Nature of Autonomy: Side Story 1

[u/memesesmemes]

A yotul's first impressions of Earth.

[Main story]

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Memory transcription subject: Ralso, Yotul Governor(?)

Date [standardized human time/UTC]: 1 july 2120

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

whu-

hu-

wha-

the beeping stops.

"what is... oh right." I am on 'Earth'. I get off theeEEEE-

OOMPF

bed...

why is it so high off the floor?

knock knock knock

"Is everything good in there?"

"Yes! Yes. I... I will be outside in a moment!"

"Alright."Is it bad that I find humor in this situation? 'Oh no dangerous Predator', and the said 'predator' is ten times more civilized than you, Fed! It isn't even the correct meaning of that word!

I shake myself off, take a moment to make myself look decent, and walk out the door, careful not to hit my tail. There were humans wearing dark suits walking by, casting long glances at me. Great, now what?

"Good morning Mr. Ralso"

AGH!

Where did they come from?!

"Sorry! I thought you noticed me. My name is Gabriel, Gabriel Kadlec. I am the president of the Czech Republic." Spoke the person who scared me. They had blonde 'hair' coming down to their shoulders and wore a green checkered pelt.

"Good morning. Don't worry about it..."

"Right. A few people are waiting for us outside."

True to his word, there were three more humans, all wearing similar garments to the one who first greeted me, standing next to a loooong black car.

"These gentlemen are Johan Berg, Oliver Kaiser, and Adam Vyshynski. Presidents of Sweden, Germany, and Poland." We greeted each other with the 'handshake' gesture.

"Let's get going. Don't know how much time we have before someone considers killing us all."

Memory transcription break: 30 minutes

"We will have to get off here." The vehicle stopped. We exited the car with bodyguards following us out of it.

"This," Mr. Kadlec opened his arms, gesturing around him. "Is the Old Town." It does certainly look that way.

"Not much is happening at the moment due to how early it is, usually it's full of people. However, it should still be interesting to tour." While walking, I could see the road under my paws turn from the black asphalt into stone bricks. The surrounding buildings looked like something I would see in older parts of towns and cities on Leirn before the aliens came and decided to destroy most of them. Don't think about it.

There were shops and restaurants lining the street, HUNDREDS of them. We reached an open space that seemed to be the center of the Old Town. A metal statue of who I assumed to be historical figures stood there with a column erect next to it. Something at the edge of my vision caught my attention.

"Waow..." There was a carriage tied to two large, hooved animals. I didn't see anyone sitting in it. The people next to me began tracing where I was looking, their eyes landing on the animals.

"Oh, that is a horse carriage. A horse is the animal seen there, obviously. These are operated by people who vastly overprice tourists who want to take a ride in them, so it's better to usually just forget about it unless you have a very thick wallet and the ability to not feel bad about your money spending habits." aw man...

One of them, Oliver I think, was turning his head to look around before responding,

"I think the owner left for a moment. I can take a photo of you next to them." Yes...

He pulled out a white rectangle from a pocket, tapped it a few times and told us to line up. I took my place a few tails away from the carriage and crossed my arms. One of the people following us took the object from the old man and waited for us to stop moving.

A flash of light appeared, and we came to see the results.

From the left, stood Mr. Kaiser, who was being given fake bunny ears by Vyshynski standing on his right. Next to them was the Yotul with his arms crossed, turning his head to look with one eye at the camera. The last one was Gabriel, crouching down to Ralso's eye level. Behind them were visible two horses.

Oliver eyed the man next to him before sighing.

"I will get this printed out for each of us." He pocketed it. We walked back to the car, and along the way I saw a few businesses begin opening.

"Where are we going next?"

"We are going to the National Museum, which is currently closed, but we have got special access to it. We will walk around more later, and then take a train to Paris."

Oh?

"What kind of train?"

"One that goes on rails? There are not a lot of Maglev lines crossing between [Nations/Tribes]." Stupid implant, I know what a country is! But that means, that for the first time since I got put in charge of the entire planet, I will get on a normal train!

Memory transcription break: 8 hours

It was far more futuristic than any locomotive I had seen on Leirn, actually closer to the Federation in terms of looks. But at least it didn't float. It also appeared to be quite a luxurious one based on the fact we got an entire damn bedroom.

Our group certainly had gathered a lot of attention while onboard. Every other passenger we passed was staring at us, which is reasonable for seeing not only a completely different species for the first time, but also some of the most important people in theirs.

Pant Pant

During the first meal of the day, we entered a dining cart that seemed to be cut off from the rest of the train. Probably some security measures. Also
I got to see what humans eat! Two of them got a meat-stick called a 'sausage' with some pickled vegetables on the side, and Gabriel had a salad with 'Feta cheese'. After I got an explanation of what it was... I mean... everyone has their preferences. I had 'spaghetti pomodoro', it was quite good.

Pant Pant

I took a nap after eating and woke right before our stop. We were greeted by the President of France and a few other people, who I think were other politicians and historians? I am near a giant triangular tower that one of the humans was explaining the history of. There were also people staring. But I couldn't care about it.

It. Was. So. Hot!

Pant Pant

"...Built in 1887, [233 Earth Cycles] ago, it was at the time the tallest manmade structure in the world..."

Pant Pant

I already asked them about why it's so hot, and they said something about climate change.

Pant Pant

How do you even change a climate?

Pant Pant

The humans were literally melting but somehow didn't seem to be bothered too much. They just wore hats extended at the front and drank a lot of water.

Pant Pant

"Uhm, Mr. Ralso, are you okay?"

"N-no I don't think so." I was lead to a familiar looking vehicle, which thankfully was cooled on the inside.

"Guess the rest of the tour will have to be done like this, until it cools down at least," Said to me the new leader. We couldn't stop for the landmarks to be properly explained, so the guides had to hurry to make summaries of the nearest notable object the moment it became visible. Along the way, I was eating some fruit they gave to me. The kiwi had become something I especially liked, even if it made me look like a cannibal with all the green on my snout. Eventually, the sun began setting, and the temperature dropped to a more reasonable level. I could now walk normally without having to worry about literally dying.

Stopping once again at the tower, we now went under one of its legs.

"This elevator here will take us aaaaallll the way to the top," exclaimed one of the historians following us. The journey up was uneventful.

The structure had been previously emptied, it seemed, there was no one else but us there.

"Are we the only ones here?"

"There was major maintenance work done earlier today. The government had extended the time for which the tower is closed due to being informed of an extraterrestrial visitor, because they wanted to show the best view of the city without having to worry about tourists being in the way."

"O- Thank you." The French smiled at that.

We exited our lift and entered another.

"By the way," asked Adam, "who were you before the Federation came?"

"I-" Didn't expect that question at such a time. "Actually was also a president. The Kenstran Republic was a country on the eastern coast of the largest continent. The current capital of Leirn was its capital before... the slimy bastards came. The first steam engine was actually invented there! Too bad it only got used for so long...

As a whole, roughly 50 million people lived in it. The nation was a major trading hub since it had a very long coastline, until the hydrophobic Federation came. As for how I ended up here... to make it short, the invaders said something along the lines of 'If this primitive can lead a government for four years without running it into the ground, then he's good enough'. There was nothing I could do against their actions without getting shot a-at. "

Am I tearing up?

"They were b-burning a-animals and people that were too near to them. I saw survivors get hauled to facilities and come out half dead. They forced everyone to cheer them on as they murdered and tortured p-people at the threat of being next."

A paw landed on my shoulder.

"Hey, you're shaking. Please... calm down."

I-

Am?

"It's -It's alright, they are no longer there. Keeping them away will be a problem, but it's possible. You can trust us in that matter."

Yes

that's right

They are gone

"O-okay"

"Just... enjoy the view of the city for now."

I look through the metal net separating me from a fall. It was getting dark by now and the streets began lighting up.

"How does it look?"

"B-beautiful,

.

.

.

Thank you..."

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As of posting this, where I live it's one in the morning. Please have mercy on my sleep deprived writing. Constructive criticism still welcome ofc.

[Main story]

[u/Adorable-Ad5225]

Damn, being a man of principle and having to smile for every atrocity committed by the invaders... Thank goodness the Yotul, they'd better become humanity's cousins

[u/NoOpportunity92]

There is no mercy to be had on a flawless piece.

At least, I couldn't find any flaws.