While not as backwards (for lack of a better word) as the Amazons of
Ancient Grecian times (what with cutting off the left breast….though I
figure that even in this world….that was a myth), they still had men in
a decidedly second class position. Astra 5's father had a position of power
on the War Council, but it was unofficial. I very much doubt that the regular
male would have it so well.
Just because the accepted "traditional" roles are reversed here doesn't
make it right. Having men as second class citizens does not make it right
any more than woman as second class citizen. Same for any group of people
(biological or mechanical).
Sorry, this subject always was a touchy one for me…..
I still remember the early years, when the Company argued that I was
nothing but their property. Not a person.
If the Grand Old Man, the Adrimal Demitri (along with the majority of
the Military), hadn't put down their foot and basically said "These AIs
are people, and not property." Followed by the silent threat of quitting
(leaving Home open to Enemy attack)…..
If it wasn't for the Military, I'd be little more than a slave today.
I would aspire to be a second class citizen.
Anyway, she was the most radically changed of all the Astras. I have
to wonder if not for the strange events that had happened between worlds,
between their Terra and Terra Prime, if she'd had even considered marriage
and motherhood.
But, through events, she saw into Fred's soul.
Fred saw into her soul.
Astra bonded with her children BEFORE they were even born.
That paved the road to a radical transformation.
She now has no problem seeing Fred as an equal. Before I have a feeling
that if push came to shove, she'd have trouble with equality of the sexes.
Fred might could have become a second class citizen in Aqualaria, if the
cards had come out differently.
Astra 5 had been candid enough to reveal her ties with a temple who
worship Artemis. Reviewing my memory files, I remember something about
that goddess being a virgin. Meaning that her follower would probably be
virgins as well (and better remain so in order to stay priestesses of that
sect). Putting her revelation that she had, before her change of heart
on her children AND the business with her Fred while she was a demifox
vixen……had wished to be a priestess for life….
I get a feeling that she had no desire to EVER be a mother back where
she was from. Never wed, just a warrior queen who's Council would decide
who'd assume the throne after she died.
That's just a guess, but being in my line of work….I usually make VERY
good guesses about others.
Now, her and Fred 5's soul, according to her and Fred 5, are probably
permanently bound together. In a way, they share the same bond between
each other that Fred the Manfox and Alicia share.
I have yet to even see Fred 5 even slightly make a mistake in regards
to how his wife will react to certain things. Ditto for Astra 5 in regards
to Fred 5.
The bond at work….
As for Fred 5, he like his fellow brothers found that, at least as Astra
goes (numbered or not)…..they don't take to well to being trivialized and
put into the "submissive woman" category.
Ack….enough of this chatter….
The other dragons
Well, I would be amiss if I didn't mention these folks in this list.
At times I marvel that I ever even gained enough trust from them enough
to even have a working relationship. Considering the past sins done to
them….
I and the Alliance (or the Golems as they still call us) are damn lucky
this situation has bloomed into a friendly relationship.
Anyway, our first dragon here on the list is the Regent of Ethiopia,
Malachi Dronocis. She had initially come to Ethiopia for some kind of vital
business (i.e. avoiding the Alliance) when the Enemy dropped their nukes
on parts of Ethiopia. She had always wanted to aid human kind, lead it
to a higher plane, away from the pits that she thought that the rest of
humanity shared….to a degree…with the ancient Atlantians. She'd thought
that, but slowly came to the an amazing conclusion while pitching in. She
saw noble sacrifices. Acts of heroism. Acts of love, of faith….of all the
good things that human beings were capable of. Now, we all know that mankind
isn't a race of angels, but the news that we were capable of such things….was
news to her.
Preconceptions and a restrictive (and vengeful) Council of Wyrms prevented
almost dragons from really getting to know humans this way.
She'd broken one rule that an associate of mine from the old ship followed
to a T. Don't get too involved with your patients. Care for them, for they
are human. But by no means should you start to get so deep that….you fall
to pieces when one dies despite all you do.
She then grew too close to some of her dying patients, and found herself
crying her heart out at one of the funeral services. She had grown very
fond of a lovely little girl of only eight years, and had struggled against
the radiation poisoning that eventually claimed the child's life…..
She'd gathered herself, and wearily went upon her rounds in her struggle
against the blight brought on by the Enemy. Certain people had noted this,
and filed it away. Filed it away with the heroic efforts she made with
magic…with all the resources she had.
So, a group of people who represented the people of what was left of
Ethiopia gathered. They knew something must be done about their land. They
knew that the threat of anarchy loomed if nothing was done to prevent it.
Hands down, they all agreed that Malachi Dronocis….even though a dragoness….was
the best choice by far to be the much needed Regent. She was everything
that the battered nation needed, and was……seen as a gift from God! Most
telling was she cared about her charges….as her crying had revealed.
There was even talk within the clergy of cannonizing her (raising her
to sainthood)! That was how much of an impact she'd had on the hearts of
the survivors of Ethiopia!
From what I've heard, she'd been shocked down to her clawed toes that
humans would want her in such a capacity. Eventually, she'd accepted…even
bound herself by combining her Hoard with the Ethiopian treasury. This
gave her great power to do even more for her adopted homeland, but it also
tied her heart to the land. Yes, she can feel what others are feeling.
She got the power of empathy. She's damn near impossible to kill (kill
her…kill Ethiopia….destroy Ethiopia….kill her), hard to kill because a
nation….even in shambles….is still VERY formidable. Conventional forces
would be hard pressed to subdue the now relatively whole Ethiopia without
the vastly increased magical might of the Regent. However, the hopes and
prayers of her people kept hitting her subconsciously, perhaps. They knew
that she wasn't of their faith, but they hoped and prayed to God for her
to see the Light.
I don't think that she was….brainwashed by her connection to the land.
Good Creator, she's very strong of character and heart. All of my friends
here are! But….perhaps it played a key part?
Whatever the case, she's now this side of ecstasy. She's living the
life she always desired by aiding humans. She loves being what she's become,
protector of the Realm and all that. Plus, there's the added bonus that…she
now has bonded with Sigin (only a matter of time before HE bonds himself
to Ethiopia…..). He's already converted to the Ethiopian brand of Christianity
(which isn't quiet like Home's version of Christianity found in Home's
version of Ethiopia around July 14, 1501)! It's more like the Catholic
Church in layout, but…..not the same. Why should it? This isn't an exact
copy of Home!
Dragon Sigin….nice guy. I think he had the best understanding of humanity,
but was too polite to rub the other dragons nose in the truth about their
misconceptions. He was, and still is, a real salt. He loves the sea, and
his first love had been his ship.
With the coming of him having "eye meets eye" with the Regent, our young
dragon (relatively young…at 1,503 years) more or less has himself rapped
around Malachi's little clawed finger!
I should point out, however, the reverse is true for Sigin. She tries
to behave herself, but she's….giddy as a little school girl with her first
crush!
Heck, I was there when they fell in love! Longest session of lover's
baby talk I ever heard!
As for his brother, Sigin Vulpine, don't even hold your breath waiting
for him to return to the realm of dragondom. He is flat out in love with
Rosepaw, his Dragon Familiar. She is flat out in love with him. Through
a freaky event, they had "Eye meets Eye" happen. In prior, rare incidents
such as this (having an INDUCED "Eye meets Eye") the dragon in question
absolutely refused to even attempt a cure of his altered form. Oh, if you
don't know, a dragon can…if he's crazy enough, induce the "Eye meets Eye"
thing in would be mates….when afflicted with lycanthropy. Don't ask….I
didn't want to know the details and wouldn't tell it here even if I did
know!
Short of it is that Sigin Vulpine wishes to remain a demifox and is
pleased at punch at his new lot in life as mate to Rosepaw and sire to
a dozen demifox kits!!
Rosepaw herself had been initially been dragged out of being a mere
animal through the events surrounding "Eye meets Eye." It had transformed
her. Basically, that night the mere vixen was no longer an animal, a intelligent
being had replaced her. Eventually, she was infused with an archaic vocabulary
(Sigin had no more modern linguistic spells)…which faded into regular…more
modern speech as she interacted with others….
Finally, there are the Sigins! Good Creator in the Hereafter, what a
interesting set of people THEY are. They all change their name to something
that has their first name now as last name and their first name as the
form they now wear! One, Dragon Sigin, even is able to regain his form
he'd been born to. He is now a dragon again after a long bout as a werebear…but
he changes his name from Synizn to Dragon Synizn. Then the only Synizn
who gets to keep his original name is a late comer who loves what he's
become because….he's become nitched. He sees his demifox form as a symbol
of his freedom from his baser impulse brought upon him by being a werebear…..
Frued would have a field day with these guys! However, that's just joke….really.
I don't pretend that they are just humans with scales. They've been "contaminated"
by humans, but they still aren't totally….human.
I respect them and like them, but I don't totally understand them. At
least with Manbear Synizn, I halfway understand why HE wishes to stay a
manimal. He's heart is plugged into the collective Pack. He's become a
member of a loving family, each Packmate a brother or sister…..
Zap!
My avatar's eyes open, and I see Inquirer looking worriedly down upon
me.
"Father?" she whisper, throwing military decorum to the wind. Captain
Sterndeck would have a fit. Frankly, I don't give a rat's ass about that
at this point in time.
I call my unit a Family for a reason, for it's the nearest thing an
AI has to one. Somewhere along the lines I and my second in command got
tagged with the roles of Mom and Dad. And eventually, we came to assume
almost all parts of those titles. Lt. Comander Evis 7 would laugh, but
agree.
We play the part of military soldiers, spit and polish when our superiors
are around. Alone on our own, we drop the act like a cloak.
That is a big reason why I miss Ajax, my son, so much.
That's a reason why new AI's take a long time to feel comfortable in
a new recon unit….because it'll take a bit to become adopted….
It's the reason why…perhaps, if I'm honest with myself….why I wasn't
so disappointed to find out that our traitor for the Company was Seeker.
He wasn't somebody I wanted as a son…..
Perhaps I had been resentful, seeing Seeker as trying to but in on Ajax's
spot as my son?
No matter.
"I'm alright," I whisper.
I hug my daughter, not caring that others see me.
Soon I learn of what has gone on since I've been….out. I am able to
patch in a connection to a "radio" and find out that the portion of the
Alliance Armada sent out to intercept the Enemy is still making it's way
(slow and quiet) out to Halley's to stomp a few reptilian SOBs.
I then see Astra 3 and Astra 4 together, along with the other analogs.
I'm glad to see them. D**n glad to see them.
-
 I just wish
I didn't have to tell them about the problem with Astra 4's permanent chest
size…..
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