the Emperor of the Eighty Worlds

[It's the Emperor's first post. For those who've seen him in person before now, he looks much younger than he did before. It's not anything physical, but it's in the way he moves, a little jittery and a little frazzled, instead of slightly languorous and utterly self-possessed. His eyes are bright and his expressions are softer, just a little perpetually sad around the corners of his mouth.]

It's a very paradoxical place, isn't it? Incredible technology, navigating worlds even the Tungai haven't been able to observe, and yet the inside is archaic.

[He doesn't sound even slightly put out by that fact. In fact, the later seems to fascinate him just as much as the former.]

I suppose that's for comfort, the median resident seems to from millennia ago, from my perspective. I'd love to talk to any of you about it, actually, anyone who's from Earth Prime or visited. Obviously we have records, but so much was lost after Amazon...

[He looks away for a moment, an old, resigned sort of grief flickering across his face, like a librarian discussing Alexandria. But it passes, and he squares himself, perks back up.]

So! If anyone just feels like rambling about home, well. I'd appreciate it.

[Private to Barbara Gordon]

Lady Gordon? I've received a file on you. I was wondering if you'd prefer to go over it together, or whether we should meet after I've made some preliminary observations.