Civilization (I'll Stay Right here)
A Mass Effect Fan Fiction
By Kachimoochi
Life for humanity was much different than it used to be. There was a time when people drove wheeled vehicles, human children went to a place of learning five days a week, and aliens were figments of our imagination.
Some things didn't change however, sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse
(In a land far away, not too far away, but a place one can't imagine)
Anaximander heard music playing; as he did every morning surrounded by darkness for minutes on end. When he begrudgingly accepted that his body wouldn't allow him to slumber any longer, he rose up and shelped himself out of his spacious room. By some miracle he avoided the bricks, vids, and other occupational hazards that littered the indigo colored carpet of his room.
He ignored the A.I phasing in and out of his peripheral vision trying to locate his eyes, trying to enlighten him to the universal events that had passed in the 3 hours he had slept, the universe could end within 3 hours, Anaximander supposed. It was at this point that he opened his eyes to the blinding, azure light of his home, much as his routine had become.
Anaximander rubbed his hand across his bearded face, paying close attention to the angles of his eyelids, roughly rubbing them. He ventured out of his room and into the bathroom across the hall; he was still amazed that with the amount that humanity had advanced, none could escape the ancient bodily functions of waste. "Some Future" he uttered internally.
The A.I., with another scanning wave, finally located Anaximander's dark brown eyes, and wasted no time in reciting the predetermined news. Rather, the primary sources of spies located across the galaxy on a hidden intranet channel. Another thing that never changed, one still couldn't trust the news.
"Sir, shall I begin?" the A.I. inquired
"hrm", Anaximander responded
It was against Anaximander's beliefs to speak until he crossed the threshold from his foyer to the outside world unless absolutely necessary. Maybe it was pure laziness, though he couldn't care less.
"The Asari commandos have added a new weapon to their arsenal unofficially, though it is a nonlethal emp firearm used to incapacitate robots without destroying their hardware, The Hierarchy of Palaven are battling protestors over the new anti-levo drug ruling, which would enable Dextro species to adapt to the food of Levos, and on Earth, The Boer republic is holding their 9th presidential election with the incumbent…" the A.I. trailed on.
When Anaximander finished his shower and other bathroom duties, he brushed his hair and beard in the mirror. He stared at his face and into his eyes, in a vain attempt to read his own mind. When one has all the free time in the world, one becomes bored easily. When his black hair was brushed and his beard oiled, he thought better of the man who stared back at him in the mirror, he had a plan.
He dressed himself with a red dress shirt and white overcoat, with white dress pants, a fashion that would at best confuse the aliens, and be an embarrassment to knowledgeable humans. It was always his preference to dress professionally, maybe because it was a faux pas to the other humans back on Earth. If one could view a human from the 19th or 20th century one would think that Anaximander was right in place, none could imagine that such a dapper man was a being of the 23th century, begrudgingly.
"Kaisar?" Anaximander announced, suddenly remembered the A.I.'s name
"Oh sir…I was getting to the good part" Kaisar whined as he desperately wanted to inform his master to the results of the new Boer president.
"I wish to build a castle today, find me a model from…let's say the 16th century, and assemble to constructor bot, I'm taking the Lincoln to scout out a plot for it". Anaximander said confidently, with a commanding yet playful tone.
"Oh but sir" Kaiser's stereotypical British accent sounded "You've hardly touched your recreation of Fort Ticonderoga by the river" he disappointingly said.
"I'll find a use for it eventually, tis more a conversation piece than anything else, and besides this time I want to be personally involved" Anaximander never took no for an answer, not ever again. "Load yourself into your bot form as well; I may require your assistance with surveying… or something"
Without waiting for a response Anaximander equipped a cane and opened the door (something many humans wouldn't know how to do) to leave his home. Kaisar ordered the Lincoln Futura, Anaximander's pride and joy, to materialize itself in front of his modest two story house, ready for an adventure.
Before Anaximander opened the door he stopped himself, walked around the car, and looked at the view from the mountaintop in which his house rested.
He had lived on Habitat #1937758 or as he named it Anaxivia, for 7 of his 25 year old life and they had been the best that he ever could have imagined. When he lived on earth he saw poverty, addiction, and corruption swallow his city whole, turning it into a den of despair and decadence. An 18 year old such as him had no prospects or future, though it all changed when he met that man in the bowling alley on The Citadel, when on his family vacation.
Since that day he had become a fighter, activist, pirate, governor, king, god-emperor, and now architect within those 7 sweet years.
He made it a point to always stop himself and view his creations whenever the thought aroused him; he experienced, is experiencing, and will experience tings that any other species could only dream of.
He saw a city of skyscrapers on one side, populated with robotic interpretations of humans, a fort dug into the ground of grasslands overlooking an ocean, with pirate ships of the sort docking themselves alongside. Anaximander knew that it would be a true challenge to find a close space for his new castle.
A robot that may have in another galaxy been called "Geth" approached silently behind Anaximander, it's white armor reflecting the dim sun and it's green "eye" scanning the figure it was approaching.
"Sir!, I believe I have located an ideal spot for you latest project beside the Columbus Ocean, it would be a historically accurate location, though it is a fair deal around our home world" Kaisar loudly announced.
"Ah Christ! Kaisar, I told you to stop sneaking up on me, that form isn't doing you any favors either" Anaximander scolded as he nearly impaled himself on the Futura's fin out of fear.
"Sir…you gave me this for my 3rd birthday"
"Liar, I got you the red model for your birthday"
"You said it looked too threatening, and to modify the texture to a white model"
"Huh… Well…Stop sneaking up on me anyways"
"Oh and Sir… King Leopold is expecting you for tea and golf on the 71st of March", Kaisar added, agreeing to change the subject
"C-C-Can we just build this castle… before I impale myself on something else?" Anaximander asked, whilst simultaneously trying to manually lower his blood pressure.
"Sir is always right…Sir" Kaisar said as he boarded the Future with Anaximander in tow.
The ancient human transportation device raised itself above the ground and glided in the opposite end of Anaxivia.
Anaximander pushed his head against the dome of the car and watched the ground below him, the human-robots were indistinguishable from what he remembered of the real things and none were unpleasant.
In an hour the car passed over the tundra of the north, where he watched arctic wolves scour in packs in search of a meal, and mammoths wander aimlessly together, most of everything of Anaxavia stayed together.
The location Kaisar found for the castle was already being assembled by the constructor bot, assembling parts and materials from seemingly thin air.
Anaximander disembarked the Futura and stood at the base of his latest creation
He placed his hands on his hips and said out loud
"Civilization?…I'll Stay Right Here"
As you read this you may assume that Anaximander didn't wake up from his slumber that the story began with, or that he was simply a man who lost his sanity after a particular video game ending. You would be wrong.
An event much different that you may know about occurred in the 23th century that changed humanity and the galaxy forever.
As for Anaximander, he is but a side character in a chronicle that tells the new present of humanity, though he is a perfect example as to what was achieved by "Those Three Brothers".
That is a tale for another time, now Anaximander can only focus on his next adventure, to add to his collection.
How can a human, or if only one person create anything, be anything, dress anyway, and have no responsibilities you may ask?
Well, it is all possible.
When one owns their own galaxy, like Anaximander.