With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

Darko · May 23, 2023

BlackCoat13 said:
It's always a bit weird that the typical Sector Greens seems barely aware there are other colors when everyone in the Green Lantern Corps knows about the Orange and Yellow lights due to the Orange Corps and the Sinistro stuff. If there's at least two more colors... why stop there?

This guy is apparently new to the Corps, so it makes sense he wouldn't know all that much.

As for the others, they could just be too busy to research it.

Coda · May 24, 2023

The majority of cannibalistic rituals I'm aware of in historical real-world societies are funeral rites meant to represent either the last gift of strength from the departed to the living, or a means of grieving by destroying the body in the most personal way possible to acknowledge the departure of the soul. (Anecdotally, the last known society with such funeral rites willingly gave it up when they learned about prion diseases -- it wasn't religiously significant, it was just a tradition.)

I'm not aware of any such rituals that involved slaughtering a human for the explicit purpose of consumption -- at most, it was the final step of a sacrificial ritual carried out for other purposes, and as far as I know there's no historical evidence that it was ever done on a frequent basis.

Ngamer11 · May 24, 2023

Mr Zoat, I just noticed that you hid almost all the 2011 episodes on the TOC in the folder for the 2010 episodes, as well as hid the 2011 July-November folder in the 2011 January-June folder.

Mr Zoat · May 24, 2023

13th February 2013
16:28 GMT -5

"So, ya wanna actually talk to some of these jerks?"

The robot facing me looks like it was patterned after a bear, with a screen replacing the head. Ring scans show it to be respectably well armoured by local standards, though not armed with anything beyond brute strength and retractable claws.

B'dg nods. "They do, governor. I don't, but that's the job."

"Ya know they eat people, right?"

Vykin nods. "We have been informed."

"And ya can't take weapons in with ya. It's like taking keys into a zoo exhibit."

Serifan starts to open his mouth, an expression of outrage on his face. Vykin raises a hand in his direction and he bites his tongue. "We are capable of defending ourselves without weapons. The Gods of New Genesis are far stronger than normal people."

"Good for them. What about you?"

B'dg flies over to the robot and whispers into its microphone.

"They-? Seriously?" B'dg nods. "Oh, okay, just as long as their next of kin knows the score. So we're clear, the guns here are designed to stop people coming to or going from the planet. We don't put infantry weapons here in case the berrith get a hold of them somehow. Same with ships. We deliver things to the planet with drop pods so there's no fuel left over. The robots are fuelled with bleed torsion generators which self-destruct if something goes wrong. The robots are strong because that's the only way to make these savages listen. Basically, I'll show you who you can talk to and that's it. I ain't going to help you do something stupid like run an investigation here."

Bear shrugs. "I think we can manage."

Another robot trundles forward and Moonrider allows it to take his club. "If you hold them in such contempt, why are you here?"

"There's a short list of people with the skills to do something like this. It's even shorter when you exclude the people looking for a reason-. An excuse to just kill them all and have done with it, and the people who'd treat them like the civilised species they're not. It needs to be done, and I'm the best candidate."

Serifan scowls as the second robot approaches him, but he grudgingly divests himself of his pistols. "Why not just shoot 'em all?"

"Because the Guardians of the Universe asked us not to. And since their Lanterns did most of the work in stopping the berrith, they get the deciding vote."

"Imagine, Serifan." Lightray smiles at him. "Once we are done with Apokolips, we could be the ones protecting and nurturing younger civilisations."

"So we could vote to wipe 'em out?"

"So we would not need to." "Because we can shine the light of civilisation upon them."

Serifan winces-. Actually, all the Forever People do. Not sure what that's about, it was a perfectly reasonable if slightly naive statement of principle. Maybe they get that from him a lot?

"Having pursued both possibilities myself, I find that preserving a civilisation and reforming it is honestly the more satisfying, in the longer term. Killing more than a few hundred people just makes it too abstract to have the same psychological impact, whereas seeing a people successfully reintegrate into society with what they've built while not being evil can be really satisfying."

I consider Chughraghahh for a moment.

"Eventually. But given how long your species naturally lives, it shouldn't be an issue."

Vykin nod. "Please take us to those you have settled here. That will allow us to become accustomed to their behaviour before confronting those in the wild."

The h'lvenite on the screen shakes his head. "I don't think that you really understand what we do here, but alright. Follow this robot and it will take you to them."

The robot turns away and starts walking towards a compound near the outer perimeter of the h'lvenite settlement. We leave the Forevermobile and follow along behind it, Moonrider frowning thoughtfully.

"What do you mean? Aren't you trying to change their society by showing them a better way to live?"

"Ever seen a trapped animal gnaw off its own leg to escape a trap?"

Moonrider frowns. "No. Though I have nothing against hunting, on New Genesis we use matter re-sequencers to-."

"I don't care. The point is that the berrith don't want to change. If we build a school… Heck, even a gymnasium, they just smash it up unless they're watched the whole time. If we watch them, they steal things, and make rude gestures."

Serifan looks mystified. "So what can you do with them?"

The robot stops at the door to the compound, and raises its right forepaw. The door detects… Whatever it's scanning for, and slides open. I can immediately hear the… Noise? It's coming from living creatures, but it's not reaching the threshold for speech…

The robot shows us a window on a crèche, infant berrith being tended to by fur-coated robots.

Bear blinks in confusion. "What..? Is this?"

"Our attempt to eliminate nurture. Their mothers are living in the nearby berrith settlements. We pay them in food for the opportunity to educate their young."

"They sold you their children? You bought them?"

"This will be an educational establishment. On any normal world, they'd be paying us. The berrith here will be free to leave with no obligation to us once they reach adulthood or if their mothers want them back. But in the mean time, we will bring them up to be decent sophonts, something that previous generations of berrith have uniformly failed to do."

Dreamer steps up to the glass in something of a daze, laying her right hand upon it as she watches a berrith infant be sprayed with something unpleasant when it refuses to give up its empty bottle.

"They-. You're not a predatory species-."

"Input from better socialised predators and omnivores was sought and included. That is why this robot is pattered after a large creature rather than after my species. And why they will be taught how to hunt and butcher rather than just farm."

The robot turns away and walks further down the corridor.

Serifan looks nonplussed. "D'you mean the Guardians approve of this?"

Lantern B'dg shrugs. "They haven't objected."

"The Guardians did something similar to a species in my home system. They took them, and… Completely changed them. That's the reason why my species exists today. And the reason why the descendants of those they altered have an actual civilisation and not a series of bonfires."

"That's interesting. And restricted."

"I don't set Green Lantern Corps data security policy."

Another set of security doors, and this time the noise is louder and I can easily pick out words. Rowdy… Youths? Shouting at each other. None of it sounds… Especially violent.

The robot stops in front of another window. Young berrith are being taught… Some sort of team game involving ropes. They… Seem to be getting it.

"These children are a little bit older. We're not sure where the cut-off is for being able to socialise them, so we're trying with several different age groups. The early indications are that berrith aren't innately stupid, so I'm hopeful that we might be successful."

One of the children punches another in the face, causing two others to jump on them. The robots move in quickly to pull them apart and apply corrective face-squirts.

"Eventually."

Katillno · May 24, 2023

Yah the sense I'm getting is that their behavior has quite a bit of nature backing it not just nurture might have a bit more success if they slightly altered the dna of embryo to influence the brains development to be a bit more empathetic…..expose them all to violet light and hope after a few generations the empathy sticks?

Mr Zoat · May 24, 2023

Ngamer11 said:
Mr Zoat, I just noticed that you hid almost all the 2011 episodes on the TOC in the folder for the 2010 episodes, as well as hid the 2011 July-November folder in the 2011 January-June folder.

Modified.

Darko · May 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
self-destruct is something goes

"if something"

Mr Zoat said:
Actually, the all the Forever People do. No

Remove "the".

Mr Zoat said:
No sure what that's about, it was a perfectly reasonable if

"Not sure"

Mr Zoat said:
No sure what that's about, it was a perfectly reasonable if slightly naive statement of principle. Maybe they get that from him a lot?

It also kinda sounded like White Man's Burden crap.

As for shy they seemed to not like it, well their most memorable experience with Godspeech would now be the Anti-Life, so now they may be uncomfortable with it.

Heck, it's piss that he said something like that while he was under its effect and that reminded them.

ZzzSlothzzZ · May 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"That's interesting. And restricted

So thats how he drives this one insane and/or
recruits him.

"I WANT to know 'Restricted'
*Squirrel Noises*

Chojin Patriarch · May 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
13th February 2013
16:28 GMT -5

"So, ya wanna actually talk to some of these jerks?"

The robot facing me looks like it was patterned after a bear, with a screen replacing the head. Ring scans show it to be respectably well armoured by local standards, though not armed with anything beyond brute strength and retractable claws.

Probably to avoid the people in charge from having to interact in person with a species that can tear them limb from limb. I suspect they'd have lost a lot of experts if they didn't. And presumably they're not armed with anything the locals could loot.

B'dg nods. "They do, governor. I don't, but that's the job."

"Ya know they eat people, right?"

Yes, though I think they'll find this lot a little harder to take a bite of.

Vykin nods. "We have been informed."

"And ya can't take weapons in with ya. It's like taking keys into a zoo exhibit."

Logical. Don't want the critters who kill you to gain some kind of advantage.

Serifan starts to open his mouth, an expression of outrage on his face. Vykin raises a hand in his direction and he bites his tongue. "We are capable of defending ourselves without weapons. The Gods of New Genesis are far stronger than normal people."

"Good for them. What about you?"

B'dg flies over to the robot and whispers into its microphone.

Not that much stronger, though, surely. Unless you specialise in a combat portfolio...

"They-? Seriously?" B'dg nods. "Oh, okay, just as long as their next of kin knows the score. So we're clear, the guns here are designed to stop people coming to or going from the planet. We don't put infantry weapons here in case the berrith get a hold of them somehow. Same with ships. We deliver things to the planet with drop pods so there's no fuel left over. The robots are fuelled with bleed torsion generators which self-destruct is something goes wrong. The robots are strong because that's the only way to make these savages listen. Basically, I'll show you who you can talk to and that's it. I ain't going to help you do something stupid like run an investigation here."

I get the feeling this is something of a stock disclaimer. A 'cover your ass' warning if someone's foolish enough to want to go in person...

Bear shrugs. "I think we can manage."

Another robot trundles forward and Moonrider allows it to take his club. "If you hold them in such contempt, why are you here?"

I suspect most people who've experienced them hold them in contempt...

"There's a short list of people with the skills to do something like this. It's even shorter when you exclude the people looking for a reason-. An excuse to just kill them all and have done with it, and the people who'd treat them like the civilised species they're not. It needs to be done, and I'm the best candidate."

Serifan scowls as the second robot approaches him, but he grudgingly divests himself of his pistols. "Why not just shoot 'em all?"

Because the civilised peoples of the galaxy have a thing about genocide.

"Because the Guardians of the Universe asked us not to. And since their Lanterns did most of the work in stopping the berrith, they get the deciding vote."

"Imagine, Serifan." Lightray smiles at him. "Once we are done with Apokolips, we could be the ones protecting and nurturing younger civilisations."

You'd want to have a lot more of you running around, then.

"So we could vote to wipe 'em out?"

"So we would not need to." "Because we can shine the light of civilisation upon them."

Optimistic, isn't he? I'm guessing he doesn't get out much, to see what the galaxy's actually like.

Serifan winces-. Actually, the all the Forever People do. No sure what that's about, it was a perfectly reasonable if slightly naive statement of principle. Maybe they get that from him a lot?

"Having pursued both possibilities myself, I find that preserving a civilisation and reforming it is honestly the more satisfying, in the longer term. Killing more than a few hundred people just makes it too abstract to have the same psychological impact, whereas seeing a people successfully reintegrate into society with what they've built while not being evil can be really satisfying."

Interesting that OL missed the Godspeech. I'd have assumed he'd notice it more now. (unless he did kind of hear it and dismissed it as optimistic but naive.) Also interesting that the Forever people flinched at it. PTSD's a bitch...

I consider Chughraghahh for a moment.

"Eventually. But given how long your species naturally lives, it shouldn't be an issue."

Though some races are an easier sell than others, too.

Vykin nod. "Please take us to those you have settled here. That will allow us to become accustomed to their behaviour before confronting those in the wild."

The h'lvenite on the screen shakes his head. "I don't think that you really understand what we do here, but alright. Follow this robot and it will take you to them."

Ah, they're trying to rehabilitate some already? I get the feeling the ones they treat would quickly become dinner if they head out, though.

The robot turns away and starts walking towards a compound near the outer perimeter of the h'lvenite settlement. We leave the Forevermobile and follow along behind it, Moonrider frowning thoughtfully.

"What do you mean? Aren't you trying to change their society by showing them a better way to live?"

Ah, the Super-Cycle. Like Sphere's big brother, and some peculiar seating placements depending on artist.

"Ever seen a trapped animal gnaw off its own leg to escape a trap?"

Moonrider frowns. "No. Though I have nothing against hunting, on New Genesis we use matter re-sequencers to-."

Missing the point a little, lad...

"I don't care. The point is that the berrith don't want to change. If we build a school… Heck, even a gymnasium, they just smash it up unless they're watched the whole time. If we watch them, they steal things, and make rude gestures."

Serifan looks mystified. "So what can you do with them?"

...Sounds right Orky. Well, Gretchin-y.

The robot stops at the door to the compound, and raises its right forepaw. The door detects… Whatever it's scanning for, and slides open. I can immediately hear the… Noise? It's coming from living creatures, but it's not reaching the threshold for speech…

The robot shows us a window on a crèche, infant berrith being tended to by fur-coated robots.

...Worrying. I hope there's a good reason for the babies?

Bear blinks in confusion. "What..? Is this?"

"Our attempt to eliminate nurture. Their mothers are living in the nearby berrith settlements. We pay them in food for the opportunity to educate their young."

Yeah, I get the feeling they enjoy the prestige. Surprised they don't have more young to offer them up to the scientists.

"They sold you their children? You bought them?"

"This will be an educational establishment. On any normal world, they'd be paying us. The berrith here will be free to leave with no obligation to us once they reach adulthood or if their mothers want them back. But in the mean time, we will bring them up to be decent sophonts, something that previous generations of berrith have uniformly failed to do."

And they'll probably refuse to leave, if they get a chance to see what their kind are like.

Dreamer steps up to the glass in something of a daze, laying her right hand upon it as she watches a berrith infant be sprayed with something unpleasant when it refuses to give up its empty bottle.

"They-. You're not a predatory species-."

Honestly, that probably helps them to curb the berriths more unpleasant behaviours.

"Input from better socialised predators and omnivores was sought and included. That is why this robot is pattered after a large creature rather than after my species. And why they will be taught how to hunt and butcher rather than just farm."

The robot turns away and walks further down the corridor.

As long as said prey are not sophont beings, anyway.

Serifan looks nonplussed. "D'you mean the Guardians approve of this?"

Lantern B'dg shrugs. "They haven't objected."

...Do they know it's happening? Then again, they do tend to be hands-off concerning internal practices.

"The Guardians did something similar to a species in my home system. They took them, and… Completely changed them. That's the reason why my species exists today. And the reason why the descendants of those they altered have an actual civilisation and not a series of bonfires."

"That's interesting. And restricted."

No, they're not exactly proud of it. But the Burning Martians were an extant risk to the galaxy...

"I don't set Green Lantern Corps data security policy."

Another set of security doors, and this time the noise is louder and I can easily pick out words. Rowdy… Youths? Shouting at each other. None of it sounds… Especially violent.

To be honest, OL, your mere existence probably nudged them to step up their game a little, with your occasional dropping of Guardian 'secrets'.

The robot stops in front of another window. Young berrith are being taught… Some sort of team game involving ropes. They… Seem to be getting it.

"These children are a little bit older. We're not sure where the cut-off is for being able to socialise them, so we're trying with several different age groups. The early indications are that berrith aren't innately stupid, so I'm hopeful that we might be successful."

Given that they aren't trying to beat each other with the ropes, it sounds successful?

One of the children punching another in the face, causing two others to jump on them. The robots move in quickly to pull them apart and apply corrective face-squirts.

"Eventually."

...Or not.

Boy, have these guys given themselves a challenge or what? From what I'm seeing, the berrith are near-feral folks who evolved intelligence in an attempt to be sneakier than the next ~~meal~~ person. Honestly, it might have been better to try a little gene-meddling in an attempt to lower the aggression and raise the sociability, but such examples would probably not last long amongst the general population anyway...

Ngamer11 · May 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
Modified.

The 2011 July-November folder is still in the 2011 January-June folder.

Mr Zoat · May 24, 2023

Darko said:
"if something"
Remove "the".
"Not sure"

Thank you, corrected.

It also kinda sounded like White Man's Burden crap.

As for shy they seemed to not like it, well their most memorable experience with Godspeech would now be the Anti-Life, so now they may be uncomfortable with it.

Heck, it's piss that he said something like that while he was under its effect and that reminded them.

If your society considers eating people a normal and routine thing, I am fine for people of whatever colour to step in and stop you.

Ngamer11 said:
The 2011 July-November folder is still in the 2011 January-June folder.

Modified.

Duke Long · May 24, 2023

Chojin Patriarch said:
Yeah, I get the feeling they enjoy the prestige. Surprised they don't have more young to offer them up to the scientists.

I think it's only been half a year or something since they started this operation, so the mothers probably haven't had time, unless their gestation is much faster than human.

Assblaster5000 · May 24, 2023

Golly gee, evolution really fucked it on these cannibalistic wack jobs.

Like outside of being able to (somehow) successfully reproduce and seemingly having a level of self-preservation instincts the berrith are about as close to an evolutionary dead-end as you can get. I can only assume that the environment on their home world was one of the strangest places in the universe to get a species that's this self-defeating through aggression but not tone it down by killing off the especially anti-social members.

The fact that they were, at some point, apparently able to cooperate enough to go interplanetary is honestly just bizarre based on the behavior of the current "civilization." Unless their homeworld was unimaginably ideal, to the point of it basically happening on its own, for achieving space flight and/or they got help for it the amount of mutual aid and general cooperation even a basic space program requires, never mind the build up to that point technologically and industrially, seems well out of their ability to achieve.

The cannibalism thing is a bit weird, our only example of a sapient species doing that is us and we try to avoid it wherever possible, but assuming they can consume members of their own species (or genus if there's more than one variant) without health risks that's probably one of the only advantages evolution gave them. That's a pretty good way of getting rid of the dead nutritionally speaking, though using them as fertilizer is maybe more efficient if they're omnivores, and it could theoretically prevent disease from spreading if they absolutely had to stat near the corpse for whatever reason.

Honestly I'm thinking these goobers are some kind of forgotten genetics experiment that got a bit out of hand, because these just aren't traits you'd realistically see from a naturally evolved species, comic book logic or no. Not one that lasts very long at least.

Ct613hulu · May 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
If your society considers eating people a normal and routine thing, I am fine for people of whatever colour to step in and stop you.

There are some interesting fictional depictions of moral societies and species that practice cannibalism. The Night People in Larry Niven's Ringworld series are a classic example.

moralrelativity · May 24, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
One of the children punching another in the face, causing two others to jump on them.

punching -> punches

Doccer · May 24, 2023

Talk about not because it's easy, but because it is hard.

Mr Zoat · May 24, 2023

moralrelativity said:
punching -> punches

Thank you, corrected.

Dur'id the Druid · May 24, 2023

Ct613hulu said:
There are some interesting fictional depictions of moral societies and species that practice cannibalism. The Night People in Larry Niven's Ringworld series are a classic example.

Also another fictional example in Leo Frankowski stories, a people who ate both enemies and their own members after they died. And apprently it was even based on an empatcic/aura sense they had gained through mutation, and did in fact get some skills and memories from cannibalism.

The main charcter interacted with them quite a bit. He didn't try to stop them, but directly got them to understand, "I don't think you realize how insulting others see your practice is. I won't stop you, but I do ask that you don't eat someone's relative in front of them."

NightmareWarden · May 24, 2023

I think this planet is getting juxtaposed next to the Anti-Life refugee world for a reason. There is a factor at play in both locations. If anti-life, or a problematic form of the Life Equation, is active here, then the Forever People should sense it. Eventually.

The Anti-Monitor fostered the Qwardians, and we found a fragment of his armor forever ago. Razor's world bore psychic traces of the Butcher entity. I think... Even if there isn't an active force making the Berrith act like this, there could be something outside of the Guardians' knowledge which left behind some residue...

Not the Red kingdom, not Anti-Life, not emotions, not the Starheart, not the pet project of Brainiac or Psions... Who or what is left?

The Unaligned Player · May 25, 2023

Katillno said:
Yah the sense I'm getting is that their behavior has quite a bit of nature backing it not just nurture might have a bit more success if they slightly altered the dna of embryo to influence the brains development to be a bit more empathetic…..expose them all to violet light and hope after a few generations the empathy sticks?

Indigo, not violet. Use Violet and you'll at best get tribalistic cannibals. At expected you'll get Yangires.

Mr Zoat · May 25, 2023

13th February 2013
21:37 GMT

"…the vrangs' own anti-orbital weapons, and the ship exploded-"

Kara throws up her hands with an excited expression on her face, to the joy of all the children listening to Kryptonian History Story Hour.

Who all immediately copy the gesture. "BOOM!" / "BOOM!" / "BOOM!" / "BOOM!" / "BOOM!"

"-in a giant fireball. And then Krypton was free of evil aliens, never to be conquered again!"

That doesn't meet with quite the same level of joy as the call-and-response part, but the children seem happy enough. I do spot Kara's eyes lingering on the two tamaranean children who decided to sit in, but they appeared to enjoy the story as much as the kryptonians. Bit of a slant, but I suppose that Karsta might have decided to enculturate them through jingoism.

Nothing wrong with preferring your own civilisation to someone else's. And I say that as someone from objectively the greatest civilisation that the Earth has ever produced.

But that's not a lot like I remember from the comics. Or much like Kara 50. I think… I mean, she seemed fine, and Karsta's been keeping an eye on her-.

"Hey, Mister Grayven."

"Hello, tiny tiny children." I smile at them as I bend down, favouring them with pats on the head as they move past me into the hallway. "Are you behaving yourselves for your teacher?"

"Yeeees!"

"I'm glad to hear it. Now, run along, little people. I need to speak with Kara."

The rest of the class files out, heading towards their… Evening meal.

"Grayven!" Kara smiles at me and takes a few moments to restore the seating to a perfect grid before walking over to me. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, I like to keep an eye on important projects. You know, turn up in person every so often and talk to people. Make sure that I'm not missing something important."

"That's very responsible. If Kem-El had kept an eye on Daxam, they wouldn't be a bunch of yokels today."

"Ah, well, to be fair, there was a primitivist movement on Krypton before he got involved. Though, I mean, if you want to, you can use the hush tubes to visit them yourself."

"No." Her face slips back into neutral. "They've made their choice, and safeguarding true kryptonians is more important than trying to dig the Daxamites out of the hole they've buried themselves in."

"Okay, and… You sure you..? Want to keep doing this?" She gives me a concerned look. "I know you were studying mathematics on Krypton, and while this is important work, I wouldn't want you to feel chained to it."

And she's smiling again. "Nothing is more important than preserving the kryptonian species!"

"Right, but… There's more to resurrecting the kryptonian species than child-rearing. Ultimately, they'll need-."

"A New Krypton to live on." She nods. "I know. I've been talking to Clarissi Dox about it, and he says that we can be folded into the current wave of colonisation projects. Ideally, we'd like a world with no one on it, but I can see that it might be better to share a world until the second generation are born and people are settled into their occupations. Besides." She rises off the floor. "It's not like I can't go back to another career later. No one knows how long kryptonians live when they've got access to a yellow star, but it's a long time."

"Well. Okay. If you're happy. Have you and… Karsta, decided what you want done with the Rao system? We've probably got the manpower for… Whatever you decide."

Her eyes… There's an odd expression that I can't quite-.

"Could you restore it completely?"

"You mean, transmute the kryptonite back into normal rock and stick the planet back together?"

"I-." The odd expression again. "Y-. Yes."

I do a quick back-of-an-envelope-but-in-my-head calculation.

"Yes. Not.. quickly, but it's certainly possible. Be a good deal easier if someone as well motivated as you took the lead-."

"No. My place is here. Living kryptonians are more important than a world that chose not to save itself."

"Ooooooh-kay."

"So don't prioritise it, but I'd still like it back. Ideally."

"Rightoh. Is there..? Anything else you need?"

She shakes her head. "No, I don't think so. You've resourced this project appropriately."

I nod. "Okay, I'll leave you to it, then. Have a good day."

"You too!"

Mother Box…

Ping.

Yeah, but… Do the tube thing.

Ping.

I walk through the tube to the command station, where Ecksey and Karsta are keeping tabs on things. They both look around, though I wait for the tube to close down before putting a sound-deadening field around the room.

"What's up with Kara?"

Karsta frowns. "What do you mean?"

"Ecksey, you know what I mean, right?"

"Her mental activity has not changed significantly since she arrived. Neither has her outward behaviour."

"She was reading a story about the vrang occupation to a class, and-."

"Oh, the one about Hatu-El's resistance movement." Karsta nods. "It's nice to know that she's taking inspiration from the worthwhile members of her House."

"Don't you think it's a bit… Xenophobic?"

"Fighting against people who invaded and conquered our planet? No? I think it's exactly right xenophobic. Look…" She gestures to the monitors with her right arm. "All our kids are growing up surrounded by aliens on a space station built by aliens in a project overseen by you, another alien. That's not a kryptonian thing. We didn't mix with aliens like this."

"Well, if you know a kryptonian with a cloning-."

"I know. I'm not complaining. I'm grateful. I know I wouldn't do something like this for your species."

"My species does kind of suck."

She gives her head a small shake, and I do know what she means.

"Even if they didn't. But as far as I'm concerned, Kara Zor-El is far more normal than that exhibitionist weirdo Kal-El."

"We did rebuild her brain. She's just… It's just that she's acting so different from the parallel universe version I met, I'm worried that we did something wrong. Got something wrong."

Ecksey shrugs. "Her brain has all the right parts. None of the patterns of activity are all that strange for someone who went through a great trauma. Since I have no idea how she thought when she lived on Krypton, I can't say if it's wrong for her or not."

I nod. "Okay. Let me get back to you."

Darko · May 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
station build by aliens in a

"built"

Mr Zoat said:
"We did rebuild her brain. She's just… It's just that she's acting so different from the parallel universe version I met, I'm worried that we did something wrong. Got something wrong

No shit.

Ngamer11 · May 25, 2023

I'm glad the Renegade is finally catching on to what's going on with Kara. Hopefully she isn't so far gone that the Eradicator consciousness affecting her can be removed without permanent brain damage.

Assblaster5000 · May 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
Kara smiles and me

'at'

Neat to see Renegade realizing so thoroughly that maybe, just maybe, Kara's gone a bit wonky.

Handlewithcare · May 25, 2023

So Grayven now fully identifies as Apokalyptian?

RoninSword · May 25, 2023

I completely forgot what was up with Kara from the Renegade timeline. She was left in the pod quite a bit longer and so they had to rebuild her brain rather then just malnutrition. I assumed what was going on was just residual brain damage.

_The_Bomb · May 25, 2023

Handlewithcare said:
So Grayven now fully identifies as Apokalyptian?

No. He's just to scared to admit he's Paul Talowin even in the most private part of his mind. He (and Luna) know the truth, but when your whole life is built on a lie even thinking about the truth is terrifying, especially in this world.

Chojin Patriarch · May 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
13th February 2013
21:37 GMT

"…the vrangs' own anti-orbital weapons, and ship exploded-"

Kara throws up her hands with an excited expression on her face, to the joy of all the children listening to Kryptonian History Story Hour.

Huh, a rare chance to see both the new kryptonians and Kara Zor-El. It has been a while since we last saw her in the story, on the Renegade side, at least. Hopefully she and they are well, and the kryptonite poisoning she suffered hasn't had any major effects...

Who all immediately copy the gesture. "BOOM!" / "BOOM!" / "BOOM!" / "BOOM!" / "BOOM!"

"-in a giant fireball. And then krypton was free of evil aliens, never to be conquered again!"

...Okay, just a bit worrying. but she did say 'evil aliens'. Hopefully that acknowledges that some aliens are good.

That doesn't meet with quite the same level of joy as the call-and-response part, but the children seem happy enough. I do spot Kara's eyes lingering on the two tamaranean children who decided to sit in, but they appeared to enjoy the story as much as the kryptonians. Bit of a slant, but I suppose that Karsta might have decided to enculturate them through jingoism.

Nothing wrong with preferring your own civilisation to someone else's. And I say that as someone from objectively the greatest civilisation that the Earth has ever produced.

So... Her recovery has left her with a little bit of anti-alien bias, I see. But it's not blatant, and she's evidently not being vocal about it...

But that's not a lot like I remember from the comics. Or much like Kara 50. I think… I mean, she seemed fine, and Karsta's been keeping an eye on her-.

"Hey, Mister Grayven."

Kara-50 didn't have her brain rebuilt using an Eradicator unit...

"Hello, tiny tiny children." I smile at them as I bend down, favouring them with pats on the head as they move past me into the hallway. "Are you behaving yourselves for your teacher?"

"Yeeees!"

I'll bet they're tiny, in comparison to him. Toddlers are not large, after all, even gene-engineered kryptonians. And the Renegade is very large.

"I'm glad to hear it. Now, run along, little people. I need to speak with Kara."

The rest of the class files out, heading towards their… Evening meal.

No doubt a meal of tasty nutrient soup and crunchy protein wafers.

Gotta build up those little kryptonian bodies.

"Grayven!" Kara smiles and me and takes a few moments to restore the seating to a perfect grid before walking over to me. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, I like to keep an eye on important projects. You know, turn up in person every so often and talk to people. Make sure that I'm not missing something important."

Hmm. Worrying hint of obsessive-complusiveness there.

"That's very responsible. If Kem-El had kept an eye on Daxam, they wouldn't be a bunch of yokels today."

"Ah, well, to be fair, there was a primitivist movement on Krypton before he got involved. Though, I mean, if you want to, you can use the hush tubes to visit them yourself."

Just be careful not to have any traces of lead in your gear.

"No." Her face slips back into neutral. "They've made their choice, and safeguarding true kryptonians is more important than trying to dig the Daxamites out of the hole they've buried themselves in."

"Okay, and… You sure you..? Want to keep doing this?" She gives me a concerned look. "I know you were studying mathematics on Krypton, and while this is important work, I wouldn't want you to feel chained to it."

To be fair, mathematics was the career she'd probably chosen before the planet blew up. Priorities change after that sort of thing.

And she's smiling again. "Nothing is more important than preserving the kryptonian species!"

"Right, but… There's more to resurrecting the kryptonian species than child-rearing. Ultimately, they'll need-."

...I can't help but picture the 'Overly Attached Girlfriend' smile.

"A New Krypton to live on." She nods. "I know. I've been talking to Clarissi Dox about it, and he says that we can be folded into the current wave of colonisation projects. Ideally, we'd like a world with no one on it, but I can see that it might be better to share a world until the second generation are born and people are settled into their occupations. Besides." She rises off the floor. "It's not like I can't go back to another career later. No one knows how long kryptonians live when they've got access to a yellow star, but it's a long time."

Quite a long time, depending on continuities. Never mind alternate futures like DC One Million.

"Well. Okay. If you're happy. Have you and… Karsta, decided what you want done with the Rao system? We've probably got the manpower for… Whatever you decide."

Her eyes… There's an odd expression that I can't quite-.

The Eradicator protocols filling in for her own thoughts, perhaps?

"Could you restore it completely?"

"You mean, transmute the kryptonite back into normal rock and stick the planet back together?"

Building an entire planet? That's quite the undertaking, especially if you want similar ecological conditions like the gravity.

"I-." The odd expression again. "Y-. Yes."

I do a quick back-of-an-envelope-but-in-my-head calculation.

Just a few gajillion tons. For reference, Earth is almost 6 x 1024Kg. (That's twenty-four zeroes!)

"Yes. Not.. quickly, but it's certainly possible. Be a good deal easier if someone as well motivated as you took the lead-."

"No. My place is here. Living kryptonians are more important than a world that chose not to save itself."

There's an interesting bit of loathing, from someone who wouldn't have been especially aware of the political side of things...

"Ooooooh-kay.

"So don't prioritise it, but I'd still like it back. Ideally."

Yes, just a simple request.

"Rightoh. Is there..? Anything else you need?"

She shakes her head. "No, I don't think so. You've resourced this project appropriately."

And another warning sign. Even an intellectual young woman wouldn't be that verbose for such a simple reason.

I nod. "Okay, I'll leave you to it, then. Have a good day."

"You too!"

Smile, nod and back away carefully...

Mother Box…

Ping.

"No need to say it. That was not right. We should have words with the older one."

Yeah, but… Do the tube thing.

Ping.

"As you wish."

I walk through the tube to the command station, where Ecksey and Karsta are keeping tabs on things. They both look around, though I wait for the tube to close down before putting a sound-deadening field around the room.

"What's up with Kara?"

Because when you want to have a private discussion with an empowered kryptonian around, you better make sure it's private.

Karsta frowns. "What do you mean?"

"Ecksey, you know what I mean, right?"

Unfortunately, neither of them knew her before...

"Her mental activity has not changed significantly since she arrived. Neither has her outward behaviour."

"She was reading a story about the vrang occupation to a class, and-."

...So they have no logical point of reference for her behaviour. Unlike the Renegade's out-of-context knowledge.

"Oh, the one about Hatu-El's resistance movement." Karsta nods. "It's nice to know that she's taking inspiration from the worthwhile members of her House."

"Don't you think it's a bit… Xenophobic?"

Yes, the former military officer is totally on board with kryptonian independence from alien influence...

"Fighting against people who invaded and conquered our planet? No? I think it's exactly right xenophobic. Look…" She gestures to the monitors with her right arm. "All our kids are growing up surrounded by aliens on a space station build by aliens in a project overseen by you, another alien. That's not a kryptonian thing. We didn't mix with aliens like this."

"Well, if you know a kryptonian with a cloning-."

...But at least she can recognise that the old way might not be the best way.

"I know. I'm not complaining. I'm grateful. I know I wouldn't do something like this for your species."

"My species does kind of suck."

To be fair, that's mostly on their ruler.

She gives her head a small shake, and I do know what she means.

"Even if they didn't. But as far as I'm concerned, Kara Zor-El is far more normal than that exhibitionist weirdo Kal-El."

'Exhibitionist'? So his outfit isn't normal kryptonian fashion?

Ah, yes. Not the Silver Age anymore.

"We did rebuild her brain. She's just… It's just that she's acting so different from the parallel universe version I met, I'm worried that we did something wrong. Got something wrong."

Ecksey shrugs. "Her brain has all the right parts. None of the patterns of activity are all that strange for someone who went through a great trauma. Since I have no idea how she thought when she lived on Krypton, I can't say if it's wrong for her or not."

I nod. "Okay. Let me get back to you."

It's not necessarily the right parts, but the software running on them.

So, Kara's not doing quite as well as the Renegade hopes, eh? That's what happens when you use an AI system designed by a xenophobe and traditionalist to rebuild her brain. Evidently it tweaked a few behavioural engrams to something more acceptable than the later-period permissiveness she was raised with. And the Renegade is only just now realising it happened. Whoops.

"…the vrangs' own anti-orbital weapons, and ship exploded-"

"…the vrangs' own anti-orbital weapons, and their ship exploded-"

"-in a giant fireball. And then krypton was free of evil aliens, never to be conquered again!"

"-in a giant fireball. And then Krypton was free of evil aliens, never to be conquered again!"

"Ooooooh-kay.

Missing closing Quotation mark.

Vaermina · May 25, 2023

Mr Zoat said:
"We did rebuild her brain. She's just… It's just that she's acting so different from the parallel universe version I met, I'm worried that we did something wrong. Got something wrong."

Ecksey shrugs. "Her brain has all the right parts. None of the patterns of activity are all that strange for someone who went through a great trauma. Since I have no idea how she thought when she lived on Krypton, I can't say if it's wrong for her or not."

I nod. "Okay. Let me get back to you."

Kryptonian technology...

So good not even New God tech can notice somethings wrong.

Ngamer11 · May 25, 2023

RoninSword said:
I completely forgot what was up with Kara from the Renegade timeline. She was left in the pod quite a bit longer and so they had to rebuild her brain rather then just malnutrition. I assumed what was going on was just residual brain damage.

Nope, she's got xenophobic robot programming altering her thought patterns, and it may take a long time for her to be cleansed of it, if it's even possible.

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