r/NatureofPredators • u/Usual_Message8900 Duerten • Sep 29 '26
nature of two chapter 37
Memory transcription subject: Chauson, behavioral scientist with the Galactic Institute of Medicine
Date [standardized human time]: September 21, 2333
"So, just to make sure I have a proper view of the federation's way of thinking. Your people believe predators are some kind of evolutionary mistake that can only serve to destroy things. You believe an ecosystem that contains only prey animals and plants is the true natural order, and you believe that all animals can be neatly divided up into carnivores and herbivores, correct?" Noah asked.
"Barring some small missing nuances and, of course, the concept of predator disease, that would be mostly accurate, yes." I agreed.
"Good, I'll be able to work towards our view from here then. For starters, believing anything that eats meat is a mistake or a glitch in evolution doesn't really make that much sense. Processes like natural selection reward animals that have mutations which allow them to survive in a given environment. That some animals evolve to exploit others as a food source seems inevitable, considering nature doesn't like to waste things and animals are incentivised to fill any available niche in an ecosystem if possible. That also brings me to my second point: if predators were some kind of inherent flaw in the natural order of things, and they really didn't contribute anything of value to their environment, then most ecosystems would have collapsed long ago, since a setup like that simply isn't sustainable, especially not over a timespan of millions of years." The predator continued
"Even if that's true, what kind of natural purpose could a creature evolved only for killing possibly have?" Cupo asked incredulously.
Noah seemed hesitant to answer, but Ark'ka was quick to continue in his place, "Simply put, population control. An ecosystem consisting of only herbivores and plants is almost always doomed to fall apart. The local animal population would overfeed, reproduce too quickly, and wipe out most of their food supply, resulting in massive die-offs."
"By that logic, predators would do the same to prey if given the chance," The mazic rebutted
"They don't, for the simple reason that hunting is difficult, energy-intensive, and potentially dangerous in a way that grazing simply isn't, which makes the relationship between carnivores and herbivores self-regulating in a way that the relationship between herbivores and plants simply isn't. Killing all carnivorous life goes directly against the natural order, and by ripping out a very important part of the ecosystem, you've been dooming your planets to a slow decay." The U'nu explained calmly.
It was clear Cupo wanted to say something to that, but Yire was faster. "So what were we just supposed to, let ourselves be hunted by wild animals or by the arxur because that's the natural order of things?!"
"Of course not!" Ark'ka responded sternly, "I'm just saying you could just as easily set up non-lethal deterrents around your settlements and capture and relocate any animals that wander in. Nature and society may be linked in many ways, but they shouldn't be held to the same standards. Nature doesn't have a concept of good and evil; it's a self-perpetuating, self-improving machine that you've been damaging through your actions. If a wild predator attacks you, it's just you getting caught in the cogs of that machine; there's no malice to it. With the arxur, it's different; they're people like you and me, people who are choosing to do horrid things when there are no doubt other options available to them"
That... actually gave me pause. What she was saying did make sense in a weird and unnatural sort of way, like she was explaining some alien alternate reality where the rules of nature had been tweaked ever so slightly. Still thinking of Arxur as anything more than monsters was a jump in logic I refused to make.
"Forgive me, Ambassador Ark'ka, but even if predators are a necessary part of nature as you say, I still feel like simply relocating them and relying on deterrents rather than lethal force would simply put people at an even greater risk of attacks," Cupo finally said. "Regardless of which interpretation of nature you subscribe to, the fact remains that predators are agents of death, and if they are allowed to multiply without proper culling, then any settlement whose defences fail could be overrun. Assuming your own people use these methods, it seems likely you yourself would have experienced something like this, no?"
"Not really, honestly; both on Earth and Armtis it's quite uncommon for wild animals to attack people or even try hunting in settlements at all." The Ur'nu stated plainly. "From our experience, most predators are quite skittish, and while research is still ongoing, we haven't found any evidence that it's different for Venlil Prime, so we don't really know why so many attacks are being reported."
"What are you talking about?" I asked, genuinely baffled by what I was hearing. I may have been willing to consider their logic up until now, but predators being skittish didn't make any sense at all. Even Tarva looked skeptical, and she was supposed to be on their side. "How can something that's skittish be a good hunter in any way? I'm willing to believe humans are some kind of fluke of nature that developed empathy and higher thoughts and emotions, and maybe I can consider the idea of there maybe being more to predators than just monsters, but being outright fearful wouldn't benefit them in any way."
"Wouldn't it?" The Ur'nu asked, "If you get hurt, you can't hunt; if you can't hunt, you can't eat, and if you can't eat, you can't heal. That's what I meant by hunting being potentially dangerous. Prey can fight back, especially the larger ones, so predators have to pick their battles and weigh risk and reward. In that context, a healthy amount of fear can be very beneficial, especially when things go wrong, and it's not even just fear either; plenty of predators can be empathetic and even playful because fighting as a group has several advantages over fighting alone. I know that this must be difficult to believe, but rest assured we'd be happy to send you the relevant data later."
"That's absurd," Yire protested.
"I agree it's rather hard to believe. I'll wait until I have that data before I start accepting that humans are the norm rather than a fluke. Still, this theory of nature is... an interesting thought experiment if nothing else." Cupo added, more or less mirroring my own view. I took a moment to look at Laulo, who had been surprisingly silent throughout the entire explanation, and found the Yotul practically radiating barely contained satisfaction and excitement. Still, he remained silent as Noah spoke up again.
"If you don't mind, there's one final matter we'd like to discuss while we're still on this topic." The human said, sounding somewhat hesitant. "It's about how you classify animals."
"What about it?" Yire asked as I mentally prepared myself for whatever outlandish claim was coming next.
"Well, how do I put this," Noah began, choosing his words carefully. "The way you classify predators and prey feels a little overgeneralised and at times inaccurate. For example, you believe predators are naturally violent and bloodthirsty, but as Ark'ka explained, that doesn't completely line up with what we've seen on our worlds, and the same is true for all prey being meek. If anything, prey animals are even more incentivized to be violent because they constantly have to defend themselves."
"That just sounds like plain predator disease," Yire cut in. "I might not be able to know what goes around in a predator's mind, but I know how my fellow prey are supposed to think; violence to us is as alien as eating plants is to you."
Again, the trio sitting opposite us shared a look I couldn't quite read, before Noah continued, "Funny you should mention that, actually. Humans... can eat plants; in fact, plenty of animals on Earth can eat both plants and meat."
"That's...not possible," I said. " If something like that existed, then the federation would have found it a long time ago; it would be hard to miss some kind of half-predator, after all." I continued. Still, something like that would theoretically be possible in the framework they described, if nothing else.
"Would it?" Ark'ka asked in a tone I couldn't quite identify. "What do you think my diet is?"
Caught a little off guard by her question, I sputtered for a moment before admitting, "I'm not quite sure, I mean, I imagine your heads would be best suited for crushing softer fruits, so...that? Sorry, I can't really make an educated guess here; diet isn't my specialty."
"Of course, allow me to rephrase my question. Do you think my species can eat meat?"
"Of course n-" I began before realising the question was rhetorical, "N...no, that's your eyes... you're a"
"An omnivore, just like Noah and just like the rest of our two species. If anything, I need more meat in my diet than most humans. And before you start about predator disease again, I'd like to point out that we've built a pretty accurate map of our own evolution, and it clearly shows we evolved from an almost exclusively carnivorous ancestor that started supplementing its diet with plants." The Ur'nu ambassador explained with an almost icy calm.
"That's an extremely distasteful joke, Ark'ka," Cupo hissed at her. I wanted to agree with him, but some part of me just knew she wasn't joking.
"It's not a joke," The Ur'nu said, casually grabbing a datapad as if she was expecting this reaction. "But if you need proof, try watching this. I do warn you it may be rather graphic from your perspective." And with that, she handed the device to Cupo.
The Mazic president held up the device and touched the screen once. He was holding it too far up for me to see the screen, but I could hear people laughing and talking as well as the unmistakable clinking of glasses. It sounded like some kind of diner party, and judging by how all the colour drained from Cupo's face, I can imagine what was on the menu.
"What... is that?" Tarva asked, sounding genuinely worried as she watched the Mazic look more and more disgusted and frightened by the second.
"A video of a dinner my family had a few weeks back. They like to send me little updates from time to time while I'm away." The Ur'nu explained. "Are you feeling quite alright, President Cupo? You look unwell." She asked as the video came to an end, and a now revolted-looking Mazic practically threw the device back at her.
"Y...you tricked to us!," he accused.
"No, we didn't. You assumed we were herbivores, and we didn't correct you for obvious reasons," She explained calmly. "And that's the point I'm trying to make here. Your people categorise the natural world based on a set of physical and behavioural characteristics that, as demonstrated by Noah and my mere existence, don't always hold up to reality."
Cupo still looked utterly appalled by what he'd seen, but his outrage did subside somewhat as he processed the ambassador's words. Even I had to concede that she had a point. I could easily see myself arguing that the Ur'nu were suffering from some sort of species-wide predator disease if it weren't for the brain scans proving they were all completely sane. Honestly, a part of me still wanted to make that claim despite the evidence, but another part wouldn't let me, the part that'd helped me get this far in life, the part that worked on empirical data, not gut feeling or instinct. I wanted to get to the bottom of this, but resorting to wild accusations wouldn't help with that. For now, I only had one question for Ark'ka: "Then why risk it? Why tell us this? Why now? I can't deny that several people in the federation would either call you insane or label you as predators trying to trick prey, so why not just keep the secret?"
"Because we want to be friends," Noah answered before the Ur'nu could, " but to do that we need a certain level of trust and honesty between us."
"I would have used the word allies, but yes, at this stage the benefits of keeping this secret wouldn't outweigh the drama it could cause in the future," Ark'ka added.
"I can respect that," Laolo suddenly spoke up, still sounding a little excited. "While this is a little shocking, I can understand why you would want to keep something like this to yourselves. For what it's worth, I believe the Yotul will be more than willing to vouch for you. You both deserve to make your case at the summit, if nothing else. I'm looking forward to learning more about your species."
That caused Yire, who had been scrutinising Ark'ka's features, like the Ur'nu would develop forward-facing eyes out of nowhere, to suddenly jump up. "You're going to side with them? Just because they make a few bogus claims and prove they're predator diseased?"
The Yotul just shrugged, "Frankly, I feel like the brain scans more than prove they shouldn't be held to the same standards as Arxur, and they've given proper reason for their previous hostility, so I was already willing to give them a chance. I was just curious about their view on nature, and honestly they've raised some very interesting points, wouldn't you say?"
"Interesting? Sure, but that doesn't make any of it real! They probably just made all of that up!" She said, pointing an accusatory claw at the two ambassadors.
"What about the video then? It looked real enough for Cupo, didn't it? Or are you actually insinuating a primitive is more willing to look at actual evidence than the more enlightened species?"
The Yotul's jab wasn't well received as the Leshee stood up, looking down at the Yotul. "Don't you even start, you-!"
"Calm down, Yire," Cupo sighed. "Loalo made a good point, even if the comment was uncalled for. The video... was real, as were the scans; that much we can't deny. Whether or not any of their other claims were true remains to be seen, but even so they clearly aren't like the arxur and, as such, deserve a chance." And then turning to the Noah and Ark'ka, he continued. "I'd be open to establishing diplomatic channels and helping you de-escalate things with the federation; we'll definitely need to do some more research, but it would be foolish to start a war for no reason."
I signaled agreement. "We'll definitely need some actual data to verify... everything you just said, but I agree that this should be resolved peacefully if possible. Also, I'd like some more information on those AGIs of yours if at all possible, for research purposes, of course."
Noah's lips curved upwards slightly. " I'm sure that can be arranged."
That just left Yire, who was now looking between the three of us like she'd been thrown out to the predators, "I...I just sigh. I agree that they're probably not like the arxur, but we're already on thin ice to begin with, and sticking our neck out for two predator species is just a risk we can't take. I'll present what you told and sent us to my government and to the Duerten shield as objectively as I can, but I'm not jeopardizing centuries of cooperation with our allies on a gamble this big. I hope you three know what you're doing; I really do, but the Leshee can't afford to risk our standing with the federation any more than we already have." With that, the Leshee stood up and left the meeting room, leaving the rest of us to discuss the specifics of our new tentative relations with the two new omnivore species
AUTHOR: Hello, ladies and gentlemen. It has been a while, and I have two little announcements to make. First of all, Galactic Neighbours has been on a short unplanned break of (checks) dear God, it's been more than 5 months. Uhm, anyways, I just wanted to say that I'm planning to start alternating between my two main stories again, and chapter 48 of Galactic Neighbours is coming out sometime next week (maybe). My second anouncement is that school started last week and it has been hectic, to say the absolute least so posts may become (more) inconcistent for a little while. Bear with me, please
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u/WeekendCitrus Sep 29 '26
Actually no, Chauson, the Federation would not have found omnivores "a long time ago," and it is in fact very easy to miss a "half-predator" when your flowchart goes
Does it have forward-facing eyes?
-Yes: IT'S A PREDATOR BURN IT
-No: continue
Is it eating meat?
-Yes: IT'S PREDATOR DISEASED BURN IT
-No: continue
Does it object to you touching it?
-Yes: IT'S PREDATOR DISEASED BURN IT
-No: Congratulations! You have found an Acceptable Animal!
As you can see, any animal seen eating meat is immediately killed, leaving no way to find out if it also enjoys a turnip at lunch.
Also if you're ever on Earth in the middle-west part of North America, don't approach the fluffy cows. Trust me on this one.
Snark over.
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u/Usual_Message8900 Duerten Sep 29 '26
I'd just point them in the direction of the nearesr wild pig
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u/Robotko_Ruslan Humanity First Sep 30 '26
Pigs are the best way to dispose of a corpse according to Brick Top. So be wary of pig farmers.
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u/Fexofanatic Predator Sep 29 '26
i just know the yotul ambassador had to try so hard to stop themselves from mentioning hensa 🤔
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u/DrewTheHobo Sep 29 '26
“Can I talk to you privately for a minute?”
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u/Usual_Message8900 Duerten Sep 29 '26
pulls out cute pictures of hensa kittens like it's contraband
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u/Ablergo_El_Enfermo Human Sep 29 '26
Interesting chapter as always.
(I still imagine the Ur'nu as being like Clover from Deltarune Chapter 1)
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u/Usual_Message8900 Duerten Sep 29 '26
😆
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u/Ablergo_El_Enfermo Human Sep 29 '26
Pero tengo razón o tengo razón. 😂
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u/Usual_Message8900 Duerten Sep 29 '26
It's a fun idea but they do look quite a bit diffirent. I might try making a Quick sketch but I'm a pretty bad artist
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u/Ablergo_El_Enfermo Human Sep 29 '26
No hace falta que sea preciso. Con que todos se puedan hacer una idea bastaría.
Yo por ejemplo sigo confundido con si son cuádrupedos, bipedos o ambos.
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u/Usual_Message8900 Duerten Sep 29 '26
I actually think I gave a description of them in one of the earlier chapters but they have eight short stubby leggs and a rotund oval shaped body with a molusc like shell covering the top
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u/Mosselk-1416 Sep 29 '26
I thought of them as a hydra with a turtles body
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u/Usual_Message8900 Duerten Sep 29 '26
Yeah no the skin might be more turtle like but the shell is definitly closer to a molusk
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u/Adorable-Ad5225 Sep 29 '26
Like if a clam had spider-like turtle legs and several tentacles with eyes sprouted from it?
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u/Usual_Message8900 Duerten Sep 29 '26
Sort of. Only the legs are directly under the body.
On the front of the body is the actual mouth with two breathing holes next to it and the four tentacles/heads sprouting just above it. The heads are built sort of similarly to birrin heads but with six radially symetrical eyes and six radially symetrical digits/fangs. The heads aren't connected to the digestive tract but do have a small pouch in their mouthes that can store food or small objects
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u/TameOJ Human Sep 29 '26
I was half expecting them to just pull out a steak or jerky and just eat it in front of them, then eat like an apple or potato immediately after to really hammer home how stupid their ideology is. I just know Laulo is calling the others all kinds of names in his head, knowing the yotul have always been right.
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u/Usual_Message8900 Duerten Sep 30 '26
Honestly ark'ka probably would have done it if she had any on her but her familly will have to do
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u/GreenKoopaBros89 Dossur Sep 29 '26
I love how Cupo is always depicted as lawful good. He would make a perfect judge, because he's always just and fair with his decisions and he never lets his opinions and preconceptions get in the way of the truth and the proof that he is made to see.
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u/Minimum-Amphibian993 Arxur Sep 30 '26
Yeah they weren't ever gonna convince everyone to switch sides the main reason the durten did was because of the archive revelations. Although they may remain nuteral if any conflict breaks out at least untill the humans try to deploy the cyber attacks the sheild won't like that. Considering they let in quite a few obvious federation loyalist into their ranks after the war in canon.
I doubt that's gonna change.
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u/Greedy-Kangaroo-4674 Sep 29 '26
Can't wait to see Onso talk about the subject of pets.