Chapter 3
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F7 landed their ship on a landing platform at the eastern civilian docks. They transferred some credits to book the landing space for six hours according to Centaury 5 time, then after some consideration, they ordered maintenance on the ship as well.

F7 took out the hoover car carried within the storage space of their ship, and promptly headed with it to the capital. They figured they would sight-see for the time being. Maybe get a haircut – not that they couldn’t have styled it using the tools available at the soul harvesting station they lived and worked in – and get some conversation with a hairdresser out of it.

They leisurely drove down the hoover highway, admiring the view. At first the buildings weren’t so tall, there were mostly logistical buildings with sparse greenery, but then gradually, as the buildings got higher, the hoover lanes and sidewalks multiplied and started to appear at different heights going higher and higher. F7 watched the buildings with the colorful shops passing by and the people walking in the transparent, hanging tube-like sidewalks.

There were people of all shapes and sizes. It was no surprise to see so many races so close to the center of the Novo Omniversal Empire. There were humans like F7, and the indigenous people of Centaury 5 could be seen as well – beings twice as tall as humans, with skin colors coming in various shades of purple, turquoise and pink, with feathery plumage on their heads instead of hair. They had three yellowish eyes – one in the middle of their face, the other two situated on their temples. Instead of a nose and mouth they had pointy beaks.

F7 parked their hoover car at a parking area near a hanging garden. They spotted a cafe next to it – they did some research on places with good recommendations on the way to Centaury 5 – went in to order the specialty of the day, a spicy latte with thick foam and a fruity pastry. It’s been ages since they tasted proper food – the rations for extended stay in outer space hardly counted – and F7 savored the flavors, immersing themselves in the pleasure of eating with half lidded eyes.

I could get addicted to this. Let’s come here often during my leave. The barista was easy to talk to as well.

F7 thought to themselves, conveniently forgetting the sad fact that they didn’t actually talk, just nodded at the barista’s recommendation.

After finishing the meal, F7 got up and leisurely walked towards the hanging garden. It’s been so long ago since they could enjoy direct sunlight on their skin, F7 couldn’t help but bask a little as they headed towards the hair salon.

Laud chatter welcomed them as they entered Mia Mo’s Cutey-cles, their hair salon of choice. One of the hairdressers came to greet F7 immediately.

“Welcome to Mia Mo’s Cutey-cles, where under our tentacles you can achieve your cutest look ever!” – shouted the hairdresser excitedly with a flushed face and wriggling tentacles. She was from the aquatic planet Savona 4, and had shimmery off-white skin with a pair of big, blue round eyes that had horizontal, rectangular pupils in them. She had four extremely dexterous tentacles instead of hands turning gradually to a peachy color towards the tips. She was wearing a breathing apparatus filled with water around her neck where her gills were to enable her to breath on dry land. She wore clothes that had special lining to keep her skin moisturized throughout the day, while still being dry on the outside. She wore no shoes, she didn’t need them as her feet ended in a pair of large suction cups.

F7 wanted to say hello, but before they could squeeze out a single syllable the woman prevented them by speedily jabbering out a question.

“Do you have an appointment?”

F7 nodded then took a breath to ask the woman what kind of hairstyle she would recommend them.

“Under what name? Oh, by the way, my name’s Althyna, but everybody just calls me Althy, so you can do the same. Do you have a specific hairstyle in mind? Is there a special occasion you are going to? You have a very beautiful face, so I’m sure that almost any kind of style would look good with your head shape. Don’t worry even for a sec, you are in good arms!” – she waved her tentacles grinning.

F7 felt like they were hit by a storm, it was simply unthinkable to them, that there was someone, who could say so many things so fast. They wished they had Althy’s conversational skills.

“...I’m F7, and… hair’s too long so…”

“So you want it shorter” – Althy nodded sagely, then wrapped a tentacle around F7’s shoulder and led them to an empty chair.

Nailed it! F7 congratulated themselves for talking as they listened to Althy blabber on.

“I see you booked us for 10:751There are a hundred minutes in an hour on Centaury 5. A day has 20 hours, and a year lasts for 23 months., but what do you say we get started sooner? You see, one of our clients has canceled at the last minute, so I can fit you in. Take a seat, get comfy! We’ll get started right away!”

F7 sat down wordlessly. Althy draped a cloth around their shoulders, back and chest to keep them clean from the falling hair. Three of her tentacles were preparing the tools and shampoos and conditioners and who knows what else without her having to pay attention to them, while the fourth one fiddled with F7’s hair.

“So what length would you like it to be, hm? Around this much is good? Very well, then I will start with washing you hair, you just lay back and relax. Would you like a massage too? Did you know this product has ginseng in it from Terra? It’s very gentle on the hair...”

Althy jabbered on during the entire process like a champion. F7 tried to mumble in some answers every once in a while, but they just mostly nodded along. By the time their hair was done, their head felt refreshed from the treatment, and they were thoroughly exhausted mentally. After paying, F7 decided to go home, figuring that this much was more then enough for their first outing in forever.

They spent their vacation in a similar manner. They would go out every two or three days, then rest in solitude to recover from all the socializing. F7 went to theater plays, watched sports events and fashion shows, tried different foods at different cafes and restaurants, attended public seminars about the latest innovations, petted fluffy animals at the zoo and enjoyed several afternoons swimming at the beach or snowboarding on the slopes of the southern hemisphere of Centaury 5, where the shadow of the planet’s rings kept everything frosty through the year. F7 visited some of the gaming planets, where they could shoot zombies and hunt monsters (bred specifically for entertainment), explore dungeons and save princesses (lifelike androids serving as NPCs) from castles. F7 realized they truly did need a break, even if they didn’t realize it before.

On the last day of their vacation F7 decided to attend the welcoming ceremony for the new employees at the headquarters of Soul Procession Department, to get into the right head space for starting work again the day after. F7 listened to their boss, Xander Dwayne2The same guy, who gives them the assignments. I mentioned him before, though not by name. He is the dude with the army general's jawline. giving a speech.

“I would like to congratulate our newcomers for successfully graduating from the academy and joining our department on this glorious day. It has been over ten thousand years since our civilization overcame the last great filter and ascended to the fifth level3See explanation to what a type 5 civilization is at this link. While the Empire is called Novo Omniversial Empire, this doesn't mean they rule over their universe, but reather a galaxy supercluster. The are called 'Omniversial' because they create mini universes for harvests.. The revolutionary technologies of dimension generating, world building, evolution launching and finally soul harvesting has enabled our empire to utilize an alternative source of energy instead of leeching off of the beautiful stars and black holes of our universe. Soul energy is the most powerful source of energy there is, with it’s aid we can power our cities, colonize new planets and advance our technology for the comfort and well being of all, while also protecting the environment. I welcome you, who from this day will become the foundation of our fair Novo Omniversial Empire. Without you, the nation would surely fall apart into darkness, therefore allow me to express my deepest gratitude on behalf of every citizen of the Empire. Thank you.”

F7 joined the applause, clapping their hands together slowly. They mingled a little bit at the after party with newbies bombarding them with questions about their upcoming work, when they noticed F7’s senior harvester uniform. F7 tried to answer their questions best they could, and was very relieved to slip away when someone started to say a toast. They found socializing utterly overwhelming and exhausting, and couldn’t wait to be alone at their harvesting station once more.

 

Some more world building, hehe :D

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