“It has come to my attention that certain members of this congress have proposed a cessation in our attempts to exterminate the Arachnid species. It has been argued that our on-going campaign against the Bugs is to too expensive to continue and that it represents an unnecessary strain upon the federal budget.

“Furthermore, our deliberate effort to drive the Arachnids into extinction has come under severe criticism from individuals within the Civilian community of the Alliance. Many venerated scientists have argued that causing the extinction of an entire species is excessive and unwarranted, perhaps even unethical.

“Let me be clear in stating that the issue of whether or not the extinction of the Arachnids is economically or materially feasible is utterly irrelevant to this debate. The eradication of the Arachnid species is a distinctly moral imperative. To treat it otherwise can only serve to dishonor the memory of those who gave their lives to ensure the survival of our fragile Alliance.

“The fight against the Arachnids was originally implemented to ensure the survival of Terran civilization. The ethic of ‘survive first, thrive later’ was widely embraced at that time and has proven to be a salvation for both our worlds. While the survival of our Alliance is no longer threatened to the extent that it once was, the moral imperative to finish the fight remains.

“Nearly a century ago, the planet Terra faced a similar crisis of moral fortitude. During that turbulent time, bands of thugs hijacked vehicles full of innocent passengers and committed various atrocities. Confronted with such unprecedented evil, the peoples of Terra were forced to put aside their differences and unite in their struggle against chaos. They were not satisfied until these ‘terrorists’ were routed out once and for all. Thus the Strategically Integrated Coalition of Nations was forged. But in order for this civilization to endure, justice had to prevail first.

“Though the circumstances surrounding the Arachnid invasion of Tophet were quite different in many respects, consider that the Arachnids not only hijacked our military infrastructure, but they hijacked our very minds. Though my own memory of that time is blurred and incomplete, I have been forced to seriously contemplate the possibility that I commanded the death of my own mate. As the Arachnids’ unwilling liaison to my own people, I coordinated all of the military traffic within the small province where my family lived. My mate and countless others were sent to their deaths in an Arachnid mining camp located within that same province. Though there are no written records to prove the fact, the order which resulted in the death of my mate was almost certainly issued through my own teeth.

“Not only was I forced to commit atrocities of war against my will, I was forced to violate my conscience, my innermost soul. What the Arachnids did to my world was not just a crime against myself or the Tophetan race, it was a crime against all sentient life. As a civilization, we simply cannot afford even the possibility that this crime might be repeated in future.

“For this is why we must continue to fight -- not for glory, or honor, or safety's sake -- but to redeem ourselves in the eyes of those who have gone before us, and to instill hope in the eyes of those who will follow.”


Councilor T’Phai, Remarks Before Congress
In the Terran Year 2092
Tophetan Year 12 A.L. (After Liberation)