OOCS, Into A Wider Galaxy, Part 646

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The Dauntless

“I’m still not entirely sure why you’ve wanted to interview me sir, I am honoured but... I can’t make sense of it.” The fresh trained recruit answers and Observer Wu smiles.

“I’m here for information. As much as I can get with as much bias as I can remove. The two questions I was truly sent out to ask are: Did The Undaunted Lie to Us? And, what is the truth? So far the answer to the first question was only by underplaying things, and the truth is far more extreme than they had claimed.”

“Not sure how I can be labelled as extreme sir, signing up for military service has been the most extreme part of it. Until then I lived as my father lived and his father going back all the way to the homeworld.”

“And you signed up because, and I quote: ‘I wanted to stand out from my familial line’ unquote.” Observer Wu reminds him as he checks his notes. The little room they’re in is comfortable and sparsely decorated, but more in a minimalism manner than a lack of anything. The main thing that drew the eye beyond the people in the room was the large window that had a good solid view of the Centris Skyline with all the traffic making almost geometric art as they quickly move in the distance.

“Well yes, but everyone has a phase where they reach out for more. The Undaunted were just an overwhelmingly convenient way to accomplish what I wanted.” The Tret Soldier in question states feeling self conscious.

“And you described your previous life as, and again I am quoting here: ‘Dull but purposeful, I was treated with delicate care and offered all the entertainment I could want. I spent my life without knowing what loneliness or solitude was beyond the definition of the words and the idea of want was less about needs and more about petty indulgence.’ unquote.”

“I did.”

“You failed to elaborate what was so purposeful about that life. It must be something if you prefer yourself as you are now compared to what you were then, as you stated earlier.”

“I made them happy. I... I was having daughters and then... a few months ago... I had a son.” The young looking, but likely oldest man in the room says. “One hundred and seventeen children. One hundred and sixteen daughters I knew would be safe with their mothers and that their mothers could teach them everything. So I... I thought about what I could teach my son. What I would add. What I would give them, then... it dawned on me. I had nothing special to give. That my father had given me nothing special and his father had given him nothing special. And that... that was a failure. I was out of time. I needed more yesterday. I needed... more. My service with The Undaunted is with the caveat that I remain on Centris. I will be serving as a guard, a patroller, I don’t need some grand promotion. I just need something more. I need to be more so I can be there for him. And not just there for my son. I haven’t given my daughters anything either. The only real difference between me and the dolls my little girls play with is that I have legal rights and protections. That’s it. That is all. To my prepubescent daughters daddy is just another doll, but one that they only get to play with on occasion. That is not good enough.”

“So when you were promised to be made better by The Undaunted...”

“Like divine providence. I start panicking and out of nowhere there’s this new species that has the answer I need, that keeps proving it in so many ways it can only be described as insane.” The Soldier says before suddenly flexing his arm. He rolls back the sleeve to show a prominent line on the bicep. “Look at that. I took a knife to the arm getting a civilian out of the way. I can point to this and tell my daughters that this is proof daddy did something great. When he’s old enough to understand my son will see this scar and know that there is courage and strength in the family. That he can be more than just a house husband. That he has choices.”

“How has your family been responding to this?”

“Hmm... some guys are here to run from bad family lives. I even know a couple. I got the digestion upgrades and became drinking buddies with a few of them. They put some things into perspective. How despite my life being... lacking, it wasn’t bad. Just less than it could have been. Others... I heard stories. Stories you’d be better off getting first hand, but... isn’t he... Yeah, he’s the captain and pilot of one of the smaller gunboats. It’s currently out to deal with the whole mess that Ycand kicked up with her stealing blood metal and going insane. The Flying... Dog. There we go. The Flying Dog.”

“So you maintain good relations with your wives and daughters?”

“I do.”

“No doubt some of them asked about the sudden change. Are you comfortable sharing what you said to them?”

“The exact words changed, but for most of them it was to tell them that I wanted to be a more worthwhile husband and father. Some of them are more questioning and asked why now, why I didn’t find this motivation before. To them I told them that everyone seemed to be doing alright. That everything seemed okay. My wives are strong, capable women. I don’t need to worry about them. And my daughters are learning from their mothers. They don’t need me to worry about them. They’re going to be fine. Then I had a son, and I realized he would be learning from me. But there was nothing to teach him. Which made me realize that despite my being the centre of the family, I wasn’t giving to my family. And I needed to be better. For everyone.”

“And how have you been giving to your family?”

“There are some discounts for buying from affiliated stores. So that’s helped. I’ve learned vehicle maintenance and it’s helped a bit. But the big thing is that I’m much more capable. Before the training I’d spend entire weeks absorbing novel series or shows. Just entertaining myself and nothing more. Now I’m receiving defensive piloting training and teaching little tricks to help my daughters with their own piloting licenses.”

“I’m glad to hear you’re doing so well. Also if you could please recall the name of the soldier, or rather pilot and captain that had the rather dramatic life. I would appreciate it.”

“Going for the hot gossip?”

“It does feel like that’s my job at times. But it’s just information. If you don’t want to tell me you don’t have to. Believe me when I say that I already have more than enough to bring back to Earth and everything else I get at this point is me just driving the point home so exquisitely hard that it’s never going to come loose. Or rather I hope it doesn’t in the halls of power at least. Never underestimate a person’s capacity to delude themselves.”

“Like what?” The Soldier asks and Observer Wu huffs in amusement.

“Some people on Earth think the world is flat.” Observer Wu says and the soldier outright snorts before waving a bit. “You have one of your own?”

“No... I got better!”

“Please elaborate.”

“There is a group that I’m technically part of, that believes the spires of Centris are naturally occurring.”

“What?”

“Now, some of them are almost reasonable in that they say that animals will build burrows and nests naturally and it’s a perfectly normal instinct. Therefore all houses, towns cities and what have you are in fact naturally occurring phenomenon with tool using species. Which we all are. That’s the reasonable explanation.”

“And the unreasonable ones?”

“That Centris was a nearly unique world covered in massive stalactites that we’ve built the spires around and slowly replaced the internals with stronger materials over the millennia.” He says.

“Are there other such theories?” Observer Wu asks.

“Well, you can usually tell who’s been indulging in the meetings of late when someone mentioned the idea that the spires are actually giant insect hives and the maintenance drones from the civil services are in fact the species of insect that make them.”

“Is there one that you think is the craziest?”

“There is a theory, a very stupid one. That ties into the worms and Arcologies of Zalwore.” He says.

“Please elaborate.”

“The rumour is that the worms are actually terraforming bio-constructs. That they basically carved out the spires of Centris and it used to be a much larger world with less atmosphere and the worms made everything, including the air.”

“I’ve seen the Tundra Worms of Zalwore. Those horrible things have nothing to do with any of that. Also most of their digging power is from the fact that the ground is kept together by being frozen and they burn hot. But they can’t melt stone, just sand kept hard through ice and frost.”

“I did say it was very stupid.”

“That you did. I’m surprised no one tried to claim these spires are some kind of tree or other kind of plant.” Observer Wu notes.

“I have heard something like that. But even better is the concept that our entire universe is merely the plaything of some enormous child and Centris is one of their more crazy concept for how many buildings they can fit in one place and such.”

“Really?”

“Yes really.”

“So what are your own experiences in the cults and secret orders of Centris?”

“Well, speaking as a man I’m generally treated fairly gently, but it varies from group to group and what your intentions in there are. The Centris Preservation Society is convinced the spires are some kind of natural phenomenon and there needs to be some kind of nature preserve made out of a few of them. I’m in that one because it’s hilarious and stupid. Not because I believe, so I show up and mostly just watch the show and listen to the madness while snacking. But other ones are more civil service or advocacy group. I’m in a bunch of those as well.”

“Really?”

“WE’re pushing for forcefields to be projected between the spires so that air traffic can only enter and exit at specific levels. This should cut down on flying species like Sonir or Metak from not paying attention and flying into traffic. It should also cut down on traffic accidents, confusion and even give new advertisement space for local businesses.”

“Any other reason why it’s a good idea?”

“Well, it would also lock in a few habits that are being taught in pilot school already. It’s not technically illegal, but it’s highly discouraged to just peel off to the side and into the space of a spire. The airspeed limits above a spire’s walkways and buildings is much, much slower than between them, so the reason for it is to avoid getting tickets or fines and to also keep your breaking thrusters from being used too hard and potentially wearing them out or damaging them.”

“Even with repair totems?”

“Pilot training classes are legally required to meet certain measures of safety. And any reliance on repair totems drops that score fairly quickly.”

“... A reasonable regulation? Hunh.”

“Didn’t expect that on Centris did you?”

“No, this world has been a circus but the audience is very much part of the show.”

“There is a sense to things Observer Wu. In that this is the ultimate melting pot. Every culture, religion and people has some reason to look towards Centris. And even if it avoids the world it is aware of it, and in some way this world is aware of them. The churning cycles of conspiracy and movement reflect the galaxy and back out to the galaxy. A living system. Imagine if every cell in your body had a vote, a say. It’s own likes and dislikes. Centris is like that. Paralyzed by the sheer number of hands that would steer it. And so, ways around the paralysis are sought.”

“It does make some sense. But it can only be understood from afar, the moment you’re in communication range of this world it... it sounds different.”

“I’d imagine a lot of things in the galaxy are much like that. Confusing and complicated when you get all the smaller details shoved in your face, but fairly simple and straightforwards when you have the time and wherewithal to take a step back and take it all in.”

“And I think that is a perfect end note for this interview. Unless you have more to add?”

“No sir, I was starting to get a little antsy to be honest. I’m still adjusting to all the... sensations in my gut from the now overdeveloped digestive system and it’s getting harder to focus... also I can’t stop thinking about pickles and coleslaw for some reason.”

“Nothing wrong with having favourites. Especially when they’re nice and crunchy.” Observer Wu says as he stands up from his seat and holds out his hand. “Thank you for meeting with me Corporal Cobalt. This has been an enlightening conversation.”

“I doubt I told you much you didn’t already know, but I was happy to confirm it sir.” The Tret man says as he rises up and shakes Observer Wu’s hand. “Have a good day sir.”

“I have a busy one, but thank you.” Observer Wu says before the Tret man turns around and starts walking out. He then checks the communicator he has on him. It didn’t give off any emergency tones, but it did have a few new messages. One of which is... “Further details on Ode have been found. You may peruse the notes at your leisure. Nothing like a cutting edge of physics to add to one’s caseload.”

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