The Nature of Predators - Sovlin’s Transcript (12/13)

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Memory transcription subject: Sovlin, Gojid Retiree

Date [standardized human time]: May 12, 2151

“Have a present!” the human, who’d introduced himself as Lars Isaksson, handed me a t-shirt. It read I met a predator and all I got was this dumb shirt in Gojid script. “He’ll look great in it, don’t you think, Cilany? Try it on!”

I wasn’t sure what had given the Swede the impression that I would ever wear this; the word “shirt” existing in our lexicon was relatively new to begin with, and was a more broad term for any sort of chest covering. Lars needed a reality check, giving a fragile cloth top to a species with quills on our backs. Honestly, how did he think that would end? Willing to do whatever was necessary to get out of his presence as soon as possible, I donned his gift with a curled lip. It was wretched. How could Terrans stand to have this garbage clinging to their skin at all times?

Maybe I can fake a heart attack and be rescued by an ambulance. I wish I could make myself still afraid of humans, so I can have a real one. I’d prefer to not be resuscitated than to return to this hellscape.

Cilany chuckled. “It needs to be more snug around his belly.”

“It’s good to see you too,” I grumbled. “You know, I asked to catch up with you, not the ice humans. Every slot for the amount of moronic predators I’m willing to tolerate is full. How did you two even meet?”

“Lars is an old friend. He used to comment on my blog and offered to show me some, and I quote, ‘predator entertainment’ in an online message. He wasn’t a fan of Emergency Order 56. I flew out to Sweden and took him up on it, which I guess is pretty crazy.”

“That’s certainly a decision. I try to accept them being a little more violent than we’d been accustomed to, but I don’t think Emergency Order 56 was all bad.”

Lars scoffed, lips curved up in disbelief. “You don’t think the United Nations censoring harmless, fun shit that’s a part of our lives with anything involving aliens, even on Earth, is good—do you? How would you ever really get to know us? That’s a pretty rotten cultural exchange! I got arrested for giving my Zurulian exchange partner plant-based meat. If I was gonna have an alien friend, they should know the real me.”

“Counterpoint: I liked it better when humans weren’t supposed to be all smiley around me. Your entertainment is fine. I liked it when I could watch this atavist Yotul I knew die in video games and break controllers.”

“What happened to this Yotul?”

“Oh, Onso’s a politician now. All haughty and trying to pretend his rocket engineering degree makes him not primitive. If that was true, he wouldn’t be friends with a dumbass like Tyler; and if you knew Tyler, you would understand why.”

“This one’s all warm and fuzzy. I can practically envision him sitting in a rocking chair under an American flag and hear him yelling at ‘predator kids’ to get off of his lawn.”

“Nah, I like children. Adults not so much.”

Cilany gave me a look. “Sovlin. Beneath all your crankiness, I know you’re still a softie. We’ve both lived around humans for decades, so you can’t hate their entire adult population. Anyhow. There’s a lot to catch up on.”

“That’s why I’m here. Reflecting the good old days of ‘36 and the people I knew. We can speed up the catching up bit though, since he’s here. You answered how you met, but not why you live with this annoying internet stranger. I don’t understand why anyone would hook up with a human. What do you see in them?!”

“What? Oh no, we’re not—we’re roommates. Lars is fun to be around, but it’s not weird like that. I can’t imagine.”

“She’s very small. I’m not,” Lars pointed out helpfully.

“I don’t have feelings of that sort for you anyway. Lars is a goofy brother to me.”

“Good, because the idea of being like that with them is repulsive. Ick.” I could feel my few remaining spines bristling beneath the horrible shirt, poking holes in it. It was more subtle than shredding it with my claws. “Is there a reason I smell smoke?”

Lars’ eyes widened, and he rushed for the kitchen as the smoke alarm blared. “Right. I was cooking you dinner. The Wilen special! Why bother having alien guests if you can’t show them Swedish food?”

“Shit. I have to ask with humans, since Protector knows what you put in your food. You mentioned plant-based meat, so are you vegetarian or…?”

“Pescatarian. I eat fish only.”

I snorted. “So you like your dead animals with fins instead of legs. Nice preference, but to act like it’s different! That reminds me of a human who said they’re flexitarian; oh, sometimes they eat plants! Part-time predators only. Last time I checked, that’s just being a normal fucking omnivore. It’s how the damn word was explained to me.”

“You don’t get it. They eat plants when they feel like it,” Lars joked.

“What does the rest of humanity do that’s so different?! Weirdass predators.”

Still grumbling, I shuffled over to a seat at a table, and admired the stark contrast in furniture intended for Harchen versus humans; there was a duality in the decor to fit their cohabitation. I knew how difficult it was to live with Terrans—walking disasters, every last one of them, who only reached adulthood by the miracle known as society. Hunter was lucky that I knew he needed me. I was tired of finding his laundry everywhere, and searched for his damn car keys at least two times a week. 

After flopping my rear end down in the chair, I rubbed my eyes. Maybe I was jet-lagged. I was halfway between grumpy and wanting a nap. The scent of Lars’ food actually smelled good, and reminded me that my dietary comments were very much in line with what I wanted to seek Cilany’s advice on. I needed to work up to that subject, for both my own sake and to adhere to politeness. The Harchen reporter and I had been apart for a long time. She was one of my oldest friends, and perhaps the start of my realizing that the Federation wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows.

I remember Cilany’s singular commitment to truth, and I knew it was why she would be a reliable reporter to give humans a fair shake. She was able to let Sam speak about Terran culture and look into the Arxur starvation allegations immediately after joining our crew; her bravery and tenacity were worthy of the utmost respect, in my book.

I angled a claw toward the Harchen, ignoring Lars stumbling around to transport the dishes with haste. “Neither of us could’ve imagined when we first met that we’d spend our retirement on a predator homeworld, living with them willingly. You never thought about going back to Fahl, with your job and your life?”

“We deserve no pity on this matter, but my last moments in Harchen space were seeing an Arxur raid. My job, my life, my home: it was gone. Many of our chants were nature-based, a lot like your culture. I mourned it every bit as much as you miss the little things about the cradle. I don’t want to go back though, knowing that life was all a lie; Fahl is too poisoned. The deeper I looked into humanity, with both their complexity and their darkness, the more I felt like I knew them—like this was an interesting world that could be my home. So I stay.”

“I stay because the people I love are here. Humanity gave me a second chance. They let me forgive myself, and I owe it to them to live out my life here. One day, before I die, I hope that I can…fully turn my back on the Federation. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“In what way haven’t you turned your back on the Federation? You stayed in the fight against them all the way to Aafa, threw off all the lies.”

“Not all of them. One issue hit the heart of what I believed, and I fear it would somehow make me the worst version of myself. I…you’re a former omnivore, Cilany. What do you think of, you know, being flexitarian?”

“You’re asking whether I’ve gone back to the old ways? No. I had an allergic reaction early on while living on Earth, so I saw the wisdom in getting the cure reversed as soon as I could. I have no desire to be an omnivore though, not when Lars is oh-so-happy to bring the flavor without the actual lab-grown animal tissue. It’s good enough for me. You should try it.”

The Swede grinned, starting to spoon a fake meat cutlet onto my plate. “If you’re curious, this is the perfect and safe way to dip your toes in the pond. You’ll love it. Herbivores don’t like to admit it, but we like these flavors because they’re good.”

I pushed the human’s hand, resisting his efforts to feed me a meat replica. “No. Please, stop. If I’m going to do this, I want the first taste to be the real thing. It has to be denouncing the Federation all the way. I know it sounds foolish, but I’m afraid that I’m a monster…that it’ll change me and spark some mad hunger. In the next breath, I believe it doesn’t do that to Hunter, Tyler, or Sam—not in any way that matters! It’s confusing. I saw a Gojid named Rumi eating fried chicken, and it felt wrong. I don’t know if I should try flesh food.”

“Serious talk, bro? It’s the only way to disprove your fears. The only way to know they were wrong, and that they took that part of you for no reason. There was nothing wrong with Gojids. That was just their Emergency Order 56.”

Cilany nibbled at her food, nodding. “I agree with Lars, Sovlin; the omnivores were victims of the Federation’s sanitization experiments. I think you should overcome that hurdle. These names that you mentioned, the people that you care about? Have them accompany you. If you don’t want diet to define you anymore, then don’t.”

“I’m surprised by your unequivocal support. Maybe I half-hoped you’d talk me out of it,” I grumbled, shoveling down some burnt vegetables with a sigh. “I can’t hate my own people for omnivory, then accept it from others; this belief means I condemn Terrans, deep down. I don’t want to hate humans ever again. I don’t want any predator doubts or Federation ideology lingering in me.”

“You can move on from all of it. The Federation doesn’t have to have any part in this new life you’ve fashioned. You can look everything they told you in the eyes and say, ‘No.’ I believe you have the strength to manage this, Sovlin. You always cared about doing what was necessary for a cause.”

“Always. I just wish I knew which ones were right ahead of time. I suppose I’ll have to take it on faith that is what’s best. I’ll have to believe what was said by the humans, who have always been honest, rather than the Federation liars.”

“It’s like I always told Cilany. Humans aren’t all good, and we sure aren’t perfect, but we have a lot of beautiful things to offer. We just showed everyone love until they came to their senses and loved us back!” Lars declared.

“You’ve seen that humans deserved a chance. Gojids, Harchen…you do too.” Cilany reached across the table, resting her palm on my wrist. “It’s okay to be a predator, Sovlin. You have to let that thought take root in your soul.”

Tears welled in my eyes, as her words struck a chord deep within me. It was time that I took that final leap of putting my actions in line with my changed beliefs, and went with my found family to try meat for the first time. It would complete my transformation from the Federation fanatic who had done all of those shameful things in my memory transcript. I couldn’t believe I had made up my mind to put a carcass in my mouth, but Cilany had given me the final push of encouragement that I needed. 

Sovlin would be reborn as an omnivore before the week’s end, for better or for worse. I hoped to the nonexistent Protector that the taste of death wouldn’t awaken a predatory side within me.

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A/N - 12! Sovlin learns about how Cilany and Lars met, and how our Harchen reporter elected to be his roommate; we hear why she stayed on Earth rather than heading back to Fahl. Cilany never became an omnivore, but she encourages Sovlin when he asks her the question that’s on his mind—so he can fully move on from the Federation like he hopes to.

How do you think Sovlin trying meat will go; how will he react to his first taste of predator food? Do you expect his adopted family to support him in these efforts?

As always, thank you for reading and supporting! I know the schedule is a bit off. I have a planned rest day at the end of each bonus series now, so with next weekend’s side update off, I’ll reset the schedule to Mon/Wed/Thurs/Sat starting November 25.