Re: [Fan Fiction] Reforged (Updated 06/17/2018)
Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2018 6:04 pm
Chapter 2, part 3
The ganger and the two civilians following her had a short but intense discussion as Astarte left. It was obvious from their demeanor and what she could sense that the two civilians were following the ganger’s lead and they now had second thoughts about things. Alexandra guessed that the ganger wanted to probe her for information and somehow managed to convince the two civilians to tag along.
“Excuse us warrior, may we join you?” The ganger asked from a respectful distance away after managing to convince the two civilians to stay. Alexandra glanced at them and finally recognized one of them, the civilian who she processed right before the ganger.
“You may join me.” Alexandra replied as she gestured at the now empty chairs next to the table she sat at.
“Thank you.” All three of them sent as they sat down but they all remained awkwardly idle for a few moments before the ganger broke the mental silence.
“The décor of the recreational areas of this ship is weird, depicting Arekka like aliens; shorter and with long flat beaks but certainly Arekka looking.” Alexandra couldn’t help but chuckle from amusement at that.
“They are not aliens, they are depictions of old human stories for children about the early adventures of a fictional anthropomorphic duck, that’s one of Earth’s birds, and how he rose from absolute poverty to be the richest person ever. The ship takes its name from his lucky charm, the first coin he ever earned while still a child.” Alexandra explained.
“Fictional anthropomorphic duck? You mean he wasn’t real?” The ganger caught on instantly.
“No he isn’t real. He is an imaginary character for made up children’s tales.”
“So his stories are all lies?” One of the civilians asked.
“No, a lie is a falsehood one attempts to pass along as truth. These tales were never passed along as such.” Alexandra explained.
“Then why bother creating and passing on such tales at the first place? They aren’t real.”
“To amuse children and teach them important life lessons.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to use real stories for educational reasons?”
“Real stories don’t have the playful and carefree tone that human children find amusing enough to focus their minds on and learn from but many of his stories have elements of truth in them.” Alexandra begun. “His life’s path is an allegory for the path that many took in human history. Migrating from their place of birth where they had nothing to a new world of opportunity in order to earn their fortune. Some failed and perished to the many perils similar to those he playfully overcame but many earned themselves the fortune they sought through persistent hard work.”
“Seems like a good tool for teaching children.” The ganger commented. “But humans are sure odd for naming such a ship after an imaginary story.”
“Yes humans do seem odd at first but the ship wasn’t named by a human nor it is owned by one.”
“But who else is in human space…” A civilian thought before making the connection.
“Many Loroi who came to appreciate human storytelling see a connection between themselves and Scrooge Mc’duck, this ship is a testament to the fact that Loroi who had nothing to themselves three decades ago are now able to procure and maintain entire fleets of ships like this.” Alexandra replied.
“This ship is owned by a Loroi?” The same civilian asked.
“It’s owned by the ‘Atlantis Express’ corporation which is a Loroi owned corporation.” The two civilians couldn’t believe this at first but the ganger was thoughtful as she processed everything.
“So we truly are going to a place of opportunity…”
“Indeed, as long as you follow the law and do no harm to others you will be able to thrive, provided you are capable to grasp the opportunity when it presents itself.” Alexandra added.
“What happens to those who fail? Will they be indebted for life in a work gang?” A civilian asked.
“There are no work gangs nor is there any form of indentured servitude. The legalization of your migration contracts was initially opposed because humans believed that the initial drafts were a form of indentured servitude. The laws passed afterwards made sure that all parties involved had adequate legal protections in place to ensure that there would be no slavery nor any form of abuse of the system from the new migrants.”
“There is bound to be a downside to everything.”
“There is a downside. Humans are deeply fragmented, their current level of unification being only the logical result of Union posturing and aggressiveness. If they were left alone they would have been killing each other in the same ways our pre-unification ancestors did. We may end up being caught in some very violent infighting if we are not careful.” Alexandra begun to reply before sensing a question from one of the two civilians.
“But their males are supposed to be their warfighters, their wars cannot be of noticeable intensity.” A civilian cut in.
“Yes their males are their dominant warfighters and yes their wars were as bloody if not more than ours. It’s one of the most difficult to understand male aspects and I only understood it when I witnessed how their children play for the first time. Their male children play the exact same games like we did when we were kids, mock battles, play fighting and finding creative ways to break and fix their toys. Everything that a Loroi female child finds amusing and enjoyable their males do as well. They are too much like us and they will slaughter each other with the same ease Loroi would to other Loroi. Yet for all these similarities they are still males, beautiful and fragile in similar ways to ours.” Alexandra explained in a way she hoped the others would understand.
“What about their females?” The ganger asked.
“They are like our males in many regards, they prefer social games and certain crafts but they are vicious with each other and extremely vindictive but not in physical ways. One could mistake them for telepaths in how they perceive others but they are not, they are just Mizol-like with their instinctive abilities on how to read others through their demeanor and behavior, unnervingly so if someone isn’t wary of them. They are also very hierarchical and territorial with other females; I often thought that they acted towards me in the same way warrior caste Loroi did to civilians. Especially when it became apparent that human males pursued us as mates.”
“The way you describe them, they must have tried to limit Loroi growth in the past.”
“Of course they did but their usual tactics weren’t as effective since we are females in every way that matters to their males. The ridiculous and panicky reactions and arguments of certain of their factions about how we ‘stole their males’ and ‘endangered the future of their species’ was hilarious and ridiculous under some scrutiny. They chanted that ‘Human children won’t be born anymore’ despite the fact of the widespread use of artificial wombs for more than a century, in some of their nations more humans are now born to a machine than the bellies of their mothers because they find pregnancies to be bothersome.” Alexandra ranted before the ganger cut in.
“You seem angry about them.”
“In the same way I am angry towards many Loroi, especially the Mizol. ”Alexandra snapped back before restraining herself. “To be fair to them there have to be many decent to good females among them, I have even met a few but most human women I have run across are like the Mizol in the way they do things.”
“And their females never fight?” One of the two civilians asked.
“They have their violent tendencies but they are not geared for physical violence despite how some of their stories portray them.”
“That’s weird, weirder even than their males.”
“You have to understand that they are the weaker sex of their kind, weaker than their males and us. The fights between two or more of their females are vicious but ridiculous in their absurdity, unless they have some martial training and they are above average in their fitness.” Alexandra explained before remembering something important. “They learned quickly that we are about as strong as their males and that we have no reservation in hitting them as hard as we can, the next octalogue is about their females so you will be taught tomorrow but the gist of it is that their females are very underhanded and sneaky when they seek to harm someone and since human males don’t like to see females of either of our kinds get beaten up then you will have to learn how to act like their females in order to truly ‘beat’ them.”
“They do seem like Mizol from the way you describe them.” The ganger commented.
“Indeed and they have been of great help, in their own roundabout ways, when we ran into Mizol trickery in the past.” Alexandra replied.
“Is that what you do as warriors? Discovering Mizol tricks?” The ganger asked.
“Yes. That’s our primary mission.”
“And have you had success in doing that?”
“I have shaved a fair number of heads, some even had the good grace of shaving themselves to save me the trouble.” Alexandra bragged and hoped that the ganger caught on the meaning.
“That sounds amazing.” The ganger commented while nodding. “For civilians to be competing with Mizol in their own games.”
“To be frank I have rarely run into a competent Mizol, most of their good agents are sent to the Union’s new territories to maintain order. We at Atlantis usually get the borderline failures but some of us did have some prior experience and training before being sent to the Confederation.” Alexandra replied.
“Experience and training? Like Mizol dropouts or gangers?” One of the two civilians asked, with a weird mix of awe, shock and worry in her mind.
“Indeed, we have a variety of gangers among our ranks as their hard earned telepathic skills are invaluable in training warriors able to play the usual Mizol games.”
“And you trust them? Humans trust them?” The civilian asked again.
“Humans are understanding and they do want to keep the Mizol tricksters contained.” Alexandra caught a glimpse of the ganger nodding in understanding at that but her mind was perfectly guarded so she couldn’t be certain if it was an acknowledgement of the offer or in understanding of how things worked in the Confederation. She wouldn’t be certain until they would have a proper one to one interview but that would have to wait for later, for the time being she found it odd that neither of the two Mizol that shadowed the ganger had come close to the otherwise empty rec room; perhaps they thought it would give their cover away or perhaps they were up to something elsewhere.
“And how rich are the Loroi corporations? When compared to Loroi guilds that is.” The ganger asked.
“Not as rich as the old and most established guilds but they are getting there. Human governments generally keep a hands off approach to their private economies as long as the laws are obeyed and the taxes are paid in time. There is lobbying by the various interest groups but nowhere near the politicking the guilds take part in the Union where they are now at the mercy of the warrior castes and those who have some pull with them. My old guild supervisor is currently far richer than she was before our exile and she isn’t anywhere near the most successful Loroi from those I was shipped with.” Alexandra replied.
“That’s good but what good are such riches for if we can’t actually have children?” A civilian asked.
“That’s indeed the greatest drawback. No Loroi males to procreate with as the Union would never allow any males out of their grasp and I doubt that they would tolerate a self-sustaining Loroi population to remain outside of their control if that wasn’t the case.”
“We knew all this when we decided to migrate but even if we didn’t migrate the odds of us birthing a child would still be against us; the restrictions have been tightened even on Maia of all worlds. The warriors still have their restrictions but they can still procreate but civilians cannot hope to do that unless they are good little obedient servants to either the warriors or the guilds that blindly obey them. Gone are the days where you could earn the right if you had proven yourself successful enough.” The ganger commented.
“The results of the war generation…” Alexandra commented.
“Things will change eventually.” A civilian commented.
“Only when the influence of the war generation wanes and this won’t be anytime soon. Their collective minds are always on edge, even the ones who never actually fought. At first I thought that they simply couldn’t grasp the concept of peace but afterwards I realized that they just desired conflict. That’s why they are still like that despite the fact that the peace has not lasted twice as long as the Great War itself.” Alexandra thought.
“Their children are actually worse than their mothers, they feel that they are inadequate and that they have something to prove. They are quick to anger and hard to calm down.” A civilian commented.
“I was afraid of that, very few of these children had become senior warriors when I was exiled but the signs of how they would turn out were there and what I learn from civilians like you only proves my fears.”
Alexandra clearly remembered the cultural shift that the warrior castes went through; the warriors from before the Great war were more open to discussion and even respectful in their dealings with civilians. They were appreciative of culture and far more easy going, electing to take their time in doing things in order to absorb everything they could.
The war generation was the opposite in all regards, argumentative and belligerent; seeing hidden threats everywhere and an enemy in anyone who disagreed with them while their worse aspect was that they lacked patience. Always preferring instant results and gratification in everything they did. In a way they were still fighting the war in their minds and were terrified of letting anything go; fully believing that they would miss something important if they didn’t get what they wanted there and then.
Their children turning out worse than their mothers was the only natural conclusion. Their training, dirals and trials had become harsher and far more punishing; not just because the war generation elected to make them so but also because their children felt that they had to prove themselves worthy to their mothers. Dropouts and accidental deaths had increased dramatically but not to the point where the warriors had to limit the civilian reproductive schemes to the level they currently were which was a main point of aggravation among the civilian castes.
In the end she came to the conclusion that the war generation and their children were just tempestuous, in a near berserk state that sought an outlet, any outlet; normally their elders would see into tempering the over energetic warriors and then would the males slowly but surely calm them and broaden their mental horizons but there simply weren’t enough elder warriors to guide and mentor them, especially among the frontline warriors who were always the ones who led in terms of culture and policy.
“It will be ironic if the Shells managed to break them regardless of the war’s outcome.” Alexandra thought.
“They may have actually accomplished that.” The ganger agreed.
“The warrior castes were certainly far more agreeable before the war.” One of the civilians added.
“That they were, many of the things that have come to pass wouldn’t have done so if the warrior castes were the same as they were before the war.” Alexandra thought as she recalled the various ‘anti piracy’ incidents with Human freighters and her exile. “They would have maintained a modicum of fairness and an open mind in regards to the civilian castes. I used to think that the old stories about how suppressed we civilians were before the various trade deals with the Neridi would remain as such but it seems that they have fully outdone them now.”
“Those actually seem like better times when compared to today.” Alexandra couldn’t help but laugh at the ganger’s comment, drawing a quizzical look from all three of them.
“I am sorry, I remembered a joke I once heard about tempting fate.” They just looked at her with confusion in their minds before she decided to explain it to them. “It’s hard to understand at first, the human concept of luck is different than ours. If someone is lucky it isn’t because someone else in unlucky but because they just are lucky at that very moment, in a way blessed by luck itself. However someone lucky may lose said blessing if they tempt fate with their words, actions and even thoughts.” Something dawned in the ganger’s mind at that.
“So I tempted fate?”
“In a way, the joke was about something between me and my mate. The gist of it was that when someone favorably reminisces a bad situation then the universe will bend itself out of shape not only to re-enact said bad situation but to actually make it even worse.” Alexandra replied.
“I can see how someone would come to believe that.” One of the civilians commented.
“Humans are like that, my mate in particular is of the thinking of always expecting and preparing for the worst so he may be pleasantly surprised when things turn out well.”
“You are fond of him.” The ganger commented.
“I am… and I would be unhealthily so if he was a Loroi; not that he doesn’t remind me of a Loroi male most of the time, right before he showcases his human nature.”
“What do you mean?”
“We Loroi are on average as strong as a human male of similar height but human males tend to be taller than us and take on muscle easier than us. In general human males are marginally stronger than us but they can outclass us if they undergo muscle building training. With this in mind one would think that human males wouldn’t be deep thinkers and philosophers but many of them are and amazingly so. My male is such a thinker but he is still human and he instinctively wants to be protective of me, his mate. His solution of me being as strong as he was at the time was to undergo muscle building training so he could be able to ‘protect me’. I told him it was a waste of time and foolish but he put on some nice hard muscles after some time. This in turn lead to frequent and intense mating encounters since human male libido is directly tied with the hormones that boost their muscle growth. I once joked that I wouldn’t get pregnant no matter how much we mated and he replied that the universe was bound to eventually take pity and bend itself to his will.” The three of them chuckled at that.
“That’s a male alright, how did you reply?”
“Take pity on who?” All three of them laughed at that she couldn’t help but join them.
“And what did he say next?”
“He didn’t say anything; we just mated until I couldn’t continue anymore.” Their stupefied expressions at that were a sight to behold.
“Such males are impossible…” The ganger commented.
“They take some getting used to, especially their outlook towards us. They have come to regard us as ‘beautiful super women’ for all the things we consider natural about us and they have the bad habit of wanting to pamper us.” Alexandra added.
“Super women?” A civilian asked in disbelief.
“We are stronger than their females, all of us are telepaths and there are some telekinetics and eidetics among us. All this makes us super women in their minds.” Alexandra explained.
“With the same reasoning then we should consider them super men; they can easily become stronger than us and they have an impregnable Lotai.” The ganger commented.
“Many of us have pointed this out plenty of times but they tend to be as disbelieving of the notion as we are of their notions.”
“They are very much like us then.” The ganger commented as she leaned back and looked around. “This is a recreation area but there is no one but us here and I don’t recognize any of the games around us.”
“Yes but all of the games here don’t hold much appeal to us Loroi for a variety of reasons, mainly because we can easily cheat in most of them.” Alexandra explained and pointed at the four billiard tables nearby. “Those rectangular tables with the holes are billiard tables, the games played on them revolve around taking turns in pushing various colored balls into the holes by tapping them with the pointy end of the long sticks that are hanging by the wall next to the tables. Even a very weak telekinetic can easily cheat by applying some force on the balls and as such even we who are accustomed with human games rarely play such games. The few humans on the ship will arrange some games when time permits but this place is usually empty most of the time.”
“And what about these tables?” The ganger asked as she gestured at the card table they were sitting next to.
“These are card tables, the games are played with decks of 52 cards and most of them involve chance and bluffing in order to misdirect the other players as to the cards one ‘holds’ in their hand. Telepathy is an inherent cheating tool for obvious reasons.”
“I can understand why such games don’t have much appeal among Loroi, if someone walks behind a player and sees the cards then they can inform the other players.” The ganger commented.
“Indeed but there are some games that are somewhat popular with us.”
“There are?”
“Yes.” Alexandra leaned back and opened the small drawer underneath the table where the decks of cards were and took one out. “The most popular one is ‘Indian Poker’. Each players is first dealt one card that only they are allowed to see and then they are dealt another card which they must hold like this.” She then took a card from the deck and without looking at it she brought it up to her forehead with her right hand to show it to the others.
“This looks ridiculous.” A civilian commented.
“Humans usually play this variant when they are in intoxicated.” Alexandra explained before continuing. “The players place their wagers while holding their second cards on their foreheads. The player with the strongest combination of cards wins the pot. When a wager is made the other players must match its value or fold.” The ganger’s mind betrayed her understanding as she finished.
“I can see the appeal; you know the value of one of your two cards while all the other players know the value of your other card. In order to win you have to deduce the combined value of your cards and that of your opponents cards.”
“Exactly, mental misdirection is also required to trick the other players while playing.” Alexandra added.
“So how do we determine which card combinations are stronger than the others?”
It didn’t take long for Alexandra to explain the card values and the other minor rules of Indian poker before the four of them started playing. The two civilians lost their allotted marks relatively quickly, one of them even managed to score two lucky wins before being knocked out but they both remained to see how the game would conclude; obviously impressed by the mental competition between Alexandra and the ganger who proved to have a good poker sense and face up until the moment the ganger remembered that she had things to attend to and purposefully lost the last two rounds of the game.
Chapter 3, part 1: http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 766#p30766
The ganger and the two civilians following her had a short but intense discussion as Astarte left. It was obvious from their demeanor and what she could sense that the two civilians were following the ganger’s lead and they now had second thoughts about things. Alexandra guessed that the ganger wanted to probe her for information and somehow managed to convince the two civilians to tag along.
“Excuse us warrior, may we join you?” The ganger asked from a respectful distance away after managing to convince the two civilians to stay. Alexandra glanced at them and finally recognized one of them, the civilian who she processed right before the ganger.
“You may join me.” Alexandra replied as she gestured at the now empty chairs next to the table she sat at.
“Thank you.” All three of them sent as they sat down but they all remained awkwardly idle for a few moments before the ganger broke the mental silence.
“The décor of the recreational areas of this ship is weird, depicting Arekka like aliens; shorter and with long flat beaks but certainly Arekka looking.” Alexandra couldn’t help but chuckle from amusement at that.
“They are not aliens, they are depictions of old human stories for children about the early adventures of a fictional anthropomorphic duck, that’s one of Earth’s birds, and how he rose from absolute poverty to be the richest person ever. The ship takes its name from his lucky charm, the first coin he ever earned while still a child.” Alexandra explained.
“Fictional anthropomorphic duck? You mean he wasn’t real?” The ganger caught on instantly.
“No he isn’t real. He is an imaginary character for made up children’s tales.”
“So his stories are all lies?” One of the civilians asked.
“No, a lie is a falsehood one attempts to pass along as truth. These tales were never passed along as such.” Alexandra explained.
“Then why bother creating and passing on such tales at the first place? They aren’t real.”
“To amuse children and teach them important life lessons.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to use real stories for educational reasons?”
“Real stories don’t have the playful and carefree tone that human children find amusing enough to focus their minds on and learn from but many of his stories have elements of truth in them.” Alexandra begun. “His life’s path is an allegory for the path that many took in human history. Migrating from their place of birth where they had nothing to a new world of opportunity in order to earn their fortune. Some failed and perished to the many perils similar to those he playfully overcame but many earned themselves the fortune they sought through persistent hard work.”
“Seems like a good tool for teaching children.” The ganger commented. “But humans are sure odd for naming such a ship after an imaginary story.”
“Yes humans do seem odd at first but the ship wasn’t named by a human nor it is owned by one.”
“But who else is in human space…” A civilian thought before making the connection.
“Many Loroi who came to appreciate human storytelling see a connection between themselves and Scrooge Mc’duck, this ship is a testament to the fact that Loroi who had nothing to themselves three decades ago are now able to procure and maintain entire fleets of ships like this.” Alexandra replied.
“This ship is owned by a Loroi?” The same civilian asked.
“It’s owned by the ‘Atlantis Express’ corporation which is a Loroi owned corporation.” The two civilians couldn’t believe this at first but the ganger was thoughtful as she processed everything.
“So we truly are going to a place of opportunity…”
“Indeed, as long as you follow the law and do no harm to others you will be able to thrive, provided you are capable to grasp the opportunity when it presents itself.” Alexandra added.
“What happens to those who fail? Will they be indebted for life in a work gang?” A civilian asked.
“There are no work gangs nor is there any form of indentured servitude. The legalization of your migration contracts was initially opposed because humans believed that the initial drafts were a form of indentured servitude. The laws passed afterwards made sure that all parties involved had adequate legal protections in place to ensure that there would be no slavery nor any form of abuse of the system from the new migrants.”
“There is bound to be a downside to everything.”
“There is a downside. Humans are deeply fragmented, their current level of unification being only the logical result of Union posturing and aggressiveness. If they were left alone they would have been killing each other in the same ways our pre-unification ancestors did. We may end up being caught in some very violent infighting if we are not careful.” Alexandra begun to reply before sensing a question from one of the two civilians.
“But their males are supposed to be their warfighters, their wars cannot be of noticeable intensity.” A civilian cut in.
“Yes their males are their dominant warfighters and yes their wars were as bloody if not more than ours. It’s one of the most difficult to understand male aspects and I only understood it when I witnessed how their children play for the first time. Their male children play the exact same games like we did when we were kids, mock battles, play fighting and finding creative ways to break and fix their toys. Everything that a Loroi female child finds amusing and enjoyable their males do as well. They are too much like us and they will slaughter each other with the same ease Loroi would to other Loroi. Yet for all these similarities they are still males, beautiful and fragile in similar ways to ours.” Alexandra explained in a way she hoped the others would understand.
“What about their females?” The ganger asked.
“They are like our males in many regards, they prefer social games and certain crafts but they are vicious with each other and extremely vindictive but not in physical ways. One could mistake them for telepaths in how they perceive others but they are not, they are just Mizol-like with their instinctive abilities on how to read others through their demeanor and behavior, unnervingly so if someone isn’t wary of them. They are also very hierarchical and territorial with other females; I often thought that they acted towards me in the same way warrior caste Loroi did to civilians. Especially when it became apparent that human males pursued us as mates.”
“The way you describe them, they must have tried to limit Loroi growth in the past.”
“Of course they did but their usual tactics weren’t as effective since we are females in every way that matters to their males. The ridiculous and panicky reactions and arguments of certain of their factions about how we ‘stole their males’ and ‘endangered the future of their species’ was hilarious and ridiculous under some scrutiny. They chanted that ‘Human children won’t be born anymore’ despite the fact of the widespread use of artificial wombs for more than a century, in some of their nations more humans are now born to a machine than the bellies of their mothers because they find pregnancies to be bothersome.” Alexandra ranted before the ganger cut in.
“You seem angry about them.”
“In the same way I am angry towards many Loroi, especially the Mizol. ”Alexandra snapped back before restraining herself. “To be fair to them there have to be many decent to good females among them, I have even met a few but most human women I have run across are like the Mizol in the way they do things.”
“And their females never fight?” One of the two civilians asked.
“They have their violent tendencies but they are not geared for physical violence despite how some of their stories portray them.”
“That’s weird, weirder even than their males.”
“You have to understand that they are the weaker sex of their kind, weaker than their males and us. The fights between two or more of their females are vicious but ridiculous in their absurdity, unless they have some martial training and they are above average in their fitness.” Alexandra explained before remembering something important. “They learned quickly that we are about as strong as their males and that we have no reservation in hitting them as hard as we can, the next octalogue is about their females so you will be taught tomorrow but the gist of it is that their females are very underhanded and sneaky when they seek to harm someone and since human males don’t like to see females of either of our kinds get beaten up then you will have to learn how to act like their females in order to truly ‘beat’ them.”
“They do seem like Mizol from the way you describe them.” The ganger commented.
“Indeed and they have been of great help, in their own roundabout ways, when we ran into Mizol trickery in the past.” Alexandra replied.
“Is that what you do as warriors? Discovering Mizol tricks?” The ganger asked.
“Yes. That’s our primary mission.”
“And have you had success in doing that?”
“I have shaved a fair number of heads, some even had the good grace of shaving themselves to save me the trouble.” Alexandra bragged and hoped that the ganger caught on the meaning.
“That sounds amazing.” The ganger commented while nodding. “For civilians to be competing with Mizol in their own games.”
“To be frank I have rarely run into a competent Mizol, most of their good agents are sent to the Union’s new territories to maintain order. We at Atlantis usually get the borderline failures but some of us did have some prior experience and training before being sent to the Confederation.” Alexandra replied.
“Experience and training? Like Mizol dropouts or gangers?” One of the two civilians asked, with a weird mix of awe, shock and worry in her mind.
“Indeed, we have a variety of gangers among our ranks as their hard earned telepathic skills are invaluable in training warriors able to play the usual Mizol games.”
“And you trust them? Humans trust them?” The civilian asked again.
“Humans are understanding and they do want to keep the Mizol tricksters contained.” Alexandra caught a glimpse of the ganger nodding in understanding at that but her mind was perfectly guarded so she couldn’t be certain if it was an acknowledgement of the offer or in understanding of how things worked in the Confederation. She wouldn’t be certain until they would have a proper one to one interview but that would have to wait for later, for the time being she found it odd that neither of the two Mizol that shadowed the ganger had come close to the otherwise empty rec room; perhaps they thought it would give their cover away or perhaps they were up to something elsewhere.
“And how rich are the Loroi corporations? When compared to Loroi guilds that is.” The ganger asked.
“Not as rich as the old and most established guilds but they are getting there. Human governments generally keep a hands off approach to their private economies as long as the laws are obeyed and the taxes are paid in time. There is lobbying by the various interest groups but nowhere near the politicking the guilds take part in the Union where they are now at the mercy of the warrior castes and those who have some pull with them. My old guild supervisor is currently far richer than she was before our exile and she isn’t anywhere near the most successful Loroi from those I was shipped with.” Alexandra replied.
“That’s good but what good are such riches for if we can’t actually have children?” A civilian asked.
“That’s indeed the greatest drawback. No Loroi males to procreate with as the Union would never allow any males out of their grasp and I doubt that they would tolerate a self-sustaining Loroi population to remain outside of their control if that wasn’t the case.”
“We knew all this when we decided to migrate but even if we didn’t migrate the odds of us birthing a child would still be against us; the restrictions have been tightened even on Maia of all worlds. The warriors still have their restrictions but they can still procreate but civilians cannot hope to do that unless they are good little obedient servants to either the warriors or the guilds that blindly obey them. Gone are the days where you could earn the right if you had proven yourself successful enough.” The ganger commented.
“The results of the war generation…” Alexandra commented.
“Things will change eventually.” A civilian commented.
“Only when the influence of the war generation wanes and this won’t be anytime soon. Their collective minds are always on edge, even the ones who never actually fought. At first I thought that they simply couldn’t grasp the concept of peace but afterwards I realized that they just desired conflict. That’s why they are still like that despite the fact that the peace has not lasted twice as long as the Great War itself.” Alexandra thought.
“Their children are actually worse than their mothers, they feel that they are inadequate and that they have something to prove. They are quick to anger and hard to calm down.” A civilian commented.
“I was afraid of that, very few of these children had become senior warriors when I was exiled but the signs of how they would turn out were there and what I learn from civilians like you only proves my fears.”
Alexandra clearly remembered the cultural shift that the warrior castes went through; the warriors from before the Great war were more open to discussion and even respectful in their dealings with civilians. They were appreciative of culture and far more easy going, electing to take their time in doing things in order to absorb everything they could.
The war generation was the opposite in all regards, argumentative and belligerent; seeing hidden threats everywhere and an enemy in anyone who disagreed with them while their worse aspect was that they lacked patience. Always preferring instant results and gratification in everything they did. In a way they were still fighting the war in their minds and were terrified of letting anything go; fully believing that they would miss something important if they didn’t get what they wanted there and then.
Their children turning out worse than their mothers was the only natural conclusion. Their training, dirals and trials had become harsher and far more punishing; not just because the war generation elected to make them so but also because their children felt that they had to prove themselves worthy to their mothers. Dropouts and accidental deaths had increased dramatically but not to the point where the warriors had to limit the civilian reproductive schemes to the level they currently were which was a main point of aggravation among the civilian castes.
In the end she came to the conclusion that the war generation and their children were just tempestuous, in a near berserk state that sought an outlet, any outlet; normally their elders would see into tempering the over energetic warriors and then would the males slowly but surely calm them and broaden their mental horizons but there simply weren’t enough elder warriors to guide and mentor them, especially among the frontline warriors who were always the ones who led in terms of culture and policy.
“It will be ironic if the Shells managed to break them regardless of the war’s outcome.” Alexandra thought.
“They may have actually accomplished that.” The ganger agreed.
“The warrior castes were certainly far more agreeable before the war.” One of the civilians added.
“That they were, many of the things that have come to pass wouldn’t have done so if the warrior castes were the same as they were before the war.” Alexandra thought as she recalled the various ‘anti piracy’ incidents with Human freighters and her exile. “They would have maintained a modicum of fairness and an open mind in regards to the civilian castes. I used to think that the old stories about how suppressed we civilians were before the various trade deals with the Neridi would remain as such but it seems that they have fully outdone them now.”
“Those actually seem like better times when compared to today.” Alexandra couldn’t help but laugh at the ganger’s comment, drawing a quizzical look from all three of them.
“I am sorry, I remembered a joke I once heard about tempting fate.” They just looked at her with confusion in their minds before she decided to explain it to them. “It’s hard to understand at first, the human concept of luck is different than ours. If someone is lucky it isn’t because someone else in unlucky but because they just are lucky at that very moment, in a way blessed by luck itself. However someone lucky may lose said blessing if they tempt fate with their words, actions and even thoughts.” Something dawned in the ganger’s mind at that.
“So I tempted fate?”
“In a way, the joke was about something between me and my mate. The gist of it was that when someone favorably reminisces a bad situation then the universe will bend itself out of shape not only to re-enact said bad situation but to actually make it even worse.” Alexandra replied.
“I can see how someone would come to believe that.” One of the civilians commented.
“Humans are like that, my mate in particular is of the thinking of always expecting and preparing for the worst so he may be pleasantly surprised when things turn out well.”
“You are fond of him.” The ganger commented.
“I am… and I would be unhealthily so if he was a Loroi; not that he doesn’t remind me of a Loroi male most of the time, right before he showcases his human nature.”
“What do you mean?”
“We Loroi are on average as strong as a human male of similar height but human males tend to be taller than us and take on muscle easier than us. In general human males are marginally stronger than us but they can outclass us if they undergo muscle building training. With this in mind one would think that human males wouldn’t be deep thinkers and philosophers but many of them are and amazingly so. My male is such a thinker but he is still human and he instinctively wants to be protective of me, his mate. His solution of me being as strong as he was at the time was to undergo muscle building training so he could be able to ‘protect me’. I told him it was a waste of time and foolish but he put on some nice hard muscles after some time. This in turn lead to frequent and intense mating encounters since human male libido is directly tied with the hormones that boost their muscle growth. I once joked that I wouldn’t get pregnant no matter how much we mated and he replied that the universe was bound to eventually take pity and bend itself to his will.” The three of them chuckled at that.
“That’s a male alright, how did you reply?”
“Take pity on who?” All three of them laughed at that she couldn’t help but join them.
“And what did he say next?”
“He didn’t say anything; we just mated until I couldn’t continue anymore.” Their stupefied expressions at that were a sight to behold.
“Such males are impossible…” The ganger commented.
“They take some getting used to, especially their outlook towards us. They have come to regard us as ‘beautiful super women’ for all the things we consider natural about us and they have the bad habit of wanting to pamper us.” Alexandra added.
“Super women?” A civilian asked in disbelief.
“We are stronger than their females, all of us are telepaths and there are some telekinetics and eidetics among us. All this makes us super women in their minds.” Alexandra explained.
“With the same reasoning then we should consider them super men; they can easily become stronger than us and they have an impregnable Lotai.” The ganger commented.
“Many of us have pointed this out plenty of times but they tend to be as disbelieving of the notion as we are of their notions.”
“They are very much like us then.” The ganger commented as she leaned back and looked around. “This is a recreation area but there is no one but us here and I don’t recognize any of the games around us.”
“Yes but all of the games here don’t hold much appeal to us Loroi for a variety of reasons, mainly because we can easily cheat in most of them.” Alexandra explained and pointed at the four billiard tables nearby. “Those rectangular tables with the holes are billiard tables, the games played on them revolve around taking turns in pushing various colored balls into the holes by tapping them with the pointy end of the long sticks that are hanging by the wall next to the tables. Even a very weak telekinetic can easily cheat by applying some force on the balls and as such even we who are accustomed with human games rarely play such games. The few humans on the ship will arrange some games when time permits but this place is usually empty most of the time.”
“And what about these tables?” The ganger asked as she gestured at the card table they were sitting next to.
“These are card tables, the games are played with decks of 52 cards and most of them involve chance and bluffing in order to misdirect the other players as to the cards one ‘holds’ in their hand. Telepathy is an inherent cheating tool for obvious reasons.”
“I can understand why such games don’t have much appeal among Loroi, if someone walks behind a player and sees the cards then they can inform the other players.” The ganger commented.
“Indeed but there are some games that are somewhat popular with us.”
“There are?”
“Yes.” Alexandra leaned back and opened the small drawer underneath the table where the decks of cards were and took one out. “The most popular one is ‘Indian Poker’. Each players is first dealt one card that only they are allowed to see and then they are dealt another card which they must hold like this.” She then took a card from the deck and without looking at it she brought it up to her forehead with her right hand to show it to the others.
“This looks ridiculous.” A civilian commented.
“Humans usually play this variant when they are in intoxicated.” Alexandra explained before continuing. “The players place their wagers while holding their second cards on their foreheads. The player with the strongest combination of cards wins the pot. When a wager is made the other players must match its value or fold.” The ganger’s mind betrayed her understanding as she finished.
“I can see the appeal; you know the value of one of your two cards while all the other players know the value of your other card. In order to win you have to deduce the combined value of your cards and that of your opponents cards.”
“Exactly, mental misdirection is also required to trick the other players while playing.” Alexandra added.
“So how do we determine which card combinations are stronger than the others?”
It didn’t take long for Alexandra to explain the card values and the other minor rules of Indian poker before the four of them started playing. The two civilians lost their allotted marks relatively quickly, one of them even managed to score two lucky wins before being knocked out but they both remained to see how the game would conclude; obviously impressed by the mental competition between Alexandra and the ganger who proved to have a good poker sense and face up until the moment the ganger remembered that she had things to attend to and purposefully lost the last two rounds of the game.
Chapter 3, part 1: http://www.well-of-souls.com/forums/vie ... 766#p30766