So before there was Contact and DX there was the original plan for Hybrid. I got a few chapters in before it was scrapped and reworked. I’ll let you have chapter one since non of it made it into the final version since today is a special day for me.
Enjoy!
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Chapter One: The Apple Does Not Fall Far From The Tree
Sorcha Freeman lay on the long, thin, uncomfortable mattress. It was barely longer than she was. She had her hands behind her head for comfort, her fingers woven into her thick, raven hair. She was staring up at the pale, pock marked ceiling above her. She’d lay on this bunk a few times and played the same waiting game she’d played each time she was arrested before. This time was slightly different however. She didn’t usually feel nervous. This time it was hard not to.
“Why the fuck did I break his nose?” Sorcha sighed. “I probably would have gotten off with a warning if I’d just slapped him about a bit…”
She lay staring at the ceiling for a good while longer, Titan sized butterflies flying around her stomach. Normally the worst she got was a chewing out from her father and a sore look of disappointment from her mother. This time a prison sentence could be a possibility.
“Seriously!? You’re twenty years old!” she chided herself once more.
There was a beeping from the other side of the door as someone tapped in the access code. The door swished open and the officer who had arrested her stood in the doorway.
“You have a visitor…” he said.
Sorcha kicked her legs over the side of the bed and sat up. She watched the door waiting for her mother to walk through carrying her red faced father. She was more than shocked to see a completely unexpected visitor make their way through the door and sit down beside her on the bed. This visitor was smartly dressed and had dyed her elaborately styled hair green and red, a likely show of support for the Imperial Infantry on Fallen Heroes Day.
“Pryvani!?” Sorcha gasped. “What are you doing here?”
“I decided this vote was too important not to be there in person. And a lucky thing for you it is.” Pryvani said raising both brows in a look that showed more than a little concern.
“Yeah…” was all Sorcha could manage to reply.
“Sorcha, darling. You are really going to have to learn to control that temper of yours!” Pryvani said disguising the annoyance she felt quite well.
Sorcha nodded and looked around unable to make eye contact with her employer, friend and mentor.
“Would you like to tell me what happened?” The heiress prompted.
Sorcha stood up and started pacing frantically. “He REALLY did deserve it!” she said shaking her fists in front of her face.
“Take a breath. Start from the beginning.”
Sorcha took in a deep breath and exhaled a long slow breath. “Well me and Lessy were out for a walk in the park…”
***
“Go long!” Maslan shouted as he pulled his arm back and then threw it quickly forward releasing its contents into the air.
Firna took a few steps back as she tracked her target as it shot, screaming towards her. She stretched out her arm and felt an object drop into it and she closed her fingers around it. She brought it to her face and opened her palm and grinned down. “Having fun!?”
The terrified Human stared up into the huge, shining green eyes. They were contained within an enormous pale face which was framed by rusty red hair. “Pl…Please don’t!” he stammered as shook from the sheer terror of being thrown back and forth between his owner and his girlfriend.
“Awww, but we’re having way too much fun.” Firna replied emphasizing the “way” with both her mouth and her eyes. “Maslan! Go longer!” she shouted to her partner.
Turr screamed as the huge, feminine fingers closed round him once more. His insides swirled around once more as Firna rocketed him into the air. He screamed in terror as the world flew by him faster than he could process. He could see his owner running to catch him. Turr was well aware that one slight error from either of the massive masters would be his end. He quickly realised Firna hadn’t thrown him hard enough and he was going to fall short. He closed his eyes, too afraid to watch the rapidly approaching grass ahead of him.
He felt a soft warm wall impact roughly beneath him and quickly encase him. He opened his eyes to see a giant Titan hand all around him, one he guessed was female. The fingers parted revealing a very concerned looking pale, pretty face. She had enormous blue eyes, plump red lips and long, thick, dark hair.
“Are you ok!?” she asked sounding very concerned.
Turr was too afraid to answer. He couldn’t take anymore. All he knew was he’d been snatched while mere seconds from death.
His saviour shook her head, tussling her thick locks and looked down. “Lessy, I’m dropping him in to you.”
Sorcha gently set the terrified Human into her breast pocket with Alesia. The last thing he needed was to see another massive face looking down on him. Besides, she had his tormentors to deal with. Both of whom were approaching.
“Give me him back!” The male demanded sternly.
Sorcha ignored him and turned around, walking towards the path with led the way out of the park. It was a beautiful day with a deep blue sky above her and people everywhere. She had no desire to get into an altercation in such a public place. A rather short, red headed young woman ran in front of her, blocking her way.
“Give it back! That’s Maslan’s Human!” she shouted arms thrown back behind her, visibly enraged.
“Not anymore he isn’t…” Sorcha said confidently. She was about to push past her when she felt a large hand grab her by the arm and tug her round.
Sorcha looked up into the slightly taller man’s eyes. He was blonde haired with a square jaw and an athletic build. He looked quite confident and that he could handle himself. He was probably some sort of athlete, playing for one of the University’s sports teams.
“Hand it over. Now!” He demanded with a grin. He was enjoying the chance to lord it over someone bigger than Human sized. His girlfriend quickly joined him by his side.
Sorcha said nothing. She simply held his look and raised a dark eyebrow.
“Right now!” He grinned more and tightened his grip on Sorcha’s arm to a tight squeeze.
Sorcha mulled over her options. She would like nothing more than to punch the stupid grin off his pretty face but she didn’t want to risk Alesia and the already traumatised Human getting injured. It was clear that Maslan wasn’t going to let her go that easily.
“You better let go of my arm. I promise if you do, you can go back to your day without the need for a medic.” Sorcha said completely without emotion still holding his gaze.
Maslan grinned and looked down to his girlfriend. The dark haired woman was tall but she was no match for him. He worked out, he was fit and he could move. He was a vee ball player. One lanky girl wasn’t a problem for him.
The red headed woman took a step forward and went to reach into Sorcha’s breast pocket. Sorcha grabbed her upper arm and threw her to the ground, the girl let out a yelp as she hit the grass.
“Not very nice getting thrown around? Is it?” Sorcha growled.
She used her free hand to grab Maslan by the wrist while he was distracted. She wrenched his wrist off her arm and he winced in pain from the force. Sorcha turned to walk away once more. She was quietly fuming. That jock was VERY lucky she had other priorities.
“What is wrong with you!?” Maslan shouted clutching his wrist. “It’s just a Human!”
Sorcha stopped and balled her hands into fists. She turned round and stared Maslan down. She was livid. “And because HE is Human it’s ok to just throw him around!? To terrify him!? To nearly kill him!?” She shouted her face reddening.
“Relax Human lover! He likes it!” Maslan grinned happy he’d struck a nerve. He kept grinning as she stomped over to him.
“Sorcha don’t do anything stupid! Today is too important!” Alesia called up from Sorcha’s pocket. She’d been listening to the conversation and could tell her friend was reaching boiling point. Poor Turr was on the verge of a full blown freak out and Alesia was doing her best to keep him calm.
“Téigh trasna ort féin” Sorcha yelled in Maslan’s face.
“Oh no…” Alesia groaned hearing Sorcha’s signature pissed off Gaelic.
“I AM Human!” Sorcha yelled forcefully.
“Bit big for a Human aren’t you?” Maslan mocked “Now give me back my Human before I knock you on your ass!”
Maslan didn’t know what him. One second he was smiling at the scowling woman, the next he was looking up at her, flat on his back with his jaw aching.
“I’m getting the guards!” Firna yelled getting up and running off “You can’t just hit people!”
Sorcha ignored the fleeing little woman and kept her eyes firmly on Maslan who was rubbing his jaw.
“You’re gonna regret that!” He growled and jumped forward.
The half Human/half Titan woman swiftly booted the blonde man in the face as he jumped into a tackle. He went down, blood gushing from his nose. He screamed and clutched at his broken nose.
“Relax, it’s only broken…” Sorcha said, her tone drenched in sarcasm.
“You piece of shaka! I’ll see you rot for this!”
Sorcha placed a boot on his neck and pushed the side of his face into the grass. She bent down and removed the occupants of her breast pocket and placed them on the grass in front of Maslan’s face.
“Now…” Sorcha began. She sounded quite cheerful. “Apologise to the person you frightened.”
“I’d rather eat kiefler dung!” He spat blood onto the green grass.
Sorcha looked around the park and then back down to the prone man. “Damn, I don’t see any kieflers about.”
“Sorcha stop it! Let’s just get out of here!” Alesia called up from beside her friend’s boot.
“Little busy here Lessy.” She said glancing down to her friend and then across to the small, naked man who was standing watching the events still utterly terrified. “What’s your name?” she asked with a smile to reassure him.
“T…T…Turr…”
“Don’t worry Turr. Everything’s gonna be alright. I promise.” Sorcha turned her attention to Maslan. He squirmed but Sorcha pressed her boot down harder, pinning his head more.
“Tell me Turr, is Maslan a good owner or a bad owner?” Sorcha asked keeping her voice as pleasant sounding as she could despite all the rage running coursing through her veins.
Turr didn’t reply. He just looked around contemplating running far away as fast as he could.
“Sorch! Don’t!” Alesia protested.
“C’mon Turr. It’s ok. If you say he’s a good owner I won’t take you away. But if he’s a bad one then you can come with me and Lessy. We’ll look after you.” Sorcha prompted. “I’m Human too ya know? Well half Human. My Mum is a Titan. I don’t like to see my kind mistreated.”
“He’s bad…he yells and he makes me eat nasty stuff and sometimes he hurts me and laughs…I don’t want him to own me.” Turr spoke sounding a bit less afraid and just a little angry.
“You traitorous little….” Maslan yelled before he was cut off by more pressure from the boot on his head.
Sorcha bent down and grabbed his arm by the wrist and pulled it up to a forty five degree angle from his body and used her other hand to grasp his upper arm. “Apologise to him! Now!” She yelled furiously starting to twist his lower arm while holding his upper arm steady.
“I swear when I get up I’m gonna beat you senseless!” Maslan screamed through the building pain in his arm.
Sorcha tutted and twisted his arm more. “You look like an athlete, Maslan…” She spoke with a casual tone “…big and strong. You should have no problem defending yourself against a little girl like me…” she twisted his arm just a little more causing him to wince and squirm “…ya see it turns out, if you make a Human Titan sized, we’re actually MUCH stronger than you. Bet you didn’t know that, did you?” She twisted just a little more, the arm was putting up a lot of resistance. The bones weren’t too far from snapping. Maslan was red faced and gnashing his jaw in pain. “…I bet you’re a Vee Ball player. Aren’t you?”
“Aren’t you!?” Sorcha repeated.
“Yes! YES!” Maslan yelled through gritted teeth.
Sorcha smiled happy Maslan was being more cooperative. “Well Mr Vee Ball player, I suggest you apologise now, while your arm is still in one piece. Wouldn’t want to end your Vee Ball career early now?”
Maslan groaned and gnashed more. “When…when I get up. I’ll bust you up so bad! And…and then I’m gonna stomp your little friends into pulp!”
“Wrong answer!” Sorcha said twisting his arm almost to the point of snapping.
“You whore! You gorram WHORE!” Maslan yelled up at her, tears streaming across his red face.
She released his arm.
“Póg mo thóin” Sorcha said and then spat a thick glob of saliva on him.
She bent down to pick up the two Humans.
“You…you…hurt him.” Turr muttered unable to tear his eyes from his bloodied former owner.
“I did. He deserved it.” Sorcha said as she gently picked him up.
Alesia stepped into her friend’s palm and looked up at her face. “You’ve went too far this time Sorch…”
Sorcha breathed deeply as she gently dropped the Humans into her pocket. As the anger started to lift from her mind Alesia’s words sunk in. Her friend was right. She was in trouble. Big trouble.
“That’s her officer!” An angry female voice yelled from behind.
“Maslan!” She called again and rushed over to her crying boyfriend.
“Sorcha Freeman…” The Guard said surveying the scene. “I see a few years away haven’t changed you…”
“Nice to see you too Officer Garnat” Sorcha smiled. This was far from the first time he’d arrested her. “How is your wife? Still making Gok’ma Keik?”
***
“So I bet my Mum and Dad are pretty pissed?” Sorcha sighed.
“You broke one of Tannhauser Gate University’s star Vee Ball player’s noses and tore a ligament in his shoulder. I can’t imagine it will make for cracking staff room banter, Sorcha.”
“And Lessy?”
“Alesia is rather annoyed. I had to talk her out of leaving here with me.” Pryvani explained. It was plainly obvious just how worried Sorcha was.
“Is Turr ok? The poor guy was terrified.”
“He is.” Pryvani nodded “He’s going to return to Avalon with me. He also asked me to pass on his thanks for rescuing him.”
Sorcha smiled. “That makes it worth it.”
“No it does not!” Pryvani snapped in a rare flash of anger. “Had you have taken Turr and called the Guards yourself that thug would be the one languishing in holding cell right now! He’d be getting hauled up on charges for assaulting a class one sentient!”
Sorcha’s eyes widened, near popping out of their sockets. “You mean it passed!?”
“Passed and immediately implemented.” Pryvani said composing herself.
“My Dad…Lessy…Nonah…everyone, they’re citizens now?” Sorcha gasped. She couldn’t quite believe it.
“Nearly. And thanks to your temper you have not only robbed Turr of justice you’ve also robbed us of a perfectly good headline. We could have used that idiot’s actions to publicise the Armac Act. The only way I could convince him to drop the charges against you was to convince Turr to drop the charges against him.” Pryvani said in a tone that cut through Sorcha like a knife.
“Sorry…”
“Don’t apologise to me. Apologise to Turr! He needed you to keep your head and do the right thing and you couldn’t” Pryvani got up and straightened out her skirt. She crossed her arms and looked down at Sorcha. “That time you’ve been waiting all your life for, the grand destiny you’ve told me you feel you have, it’s here now. And here you are wasting away in a jail cell because you can’t control that temper of yours.”
Sorcha bowed her head in shame.
Pryvani looked her protégée up and down. She’d come to know her very well over the last several years. They were close. She couldn’t be there for her growing up but she had been there for her when Sorcha really needed her. To help nudge her down the right path. She let out a long sigh. And now Sorcha was about to face her biggest challenge. Pryvani needed her to be ready.
She reached out and placed a hand on Sorcha’s cheek and lifted her head. “You’re so special Sorcha. A Titan can’t do what you have to do. And a Human can’t either. Your mother, your father, your uncle Aeritmus, your aunt Eyrn, Alesia or even me. None of us. It has to be you. You’re the only Titan who can even begin to understand everything these Humans are going to go through. And you’re the only Human who has the ability and the stature to drive this project on.”
“I know…” Sorcha sighed. “I’ve let everybody down…”
“No.” Pryvani shook her head and smiled. “Not yet you haven’t. But I’m having serious doubts. The committee is already querying why I have a young woman with what they perceive to be a very small amount of experience taking on a project of this magnitude. And frankly, after this, so am I…”
Sorcha felt tears well in her eyes. The thought of failing before she began, it terrified her. She couldn’t fail. Failing wasn’t an option. Millions were relying on her. Every pet who had now become a citizen was going to be looking to her. For food, for shelter, for warmth, for protection, for reassurance, for everything. She dug down deep and swallowed hard, pushing down the fear and the worry that wracked her. Failure was not an option. She stood up and pulled her t-shirt down over her exposed midriff.
“I won’t let you down. I swear I won’t. If it kills me, I’ll do this.” Sorcha spoke with determination.
Pryvani smiled and hugged the tall, slender woman. “I know you will. You’ll make us all proud. You already have.”
Sorcha hugged her back.
“Just please…” Pryvani let go and looked up into the young woman’s eyes. “Just don’t break anymore bones?”
Happy birthday, and thanks for the birthday present. Mine is in two days, so I appreciate the timely gift, as well. Great work, as always, and really, thank you…
I think theres a still a bit of this in the
canon version of Hybrid although its greatly reduced.
Seems like if the pre-DX version had gone through it would be a very enclosed series without the grander feel we now have.
It worked out better , thats all that needs to be said.
Happy Birthday OHH.
That was a terrifying beginning. Great writing guys!
You know, considering how much of the political stuff DX wrote, off screen vote on human emancipation lacks a lot of the struggle, grand feel, and out right frustration the current story has. I mean you wouldn’t expect Sorcha and Lessy to be out for a walk in the park during the vote.
Was Sorcha the only hybrid at this point? Because dropping this responsibility on her is kind of a “chosen one” trope. The new retelling adds a bit of experience to her credentials. (It also turned her into everyone’s favorite whipping child prior to the Tau Ceti Crisis.) Had the insectiods not attacked and a saboteur not been on her team, it looked like she was succeeding, but I guess we’ll never fully know if she was up to the task.
Yeah at this point it was just her really. If there were more they were just kids.
And the “out for a walk” got me at the start initially. But then it occurred to me that Sorcha would likely be politically disaffected and not give two figs for what goes on in Imperial politics.
While we’ll never really know if Sorcha would have been up to the task, she and her group were being overtaxed to the point that I think a major failure had to happen sooner or later. As good as Sorcha was at her job, she and her team are (or were) only mortal.
My head canon is that if the colony had carried on that Alesia and Sorcha would have threatened to resign if the colony didn’t get more support. Loona was only pushing because Qorni was pushing. She’d get HoS and Aenur involved to expose the underfunding on the colony to force Qorni to release more funds.
The idea was that Sorcha and Alesia were on to something. But it needed time, patience and money. Qorni wants all the Humans out of the picture before the next election. The price for fully funding the colony is ensuring none of the Human Imperial nationals will be eligible to vote in the election.
Eventually the colony would have been successful. Sorcha provided the homes but the true brains is Alesia. Sorcha gave them shelter but Alesia gave them their freedom.
This story reminds me how much I really disliked early Sorcha. Later incarnations of the character are much more to my liking.
This also reminds me of how much you and I battled over early Sorcha, not that we don’t battle over current things 😉
I also had some issues with Sorcha handeling some situations, but this one was not a real problem. It is only a pity she didn’t get to beat up that girlfriend of that guy. But she instilled fear in them and maybe that was enough. Now they know there are stronger hybrids around and they can spread the word.
Sorcha’s strongest points are her sense of justice, empathy and her dislike for most Titans outside the main character group. Her technical abilities and her strength are also an enormous plus!
See, I am the odd ball out in the authors circle. The other three accept Sorcha’s claim to be human based on he right to identify as which ever of her two halves she pleases.
I vehemently protest Sorcha’s humanity and if I were a character in this universe, I’d take offense to her claiming to be human.
For many reasons, she is no more a human or a titan than a Liger is a lion, or a tiger.
She can claim to be human, how convenient for her she doesn’t have to worry about all that “being stepped on» stuff, or “not being a person”, poor thing has to survive being wealthy, possessing super hero like strength and also look at that, seems she’s also super smart thanks to genius daddy. (a gift supposed to be the human sized hybrids one advantage)
So, when she claims she is human, that rubs me the wrong way.
Now, OHH has handled her well, and I feel I disliked her when it was supposed to be the reaction, and as she grew as a character, and started to realize a blind sense of justice with out a shred of common sense is more of a problem than a solution, I stared to come around.
Personally, she’s still my least favorite Hybrid. I’m an Odin fan, and Manto, followed close by Joeseph and Mikkael, Sorcha trails near the end.
But I don’t dislike her as much as I once did. She has grown well as a character, and OHH managed to reign her in well from the character we see in this rough draft, compared to the fully actualized character we see in Hybrid, complete with depth, a complex arc, and so on.
Also, Eyrn kicking her ass in contact was my idea and I still go back and read it sometimes 😉
Whereas I got to write her first massive meltdown, and because of that, I’ve always liked her, even though I’ll agree, she’d be hard to deal with
somebasically all the time….Ok enough with the PC white guilt shit. Titans enslavement of humanity is worse than the examples you guys cling to as if all evil were equal. Key difference 1: titans have enslaved humans far longer than humans enslaved humans both on titan scale and human, Key difference 2: Titans have done this before, it’s not like how we recognize slavery is wrong and don’t do it again, every time titans met a new species they enslaved them, they keep repeating the same mistake, oh and it’s the same government and people unlike earth where you had thousands of governments who arrived at the conclusion that slavery was wrong at different times and didn’t go back, Key difference 3: most instances of slavery in human history recognized the enslaved as fellow men, yes treatment was still shit but they knew that people were people, but had been defeated. It’s why most cultures had paths to freedom. Agrippa, Caesar Augustus most trusted friend and General was the grandson of a slave , and his great works still survive in Rome today . Humans in Titan land had 0 opportunities or chances for freedom or even the semblance of equality. Even America in the north had black businessmen and they had rights under the law long before the civil war. Key difference 4: the strides made in human history to end slavery are in lockstep with the need for slavery ending and the advancement of western culture and science that abhorred it. Titans are an advanced species both scientifically and supposedly by government. They have electoral government and the ideas of equality under the law and have for quite a whole. Despite being so advanced they still enslaved the Dunnermac and Humanity even with such an advanced species. We have rejected such evil ideas and we still haven’t put a person on another planet. Slavery served a purpose for early humanity and if you’ve read a single book on Ancient Greece you’ll see what but I’m getting to end of my typing desire. Enslaving humanity served titans no purpose other than amusement. They didn’t need to defeat an enemy, or support their economic system, or survive, they did it for fun and amusement. Bash human history all you want but you’re deluded to equate this fictional race as equal to humanity when it is clear they are worse.
“For many reasons, she is no more a human or a titan than a Liger is a lion, or a tiger.”
Something of an oddity with that specific statement, Ligers are a thing. And there’s variation on what specific genetics apply depending on if the mother was a lion, or if the mother was a tiger, each resulting in something entirely separate. You aren’t comparing a strait lion or a strait tiger, you’re looking at the result when they successfully breed.
With that said, its a bit … strange, to try and tie personal affiliation or allegiance to biological species, and harkens back to Asimov style stories. Whether it’s more important to preserve the human genome, which can change and distort, which can alter on a whim or shift through the generations into something entirely different. Whether it be deliberate with selective generating or accidental with the mere passage of eons. Or is it more important to preserve the human culture, and that sense of solidarity. After all, who would be stupid enough to define “human” as one specific breed of monkey, if it’s supposed to hold any actual weight and importance?
I always looked at the statement “I am human” to be synonymous with “I stand with humanity” and the fact she used that statement, while not factually accurate, would have great results when dealing with Titans and Titan culture. This is a species so incredulously stupid and blind to all reality, their laws still demand that for a species to be considered a person it must be rich, have a fancy car, and be capable of punching you in the face. Their ONLY three requirements even. So Sorcha matching all of these requirements and being vocal about denouncing her Titan half would give a number of people reason to pause. Reason to think.
Likewise, just as through the term ‘Inhumane’ we refuse to acknowledge one’s designation as “human” if their behavior is too horrible, we deny the right of monsters and sociopaths to associate themselves with humanity as a whole, call them something else, something lesser; Sorcha’s refusing to call herself a Titan very likely had to do with disgust toward the Titan race as a whole. Take one look at their culture and it’s pretty obvious to see why someone wouldn’t want to be associated with them.
Hmm … if I had any issues with the character it’d just be the fact she’s bordering on Mary sue territory, superstrength, super durability, high intelligence, and rich? A dangerous combination if one wants to have there be stakes and suspense. But the story as a whole works around her and handles it well.
Wow. Couldn’t have said it any better.
I get a little what Dann said, but Dann, don’t you find most Titans just plain sick? In your Exile story you give a perfect example of those nurses and other hospital personal and the Imperator. With these kind of Titans around me I would hate their race if I was a Hybrid or other species. I would sometimes do it the Sorcha way and other times the more evil way like Pryvani does when she hates someone. Titans are the most spoiled people in this Universe. Only some are likeable.
Arbon is right on. She deliberately dissociates with the Titan half because in her mind it is not worthy of being treated with anything other than revulsion.
I agree Dann with the temperament and the freak out over Alesia not saying she it was her fight technically. She’d be a terrible person to try to befriend at any size and can be a sort of brat. However, she goes out of her way to make her life harder for herself in pursuit of doing good, she doesn’t have to intervene and she does, then she punishes the guy, and deservedly so he nearly killed a person. She risks her career and freedom on a regular basis to do right and mentally she has always been more akin to humans and discriminated against because of her father. So yeah she doesn’t suffer like the rest of humanity suffers but she does her damndest to do so and in pursuit of the right way.
One thing I would like to point out. When we first started writing this, about 3 years ago, the brief was “Titans are just Human. Only much less genocidal”
Yeah they suck. But Humans have always done far worse to Humans.
@Borrowman
“Titans are the most spoiled people in this Universe. Only some are likeable.”
I had a huge rant planned, but OHH said what I was thinking well enough, and then I remembered how many times we’ve been through this, so I’ll just point you to his reply 🙂
As for the reader base’s frustration with the species as a whole, It’s understandable, as we are human so its natural we empathise with our own species.
But remember, I’m sure if you ask the oppressed, through out human history, they would have an eerily similar view of their own oppressors, as you have of Titans.
“What do you mean you have to debate emancipation of blacks in congress? Isn’t it common sense!?”
“White’s are the most spoiled people in the universe. Only some are likeable.”
Remember, the south were willing to go to WAR to preserve “their way of life”, because they knew emancipation would destabilize their slave driven economy. That’s awful terrible, no?
I think frustration with Titan society comes with the fact that they are so similar to us. It’s a combination with how slow they move/how little they’ve advanced.
For example the Ferderation’s most accurate comparison would be the civil war south (not entirely of course but the comparison was even made in story by the feds.)
The Federation’s beef with the empire started with the Dunermac equality act (according to the wiki took place in 1792 titan time) and it has continued through the Zeramblin Act in 2124.
That’s over 300 years of obstinate prejudice! As a black guy I have my issues with the South, but how the Federation currently treats non titans is a million times worse than what would happen if I went to Atlanta or Charlotte today a little over 150 years after the emancipation proclamation. And that’s giving them the benefit of the doubt in titan years! Translated it means the Federation has been steadfastly bigoted against other races for about 1900 human years!
tldr: It’s not that if you take Titans actions they’re worse than Humanity’s actions. Not at all. It’s that Titans take over a 1000 years to correct their issues. This is more depressing in that in the entirety of this time Titans were a space faring race and supposed to be ‘advanced’.
after some thought (and more beers) it sums up the races (human and titan) at their worse pretty well.
Humans will be far more innovative, exotic, and depraved in the horror they inflict.
While Titans will maintain a certain level of horror and prejudice for a far, far, far longer period of time even if said horror never approaches the height (bottom of the barrel?) of human action.
Kusanagi,
I think your second comment comes very close to the mark, Can’t say I disagree with you there.
A fine analysis Kusanagi. Though I disagree on one piece:
“For example the Ferderation’s most accurate comparison would be the civil war south (not entirely of course but the comparison was even made in story by the feds.)”
For me the Federation is MUCH closer to Northern Ireland than the Confederacy.
Here we have oppressive political parties that are closely linked to terrorist organisations. To criticise one often means criticising both and that can often have violent repercussions.
Northern Ireland is a torn society, though most people are decent, we have a large amount of violently bigoted, racist,sectarian, ultra-nationalist people. There’s major publicity here over Muslims, black people, Indian people, gay people and eastern European people having their homes and cars attacked and regularly burned out of their homes.
Due to our local government’s inaction we currently have a setup where we are part of the UK but have totally different laws and rights from the rest of the UK. Any suggestion that the UK government may impose its rule on Northern Ireland to bring us in line with the rest of the UK has often led to violent protests.
People here have taken up arms in the past and I could easily see them doing so again if their status were threatened.
“Translated it means the Federation has been steadfastly bigoted against other races for about 1900 human years!”
“Northern Ireland is a torn society, though most people are decent, we have a large amount of violently bigoted, racist,sectarian, ultra-nationalist people. There’s major publicity here over Muslims, black people, Indian people, gay people and eastern European people having their homes and cars attacked and regularly burned out of their homes.”
“But remember, I’m sure if you ask the oppressed, through out human history, they would have an eerily similar view of their own oppressors, as you have of Titans.”
The common thread in all these incidents in the perception of being oppressed even when the factual evidence is to the contrary as it is for hard liners Feds. Every sentient has occasional feelings of oppression and a tendency to stereotype those they see as the oppressors. However to remain a bigot over the long haul is to feel a sense of oppression even if the oppression is nothing more than the active dislike of those you yourself are actively oppressing.
What the Feds are finding out is that a lot of their own population felt oppressed themselves, an oppression held in check only by the Empire’s moderating influence. Without Empire law, however poorly enforced the Feds pushed the envelope and quickly learned how close they already were to insurrection against their own rule.
On a more personal level Sorcha’s own character, while surely in part genetic driven, is much more I think driven by her own ongoing sense of oppression reinforced by her close identification with humans. Likely this would be more common among all the hybrids were not most of them isolated atop a mountain. It does figure to be an ongoing problem once they integrate more broadly into Titan culture.
She neither Human or Titan. She’s both. As are all hybrids. Choosing one or the other is disingenuous. It up to the character to associate with a particular culture. There is good and bad in both. The hybrids should be taught from early on to acknowledge both know the difference between the two and to filter the best from both. Win-win eh?
Ah some good old classic SORCHA SMASH. Can definitely see elements of this in what happened toward the end of Contact.
Really curious what the initial plan was. Sounds like there weren’t any Hybrids aside from her, and possibly Titans did the right thing before first contact.
Sorcha was, at the time, the only Hybrid. It hadn’t really clicked to me (I can’t really speak for Dan or OHH if it occurred to them or not) that the process that allowed Sorcha to be born could be used on any of the other couples. So, yeah, she would have been the only Hybrid.
Keep in mind that this was being written while Exile, Nomad and Pandemic were all still being worked on. Arena and Sovereign were little more than vague outlines in my head (and would have had very little to do with the rest of the stories) and Pursuit was nothing more than a vague notion that I should do something with the two hot tub girls.
Then, in November of 2013, I got a random email from DX Machina with the first 8000 words of what would become Contact…
Should I be congratulating you on something? Perhaps, best wishes for the three of you?
As to the chapter, very interesting. It sounds like some key elements of Hybrid have always been around. Sorcha having temper issues, Sorcha and Alesia being friends, Loona going into politics, Pryvani orchestrating things, and Sorcha regarding herself as being human. Since Eyrn is mentioned, I’m guessing that this was written at some point after Exile was conceived. However, there’s no mention of first contact with humans. I gather that wasn’t in the picture until Contact emerged Athena-style from the brow of DX?
And thanks for doing this.
I should be less enigmatic. Today I am 30.
Hybrid was to originally end with first contact. Led by Darren, Niall and Pryvani.
Well in that case happy birthday.
Happy birthday!
Would there have been any drama in first contact, or would it be the happy culmination of the story?
IIRC, the happy ending. Just a scene of human ship docking, and Darren and co walking to greet them.
#0? or 30? Damn ..thats old..
🙂
Happy Birthday
Eyrn is a vaguely referenced in the Physics epilogue. I’m more surprised Lessy was a character conceived at this point. I always figured she was added buddy-cop style by D.X. to play off Sorcha.
When I tell you that DX walked in with basically everything perfect, with almost a frighteningly psychic level idea of how we wanted things done, I’m not fibbing.
We all read his chapters he sent DX and there was no question, he got it…he understood.
Alessia was OHH’s idea, his creation. DX fleshed her out.
Alesia was conceived at the same time as Sorcha. My original thought was to jump to a male but then flipped to female pretty quickly due to wanting to remove any possible sexualisation of the two characters. I wanted them to be like sisters. What struck me was in DX’s original email to us, before he’d ever talked to any of us he sent this:
Several light years away on a nondescript moon, orbiting a nondescript planet, orbiting a nondescript
star, Sorcha Freeman felt very much like she wanted to vomit.
She had worked very hard over the past two years she’d spent on Avalon, throwing herself into a project
that she seemed destined to succeed at. Indeed, she’d had great success – by any measure, the citizenry
of Atlantis was more educated now than it had been when she arrived. They’d started to build a true
industrial capability, and one of the Atlantaeans had on her own, with no prompting from educators,
built a working internal combustion engine. In two years, they’d made the leap into the industrial age,
and the seeds were being sown to teach them of quantum mechanics. In another 20 years, with
assistance, they might well be approaching space-age levels of technology.
“But it isn’t good enough.”
She had taken to pacing lately, and her passenger felt it was time to note this.
“Sorsh…if you’re just going to walk around your office, can you at least set me on the desk? I think I’m
starting to get motion sickness.”
Sorcha paused, and sighed. “Sorry, Hector, I’m just….”
“I know,” Hector Dhanyleson said from the pocket of her coat. “Sit down, breathe, and let’s talk this
out.”
———————–
He had felt out pretty much the exact same route I had. And had a very similar character in mind. His almost uncanny reading of the Universe was why we jumped on it. That and it was pretty damned awesome.
I have never had a story write itself as easily as Contact did. It was an effort *not* to write. I don’t know that I wasn’t just channeling, but it sure felt like it. I credit Dann, OHH, and JS for creating a universe that was rich and real. It made it easy to take a stray thought of “what if?” and spin it into a story.
I guess its indicative of the writer that the second half was crap.
De gustibus non est disputandum.
I had a feeling that Lessy and Sorcha would pair up ,even with the change in gender.That was until Moze came in but until that time, I thought they would become lesbian lovers or something along the lines of that.