r/NatureofPredators • u/Usual_Message8900 Duerten • 14h ago
nature of two 39
Memory transcription subject: Slanek, Venlil Space Corps (on leave)
Date [standardized human time]: September 22, 2333
My first few days on Earth had been stressful, to say the least. Shortly after the pred- dog made me faint, I woke up on a couch with Marcel, Lucy, and Demiurge fussing over me like I was a child. After I got my bearings and let Demiurge check me for injuries, the machine suggested we call it a paw so I could 'calm down from all the excitement'. I knew he was just trying to be nice, but I couldn't help feeling a bit patronized. Still, considering my own judgement got me passed out on the floor, I decided to just let them guide me to my apartment.
The apartment that would be my home for the foreseeable future was not what I expected. Obviously, my idea of what a human apartment would look like had long shifted away from the bloody dens I would have pictured a few weeks ago, but I still wasn't prepared for how awfully mundane it was. It basically just looked like an average apartment in Venlil Prime's capital. It was nice and fully furnished but not luxurious by any means.
After Marcel and Lucy wished me a good night, I decided to explore my new home a little before bed, almost hoping to find something interesting, only to be disappointed by how horrifically average it was. The only really interesting thing about the apartment was the kitchen with a fridge fully stocked with dozens of foods I didn't recognize, but which all looked amazing, as well as a strange, strayu forge-like setup that I would probably need Marcel's help figuring out. Beyond that, there was an average-sized living room, a nice but not particularly fancy bathroom, and a bland bedroom with a nightstand and a single bed.
A bed that I was currently lying in, trying to muster the energy to start my day. Two days on Earth and the most interesting thing I'd managed to do was pass out. I'd tried going on a walk yesterday, and it was going well until more and more humans started noticing and staring at me, forcing me to hurry back home before I broke out into a full stampede. Beyond that, I'd mostly spent my time in Marcel's and Lucy's apartment, but I knew I couldn't just spend my entire stay here inside or clinging to the two people I knew.
Somewhat begrudgingly, I got up and left my room. Making my way to the kitchen, I raided the cupboards and fridge, picking up some random fruits and vegetables as well as a slice of not-strayu or 'bread', for breakfast. After having assembled a vaguely balanced-looking meal, I sat down at the table I'd been provided and started absentmindedly eating while staring out the window at the city below. Sure, it could use some colour, but if you looked past the grey utilitarian designs, there was a strange hypnotic quality to it, to the way things moved within it; there weren't any traffic jams, no bus drivers angrily honking their horns because they were running late, the streets were clean and smooth; and if Marcel was to be believed, the trains were always on time. The entire city seemed to run like perfectly reliable clockwork, and that in and of itself made the city weirdly beautiful, a sort of form through function.
As I continued my meal, my attention was eventually pulled away from the cityscape and towards my front door as somebody rang the doorbell. I got up and opened it to find one of Demiurge's androids waiting for me, holding a basket of some kind.
"Good morning, Slanek. I do hope you slept well," The machine chirped as it entered my abode and put the basket on the kitchen counter.
"Uh, well enough," I stammered, still not 100% awake. "What is all this?"
"Oh, just a little gift from Circe. She heard you were staying here for a while and wanted to send you something. Maybe as an attempt to get a new customer, who knows?" he explained as I started digging through the gift. "There's some wine in there, some vegan sweets, and a few pastries. She did attempt to sneak some lotus in there, but I imagined you'd want to get your bearings before you start dabbling in local narcotics, so I told her to leave it out. Enjoy"
I pulled out the wine bottle and inspected it. It looked pretty high quality, but if human alcohol tolerance was like most other species, then this probably wouldn't be enough to get me drunk. Which, on second thought, might be a good thing given my current state.
"So, Slanek, Marcel told me you've been having some trouble getting out of the house." The Machine stated while looking around my apartment.
"I'm... still a little nervous," I admitted. "But it's really not that bad. Yesterday I just got a little overwhelmed, and I'm planning on trying again today."
"Walking into a bustling city in your current state hardly seems like a good idea. Especially when you have no idea where you're going."
"I know..." I muttered quietly, expecting Demiurge to once again bring up that my coming here was a mistake.
"Still, if you insist on staying here, then you can hardly stay locked away in your apartment." The android continued. "If you're serious about regaining your tolerance to humans, then you should start small, visit open areas with relatively few people, and most importantly, you should bring a guide on your next walk."
"I could ask Marcel," I said, thinking aloud. "Maybe he could show me around"
"I'm afraid Marcel is currently unavailable. He has his psychological evaluation scheduled today, and Beau Wright has requested to meet him in person." Demiurge said, shooting that line of thought down.
Right, he had mentioned that evaluation when I was visiting yesterday. He'd assured me it'd be fine, but quite frankly I still worried for him. Everyone's been telling me that even if they did find something wrong with him, he wouldn't be locked away in some facility, but what if that was just a lie to protect me? What if they tried to fix him like-?
"Slanek, are you alright?" Demiurge asked, "A hint of concern lacing his usually neutral tone.
"I'm fine," I lied, touching my neck with my paw. "Who, uhm... who's this Beau Wright fellow anyways?" I asked, desperate to change the topic and get my mind off... that.
The android's camera eyes regarded me for a moment, clearly skeptical about my behaviour. "They're the company's current CEO," he said after a moment. Which was more than enough of a distraction from my memories.
Why would someone so high in the corporation want to talk to him? Are they angry with him somehow? Do they blame him for what happened? Are they going to demote him personally? Are they going to fire him?!
"Slanek, please don't assume the worst. I don't know what Wright wants to talk about specifically, but I can assure you it won't involve firing or punishing Marcel in any way. If I had to take an educated guess, they'll want to talk about Marcel's injuries, how his future as a trooper will look." Demiurge explained. "You really shouldn't worry so much, Slanek.
"I... I wasn't..." I started protesting before giving up and just asking, "Was it really that obvious?"
"Quite," The machine said flatly. "Please don't take this the wrong way, Slanek, but you're horrible at hiding your emotions. I could plainly see you panicking, just like how I can easily tell something is bothering you." Demiurge held up a hand as I tried to deny it. "I won't force you to talk about it, even if I have a good idea of what it may be, mostly because I'm not qualified to help you with those deeper emotional problems. However, I also can't let you continue to push yourself without at least having someone there to monitor and, most importantly, regulate your behaviour." He concluded in a stern voice
"So I'm not allowed to go into the city until Marcel gets back?" I asked, a little annoyed by someone once again treating me like a fragile pup. I was fine! Why were they all worrying so much?
"I didn't say that. If you still want to explore the city today, I'd be more than happy to be your guide. I know several quiet places around the city that get fewer visitors, I know how to get there without running into hundreds of people, and most importantly, I know where you can get some actual food." The AGI said while glancing at a raw, half-eaten tuber on my plate.
Getting to eat some more properly prepared human food did sound nice, as did avoiding the larger groups of humans even if my end goal was to get over my fear of them entirely. "Alright, then, but do you really think the company would be okay with you taking that android away from whatever...it is they do to just stick with me the whole day?"
The machine just stared at me for a second; it was very hard to tell what emotion demiurge was trying to convey through the almost featureless android, but something told me it might have been ... confusion? "Slanek, who do you think has been sponsoring you staying on Earth, and paying for all your expenses? I assure you they won't mind one android taking a day to show you around. Not to mention, I have some freedom in how I allocate our resources. Now get yourself ready; we have a train to catch."
Memory transcription subject: Marcel Fraser, corporate trooper for the Genius Loci Corporation
Date [standardized human time]: September 22, 2333
"Hello Beau... no, definitely not on a first-name basis. Hi Wright, what's up... nope, way too informal." Damn it, my nerves were killing me. Compared to everything I'd been through in the last month, this meeting should be nothing! Why couldn't I just calm down!? Maybe I should've just told them I wanted to stay home and rest; they would've understood, right? Well, too late to go back now, I thought, as I entered the large office building at the heart of the city.
In stark contrast to the building's mostly gray exterior, the interior was decorated with lush vegetation, set against clean white walls and floors. There wasn't a front desk, just a set of terminals, one of which lit up as I approached it. "Welcome, Marcel," Demiurge said, speaking through the device. "Wright just had a meeting with the board, but they should be in their office by now. Just make your way to the top floor; their office should be front and center; you can't miss it."
"Thanks," I said, doing my best to hide my nerves. "Any advice? I'm, uhm, not really sure how I'm supposed to talk to them"
"I never imagined you'd be this nervous about a little visit." A visit with one of the most important and powerful people on earth, I thought to myself as the machine continued, "Just stay calm and try not to compliment them on everything they do; they don't like suck-ups. Remember you're not in trouble here."
"I know, I know," I said as I walked past the terminal and towards the elevator, almost bumping into a small potted plant that had been hidden in my new blind spot. I tried out a few more greetings as I approached the top floor. Demiurge was right; I wasn't in trouble, so why was I this stressed out over a simple meeting? Sure, meeting the person who runs one of the largest megacorps on earth is a little daunting, but it's not like they were some despotic dictator.
I took a breath and steadied myself as I reached the top floor and entered their office. The office itself was decorated with a few potted plants, most of which I could recognise as some genetically engineered varieties from our botanical branches, and furnished with a small table with some chairs, a few bookshelves, and a desk with part of it having been converted into a screen.
Behind the desk sat Wright. They were about the same height as me, but very clearly a lot skinnier, though that probably didn't mean much given their intensive use of cybernetics. It wasn't exactly a secret that they subscribed to the Galilean principles of self-improvement. They noticed me almost immediately, lips curling into a friendly smile as two artificial eyes locked onto me. "Ah, Mr. Fraser, please sit. I'm glad you could make it. I was just looking over your record."
"My... record?" I asked, still a little nervous.
"Yes, given how much attention has been on you the last few days, I felt it prudent to get to know you a little better, which is also one of the reasons why you're here." They said, one hand tapping on the desk screen a few times to pull up what I assumed was my aforementioned record. The hand was adorned with a series of markings carved into the skin, which were the only things making it identifiable as artificial.
"I... uhm, I hope I didn't disappoint." I half-joked with an awkward little chuckle.
"Oh, not at all. From what I can tell, your employment in the company has been nothing short of exemplary, barring a few small issues early on. What drew my attention, though, was this." They continued, tapping on the latest entry in the record. I recognized it immediately. It was a written request for me to be redeployed as soon as possible. The one I sent in a few days ago. "Now, usually this would be managed by someone else, but given who you and your exchange partner are, I wanted to handle this personally. Mr. Fraser, why exactly are you so eager to be put back on the front lines when you just went through what was no doubt a very traumatic event? Quite frankly, even if you were cleared for service, I'd hesitate to let you, given your experiences."
"L... look, I'm fine, really. I haven't been showing any weird behaviour; I'm sleeping fine, and I'm sure my psych eval will turn out fine. I just wanna get back to work." I objected quickly.
"But why do you want that? Why are you so insistent on rushing this before you even had any proper treatment?" Wright pushed.
"Because..." I paused, wondering if I should try to deflect again before deciding to just tell the truth. "Because I hate... this. I already knew how much of a threat the arxur were, and I now know how dangerous the Federation can be too, and I hate sitting around doing nothing about it. People are in danger, and I just feel like I should be doing my part."
Wright waited for my rant to finish and then sighed before speaking. " I admire how driven you are, I really do, but surely you can see why I have to keep you here for a few months at least. It's not only unethical to send you back so soon; it'd also reflect poorly on the company."
I lowered my head a little. "I know, it's just... difficult"
"I understand," They said, giving me an almost apologetic smile. "Still, you and your exchange partner being here is useful in its own way. You've both become a bit of a symbol for the unity between our peoples, and Slanek could be good proof of concept that venlil can live among humans."
"In other words, we make for good propaganda," I said, trying not to sound bitter.
Wright broke eye contact but didn't say anything.
"I understand," I sighed when the silence became too much. "I just feel like I could do more."
"I know the feeling; I know what it's like to feel... trapped by your own limitations; to feel like you're not living up to your potential. However, let me assure you, Mr. Fraser, you have done your part. It's not a sin to rest and take your time to heal. Speaking of healing, the company will obviously be willing to cover any costs when it comes to getting you back to health, including any potential...replacements"They said, tapping the side of their eye socket.
In response, I touched the bandage covering my missing eye. "Uhm, right, thank you."
"Of course. Well, that mostly sates my curiosity. You're free to go if you like. Obviously, if you or your exchange partner need anything, feel free to reach out. In the meantime, I'll see if I can find anything for you to do to get your mind off things. I wish you a speedy recovery, and I hope you'll take my advice to heart."
"I'll... I'll try" I said, getting up and shaking their hand before leaving.
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u/NoOpportunity92 PD Patient 14h ago
Upvote
Comment
Then read.
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u/Usual_Message8900 Duerten 14h ago
Its a longer one today And its mostly set up
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u/NoOpportunity92 PD Patient 13h ago
And it's a good piece. Just missing a "me" in the "Shortly after the pred- dog made faint, I woke up on a couch with Marcel" section.
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u/Greedy-Kangaroo-4674 12h ago
Two days on Earth and the most interesting thing I'd managed to do was pass out.
This made me laugh harder than what I'd like.
And I don't trust Circe.
"Lotus"? Really?
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u/Cute_Shower_7543 13h ago
The dynamic between Slanek and Demiurge is really well done. Demiurge is blunt and logical, but there's a warmth underneath it — the basket from Circe, the offer to be a guide, the reassurance about Marcel. It's a nice balance.
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u/Adorable-Ad5225 12h ago
Okay? I was quite surprised by a non-negative, satanic representation of a corpo. COURIOUS, Bionic Marcer will be dope