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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
- 6
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Since there’s quite literally nothing else to do besides trying to take another bath or running laps in the corridor, Olivia pokes at the tablet. It beeps happily in answer and the screen lights up in overly cheery colors. It’s… in English now?
“WELCOME” reads the orange banner at the top of the screen. Horrifying. Even digrins have a better sense of style, Olivia snorts. Below, there are four buttons, “Videos,” “Music,” “Dictionary & Thesaurus,” and “Notes.” An interesting assortment.
Clicking on the music button, there’s a quiet classical piece played. It’s better than nothing at least. The next track button cycles to other sedate classical music. Olivia notes that none of them are particularly energetic, and there doesn’t seem to be any Beethoven. Trash playlist from a bunch of cultureless cacti.
The dictionary seems to only contain English, with no translations. Olivia feels deflated by that. At least playing around with an Affini keyboard would have distracted her for a few minutes. She reasons that they don’t want to teach enemies their language, which isn’t an insane thing, but it doesn’t make her feel any better.
“Notes” is a rudimentary word processor without spellchecking. She isn’t sure what she was expecting, but she knows perfectly well that nothing she writes is going to be a secret. She types out “On the day of the harvest, the wheat shall be taken in and the chaff cast into the fire.” followed by several pages of the letter v repeating. She types a few vertical spaces and finishes proudly with “I <3 herbicides.”
Olivia momentarily contemplates not clicking the final button. But why not? She can’t think of a single reason that isn’t stupid. In tiny letters at the top right there’s a sign saying “Floret Mode,” probably saying the same in Affini as well. “Videos” is a long column of video hyperlinks, each with a different human on the thumbnail. They’re unedifyingly labeled A Guide for Wards and Florets: Part such and such.
“Let’s see how confusing the later ones really are,” She thinks to herself as she clicks on one of the last in the list. A dreamy middle aged man whose eyes are mostly fixed mostly in the direction of the camera waves very slowly. His voice is slow too. He looks happy, but there doesn’t seem to be much else going on between his ears.
“Welcome back, friends. Remember to give your Mistress or Master a big hug and say how much you love them. They always do their best to keep us happy and we can do the same just by telling them we are! I’m Gavin Tugr, fourth floret of Ezel Tugr, eighth bloom, and formerly a captain in the Terran Revolt’s navy. I’ve come to love my owner in a way I couldn’t have imagined before and I freely admit I was wrong to fight against our domestication.
“Today we’ll be talking about things you and your guardian can do for fun together. Keeping us happy all the time can be tiring, and it’s only right for us to entertain them sometimes too! After a long day of operating the society which provides everything we need to stay healthy and content, having us ready to spend time with them will surely make a difference in their mood.”
Olivia has to turn it off. That’s sick. It’s just sicker than anything she’d ever seen. She feels bile rising in her throat. How can somebody be so GROSS? Then she understands. That’s her, soon. That’s what Verda wants to turn her into. A babbling wad of flesh with no personality other than worship of its plant overlords. She can’t. It’s so wrong. Humans are better than that!
She clicks back to another video, 12. This time it’s an androgynous person, a little older than Olivia probably. A woman, going by the voice, and one significantly less chipper, despite an equally vacant expression. Her clothes look exactly the same as what she’s wearing. Olivia is only slightly unsettled by that compared to everything else she’s seen lately.
“Hi, guys, gals, and thuys (it rhymed with guys)! I hope you and your Master or Mistress have been spending some quality time together. Spending time together is important for them too. My name is Turtle of Ebony (they/them), first floret of Bel of Ebony, second bloom. My Master rescued me and gave me a new life during the early stages of integration. I owe him my life and he’s a big part of why it continues to be worth living.
“Today we’re going to talk about something very important to me. I mentioned that I was rescued by my owner. That’s a result of the Compact’s policy to save everyone who isn’t able to live a fulfilling and worthwhile life through domestication. While I never would have chosen it, I’m much happier than I was before. It was a way out, and a way to be loved. If you were directed to watch this video first, you were probably in a similar situation to mine, so I’ll try to go light on the terminology. For everyone else, I hope you find this informative too!”
It’s really well written for how many xenodrugs must be in that person’s system, she thinks as she hits “Back.” Still… Saved from a bad situation? That’s not unlike how Olivia had gotten into the Cosmic Navy. They offered a way out of a dead end life on Terra, she just had to drill a few hours a day for a couple of years. Now she’s one of the best pilots out there, the best if she lets Ginger’s opinions get to her head. She’d held out respectably long against overwhelming odds. Still, second best is first loser.
Oh, Ginger… Not actually a ginger, nor was she ginger, but sometimes she did taste like ginger. Olivia smiles wistfully. She didn’t know where the name had come from but it was a pretty one, and somehow it suited its owner. They’d met the first day they were both assigned to the Song of Destruction. Something had been different about her, and they’d gotten to be friends as time went on. And now she was one of those zombies, the same ones making these disgusting guides to being a better slave. Pitiful. If she couldn’t get out, Olivia would be even worse, because if she’d flown just a little better, swerved just a little more, because less cautious of the ship’s warnings… maybe she’d still be free and fighting for the good of Terrans everywhere.
She sighs. Dwelling on the past isn’t going to get her anywhere right now. It’s an alternative to watching other first losers talk about how glad they are not to be winners, but not a very good one. Verda was right, she didn’t have to tell her captive to watch. Maybe there would be some useful information.
“Let’s try number 50. How are there so many? What are they even talking about?” she thinks. A young man with a youthful expression and no beard whatsoever appears. He sounds like he’s in his thirties at least, despite how he looks. He also looks more mentally present than the other “florets” and his pronunciation is crisp. He even has a little diagram he references as he talks.
“Good day to everyone watching and I hope yours end even better than they started. I’m Cal Eeeeeeetu, first floret of Jeseg Eeeeeeetu, fourth bloom. I was a social media personality who promoted Free Terranism before my Mistress helped me to come to my senses. Now I’m a regular part of the broadcasts meant to help others like me return to civilization. I still love humanity and Terra, just as I now love my Mistress.”
He shook and sputtered for a moment as a barely visible vine rubbed against his bare left arm. Thankfully Olivia’s present clarity of blood allows her to notice such things that other viewers might not. Or other viewers might be too drugged, especially watching in order, to notice such a minor detail. She still vows again to make sure that never becomes her.
“Right now we’re going to go on a bit of a tangent from the usual, just because this is something I think is really cool and wanted to share it with you guys. You already all know about the biotech the Affini use to help us acclimate to their presence, right? That’s video, which is that? (He looks off camera to where somebody’s apparently standing.) Twenty, right. So go check out number twenty if you haven’t already done that. That, and the implantation process (he pauses) twenty five. Are the background you’ll need here. With that out of the way let’s get started!
“I’m sure you’re all used to being touched by your new owners. You’ve got to be, right? Such an amazing feeling, you know what I mean. So you know how the texture of their skin and the way they move affects us humans. That’s pretty nice by itself, but there’s more going on so let’s dig just a little deeper.”
He must be the most annoying human in existence. Maybe he’s fighting for us by trying to make his enslaver kill itself and sabotaging the broadcasts, Olivia muses.
“So the xenodrug classes (pause). Don’t talk about that? OK. Basically, most of the xenodrugs they give us are to help us feel them better, be calmer… , and they’re pretty good at that. And the implants help our owners do better at administering the xenodrugs. Not the topic so I’ll stay away from that. But that’s not the only way we can feel them. Some Affini produce consumable secretions that help us florets bond with them. Not all, maybe not most, but some do and that’s pretty cool. And all of them are just gorgeous to look at, seriously. Then there’s their smell. If you sniff your master or mistress you’re likely to know what I’m talking about, especially if you put your nose near their flowers when they’re in bloom, not to be confused with blooming. Just don’t be too obvious or you might be uh, punished, heh.
“So we have sight, smell, touch, and taste, but there’s a fifth sense: hearing. And you probably think, ‘but Cal, my mistress’s voice is just a voice’ and I’d say that’s probably true. But that’s not what I’m talking about (he gestures with his fingers, sort of like finger guns as made by somebody who didn’t know what fingers or guns were supposed to look like). You see, there’s another way we hear our protectors, one a lot of you aren’t going to be aware of. And that’s what’s fascinating here, you don’t know unless something brings it up, right? And then it’s like, ohhh and you know exactly what that was. And this is one of those things.
“That’s something called biorhythms. I don’t think there’s an official translated name, but that’s kind of what they are: biological rhythms from affini. It’s sort of like their pulse, where there’s a… pulse of circulation every so often that’s part of how their bodies work. And it’s different for each of them. So here’s the really interesting bit. When we’re close to our individual affini, our bodies react. We adjust to them. Our bodies, our hearts and our brains, pick up on the pulse the affini put out and we sync up with them. Isn’t that so neat?
“You can actually measure it with technology. You can watch the human’s heart rate change to match the affini’s when they’re cuddling up together, and breathing and brain stuff changes a bit too, but that’s less flexible. And the more time you spend together, the more synchronized you become. It becomes really obvious when you get your implant for a bit, then you stop noticing as much because it’s just your normal everyday internal rhythm, and that’s great. And their rhythm changes just a little too, but nowhere near as much. This doesn’t really happen as much with other species, so we’re kind of special like that.
“I just think that’s really sweet, it’s like two hearts beating as one or something like that. A planet and his star, maybe. It’s cool stuff, and a really intimate bond that’s not really obvious, and I don’t know, I thought it was really interesting when I learned and I wanted to share that with everyone. So that’s all, Cal out, have a very floral day.”
Well that was… some… thing. Biorhythms? Sounds like something from a bad slash fic with werewolves. Still, putting such savage manipulation of innocent Terrans past the Affini menace would be foolish. No wonder they’re so intent on physical contact. Olivia’s resolve to remain free and avoid the xeno whenever possible only grows. But… being linked on such a fundamental, biological level kind of sounds… hot?
Anyway, she hasn’t watched the first videos so she probably should. Verda said they were important and she seemed serious about the punishments for once. #1 on the playlist has an extremely clean setup. The camera and lighting were flattering to the human and she looked very composed. Her pupils stay the same smallish size through the talk, indicating that she’s mostly sober. She’s young and upbeat, but not unsettlingly so. It’s a better aesthetic than a lot of commercials made by humans. The human flashes a big white smile at the camera.
“Good morning, fellow sentients and welcome to the first installment of A Guide for Wards and Florets. We’ll start by going over what those two terms mean and talk a little about what that’s like. Hopefully, if you’re confused right now, you’ll be less confused by the end of the initial series of interviews. If not, remember that you can always ask the affini who’s taking care of you. That’s part of what they signed up for, and they’re always happy to make you more comfortable.
“I’m Heather Salasa, first floret of Ezra Salasa, twelfth bloom, and I chose to become a floret because it allows me to have a closer relationship than I otherwise could with my best friend, Ezra, who’s an affini. I just told you what we’re going to talk about. But first, it’s really important that you’re safe. You have the right to safety and health. If those needs aren’t being met, talk to your caretaker, and if your caretaker won’t or can’t solve the issue, ask any other affini and explain your situation as well as you can.
“With that out of the way… A floret is sort of like a pet for affini, but it’s also much more. The connotations of ‘pet’ are rather unfortunate when that’s not what they mean when they say it. You live together, spend time together, eat together, and play together. Some pairs even perform together and make art. Your new guardian will likely know you better than anyone else, maybe even yourself!
“Often, people choose to become florets for a variety of reasons. Mine is only one example. Some people simply like the idea of being a beloved pet. Other presenters in other videos in this Guide will tell you their reasons for becoming florets, so make sure you tune in!
“An increasingly common way to become a floret is through an assignment agent. This agent will consider your preferences and needs in pairing you with an affini suited to meeting them and will find affini a floret who they’ll be able to provide with the best care they can.
“Sometimes florets who commit serious offenses will be taken unwillingly. This is a deeply unfortunate scenario. If this applies to you, I’m sorry but you’re in large part responsible for the situation yourself. If you behave very well, you might have your sentence reduced to wardship if your new caretaker is willing to allow that.”
Olivia snorts. Typical gaslighting from inferior plants.
“A ward is sort of like a short term floret on a provisional basis. Sometimes humans temporarily in need of someone to care for them will become wards, or humans who need to be watched for a little to make sure they’re equipped to become happy and productive members of society. The prison sentences for most crimes have been replaced with wardships as those have been found to be much more effective at rehabilitating criminals than imprisonment or forced labor. Most wards end up agreeing to full domestication by the affini whose ward they were, in part due to the close and loving nature of the bonds involved. Regardless, it’s still the ward’s choice whether to stay with their guardian, seek adoption by a different guardian using the knowledge they gained from wardship, or return to society as a private resident.
“Since this is the first video in the set and likely the first you’ve watched, and hopefully you’re watching it before or right after you’ve agreed to become the darling pet of one of our wonderful caretakers, we’ll finish off with a brief overview of what to expect in your first few days.”
That’s incredibly useful, though it’s probably going to be worthless, Olivia thinks
“The first thing is that you should expect to be touched a lot. Affini are very tactile by nature, so it helps them get to know you better. They also really like cuddling, especially with smaller creatures like us. They have a ton of vines and tendrils and other things that move around, so the touching can be intense. If you have sensory issues, make sure to explicitly state that that’s the case so your caretaker will know you aren’t just being shy.
“Second, expect a bath. Some form of bathing is standard protocol to ensure that new florets are physically healthy, plus it’s a great way to get used to being around one another. You’ll probably be expected to wash while the affini is in the room with you, so be aware of that. Exceptions exist to ensure your mental stability of course.
“Third, you’ll be told what to do a lot. For some that will be hard to get used to, but your guardian will still have a schedule to maintain and other people outside your home to interact with and plan around. It’s pretty easy to get used to, especially when you probably get up and go to bed at the same time.
“Fourth, lots of praise. Many people who end up as florets will have had suboptimal lives beforehand, so being told they did a good job on something might come as a shock. The affini genuinely mean it when they compliment us. They do think we’re as cute as they say we are. Don’t hate yourself, accept that somebody likes you now, even if you didn’t think anyone would or could before. Chances are you’re going to make friends with some other florets who live near you as well.
“Fifth, expect not to have a lot of downtime. Early on, you’ll be getting used to one another and spending a lot of time together to work through your new relationship. It can be tiring and stressful, but tell your affini if you need a break. They’re usually accommodating, unless there’s some pressing concern, and if there is, they’ll tell you. Likewise, when the initial period ends and you start getting less attention, don’t be alarmed. That’s normal, and you’re settling into a sustainable routine. That just means you’ll have time to do things that make you happy, like seeing new friends.
“Sixth is xenodrugs. This is a contentious topic and sore spot for many new florets and wards, but it needs to be addressed. It’s certain that your new caretaker will apply xenodrugs to your system. That means injections or application through the skin or mouth. These medications come in a variety of classes. Those will be addressed in a later video, but for now, you only need to know that if your guardian uses or threatens to use class O xenodrugs on you while you’re generally lucid and not a threat to other florets, that is actionable abuse that you should report to any authorities you can find. Of course, that’s an extreme case you virtually guaranteed never to need to worry about. Aside from that, xenodrugs you’ll be administered are temporary and extremely safe. They’ll make you feel warm and happy, and help you not try to run away if you for some reason feel inclined to. They’re a normal part of the floret relationship and will actually make you and your caretaker closer than you can imagine.
“Seventh, your new roommate will probably start asking to be called master or mistress. That’s another linguistic issue. In Affini it doesn’t have quite the same connotations, and you shouldn’t expect to be treated badly because of that. Usually you’ll be given plenty of time to acclimate.
“All of these changes are a lot, so they may not all happen right away. It’s the job of your mistress to ensure that the domestication process goes smoothly and you develop in a way that allows both of you to make each other very happy. Thanks for watching, and I hope you have a great day with your new masters!”
So Olivia’s “mistress” had just been following orders- no, protocol. Big difference. She wonders how much of what had been said was scripted. Logically, there ought to be tons of humans being processed the same way, so it makes sense they had created a routine. Then again, “the touchy feely xenos will touch and feel you” isn’t the most groundbreaking concept. Still, she finds the claim that the two terms related to establishing the subservience of the “floret” just happen to be impossible to properly translate, and “it’s their culture” had never sat well with her as an excuse for being barbaric. There also was not a section on how to cope with being tied down and forcibly drugged, or being drugged in the bath, or being threatened with drugging over nothing.
Biorhythms. Olivia can’t get that idea out of her head. The other stuff hadn’t shocked her, but this was something beyond her assumptions. That’s how they’ve been destroying people, she thinks. Now that she knows, she can resist.
There’s really no point in watching more of that today. It’s a huge amount to process and the Terrans in the videos are offputting. They have a corporate feel and inflection while being visibly out of their minds. The first was good and snappy, but the later ones and especially the last one in the list… That one took off the mask completely. Xeno manipulation in real time.
Even if she can’t admit it to herself, Olivia is a little scared. She’s never been so alone. The only people she’d ever felt might somewhat be on her side, Terrans, betrayed her easily. Traitors had been reported on half the ships in the fleet right before they were captured. She refuses to let her society die to some misshapen weeds.
Ping
A minute later, Verda gets up and walks over to her. She’s clearly aware something is wrong, and not in the way it had been. Olivia recoils from the touch of her vine, pushing her shoulder into one of the affini’s hands.. She breathes slowly and deliberately, listening for her pulse.
“Have you been learning a lot, darling?”
“I… have… It’s… just that… it’s a… lot.”
“Great sun, you sound tired. Would you like me to get you ready for bed?”
“Um, no. Thanks,” Olivia’s awareness jerks back to what she’s saying and she blushes at having thanked the poisonous thistle for anything. “I’m not tired, just distracted thinking about what I watched.”
“Oh? What was that?” She places a vine on Olivia’s other shoulder, holding her in place so she can’t flinch.
“Well,” tump thump ta-tump. There it is, that’s the rhythm. That’s the sound of her captor’s pulse. She feels the slight offset in circulation between the hand and the vine tip, and hears the modulation of her breathing. Tump thump ta-tump. It’s so obvious now that she listens, though she hadn’t noticed last time she was in the affini’s arms. Tump thump ta-tump. It’s so loud, like some weird tribal drum beat from a midnight celebration. Tump thump ta-tump. How could she have missed it?
“Well what, my dear?”
“What?”
“You started to say something and stared off into space for a few minutes?”
“How…”
“You really are tired. Let’s put you to bed, shall we?”
Bed? Good. Tired… They would go to their bed.
Olivia shook her head and came to her senses. So the rhythms are real. Of course they are, she sighs. And that’s how they do it. Genius, or it would be if it were anything but a lucky quirk of anatomy. Weaker races are subdued without such a dastardly trick, she assures herself.
Tump thump ta-tump. She forces her mind to stay on task. “As I was saying, I watched a few of the videos. They’re very high production value. One guy had a chart.”
“Oh?”
“He completely ignored it of course. And I saw that you’re not supposed to drug me.”
“That’s right, class O is very dangerous and could turn you into a vegetable entirely dependent on my touch to maintain any sort of existence, and even then not an enviable one. Far better that I restrict myself to safer classes so that I don’t hurt you, pet.”
“Then please stop touching me. It’s really stressful and making my head hurt. I’m going to throw up.”
“Hm? I think you aren’t. I would be able to tell from the movement of your fluids whether that were the case,” tump thump ta-tump.
“No! Let go!” Olivia is starting to panic. She has to get away from the biorhythms. She starts thrashing with all her might, but the affini will not let go. She picks up the tablet and goes to swing it against her captor, who lets go just in time to save the piece of bioelectronics.
Verda sighs as her pet launches herself off the chair and stands defensively poised with the tablet in both hands. It’s always something with feralists.
Somehow, Olivia starts to immediately calm down. Now that she’s out of the filthy xeno’s grasp (for now) she doesn’t have as much to worry about. But speaking of worrying…
“What was that about the ceremony you’re going to drag me to tomorrow?”
“Are you going to go willingly?” The foliage over her eyes lifts in surprise.
“I just want to know more. I’m aware you’re going to force me to go with you and somebody in one of the videos mentioned that affini secrete toxins that would effectively force me there while knocked out, if nothing else.”
“I’m impressed with your maturity, Olivia.” Hearing her name from the “mouth” of such a disgusting creature still stings, though she’s able to hide it fairly well, she imagines.
“You’re right that your attendance isn’t negotiable, and I think you would benefit a great deal from hearing what’s to be said, just as you benefited from some study. I hope you come to see that I’m not your enemy.
“Yet since you asked, this will be a formal event. You really aren’t prepared for what it will be, a fact I’m viscerally conscious of, but that doesn’t matter to those organizing and demanding both of our presence. I don’t believe any of them have actually met a Terran, or seen one in person.” She glowers in a way that makes entirely clear to Olivia just how much restraint she’s been shown so far. “You will address everyone you meet as ‘sir,’ ‘miss,’ or ‘comrade,’ depending. Limit yourself to a single glass of the drink provided as I’d like you walking back by yourself. Otherwise, your task is to look cute and pettable, and not start anything. Can you handle that?”
The talking topiary wants Olivia to promise not to try to escape. No. Not even with a million of the abominations present would she say such a thing. Even to lie about it… Unacceptable.
Sigh “I thought as much. I would be delighted to break that insolence out of you on this spot, but there’s no time. Come now, we may as well get some rest, because tomorrow will be draining for us both. Enjoy your last hours with your wrists unencumbered, eh?”
Olivia looks at her wrists. Right, the cuffs. They’d been off of her for so long she didn’t think of them. That’s not supposed to happen. Is that a futile attempt at purchasing a free woman’s loyalty? The Terran spirit cannot be chained, she’d see to that.
- 6
- 7
- 8
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Cellulose & Steel