2164 AD
૨૧૨૫ MA

In a stateroom on the Starship Pygmalion, Forna Qorni went over last-minute plans.

“Dicero,” she said, “there is some risk if you draw this line.”

“I know, Madam Deputy Floor Leader,” Dicero Falut said, fidgeting in her chair. “But I don’t think my constituents will object to me taking this stand. We haven’t accepted that humans are people. We shouldn’t accept that humans can lead us around safely.”

“I agree,” Qorni said. “That’s why I’ll be joining you. Lord Theracy?”

Ciseusi Theracy shook his head. “Forna, I’m not going to insult Pryvani Tarsuss. My father made some bad bets in his last few years, but none worse than trying to help Syon Fand when she sued for control of the Tarsuss Corporation. It took me fifteen years to win back the shipping contracts Pryvani canceled with Theracy Transimperial, and it’s only in the last year that we haven’t been operating at a loss. Hells, I wanted to retire ten years ago, but I couldn’t, because I wanted to leave something for my daughter. Sen. Tarsuss will forgive me for being on the opposite side of this issue – at least, I hope so. But she will not forgive rudeness, and with due respect – that is what this is.”

“I don’t need a contract from Pryvani Tarsuss. I don’t care if she’s insulted,” Forna said. “But I must say – you seem to be falling on the side of her being as smart as she appeared. You sure about that?”

Theracy smiled thinly. This debate had been bubbling through the Empire since Reunion Day. It had managed to grab the attention of gossip mavens, businesspeople, and political junkies alike. Could Pryvani Tarsuss – goofy, silly, flighty Pryvani Tarsuss – really be half as intelligent as that speech made her sound?

“Madam Deputy Floor Leader,” Theracy chuckled, “I was at the wedding of Chiyuri Tarsuss and Syon Fand. They’re both distant cousins, you know. I’m three years older than Chiyuri, I remember him from prep school and from college. There are many people who seem convinced that two people as brilliant as Syon Fand and Chiyuri Tarsuss could produce a fool for a daughter. These people tend to discover a few years after dealing with her that they no longer own a gorram thing, including their molars. She’s no fool. She’s a frakking zukor lying in wait, lulling you to sleep. And when you go to sleep, she rips out your gorram throat.”

“And she’s chairing this committee. Frak, Zeramblin got pantsed.”

“You really think so?” Theracy said. “He knew she was friends with Armac, you know. I don’t know if he realized her skill, but he knew exactly which way she leaned. I suspect you’re right about him – indeed, I suspect he’s supported emancipation the entire time.”

“Citizenship.”

“Whatever.”

Qorni turned to the other conservatives that she trusted. Former Floor Leader Agace was not among them. Torak Bakadal studied his notes carefully; Alvi Sest looked out the viewport.

“Bakadal, I don’t expect you to cross Zeramblin – he’s your caucus leader. If you want, you go ahead and tour with the humans. But Alvi….”

“I’m not going to split with my caucus chair, ma’am,” Sest said. “I’ll join you and Rep. Falut.”

“Good,” Forna said, though it was anything but. Three members out of fourteen was not enough to matter. She’d have to go to work on Bakadal; if nothing else, the four elected conservatives on the committee needed to present a united front. If that broke, well….

“Attention, all passengers, this is Captain Dande. We are grounded,” a pleasant voice intoned. “We will be disembarking momentarily.”

* * *

Guests to the Tarsuss Compound were often surprised by just how low-key it was there. True, Sen. Tarsuss was somewhat intimidating in and of herself, even if one thought she was a fool. (This was not odd; after all, a fool with a great deal of money and power can do much more damage than a wise person.)

Of course, if Pryvani Tarsuss was willing to invite you to Avalon, the chances were very good that she liked you and trusted you. This was her home, and more to the point, it was home to millions of other people. If she didn’t trust you, she’d still deal with you – on Grelau, or Archavia, or Seretana, or Jutuneim. Not Avalon.

But there was no way to do this without inviting people she did not trust into her home. And so the hangar had been filled with every Titan and Titan-sized hybrid living on Avalon, all in their best outfits. Rixie Tam had willingly put on mess dress; Sorcha Freeman actually was wearing a skirt that fell below her knees. The three Tarsuss children were there, as was Thyllia, who was wearing the sash of the Fand primacy, in the family’s teal-and-white, with a gold seal on her shoulder and the Guardian of the Empire medal just below. Pryvani gave her a half-smile, as she knew that Thyllia would rather have doused herself in acid.

Of course, it was not just Titans; the senior members of the Avalonian government were there; many of them would be leading the tours through Avalon, which were due to begin two hours after the welcome. There would be time for the formal reception; Pryvani and Loona had decided that it was best to hit the ground running. The crew of the Alcubierre was also there, as was Ambassador Naboa and Admiral Chandrasekhar, taking a break from meetings and surveys and discussions to welcome the delegation.

Thyllia, who was serving as master of ceremonies, began the long and detailed greeting to the home of a Guardian of the Empire. Pryvani was operating at the highest level of protocol, and that meant it would be a good hour before the formal greetings and introductions and announcements and music and such were complete. Pryvani normally disdained this kind of pomp and circumstance, and if she observed it at all, it was usually with the shorter Tannhauseran prescription. But she did enjoy watching certain members of the committee squirm as Joca Haerst was given honors equal to that of a provincial head of state. She knew that Forna Qorni wanted desperately to object, but there was no way for her to do it without breaking the very rigid Aementi court protocols that they were observing today. Indeed, watching Qorni have to bow to Rosa Naboa had made the effort worth it.

When the ceremony finally ended, Pryvani stepped forward, and said, “It is with a generous spirit that you are welcomed. We have divided the members of the committee into one group of five, and two of four; the three embedded reporters will be divided, one with each. Each of these groups has an Avalonian leading it, and….”

“Sen. Tarsuss, if I may interject,” Forna said, “I would prefer it if my guide was not a human. I would trust a Titan more.”

Pryvani smirked; she had been expecting this. And though the Titans from Avalon groaned and complained, the Avalonians were silent and calm in the face of the overt racism. They had expected it too.

“It is their republic, Madam Deputy Floor Leader. They are definitely going to know it better than any Titan will.”

“Yes, but…well, they aren’t Titans, are they? Mind you,” Qorni hastened to add, “I’m fine with a Dunnermac or Ler or Avartle guide.”

“Senator, may I make a recommendation?” President Haerst said.

Pryvani turned to her, and smiled; she’d talked this over with Joca, of course. There was a plan. “Of course, Madam President.”

“Senator, may I recommend Tevik? He’s spent a lot of time in the city.”

“Mr. Ridvan? You think so?”

“I do, assuming he’s up to it.”

“Well, Mr. Ridvan?” Privani said, turning to a young man standing behind Sorcha Freeman. “Are you up to it?”

“Sen. Tarsuss,” he said, “I certainly can do this, however…well, I think a human is ideal, you know.”

“Of course. Though we do endeavor to be good hosts.”

“True, and if President Haerst is asking me to do this, of course I’ll be honored to do it.”

“There. Very nice. Will Mr. Ridvan be acceptable, Rep. Qorni?”

“Well…yes, I suppose,” Forna replied. She had expected a big fight over this; she was rather surprised to find that Tarsuss had given on it so easily.

“Now, as I was saying, you will be meeting with humans with expertise in various areas – education, military, science, and so forth. Your guides will get you from appointment to appointment. The humans are still going to be covering their areas of expertise – but then, you can’t possibly have an objection to that, Forna, you’ll have Mr. Ridvan to save you if they turn feral. Tell me, is anyone going to be going with Rep. Qorni? Of course, Rep. Proteu, Rep. Falut. Rep. Bakadal, you’re not going with? Sen. Theracy?”

“I’m curious how the humans will do at leading me, Senator,” Bakadal said.

“And I do not wish you to have to deviate from your plans, Senator,” Theracy said.

“Very well. We will do two groups of five, one of three – make that one of four, as I will go with the group led by Mr. Ridvan. I wasn’t planning on going through – I know Avalon quite well, you know – but I think I just might go along anyhow. I’m curious to see your reaction, Forna. Now, staff will get you to your rooms, and you’ll have time to get settled; I will see you on the holosuite level in one hour and forty-five minutes.”

* * *

One hour and forty-five minutes later, the members of the Tarsuss committee, along with three reporters, were standing outside the largest of the fourteen holodecks in the Tarsuss compound. They divided up quickly. Loona’s group, which included Lady Usussis, Rep. Blrrr, Rep. Dosorovitz, and Rep. Proteu, headed off to meet Dia Velos on Holodeck Two; Maybel Zimm, Representative-for-the-Western-Avartle-People, Torak Bakadal, Ciseusi Theracy, and Sen. Agace left to meet Joca Haerst on Holodeck Three. That left Pryvani, Qorni, Falut, and Sest, along with a reporter for Newsfeed 808, where Tevik Ridvan was waiting for them.

“Are we ready, Mr. Ridvan?” she asked, sweeping into the cavernous room.

“Shaar says everything’s ready on their end. Just need a go from the three groups. Everyone ready?” he asked, genially, sweeping a lock of hair behind his left ear.

A few moments later, the cavernous holodeck was replaced with a cavernous room. All three groups were assembled there, standing on blue tile near a large doorway.

“Now,” Joca Haerst said, “we’re all going into the city via the tram line. Right now, you’re all holoprojected, and will be for the duration of this tour. Just so you know, President Velos, Mr. Ridvan and I are all familiar with some of the biological concerns people have when on a holodeck. Rest assured that the holodecks are programmed to discretely incinerate any waste products you may produce while here, so if you need to use the toilets, just use the ones on Avalon like you would anywhere else.”

Pryvani chuckled, as did over half the group.

“We will all be riding in together; Mr. Ridvan’s group will depart at Carey Station and catch the line to East Atlantis, my group will stay on and depart at Central Station, and President Velos’s group will be continuing on to West End. Do you have any questions? Yes, Rep. Bakadal?”

“Any particular reason we’re riding the train, and not just materializing in the city?”

“Yes,” Dia Velos said. “We want you to be able to experience the world that humans on Avalon experience. That means using the transportation systems we humans use.”

“Any others? Rep. Qorni?”

“Yes, um…why is the ground shaking? Is that something we should worry about?”

“Huh? Oh, that – well, we’re still in the Tayas Mons compound, so occasionally a Titan or two will wander by.”

At that moment, Brinn and Zara wandered by, right on schedule. “Brinn? Brinn!” Pryvani called.

“Hm? Oh, yes, Pryvani?” Brinn said, stopping and kneeling down to be closer to the group.

For the humans, it was really nothing unusual. For the Titans who’d been through holodeck simulations, it wasn’t unusual, but it was a nice reminder, as it always was, of how brave a human had to be to demand such things as freedom and equality. And for those who had chosen not to avail themselves of the chance to see the world from a human perspective….

“Gorram!” Forna Qorni croaked.

“Can you please ask Taron to check the comms link? I thought the last communication from Grelau was a bit pixelated.”

“I’d be happy to. Also, should we call you if anything urgent comes up?”

“There’s nothing that can’t wait fifteen hours. Thank you, darling!”

“No worries, Pryvani,” Brinn said, standing back up to her full height and continuing on with Zara.

“That’s…that’s what we look like to them?” Qorni murmured, to nobody in particular.

“It is,” Joca Haerst said, evenly. “With that, I do believe our train has arrived. Shall we?”

* * *

“East Atlantis,” Tevik said, leading his group into the brilliant light of Sol Tarsuss, “is a suburb of Atlantis proper. It’s also home to the Central Command of the Avalonian Guard.”

“You can drop it, you know,” Forna Qorni said.

“Drop what?”

“Pretending that they’re running things. I know, you’re supposed to lead us around and show us this zoo, and Lady Tarsuss, I’m sure it’s a lovely, well-run zoo. But talking about this ‘Avalonian Guard’ as if it’s a real military operation….”

“I assure you, Representative, I will not pretend at all,” Tevik said, walking them down a pleasant boulevard. “Of every institution on Avalon, there is likely none more under the full control of humans than the Avalonian Guard. They are charged with defending the people of Avalon against all enemies, foreign and domestic. That includes the Titans who live on Tayas Mons. If Sen. Tarsuss was to decide tomorrow that she wanted to capture and sell the population of Atlantis, the Avalonian Guard would fight with everything it had to stop her. No offense, Senator.”

“I am quite glad that it’s so, Mr. Ridvan! I may officially own Avalon, but I make no claim on the people who live here.”

“Who owns them, then?” Alvi Sest asked.

“Officially? Nobody. The planet’s human population is considered a Section 107.2 feral reserve population, whose habitat is maintained by the Tarsuss Foundation. There are a few humans who technically have a Titan owner – for example, the Secretary of Defense, Darren Xanthopolous, is technically owned by Aisell Maris of Archavia, but….”

“Wait a moment,” Qorni said. “Darren…Aisell Maris…you mean Darren Avery? Darren Avery is Secretary of Defense?”

“Well, he changed his name when he married Epistratichos Lysis Xanthopolous, but yes, he is. You’ll get a chance to talk to him soon, he’s leading the tour here.”

“He killed a woman!”

“In self-defense,” Dicero Falut noted. “Someone tries to eat me, I’ll try to kill them, that’s just sensible. I’m more curious how he’s still alive. Did he get access to the life-extension technologies we’ve heard about?”

“Most of the population has,” Pryvani said. “It’s by their choice, of course.”

“So they’re not really human then,” Qorni said.

Tevik snorted. “You go ahead and tell them that. The differences in life-extended humans and non-extended humans is a reshuffling of some genes from the twelfth gene pair to the eleventh, about four dozen gene swaps that affect the timing of aging, and a healthy helping of telomerase. Cognitively and behaviorally, there’s no significant difference between extended and non-extended humans. Granted, you live longer, you can learn more over time, but that’s true of everyone.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“Rep. Qorni, are you taking the position that life-extended humans are Ttians?” Pryvani asked. “Because I can think of a very quick way to solve any objections you might have to human emancipation. It would cost about sixty billion credits to roll out age-extension treatments to all humans in the Empire.”

“That…is not what I’m saying, Senator,” Forna Qorni steamed.

“All right,” said Tevik, eyes twinkling. “We’re here.”

* * *

“Welcome to the Chambers of the Council of Avalon,” Joca Haerst said, as her group walked through the central square area toward a towering building that appeared to be made of some sort of sandstone. “This is the seat of the Avalonian government.”

“So what decisions are you allowed to make?” Torak Bakadal asked.

“There are no restrictions. Oh, we are cognizant of Avalon’s legal position within the Empire, and that does mean that if we’re looking to make any decisions that might extend off this planet, we do consult with Sen. Tarsuss. But the laws we live by are all passed here, by the Council.”

Haerst led the group to a side door, where two members of the Guard stood watch in full dress uniform. They both saluted her, and she returned it casually, opening the door and holding it for her guests.

“You’re telling me all the laws were your ideas? That you came up with them on your own?” asked Bakadal.

“The laws spring from basic morality,” the President said. “All are variations on the ideas of property rights and basic rights to security and liberty.”

“Is it a human moral code?” asked Theracy.

“Yes and no, and that gets into a difficult period of our history,” Haerst said, leading them down a hallway and into the council chambers proper. “The family of Sen. Tarsuss established Avalon as a refuge for humans. In principle, they intended to leave us to our own devices, but that didn’t last long. To keep us from fighting amongst ourselves, they established a religion, based around a goddess who would judge those who were wicked.”

“And how did they manage to convince you of it?” Xeum Agace asked.

“I should think it obvious, Madam Floor Leader,” said Maybel Zimm. “They appeared to the humans as they were.”

“Precisely, Representative. And it was convincing. So convincing that some of us still believe, even after Sen. Tarsuss did us the courtesy of telling the truth. My grandmother was a member of the Church of the Truly Faithful. I studied for the ministry before I came to understand the truth, but I understand the allure. It is simpler to be told The Truth, rather than having to work itself out for yourself.”

“Human-leader-of-Avalon, you said this was a difficult period. What happened after you learned the truth from senator-with-colored-hair?”

Joca kept herself from giggling; she was glad that Pryvani was not actually a goddess, because it certainly felt sacrilegious to think of her that way. “Well, we fought. At first we fought over the nature of the universe, which later gave way to fighting over mundane things like having enough food and keeping people safe from bandits. We are still unsure of exactly how many of our people died in the ensuing chaos, but it was thousands – out of just 57,000 who lived her prior to the Civil War. But we endured, and after the war, we built a government on our own. And I mean that literally. We had help from some humans from Earth – Alex Carey, who you may or may not have read about, had a much larger role than he will ever admit. But they gave us advice. The first Council was made up exclusively of Avalonians, and while today’s Council includes many immigrants, it is still Avalonian in nature.”

“May I ask a question?” the reporter from 422News asked.

“Of course?”

“You mentioned immigrants. From where?”

“The Empire, of course,” Haerst said. “Once we stabilized, we took the position that humans who were willing to work and seek freedom would be welcome here. We do have regulations, as there is a limit to how quickly we can assimilate them – you’ll hear about those programs from our Secretary of Education when you meet with her – but that’s our primary limiting factor.”

“Doesn’t this risk you losing your Avalonian character? I mean, you were a culture that at least had links to that from Earth.”

“True, but only to some extent,” Haerst said. “The truth is, humans from the Empire had been introduced in twos and threes and tens over the entire ‘goddess’ period. Our culture and genetics were already changed from that our Earth ancestors brought. The Avalon of today is a blend of traditions from Earth, the Empire, and humans from the Empire. Now, there’s a limit – there’s always a limit. If everyone from Earth wanted to move here, we couldn’t take them all at once without being overrun. But over time? Over time, we expect many more people will come here, and we believe it’s for the best. After all, our Secretary of Education is an immigrant, as is our Secretary of Defense and our Secretary of Health. But you’ll have time to meet with them soon enough,”

* * *

“…these programs are focused on teaching humans the basics,” the Secretary of Education said. “Unfortunately, the humans coming here from the Empire often have no reading ability, and only very basic math understanding. We have made a great deal of progress in teaching them, though, and with each group that comes through we learn more. We don’t expect every person we teach to become a poet and a mathematician – any more than we’d expect that of a Titan. But we aim to have them capable of living in and contributing to society. And you know, some of them do become poets and mathematicians. The novelist Jacina Pantik has had some success in the Empire proper with The Short March, and she came to us as a freed pet.”

“Really? I didn’t know!” Lady Usussis said. “I mean, I’d heard she was human, but I didn’t know she was a pet originally! Have you read it?” she asked the group in general. “Marvelous. Marvelous book.”

“Of course, the Secretary would know writing! Your mother is the writer Nonah Armac, is she not?”

“She is, LerBlrrr!” Lessy shouted, with a grin; Blrrr knew full well that Lessy’s mom was Nonah. Still, she couldn’t fault him for bringing it up.

“Nonah Armac was your pet, LerLoona! And she has become a great writer! You yourself were a pet, Alesia Daughter of Nonah, and you are now a teacher! We should not be surprised others could do the same!”

“We should not,” Lessy said. “And we are not. There are pets who have gone on to become doctors, engineers, and artists,” she said. “But we need not judge success by that measure. Those who come here and become artisans, work in construction, become homemakers – we do not expect everyone to gain mastery in academics, but sufficiency.”

“Is that because they are humans?” asked Ped Dosorovitz.

“No, Representative, not at all. It is because they have been deprived of the chance to learn. They come to us as adults who have been told their entire lives that they are not smart, that they are not capable, that they are not even truly people, and they then must find a way to not only learn the subject matter, but learn for themselves that they are more than pets – that they always were. Those that gain sufficiency – and it’s 98.92 percent over the past Imperial year – are a testament to the abilities of humans. And tomorrow, I’ll be taking you around our primary schools, where you’ll get to meet the children of these people, and what they are accomplishing.”

* * *

“That…that’s remarkable.”

Alvi Sest wasn’t making idle chitchat, and he wasn’t being merely polite. It was remarkable – gorram remarkable. He would have found the idea of human peacekeepers remarkable, but human soldiers? Human soldiers who not only managed to take care of human attackers, but Titan attackers as well? Not just one, but in the case of the Battle in Defense of Paletine, four?

Yes, some of their equipment was Imperial. Well, the Empire used equipment manufactured on Dunnermac, and Homeworld-of-the-People, and Fribbulus Xax. Why shouldn’t the humans? Besides, while some was Imperial, most of it wasn’t – the guns they carried were Avalonian, as were their airplanes and their orbital spacecraft.

“It is remarkable, ain’t it?” Darren said, with a grin. “Hell of a long way they’ve come in twenty-some years. I take a bit of pride in it, if I do say so myself.”

“You should take more than a bit,” Jortan Velos, the Chief of Staff, said. “Secretary Xanthopolous helped change us from fighters to soldiers. My aunt Dia has told me what things were like before a professional military ethic was created here. It sounds strange to say it, but our soldiers save lives.”

“What I find remarkable,” Forna Qorni said, icily, “is that a human who killed a Titan is living happily and with respect on Avalon.”

“Now, wait a moment,” Tevik began, but Darren lifted a hand, and Tevik quieted himself.

“Representative Qorni,” Darren said, “no soldier worth their salt is happy about killing. It might be necessary. But that doesn’t make it a good thing. If I had a way out of that situation that didn’t involve hurting anyone, believe me, ma’am, I would have taken it. As it was, I did what I had to do to save myself and a friend…but that doesn’t mean I’m happy about it.”

“You say that as if your life is worth hers,” Qorni said. “A human life equal to a Titan one. Do you really believe that?”

“You don’t?” Alvi Sest said, before he’d even realized it.

“Rep. Sest, I didn’t ask for your opinion,” Qorni said, looking hard at Alvi.

“It’s a good question, Rep. Qorni,” the reporter for 808 said. “Do you really believe that human lives are not equal to Titan ones?”

“They aren’t sentient creatures!” Qorni said, with a dismissive wave.

“They are, though, dear,” Pryvani said. “Class Two Sentient Beings, even under the current law.”

“Rep. Qorni, how many humans are worth a Titan life?” the reporter asked. “Two? Three? Six?”

Qorni looked at him, and back to Darren, and back to the reporter. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She’d walked right into this one. She’d expected him to lash out. To lose his cool, like the animal he was.

Zeramblin was probably cackling with glee.

“I will say this,” Qorni said, carefully. “I understand that Darren Avery was acting in self-defense. All creatures will do so. And given that the girl he killed was engaged in a crime…suffice to say that his actions were understandable.”

“And no better than that,” Darren said. “All right, before you all head on to your next port of call, any other questions?”

“Yes, one,” the reporter said. “Secretary Xanthopolous, are you the Marionette?”

Darren laughed. “Well now. That’s a question I can’t answer. You see, if I say yes, then I’m either gonna end my career or I’m lying; if I say no, whatever rumor you’re following up on won’t go away, or again, I could be lying. So I’m staying quiet, you can believe what you want to.”

The reporter laughed. Darren laughed. Tevik and Jortan laughed. Pryvani and Alvi and Dicero laughed.

Forna Qorni did not laugh.