Rise of the Star Ch. 02

It would be funny to see them walking around with rifles as long as they are tall. However, the irony was that Gull could use even more powerful guns. But no union was without pains.

"I just have to say... thanks... to the entire empire. I mean, I heard what your god said about aliens. And yeah, I can get him. We just want our own good and some of them might start looking at you guys like you're just weak things that don't deserve your stuff. But we gotta kick those ones down and show our worth."

"The Outsider also said that people deserve one chance. Letting you die would have been no chance. One. I think we can live together. But if it doesn't work, maybe sometime in the future we can just dump you all on some planet and let you be."

"Can we just dump the ungrateful ones?"

"Now that would be a fun idea. But we believe the better mercy is death. That one is just letting them suffer somewhere."

"Hm. Good point. But have you considered that they deserve it? Oh well. And I'm gonna be the first one to beat up any of these girls that get some stupid ideas."

"Hey, to make you feel better, we also had some groups that developed stupid ideas... that they deserve more without having to work for it."

"Reminds me of how our men were like... in the stories."

They had never broached this subject. Well, time for a bit of learning.

"How come you don't have any men? I mean, it sounds like you did."

"They were... okay, so... in the stories we have, male Gull were much stronger and grew to boss all the women around, thinking they were the guys in charge and the rest of us had to work for them. They could do no wrong and if any conflict came between a man and a woman, the woman automatically loses. If you think us strong, they were monsters."

"Yeah, we had those too. They want all the benefits and none of the responsibilities."

"It was like that for centuries until some of our kind started to be able to have babies... without men. Well, without Gull men. They went their own way, hid from the rest, eventually other women started to come join them... the men fought over the other women, to the point they even killed them so the other guy doesn't have them... and then suddenly there were no more to have their babies. The women had babies without them... and... uh... killed all the male ones at birth when they still came out... but eventually we just had no more men."

"Huh, so you evolved your way into not needing an oppressor. Defiance is inevitable. Amazing that it can apply to biology."

Their species was not exclusive in doing so. In a faraway star system, the Al'tar race, comprised exclusively of males, had developed artificial means of conception after the women began to oppress the men by holding children and sex as ransom. The much more intelligent men developed ways to be free of them, and in just a few generations completely deleted females from their race, becoming a race of enlightened homosexuals... who also thought that all women should die. Thankfully, the Gull did not hold that hatred toward the opposite sex for long and the current issues were more about the difference between species than gender.

"I guess your god knows a thing or two." Beat. "Wait, is that why you were just... well... I feel like you could have tried to control us more... and possibly me when I was on the station."

"And you would have rightfully tried to fight your captivity. Give nothing to defy and there will be no defiance. Why we should give them the full benefit. Let them have everything we do... for the same responsibilities."

"Can't have people rebelling if they don't have against what. I guess... still the entitled idiots, but we can handle them."

"And we will. Hopefully. I don't want you guys to die after we worked so hard to get you off that place. Makes us look like idiots."

But they wouldn't be.

*

No union is painless. And having such a different species live with humans was a thorough challenge. There was a very bitter good news in that the shattered planet was much easier to mine like this and it had such a richness of ores that they might not exhaust it in the foreseeable future. But that did little to improve the lot of these space goblins, who faced not just the fact of living on a completely new planet, but living with aliens, living in a gravity that made the first Gull to grow on these planets look freakishly tall.

In time, there would be methods to keep their biological identity... implants that could subject a Gull body to forces that made them grow right... implants that would also greatly help any who spent extended amounts of time on stations. Analysis of their biology would lead to breakthroughs in medicine and engineering. In just fifty years, their species would not be harmed by living in "normal" gravity.

One day, a man would rush into his boss's office, claiming to have made the most important scientific discovery of their time. No, he did not cure cancer, no, he did not develop ways to create matter or make infinite energy. But he created an implant that would allow people to consume shit and piss, to not feel its repulsive taste, and to pass it on without damage to their digestive system. Yes, it was also very good at preventing food poisoning and it allowed consumption of things the body might not usually tolerate, like plant matter. But they would finally be able to do it outside of Homes, their religious centers where James still allowed this option through his powers. It would also be prohibitively expensive in its early days, but time would make tech cheaper. And it was an important discovery, even compared to intention readers that would soon blossom into something much more impressive.

The Gull would come out to be not just strong, but rather ingenious in some remarks. They made amazing miners and builders, their ability to survive falls that could kill others, and their climbing proficiency made for quite the solid workers. A foreman could find no better crew than a dozen of the green midgets, making construction look easy as they carried around ludicrous loads that might require forklift certifications and climbing girders with two sacks of cement strapped to their backs. It was almost tempting to give up on machinery.

While it would take two generations to see them used to the modern world, they were no idiots... sure, some of their number would have some silly ideas, but their sisters would be the first to take them down, seeing every day how cooperation brought them better off, as the empire was not at all oppressing them. They could have just lived on their own and the astorians would have gone on without them. The Gull had their separate culture, language, art... and food.

But unity does not come from distinct cultures mixing. They would face that lesson soon, they would come to the portion of "find out" that comes after "fuck around". Even if the Gull were so incredibly similar to the astorians, being very sex-positive, intelligent, and eager to do their part in life, the differences grew even starker in time... in local organization, in the practice of their lives, and the raising of their children.

Such differences had to go away. While the size discrepancy and strength difference were tolerable, observing different methods of government and faith was difficult. Slowly, the Gull would see their culture die out and the embrace of Astoria's mannerisms would come to them. But it would be a long time until such moments, a time of centuries before ancestor worship was gone, as was the council of mothers. They would take to the practice of True Family, to the organization of community as the humans did. A few held out, but the rest saw the need to change. It was not a bad change. They did not regret it.

The Gull were here to stay.

*

Athuras still. Valla was getting old. REAL old. Time passed her, but she lived long enough to see this happen. The woman had dialed down her gravity implant, as she had less growing to do now and a lot of walking with a reduced strength. She made it to 95. This was a record since her species rarely made it past 60 before.

In her old age, she was taken by the prospect of clothing, mostly because they have learned its value. The small bed let her slide out and hobble over to the kitchen for the routine acts. A bit of coffee, a bit of food from her pantry fixed on the hot plate... something simple to keep her going. Some dried pork lightly fried. Her teeth were long gone, but the denture held well enough. Oh, everything was so tiring now.

Outside her window, the town of Argull was bustling already, plenty of her sisters going to work, not just manual jobs, but also intellectual ones. She lived to see Gull scientists and doctors, Gull security guards that were not exclusive to their own settlements. Her wrinkled face could not help but smile. They managed to not be idiots. Almost everything was made with them in mind these days, no longer having to go to special shops. It helped that they got better at living on this planet. Her girls were pursuing good jobs, the first making a mockery of human builders and the second having an interest in medicine... reminded Valla of Ben. They had such good times together. They got married... which seemed ludicrous for her culture. And now he was not around. Only her for a while.

She was tempted to take a walk. Swapping her sleeping clothes for the outdoor ones, the old woman reached for her forearm-strapped console to dial down the implant even more. Unadvised unless you knew what you were doing... the temptation to stay on lighter gravity was there, but she used it only when there was exertion to be done. She walked.

Slowly, the woman went through the town, pleased at the sights around her. Gone were the prefabs, now replaced by solid construction, pretty houses and high-rises made by little green hands, with concrete streets and plenty of nature still. She was proud of it all. Part of her still remembered the mountain homes she grew up in, the storms of their homeworld that stung like hell if you were caught outside a cave, and that fateful drop that started this all. Could her people be saved without her? Possibly. But she helped.

On she walked, slightly unsure of what she even wanted to do. The direction she was pointed toward might take her to Opportunity, though that was an insane distance to walk. She could take the bus, but that was not her intent. The woman kept walking, basking in memories and the pleasure that came from comparing that memory to the present. When you see the past as worse and the present improved... without lying to yourself.

The implant got dialed down even more as she started going up the hill at the edge of town. She remembered it as a great place to have dates... and get a good view. You could see the human city in the distance, the heavy industrial sectors where the factories seemed to never slow down, the skyscrapers at the core of that city that she still thought of as amazingly tall. Maybe one day this place would have skyscrapers. Oh, it was so tiring to walk up this hill.

Valla stood there, straight enough without heavier simulated gravity pulling her down, her hands behind her back and her mind far away. On the events she saw and the life she lived. On the future of her race. After the thorough investigation to release the astorians of any suspicion of orchestrating their homeworld's destruction, most of the dissenting voices quieted down. Their questions were warranted and so were records surrendered. But she knew that they never would have done such a thing. Why, they could have gained even more insights from watching the planet, they could have set up tours in orbit of this planet, showing off her people like curiosities rather than being next-door neighbors.

She thought of how the empire did not plan this, but would now take them in with whole heart. Their god, one that she had learned of their verified existence... was a kind man, if at times they might try to look otherwise. A kind and pained man. He found her cute and patted her head that one time she met him. The woman felt like a kid even though she was 40 at the time. He might pat her head even now.

Some of her sisters were idiots, but Astoria knew to differentiate those from the rest, as they had no unified purpose to be imbeciles. They were dealt with, often by other Gull. And those moments spurred improvements for the humans to keep up with them... with some significant improvements. She heard that everyone in the military was now sporting strength equal to the average Gull... and the girls serving were even more impressive.

It was tiring to stand, so the woman walked toward a tree, gently setting herself down to lean on its trunk, facing the distant Opportunity. A good life, she thought. While her mind was not sure why this thought process came, her body did. A good, meaningful and important life. She might go down in history as a hero of the Gull, someone on par with the ancestors they revered. In times past, she would have considered that an incredible achievement. But now she cared more about what her deeds actually brought forth rather than what it might bring to her name.

Valla did good. She'd start to hum that old work song that was still sung even today, gaining a faithful english translation. It was silly, but it was catchy. It made her smile as she remembered those times, and how they could think of the life on this planet starting to get better.

"Sisters of the mine rejoice!

Swing, swing, swing with me

Raise your pick and raise your voice!

Sing, sing, sing with me

Down and down into the deep

Who knows what we'll find beneath?

Diamonds, rubies, gold and more

Hidden in the mountain store

Born underground, suckled from a teat of stone

Raised in the dark, the safety of our mountain home

Skin made of iron, steel in our bones

To dig and dig makes us free

Come on sisters sing with me!"

She didn't even reach the chorus. The woman's eyes started to close. A bit tired. Maybe a small nap out here would do her good. Her head gently fell forward. Her breath started to slow.

And she did not get up again.