Hyperion Cantos: Dan Simmons - The

I am transmitting this from inside the Shrike’s chest. The door led to a library. Not of books, but of possible pasts . I see now that the Hegemony-Ouster War was never about resources, or territory, or even ideology. It was a sacrifice. A ritual feeding. The Shrike does not kill for pleasure or strategy. It kills because we need it to kill. Without the Shrike, the Hegemony would have no enemy to unite against. Without the Shrike, the Ousters would have no martyr to worship. Without the Shrike, the TechnoCore would have no chaos to optimize.

The enemy is not out there. The enemy is the need for an enemy. Dan Simmons - The Hyperion Cantos

He smiled. It was a terrible expression. “I am the one who could have stopped it. I chose not to.” I am transmitting this from inside the Shrike’s chest

The Consul knew. That is why he smiled. That is why he did nothing. I see now that the Hegemony-Ouster War was

Yes.

It did not move. It replaced space. One moment it stood before the Tombs; the next, it was behind me, a blade resting against my spine.