Hello readers! During the first half of the chapter, the subject of religion will come up, but it won't be talked about again after that. The story will switch to action and romance until its conclusion. The reason religion is brought up in this story is because in Nier Automata, one of the main characters is named Pascal, after the French mathematician and philosopher. I thought it was a missed opportunity in Automata not to at least mention Pascal's most famous philosophical idea, which he wrote in a book called Pensées.

Disclaimer: the ideas presented in this, and all prior chapters often do not represent my own views, they are written for the purpose of character development and to give the story meaningful themes while remaining true to how someone like Hunter might react in such a situation. For example, I think Pascal's idea is too simplistic. I don't use fiction to push my own views.

Chapter 11: Tisquantum

Clangs rang out in the chilly air. Grunts and scraping of feel against the ground followed. 2B's movements were quick. She twirled and flipped around with acrobatic grace, but her enemy's brute force was enough to stop her in her tracks, and rattle her teeth to boot. 2B jumped back to avoid a savage claymore slash before rushing in for quick sword slashes, which was parried by A2, who then kicked her sister in the chest, spiking her into the dirt. A2 held her claymore over her.

Hunter and Akhmatova clapped. It was A2's first victory in a sparring match with 2B. 9S ran to 2B, who was slowly starting to sit up.

"Are you okay, 2B?"

"Yes, I'm fine, thank you Nines."

There was a smile on 2B's face. 9S helped her up with both hands.

"Well aren't you two lovebirds?" A2 mocked.

"And what if we are?" answered 2B. "Are you jealous?"

"Are you trying to compensate for your failure as a member of YoRHa?"

"Are you trying to compensate for being a rookie?"

"Okay, stop it you two," Hunter said, getting in between them. They looked ashamed immediately.

"I'm so sorry, sir, that was unprofessional of me, it won't happen again."

"I hope it won't A2, you should love your sister."

"Did you love your sister?"

Hunter laughed, "not always, and I still regret that sometimes. Anyway, let's go back, the feast is almost ready."

"What feast?" A2 puzzled.

9S reminded her, "Thanksgiving, remember. We're celebrating that today."

"Oh yeah, it was a local human celebration. This'll be fun! By the way, you're nice, 9S, I like you."

"What? But just an hour ago you said I was annoying."

"I changed my mind."

2B looked at her strangely, and A2 stuck her tongue out.

In the center of town, several long tables were laid out with various colors and patterns of table cloths. Hunter and the others joined in on setting the tables with miscellaneous dishes, cups, pitchers, and flatware. As mismatched as everything was, the tables had a cheerful, celebratory glow to them. Food was brought out, which was made in consultation with Hunter: roast goose (they couldn't find turkey), pies, mashed potatoes and gravy, apples, dinner rolls, and a green bean and carrot side dish.

Locke, the leader of the base, brought a wooden box and stood next to Hunter in front of everyone.

Hunter spoke, projecting his usually quiet voice as much as he could, "I declare this, the city of Madison. May it always be a city of freedom and a refuge of peace!"

The crowd applauded loudly at his words.

"I appoint Locke as the first mayor of Madison."

Locke opened the wooden box, revealing a golden key laid on a red velvet cushion, "and I give Hunter the key to this town, that he may come and go as he pleases. He will always have a home with us."

After the applause died down, the new mayor continued, "Hunter will now explain the holiday of Thanksgiving and give us an invocation, and then we will feast."

The mayor sat down as Hunter began to explain, "the origin of Thanksgiving comes from a time when religious settlers came to this continent from another. At first they struggled to stay alive, but they met someone important: the last surviving member of the tribe whose land they had settled on. This man, named Tisquantum, miraculously happened to speak the language of the settlers, English, the very language I'm speaking now. Tisquantum gave his tribe's land to these settlers, who were called Pilgrims, since Tisquantum was already living with another tribe and no longer needed the land. This other tribe was called the Wampanoag, and they became friends and allies with the Pilgrims for many years. The two groups were able to set aside their differences, protect and help each other, and live in peace. When the Pilgrims finally had a good harvest, they invited their new friends to a grand celebration, where they played games, feasted, and gave thanks to God.

"Over two hundred years later, when my country was split in two in a civil war, a man named Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a holiday for my country to celebrate every year together. He wanted it to be a day which would unite all people in friendship and peace, just like the Wampanoag and Pilgrims. In that spirit, we celebrate the first android Thanksgiving.

"It is a tradition on this day to pray in gratitude to God. And so, though I confess I no longer know whether to believe in God, I'd like to follow this tradition. Please bow your heads in prayer."

Hunter folded his arms, bowed his head, folded his arms, closed his eyes, and began to pray. "Oh, God, our Father, we come today as friends to celebrate the success of this new town, for our prosperity and friendship. We thank Thee for blessing us with Thy Providence, and ask Thee to bless this food. Father, grant us answers to the deepest questions of our hearts. This we pray, in Thy Son's name, amen. Let the feast begin!"

The crowd began to eat and talk noisily, but almost as soon as they began, a horn blew.

"Hunter, hide!" Akhmatova said.

"Why?"

"Come with me, quickly!"

The crowd was filled with commotion and some stood up.

"Too late, get under the table!" Akhmatova directed.

A2 and 2B drew their swords. Hunter managed to crawl under the table, hidden by the table cloth. He heard a machine's voice speaking.

"I heard you were celebrating a day of Thanksgiving. We came to celebrate with you, if you will permit us. We brought food of our own to contribute to the feast."

"Friends," Locke said, "your village has recently become our closest ally. I would gladly welcome you to the feast, but sadly we aren't prepared for this today. I am deeply sorry."

"I see, then I apologize for the intrusion, we will go."

"Wait!" The crowd gasped. It was Hunter, who had emerged from the table. "Please come and celebrate with us!"

"Hunter, what are you doing?" said 2B.

In front of Hunter was a small group of a dozen or nearly. Half of them were androids and half machines. Their leader, a very small machine, blinked, "are you human?"

"I am. This feast is for all who desire peace regardless of our differences. I welcome you to join us. In fact, come sit with me."

"Well there goes Hunter's safety," 9S observed. "Now even machines know there's a human here."

"Can't we just kill them?" suggested A2.

"They're guests of Hunter now, we can't harm them unless they become aggressive."

"Stay close to Hunter," 2B directed.

The three YoRHa built androids stood close to Hunter, and watched the machine leader closely as he sat next to the human.

"What's your name?"

"Pensées, and what's yours?"

"Hunter."

"It's good to meet you. I thought humans were extinct, how did you come to be here?"

"I was found deep in a mountain, in a machine that freezes time inside of it."

"You don't have to lie to me."

"I'm not lying, Pensées."

"In any case, you have a right to not reveal information. How have you been fairing among androids?"

"They've been wonderful, and I've made friends already. On the other hand, they've treated me like a king, which feels terrible. I want to be their equal and to be productive in some way, to find my place here."

"I see… that must be lonely."

"Maybe not lonely, but depressing for sure. You're the leader of a village?"

"I am, my village is a community of androids and machines who wish to become better beings. I recognize 2B and 9S standing near us. They came to our village."

"They did?" Hunter turned around, "how did you find it, 9S?"

"It seemed like pretty normal to me. Well, besides Pensées who's a philosopher of sorts."

"You're a philosopher?"

"I suppose so."

"Then there's something I've been wondering about lately."

"What is it?"

Hunter mulled over the wording of his question. "Do you think there's a God, good and evil, and a purpose to life?"

"I'm afraid that's a big question, one which would take a long time to answer. There is one answer to your question which I can give you quickly. Have you heard of Pascal's Wager?"

"I haven't."

"Well, Pascal said that in a situation in which you cannot decide between the existence of God or not, you're left with two main choices: to believe or not to believe and to live your life accordingly. So what are the potential consequences of each choice? If you decide to believe in God and live your life accordingly, and if it turns out you're right, then when you die you'll go to heaven and experience an eternity of joy. And what happens if you believe and are wrong?"

"Then I guess I'd live a good and happy life, would die, and that would be it."

"And what if you don't believe in God and just do what you want?"

"I guess if there is a God I'd go to Hell after death. And if there isn't a God, I'd live a pleasurable life and die."

"Correct, if there is a God, then having that conviction and acting on it becomes important, not only in life, but forever. If there is no God, you don't lose much in life (if you lose anything) by believing in Him. Thus, judging by the consequences it's best to believe in God."

Hunter became lost in thought, "that makes sense. I have another question."

"Yes, what is it?"

Hunter became fidgety and leaned in, quietly asking his question. His companions who were guardian him came a little closer too to hear.

"Um, when is it okay for humans to have sex, and would a relationship with an android be okay?"

"Well, I'm a machine, so I don't know much about such things, but I'll try to answer. May I ask, what do you suppose is the purpose of sex?"

"To have children?" Hunter guessed.

"Yes, and also to form and strengthen the special and unique bond between a couple. Would you agree?"

"Yes, that's true too."

"Then when is it okay to have sex?"

"To have children or to form a closer and more intimate connection with someone I love and want to spend my life with. In other words, even without children, the purpose is to form a family."

"You answered your own question. Now I have another for you. Why do you think there might be something wrong with you having a relationship with an android?"

"Because they're not human."

"I see, do you see androids as people or tools?"

"As people."

"Then what is the problem?"

Hunter thought for a moment. He admitted to himself that in theory, when he considered this question, he thought that androids might just be clever pieces of machinery, but when he wasn't thinking of his question about relationships, he thought of androids as people. Strangely, he already thought of Pensées as a person, it was something he accepted without thought. Unless he completely changed his thoughts and behavior towards androids, then he'd have to accept that having a relationship would be fine, because androids are also imbued with humanity.

"Then it's okay for me to date an android."

"There, again you answered your own question. Perhaps you understand much more than you think you do, but you don't trust your own judgment."

"Haha, you might be right."

The feast passed pleasantly, and after cleaning up, everyone played games and talked cheerfully. A couple of hours passed when Akhmatova approached Hunter.

"Hunter, we need to talk about something important."

"Okay, this is bad isn't it?"

"It is. Now there are machines who know that a human is still alive, and they know right where you are. We've talked to all of our guests and sworn all of them to secrecy, but we can't know for sure if word will get around or not. We need to leave this place. If other machines find out about you and attack, you and this whole town are in danger."

"Then we go to YoRHa?"

"I don't see any other choice. We could try staying with another group of androids, but they don't have the combat power to defend you like YoRHa does. Whether we like it or not, YoRHa has incredibly strong fighters."

"I'm sorry I put everyone in danger and now we have to move, I should have stayed hidden."

"Don't worry about it, you didn't know any better. By the way, when you were talking to Pensées, I overheard you talking about having a relationship with an android. Anyone catch your eye?"

"Maybe, but I'm not sure if I can trust her."

"She's in YoRHa?"

"Yep."

"You'll get to see her again soon. 2B arranged for YoRHa to come and transport us. We'll be leaving in a few hours."

After the first android Thanksgiving came to a close, and the group had packed all of their belongings in the YoRHa vehicle which came, they set off. The last human on Earth sat in silence in the dimly lit vehicle: the dusky light of an almost set Sun illuminating little. Hunter wondered how he'd find out the truth about YoRHa. Should he ask 9S or another Scanner model from YoRHa to break into the server to find out more? He supposed not, he'd only be putting someone else in danger. What to do…

When they safely arrived at the YoRHa base, it was raining softly and almost as dark as night. As he exited the vehicle, Hunter saw the Commander standing several feet away, smiling warmly.

"Welcome back, Hunter!"

"It's good to see you again, White. I was wondering if I could have a moment to talk to you."

"Of course, and don't worry about your luggage, that will be taken care of. Follow me to my office."

A few minutes later, they reached the office building at the center of the YoRHa compound. As the two walked through the hallways, Hunter remembered seeing two of the paintings on his last visit here. One featured a family playing on the beach happily, and the other was the Norman Rockwell painting, "Freedom From Want." Hunter smiled to himself that on this of all days when he celebrated the first android and machine Thanksgiving, that he would see an old Thanksgiving themed painting. Then it struck him: the reason these two paintings of families hung on the wall was because of YoRHa's plan to make android families.

"Is something the matter?" White had noticed a bemused expression on the human's face.

"It's just, those paintings of happy families on the wall, they make me wonder what an android family would be like."

"I've asked myself the same question. You'd probably know better than anyone. What's it like to be in a family?"

The expression on White's face looked… lonely. She let Hunter into her office, and they took seats next to each other across from her desk.

Hunter was lost in thought. "Do you want to be in a family?"

"Sometimes I think about it, especially when I'm alone. It would be nice to have my own children, to kiss before sleep, to read to, to take care of. Just before you came, I took a walk in the rain. I was in a gloomy mood, but I imagined having a husband, and holding onto his arm as we walked side-by-side, and looking up at him, and smiling. And I dreamt, and was lost in thought… and then I remembered I'm just an android. I hate it, life feels so incomplete without family."

"Now that I've lost mine, I agree. Life is lonely without a family."

"You don't have to be without one," she said, putting her hand over his. "We're cloning humans. They'll need parents. You could be one, if you want. Who better to be a parent to humans than another human?"

"You're going to reprogram YoRHa androids to see having families as their secondary purpose?"

"We are, it's the healthiest way to raise humans, and it was the best backup plan androids had in case we weren't able to bring humanity back. 9S told you, or Devola and Popola?"

"9S."

"We were going to tell you soon. We thought it would be a lot to process, thinking about the future of human babies and how they'll be raised. We'd like you involved as much as possible in their lives, if you're willing."

"There's just something I'm not sure about."

"What is it?"

"Can you really clone genetically distinct humans from my DNA? Distinct enough to have them reproduce with each other?"

"Yes, we can. The twins made a breakthrough in their research very recently. For years, they couldn't breed distinct enough animals based on one animal's DNA, but they eventually found a way."

"Really? Because 9S found a document in the servers about such experiments, and that they didn't work."

"It must have been an out of date document." Commander White stood up and bent over her desk. She grabbed a pencil and notepad, sat down, and started writing. "Give this to 9S, it's permission to look through all of our servers, and all the access codes. Have him search through everything he wants, and make sure he takes his time. When he hacked in, he only had a very short time to search and missed a great deal of relevant information. I have nothing to hide from you."

"Thank you, I appreciate it," Hunter said, taking the note.

"I'm sorry you were forced to leave the Resistance town, but I promise we'll do what we can to make this place a great home for you. I heard from A2 that you celebrated Thanksgiving today."

Hunter smiled, "yes, we did, it was really fun! And even though it was a terrible decision, I enjoyed meeting Pensées."

White radiated warmth, talking to Hunter. "Would you like to celebrate Christmas with us? We could throw a party for a whole day, and you could help organize it. It would help raise everyone's spirits."

"That sounds great, count me on board!"

"Wonderful! When should we celebrate it?"

"In a month, on December 25th. Everyone besides Orthodox Christians celebrated Christmas on that day."

"60 will work with you on the arrangements, and getting the customs right. I'm really glad you're back. In time, I hope you'll come to trust me."

"I think I will too," said Hunter, "but for now, I should rest. It's been a long day."

"Goodnight Hunter. Can I… have a hug before you go?"

It was starting to become brighter outside as the Sun rose higher over the mountains. The grass was specked with tears of dew which were drying in the light of a new day. 2B stood watching the plains and mountains in the orange dawn. She heard light footsteps crunching the gravel behind her. Out of the corner of her eye stood 9S.

"Well, I checked everything in YoRHa's files which seemed in any way relevant, or which contained an unusually large amount of data. I even reviewed Devola and Popola's research on animal cloning with them personally. There's no doubt I was wrong. They really have made a breakthrough, and I'm convinced they can bring back human clones, which they usually call replicants."

"Hunter will be happy to hear that."

"2B."

"Yes, Nines?"

"I'm sorry for saying that you don't care about me, and for being cold to you earlier. Experiencing those memories you gave me, all those memories you have of our time together from before the last time I lost my memories… I know you care, and that you've been through more than anyone else c-"

"Nines…"

"Yes?"

"Don't feel guilty. You were always kinder than I deserved."

"Um, let's forget about the bad parts of our past. Friends?"

"Friends."

A moment passed before 2B spoke again, "Nines, is there anything I can do for you, anything you want?"

9S became a bit nervous, "nothing in particular. Why do you ask?"

"Sometimes when you've tried to get closer to me, you've wanted something, like for me to call you Nines or to go shopping with you after the war."

"Sorry, I can't think of anything. Is there something you want from me?"

"Yes."

"What is it?"

2B smiled a little, "you're the smartest person I know, you'll figure it out."

"How?"

"Just promise me one thing: that you won't give it to me unless you want to."

"Okay, it's just, I have no idea what it could be. Is it a gift?"

"For me it would be."

"I know, we'll be celebrating our first Christmas here in a month. It's a day when humans gave each other gifts. I'll try to figure it out by then and give it to you for Christmas."

"I look forward to it."

Coming up next: a Christmas chapter filled with friendship and romance! Thanks for reading!