4
"Debatable"
It had been a long week.
After negotiating with Han over how to relocate the miners most efficiently to new mines, and making sure that all the technical and legal issues of shutting down a few mines was done - Naja and Tigress were both forced to deal with a new problem: annual surveys.
Annual surveys were a tedious legal measure employed against resident planets. Since production planets were essentially legalized slave colonies, there was little chance of these areas being under their specified production quota - set by stringent Alliance regulations. Energy crystal mining was an incredibly labor-heavy expense, and one that fuelled practically all of the Alliance's wealth and scientific development for the last few million years - which meant that without slave mining, the entire intergalactic civilization was liable to collapse. Hence, the Alliance took strict measures through heavy AP patrols, inhospitable working environments, and constant, punitive supervision to make sure that the production planets always met their targets.
Not so for resident planets.
Resident planets - like XS-211 - were subject to enhanced freedoms, albeit still paltry compared to Alliance planets. They were few in number but still essential to the energy mining business - but due to their lax regulations, supervisors often deliberately let miners underwork and underperform, leading to multiple years of below-target level crystal withdrawing. Miners still worked tremendously hard - twelve gruelling hours of hard labor, with the usual threat of AP brutality - but even this wasn't enough to meet the Alliance's ridiculous targets for crystal production.
Hence, the annual surveys.
The process was fairly simple. A supervisor - as well as a random miner - would be transported via spaceship to the nearest galactic mining headquarters. XS-211 was located in the quite famous Milky Way Galaxy, which had its mining headquarters on MX-1 - a distant planet approximately fifteen thousand light years from XS-211. Since only select individuals in the Alliance were allowed to perform teleportation - spaceships were compulsory, although their hyperspeed engines made these kinds of trips only a few days in length.
Han of course, being too cowardly to go to a mining HQ and report on his mines alone - designated Tigress to go instead - despite the fact that she had been retired for twenty years and now was nothing more than an Alliance transcriber. However, the mysterious lion AP had allowed this - noting that Tigress had an eye for detail, had been paying close attention to XS-211's mine network, and would likely explain XS-211's underperformance better than Han. Naja was the other random miner who was chosen to go alongside Tigress - something which delighted them both.
And so, Tigress sat in the lower deck of the spaceship in boredom. Unlike most spaceships, this transport vessel was quite miniscule and was acclimatized to only transporting about three or four inhabitants - one was obviously the ship captain, who was a silent, aged human who spoke almost nothing to Tigress when he picked her and Naja up - and who had immediately relegated them to the lower bunk of the ship while he went into the topmost captain's quarters.
Tigress yawned, definitely feeling that the ship was tiny. She had gone to do these surveys before, but this time the ship seemed even more cramped - just odd, rusting metal walls around them while herself and Naja sat strapped to a bench on the lower deck, with the closed captain's deck above them. The ceiling or partition between decks was so low that Tigress could stand up and touch it - although the captain had been kind enough to allow some food storage, where Naja had packed some authentic glucose cookies in a small bag. And aside from the rusted walls, the bench, the food bag, and the partition of the upper deck - one sole window offered Tigress a chance to glimpse at the rushing space outside.
"Don'tcha get bored just lookin' out the window?" the female human called in, yawning underneath a quaint brown blanket. "We've been stuck in this ship for fifteen hours and you haven't taken your eyes off of the window."
Tigress smiled, clearing her throat as she saw her wrinkled reflection stare back at her through the window - then resumed checking out the rushing space.
"Hyper lightspeed travel never loses its charm," Tigress noted, watching a cluster of nebulas fade into rapid obscurity beyond the window. "Yanno, I still get the same feeling I got when I had my first hyperspeed travel - way back when I was being moved from XN-44 to SD-77."
"What's that feeling?" Naja asked, yawning again.
"Awe," Tigress simply stated. "Surprise. The beauty of space…"
She saw another cluster of nebulas pass, even managed to see a distant star cluster shine brightly in cylindrical spurts of light.
"Space is like an ocean of darkness," Tigress wondered out loud. "Then you have all those little shiny things you find…"
Another star formation zoomed by - so bright that Tigress thought they had just crossed a supernova's path.
"What's an ocean?" Naja questioned.
Tigress sighed. "Never mind…"
"You do that a lot," Naja retorted, winking. "You suddenly make all these references to all these ancient things… oceans, plants, dumplings…"
Tigress chuckled. "Sorry then."
Naja shook her head. "No I find it interesting! In fact, I - "
"I'm not in the mood for telling you more stories about XN-44," Tigress cut across, irritated. "I've told you enough - my throat chronically hurts and my bad knee is really killing me."
"Yeah it's called getting old," Naja forced. "Deal with it. You can't tell me another single story?"
"No…"
Tigress groaned. She was fine with telling Naja all the stories about XN-44 - about the Valley, about China, about what she used to do back there - although parts of Tigress' memories were starting to dim with growing seniority… but she had carefully avoided even approaching the memories of the people she used to knew. The simple fact was that there were only so many stories that one could tell about the "grass", the "dumplings" and about "kung fu" - everything else dangerously grew closer to talking about the people she used to know, which was - although Tigress had made peace with it long ago - not worth bringing up anymore.
"What about Karla?" Naja asked.
"Sheesh you sure do talk a lot," Tigress sighed. "You're the most talkative twenty-year old I know - what does it help you to keep annoying an old gal like me?"
"You always have good stories," Naja simply concluded with a wink. "Answer my question."
"Yes I spoke to her last month, alright?" Tigress noted. "And before you ask - yes, she's fine."
This was actually a lie. It was indeed true that Tigress had met up with Karla last month - actually by pure accident, seeing that they had both by coincidence made an emergency trip back to SD-77, as part of an Alliance initiative to introduce "model" duty workers like Tigress and Karla to new duty workers in production planets - but Karla was not indeed, fine.
The first thing Tigress had noted was that Karla seemed quite physically and mentally weary. Her normally fiery eyes were dim and complacent, while her fur sagged and appeared thinning. Tigress learnt from her that Karla's husband of six years had perished by old age, and her two children had been forcibly relocated to another planet due to an APs legal screw ups - and to top things off, Karla had recently been diagnosed with a malevolent blood cancer that was quite severe. For any ordinary human, this would have been solved by a simple visit to the doctor's office, where advanced cancer microbots had been designed for complete remission - but seeing that animals were forbidden from extensive medical care, Karla was just waiting out her moments to essentially - die. She had promised to continue contact with Tigress, telling her frankly that she was the "one good thing left going" in her life.
Tigress herself did the usual thing. Had a moment to grieve, a moment to tell Karla to accept it, and relax - and then continue on.
That was how life worked - especially under the Alliance.
Bad things were so commonplace that it was no point fighting them - rather, a submissive acceptance was best for one's own health.
Fifty-eight years of living under Alliance rule had taught her that.
"Sheesh you drone off so much…" Naja broke in. "I just asked you a bunch of questions and you kept staring at the ceiling… lost in thought or some shit…"
Tigress winked. "I am eighty years old, you know…"
Naja smiled, taking her turn to look out the window and be lost in thought.
Tigress grinned. She was actually quite fond of Naja, for three reasons - one being that she was an exceptional miner, who often reminded Tigress of herself in her youth - all dedication and persistence, with no laziness or need of rest… while secondly, Naja was one of the growing populations that had been born under Alliance rule - and thus knew nothing about their animal ancestors or how Reformation was, or how life was before Reformation - which explained why she knew nothing about oceans, grass, or food and culture.
The final reason was quite a personal one, and one that Naja made Tigress swear not to tell anyone.
Naja was actually a hybrid - or at least, the daughter of a hybrid. Her mother was half human, half gorilla - and had managed to make a human AP fall in love with her - thus making Naja a quarter hybrid. Unfortunately, once Naja's mother was discovered to have been married to a human - and a high ranking AP, at that - both her parents had been promptly erased. Erased for the Alliance meant that a group of APs had come to Naja's home one day (she had lived on an Alliance planet previously) and imprisoned and "relocated" her parents to another "destination" - but everyone knew that was simply just private execution. Naja, only fourteen at the time, had spent much time crying - because not only were her parents gone, but the level of "crime" of being a hybrid had nearly caused Naja to be "relocated" too - before a quick crystal bribe of a local ship captain had persuaded him to smuggle her to XS-211, fake a death hologram citing Naja had perished through a suicide attempt - and begin a new life as GF-14. No one on her new planet even knew her real name was Naja, except for Tigress - who saw straight through her flimsy story and background the moment she had landed on XS-211.
And Naja had lived in stealth ever since. Being only one quarter hybrid, she could mask the usual characteristics of hybrid phenotypes; thicker hair, larger eyes and jaw, more slanting head - compared to pure humans... with clothing choices and regular trimming, but still - it always felt like a small gamble.
Footsteps.
Down a staircase.
Both Tigress and Naja snapped back to reality, focusing on the silver-armored, aged ship captain grumble as he walked down.
"AP blockade," the man breathed, voice drenched with alcohol. "Not safe. Rerouting."
With those few words, the captain sighed and went back up the staircase to his quarters, resuming control of the ship.
Naja nudged Tigress. "The hell does that mean?"
Tigress smiled. "Nothing serious. Just that APs have blocked off all ships going to a certain region… which means it might take a little longer to get to our survey planet."
"Sweet," Naja retorted happily. "Whatcha think the reason for the blockade is?"
Tigress mulled over this, trying to utilize all her years of experience under the Alliance. The most statistically likely conclusion was a rogue AP, followed by a failed workers' strike, and in the most unlikely of scenarios - an intergalactic conflict.
"Probably nothing," Tigress concluded, assuaging Naja.
"Better be…" Naja forced. "Hey Ti - look at this."
Tigress did as requested, looking out of the window.
She was surprised. An armored man was outside the window, blasting alongside the ship with a specialized thruster pack. Tigress was particularly intrigued by his armor - it was a bold red and black scheme, with distinctive arrows outlining the shoulders… he was neither AP nor duty worker, yet he had access to armor that could travel at hyperspeed…
His dark visor covered his face.
The man extended a palm, touching the outside of the window.
Almost instinctively, from an emotion that Tigress didn't understand yet - she reached out her hand as well.
"We - " a voice came, clearly the captain as he descended the staircase.
Then he saw the man outside the window.
Panic.
Visceral fear.
"OH MY - THE TERRORIST!" the captain roared, jumping up and down before running back to his quarters. "EVACUATING! EVACUATING! EVACUATING!"
Tigress was seized in fear as well - but it was more surprised anxiety than anything else. The man looked nothing like a terrorist.
As the ship started to perform a clearly illegal short teleportation maneuver, Tigress saw the man slowly disappear as the colors and space outside the window morphed and the ship lurched forward - and gradually, the man's hand faded away from the window.
. . .
"Targets destroyed: thirty-five. 98% accuracy."
"Again."
"Sir, for your own mental health, I'd advise against more training regim - "
"Again, Ann."
A.N.N - or the Artificial Neural Network - merely breathed a holographic sigh, activating the training exercise again.
This particular training room was one of the only bastions of AP presence left on Earth - which had morphed into an intergalactic tech and cultural capital for the Alliance, leaving many of its military bases out zoned and deconstructed to build more attractions and buildings. This particular base had lost already most of its hangars and spaceship arsenal, leaving just one room settled off the coasts of Antarctica, broad ice sheets covering the entire surrounding as far as the eye could see. In this base, there was only a primitive training room with aged target technology - perhaps tens of thousands of years old, but still functioning. It was one of the few training centers left in the fifty-seven galaxies that had physical targets left rather than holographic ones, which made the sole inhabitant - Senior Scout Andrew Henderson - immensely happy, as he relished the taste of actual destruction of physical targets rather than "fake" holographic ones. The layout of the room was even quite aged by Alliance Protector Standards - just five rows of randomly appearing targets, usually animal caricatures or hybrids in threatening poses - along with civilian "targets", usually humans. And A.N.N noted that even though she was a mere holographic assistant, and thus not actually alive - even she felt worried about Henderson's progressively downward spiral into self-induced rages, spent in these training rooms firing his energy rifle pointlessly at targets.
"Read new metric," Henderson commanded, destroying the last target with a shot before putting his rifle down to wipe the sweat off his brow. He wasn't even in armor - he was in carbon pajamas and cotton overalls - A.N.N was particularly worried that he had spent last night sleeping here, instead of going back to his Alliance subsidized home which was on BX-3.
"Targets destroyed: forty-seven. Accuracy: 99.3%. Sir, as your personal assistant, I'd advise you against - "
"Run the program again," Henderson silently commanded.
And right then, A.N.N decided that she had enough. She folded her arms together, watching Henderson stare at her tall, blue holographic frame with surprise.
"You got a neural virus or something?" Henderson emphasized. "Didn't I just tell you to run the program again?"
A.N.N shook her head. "As your designated artificial intelligence companion - "
"Oh here she goes again…" Henderson groaned, sitting down on the metal floor.
" - I am authorized, by Alliance Regulation XAU-33 to disobey a direct command if it does not fit the evolutionary purpose of my master in question," A.N.N finished. "And right now Andrew - you've been acting like shit for the last few days."
Henderson chuckled. "Yeah - yeah I guess so. Never could keep a good holo-poker face…"
A.N.N walked closer to the seated soldier, watching his aged features with concern. By the book, Henderon was one of the most exceptionally talented APs that the Alliance had ever seen - he had participated in thousands of Reformations, had personally enforced the colonization of millions of lower lifeforms, and was given numerous accolades by A.G.E over the millennia he had spent serving them. Yet he had never risen above his rank of "Senior Scout" - choosing to turn down any and all opportunities after that promotion. In A.N.N's view, Henderson could have easily become a Commander on the likes of Omega, Delta or Sigma… but was so unambitious that he had felt completely unsure on his path forward.
"Just tell me what's wrong," A.N.N specified, electronic tones modulating to signal concern.
"You'd report me to the Alliance," Henderson spat. "If I told you the things I've been thinking…"
"Again, under Alliance Regulation XAU-88, I can't publicize any information you tell me in confidence," A.N.N retorted. "Unless you imply the immediate killing of a human being… anything above that, I can be your confidante."
A.N.N mimicked a smile, which compelled Henderson to laugh out loud.
"Heh, your emotion firmware is advanced as hell," Henderson chuckled. "Sit next to me Ann."
A.N.N did as requested, folding her knees together and wrapping her arms around them, as if she was human.
Henderson stared at his holographic assistant, sighing. "You ever start to - question everything you've been told?"
A.N.N pretended to think over the question before responding. "Unfortunately - no. As an artificial machine, I'm not capable of self-awareness. If you tell me what you're thinking specifically, I could maybe - sympathize."
Henderson frowned. "It's just - it's just that this whole - thing under the Alliance always seems to have some problems."
A.N.N blinked, not understanding. "What thing?"
"Evolution," Henderson noted. "I mean, don't get me wrong - it works most of the time, and society is running smoothly because of it…"
"But…"
"But there's always so many errors. Miscalculations… wrong judgements…"
A.N.N turned her head to the side, mimicking a human motion that indicated interest.
"Every Reformation I participated in, always took something outta me," Henderson observed. "Seeing all those animals - just taken from their home planets by these - freakish metal-humans… I dunno."
A.N.N was starting to catch on. "I see. You began to feel sympathy for them."
"Not just sympathy," Henderson importantly countered. "I started to wonder if just enslaving these creatures was really better than - yanno, preserving their culture and identities, educating them, empowering them to help humanity rather than just be slaves to us."
A.N.N nodded. "And - your conclusion?"
Henderson sighed. "I dunno. I haven't gotten to that part yet."
A.N.N turned her head down, making her voice modulator morose and serious. "Well Anthony - you know that public questioning of Alliance ideology is punishable…"
Henderson chuckled. "I know. That's why I'm telling you in private, aren't I?"
A.N.N mimicked a laugh, watching Henderson return it. "And I'm assuming that - the recent news of an intergalactic terrorist is… perhaps sparking these feelings anew?"
"I've always had them," Henderson noted. "But this guy - the way he spoke in his broadcast from MN-1… you could hear the pain in his voice… it just kinda makes you question everything, that's all."
A.N.N nodded.
Henderson turned to her suddenly. "So - whaddya think?"
A.N.N blinked to show confusion. "What?"
"Whaddya think? Henderson continued. "As a rational artificial intelligence - what do you think is more fair - enslave species, or empower them?"
"I - I - " A.N.N struggled, having so many conflicting cyber priorities go in her neural network. "My firmware isn't equipped to handle moral hypotheticals…"
"Just use what you know, leave your Alliance loyalty outta it," Henderson pleaded. "From an objective standpoint… what's better? Submission to a universal standard - or freedom for all?"
A.N.N tried her best to formulate a proper answer, based on all she had studied about human culture, psychology, ethics, and practicality.
"Submitting everyone to predefined, perfect standards is superior," A.N.N stated, much to Henderson's dismay. "The standards judged by vastly more intelligent lifeforms for lower lifeforms to obey - in theory - would lead to a perfect society, more often than one dominated by everyone's impulses."
Henderson drooped his head down.
"But."
The aged scout popped back up.
"But to create truly fair standards, the ones - or one - in charge of setting those standards must have infinite knowledge of all possible contingencies," A.N.N continued. "The standards must be set with complete certainty that these are the best rules for everyone to follow."
Henderson wanted to interrupt, but A.N.N's answer was intriguing him greatly - so he let her continue.
"The Designators - although quite encompassing of vast knowledge - have finite understanding of the Universe, lifeforms, and its potential," A.N.N noted. "And thus - in humanity's case - liberty and freedom seems better for other lifeforms - than submitting them."
Henderson was getting a bit lost by the complexity of A.N.N's answer. His assistant realized this, modifying her speech to be more clear.
"I'm saying that currently - humanity is playing God," A.N.N noted. "Pretending that everything they're doing is best for animals and human beings. So in that sense… maybe enslaving animals is quite clearly inferior compared to - helping empower them, and allow them to live alongside humanity as equal partners…"
Henderson nodded, smiling. "I like the way you think."
A.N.N returned the smile. "I am not capable of thought."
Henderson giggled, as did A.N.N - sometimes, the dryness of her humor truly helped get Henderson through particularly depressing days like today.
"Incoming emergency broadcast," A.N.N suddenly interrupted. "Terrorist Attack. A-9, pre-Reformation name - Pluto. Commander Omega has also asked to speak with you…"
"Hey Ann - do you think God is real?" Henderson asked, completely ignoring the news.
A.N.N understood that he was in no mood to talk about news or politics now. Therefore, she set a simple reminder in her firmware to restate the news and message to him - perhaps when Andrew was feeling less - philosophical.
"Like mathematically," Henderson questioned. "What're the chances that God could be… real?"
"The probability of a Supreme Deity's existence is more likely than the inverse proposition of non-existence," A.N.N stated. "But then again - you're essentially asking a computer to do philosophy for you."
Henderson laughed again.
"And if He was real," the aged scout continued. "I'm damn sure he wouldn't approve of what the Alliance is doing right now."
"No," A.N.N responded. "Such a God wouldn't."
A/N
Aha! The plot gets even thicker, hehe…
This chapter I wanted to expand a little more on our new casts' backstories, specifically Karla, Naja, Henderson, etc… Don't worry, the Five, Shifu, and Po are still coming, it's just that because of how big the timeskip was, I gotta build up everyone slow…
We see that there's a significant part of Henderson's struggle with his life as a mindless soldier here, and how he conveys that frustration to his AI assistant. We also see how different Tigress is from Naja - Naja doesnt even realize what an ocean is, just because she was born in a planet where Reformation wasn't even a thing.
And we see some more effects of the "terrorist" attack on Pluto! The next chapter will deal with the aftermath…
Support is crazy good.
~TW
EDIT: I guess we're at 300 reviews. Wow. It baffles me how people continue to support this garbag - I mean - fic. Lol. jk. Thanks though! In keeping with tradition, I'll be posting a "fake review" soon... read it to get a good laugh, lol.
