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The Nature of Predators - Gojid Refugee (6/9)
🕑 Added 2024-02-28 12:00:07 +0000 UTCMemory Transcription Subject: Talpin, Gojid Refugee
Date [standardized human time]: October 4, 2136
It had been only a day since my disability was outed, when the humans came for me. In the span before that moment, the predator guards seemed to have been tipped off about me; they did their best to gesture with their paws if they wanted something, and didn’t look frustrated with my pathetic weakness. How were these creatures making more of an effort at a passing glance than my entire village had? It caused me an inordinate amount of pain, with every slight kindness they directed toward me. Part of me almost hoped they would drop the act, so I wouldn’t have to face the implications. Creatures built toward cruelty were kinder toward deaf packmates than Gojids.
A duo of unarmed humans approached me at my bunk, speaking to Berna. Alarm flashed in my sister’s eyes, as she shakily mouthed that they’d crafted something to aid me; we both couldn’t fathom how they would’ve cooked up a tool so fast. Was it deceit to get me away from the herd? The dread that gripped my heart, every time I laid eyes on them or they engaged with me, meant I didn’t want to go anywhere alone…with them. Knowing that resisting it was pointless, I tried to swallow my fear, though it must’ve been showing in my raised spines and chattering teeth. The hunters herded me in the direction of a vehicle, and waited until I sat down inside.
It’s easy to consider the idea of talking with them, or being their friend, from afar. Seeing humans one-on-one is sensory overload in the worst way; it’s like all conscious thought breaks down, and the urge to run is about to make me burst. I don’t want their help. I don’t!
The back of the van was dark, as the predators had shut me in alone; I could feel the walls closing in on me—trapping me. The Terrans had marched up to the front seats, where I could see the back of their skulls against the headrests. The vehicle was moving, taking me somewhere far away from any Gojids. It would be an outpost that only had predators, like the one Sovlin must’ve been taken from. I couldn’t do this, even if it would disrespect them! Every instinct in my brain told me that I’d fallen for their ruse; surely they couldn’t resist tormenting me, when I’d be isolated and at their mercy. My breathing was spiraling out of control, causing my claws to dig into the upholstery.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say I felt like I was dying, and it seemed my heart would explode then and there. I didn’t even notice as the van came to a halt, only a short distance outside the camp; the doors popped open, and the humans observed my freakout in silence. One of the predators held a hand out in front of himself, bringing it closer to his chest as he deeply inhaled. He then brought it down slowly, as his stomach expanded back out with a hefty exhale. The motion was slow and deliberate, meant to convey a suggestion. He was demonstrating breathing…telling me to breathe. I wrestled to get control of my erratic respiration, while the beasts patiently waited.
Once the rhythm was less of a hyperventilating frenzy, the Terrans beckoned to me again; their eyebrows were knitted together, above their visor-covered pupils. Were those forward-facing pits glowing with rage beneath the visor concealment? They were likely cross with my devolving mental state. I ducked my head, and followed them sheepishly into an unassuming building. The predators patted a couch, which sat beside a low table, and quickly brought me a jug of water. The realization that I was in their lair—their living quarters—made my throat even more dry, so I downed the liquid with gratitude. The duo retreated back out the front door, and I felt the vibration of the van departing.
“They left me alone,” I scribbled to myself mentally. “Why? Who did they bring me to?”
A new figure walked into the room, with a gait that was ever so slightly different from the average human. She was wearing a visor, and toting a thin keyboard with Gojid script. The predator took steps forward, one at a time—pausing each time my breathing hitched, or I shied away on instinct. She leaned forward in slow motion, setting down the keyboard by me and turning on a holographic display. The primate took a few steps backward, keeping her arms raised for a reason I didn’t understand. She sat down in a chair further back, before making some of strange hand motions like the soldier with the deaf brother. Gojid words scrolled across the screen, somehow reading her gestures.
“Hi. I’m Lily,” she signed, as the name took a bit longer to come across—she seemed to fly through each letter. “I’m a certified sign language interpreter, and I’m here to help you adjust to your new circumstances. If you’d like to respond, just type the words and our text-to-speech software will say it to me.”
Shocked that they’d really found a way to talk to me, I struggled to hammer out a properly-spelled response with my shaking claws. “How did you do this? It can understand your human gestures in Gojid?!”
“It was a mix of existing technologies. We already have camera software that can turn sign language into text, though it’s usually to help hearing individuals quickly understand what deaf people are saying. Mix that with your translation software, and it does the trick.”
“How many humans know sign language, for this to work? It’s…not possible that you’d all learn it, for deaf people. You said this is your job.”
“It is. You’re right that not everyone has this knowledge. I’m choosing to use sign language so that you can pick up some of it, in case you decide to engage with the deaf community on Earth. The good news is, we were also able to use our speech-to-text software to hear human words, turn them to text, and use visual translators to convert them to Gojid script. You can talk to us, and we can talk to you.”
“This only works…for human languages? Not to sound ungrateful, it’s just…”
“I understand, Talpin. We’re trying to cobble something together, but our voice recognition software is only trained on human words. We’ll try to add the Gojid tongue, and other alien languages, as best as we can. I’m sorry that we’re still getting up to speed, but I’m surprised the Federation doesn’t have this tech already.”
Something inside of me broke, as those words came across the screen; the world came crashing down on me with that truth slapping me across the face. These predators had aids for the deaf at the ready, and like Lily told me, they couldn’t have copied it from the Federation. None of our people had bothered to craft any way to communicate with me, or make it possible for me to understand their speech, like part of the herd. If these barely-spacefaring humans had created flexible software that could convert between speech and text, and vice versa, there was no reason Gojids couldn’t have tried something, anything, with at least our own tongue. It shouldn’t have been so difficult to pretend to care, or to see me as a person—a fucking monster could do it, apparently!
The herd thinks that I’m not a real Gojid…that I’m a burden, because I was born like this. I could never talk to anyone. I couldn’t go anywhere without seeing how much better my family would be without me…
Tears swelled down from my eyes, despite knowing what the human would think of such a sniveling display. Nobody had ever treated me like a complete person before, outside of my family, and a bitter chunk of my soul hated this predator for being the one that finally did. That wasn’t what I wanted! After years of isolation and gossip, knowing that I’d disappointed my family; I didn’t want the Terrans’ kindness. The other Gojids had insisted that I’d be the juiciest morsel, and that it wasn’t that big of a loss—because I contributed the least to the herd. Hunters despised weakness, yet here they were, helping the feeblest prey. My people protected me out of duty, or cruel empathy, since I wasn’t part of the category of “valuable individuals.”
Lily rose to her feet, hesitating. “Did I say something wrong?”
“They hate me,” I typed in a blubbering fury, emotions pouring out of me in a blinding haze. It hurt so much in that moment that I’d forgotten to be afraid. “Nobody ever says anything nice about me. I’m just a burden, and it’s not fair to my family. It would be doing them a favor if you just eat me. Stop being nice, please stop. Give in to your instincts.”
Lines creased her forehead, and her lips curved in a downward arc. “I don’t want to eat you. None of us do. I don’t know who these people are that hate you, but they’re horrible. You are not a burden. It wasn’t a problem at all to find a way to help you.”
“I’m not a full Gojid, and no tool can make me worth it. I can’t hear music. I’m not really talking to you. I’m a curse to my family; my father is dead, and I stain his legacy by what I am. He wasn’t proud of me, and now, I know for certain he never will be. I’m the weakest herd member, and Berna deserves better…”
Why was I telling all of this to a predator, riddled with bloodlust and raised by a violent society? Lily seemed to be warring with some instinct, as her expression grew more disharmonious by the second. I withdrew my paws from the keyboard, realizing how worthless this entire conversation was; my head wound up buried in my paws, as sobs continued to rack my body. She finally gave in to the inner voice, walking over to me with her arms extended. I didn’t make any efforts to resist ensnarement, with misery bringing me to the lowest low. I wished that I had been more—that my life had been more. A shudder rippled down my spines as I felt the human’s skin against my neck.
Lily didn’t crush my windpipe, or dig her fangs into my throat. The human was kneeling right beside me, moving my head out of my paws and to her shoulder. Warmth radiated through the fabric, somehow soothing as could be; my tears soaked the soft fleece, though she didn’t seem to mind. Her chin rested atop my skull, before I felt a small drop of wetness strike my fur. It wasn’t sticky enough to be drool. Had that emotion on her face been pity—not for my condition, but for how they treated me? She was hurting for me? The predator held me with such unimaginable gentleness, refusing to let go. A pang of uncertainty stabbed at my heart, before I moved my arms onto her spine. The bawling gave way into sniffling, as we sat there for several minutes.
The Terran finally broke away from the embrace, and turned her head away from me. She removed her visor for a brief moment, and I realized it was to avoid pointing her binocular eyes at me. I could see that the sockets were puffy and red, her exposed skin covered in her tears. This was the empathy my father’s faith and every credible scientist said predators couldn’t have; affective empathy that surpassed what I’d seen from my own herd. It was difficult for me to believe how close and vulnerable I’d been with the beast, and how she reacted. I used the back of my paw to dry my cheeks, before punching in a new string of words.
“Lily? Look at me,” I forced myself to type. “Without the visor.”
The predator stiffened, fiddling with the lengthy strands of her flaxen mane to distill her nerves. Her head angled itself back in my direction, and her eyes locked onto me, though avoiding a direct stare. It was an unspeakable feeling to have an inky void directed at a single target; her gaze was like the opposite of a flashlight, a beam of pure darkness. The white sclera made the effect all the more striking, to render it as clear as possible to the prey where the beast was looking. In between the jarring lack of coloration and the abyss, there was a ring of mottled green—a sudden flash of soft naturalness that didn’t go with the rest. As my brain screamed that this was a monster, a ravenous animal that bore hostile intent, I stared deeper into the pinhole.
Those binocular eyes were still moist, and the dark void seemed smaller than the average human pupils. There was sadness in that infinite darkness, even as it paralyzed me and almost stopped my heart. I didn’t know if I could adjust to Lily’s gaze, but she’d given me no reason to fear her. Maybe her entire species was being pushed out of the herd like me, because they were that ugly. Just like I’d begun to reconsider that information desk’s purpose, I once again posited that the Terrans could be genuine friends. I hadn’t realized how much I needed someone to talk to; Ava, the tour guide, hadn’t been wrong about humans being good listeners. I kept staring into the pupils that made me feel sick to my guts, and typed out a question.
“Why? Why do you care about me?” I asked, still holding her gaze.
Lily’s pupils jerked up, constricting further; not enlarging like an Arxur’s hunger. “Because I can imagine what it must feel like…and because I know I can help. When you see someone struggling, it’s heartless not to lift a finger.”
“Then Gojids are heartless.”
“Honestly, it seems that way to me sometimes. For all the talk of so-called prey having empathy, and us having none, it’s the opposite in practice. But listen, you are not the weakest herd member. I think that overcoming challenges makes you strong. There’s strength in struggling, but not melting in the face of adversity. Can I show you something, Talpin?”
“Okay.”
“Please don’t freak out. I’ll warn you in advance that you’re going to see some scar tissue.”
The human sat back in her chair, lifting her right leg from the seat. I watched as she leaned over, zipping the pelt away from her furless shin, all the way up to her kneecap. The skin tone looked just a tad bit off, but it was likely the odd lighting—or the fact that I wasn’t used to these aliens. As I inspected the limb closer, Lily removed the lower portion, leaving only a stub below her knee. A horrified gasp escaped my lips, while I tried to make sense of what I’d just seen. She turned it toward me just enough to show the insides—no blood or bone—a fake sleeve meant to look like the real thing. The genuine tissue was withered and folded together, leaving me to conclude this was no congenital defect.
Is she trying to hide this fake limb she created from the rest of her kind?
Lily reattached the prosthetic, this time using verbal words to communicate while her hands were busy. “I was an adventurous twenty-something. I liked to challenge myself, against the unforgiving whims of nature. I had a hobby of rock-climbing, an absolute test of endurance. Scaling a cliff face or the side of a mountain, it isn’t for the faint of heart.”
“So not for me,” I typed.
“No, I wouldn’t think so. One day, I had an accident out in this state park…my leg was crushed by a shifting rock. Long story short, the doctors couldn’t save it, and the only thing they could do was chop it off. I thought my life was over, or at the least, diminished. I couldn’t even do basic things, with or without the prosthetic. Worse are the looks you get from people, all pitying and well-meaning.”
“I know the feeling.” Lily understands about the gawking. I’m surprised predator doctors would save someone missing a limb, empathy or not. A deaf human could stalk prey with their eyes. How could a one-legged biped hunt? “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. It doesn’t do any good to feel sorry for yourself. I found ways to do things in spite of my newfound disability, and I didn’t let it hold me back. Just like you found ways to understand people, despite them actively sabotaging you. Isn’t that strength? Whatever life throws at you, you adapt, and you never let it beat you.”
“I guess so. I never got credit for what I managed to do, in spite of…this.”
The human sighed. “No parent should ever call their child a disappointment. Your father was wrong.”
“Oh no,” I responded hastily. “He never said it to me, or anyone else. He took good care of me. I’m just certain he felt that way.”
“How do you know that, Talpin?”
“Because…he was the town’s plant musician. Not that you’d know what it’s like to grow plants—”
“We grow plenty of crops, and eat them too, but continue,” she interrupted.
“You do?! Okay then. Well, he played music to help the plants bloom. The families in my village would pass down their skills and profession; it was their life’s legacy. I robbed him of that chance. I always felt left out by music; it was such a big part of my family’s life, but I couldn’t hear it…or appreciate that beauty. I wish I could’ve.”
Her eyes gleamed, pupils enlarging. “Maybe I can help you find a way to enjoy music. I have an idea. Just hold onto that thought, and let me try to set something up with the UN.”
Lily leapt up onto her limbs with haste, but rather than interpreting it as an aggressive gesture, I decided it was excitement. The primate scurried over to the next room, likely to retrieve a device to call her counterparts. Humans were nothing like I’d expected them to be, with their docility and emotional sensitivity. If my new friend was to be believed, they ate plants, not Gojids. Had I not seen how easily they took over the cradle, I wouldn’t have thought there was some mixup between them and the vicious predators the Federation observed. Berna needed to hear everything that’d happened, and to tell me whether I was crazy to feel some kinship with this sign interpreter.
With tons of confusing thoughts afoot, I inspected the translation gadget they’d gifted to me, and meditated on how I finally had a way to communicate with the world.
A/N - Part 6! Talpin not only gets a speech to text aid, but meets a sign interpreter named Lily, who comforts him as the full weight of Gojid mistreatment crashes down on him. Our narrator begins to grasp human empathy, especially after learning his helper is wearing a prosthetic…and he also learns a new definition of strength through her story. What is Lily’s idea to help Talpin relate to music? How will his life change moving forward, and what will he tell Berna?
As always, thank you for reading and supporting!
Comments
Guardian
I think it was Birla. I thought you had typo'ed, my mistake! <:-D
Some Lvm
@Guardian - I missed a misunderstanding here, but I wasn't talking about Berna Talpin's sister. I was talking about general Berla (or was it Burla?) the friendly Tillfish. It was a joke...
EliasArt2Life
@Soheils I see. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding. I get what you mean about the emotional response feeling “muted”. Due to autism, I’m exceptionally literal, and since most of music is metaphorical on some level, I can’t fully connect with the emotional aspects of it. If I know the story a song is supposed to be telling, I can get the full effect, but otherwise, it’s like reading poetry literally; it’s just a bunch of (admittedly beautiful) words. The “bridging emotions” doesn’t sound that strange, actually; the specific method you use is unique, but I use a similar concept to analyze and control my brain; triggering specific memories in order to cause myself to feel specific emotions, and then using those emotions as a sort of “manual control”. You might be able to work learning about music theory into your time if you express it in terms of thing that you DO enjoy learning about. For instance, music as an extension of linguistics; how auditory patterns influence the thoughts and mood of the listener. Regardless, I hope that you find the kind of music and emotional response that you’re looking for!
Edward ward
I thought of something like an app that turns a played piece of music in to a panting or video. Like something that shows you what someone with synaesthesia experiences. We have something like that now. And I've seen videos of someone with synaesthesia paint a piece of music, it was cool.
Soheils
Thank you for the response! Let me clarify something: reading my comment, I realized I described how it is for me incorrectly in my attempt to be brief. What I should've said is it doesn't give me "a joyful emotional response". I actually have no trouble telling the emotional content of any piece of music. It's like, my brain gets the emotion, and can even feel it, but it's a bit distant, like a piece of software ran in a VM, and it feels like the pleasure/joy response is selectively off. Other emotions can be felt pretty strongly if I am actually focused on the music or intentionally focus on it. It's a pretty weird feeling, and I only realized it's not just a me thing when I read about musical anhedonia. It's a bit of cruel selection, but from my reading on it over the years, it seems to be related to population variations in connection strength between the part of the brain that processes music and the part that triggers joy. in some small percentage of people, the connection is extremely strong. in another small percentage, like me, it's very weak. I honestly never thought much of it in my teens, because I just thought that I've not found the music that gives me pleasure yet. But as the years went by and I tried more and more genres thanks to a professional musician friend who wanted to see this experiment through, I realized it just doesn't quite work like that for me. to this day, I've only ever felt that way about one song, which was a classical violin piece played by that same friend. It was, unfortunately, limited to the first time I heard it. It felt like my brain short circuited, and I felt a ton of pleasure, with some friends describing me as looking like I was on heroin. Never felt that again, despite all my attempts. This is going to sound utterly insane, but over time, I've found a strategy that does sometimes work, which I call "bridging emotions". Basically, I trigger a chain of emotional responses that eventually trigger joy. With the right lyrics, I can basically go through that bridge a bunch of times, feeling the bridge emotion, then after a second or too, joy. An example of that is Sabaton's Resist and Bite. It triggers an emotion, which I can't quite accurately name but could be described as the emotional response a national epic wants to trigger. I then automatically start picturing myself in that scene, and it triggers pleasure. I feel that way about certain national anthems too. I'm always on the hunt for this kind of music, but it's relatively rare it seems, and my inability to describe it doesn't help either. Regardless, I am happy that you have managed to find a way that works for you, and honestly that approach to music does seem quite fun. I've tried it to an extent, but it's hard to find time for it compared to things I like much more just intrinsically like math, CS, history and linguistics. Nonetheless, I've long wanted to try that strategy, and I'm happy to learn it works.
EliasArt2Life
Since I can’t hear out of one ear, I miss out of all the incredible interplay composers put in there. When they do something awesome or tell a story by changing which ear the sound comes in on, I don’t get any of it. It’s one of the many ways in which I can’t fully engage with music. So, I’ve found that it’s been interesting to learn about music theory; to engage with music on an academic level, and learn to analyze music, to compensate for what I don’t have. What I’m trying to say is, even if you can’t emotionally connect with music, maybe you can form a different connection with music; one that is valid FOR YOU? Learning what notes have what affect on the neurotypical person, even if they lack that effect for you, could give you insight into other people. It won’t get rid of the feeling of being left out completely, but it gives you something, and with that, maybe you can come to better terms with that part of you? But hey, I’m just some random person on the internet; what do I know?
Space Paladin
Thanks!
Space Paladin
Thank you!
Soheils
It's not close to the same, but as a person with musical anhedonia, I really felt it when he talked about being left out by music. It's different because I can hear it, fully understand it, and can even play it well, just don't have any emotional response to it, but the feeling of not being part of the herd is there.
Henry Moyers
Damn... I actually got a little wet in the eyes when Talpin opened up to Lily. Well done.
mitsos_pr
Excellent chapter! I really liked the description of Lily's eyes.
Mike Barth
Probably really expensive.
Byron Ritchie
Good chapter!
EliasArt2Life
@Dragon Writer Luc That was my thought too. I’m unsure of how well sending sound through bones works when you can’t hear at all. I love the sensation of putting speakers adjacent to my skull, and just feeling the vibrations wrap around the inside of my head, but I’m not completely deaf.
EliasArt2Life
@Vladi Vladi Fair enough. I apologize. That outburst was more directed at the general sentiment that I have seen since NOP1, and should not have been directed, even partially, at you. I still maintain, though, that Talpin has NOT been a “chore”. Honestly, I’d say he’s been a pleasure to work with. I can’t really think of much he’s done to make this difficult.
EliasArt2Life
@Gumcel That doesn’t answer my other question. I’d rather have the second question answered than the first, which was just a throwaway question. Besides, you could probably verify that you read the story by including something relating to the story. If you’re lying, or try to edit it later, your probably going to get called out by the people who notice (and there WILL be people who notice).
Michael Halpern
the fact that they seem to prefer to use antimatter warheads rather than say fission induced fusion says something though, see the thing with antimatter is that it takes effort to keep it from going off, and with fission induced fusion, its nearly impossible for an improper detonation to result in the fuel going super critical. fission-fusion is immensely superior for deterrence because it stores well, with antimatter, once you make the antimatter you are guaranteed it will go off at some point wouldn't surprise me if UN ships made the antimatter in situ to load into missiles before launch, rather than carrying around the liability constantly
Michael Halpern
I could see that as a NOP2 or NOP1. 5 timeline from Human entertainment industry becoming dominant, still if that relic were successful, it's INCONCEIVABLE that Princess Bride wouldn't be
Michael Halpern
E tech itself isn't new, not all of it, (we do have working cybernetic hands that don't even need BCI today by reading the nerves with a chip to control the hand and wrist) more adapting it for non humans was new
Michael Halpern
This has been explained in "predator disease" though it wasn't the focus, one of the ways to land oneself in the torture house was to suggest predators were capable of higher brain function or anything else that didn't follow the official line.
Guardian
If there were ANY individuals in any field suggesting predators could show empathy, I have a feeling the Kolshian shadow caste dealt with that individual IMMEDIATELY. Kinda like how the US doesn't want anyone touching our boats.
Guardian
Oh no, I wants it. If I do not get it, I may have to attempt writing or visualizing it myself.
Space Paladin
Even if it didn’t appear in text, one could imagine Talpin swinging by that booth 😅
PhycoKrusk
I disagree, if only because there really isn't that much that has to move with diaphragmatic breathing; not when you're standing up. Breathing any other way means that _everything_ has to move; the ribs, the chest, the shoulders, the arms, _everything._ It's more visually striking, at least in that there is significantly more movement. I can't get my stomach to expand when I exhale and this is upsetting me for no good reason
Some Lvm
Hmm, guess I forgot about that part... Nice catch! I suppose cost could explain it, but that would also have some interesting implications: A) The tech is too new. B) Humanity has not sorted out medical patent mess in a century. C) Future UN adopted the current US medical system. D) All of the above...
The Moist Crusader
Nothing to say this isn't a robot leg, and also not everyone might want one - robotic legs need charging, afterall
richfiles
It depends on the nature of the hearing loss. If the "hair" like senors within the cochlea are damaged or nonexistent, then there is nothing to pick up the sound. Bone conduction only works if the cochlea is intact. If the nerves are still intact, but the sensory hairs of the cochlea are bad, then a cochlear implant can directly stimulate the nerves. I microphone sends a signal to the CI device and it translates the audio to electrical nerve impulses. It's the biological equivalent of plugging into the AUX jack.
Guardian
N-n-not sure showing Starship Troopers to ANY of these refugees is a good idea; maybe wait until the SC is better established. ;-P
Gumcel
“I know, and we want to help. I’ve gotten in touch with some great people on Earth, who’ve created prosthetics for animals.” Sara offered a comforting smile. “It’ll take some getting used to, but the prototype I ordered for you is cutting-edge; it’ll respond to your brain signals. We’d have it ready quicker, but our manufacturing is scrambled.” It does explicitly say that the prosthetic was made by humans. Again as for why she wouldn’t have one (which is ambiguous) I think could be easily justified by the cost.
Some Lvm
@Gumcel: I am pretty sure the transcript technology was not based on anything they got from the Feds. It may work on Fed made brain scans, but Feds were nowhere near making AI. The shadow fleet had drones, but we see no other places where AI was used in the federation, so for all we know their drones were remote controlled, not autonomous. Or maybe they had a more rudimentary operating system, more adaptive cruise control than FSD. And it is never made clear who made Tarva's tail. Its true the description of the prosthetic is too short to be sure, but its the struggle Lily went through that gives me pause. Surely the whole ordeal would be better with medical technology 100 years advanced over what we have now. Shorter recovery, a lot less of a function loss. I've seen people with prosthetic legs today outrun people with natural legs on a track. I would expect by 2130 Lily could have gotten right back to her rock climbing after a few weeks or month. But it doesn't sound like she did, or could do it. P.S. Controlling a visor with a "thought" is something we can do for over a decade now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpxlzks0Di0
Vladi Vladi
I am perfectly capable of understanding how unreasonable and cruel it is to expect of a medieval peasant to warm up and start considering demons people and not an abomination against his faith and culture. I understand, of course I do, I won’t sit here and claim humanity would be any different, because we weren’t. Don’t mean I won’t complain
Gumcel
“first to finish reading the chapter” Well you can just lie about that so it’s worthless.
Gumcel
“If they are mere 20 years from having AI convert brain scans in to full blown transcripts, surely they could at least figure out a way to make a fully sensory prosthetic that wouldn't feel like a prosthetic?” Well 20 years before making so brain scanning technology they were given a bunch of new alien technology. Also they do have advanced prosthetics, (tarva’s tail, masks that can be controlled with the mind) is it ever said that hers is not like that? Am I just blind? “a fake sleeve meant to look like the real thing” This line is the closest I see to it saying that see has a primitive prosthetic, and even this I would call ambiguous. And if it is a primitive prosthetic, that can be explained by robotic prosthetics just bring fucking expensive as hell.
Gumcel
“This was the empathy my father’s faith and every credible scientist said predators couldn’t have” Potential dissent? That is one way to interpret it but “credible scientist” doesn’t necessarily mean that there were non credible scientists spouting dissent. So idk interpret it as you will. “It shouldn’t have been so difficult to pretend to care, or to see me as a person—a fucking monster could do it, apparently!” Lol Anyways I’m going to leave a reminder that Gress is based because tomorrow is another based Gress chapter<3
Full_diamond_6414
I wasn't really thinking about the lipreading. I'm sure most deaf gojid pick that up to some degree. Still, a roadblock to communication, which after the already established social isolation is likely to continue being an obstacle.
Michael Halpern
yes Tarva's tail was human made, as for whipping it up, the translator implant is already essentially a BCI, and then you have printers edit also there's Lily's leg
Some Lvm
@Michael: do NoP humans have cybernetics? The only actual cyber prosthetic we have seen is Tarva's tail, and its not clear who's tech it is. I doubt human doctors whipped up a robotic Venlil tail on the spot. But I do agree with you otherwise - it sounds like even early 21st century human medicine has something to offer to ex Feds.
Some Lvm
Berla needs to watch that movie.
Some Lvm
Lily: looses leg in rock climbing accident. Also Lily: hugs a person sized, terrified hedgehog without warning. Sure its heart warming, but is she trying to test the extent of 22nd century medicine? On a more serious note: I would honestly expect NoP humanity to have better medicine. It's almost like their tech didn't progress from our days at all in that department. If they are mere 20 years from having AI convert brain scans in to full blown transcripts, surely they could at least figure out a way to make a fully sensory prosthetic that wouldn't feel like a prosthetic? I get the literary point of Lily's story, but honestly it kind of sets the universe back a bit...
un_pogaz
>Especially since with the language stuff getting worked out, the only people it can communicate with are humans and any gojid who learn human language. Problem already solved: all Gojid have a implant that translates human, so veveryonne understand Taplin. He just have an "accent" from hell. The only real issue is at the moment, is a no "Gojid input", but he has that he can read lips very well, so it's not a big deal.
EliasArt2Life
I don’t consider the amount of effort humans have put into Talpin a “chore”. Slanek took months of texting with Marcel every day, and he could still barely hold back his fear when they first met. Arguably, he made the most progress through trauma bonding with Marcel after what Sovlin did. Talpin has been around us for 7 days, and has been avoiding us for most of that time. I see a lot of people talk about how much of a pain it is to convince these aliens that we aren’t a threat, and that’s true. However, it’s also a pain for them to have us around constantly pushing their boundaries. It’s not just a pain for us. I find that it’s a double standard that we expect others to change just because we can see the change as beneficial, but we don’t want to change for them; we want them to accept us, to toss away everything they know and embrace what we tell them is right, but we don’t want to have to hide aspects of ourselves that upset them: like eating meat, showing our eyes, slow movements, or just showing them the requisite amount of patience. It’s hard to change, and wanting people to change immediately, showing contempt at the lack of progress, and calling them a “chore” or “pain” for not changing at the desired pace is unfair to them, puts the whole burden on them, and usually makes them not want to change at all. If you want to build bridges between two cultures, you can’t just make them do all the work; you need to start at your end and meet them in the middle. Is humanity having to accommodate all these aliens’ sensitivities fair? No. But is making them do all the work in overcoming their prejudices fair? Absolutely not.
Kyle Nelson
I'm thinking she's gonna grab a big ass speaker and maybe a balloon. Or potentially maybe setting up talpin getting a cochlear implant later down the line, but that doesn't seem likely.
EliasArt2Life
Question: wouldn’t it be more impressive to, rather than say “first”, be able to say “first to finish reading the chapter”? I’m still trying to understand the psychology of this race to be first every time. I mean, it just signals that you’ve memorized Space Paladin’s upload time, and are reloading the page to jump to the comment section. I don’t get it. It doesn’t seem very skill based, and given the varying upload delays, seems to be more luck based than anything. Could you please explain what’s going through your mind when you do this? I want to understand.
EliasArt2Life
If I recall, Tarva’s prosthetic, which was capable of reading nerve signals, was top of the line. Potentially very new. Lily probably has a simpler prosthetic because they’re expensive enough as it is (each one has to be custom made for the individual, to fit, match the other leg, work for the particular activities a person is going to do, and conform to the injury point, and that’s before you get into people who might break out in a rash from the sleeve, etc.). I imagine that it’ll be another 30-50 years in universe before the nerve-reading prosthetics become common.
Guardian
I commented for the previous installment that I viscerally hoped for a visit to the "Would You like to Know More?" booth. I did not get that, but this was just as awesome. Besides, I may still get that.
Guardian
"Well that's, like, your opinion, man."
Guardian
I think that's a confirmation there that Talpin's belief his father saw him as a disappointment is a false belief. Meaning, his father did not, in fact, view him as a dissapointment; but, of course, Talpin would feel that way.
Guardian
Ooh, Tarva's prosthetic might have been upgraded because she was/is a VIP, like the POTUS or a Prime Minister.
Guardian
I have headcanon now that, with the SC as the prevailing governing force, Terran medical universities have thousands of Zurulian applicants/transfers.
Guardian
Yeah, I think I've read the previous installment like five times over now?
EliasArt2Life
I am so happy to see Talpin get the support and care he deserves! Also, calling that the first thing he says to Berna with his device is “I love you”, or something along those lines. The story has brought up his difficulties in expressing that simple phrase a couple of times now. Also, he deserves credit for facing his fears and looking Lily in the eyes. Possibly a reward, too; can someone get the Gojid a basket full of citrus fruits? (Sigh. Every time humans food gets brought up, I find myself wishing for a one-shot of an alien learning about and reacting to all the different things a human chef can make) Nothing feels better than seeing Talpin get help, and finally start walking the road to healing. My only regret is that there are only 3 more chapters left… Well, time to read the chapter again!
Bungus Grungus
This person is an exception for some reason or another, and plus it still might be robotic, just with better technology for reading nerve endings in the stump and maybe a non surgical way to send signals back to the body.
pogman
You shalln't
DARVIdD2
im thinking using vibrations. when i was a kid there was a toy i used a couple times, it was an electronic handle that you stuck a sucker into, then when you turned it on, and put the sucker in your mouth you could hear music, because the handle sent vibrations through the sucker and into your teeth, which were interpreted as sound. i imagine it might be possible to use the same principle to let someone hear when thier ears dont work. i dont know for certain as i havent studied it, but it makes sense to me
everything very
My aunt used to teach deaf children music ( I don’t know how I just know she did. Although i think I think it was lots of percussion and theory )
Cartoon dinosaur
... Wou- Shouldn't there be robotic prosthetics by this point space paladin?
Michael Halpern
you know the Zurulians have to be intrigued by the medical fields Humans have that have been directly and indirectly suppressed by the Federation, probably a few buildings/colleges worth for the Galactic Institute of Health. between cybernetics, mental health, audiology and probably optometry, at least some of the more corrective measures for some of those fields,
Willie
Talpin is so observant It does seem like he wants to hear so a implant is a possible solution.... that is fundamentally his choice to make obviously but I can see him rejecting it wanting to stay as he is.... I like lily I do assume that his translation doesn't explain what a lily is? Cause I'm sure a fed would freak out about a predator having a flower for they're name... Especially when they see the range of human cultivation the color and structural diversity the range of flavors we've selected for the citrus family tree comes to mind- would the feds have thought to graft plants together?
Apogee
I was thinking something like a color display. That moves and changes with the music.
Tazeell
Beautifully wholesome, glad he found someone he can finally talk to.
T___
I think breathing the right way is more visually striking, since the movements are bigger. Also, I don't remember reading that many NOP races would not have lungs.
richfiles
I suspect this funky hedgehog is about to feel the bass and maybe learn to jam to some Beethoven.
extraintelligence
It doesn't have to be future tech. The concept of hearing through bone conduction has been well established for centuries, and headphones that work on that principle are widely available today (and in fact, it's how Beethoven continues to write music: he attached a metal bar to his piano and bit onto it to hear through his teeth). *** My real concern is that Talpin's condition may be based on a nervous disorder or deformity, otherwise, his condition could have been fixed with surgery, and I find it a bit hard to believe the humans wouldn't present him with that option if it were available. Then again, there's room for doubt, as the entirety of NoP takes place over a few months, and it's not like surgery is something you can schedule for the next day on a whim, especially if the people doing it are unfamiliar with your biology.
Full_diamond_6414
I didn't see your comment but I noticed the not bringing family too. My headcannon is that its just a sloppy initial rollout. I can very much see it happening operationally. Its probably good context that we weren't really expecting them to have zero disability accomodation knowledge, and that they are conditioned to hide away disabled people. I can't imagine our systems are set up to find disabled people who don't want to be found, convince them we mean well with these devices new to their current civilization, and distribute this knowledge/tech through the refugee camps of a new contact species. "Arrange transport to x facility for [gojid name]" turning into "only room for [gojid name]" down the chain of command is pretty realistic. Although, its probably key context for them that right now...zero gojid have gone into a van like this with humans before and come back alive. I mean zero gone but they still don't have a precedent to follow. To the gojid, its a coin flip with life in the balance. Maybe to the human administrator, it is a routine transport of a stable patient with the twist of accomodating for an aliens physical characteristics. Potentially a complex task, but a van should comfortably accomodate a single gojid sized body, and the gojid should be more comfortable with guards riding in front, not encroaching on their space. And done, on to the next transport to coordinate. Maybe they should have recognized the significance it would have to the gojid, but I can see it slipping through the cracks of project execution.
Full_diamond_6414
I like these nice little worldbuilding character stories. They flesh out the canon world nicely, and give me lots of points to think about. I mean, after the impact itll have on him and his family, I can't help but think his next thoughts are going to be about interacting with humans (and shortly later gojid) with disabilities (which is probably kind of easier too for the brainwashed aliens? Like, the "danger kill it" part would be able to relax so they'd mostly be left with the "everything about it is disgusting/contagious/cleanse it with fire" stuff ) So, here's this deaf gojid, isolated and bullied by his species, in a refugee camp after being run by (creature that eats you and your children alive for fun and sport). These terrifying creatures find out he's deaf and find out they have an entire field of medicine dedicated to allowing people (gojid) like him to live comfortable, autonomous, and functional lives with their disabilities. No wonder thats shocking. Like, I remember putting glasses on the first time and it was life changing, and thats nothing like the totally socially and auditory isolation he went through. If I was finding out about this incredible foreign invention for the first time, there's no way I wouldn't have some level of interest in spreading the news to others in similair situations. Especially since with the language stuff getting worked out, the only people it can communicate with are humans and any gojid who learn human language. I suspect a driving reason to learn human language would be early access to these devices, so mostly just communicating with humans and gojid with disabilities. I could see either reluctant or an eager push into a bit of the limelight for our gojid. Who better to convince other gojid with disabilities its safe and demonstrate potential benefits. Not like he'd need to convince anyone other than their immediate family in most cases, and considering how eager this guy was to stick his head in their mouth - I can't imagine the others wouldn't see this as some crazy risk/reward payoff. They kinda expect death either way, so...whats the harm in checking it out? Whats the worst that could happen...death? That thing they expect. And I'm assuming they'd roll out programs a little more considerate way as they have time to flesh them out. The disabled gojid are terrified of them, and of being culled - so maybe a popup clinic tent/temporary facility (for appropriate procedures). Some visibly disabled humans, maybe even dogs/other pets, as a visual "see, look how not killed off they are". I'm thinking you and your family can still see each other, something that does its best to not make them feel trapped (lots of open escape), and that maybe lets other gojid see. Maybe a demo booth? Step right up, turn claw movements to speech--- I know its an early stage refugee crisis so its probably "anything you can do" right now. Later though, I'm sure people would step in to navigate dealing with what is essentially a brainwashed population and move towards a more similar (in intent not effect) to the venlil rescue "ease them into it" mindset. Just not with lies, with safe and comfortable exposure.
Space Paladin
His family did give a shit, so they taught him to read and tried their best to communicate
GeneralLDS
6/9 nice
PhycoKrusk
Yes, but breathing in the way demonstrated is more visually striking and more obviously "breathing" in a species whose anatomy you aren't familiar with.
Paperclip
Yeah but most of them say "human scary" not bluntly state that we're straight up ugly 😭
Edmund Lam
Yeah. In about 100 years? Shouldn’t be hard.
John
I can’t see a thoughtless process as fun. In my experience if someone isn’t thinking they aren’t having fun.
Dookus Maximus
Does it matter? Why does it bother you?
Dookus Maximus
It could have been brightly lit with a bunch of decorations meant to feel more welcoming and Talpin would have thought "the space was meant to overwhelm the senses. Truly these predators were devious in their methods to subdue prey" or something
Wingit98
I wouldn't be terribly surprised if, once we get a handle on their biology, we could get him a cochlear implant too. Don't think that's what she was referring to when saying she'd find a way for him to enjoy music, since he remained deaf for the rest of the story that we saw him in, but maybe after everything has settled down with the war, that would be possible.
sticksnstones
Considering that Tarva's replacement tail seemed far nicer than our modern prosthetics, I think Lily will be getting an interesting gift come the end, via a very grateful hedgehog!
John
What’s fun about it?
Dookus Maximus
"No, you're not allowed to have fun that way"
T___
Drawing comparisons to NOP1, It was the hug Tarva got from a human that convinced her of our empathy. The same happens here with Talpin. Hugs are important things. When my grandma had end-state Alzheimer's, in the end she had only one word: hyvä (engl. good). But 'till her very last day she could reciprocate a hug. Let's hug more!
Blake S
Either shes gonna show Talpin some pictures of Behtoven and simply say "get good srub!" Or she has some interesting future tech other plans. Possibly something like vibrotextiles or something similar.
Michael Halpern
More the Federation and shadow caste they wanted to keep other species weak and easy to control, reducing the number of useful members of the societies because of disabilities and differences is a good way to limit their collective potentials
T___
About the breathing. The chapter said: "One of the predators held a hand out in front of himself, bringing it closer to his chest as he deeply inhaled. He then brought it down slowly, as his stomach expanded back out with a hefty exhale. " I have asthma. The doctors and nurses had to teach me the proper way to breathe. "the belly expands and your lungs fill with air. "It is the most efficient way to breathe, as it pulls down on the lungs, creating negative pressure in the chest, resulting in air flowing into your lungs." says Mark Courtney, a respiratory therapist with American Lung Association's Lung HelpLine. "This draws oxygen all the way down into the bottom of your lungs. As you exhale, your stomach will come back in, and your rib cage will contract." explaines another site. People start to breathe wrong when they sit in school and college when they're tired and slouch. You can't extend your belly properly to get enough air, so you start lifting your shoulders. Your belly starts to expand when you exhale instead of expanding when you breathe in, as it should.
Michael Halpern
considering it didn't take them long to get a working prosthetic tail for another species something simpler like a cochlear implant probably wouldn't be a problem.
TheBlack2007
Isn’t that about the same reaction everyone of them has at first until they come around eventually?
TheBlack2007
Sovlin‘s deprogramming took the entire story of NOP1 before it was truly complete. Now granted, he was probably a tough nut to crack even for a Gojid with all the internalized trauma and self-loathing but that should still give you a good idea how goddamn stubborn these hedgehogs are…
PassengerNo
🎵You're so nice You're not good You're not bad You're just nice I'm not good I'm not nice I'm just right I'm the Witch You're the world🎵 — The Last Midnight from the play Into the Woods
Dragon Writer Luc
My first idea was some sort of synesthesia emulator, making a visual interpretation of the music.
Alekss Žukovskis
cochlear implants prob
Kingarthur
So turns out your entire species and the federation are a bunch of assholes. Sorry we're all only ones willing to actually figure out how to tell ya that. Although makes me wonder who and how they taught him to read since it wasn't like the village gave a shit.
Dragon Writer Luc
While he can't read what other aliens are saying, he can lip-read his own language, and the audio output can work with the Federation translators, so it does still facilitate two-way communication with Gojids. (Should it be "gojid?" It's not like we capitalize "human.") It just will take some work before it can help with other aliens.
Xelav
What? Naaahhh we don't have all those "sign language" things, but LOOK AT THESE COOL ASS NUKES
un_pogaz
>The back of the van was dark, as the predators had shut me in alone; What, alone? Given the delicate situation of trust, it would have been a good idea to bring in Berna too, right? It would have been easy to requisition a guard to equalized the number of people in the room. At least, to accompany him in the van and wait outside if we realy want that Talpin to face Lily alone. Anyway, let move one. >Why was I telling all of this to a predator, Because it's the first time you can really say it. That you can really "speak". Go ahead, open the dam, let it flow, it'll do you good. Jesus, that was intense. Poor guy taking a mountain in the face. As Talpin says, the implications are monstrous. Now I understand better why he became hostile towards Solvin so quickly when he learned about Marcel's torture: he really owe a lot to humanity. I really looking forward how Berna will react to her brother's new gadget. Also, we've got to put inside the Gojid (in/out) fast, because "speak" human is going to be super weird. Now that I think about it, I'm really curious to know what will become in the future. He can finally take his future into his own hands and there are so many wonderful possibilities, like simply living a normal life (this series is going to end very wholesome).
Youre a swedekisser arent you
This is actually really sweet. Talpin finally feels understood. It's so wholesome! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
REDemon14
Poor Talpin, at least he now has a way of venting his emotions to other gojid now. Wonder what Lily is gonna use for music. My bet is bone-conduction tech
Elliott
Time for Talpin to learn about Beethoven. I love this lil guy, he's become my new favorite canon Gojid.
John
I suppose that’s ok still dumb though.
ToddTheSquid
Let 'em have their fun. I was actually here earlier but decided to let them have it instead lol.
Paperclip
Third I always add to the conversation. I just want to put my comment on the pedestal and edit it when I'm done reading. Is there something wrong with that?
John
I’m going to rip out your spine and shove it down your throat.
Lokyar
Second
print Path
Thank you Thank you
Vladi Vladi
At least we are approaching the even horizon soon
Vladi Vladi
It always is a chore with Gojids. Damn fine slaves the squids got
John
People who say “first” and add nothing to the conversation be like:
Corporal Chunk
Welcome back my lord
Yonael Blackwood
I wonder what she has planned. 🤔
print Path
Why thank you It feels good to be back
Yannis Morris
Welcome back, King
Paperclip
"Maybe her entire species was being pushed out of the herd like me, because they were that ugly." Good analogy for this situation, but goddamn, Talpin. I'm hurt.
pogman
Nope
Corporal Chunk
GODDAMNIT LAG, i shall retake my second throne soon enough pogman
pogman
First?
print Path
First
