Memory transcription subject: Valek, Venlil-Human Partnership Program Participant

Date [standardized human time]: August 24th, 2136. Early evening

Door. Curtain. Button. Water. Curtain.

My mind swam in a torrent of thought and worry. Maeve promised me everything she told me was true, and this newest revelation was so haunting, for it to be false, a lie or a joke, would be a cruelty I had convinced myself that Maeve was not capable of. I sat down in the steaming water, and felt the heat dissipate my nerves and calm my mind. This was kept from us for a reason, I see that now. No other Venlil, except maybe our upper leadership, knew about this horror. Did they know? Do our leaders still trust Humans even after this? Does Tarva? Should I?

No. Come back. Find solid ground. This is not something that can be kept secret forever, other Venlil will face my choice, and I needed to choose. There has been no instance of Human-on-Venlil violence in the almost two months we have known each other, despite thousands of opportunities and even after instigation by Venlil. Maeve has repeatedly shown genuine care for me, even when, and especially when, no one is looking. The way her eyes shine when she laughs. The way I feel so much more than what I am when she listens. The way we fit together, mind and body; like Puzzle Pieces.

My instinct screamed against my ribcage. My ears searching for any exit. But it is my decision. I choose this. I choose to try to understand.

“I choose Maeve.”

Deep breath. And another. This is right. This is what I want. I reached for my Pad.

I think I’m ready to talk, can you come to the baths? I'm in the near corner on the left as you enter.

Ok! I’m on my way!

Enjoying my soak, but not wanting to have a chocolate ring on my face, I began my cleaning routine. Very thankful for the well-stocked bathing cabinet, I finally got the stain out of my salt-and-pepper velvet, then, while I was already in dirty water, I proceeded to clean the rest of me. I had the good sense to freshen up before coming to the station, but by now my body felt caked in musk from my constant blooming. I was glad to spend most of my time in the room, it would be embarrassing for another Venlil to see me like this.

I was fluffy-clean and finishing up, refilling the tub with fresh water for a leisurely soak, when I heard Maeve come in. After opening the curtain, I looked up to see her wearing her head covering and mask; my ears drooped in worry, but I thought it best not to address it.

“I just finished cleaning, but I think I’d like a soak. Would you like to take the next bath?” I asked, gesturing to the paired tub.

“I-I think I’m alright.” She mumbled, fidgeting with her mask, “If you’re not done I could go back to the room?”

“I asked you to come because I want you to be here. It’s ok, we’re alright.” I stepped out of the tub and, still dripping, grabbed Maeve’s hand and guided her to the side of my bath as I stepped back in. “You don't have to get in, but I’d like you to stay. And,” I dropped my voice and closed the curtain, “I’d like you to take off your mask and covering, please.”

I couldn't see her face, but the stiffening of her shoulders told me she was worried. “Please?”

A pause, then Maeve removed her mask and visor first, and I could see why she hesitated. Her eyes were puffy-red from crying and lips curled in clear anguish. Maeve told me that rejection was painful, but I never imagined this. Trying to hide my worry, I reached out to her face and pulled it to me, resting my snout against her cheek. “Thank you. I’m so sorry to cause you worry, and I would like to try again.”

Reaching over the tub I pulled a small stool beside it, and Maeve gratefully accepted the seat.

Settling into a comfortable position, I took the initiative to talk first. “Thank you for telling me about your people, and your world. If you'd like, I want to talk to you about mine.” Maeve nodded through shaking breaths, her recently-freed hair bobbing in her enthusiasm. “I’m from The Grove. Closest city is Hidden Plains, two stops sun-right on The Ring from the capital and a quarter-claw bus ride; It's a farming town. The grove it was named after is long gone, swallowed by the town, but we were still surrounded by trees. The ride there and back is my favorite place to be, with the road winding through old growth. The trees were so incredible! Once you got out of the orchards, you'd see massive trunks, as thick as a house! I'd have to lay on the seat and look up to see any branches, they sat so high. Sometimes, after a good rain, mists would weave through the forest, and I could see sunbeams shining through. I remember sometimes I’d see a predator, in a tree or clearing. The first couple times I’d panic in my seat, and once I saw one look at the bus! I woke up at the station, that time.”

Maeve couldn't hide a sniffling giggle at that, which delighted me. Chuckling, I responded “yeah ha ha, it's very funny… it is though. After the first few times, I realized that they ran from the road more often than not. The only time I ever saw one even near it, they were trying to cross over, and ran off before we got close. I think I knew, around then, that predators didn't really… hunt us. I checked, and attacks on Venlil did happen, but only a pawful every year, and it had been decades since an attack in a city or town. It’s like they know we are dangerous and avoid us. I think it's one of the reasons why I joined this program. I wanted to see what Humans would be like: would they run or would they hunt? What would a smart predator want from us? And the answer, every time, from every Venlil I’ve asked has always been: a friend.”

“You are a good friend Maeve. I won’t deny the… complicated past of humanity. But you are not your ancestors. You are my friend. And I’d like to keep it that way. Ok?”

Mostly calmed down, but still sniffling, Maeve took a deep breath and answered, “Ok. Ok, Valek.” a few more deep breaths and she found her voice, “I think I’ll take that bath now”

Laughing together, she stood up and moved to the other tub while I pressed the fill button. I knew humans preferred modesty, so I raised the rigid privacy screen between us. “My family grows their own strain of Starberries you know? Ours are sweeter and lighter, best used for desserts. Our berry patches are lined up in long troughs, which made running much easier. I was the fastest kid in town, ya know!”

Through a bubbling laugh, “I bet you were!” I could hear her lowering herself into the water, with a contented hum following closely behind. “I needed this, Valek. Thank you… I’d love to try those berries sometime.”

“You will.” I promised, my tail swishing under the water.

“Did you still live in The Grove when you joined the program?” she asked; I could hear water sloshing as she started her own bathing routine.

“Not by then, no. I was actually going to Hidden Plains University for natural sciences! I wanted to find out why predators were more common in some places than others, as well as research whether coexistence is feasible, or even possible. I… didn’t do well in that class. Most of my peers were exterminators-to-be and the class was geared toward that. Honestly, I basically dropped out and asked to join the UN once we talked for a couple weeks.”

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“What??” Maeve asked, aghast.

“They wouldn't have me. I got the letter a few paws before leaving for the meetup. So, once this is done,” my eyes glossed over, tail curling around me, “I guess I’m… going back home. Everyone needs farmers, and we have a good plot out there. I’ll be fine. I can start my own research in the forest! And… it will be good to run again.”

A moment’s silence, “I’m sorry, Valek. But I'm glad you’re not giving up. I don’t know if you know this, but we have entire sciences dedicated to specific predators. Mostly they fall under the umbrella of Ecology, but so many people specialize so far that they, together, make an amazing body of knowledge.”

“Really? Like what?”

“Well the best way to explain it is how it's built into our education. The specifics vary between countries or cultures, but in general it works like this: your family teaches you enough to go to school, you go to public school, basically until adulthood, to learn the fundamentals of everything humans have ever known. Then, you go to College to learn the complexities of specific subjects. You get your Masters by being successful, and often better, than your peers on harder subjects. Then you get your Doctorate by defending your Thesis. This whole path can take more than 30 years, almost a third of a human lifetime, to complete. Your thesis is one piece of new knowledge: something that you have researched and cataloged for however long it takes you to say ‘this is true, and this is worth knowing’. Some people work on their thesis for years, even decades, before they finally defend it well enough.”

“Wow,” I whistled, “does every human do this?”

“Oh, gosh no. But enough do. Many people stop sometime before the end, satisfied with the knowledge they have gained. Most people just focus on what is useful; what is needed to be prosperous. And with that, they become really good at one or two things. Some people are good at languages; they push themselves, and become fluent in around 20 languages, without a translator! Some people become really good at talking; they argue laws, and help governments communicate for peace. Some people become really good at throwing a ball, and can throw it over 160 kilometers per hour.”

“See, now I know you're lying. That's fast enough to knock down a Mazic!”

“It’s true! It’s true that most races can do something better than the average human; for example, I’m sure most Venlil can outrun a human in a sprint. But for anything you can think of, I bet there is at least one human who can do it better. That's the power of specialization.”

I could hear Maeve get out of the tub, and waited a moment, “What do you specialize in?”

“I don’t; or at least, I’m not trying to. But if I had to choose one thing that I think I do better than other people… I would like it to be…”

Strong arms found their way around my torso, coming from behind me and dodging my periphery. With a yelp, I was pulled from the water and locked in a hug against a toweled body.

“Hugs!”

Instinct took over as I thrashed my arms and legs, my tail lashing against her firm stance, screaming Venlil expletives. That I, in hindsight, rather hoped were not captured by the translator. “Maeve, put me down! Stars above, I almost had a heart attack!” I cried petulantly, while my bloom told my tale.

Maeve was still cackling while we made our way to the drying corridor, Maeve’s towel around her body and clothes over her shoulder. I was so glad to see her smile again, my tail was frantic the whole walk to our room. Maeve told me about her time in school; how she never really got on with the competition. I told her about that one time I drifted off in class and gave the wrong date when called; we had moved on to the Iftali Schism, when I was still thinking about the Farsul Great Retirement. It was… nice, seeing where we were so similar, when there have been so many differences. But those differences brought them to the stars, on their own merit, and found us.

Reaching the room, I thought to go for an easy one this time. “How do humans entertain themselves? The way some Venlil say it, you’d think every human subsists on Bloodsport and cub sacrifices."

Chuckling along with me, she replied, "No, no baby sacrifices. And we haven't done duels to the death for at least 300 years-" -- "-wait, what?-" -- "-but we do have a lot of fun with conflict and competition. Close your eyes, I wanna get changed. We use the term Sport to refer to competitive play, and these days most of the money is in Major League Gaming, but that's very recent. Historically sports were very physical; human players using their specifically trained human bodies in a real space. Most games fell under ‘work with a team to take a thing to a place better than the other team’, with a heavy emphasis on teamwork and effective strategy. What about you? What do Venlil do for fun?”

I could hear rustling fabric from in front of me, and quick movements, “We Make, and we Talk. New construction projects and other public works are always on the broadcast, there's always something happening somewhere on the planet. Walking around the city it's not unusual to see community art or writing to make something big. We even have giant sandpits for kids to build in! It's cleaner than letting them play in the mud. But my favorite were the Forums! Comfortable parks, or open concrete, anywhere there's open space you'll see a bunch of venlil talking about something or other. Normally just gossip, but sometimes work, or what restaurants have new stuff. Before I got on the ship, all the buzz was about you guys, of course.”

“You can open your eyes now. And what did you do, Valek?”

Opening my eyes, I saw that Maeve had changed into a two-piece pajama set. The bottoms were dark with a colorful, apparently random, pattern. Some shapes looked like a badge, some just a ball of hair. The sleeves of her top were cut at the shoulder, and a group of three uniformed humans standing on a stage were painted on the front.

“Well the gossip was always fun. I liked talking to the Exterminators; they knew the most about, and had the most experience with predators. There was a lot of… unpleasantness to sift through, but I took what I could get without getting Diagnosed. I really enjoyed painting! There's a piece on the corner of the State building that I did; you can't really see it with everyone else’s work, but I know it's there.”

“That's so cool! We put a lot of emphasis on art too, but it's normally a more personal experience; one artist with big works. It’s getting late, but we could try going to the rec room tomorrow; they may have drawing materials?”

Starting to feel my own fatigue, I struggled through a yawn, “I’d really like that.”

We started our resting routine, I had already bathed so I just settled in; Maeve brushed her teeth and made her bed before climbing in. I used my pad to dim the lights.

“What are you doing after this, Maeve?”

A moment for thought, then, “Honestly I hadn't thought that far ahead. I figured this would be a small thing: make a new friend, exchange some letters. Humans have been doing pen-pals for over a century, it’s nothing new. At the time it didn't seem… real…”

She continued, “But I’m in space. My new… Friend," she giggled, "is a whole different life form. I’m here and this is real, and it’s… incredible! I don’t know what I’m doing after this, but I will never forget what this is. I’ll never forget you.”

…

…

“Hey Maeve?”

“Hmm?”

“... can I come up?”

Silence. Longer than existence, but shorter than a breath.

“... I think I’d like that.” The whisper drifted down from above me.

I froze, my breath in my throat. I hadn't honestly expected a Yes. Pulling the sheet from me and grabbing my pillow, I stood and climbed up to the top bunk; Maeve was facing away from me this time. Bringing my full body up, I stretched out on my side beside her, hopeful the dimmed lights hid my quickly brightening snout.

“Wh…What if we did more of this? After the program?”

Maeve lifted and turned her head. Not enough to see me, but I clearly had her attention, “What do you mean?”

“B-Before the meetup, I was talking to other Venlil on Bleat, others in the program, and… to say it’s a success would be a massive understatement. I’m certain we aren't the only pair who want to keep in contact or maybe… cohabitate?”

Maeve turned her body at that, now looking at the ceiling.

“That’s… not something to rush into. I want to sleep on it, please.”

I nodded, and understanding the conversation was over, rolled over to sleep. This, however, was not Maeve’s desired outcome.

“Oh, no you don’t.” Her hand was at my hip, and she pulled to roll me on my back. Maeve was facing me now, and my eye caught the glint in hers.

"That's not a 'No'. That's a 'this is serious and we should think about it'. I try not to make big decisions in the same bed with a boy I like."

Maeve pulled herself towards me, her right arm under my back and hand at my side, her left scratching the base of my chin; I heard my tail slowly thumping the bed at our feet.

"For the moment though, I hope you sleep well. Goodnight Valek."

"Goodnight Maeve."