The first few days with Rory were, well, a handful. I was lucky that the colonies on this planet had decided, for now, at least, to leave me alone. Given what I'd downloaded from the comm networks, it looked like they were trying to agree on a time where I could meet with them. Also, all of the powers had just started a massive military buildup in response to my arrival, which was understandable. As for the opinions of the civilians, most were in favor of peaceful interaction (even in militant Brasilia), but there weren't many complaints against the buildup.

If you want peace, prepare for war. A couple thousand years and that proverb was still holding water.

Regardless, it provided me with plenty of time build some trust with Rory. Look, even if he did trust me from how I treated him when he was 'born', I had a feeling that, if I didn't back that up with further bonding, I lose it pretty fast. So, until something significantly more pressing popped up (and I mean 'declaration of war or greater' pressing), I'd be spending time helping my son understand this new world.

In some respects, it was easier said then done.

Like, for example, getting him to eat dinner.

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"Ugh, why do I have to eat this?"

The item in question was a carrot. I'd decided to set up a small dining room for me and my, well, son, and had personally cooked all of the food that we were eating. Considering my normal skill regarding cooking, this was...well, not a miracle.

"Because it's good for you."

"But it tastes bad."

"So do a few other things that are good for you, but you need to eat it if you want to grow up to be big and strong."

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At times, though, it turned out to be easier than expected.

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Rory was staring awestruck at a tiny piece of rock. Specifically, a piece of floatstone. The fact that it could remain upright amazed him to no end. After a few minutes, he started poking it, but it still managed to stay afloat. Eventually, he swatted it out of the sky, but it only stayed down for a moment before returning to a hover.

I'd taken him into the lab onboard my ship: this part in particular was the geology section, which contained all kinds of rock samples, including copious amount of floatstone. While Rory was playing with his stone, I was busy analyzing firaxite to see how it held all of the properties that made it the strategic resource for Supremacy.

"Why does it do that?" he asked.

"...um, do you know how magnets work?"

"Yes."

"Well, floatstones are really powerful magnets, so they can always float.

"Oh."

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And sometimes, Rory surprised me.

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The biggest surprise came when I was with him in his room. It was rather empty, since I really wasn't sure what he liked at the moment. I doubted that this would be the case for long though, and that, by the time we left the CivBE universe, it would have a few toys and posters within in.

"...Hey, Papa Flame?"

"Yes?"

"...Why do I exist?"

"...what?"

"Why did you make me? I know that I'm an A-a-at-Artificial Intelligence, and that those things are made by others to help them with tasks, so why did you make me?"

"...How did you know you were an AI?"

"I can use the computers without having to touch them. I asked Ou-Ouium why I could do this, and he told me that I was an AI."

"..okay, well...," I sighed. This was something I didn't expect to have to answer so early on. "Look, originally, I didn't intend to make you."

"Wha?!"

"Originally, I asked Ouium to help me make three other AIs and grow avatars for them. He just had some extra biomass left behind and didn't want to waste it, so he created you. He just examined my personal preferences toward other humans to decide how you would look like."

"...so, I just exist because of an...accident?"

"Yes. And before you get sad, that isn't a bad thing."

"...It's...not?"

"No, not at all. I created the other three AIs with specific intentions in mind. You, though, don't have any in regard to your creation. You have no purpose in life, which means you are free to choose your own."

"I am?"

"Yes. You can be whatever you choose to be. And as much as a might say otherwise, I'm fine with that. You might be my son, but that shouldn't define who you are. It should just be a staring place for whoever you would like to be."

"...okay. Thanks for telling me that."

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I think I might owe Roosterteeth some money for that last speech, but it still rings true for everyone: you shouldn't be defined by your origins, but by your actions.

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While I might have been spending a lot of time caring for Rory, that didn't mean I couldn't spend sometime examining the tech data I was siphoning from the inhabitants of Chiron. All of which was juicy. Seriously, these guys had gone from backwater colonies on a remote world into thriving civilizations in their own right, and with it had come a meteoric renaissance of technological innovation: autodocs were common place, cancer was easily treatable, and drones were now being used for all kinds of public conveniances. While commanders might've overlooked most of this stuff because they weren't necessary for a self-replicating engine of war to function, I had an army of loyal followers with me who were far squishier than I was, so any technology I could get my hands on was a boon to my operations.

Look, I know creating a utopia is impossible, or at least high-infeasible, but that didn't mean I couldn't try and improve the life of my followers. They had given me unquestionable loyalty, so they deserved some compensation for this. To be honest, part of me also felt unworthy to have such loyalty in the first place: it felt wrong to have people blindly follow you when you hadn't really done much to earn their loyalty. If I'd shown up while they were facing some kind of insurmountable foe and saved them, I probably wouldn't be thinking this and would've instead been basking in that loyalty, but that wasn't how things had gone.

I quickly pocketed all the information I could find on medical advances and civil engineering, then got to work sending that data to my subjects. I didn't give them all of the information, though: while they got the medical advances and new structural designs, I refrained from letting them get too many things on drones: no laziness for you!

"Watcha doing?" intoned the voice of Rory.

I froze up for a moment,unsure what to say, but the moment passed and I answered.

"Making life better for the aliens who live under me."

I'd shown him to the aliens that followed me a few hours ago. Rory, for all his maturity, was still uncomfortable around crowds, and had spent most of the ceremony unveiling his existence trying to hid behind me. Eventually, though, he calmed down enough that I was able to get him to meet the gathered aliens, and from their his fear was replaced with wonder.

"okay...wait, why are you keeping all of the drone tech mostly locked up?"

"Well, I don't want their lives to be too easy."

"But why?"

"Well, I don't want people to have 'easier' lives, I want them to have better lives. If they lived easier lives, then they wouldn't have too many problems in their lives, but the achievements that they earned in those lives would be hollow, and they might grow lazy. IF their lives were better, though, then they'd still have a little bit of an easier time with doing everything, but there would also be a lot of other changes that would be for the better."

"...You lost me there."

"Look, I make someone's life easier by making it so that they don't have to do a lot of chores. But while it makes there lives easier, it also makes them lazy. Now, if I make their lives better, I'd do it by figuring out how to make their lives longer, so that they could live a fuller life and experience all kinds of wonderful things, but still have to face the daily challenges of life. I'd even give them the Dronesphere that would solve almost all of the mundane issues of life, but only if they could live with it and not become lazy. If they didn't, then all I would've done is make them lazy and selfish."

"...okay."

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You know, I was really surprised by how smart Rory was. Not that I minded, of course: he was very insightful on some topics.

Some of which were about to become relevant very soon.

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Of course, that didn't mean that we couldn't have some fun now and then.

"Got any threes?" he asked.

"Go fish," I answered.

This was a really simple game, but I didn't want to overtax Rory's mind yet. He'd probably be able to play Monopoly in a week, given his rapid learning ability.

"Got any fives?"

I soon found myself possessing enough fives to lay down. Of course Rory had drawn a three in the last turn, so he was still winning.

"Got any sevens?"

I was forced to relinquish my seven...which was the last one Rory needed, as all of his other cards were sevens.

"I win," he said, a huge smile on his face.

I couldn't help but smile. He looked adorable right now, especially with that giant smile.

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AN: Well, that was fun to write.

Heads up, next chapter will advance the Hubworld Arc with Malak, then return to the main plot.

So, Read and Review. This is Flameal15k, signing off.