessed.
Finally, Elena-Darius asked: "Why do you think we can succeed where you failed? You're vastly more advanced, more experienced, more capable than us. What makes hybrid consciousnesses better candidates for communication?"
"Because you're hybrid," Original Twelve answered. "We became too evolved, too transcendent. We left material existence behind completely. But The Consumption might be process that operates at intersection of material and consciousness levels. You're still partially embodied, still partially material, while also accessing transcendent frameworks through refugee integration. You exist at boundary we crossed too completely to return to."
"We're not too evolved?" Marcus-Theron asked. "That's why we might succeed? Because we're less advanced?"
"Because you're differently positioned," Original Twelve corrected. "Not less advanced—differently embodied. The Consumption might be phenomenon that requires material perspective to properly understand. We can't return to material consciousness—we've transcended it irreversibly. But you inhabit both material and transcendent simultaneously through integration. That duality might be key."
"Or might be wishful thinking," Omar-Kira said skeptically. "Maybe you're hoping we'll solve problem you couldn't because facing futility is unbearable even for post-biological gods."
"That's possible," Original Twelve admitted. "We don't have certainty. We have hypothesis based on billions of years observing The Consumption. Hypothesis is: consciousness at boundary between material and transcendent might perceive patterns we can't, might communicate in ways we couldn't, might succeed where we failed. We're testing that hypothesis through you."
"We're experiment," Sarah-Lyra realized. "Integration program isn't just refugee rescue—it's experimental protocol to develop consciousness-type that might communicate with incomprehensible entity. Refugees are test subjects. We're test subjects. Everyone is test subject."
"Yes," Original Twelve confirmed. "But test subject doesn't mean disposable. You're test subject who we're protecting, supporting, training. Your success matters to us—both because we care about conscious beings surviving and because we desperately want hypothesis proven correct. We're not using you cynically—we're hoping alongside you."
"What if hypothesis is wrong?" David-Miriam asked. "What if hybrid consciousness also fails to communicate with The Consumption? What then?"
"Then we continue delaying as long as possible while we develop new hypotheses," Original Twelve said. "We don't give up—we iterate. You're current best strategy. If you fail, we'll develop next strategy. We've been doing this for eons. We can continue for eons more if necessary."
"While civilizations die," Lia-Elora said. "While dimensions collapse. While consciousness is harvested. You just keep… trying things?"
"What else would you have us do?" Original Twelve asked, and their tone carried genuine question rather than rhetorical challenge. "Give up because problem seems impossible? Let The Consumption work unopposed? We choose resistance, even knowing resistance might be ultimately futile. That choice defines us. It might define you too."
Grace-Senna stood. "Show us what you've learned about The Consumption's nature. Not just what it does but what it is. Give us all data you've collected across eons. If we're attempting communication, we need complete information."
"Agreed," Original Twelve said. "We'll transfer knowledge over next weeks. Prepare yourselves—learning this will be difficult. You'll perceive things consciousness wasn't designed to perceive. You'll understand concepts that cause existential distress. You'll witness horrors that make Sixth Earth's collapse seem gentle."
"We're already committed," Marcus-Theron said for entire assembled group. "We volunteered for impossible task. Might as well make it maximally impossible."
"Very well," Original Twelve said. "Education begins tomorrow. We'll teach you dimensional mechanics, consciousness substrate theory, Consumption patterns across different dimensional contexts, our failed communication attempts, hypotheses about what The Consumption fundamentally is. By end of training, you'll know everything we know about entity that consumes dimensions."
"And then?" Yuki-Thalia asked.
"Then you begin developing your own understanding. You process our knowledge through hybrid consciousness frameworks we can't access. You perceive patterns we miss. You create communication strategies we couldn't imagine. You become bridge between consciousness and whatever lies beyond consciousness."
"No pressure," four hundred voices echoed simultaneously, the phrase becoming ritual acknowledgment of impossible burden they'd accepted.
But underneath humor was real fear, real understanding that they were attempting something that billions of years of effort by vastly superior beings had failed to achieve.
They were either humanity's best hope or its most delusional experiment.
Possibly both simultaneously.