---Confession---
---Khr’kowan’s perspective---
I sit in the council, my new broodhusband at my side and a new cape on my back.
I wanted a nice one and (on account of my size) needed to order it specially, so my coffer is quite a few iron coins lighter for it!
Of course, gaining Kurkhuw for such a low price is still a fantastic deal!
I had expected to need to empty my savings and borrow besides!
My father obviously offered to cover the dowry but… I refused… I like the thought that Kurkhuw belongs to me and only to me(!)… I paid for him, afterall(!)
I smile down at him for a moment before turning my attention to the [GU] contingent.
They’ve asked to talk to us on a matter of some import.
I see a lot of faces who are new to the council.
They’re… the healers…
I wonder what this could be about?
Ambassador Yeshe stands.
“Greetings all.” she states.
Her tone is… not sombre but more serious than usual.
“First, I would like to bid a hearty congratulations to General Khr’kowan and Sir Kurkhuw on their recent marriage. May it be… prosperous.” she acknowledges me and my broodhusband.
I return her acknowledgement, slightly apprehensively.
“Next, I need to confess something…”
The mood in the room noticeably shifts.
What might she be confessing?!
I pray to the Weaver that, whatever it is, it isn’t provocative enough to instantly forestall negotiations!
“…It regards the birthing ceremony we attended a few weeks ago.” she explains “You see, when we received that invitation… We did not know what to expect… We thought we understood that we did not know what to expect but… what we saw was shocking to us!”
A murmur rises, all discussing the same question; what was so shocking?
“To explain why, I need to teach you two words; [semelparity] and [iteroparity]…”
A staggered gasp arises as the words are explained by the devices at our foreheads and people put the pieces together.
“Yes… I can see that some of you already understand and are beginning to suspect where I’m going with this but, just for any who don’t and aren’t, I will briefly explain: [Semelparity] is the phenomenon of breeding only once in your lifetime and dying directly or shortly thereafter, producing numerous offspring in the hope that some portion of them will make it to adulthood and themselves come to breed… Vrakhand women are [semelparous]… [Iteroparity] is the phenomenon of breeding repeatedly over the course of one’s life, with the number of times you do so having minimal to no baring on your overall longevity… Vrakhand men are [iteroparous]… and so are both sexes of Human… as well as both sexes of every. single. other sapient species that sexually reproduces…”
There’s a brief moment of stunned silence before, all at once, an outraged clamour rises from the room.
Some are calling what she said lies.
Some are demanding to know if this fact relegates them to a state of nonsentience in the [GU]’s eyes.
For myself, I’m still processing it.
Realising that, had I been born as any other species, my mother is a person I might have known… not a myth I had to learn about!
I’m shaken from my stupor by hearing my father ineffectually calling for silence over the din.
I rise to my feet and bellow “SIIIIILEEEEENCE!!!” shutting up everyone else immediately!
I turn to my father and gesture him to go ahead.
He leans forward and invites “Please continue, Ambassador.”
She nods her head before continuing “I wish to briefly address those querying what bearing Vrakhand [semelparity] has on your status. None! This unique trait of yours has absolutely no bearing on whether you are considered sapient, sentient or eligible to join the GU… You still are! Also, as I did hear a few asking; yes! ‘All other sentients’ does include the Twigg… and, to those questioning the veracity of the assertion I have just made, Dr Miyazaki has prepared a fairly comprehensive dossier of proof of it which she is more than happy to play for you…”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“We remember the last of the coordinator’s presentations, Ambassador… That won’t be necessary! We will happily take you at your word!” I scowl.
She gives two nods of her head and responds “I thought as much.”
“Why are you telling us this?” demands Khirat of Bhormak “If it has no bearing on our status, bringing it up seems needlessly cruel!”
“Well… the reason we waited so long to mention it is precisely because we weren’t sure what the best way to bring it up was… In discussion, my husband, Dr Miyazaki, Dr Stone, Ofc Waqa’arc and I decided not to bring it up until we had an answer for it… An answer we now have, thanks to the tireless work of Drs Phan, Hatathli, Gato, Aerlyght, Shing, Lamark and Sknz’h… who are joining us here today..." she gestures to the healers who raise their hands to indicate themselves.
“An… answer…?” queries my father.
“Yes… An answer.” responds the woman.
“Please explain, Ambassador.” he bids.
Lhamo takes a deep, steadying inhale and states “…I want to stress that, by what I am about to tell you, I mean no insult! Whether by nature, a god, gods or anything else… this is the way you are and the way you are made to be. I do not wish to denigrate that!… What I do wish to do, however, is give your people a choice!”
She pauses for a long time to allow her words to sink in.
“The Doctors here have spent a long time studying your people’s anatomy and, with the aid of practice in a [full dive] [virtual reality] [program] created by our ship’s AI, Twila, they have developed a surgical technique that will allow mothers to survive labour…”
Instantly, there is another clamour as all are demanding answers to a hundred different questions.
I stand and take a deep breath but, mercifully, silence falls before I have to thrash my voice calling for it again.
I stare at the woman standing in the middle of the chamber floor and ask “This surgery would allow us to become [iteroparous]?”
She shakes her head in negation and answers “Not yet, no. Since your bodies are not built with the expectation of multiple pregnancies being a possibility, you would be infertile afterwards. Once Vrakhand suitable regeneration has been developed, [iteroparity] becomes a possibility for you. Right now, this procedure will only allow for mothers to survive their broods’ births.”
“What about the children?!” challenges Kenorath of K’rnath “You expect children denied their birthfeast to have a chance of surviving, let alone growing and thriving!?”
“The neonatal cannibalism was considered… a machine has been reserved for growing meat for that purpose, all we would need is a tissue sample from the mother, her consent and a few days to grow such a quantity.” answers the ambassador.
“What of this dream trance your healers trained in?” contests Broodking Mhvor of Lawheth “Can you expect us to trust to a procedure that they’ve never actually performed in real life?!”
“The [program] is of the highest quality and simulates…”
“What of the thanatite? If the mothers are surviving birth, then a brood is being brought into this world without a corresponding glut of thanatite!” accuses someone else.
“That’s…!”
“And what of marriage! Broodhusbands can’t take another broodwife if their last is still alive!”
“It’s…!”
“ENOUGH!!!” I roar, disgustedly scowling around at the disgraceful display of my fellow Vrakhand “Listen to yourselves!… You’re worried about thanatite?!… What’s worth more to you, a chest FULL of thanatite or the life of your daughter, your sister, your broodwife, your friend!? Would anyone not trade all the thanatite in the WORLD for a chance to spare the life of one they care for!? I defy you to make yourself known!!!”
I give them a moment… but there are no volunteers!
“What about men worrying that they won’t be able to take an endless string of broodwives anymore? That the death that ends your marriage might be yours? Hmmm?!… Anyone!?”
I point a hand to Ambassador Yeshe and make a conscious effort to moderate my tone.
“What we are being offered here… is a blessing! The Weaver Herself has woven fate such as to bring us salvation to a curse we didn’t even realise afflicted us!… The Foreigners have enlightened us to our nature and, in the same breath, offered us a solution to it!… If there is less thanatite to go around, we must smelt iron! If the old system of marriage is no longer viable, we must rework it! If conditions change, so must we!… And this change?… A change that might make me able to meet the children I carry? To know them as they grow? To appreciate them as people rather than abstract concepts in a future I know I will not live to see?… I for one welcome it! Do any disagree?”
No one raises or splays their hands.
“Alright then… I give the floor back to Ambassador Yeshe!”
The woman is speechless for some moments before saying “…Th-thank you, General… Your words are touching!… So, in a moment, I will turn the floor over to Doctor Phan. He and Doctor Hatathli have graciously volunteered to remain on this planet after the departure of the Bright Plume to perform this operation on as many as they can who wish it. He will answer any questions of a medical nature you might have… It does bear mentioning that, they are obviously only two men!… They require sleep and only have so many hours in their respective days! At the moment, this operation is nowhere near scalable… If, in 14 months, there is suddenly a 10,000% increase in Vrakhand women requiring the surgery, they will be overwhelmed! If it were at all possible to keep the existence of this procedure a secret, I would be advising that… However, even if you tried secrecy, word would quickly spread when broodwives started returning to their communities alive, no longer pregnant and with broods in tow. So, instead of secrecy, I ask that when you tell your people of this, you do your best to impress upon them that this isn’t a license to get pregnant and expect to survive just yet! We’re a few years out from that point, at the moment!… What we need right now is a 13 to 13 ½ month pregnant volunteer, willing to give us a tissue sample so that we may grow an equivalent amount of meat to that which is in her body and willing to consent to allow us to attempt this operation on her… Additionally…”