surprise, for those are our only advantages: time and surprise. The
carrying out of the surprise attack is the hardest part, and we decided
long ago to dig a tunnel under the sea to bridge Daem and the mainland,
for if we had made a fleet of ships, or attempted anything on the
surface, they would have seen and known what we intended to do. The
tunnel is very long, and it was an arduous task to undertake, but with
much patience we prevailed, and now it is complete. In fact, it was only
completed yesterday, though it was started more than 500 years ago."

"How is it that you started so long ago and only finished just before I
arrived? I asked.

"Fate," he answered, "All the happenings of the world are controlled by
a force much greater than us, and it brings everything into completion
when it is needed, no sooner and no later. Many civilizations try to out
wit fate, but they cannot, and in the end they do its bidding. Not,
however, in the way they had planned, and with more consequences than
they would like, at which point they try to change fate again and undo
those consequences, and soon they are in a downward spiral of such
deeds. We recognize that we are controlled by fate, and instead of
fighting it, we go along with it. We know that things will happen as
they are meant to happen, and we knew that 500 years ago, so it was no
great trial for us to work at our task for so long and not to know when
things would be brought to completion. You see, if we had worried about
it and attempted to change to course of events that history dictated,
than we would have only given ourselves more work for the same end.
Stress is the only thing that is created when you try to alter fate, so
it is our philosophy to take things as they come and trust to the powers
that be. You may think it unsophisticated, but that is just as well, for
what matters is not appearances, but reality, and we have the two things