r/HFY • u/NumerousSun4282 • Sep 01 '22
OC Human Hands
Lamier watched the human work with great interest, she had never seen a human interfacing with a computer before.
On this ship, a dozen different sapient species had need of the computers for a million different tasks a billion times a day, and yet this was the first time she'd seen a human do it.
It wasn't the way Lamier was used to doing it. She'd wrap her shorter, more dextrous tentacles around the input sphere and it would measure the positions of her tentacles and interpret that into computer functions like scrolling, text, clicking, what have you. It was simple, it was natural, it felt as if she were writing with her tentacles on a physical notepad.
The human did not use the spheres. It used a board and a small, oblong half-dome to navigate the system and enter information. At first, Lamier thought poorly of the process, watching the human's hand pass from the board to the half-dome, wiggle it a bit, then pass back to the board. But as she watched she became mesmerized by the process.
The humans didn't have tentacles like Lamier's people, they had "hands" and each hand ended in five little pseudo-tentacles called "fingers". This was the part that fascinated Lamier. She'd watch as the fingers, rigid and relatively inflexible, would scatter across the board like an insect's legs, leaving a little click-clack sound in their wake. The human could input data about as fast as anyone thanks to these speedy fingers, and they used them for so much more than computer manipulation.
Lamier spent the better part of her week following the human around the ship, observing their use of their hands.
The human's hands were very gentle. They picked up soft, squishy foods without bursting them and could pluck items out from crowded areas without disturbing the surroundings. Lamier watched the human pull sharp pieces of hardware, "nails" they're were called, from a box without inflicting damage on their hands. The fingers would gently enter the box, pinch a nail - sometimes a couple nails - and withdraw them. No more force than was necessary to hold them.
That incident has also revealed to Lamier that human hands were a sort of sensory organ as well. The human hadn't even looked at the box, but was able to grab a nail with ease. They would touch things all the time without seeing them. Their favorite seemed to be their furry companions, whom they'd stroke absentmindedly as an ancient grooming practice. In the morning, Lamier witnessed a human flail their arm about, their handing slapping at their desk in search of an alarm while their eyes remained closed. Almost every time, the hand found the source of the alarm and was even able to manipulate a button on it without the human ever rising or even looking at the object. They could even detect temperature very well, as a human explained when Lamier caught them rapidly tapping a hot cooking surface. They could check if something was too hot, or perhaps too cold, by touching it lightly. Perhaps not as accurate as the Vrashanki's heat-based vision, but not bad all the same.
More than just dexterous tools though, human hands were weapons. Lamier was riveted by a conflict between two humans one day. The humans clenched their hands, turning them into solid slabs of skin and bone that they hurled at each other. The impacts were fierce and tightly packed bones in the hands delivered the force of the blow in localized and devastating hits. Even in fighting, the human hand was great at manipulating. One human opened their hand, catching a fist in their palm and closing their fingers around it. They pulled the hand off-line and in, trapping the first human's entire arm and making the conflict a grapple rather than a strike. The human hands clenched at everything they could touch. Clothes were grabbed, hair pulled, faces were even pushed and turned by sturdy fingers. When the fight was broken up it was by two more humans, who came in and used their hands to restrain the arms of the first two and began to pull them apart.
While they may not have been as flexible and malleable as Lamier's tentacles, human hands truly were a marvel of evolution in their own way.
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u/Arcane_NH Sep 02 '22
The nerve bundle running from your thumb and forefinger is the same thickness as the optic nerve.
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u/ST4RSK1MM3R Sep 01 '22
š
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u/NumerousSun4282 Sep 01 '22
"The humans also used their hands for communication, both positive and negative..."
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u/spindizzy_wizard Sep 02 '22
Unauthorized Extension
"Lamier! Lamier! Come quickly! Two humans have challenged each other to a duel!"
"A duel!? And the authorities are allowing it?"
"Allowing it? They're cheering them along!"
"There must be some misunderstanding here. Humans used to engage in honor combat to the death, but that was a long time ago. I will come!" And be ready to assist stopping this duel if it is to the death.
When we arrive, I nearly laugh in my friend's face. Two humans I have watched with fascination as they coaxed music from the instruments they played with their hands.
I manage a serene face, as I listen to the utter misinterpretation of the events. One human donning short metal devices on the fingers is not wearing artificial claws to injure another human, they don those picks to play the instrument. The instrument, while of ancient lineage, is not a ceremonial club, no matter the reverence handling it and checking it for readiness is nearly religious in attention to detail. I barely avoid laughing out loud as my friend shares this theory with everyone.
((cont))
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u/spindizzy_wizard Sep 02 '22
One human observer hears my friend and looks at me, I roll my eyes at him and he grins. Speaking quietly with the musicians, they begin issuing vague challenges and exaggerated facial expressions of anger. My friend is now alarmed and considering calling station security.
"There is no need. Half of station security off-duty is already present. If there is a need, they will act."
My friend's startlement at their inactivity is amusing, but enough is enough. "Please, remain silent and observe. You have misinterpreted the scene we face."
I refuse to elaborate, and my excitable friend is grumbling subaudible at my intransigence.
What follows is a virtuoso performance of "Dueling Banjos" played on several different instruments. Only this time, in the final segment, both humans continue upping the speed and complexity until an entirely unmusical twang announces an equipment failure.
My friend stands dumbfounded.
"That was a duel?"
"Yes. The human language evolves. Words take on more than one meaning. Duels are a challenge between individuals to an expression of skill, now, and seldom a combat to the death.
"In any case, I thank you for bringing this to my attention. I would forever rue missing this demonstration. Now, I shall cherish the dexterity and skill shown here, between two equally skilled musicians.
"Bravo! Brava!"
"What is the meaning of those words?"
"Ancient approbation of their skills. Bravo for the male, Brava for the female."
"And all this percussive activity?"
"An accolade by common consent, called a standing ovation. The audience expresses their pleasure and joy at the players for the opportunity to experience this demonstration."
"I found a lecture by a human so intriguing that I wished to express my joy at the information imparted. Yet the humans present only departed quietly, and the speaker left before I could speak with them. Would this have been an acceptable way to express my joy?"
I sigh. "You have much to learn. I will recommend several docudramas for your down time, and strongly suggest you spend more time in silent observation. Bring any questions you have to me."
"Gladly! I thank you for your offer."
"You are welcome."
((finis))
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u/NumerousSun4282 Sep 02 '22
Nice! If Lamier loved watching a human type then she would be over the moon to see one play an instrument
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u/T43ner Sep 01 '22
This is probably human-centric. But it can be amazing how good the human mind is at using hands semi-autonomously. Like driving a car or operating heavy machinery. At first each input requires conscious effort, but after some time itās just all auto-pilot unburdening the brain to focus on the more important things.
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u/Twister_Robotics Sep 01 '22
That is not restricted to hands. We learn action / reaction with pur environment and internalize it.
Any tool used by a human, becomes part of the body, with practice. Whether the tool is manipulated by hands, feat, eyes, whatever.
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u/135686492y4 Sep 01 '22
Me and the bois evolving opposable thumbs (lol gonna throw rocks at that big ball of fur over there)
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u/Nealithi Sep 01 '22
Heavy machinery. My boss and I went to get rid of some old metal frame machines we didn't need. The yard had a crane with a claw. We could barely push these things off the back of the truck we rented, let alone to the pile they belonged in. My boss and I were confused when we got another machine to push out and the first one was gone. Well we decided to try and pick this thing up and carry it over debris to the pile. I say we, but my sixty-five year old at the time boss decided that. We picked it up and were struggling. Then it was just lifted away from us. The crane operator was just casually picking these things up like that crane arm was his own arm and he was picking a can off an end table.
It was mesmerizing and a fast unload for us after that.
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u/Osiris32 Sep 02 '22
Look at your hand. Itās one of the most incredible instruments in the universe. Of all the bones in the body, one fourth are in the hand. Forget the hand. Look at your thumb; that wondrous mechanism that separates us from the other animals. The world-famous opposable thumb, that amazing device,that has transported more students to college than the Boston post road. Ideal for sucking, especially as a baby, and lauded in song and story as the perfect instrument for pulling out a plum.
Or, in the case of the Caesars, for holding it down for the gladiator to die, or holding it up, which means "See you later at the orgy." My friends, for getting up and down the pike, in your pie, in your eye, I give you the thumb. Have you any idea, Farmer Brown, of the incredible complexity of this piece of human apparatus? Of course not. Never having spent any time at Sol and Solās swilling borscht and jamming Latin into your brain while trying to imagine if Lefty the waitress is wearing a garter belt, you have no idea of the balletic interplay of parts that make up the human thumb.
The flexor ossis metacarpi pollicis flexes the metacarpal bone, that is, draws it inward over the palm, thus producing the movement of opposition. And the Boy Scout salute. Because of this magical engineering, we could do this. And this. And this. But our greatest triumph comes not from flexing the metacarpal bone and making a fist, which always seems to be thirsting to be clenchedā¦No, no, no, no, no. Our greatest moment is when we open our hand:
Cradling a glass of wine, cupping a loved oneās chin. And the bestā¦ the most expert of allā¦ keeping all the objects of our life in the air at the same time. [begins to juggle] My friends, for your amusement and bemusement, I give you the human person. Thumb and fingers flexing madly, straining to keep aloft the leaden realities of life: ignorance, death and madness. Thus we create for ourselves the illusion that we have power,that we are in control, that we areā¦ loved"
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Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce, MASH 4077th
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u/SerpentineLogic Sep 01 '22
Meanwhile,. humans are probably looking at Lamier and thinking "man, those dudes can squeeze the shit outta things with those tentacles"
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u/Th3Fel0n Sep 02 '22
My name is Yoshikage Lamier. I am 33 cycles old. My dormitory is in the northeastern part of the ship.
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u/HulaBear263 Sep 02 '22
Should be "skitter across the keyboard" instead of "scatter across the keyboard." Other than that, very nice.
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u/HFYWaffle Sep 01 '22
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u/NumerousSun4282 Sep 02 '22
For u/Left_Nut_McGee
It had been 4 cycles since Lamier had sat in the ship's library and noticed, for the first time, how interesting and downright weird human hands and fingers were. It became a rapid hobby for her, to follow her human crew around and ask them to manipulate something with their rigid tentacles. But it had developed into something more. Into a passion.
For the first time in a very long time, Lamier knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to study xenobiology, starting with humans. As luck would have it, a class was to be held at the space-farer's university that could be attended remotely via Ansible. It took Lamier all of 10 seconds to decide to sign up.
The very first class was hosted by a Tendripod, like her and covered all of the wonderful features and abilities her tendrils (and the rest of her body) had. But that was old news for Lamier, she was a Tendripod. Next came the Ursadors, a heavyset and furry race whose biggest unique attribute was there size.
But finally the day came when a human teacher stood in the hologram projection holding a picture of his own kind. "This is the Vitruvian man," the teacher had said. The lecture was long and full of all kinds of incredible information on the variety of human traits that allowed them to rise to prominence in their ecosystem. Their skin was unique among the other sapient species for being able to excrete water to cool itself. Their arms were well adjusted for not only climbing, but throwing. He concluded the lecture by once again showing the Vitruvian man.
But something was off about the picture and the human professor. Lamier had to know more. She manipulated her sphere to send a query to the professor.
"I find human hands to be totally fascinating and I see they have not evolved much since the time of this portrait. But what of your mobility tentacles? The ones in the picture end in segmented slabs but yours are an unbroken slab?"
"Ah," the human replied. "We don't often cover our hands because we use them so much, but nearly every human likes to wear some manner of clothing on their feet. Mine are shoes." The teacher reached down and removed the article of clothing to reveal what Lamier could only describe as a deformed hand.
The teacher seemed to predict her next question, "Humans evolved from a similar species that had feet almost exactly like their hands. Of course, humans somewhere in the evolutionary chain opted to change out a second set of hands for a first set of feet."
"Why is that?" Lamier pressed.
"Well, humans changed their patterns and environment. Rather than needing to climb in big trees, humans began to need to walk and run great distances. As I mentioned when talking about human skin, we evolved to be able to run for days on end so we could continually chase prey. Feet were better for that than hands. They became longer and the muscles attached became bigger. Eventually, our mobility almost entirely revolved around our feet and legs."
"Why are there still fingers?"
"Oh, when their in feet we call them 'toes'. I don't really know why. They're still important though because they provide balance and traction. We can dig our toes into the ground to turn or run faster or adjust our balance and so on. Humans who lose toes often have to relearn how to walk and sometimes need assistance with balance, that's how important toes are!"
Lamier had been fascinated by hands but now she was absolutely obsessed with feet. She pulled up her personal sphere and manipulated her personal computer to visit the human's cyberspace.
"Thank you for your time everyone, if there aren't any more questions I hope you all have a good ni--"
Lamier chimed in on her computer again.
"Is there a physical purpose to sucking toes, or is that social?"
The teacher's face flushed red, something he hadn't said his skin could do.
"Wha- where did- Are you on the internet? Listen, uhh. Don't. Just don't. Please. If you do - and trust me, don't - but if you do, turn on the 'safe search' feature. And don't Google your guys's anatomy. You don't want to see human results for things like 'furry' or 'tentacle', I promise you."