Life2.0 - a Broken Shackles Narrative

[Macavity116]

Naomi seems to have a tiny trace of George Washington in there somewhere, as demonstrated by reluctance to accept a crown when offered one. Washington did save his people by retreating from a stronger foe, too. Or maybe it's just me being a history nerd.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Washington is among many of the names of Old Earth Naomi would have grown up being taught. In particular, she would draw on several key attributes as the most useful to her - the way he effectively built the Revolutionary army during action, accepted smaller defeats in order to maintain the ability to endure the war, note his difficulties with supplies, and developed United States espionage. Another critical comparison is the role of the French of course, which wasn't as much Washington's responsibility but was essential for winning the Revolutionary War.

There were elements of his actions she would dislike, but that goes for all of the famous names of Old Earth. She sees herself as the opportunity to learn from their victories and losses, build on what she knows of their experiences (as reliable history books are difficult to obtain when you are a slave; all she knows of Old Earth is history passed down verbally from her family, she's never even seen the planet) and build a greater world.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Perspectives"
1st Hoggagha, 5 (2182)
Naomi Of Unity​

It isn't very often I actually spent much time with other Humans. Just other Humans, that is. But, this is one of those rare times.

"What do you know of Old Earth, Monica?"

"Not much, honestly. I know we came from there. My family used to come from Angleand or something like that. HaMaadimi is an odd surname."

"It translates to 'The Martian'. The dynasty was founded by someone who would have made us interplanetary before Amazon wrecked everything."

"Where were you from?"

"I've always been a slave, until we came here. My mother helped run an Indentured Asset Administration, but after she was caught helping to free slaves they took me away from her."

"Were you always a Companionship Asset? I mean, even they don't start with kids, do they?"

"Yeah, they use even babies... I know most people only ever think of the comfort women aspect, but the first few years I was mostly leased out for adolescent Minamar to develop properly to be the rulers of aliens. It didn't last long though, at sixteen they started leasing me out to young Minamar men to practice on, and at twenty they thought I was too worn out and sent me to the docks..."

"How can you possibly forgive them, after all they've done?"

"Old HaMaadimi was a man who burned a country to ash beneath WarForms and grey goo because he would not bow. And the rest of the dynasty were just as driven by rage; my mother taught me fencing with wooden sticks from when I was four and military theories from the age of five, telling me stories of the great names of Old Earth, before she too gave in to rage when I was twelve."

"What happened?"

"The slaves she was surreptitiously trying to help out by transferring them to a phony leaser got caught. She thought I had been taken to safety, so she stole a pistol and wielded a bar as her sword; the slaves escaped out to the wilderness in the chaos she caused. She only stopped when they gave up trying to fight her, and revealed that they had me."

"Oh no."

"I don't know what they did to her; only that she couldn't sacrifice me. I didn't like thinking about it, I just knew they wouldn't let her come back. I was alone. And at first being a Companionship Asset wasn't so bad; a lot of the Minamar children didn't like having to mistreat me. But after that, learned helplessness took over, until I got leased to a ship captain. Then the rage burned cold for a while, until I left him crawling away trying to stop the blood from what I did to him, before throttling him and cutting his throat with his own blade when he stopped breathing."

"I'm more afraid of you than Odoos."

"Oh, I'd be so much worse than Odoos if I gave in to my family's rage. But my mother raised me on Fabius Cuncator, Cinncinatus and Cato Uticenis, the Nazarene and David, the Caesar who left Rome marble, the Napoleon who brought France back from the ashes of the Revolution and made her the strongest nation in Europe in less than a decade, the Alexander who fused East and West, the Cyrus who rebuilt the Temple, On Mzilikazi, on Shaka who united the tribes and who's military strategy was one of the few times in history when an advanced power was defeated by technologically inferior enemy, on Washington and Lincoln, on Jackson and Eisenhower. On Kennedy, on Khrushchev. And those are just the ones I can list just like that... I know they all had their flaws. The vast majority owned slaves, for example. But each of them inspires something to me."

"Do they mean anything to us now though? All they fought for... It's ash after the Minamar came through."

"Yes. All they fought for is ash. Rome is gone. Macedon gone, Israel gone, Persia gone, France gone, the United States gone, kwaZulu Natal gone, Russia gone, England gone. My ancestral homeland of Zimbabwe gone."

"Forever maybe."

"Most likely. I wouldn't know where to begin remaking them, I only know the stories, and some of those might be myths with the underlying real events lost to history. But our Human story is not over yet. We can remember them, be inspired by what they got right, and learn from their mistakes to build a better world. We must do."

 

[Macavity116]

A valuable look into Naomi's background and upbringing. I wonder if there are any Humans left with such vast a knowledge of "Great Man History" as her now that Earth is gone and its people scattered.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Among the Humans of Unity and those still in MSI captivity, probably not. Not unless other families/groups took the steps to develop an oral historical corpus too, as written history most likely would not survive their circumstances. As a result, Naomi's concept of history is listening to her mother and father telling her stories of Old Earth, and she isn't really aware of the dates and the numbers the way we focus on.

But Earth has not yet fallen; it remains a pre-FTL civilisation, on the opposite side of the region to MSI. Even better, because I forgot to actually set up Amazon International in the game, they will eventually form the United Nations of Earth. (Naomi is extrapolating from the way things were when her ancestors were taken)

So, while Naomi might be the most knowledgeable among the exiles, there should be others who know more.

 

[HistoryDude]

Naomi has fears, but they don't control her.

She has lost the throne, but democracy might soon rear its ugly head and overthrow her militarist successor... assuming he doesn't get the entire colony killed first. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Conscripts and Freemen, Part 1"
30th Hoggagha, 5 (2182)
Odoos​

I look at his secretary, nervously. "Well?"

"Naomi is in the atrium."

"Send her in."

I gather various documents together under my wing. Hopefully, this will work.

She nods as she enters. "Odoos."

"I believe that you understand my situation."

"Your conscription and national service reforms were very unpopular and you are calling on the leader of the opposition to help you out."

"I wouldn't phrase it like that."

"We've both seen the surveys. And the protests."

"And equally, you must realise the rejoin MSI block is getting more popular support as people begin to realise how difficult resisting them would be."

She folds her arms. "I did tell you that."

"Yes. My point is, they now have enough Council members that they present a threat to me. And therefore, to you. Look, I know we've been at opposites, but it would save my administration, and let's face it, yours too if you were to support the measures."

"The Rejoin MSI block are getting out of hand. I heard Rhizome's report on the attempt to steal the ship's comms relay."

"That was top secret. Who leaked it?" I put my documents down; she already knows.

"Rhizome talks to me too."

"Oh. Well, we both know how bad things will get if they get that."

"Agreed. So, what is your plan?"

I grudgingly admit the truth. "You are much more popular. If we come to a new compromise that we can present to the people, we can cut off the rejoin MSI block."

"I want an end to conscription."

"We need the numbers."

"No, we need volunteers."

"There aren't enough."

"There would be if circumstances were right."

I feel exasperated. "Fine. What would you do?"

She looks at me carefully. Weighing the question. "Are you seriously asking me to lay out a plan, or is this a rhetoric gambit?"

I wave at the table. "Lay out a plan."

"Odoos, you led by encouraging fear. What did you expect? You made them afraid, and now they run to those who want to surrender."

"I expected them to support the attempt to make us ready to stand against MSI."

"What hope of victory did you offer?"

That's... That cuts deep. "None, I suppose."

"And that's where you went wrong. Look at how our rebellion worked - I offered nothing but a naked woman with Minamar blood on her hands. That was all they had to judge whether to trust me to lead them. And you know what they saw?"

That could mean anything with her. "A leader?"

"They saw hope. They saw it could be done. And they chose to believe; in me, in themselves, in each other. Chose to fight, knowing the consequences. Many paid in blood for our freedom, some with their lives. Conscripts do not die like that. Nor do they kill like that, because they don't want to be there fighting. All I did was inspire them and then point them at the enemy."

"Which is obviously where I've gone wrong."

"Yes. You've gone and told them it is a hopeless fight, and then forced them to stand anyway. Do you know what would happen to them in battle?"

I see where she's going. "They'd die?"

"Not quite. They'd abandon their posts and flee. Then get cut down in the rout."

Of course, she has something else in mind.. "But you wouldn't have conscripts."

"If you have a hundred dogs led by a lion, you have a hundred and one lions."

She was do matter of fact, so definitive, that I'm not sure if I should ask. But I must. "And in our case?" I expected an answer, but she just smiles. And I realise that she only allowd this situation to develop to put me in this situation. She's caught me, I'm prey in her trap. "You knew. You knew all along."

Now she smiles. "Never interrupt an opponent while he is making a mistake. Let's get started on saving our world from those who would betray it, shall we?"

 

[Von Acturus]

That was quite the gamble by Naomi! Fortunately for her it paid off, and she'll soon be holding the reins again.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Conscripts And Freemen, Part 2"
1st Daas, 5 (2182)
Naomi Of Unity​

I look over the muster field. Before me stands everyone who had been drafted; more than a hundred thousand people. Poor sods. I take time passing my eyes over them; many drop their gaze. But some? Some have that glimmer that I'm looking for. "Let me begin. Who here is afraid of our enemy?"

Many tens of thousands of hands rise. "What I say now, I say hopefully for all time. To me, conscription is a disaster waiting to happen. As a result, I will not tolerate it. I do not want to go into battle with people who are afraid. Fearing battle is one thing, but to be afraid makes you dangerous to our side, not theirs. Therefore, anyone who is afraid may go. And to make it very clear, I will not tolerate any mistreatment of those who leave. If anyone, anyone, mistreats you for leaving, send them to me."

One Human at the front puts up a hand. "Is that it?"

I nod. "Yes. If you don't want to fight, you are not in this army. At least, not as long as I live. Whoever stays in my army, I am going to put you through hell so that the Minamar wonder what kind of demons they fight when I unleash you on them. I'm not interested in cannon fodder, I want elite, handpicked vanguard who are with me as my own hands; hands which put a Minamar starship captain on the ground, terrified of me as his life bled out of him. Now, if that interests you, stay. If you don't want to, return to your homes, to your families. To your companions, and be at peace. I'll wait for each of you to make your decision, because no one else can make it for you."

With that, I sit down. file my nails. I can wait all day.

One by one, most leave.

After an hour, I am left with a much smaller crowd. Now I stand. "I have two simple rules. I die with my friends, and I bow to no one. We are our colony's first and last defence. If we fail, our world is ash. So, we can't fail. We are outnumbered. We are outgunned." Then I leap down. I turn to a Xenayan woman. "But we can rip them limb from limb." I let the words settle.

A quick estimate puts my forces at less than a thousand.

That's really good - nine hundred and ninety nine more people than when I started.​

"Remember - you are not shut in a room with them. They are shut in a room with you. Our enemy can spam endless swarms of their face-covered guards, because they don't care about their people. We will never be like that. Every one of you matters. I don't know why each of you fights; that's something I will ask over the coming months. But I know why I fight. I fight because my ancestors raised my family to resist MSI, to try to take them down. My mother taught me all her art of war when I was a child, and I am going to pass all of that knowledge onto you. I have to - we do not have the luxury of a chain of command. I need to know that if we go into battle and I fall, any of you can take my place."

I get some nods as people extrapolate my reasoning. "It would have been enough for me to overthrow them, to leave their worlds ash."

I let the words hang in the air for a little while. "But that is not all. This colony of ours is beauty from the ashes. We were taken from our homes, or bred in captivity, clumped together, and now we have built our colony up. I have a husband I love, a daughter I cherish. Neither are my own species. Now, I have more than revenge. I have love. Love for my family. Love for the community we've built. And if I have to go to war to protect them, then there's nothing I won't do. On my world, a famous general once said he will win who's army is animated by the same spirit. I want that for us. It is safe to say we all want revenge on MSI, but I want us to have more than jut revenge. To believe in the world we are making, that we defend. To believe in each other."

 

[Macavity116]

So, a highly-trained army of volunteers in a defensive posture? An arrangement with a decent track record.

Makes me think of those countries here on Earth who keep their own military forces in a "Total Defense" configuration, like Switzerland, Indonesia, Singapore, or Finland. Their state of readiness is always high, and their armies undergo extensive and rigorous training. The theoretical price of invading places like these would be so high that no one is ever interested in trying.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Defence, yes. But who said anything about a defensive posture?

 

[Macavity116]

Defence, yes. But who said anything about a defensive posture?

I got the impression from the Naomi/Odoos debate. Everyone involved seems more interested in simply fending off MSI. (rather than following up a defensive victory by chasing MSI back to wherever they came from)

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Odoos is interested in fending off MSI. Naomi doesn't think winning a defensive war is possible, as she states in the first debate between them.

Now, she's training up only a thousand soldiers - a tiny blip next to the potential numbers being deployed in a standard battle - to do everything she can do. And she has just sent all the non-combatants home. (i.e. their support staff)

There's only so many ways a unit trained like that can be used.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Conscripts and Freemen, Part 3"
8th Daas, 5 (2182)
Odoos​

If we had doors on these tents, I'd kick the door to hers in. Damn that woman, I gave her one job, and she did anything but what I asked! I slam my good wing on the table. "Naomi, why has the entire army been sent home?"

She shrugs, casually. "I didn't send them all home."

I scowl. "You were supposed to encourage them!"

"I did."

I shout. "You completely missed the point!" Take a moment, calm down. She responds to logic, not emotion. "How are we going to defend ourselves with only a thousand soldiers?"

"Odoos, if the enemy comes here they will bombard us from orbit. We won't defend ourselves, we're still rebuilding the technology to get our own rockets off the planet. Once we can do that, I've got a few ideas, but for now if MSI turn up, we're dead. I am not going to waste my time on a strategy I know will fail."

I simmer. "I thought you were going to, you know, develop our armed forces."

She smiles. Sometimes, that smile is so frustrating. "I kept the ones that I can do the most good with."

I rub my head with my wing, try to relieve the stress. "Let's get this straight. What the heck are you doing?"

She leans back in her chair. Still casual. "Odoos, you aren't thinking about how to win, you're thinking about how to get elected."

Damn her, making this about politics. "Of course I am! So should you."

She stood, The blade she took from the captain flashes into the desk. "My objective is to win the war."

With no army? What is she thinking? There's not enough. "What is your plan, oh wise woman? How can a thousand soldiers bring down MSI, hmm?"

"A thousand soldiers can't. But a thousand people like me can."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm training them to do everything I can do." Her smile returns. "Everything."

"We already have you."

She shook her head. "And one me isn't enough."

"Of course one you is enough."

She smiled. This one is.. Disturbing. "No. Imagine it Odoos. Imagine what would happen if we unleashed a thousand Rebellions like our own."

"MSI would defeat them."

She stands, and walks around the tent. "Even if only one percent succeed, that would be ten successful rebellions. The number of enemies they would have to deal with increases by an order of magnitude, and the general chaos the remaining ninety nine percent cause would make them unable to put together a single response."

"And that would?"

"Ultimately buy time for me to rebuild the technology levels suitable for hauling asteroids into low orbit and then overhaul them into coilgun and laser artillery batteries, while also allowing developing evacuation transports to get our people out of the firing line from MSI."

"The Council aren't going to approve this."

She idly fiddles with paperwork. "Which is precisely why I didn't bother informing them." Then she looks straight at me, very seriously. "And you won't inform them either."

Damn her. "You tyrant."

She laughs. "Oh, if I was a tyrant, I would summon the legions available to me and remove the Council. I'm not, so I will ignore them until they put the freedom of this colony in jeopardy."

"What legions? We had to draft people because there were no volunteers."

"Correction. You had to, because no one respects the ability to lead you and the Council possess. If I issued a call to arms however, I have a thousand under my command and as High Queen of the Xenayans, one sentence from me summons twenty thousand Xenayan fighters of all ages. By the time I issue a general call to defend the freedom of the colony from those who seek to betray us, I could be proclaimed queen with almost a hundred thousand people under arms supporting me."

I quickly work out the factors. I hope she's overestimating, but she might not be. "Damn you."

She sees my hesitation to respond. "You know that I am right."

Change tactic. Get her on the defensive. "Why are you so manipulative?"

"Would you prefer me to use force? My objective is to defeat MSI and remove them from being a threat. Once I've done that, I will retire with Buri and enjoy the freedom I fought for. I prefer working together, which is why I tell you any of this, as I don't want you for an enemy Odoos."

I've been outmatched. "If I take this to the Council, you will declare some kind of benevolent monarchy and probably win without firing a shot. If I take this to my own party, there's nothing we can do about it. If I take this to the people, it would be civil war."

She holds out a hand. "Hate me, but fight by my side."

My options are... Join her. "What's the point in hating you?"

"Well, I've been manipulating you all along for a start."

"Just how long?"

"Oh, the moment you declared the Mutual Defence League, I evaluated the organisation and figured out how to get their goals to align with mine."

"It would make your job easier if I joined you. And you would tell me everything."

"Of course."

"Ok Naomi, you're too good at manipulating me. I'd rather know what's going on. Do you know if there are MSI operatives inside rejoin MSI?"

"There's only a few harmless individuals who took extra rations in exchange for turning in shipmates; I have a list taken from the former captain."

"Are you sure?"

"MSI know they don't need to bother planting spies when slaves will turn on each other for an extra meal. They were ever so sorry about it."

"And you can't tell me more because they are operatives."

"Some are, not all of them accepted my offer."

I look at the clock, feign excuse. "Oh, ah. I have to go. I'll tell the Council that you are setting up a new network of instructors as a cover story."

She smiles. "That works, thank you."

 

[Von Acturus]

Naomi really is manipulative, it's a good thing she has the greater good in mind! Now that her arch enemy is by her side advancing her agenda will surely be a piece of cake.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Conscripts and Freemen, Part 4"
Late Evening 8th Daas, 5 (2182)
Odoos​

Naomi stands at the door to my makeshift abode. "Odoos, now that we're allies, we need to figure out a joint plan."

"Come in then."

She walks in, and she looks around my sparse little hut.

Apart from pictures of my family, it's pretty undecorated. "I'm afraid I don't have much furniture. Used to not having it I suppose."

She sits. "The floor is fine. I want to understand your perspective better. I know that MSI took you from your homeworld and killed your wife. I'm sorry for you, for her."

"It wasn't her they killed."

She leans towords me. "What happened?"

I settle down opposite her. "They stole us in the night, me and my wife. Our hatchlings tried to fight back, and they were killed. My wife died because they worked her until she couldn't work anymore, and then..."

Naomi puts her arms around me. "I'm so sorry they recycled her."

I stop her. "Please, let me finish. They didn't recycle her. She committed suicide."

She looks at me, and I see her compassion. "Oh no."

I look right into her eyes. "The thing is Naomi, you never actually had something be yours, did you? You were never free until you killed that captain."

She nods. "No, I had nothing... Born a slave in administration, they sent me to be a Companionship Asset later in my childhood. That's where I learned to manipulate, making friends with Minamar as they were supposed to be learning how to rule; it was a survival technique. Then I was sent to the Initimate Companionship side, where the boys I grew up with wanted to try out new experiences with me, and I had regulars. I didn't even have clothes... I could lease them, but whenever someone leased me they would always tick the 'Unclothed Lease' box. Which meant my clothes were taken away because of the change of leaseholder and I was billed for early termination of contract. So at seventeen I decided not to wear clothes any more. Couldn't afford them."

I know the feeling... "They billed us for the bullets that killed our hatchlings."

She raises both eyebrows. "Wow... They are evil. I thought I had it bad for having to spend all those years naked... That's just pure evil."

I sigh. "And they billed us for the medical care of the mercenaries they injured, and their lost wages while recovering... We could only just cope. I was a construction worker manager, she a domestic servant. At the start, before she was ill, we were able to put together a decent life together. So they used us as advertising how life is for Indentured Assets. But the debts started to pile up. And when she got ill..."

"You guys couldn't afford the debts."

"She had to quit work, and then I had to quit to take care of her. And the debts skyrocketed. So she killed herself. We went to bed one night, and when I woke, she... She had left a note. She was so sorry, but she knew that if we couldn't pay, they would sell us, or recycle us, especially as she was ill. She explained how she she wanted to give me a chance before it was too late, and they recycled both of us. I was sold as a foreman for the ship we were on."

"I'm so sorry Odoos."

"What makes it even worse is that she died from complications with the sterilisation procedure."

She tilts her head. "I thought they let us breed?" Brief pause. " I mean, even we weren't sterilised." partially to herself perhaps?

I nod. "Normally, yes. But because our hatchlings fought back, they decided we were unsuitable. And so they irradiated her ovaries and made all her eggs unviable. Gave her cancer in the process."

She puts her arms around me. "Words fail me... That is just..."

"It's easy for you to think of attacking MSI Naomi. You've never lost. I have. And I am terrified that they will come back, and put our colony through it again. And while I understand your desire to go on the offensive..."

She pulls back. Facial expression is back in her analytical mode. "You're afraid that I will lose."

"Not so much; I don't doubt you Naomi. It's more that you are indispensable to us here. We can't lose you, you hold the colony together; no one else has the loyalty of so many. If you fell in battle leading a raid, the colony would collapse. We need you here. And we need you leading the defence. Your voice summons legions; how many would come if you called for a militia to defend our world? So many more than came to my call. I know you want to attack, but we've built something that's worth fighting for here. And no one could do it better than you."

She looks at me, an I see I'vegotten through to her. "I understand Odoos. Forgive me."

 

[CBR JGWRR]

So, I've been looking at MSI's gameplay mechanics. In particular, I've noticed they start with vision over the homeworlds of the Payback and Broken Shackles origin states, and of pre-FTL pops on their worlds. This is obviously bad news.

Something else that is interesting is who the Olinbar are.

Specifically, they use the SPQR namelist.

Theorising it might have been randomised and just happened to pick it, I've done a few started games to check that, and every single one uses that name list.

Now, there are options for what that means. I can think of several:

1. They could have been an alien culture inspired by Rome.

2. They could be utilising it as some kind of intimidation tactic when dealing with Humans, in or out of universe.

3. They were once Humans from Rome, but were taken, and extensively modified (well within what the game allows, as Genetic Ascension allows portrait changing) to become what they are today.

4. Someone at Paradox thought it would be funny to see what kind of fan theories get developed once it is noticed.

5. It is just part of the decadent aesthetic they have going on.

6. It's a mod conflict somewhere.

Obviously, this setting in particular invokes these changes being possible; I've already alluded to Naomi advocating Genetic Ascension for this reason. As a result, it makes sense to roll with option 3 for narrative purposes.

There's still plenty of permutations to iterate, but it is interesting.

 

[HistoryDude]

Naomi has retaken leadership, and she seems to have a plan... let's hope it works to keep them free.

MSI is cruel...

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"High Queen"
9th Daas, 5 (2182)
Naomi Of Unity​

I look at Buri's third in command. "Tavi, I need to run a few things by you. What exactly are the requirements to be formally High Queen of the Xenaya?"

She looks at me with the expression Buri uses when he thinks something is both obvious and not as complicated as I make it. "You are High Queen."

"What makes me High Queen? Why is Buri only a WarChief?"

"Buri is WarChief. He says you are his High Queen, so you are our High Queen."

"Help me understand."

"On the ship, we held trials to be WarChief. Buri won, so he leads our group. You lead Buri."

"So, it's a military role?"

"It's a uniter role, one who leads the WarChiefs. Naomi, you know us Xenayans are a simple people. We are not like you; our population has never been big enough to need the leadership structures that you think in terms of. Maybe in time we will become that when we settle and form the agricultural stages like all the others have formed. But right now, it is enough for us to know that Buri leads us, and you lead Buri. We respect you. You have proven yourself to us, although not by the trial that we've normally used."

"What does the trial consist of?"

"Battle to yielding. It's how we have done it since time immemorial. But we are wondering if it is the right way; after all, you would never win on such a system."

I laugh nervously; I've seen Buri fight off some of the predators around the colony. "At least not against Xenayans."

"Yet, we all have much better lives for your leadership. My war-brother is many things, but he is not you. He wouldn't know how to integrate the technologies the way you do, so that they complement our way of life instead of replace it. You however, rejected the way of life of your people to become one of us, and you stand with me, as a war-sister. I do have one question though, because There are so many similarities between Humans and the Minamar. You obviously are very different, but other Humans aren't so. We trust you, but we do not trust all of your kind. I find myself wondering what motivates my Queen. Why do you give, when the others take? When MSI takes?"

"My motivation is Buri. I love him in a way I've never loved anyone. You guys know my story; there was so much anger bottled up inside me. But Buri turned me from the rage inside me, and gave me more, gave me a new goal in life. My own race... Honestly, all my life other Humans have been competition. It's only now that I'm getting used to not having to view them as minor opponents."

She pauses. "Humans are unpredictable."

I laugh. Then nod. "We can be. We are aware of rationality of course, but our conscious decision making is rarely rational."

"Would you rather be Human, or Xenayan?"

I think about Buri. "Xenayan body. But with a Human mind would be best, I think."

"You would make a good Xenayan."

"Are you just complimenting me?"

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."

"Thanks, sister." Tavi laughs. I contemplate momentarily that once I would have found the sight terrifying - a sabre-toothed ox-lion-gorilla like beast shrieking at the sky conveys something extremely different to what it is meant to convey - but being a wife to one of them, and having spent so much time with them, I sometimes understand them almost as well as Humans.

"Oh Naomi, as far as any of us are concerned, you are one of us. Just pocket-sized."

"Being serious for a moment, if the role of High Queen is still undecided, would I be allowed to define the role?"

"What makes you think you aren't?"

"I'm not really Xenayan."

"Do you think we care about that? Buri makes you one of us. Rivkah makes you one of us. You make you one of us. And if we ignore these, I say you are one of us. And so would the rest of them. You adopted us, and we adopt you."

I feel a tear fall from my eye. I have an idea. "Tavi, how would I say 'pleasant' in your dialect of Xenayan?"

She thinks it over. "As a personal name, I'm guessing?"

"Yes. It's what my name means."

"It's tricky. There's two major Xenayan languages, the colloquial - which you can't vocalise without a synthesiser, or do most of the associated body language - and a formal language that we use for writing, but has a much lower vocabulary because our lifestyles don't exactly need that much writing, and mainly gets used for territorial treaties. The first has a suitable equivalent to pleasant, but the second doesn't; it's closest word is more like 'acceptable'. Thirdly, your name is practically a Xenayan name anyway."

"What? Really?"

"Because we don't really use writing much, we pick three letters, then add an 'i' to denote it is a personal name. Naomi is almost Xenayan. It's part of why no one minded you calling Rivkah as Rivkah; we figured it would be a name of meaning to you, perhaps an ancestor."

"Beats a few letters I suppose."

"To us, a name is a reference to a person, and the person is more important. We don't think about the name as such, but we do think about who they are. Rivkah is the name of an ancestor, right?"

I think back to my youth, when Mum and Dad had talked about Yitzchak and Rivkah. "A very ancient ancestor, a mother of her people. In her time, Humans were only a little more advanced in technology level than Xenayans; she lived a nomadic life, traveling across the land."

"Perhaps our Rivkah will be the same to our people."

"She will be. I have to inspire her."

---

Edited Note, 27/09/2023: Originally, this was a mix-up where I confused Tavi and Vaki's names. I've decided the easiest solution is have them be different people.

 

[Macavity116]

4. Someone at Paradox thought it would be funny to see what kind of fan theories get developed once it is noticed.

5. It is just part of the decadent aesthetic they have going on.

In all honesty, I would not be surprised if one or both of these options turned out to be true. When I met Daniel Moregård and the rest of the Stellaris team in Berlin a few years back, quite a few of them were very enthused by the idea of fan theories and other fan created content.