[Text] [Anonymous]

[hachitaro]

[He still doesn't trust people, not here. Not anywhere, really. But he has to know. In a place this weird, he has to know.]

I'm just wondering... who here is not human? You don't need to tell me who you are if you don't want to, but I just want to get a sense for how many people who are not human are here.

I can't be the only one.

And a second question: is it safe for those who are not human here? I mean, I am definitely not like one of those beast things and I have no plans of attacking people. But human-dominated places tend to be somewhat unsafe for us.

And if you are some kind of mad scientist type reading this? Fuck off. We don't need people like you on our asses.

[Is that enough of a difference from his usual typing? He'll have to be careful about capitalization and punctuation so it sounds different from him, but...]

Comments

[androidvictoriam]

Where does this alleged animosity from humans come from, then? Taking you at your word, are there others of your kind who do engage in violent or threatening behavior?

[hachitaro]

To be strictly fair I don't actually know many of my species. We kind of don't stick together.

But the larger community, yes. But there are plenty of humans who do that as well. And don't try to claim that humans don't try to dissect things they don't understand - if they knew about magic they'd try to figure out how it works. And how do you think they'd do that?

They'd butcher us, no question. Or experiment on us until we wished we were dead.

[androidvictoriam]

I won't try to claim humans wouldn't do that. Nor would I wish it on anyone. Scientific advancement always walks a fine line between well-intentioned betterment and dangerous hubris.

I don't suppose either of us needs to fear that now, in any case. This place seems to have an abundance of nonhuman citizens, and bigger problems to worry about.

[hachitaro]

Yeah, it seems that way from what everyone's saying.

And I mean I like science, I like technology. It makes my life a whole lot easier in general. I just don't want it to be at the expense of people like me.

[Are there ethical issues about how some of that technology is produced? ... Yeah. But he's aware there's no ethical consumption under capitalism, so he just tries to make the most of what he can get.]

[androidvictoriam]

Understandable, and hard to fault you for.

Albeit a bit ironic in a city where people like us are apparently expected to power things with our own blood.

[For a guy who wouldn't shut up back home about his willingness to spill his own blood to protect innocents or advance the cause of the Brotherhood, Danse is really hung up on the concept of magic that requires him to do it non-metaphorically.]

[hachitaro]

Yeah, there's that. I'm not all that fond of that part... reminds me of creepy horror stories about summoning rituals or whatever done in blood... this whole place has a horror aesthetic.

[androidvictoriam]

There's something distinctly cultlike about it, for sure. It's a shame, but I had a feeling that a place as beautiful and luxurious as this was too good to be true.

[For Danse, that is...really, really not a high bar to clear.]

[hachitaro]

... This place is luxurious? Wow, your world must have some serious problems.

Not that it's bad in terms of what's here structurally, just... my world's generally less dangerous than this.

[androidvictoriam]

Global nuclear war tends to have that effect.

I encountered a food vendor earlier selling jerky made from actual beef. From an actual cow. I've never even seen a cow that didn't have two heads and milk like battery acid. Honestly, it was the best thing I've ever tasted.

[hachitaro]

... Ah. I've seen what happens when places get hit by atomic bombs. Don't like the idea of it being global.

I guess that makes sense. I'm from a place that has a lot of food, though only if you've got the cash for it. So I make do with the skills I have.

[androidvictoriam]

You'd like the reality even less.

But that is disappointing. The idea of people going hungry even in worlds with no scarcity. Your wording implies that you don't exactly pay for your meals upfront, but I'm less inclined to judge theft when it comes from necessity rather than greed.

[hachitaro]

I pay for my meals, most of the time. What I sell to pay for them... yeah, anonymously I'll admit that I take things. I try not to take things from people who actually need them, though. I'm a thief, not a total dick.

[androidvictoriam]

And there wasn't any gainful employment you could have found without running afoul of human scientists?

Whatever the case may have been there, it doesn't apply here--but you're still committed to making your living with subterfuge and crime?

[hachitaro]

I mean not really. You need stuff like documentation in order to have a job.

Did I say I was? I didn't have a choice where I was from. I have a choice here.

[androidvictoriam]

You very explicitly did use present tense when describing yourself as a thief, yes.

But that's good. I hope you make use of that choice. I'll admit, I'm new enough here that I don't really know what the options are.

[hachitaro]

I guess. But I've only been here a month so it's hard to get used to calling myself something else.

Someone I know is opening up a place and needs workers, so I'm probably going to work there.

[androidvictoriam]

[Anything Danse could say about that is either illustrated or undercut by the fact that he's still using his Brotherhood registration number as a username, so he just...refrains from comment.]

What's the place called? I'd rather serve in the city guard myself, but I might like to patronize it.

[hachitaro]

The Dove. It's not open yet, but opening night is New Year's Eve.