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Chapter Theme Music: Rimani ~ Mattia Cupelli [Frammenti]
<11/02/149,012 {Avion 147} - 04:00 | Corral Position, Genosis, Altiri Sector Space>
<Karnak to ACS414 Date Equivalent: 11/02/1456>
When we first discovered what other life was out there, everyone was curious, eagerly waiting to know exactly what was on the other side of our world. We wondered what the humans were like compared to ourselves. When news about the heathens in their world reached everyone, The Unity was shaken back to sleep for a long time. Thousands of years passed after our initial discovery before any returned to the desire of their eternal curiosity.
So much has been changing since. Despite the heathens on Earth, aggressor groups from everywhere decided to learn more about the world, using the clairvoyance we've mastered stronger than ever before, our eyes ignoring the ugly, and instead favoring the beauty. For as much evil as there appeared to be within the people of that terrestrial world, the souls of others would sing powerful symphonies of life through their daily words, their thoughts, and their actions.
Humans are split between two genders; male and female. The answers we had not before eventually came to light, that humans reproduce in birth through a strange process they currently refer to as sex. When a man and a woman get together to perform sex between each other, the process of pregnancy in the female is initiated, and the rest carries out much like how we Altiri used to know.
It's a strange concept to us, and even stranger to me, since our last generation never bore any children, myself included. I've had a mother, yet never produced a daughter. Whatever natural function we once had in parthenogenesis was somehow switched off and disabled, a couple thousand years before the exodus. Human lifespans are so much shorter, yet they reproduce to numbers greatly exceeding our own today, spreading around their world, colonizing the land in many places.
Not everybody on Earth concedes to the larger culture around them, and the disconnected colonies provide so many differences and pockets of freedom, meaning anybody may grow up to be of any variety of strengths and faults. This allows for many women to avoid any negative culture or indoctrination to those wanting to power over them, at least sometimes. It is for this reason why, when we look to the Earth now, among the men and women, there exists a few hidden gems, people of interest as I refer to, who grow up highly perceptive, highly sensitive, confident in their individuality, and thereby so different from the others.
Not much has changed with us. One look at a male is all it takes to set any one of us off during our clairvoyant monitoring; I've lost my temper more times than I can count. We don't watch this planet to keep our eyes on the enemy; we instead seek out whatever we are in the mood for. With the millions of different humans, often times will some provide us with a unique or amazing story. Some girls face challenges. Some women try to change for the sake of a heathen they want, or try instead to change that heathen into something they prefer. Some look out to the stars in their sky, wondering what else might be out there for them. Some drown themselves in mystical mindscapes of their imagination, dancing and singing to the music they remember. Some devote themselves to certain roles created for them, and few choose to live alone.
Thousands of years ago, I said some pretty awful things about the human race. I don't love them at whole, nor do I envy their way of life. When I learned what was on Earth, I wished for that world's destruction through proclamation of what was most likely... But now, every time I take another peek on this faraway planet, even though heathen existence reigns supreme, I feel some kind of hope for some of the women there, even when there shouldn't be any, often times when there really isn't anything there.
I thought I knew these people and their behavior to the point of perfect accuracy, but through time, I've been realizing that no one human is really the same inside. Everyone is their own unique person, embraced in their perfect imperfections, co-existing despite their usual lack of total unity. I don't know why or how I can feel this way about some of the girls there, who are in almost all aspects inferior to us Altiri. Is it sole curiosity? I think not.
I may have gotten involved for such an arbitrary reason, treating human lives like one large, never-ending entertainment show, and I think all of the other aggressor groups have been doing the same. There's something a little more to the human race though, something I feel I'm on the brink of understanding. It exists in the deepest depths of other people, and my telepathy doesn't work on those humans, since they lack psionic powers and awareness.
May this be the reason now, why I've become so interested and enveloped in my current target? Like myself, my sisters have been following the same lead, searching for and finding random humans to watch with clairvoyance, so that they simply have something to learn from. Some humans are boring, while others are incredibly interesting.
I could swear sometimes that some of these people feel things that I've never once felt before, as if they have some kind of sixth sense of the world around them. Maybe some women see and feel things that simply aren't there, or perhaps they sense something invisible to all of us. My current target isn't exactly like that to any extremity, but this seventeen year old girl has immersed herself in an alien song and dance which I've deemed most unusual and interesting.
Mira is what they call this human. For reasons I know not, she lives and works alone, safe and cozy inside a strange log cabin with a roof made of retractable leaves and straw, mended together so that the night sky is visible and reachable from indoors. I doubt she built the place by herself, yet this is where she lived for a while it seemed.
Mira would often absorb lots of beautiful music that was played to her from strings and vocal, sacred hymns and words she would repeat when she got home. Today of all days was one of her strongest moments of all, as her singing and dancing became so refined, so confident as if she were performing, even though she was alone under the stars of her open home, right in view where I could see and hear her, our senses in perfect harmony.
Chapter Theme Shift: Orionco Flow ~ Enya
Yes, I felt everything she felt now, her hypnotic movements and angelic voice was mere seasoning to the energy she was giving off in the bright night. Spins and twirls under the sky to the memory of music played back so pristine and strong, stored and sang from crystal harmony! Mira is another hidden gem, and I am here to watch her learn, watch her grow, watch her express everything she keeps locked away from public eyes.
"Vie, Vie, Třee Vie~ee." Mira sung to her words so loud and proud that such energy seeped through me as I listened, and before I knew it, I was prancing and dancing around, matching her moves.
"Night, dark, hush all hush thee." Even though I was alone hearing her, I wanted to sing along, to join her joyous charm. It wasn't long before I found myself repeating the same words as her in synch.
"Burn in, burn out, pull a line, push a curve."
"I no break, I no cry, bring me dark, I bring light."
"I will shine, I will shine, I will shine all night."
"I will shine, I will shine, I will shine all night."
"I will sing, I will dance, I will turn alright."
"I will live, I will die, I will reach my height."
"I am light, we are dark, in the world - we will flow."
"Hear my words, feel my thoughts, in the world - I will glow."
"I will shine, I will shine, I will shine all night."
"I will shine, I will shine, I will shine all night."
"I will sing, I will dance, I will turn alright."
"I will live, I will die, I will reach my height."
Keep turning! Keep dancing! I wished I could be there in person, cheering her on, holding her arms, linking my senses to hers. I'll move with her body; I'll sing as she sings!
"Vie, Vie, Třee Vie~ee."
"Night, dark, hush all hush thee."
"Burn in, burn out, pull a line, push a curve."
"I no break, I no cry, bring me dark, I bring light."
"I will shine, I will shine, I will shine all night."
"I will shine, I will shine, I will shine all night."
"I will sing, I will dance, I will turn alright."
"I will live, I will die, I will reach my height."
"I am light, we are dark, in the world - we will flow."
"Hear my words, feel my thoughts, in the world - I will glow."
"I will shine, I will shine, I will shine all night."
"I will shine, I will shine, I will shine all night."
"I will sing, I will dance, I will turn alright."
"I will live, I will die, I will reach my height."
Keep going!
"I will shine, I will shine, I will shine all night."
"I will shine, I will shine, I will shine all night."
"I will sing, I will dance, I will turn alright."
"I will live, I will die, I will reach my height."
"I am light—"
"We are dark—"
"In the world—"
"We will flow."
"Hear my words—"
"Feel my thoughts—"
"In the world—"
"I will glow!"
"I will shine—"
"I will shine—"
|
"I will shine all night!" |
"I will shine all night!" |
"I will shine—"
"I will shine—"
|
"I will shine all night!" |
"I will shine all night!" |
"I will sing—"
"I will dance—"
|
"I will turn alright!" |
"I will turn alright!" |
"I will live—"
"I will die—"
|
"I will reach my height!" |
"I will reach my height!" |
For what felt like eternal bliss, all I knew was Mira, her words, her song, her thoughts, her dance. Never did I care how we looked, lost in our own immersion of a world we could feel but never quite see. How I wished we could have danced like this forever.
Chapter Theme Shift: I sun ~ (Blue Reflection OST)
With her energy coming to a fall, I slowed my moves and reactions to her, only silent enough now to notice the other tall one standing in the doorway of my private side of the main room. "Eep!"
"Eep?"
I had no idea what noise just left my lips, but Junko's sudden presence before me brought the weight of a stone wall slamming into me, figuratively. "WH— why didn't you announce yourself to me?!" If looks could kill, I would have died a hundred times over, and my eyes could not meet Junko's directly.
With a soft chuckle on her smiling face, Junko folded her arms, curious about the strange behavior I've been presenting lately. "I never realized there was such a requirement. Our wise leader never made us aware of precautious intrusion... What exactly were you doing just now?" Junko wasn't the least bit upset or confused, her tone only drilling my embarrassment in further.
"Nothing," I lied.
"Didn't look or sound like it to me..."
"Mhmn." Still could I not look her in the eye. I've never once felt this way before, so it wasn't something I could understand well enough. As much fun as I was having earlier, I wished Junko wasn't here to see my strangeness, especially since she would not be able to see Mira doing all the same things. Something about her watching me for part of that moment sent shivers through my body, filling my face with shame, knowing nobody else would understand. Why can't she just take the hint and go away?
"Aah, I've seen this expression before on other humans, rarely. I think this might be the first time I've ever seen you so embarrassed."
"If you know, then why must you lay it in deeper?"
Junko actually glanced upwards in thought to my question, pondering something she might not have been aware of yet. "Good question... I get it; you didn't want me to catch you dancing like a weirdo. I can't explain why, but seeing your reaction to this is so refreshing. I mean, it actually feels good to have embarrassed you... I don't know why."
"And you say I'm the weird one..." This is so strange. I don't even know why I feel this way to have been caught, but I can't help it... And it seems Junko can't help herself! "Why are you laughing at me?!"
Junko was in fact laughing with her hand covering her mouth, as if she had witnessed the greatest forbidden display of all time. "I'm not. I just think it's cute, in a strange kind of way." Junko already knew I was observing Mira as more of a long-term target, so I'm sure she put some of the pieces together already.
"Yeah, well you better forget it. If you tell any of my other sisters about this, I'll get you back a hundred times later."
"Well..." Junko held her index finger to her head, looking guilty by the faintest of margins, which made my heart dance to a faster tempo. "I normally wouldn't, but Rose was kind of in pair with me when I found you like this, so..."
"So she knows then?"
"Sorry Lumina. I didn't know you were going to be busy." Rose truly was dragged into this by mere chance, but I could hear her struggling not to laugh too, all the way through the other end of our telepathy.
I wished now I could punch her without causing too much harm. "I can hear you laughing too Rose."
"What? No, I'm not laughing... I'm just practicing some mental noises I heard from this one human, who—"
"You're as bad a liar as me." "Oh-hoho!" I buried my face into my hands, knowing I would never live this down for the rest of my life. I also know how Rose is. She'll take her time to let this secret simmer, and let it rip out later to the others, letting it climb for dramatic effect, the result of letting her spend too much time with Nora.
"It'll be okay Lumina." Junko walked up to me, hoping to comfort me in some way, even though we both knew nothing would help with that. I can't take back what I've done, and Junko cannot unsee what she just saw. For the rest of my life, I'll be known as the one who was doing some weird dance. If only Junko could have seen Mira in our most brilliant moment, she would totally understand, right? "You just got a little too carried away with this Mira is all. I'm kind of envious that you can find someone to shadow for so long."
I kept speaking through my fingers, Junko unable to soften the blow I've already dealt to myself. "I think now I understand why people behave so differently when others aren't around." I was mostly referring to the humans we've been observing. I've more or less seen circumstances similar to this very moment for other humans, who are cautious about revealing any bit of their personal lives to others, no matter the importance. It also reminded me that Mira had no idea, nor will she ever know that I've been immersively observing every aspect of her daily life lately. After all she was doing a moment ago, I wonder if she would react in the exact same way as I, knowing her amazing dance was not as private as she thought.
"I'm guessing she was doing some kind of dance and song?"
I only nodded, unwilling to speak until this feeling passes me by... Why isn't Junko being swallowed by my humiliation? Is she that immune from it?
"It's perfectly natural to get carried away and immersed into the lives of those we watch." Junko wasn't using any gibberish, at least regarding the last phrase. Ever since the humans have slowly begun to pick up our own language, the amount of eyes and dedicated focus to particular individuals has changed our very way of life. "Though, I guess you're one that does so more strongly than the rest of us."
"What do you mean?" Is she still making fun of me for this?
"I mean, it's almost like you have some kind of pinpoint focus on everything you look at, more than me at least... Must every person you watch be so deep and intense?"
I only now realized what she was asking, though it was very difficult for either of us to explain. I do pay strong attention to those who interest me, and usually, those who interest me have something deep and intense about them, compared to others nearby their proximity. "I'm not fond of watching those who wilfully delude themselves about the world around them... I like Mira. She's doing the best that she can, but no matter what happens to her, it's like she always stays so genuine to herself, around other people who warp to fit the social constructs they bend to... She's insightful, enough to know where there is beauty."
"So the insightful catch your attention...?"
"Why are you looking at me like I'm from some other planet?"
"I'm not. It's just nice to learn something new about you after so many countless boring years... You know something weird? I can barely remember a thing about the past, at least where it concerned cycles that had nothing happening for us at the time. I remember other moments just fine, but most of the days I spent doing absolutely nothing, they never come to my recall."
"I agree with you... But why is this relevant?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "Maybe it's just... Well, maybe this is a good thing, what we've been doing for the past few thousand years. We discovered ACS414, found these aliens living there, and we've been watching them ever since. I can remember so much more about this than anything else. I still recall other important things of our past, even all that stuff about psionic theory and what Herios did for The Unity... Maybe that's what keeps us alive; whenever things change."
I felt like saying something back to her, but the wisdom of her words forced me silent a little longer. Those on Karnak have a bit more to keep themselves entertained, even though they too can view the Earth using clairvoyance. However, out here in space, among all of us in every aggressor group of the Altiri military, our primary job is to defend the gravity well zone of Karnak externally, from any possible alien invader, despite the fact that our ships don't shoot fancy lasers or launch explosive torpedoes. Our presence here in space is a deterrent if anything, to make a bold statement to any who cross our Phobium Cloud that they are mistaken to mess with us. Of course, this was all designed never knowing if we would find life, friendly or hostile, and we've been in space for nearly a hundred thousand years now. The point is, in day-to-day life on these ships, there is almost never anything to do. After I've had a taste of how interesting and enriching some humans live their lives, it's as if I cannot stop myself from watching more of them, like some kind of dependency or addiction.
Our world never changes, yet the human world is always changing, still so young and full of life. Maybe this is why they are so interesting, since there is never really a dull moment with them. If that's true, then Junko must be right, that change in our everyday lives rejuvenates something inside of us, whether that change be positive or negative. Time, as it is, keeps us going. "I guess you're right about that."
"I know I am." Junko wouldn't say it, but I could faintly sense what she was thinking when she told me that. She was thinking back to me actually, to a time which was eons ago, when I nearly let my spirit suffocate under the weight of my despair. When I lost my mother and my memory of her, I was forever broken. Even after that day, when my sisters helped me feel a little better, though I improved, I only did the bare minimum for what I had to. Despite what we all said, I was still merely a shell of my former self, so stagnant, always half-conscious; sleep-walking through every dull moment. Time seemed to pass much faster this way, but none were uncertain that I was so dead inside, and that I was not the only one to turn out this way.
These days though, I feel so much more than I used to, like something inside has brought my senses to full life, though I'm sure it could become even more intense. I think there are some humans on ACS414 who can get this way too, despite our severe difference in life span. If humans become too calm and comfortable, or if they let themselves drown in enough despair, their spirit sleeps, and their energy wanes.
I don't know what it was that makes Mira happy, but she was so alive today that I just had to share in her glory; I wasn't wrong to link my energy and senses with hers. "I'm still going to punch all of you if you make fun of our dance ever again."
"No funny business, promise." Junko was serious enough, but I know she won't speak for Rose, who we both know will tell the others in due time.
People have become so strange lately. Nora has become oddly obsessed with human sexual science, Derria has taken a keen interest in traditional human sciences, others have allowed their curiosity to overtake the anger and fear of witnessing heathens on that world, and the queen has long since authorized a measure by which Altiri aggressor groups can get directly involved in the lives of the aliens in ACS. Though it took a long time, the no-interference policy was tossed right out the window, yet most of the others who were against it no longer see it as an issue, myself included.
I thought I knew everything that day, but it turns out I knew nothing. "I want to learn more."
"Say again?" Junko really didn't hear me, though only because I barely whispered what I was thinking.
"I want to find even more targets like Mira for study. There must be other human girls in the world that have such strong expression. If we keep studying them, we'll continue to understand human behavior so much better."
"Slow down a moment... You're not suggesting we actually—"
"Did I say so?" My stern remark cut her presumption down quickly. "I may get carried away, but I'm no idiot. I would never force all of us to make such an important decision with so little reason for it, and even if I did, you need to stop acting as if it would only be my decision."
"But it really would be your call."
"Not happening!" Junko, and everybody else, don't you dare give into the notion that I would make you all do something you could never take back without your own say. "It's something that affects all of us, and so, if ever that day comes, the decision will be unanimous. Even though I respect the queen's rules, I am nothing like her. Understand?"
"I— sure." Junko seemed slightly jostled from my assertiveness, but I had plenty of good reason to do so. Some pay too much tribute to the authority level of leadership positions within aggressor groups. I may be the leader of the Cy-Stars, but every single member is more important to me than anything. Their lives matter just as much as mine, so any decision that concerns them is something I cannot withhold.
"So," I reminded, "what were you going to talk to me about, before you rudely interrupted our dazzling elegance?"
"If elegance means funny, sure." Before Junko realized her mistaken thought projection, we could both feel the tightening fist I made with my right hand to her remark, and she got to her point quicker because of it. "Eh, I was simply going to invite you over to Fionne's ship. We were planning a short get-together, to compare some of the stories we've been seeing from our targets."
"I'll join, but when it comes turn for me to share, you can forget it."
"You really don't want to at least talk about Mira?"
"If only that's all you were planning. Not to worry though! I'll protect Mira's cute secret from all of you!"
"Now who's the one being silly?"
