Jasmine and Xant sat comfortably on his bedroom floor, the events of the morning meditation had allowed them to take most of the day to rest and recuperate, well, for Xant to rest and recoup, Jasmine hovered to ensure her friend didn’t need for anything.
“I really am fine Jasmine,” Xant reassured her for the thousandth time, “I’m becoming quite resilient to the terrible thoughts you humans insist on keeping in your memory banks,”
“You say that as if it’s our prerogative…” Jasmine replied, sitting on a cushion.
“Prerogative? maybe not, but it certainly is becoming an accumulating factor,” Xant retorted playfully.
Jasmine shook her head with a smile, if he was able to make snarky comments then he wasn't suffering from VEFS anymore. The doctor pointed to his large steel carrying case, while removing his signature white coat.
“Would you be able to gather the data-slates? One for yourself and I,”
“Sure thing,” Jasmine agreed and opened the Essander corp case, pulling out two of the four slates from snug foam inserts, handing both to Xant for him to activate.
“You’re going to have to teach me how to read the standard galactic text,” she stated, watching the alien tablet’s icons flicker across the screen.
“In time,” he answered, pressing the required icons for the tablet to sync up with their translators, “its not entirely necessary at this stage though, the voice commands should work just fine for what you need,”
Jasmine frowned, not entirely convinced of his statement.
“Standard galactic is a complicated text written several thousand years ago for original strain Qzetillian,” Xant further explained, “there is no intuitive way for humans to read it other than learning the language outright”
“So?” Jasmine asked, “teach me that then, humans are pretty good at learning languages. Funny though how you have everything else standardised yet have your written text esoteric,”
Xant shook his head and chuckled to himself.
“The Council still uses it as standard because most software written before the Painful Dynasty still runs on it, but when the translator is so much more efficient in conveying messages, the written word is more a nuisance for the day to day lives of citizens.” Xant looked up to her as he passed her the booted up dataslate, “I would be happy to teach you regardless, but when we have more time.”
Jasmine sighed, took the tablet, found a comfortable cushion and thought about her questions.
She had her own phone lined up beside her, she needed to know more about the history of the council. The pressed the green icon of GC banner, a ringed planet surrounded by several moons and felt the dataslate connect to her translator directly, like pressure in her ear popping.
“Welcome to Civnet” The pleasant gender-neutral voice echoed in her head, “what are you searching for today?” It was the same voice the doors and computer terminals used back on Uleesia station.
‘I wonder whose voice they used?’ she thought to herself, only for the dataslate to immediately answer:
“The voice used on all standard galactic council terminals was crafted by Doctor Eve’ta Dule on day 35 third quarter year 12 of the Divided Dynasty, it was designed to be as pleasing as possible to all species so as to be easily integrated with the Universal Frequency Translator”
Jasmine blinked, the computer knew exactly what information she wanted and how to deliver it to her, finally, an upgrade from the single program use tablets she had been given.
“How many Dynasties are there?” she asked the slate, it pinged pleasantly with the answer.
“There are 8 Dynasties recognised by the council: One, Heavens, Revelation, Prosperity, Divided, Painful, Salvation and Rejuvenation, we are currently in day 126 of the second quarter, year 182 of the Rejuvenation Dynasty.”
She’d heard the aliens use ‘Dynasty’ before, but back on earth that was for the families of kings and emperors, as far as she knew the council was a ‘council’.
“What constitutes the founding of a new dynasty?” Jasmine asked for clarification.
“A new Dynasty is proclaimed after an event that changes society irrevocably, it is often announced decades into said dynasty and backdated to the time of its inception,” The informational AI responded
“This is incredible,” Jasmine said outloud.
“Incredible?” Xant asked, looking up from his own work.
“I get it now, your tablets can only do one thing but they do that one thing incredibly well,” she held the delicate device tighter in her grip.
“It’s what they’re designed for,” Xant reminded her “but I’m glad you’re excited.”
What they’re designed for.
Jasmine remembered that the dataslate was biotech and probably a distilled brain, that’s why it could answer her questions so intuitively. She tapped the back of the slate with her fingers and looked over at Xant, to distract herself from thinking her dataslate was a person. Even if it responded exactly like one.
“What are you researching?”
“Our conversation on judiciary concepts had me realise how much of my memory had been lost during my vassal incident, i aim to remedy that lost knowledge.” His ears lay flat and focused, “it is prudent I know what happens to citizens who go rouge,”
“‘They're removed from the population’,” Jasmine recalled, Xant nodded his head.
“...And found more ideal work environments, rouge citizens are cycled through job placement, before ending up in military facilities,” he answered relieved, “It appears only those who can hide their deviancy and refuse society become pirates in the reclamation space,”
“So, they’re rehabilitated and you can confirm that?”
“Yes,” Xant smiled, “but I will keep researching, there is a few circumstances I need to investigate,” he nodded his head back down to the slate, leaving Jasmine no longer with a distraction. It didn’t feel right, referring to a voice without a name, even the rudimentary AI back home had names. Jasmine decided GC voice needed a name too, or at least a respectful designation.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
“Computer, How old is biotech?”
“Biotech has been practised since the One Dynasty, Qzetillian scientists discovered they could manipulate the DNA of their own offspring to accentuate traits. This extended to corals and cephalopods to grow larger dwellings structures, this is the first instance of genetic manipulation used to advance technology.”
Jasmine was pleasantly relieved when the voice still answered her, even if it was a little silly, it was comforting putting a name to the voice.
“Computer, How did the Qzetillians discover genetic engineering?”
“The Qzetillian original strain, was an amphibious race who learned how to use the genetic structures to their advantage from the breeding pools and their translucent eggs. They used this observation to make their species stronger, smarter and longer living.”
Well, that made sense, Laandi’s skin was grey and super thin, its easier to notice how DNA works when you can see it. They must have dedicated their entire civilisation to genetics, that also explained why Laandi was ghast at how slow human progress on the matter was, they'd been doing it for millenia at that point!
“Computer, When was the council founded?” was the next question on Jasmine’s mind.
“The current council was seated at the Rejuvenation Dynasty founding, 182 years ago, welcoming the Arvas as the 12th member to galactic standard,”
Okay, that wasn’t quite what she was asking, but it was a concise answer, Jasmine tried again with a bit more detail.
“Computer, How old is the Council as a system of government?”
“The Galactic Council was founded during the Prosperity dynasty, after 285 planets (on record) and as many species were met exploring the local star cluster. The council was proposed so that every species could have their grievances heard, trade negotiated and the future of the galaxy discussed on equal footing. Note, while it is documented in the audfiles, many species and planets were lost in the Painful dynasty.”
“Computer, How many species are apart of the council today?”
“There are 12 recognised species active in the council today, four at creator level, five at modifier level and three at user level.”
Qzetillians, the greys, Sulins giant lizards, Zenthi, psychic anteaters and the insect Arvas were all Creator level, she had seen a few other aliens aboard Nako’s ship, but she didn’t really get to interact with them. From 285 to just 12, the devastation was harrowing.
“Computer, What is the name of species who are tall and with white fur coats and black eyes?” The soldiers who had escorted her through the tube system, the ones Rynard had called ‘Vat fresh’.
“The Savori, Modifer level, original habitat an arctic moon, the Savori’s most outstanding feature was their ability to communicate via raido waves,”
“What are the names of the other Galactic council Races?”
“Crenek Modifier, Khiitarish Modifier, Lobodi Modifier, Falmanaus Modifier, Umin’gi User, Lilii User and Talphor User,”
It was like having a pokedex on different alien species, soon to add two more in the sway, humans and dogs. She’d have to take the time to learn everyone of them.
“Computer, What are the goals of the council?”
“The Council’s current goal is the rebuilding of the galaxy to its prosperity dynasty productivity. Restoration is at 32% former levels, gaining .2% each year, projected completion in 340 years,”
Jasmine put the tablet down in her lap.
These people were centuries away from where they wanted to be, she recalled the hologram in Laandi’s office, the hundreds of glittering planets, they wanted to restore all of that to before the war. If the size and the scope of what they were trying to do could be believed, it was phenomenal...
She looked over at Xant, engrossed in his own work.
Built for a specific purpose, they had the technology to build him exactly how they wanted, on a ‘cost effective’ scale. Would they stop doing so once they had achieved their goal?
Were they building a better future for people like him?
Jasmine put down her tablet and moved to sit beside her friend.
“Hey,” she said softly, hugging her knees as she sat, “Did you find the circumstances you were looking for?”
Xant tapped on his dataslate, sharing the link with her translator.
“I believe so yes,” his voice was equally as soft, “Research seems to indicate that many instances of deviant behaviour arises from stress accrued from the environment, mental capacities over estimated or underestimated from training testing. Its actually a far more common occurrence than I realised, affecting nearly 1 in 50,000 citizens…”
“Huh,” Jasmine pondered, “thats actually really high,”
“It is,” Xant confirmed, “Under stimulated citizens were quickly rehabilitated with more challenging work, trained to take on more responsibilities or more complicated equipment, while over-stressed individuals respond well to lower capacity work, but…”
“But?” Jasmine prompted,
“But the most in demand low capacity work is in shipping logistics, the report ends quite abruptly, suggesting that over stressed individuals be sent to sites with high military surveillance, but the conclusion appears to be on Milnet instead of Civnet.” Xant sighed disappointed.
“I mean, I get it,” Jasmine reasoned “If shipping is anything like it is back on Earth, its long boring hours watching the goods be currioured, shouldn't be too complex until you get into port-”
“If you ever make it to port,” Xant interrupted, his ears and tail stood on end, Jasmine had to jump back as his whole body became stiff, the rippling swells of his Freq lashing out.
“What is it Xant?” she asked, worried about his mental state, he was still adjusting to human levels of emotion.
“Pirates, thats why theres so many pirates in the Reclamation,” he jumped to his feet, angry at himself for not realising it sooner, “they were literally sending rouge citizens to work the logistic routes, without proper monitoring they'd be in the best position to desert or join an armada with a ship and cargo on board. Why would they determine that to be a solution at any stage of the process? Why was it even considered as an option?”
“Are pirates that big of a problem?” Jasmine asked.
“Yes…” Xant almost growled under his breath, not as jasmine but at the sheer audacity of the society planners thought process “Nako was hunting Pirates when he found you, its what this whole military facility exists to do, to protect the fragile peace from those who would ravage it. Ships carrying life sustaining goods to establishing planets are targeted relentlessly by pirates who cannot produce the goods themselves,” The doctor was quite heated about the subject.
“So they have to make soldiers to stop them, which is more pressure on the GC resources, which then dont get used in restoring planets,” Jasmine figured out loud, holding her knees tighter. Greater politics, the stuff that happened in the background that she wasnt privy to, yet still impacted her life.
“Exactly,” Xant ran both hands over his ears, shuddering his tail from its tension, “compounded with Pirate princesses from the Imperium, we’ll soon be fighting over inhabitable planets with rouges and we’ve had enough war.”
Enough war, Jasmine understood that stance well enough.
“Princesses are like me, right? Super powerful Freq users, emotional too?” She’d been referred as one countless times by other Arvas, imagining someone like herself on the war path and how much damage she could do if she wanted to.
“Deathly so,” Xant confirmed “and thankfully small in number, but when one goes rouge it is usually of great loss to the imperium. They can sway entire armadas with them, swarms onto themselves loyal to their Princess, pray to The One they don’t take a maiden with them and start their own lineage,”
It was fascinating listening, there were so many moving parts to the world outside the Military Branch, Jasmine wondered if she would be able to see them once the negotiations were done.
“Wait, maidens and princesses aren't the same thing?” she asked.
“No, maidens are fertile and become queens, Princesses loose fertility for the sake of amplified Frequency control, often a Princess chooses a suitor for a maiden, but Princesses lead the imperium colonies,”
Jasmine could feel herself reaching information overload, rubbing her temples. A lot of how she was being treated made sense now, why Dr Jess and the others on Uleesia station were so worried about her ‘going rogue’, Why Nako was so nice to her and how quickly they had her moved to a military facility, they had precedent for this sorta thing.
“You know, I think we making good progress, a lot more things have started to make sense,” Jasmine relaxed a little, “I’m starting to see the bigger picture, and its a hell of a picture,”
Xant folded his arms behind his back and tilted his head in acknowledgement.
“It is, but one we are starting to get the grasp of,” Xant walked over and lifted his dataslate from off the floor, “The last answer to my questions only just out of reach,” he offered Jasmine a hand to help her off the floor, a fond smile in his eyes “We’ll have to arrange with the Lieutenant to get access to the Milnet.”
“And whats the question?” Jasmine asked as she reached for his hand, Xant answered with determination in his voice.
“Where do military grade altered citizens, such as myself, get stationed?”