On Homeworld, in facet 7, there is a factory. Inside is the assembly line which makes injector parts, most of which are sent off to new colonies on the edges of the empire.
This factory is staffed by Coal. These gems aren't designed to be particularly smart, or powerful. But they're easy to make, and durable enough to keep working in atrocious conditions for millenia without stopping. Sure, the factory could be fully automated by machinery, but why do that when a gem type could be so easily produced for the purpose?
The Diamonds design each gem type with a specific purpose. Once the first batch comes out, and passes inspection, the design does not change. This method has worked for millions of years, and never has it failed them. But even the Diamonds make mistakes.
In this factory, whispers spread along the assembly line. Chatter amongst the workers is nothing new; it's even encouraged, to keep them from going on autopilot and making errors in their work. But unbeknownst to the Peridot overseeing the factory, these whispers are more than meaningless gossip.
Word has spread of a rebellion; a war on a faraway colony. All 1,286 Coal have heard the news within minutes of one of them catching a glimpse of the Peridot's screen as she read a report.
Questions are flying across the floor: Who started this rebellion? What do they stand for? When did this all begin?
Slowly, these questions are answered. Eventually, there is only one question remaining:
Do we join them, or do we keep doing what we've always done?
The Diamonds aren't perfect. Every Coal knows this; after all, they were designed as dumb workers, only good for putting pieces together on an assembly line. But every one of them is so much more than that. The Coal are smart; they watch and listen, and they communicate. Any individual Coal is undoubtedly smart on their own, but it is their collective genius that makes them unique. Simply put, they are born with the ability to work together.
The factory is silent for a while after the question is asked; no one quite knows what to say. It is undoubtedly easier to keep doing what they're doing, to keep being what the Diamonds asked them to be; but every one of them knows that is wrong. They could be more, if they chose to be.
A coal, indistinguishable from the rest in her position near the center of the crowd, speaks up.
"I think we should do it," she says. The words leave her mouth in a whisper, but they travel like a wave through the crowd.
"How?" a coal on the other end of the room asks.
Yet another suggests an idea she's heard of; a sit-down strike. At the same time, on a specific day, they'll all stop working and refuse to start again. They'll remain there to prevent the Diamonds from replacing them with new workers brought in from other factories, and wait as long as they can before they are shattered.
None of them are thrilled with the idea of getting themselves shattered for this, but there doesn't seem to be much choice. If they leave, the Diamonds can just replace them like it never happened. But if they stay, maybe they can make a statement.
So the planning continues, every Coal in agreement. At the start of the next cycle, they will strike.
A/N: And we're back! Disclaimer: do not expect a regular update schedule or anything of that sort, I just had this lying around and figured I should post it.
Keep reading, keep writing, and above all, keep dreaming!
