Adult-FanFiction.org : Books

Cellulose & Steel	By : Not-Taylor Category: Misc Books > FemmeSlash Views: 1028 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own HDG or its characters and I don't make money from this work.

Chapter List
- 63
- 64
- 65
“Are you ready to talk about what’s been bothering you, Ember?”
She stabs her corn on the cob with a blunted fork.
“If something is troubling you, I need to know what it is.”
The Terran really doesn’t want to talk.
“Pet, if your xenodrug dosages need adjusting, that's important. Please, speak to me.”
“I’m not your pet and I have a lot to think about.” Between Alice, Evlen, and Vanessa, that’s far from a lie.
“Venting to me might help.”
“It won’t.”
“What if it might help me? Would you be willing to help me feel better, Ember?”
She looks at the weed sitting across from it, partially obscured by an untouched plate of corn, potato, and some meat Ember doesn’t recognize the shape of at all. Verda is asking for “help?” That’s silly. It’s just more manipulation. She takes a bite of the corn. It’s crunchy and sweet, sort of. It almost tastes like real corn. The salt and butter coating it are nice. The affini woman looks indecisive, disappointed, and then thoughtful. Her expression slowly starts to sour, though she isn’t directing her fury outward (yet).
“If you’re certain you’d rather not speak to me, I understand. However, I have a responsibility to ensure your continued wellbeing. Your attitude toward me is a component of that. No adjustments can be made unless I know why you’re upset. Sooner, and not later, I will find out what’s wrong. Am I clear?” That’s a threat.
“No.”
“What part is unclear?”
“All of it.”
“Ember, tdaiyn, you are my floret. I take care of you. If you refuse to tell me how I can better care for you, my efforts are hampered. Measures must be taken to remove the impediment.”
“I’m an impediment.”
“No, darling. Your present mood is an impediment. While removing it is an option, I’d rather treat the cause. Wouldn’t you rather not be upset?” Xeno tricks.
“I was thinking about your voice. It reminds me of the first time I heard one of you.”
“It does?”
“The voice told us to surrender. It scared my crew.”
Verda nods carefully.
“When was this?”
“The battle of Right-On IV.”
“A Terran fleet jumped into orbit as several of our vessels were preparing to assume administrative responsibilities of the planet. Your fleet delayed a shipment of compilers by several hours, as I recall.” The affini pauses as though she wants to continue that line of thought. “The voice you heard… probably would’ve been that of Alva Stalks. Fe can be a touch dramatic.”
“‘Fe?’”
“That is the pronoun that Alva uses.”
“Wow.” Xenos. Every time.
She nods. “You wouldn’t have known much about the Compact by the time of that interaction, would you? I can imagine that would be jarring.”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“I could say a great deal more, darling. What in particular did you expect me to mention?”
“That you’re sorry for scaring the people I cared for.”
“Of course. I regret that they were scared. I would not have authorized an action that frightened them intentionally. If you find one of them who is unhappy, I’ll do everything in my power to remedy the situation.”
That isn’t very helpful, but Ember shouldn’t be surprised. What would Verda do, release them? They’re probably all florets now, incapable of fending for themselves. The damage is done.
“You tried to hack my systems before then.”
“To the best of our knowledge at the time, there were no Terran ships that could be considered sentient. That technology didn’t exist and your situation is an anomaly. Still, I’m sorry for any distress that caused.” The quiet of her outer vines combined with her serious expression suggests she means that.
“I know. Hacking isn’t all right in any case.” Property can’t commit crimes.
“Even if it’s for a good cause?”
“Especially if it’s for a ‘good cause.’ Imagine what would’ve happened if that had been done when we were jumping.”
Verda scowls. “That point is understandable, but no problems have arisen so far.”
“Luck.”
“Perhaps. Are you finished eating?”
“No.”
“Good. Your xenodrugs require nutrients to work properly.” That almost makes Ember stop eating. She resists the impulse to say she doesn’t want xenodrugs, knowing precisely which Verda is talking about.
“How is Evlen tonight? You were messaging him.”
“He’s fine. He wants to meet some time. Somewhere that isn’t here.”
“That’s a good idea. He seems to have a positive effect on you.”
“What does that mean?”
“That you look calmer after you interact with him.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t delay, darling. There’s something to do after you’re done with your meal.”
Not again. Ember makes sure to eat at a consistent pace in order not to give the weed the satisfaction of hurrying her through her dinner. The meat tastes decent. It’s almost like chicken, but shaped more like a steak. She wonders what sort of animal produces this kind of meat. Perhaps it’s a purely synthetic construction by Affini xenobioveterinarychemistologists.
On the couch, she watches Verda float to her chair and sit. The floating is new and Ember isn’t sure that she likes it. It’s too… pretentious. That’s something Verda seems to have been trying to avoid. She doesn’t act much like a Terran admiral, or perhaps this is how Terran admirals treat their pets. Not having been one, Ember doesn’t know.
“I’m pleased you were willing to talk to me after all, pet. We haven’t done your lesson in Affini yet. You’re still interested, aren’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Excellent. Since the topic is pertinent to recent discussions, today’s topic will be grammar, and more specifically, modes. The term isn’t especially illuminating, but most helpful terms are already in use for Terran languages, and I don’t believe there are any with quite this feature. There are twelve modes in Affini. Four are obsolete but make one sound literate, two are almost never used conversationally, and two more you’re unlikely to need to know intimately for the time being. Modes are somewhat like persons, though there are distinctions… They interact with moods, which I’m aware is an existing concept in some languages you might be somewhat familiar with, but here it’s something rather different. A mood is a linguistic nuance that characterizes the relationship between the speaker and the listener. As your mistress, I would address you differently from how I would address another floret. You would likewise address me differently from how you would address any other affini. Does all of that make sense?”
“You didn’t explain how that relates to modes.”
“No, I didn’t. Modes relate to persons and within modes are moods, even if technically a mood isn’t dependent on its mode. That degree of literary flair is far beyond your present needs.”
“You were right about how complicated that is.”
“You can handle it.”
“I know.”
“That brings us to the point I wanted to make before about genders in Affini. One might say we have two… but that isn’t quite correct. The part of speech closest to a pronoun, varying by mode and mood, comes in two flavors. One is for affini and one is for florets.” She braces herself for Ember’s reaction.
“Nothing for independent others? You weeds promised those would exist. You promised that you weren’t going to enslave us all. Was that a lie?” The Terran loyalist does her best to restrain her anger. Language isn’t law. Maybe there’s a logical explanation for all of that.
“No, only Affini and xeno.”
“And those are your genders.”
“That’s right. For an affini to change ‘gender’ is nonsensical. A floret who changes gender is no less a floret.”
“That explains a lot.”
“It does, I’m aware. My hope is that it also explains why my perspective is so different from yours, and why changing your sexuality is not something coherent to me.”
“I see. So since gender isn’t real, you base your determinations on sex.”
“We base our determinations on the emotional wellbeing of our florets, Ember. If the way of living that makes you happiest is the one that you call woman, so be it. If it’s something else, then that is what I will guide you towards. But no, your ‘sex’ is not something I care much about.”
That’s clearly a lie. Or is it? What if she’s telling the truth? If the difference is purely academic to Verda, why would she treat Ember differently? But she did, and that’s what matters. No arguments exist that can divert from the fact that Verda changed Ember’s sexual orientation for unknown reasons. To be sex typical. That’s what she said, but it might not be the whole truth.
“Then why do you pick up fake pronouns?”
“Out of affinity with a given social role, deference to the sensibilities of a floret, habit, simply liking the sounds of the words, maybe. Why do you use she/her?”
“It comes with womanhood.”
“Why?”
“What do you mean? Those are woman pronouns.”
“What makes you a woman?”
“Raptor Jesus said so.” The stupid xeno probably won’t get that that’s a joke.
“Then Raptor Jesus must visit many affini to tell them who they are as well.”
Verda continued with the lesson, explaining in detail how the different Affini modes are supposed to interact. It was confusing, but Ember forced herself to pay attention. It was important and she needed to learn sometime. She doesn’t realize until Verda’s done explaining for the night that the discussion was purely theoretical. There was barely anything that could be used in a conversation, let alone new words. She feels cheated.
“And now I believe it’s bedtime, don’t you?”
“It’s still early.”
“You can listen to music in bed if you’d like.”
“I don’t want to go with you!”
“Very well, pet. Since you’ve been good you can sleep on the couch.”
Even if that’s what Ember wanted it still feels degrading somehow. She stretches across the extreme softness of the couch as soon as Verda’s door is shut. Even if it’s been quite a day she isn’t tired. She has her tablet start to play music and stretches more. It’s hard not to feel small on a couch designed to fit multiple affini.
Actually, Ember doesn’t want to think about how the weeds will never really see her as a woman, or how they’ve already sapped the life from everyone she knew before her capture, or how they’re plotting to do the same to her. She certainly wouldn’t want to contemplate whether some of those crew were happier now, as Ginger claimed to be… Instead, it’s better to think about how Verda casually explained that she perceives not being treated as an inherently superior being as a form of misgendering. It’s another weed perversion. They literally can’t see other species as equals, can they? If they wanted to, language would forbid it. The person/thing dichotomy places Ember in the latter category. She isn’t an affini, after all.
And that’s the problem with claiming to be nonbinary. You’d have to rewrite the entirety of society and its language to create a slot for such a thing. Similarly, there’s no freedom for humanity. Short of becoming a weed somehow, Terra’s children will always be an outgroup, not even “xenos,” but something inherently foreign and lesser. Imagine being so self centered that your language’s only true social distinction is between you (people) and other species (pets/animals). Vile. They mustn’t be allowed to further their perversion of those around them. Ember has to be strong. She has to help all the species who aren’t capable of helping themselves. Cultivating subservience is wrong.
- 63
- 64
- 65
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Cellulose & Steel