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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
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“What’s wrong, darling?” the towering plant asks her prisoner, who is presently curled up into a little ball, its vines wrapped around it. The curtains are still closed, blocking out the hostile light of the new day.
“I hate everything.”
“Did you have a bad dream?” She leans over, awaiting permission to give Ember a hug.
“No, a good one.” It shudders in dismay as it whispers its response.
“Well, it’s over now and today you’re going to see Evlen.”
She’s clearly trying to cheer it up but that won’t work. The memory of what happened is pristine in the abomination’s mind, allowing it to relive in detail everything it experienced, every breath it took in the dreamscape. For once, not among the sensations it now feels is regret for not having jumped off a bridge and flown away. This is the sort of dream that stays with you forever. Ember shudders again.
“It doesn’t look very good from how you’re shivering just from thinking about it.”
“You don’t dream during interface, or sleep. It interferes with your ability to fly.”
“You didn’t sleep in all that time?” Verda sounds oddly surprised. Of course not.
“Why would I? How am I supposed to manipulate my systems if I’m asleep?”
“That’s very unhealthy.”
“It was fine. Something about the fluid keeps the body intact and the interface is set up to ensure that the pilot doesn’t accidentally pass out. You can get tired, but that’s about all because being too tired would be dangerous too.”
“And you feared me modifying your brain…” Verda shakes her head slowly.
“Nothing bad happened.”
The pilot takes this point in the conversation as the proper time to get up for the day. It stretches its arms and vines all the way back, tapping pillows as it does. Vines? Verda took them off before. They feel perfectly normal right now, so leaving them on overnight must’ve been perfectly safe after all, with no negative effects whatsoever.
“You didn’t disarm me. And how did I end up in your bed?”
“I carried you here, Ember.”
“Why?”
“Because you fell asleep on the couch again.”
“I wanted to stay there.”
“And I wanted you here. As your mistress, it’s my decision.” The horrid xeno shrugs. “Perhaps you should finish your endeavor quickly if you’d like not to have that continue.”
“You used xenodrugs on me.”
“I did not. You were very much asleep when I carried you, and you stayed that way until morning. I did not touch you after I set you down.”
“That wasn’t nice…” It’s a betrayal.
“I told you what would happen, and it happened. There was no betrayal, darling. My part of our agreement will be kept so long as yours is.”
“Oh.”
“You have a message, by the way. I wonder who might be on the other end.”
Verda walks into the other room with a parting smirk, leaving Ember in yesterday’s clothes to sort out how to deal with a message from somebody when it really just wants to go back to bed and pretend dreams aren’t real. Of course, it’s Ember’s egg, curious about its day. It’d better deal with that. It can’t decide whether to be pleased or angry that Verda had moved its tablets into thei- her bedroom last night, but it can think about that after it does its “job.”
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: So… I just had a long talk with some of the other radio guys and there’s no record of a ship crashing into our base, or anywhere planetside. Do you want to talk about that?
This is a disaster! Ember probably should’ve thought this through more, but there were so many other things to think about and this one person wasn’t high on the list. It’d had to worry about Evlen and Verda and all of the drama surrounding Affini politics. Stars, this is going to be the fastest failure in intelligence history.
Realistically, this was never going to stay a secret for long. Somebody living in a fishtank would know if anyone new had arrived. It can only hope that somehow Lysander doesn’t mind and that somehow she believes the truth, that Ember really is on her side.
[membership_plan_11]> official: I’m not actually there with you. Sorry about obscuring that fact. Technically, I’m on an Affini ship, if you can believe that. I’m not sure where we are, but we’re probably nowhere near you.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: So how did you get my username?
[membership_plan_11]> official: I have no idea. As I said, it kind of appeared and I was curious.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: How much are you hiding?
[membership_plan_11]> official: A lot since I don't actually know you any better than you know me.
That's true for now. At any moment, Ember is capable of pressing the numerous codes, cheat codes from the cheat sheet, as it were, that would bare Lysander's soul. Or, less poetically, Ember's fully capable of exploiting Affini technology to gain enough to an upper vine to get the little egg to dance on the wall to its tune. But that wouldn't very nice, would it?
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: You want me to believe this isn’t some kind of xeno trick, so prove it.
[membership_plan_11]> official: How?
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Tell me something good about their culture
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: You’re living there so you should know something
[membership_plan_11]> official: What?
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: trust me. I know what I'm talking about
[membership_plan_11]> official: Fine.
[membership_plan_11]> official: They claim to have some kind of direct democracy, where even the slaves vote on various unimportant measures. Back on Terra, I never got to vote on policies directly. Thus, that is a good thing about Affini culture.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: really? They do that?
[membership_plan_11]> official: I haven’t seen it yet, but I saw the infrastructure. That’s real and a weird thing to fake.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: You win. There’s no way one of them would talk about it like that. You’re a human.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: I’m a little paranoid, you know. They could be snooping. Pastor Mike says if you take xenodrugs willingly it’s the mark of the beast and you go to hell
[membership_plan_11]> official: They could be snooping, but my “owner” doesn’t seem to pay attention to what I say to you. I’d have gotten in trouble for telling you she’s a dirty lying weed otherwise.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: That's convinienr
[membership_plan_11]> official: I think I accidentally hacked something. I’m a pilot, remember.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: True but that’s big weakness in security.
[membership_plan_11]> official: They never tried to tame *me* before.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: HaHa ya
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: So what do you do in a day? I’ve got to know.
[membership_plan_11]> official: Not much. I sit around waiting to be entertained because I’m not allowed to have free access to media. Everything I eat is regulated, and I can’t speak to anyone without permission (except you).
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Is you crew with you?
[membership_plan_11]> official: They were all turned. They’re a lost cause. Most of them probably wouldn’t fight if I begged them. They’re drugged up zombies.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Shit
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Who do you talk to irl?
[membership_plan_11]> official: A xeno and that’s it. He’s the most stable person I’ve met since before the war, honestly. He’s normal.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: wow
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: A xeno being the normal one just shows how insane this invasion has been.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: How long did it take to domesticate everyone?
[membership_plan_11]> official: A couple of weeks at most. I had no idea they were so weak. It’s embarrassing.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Not you?
[membership_plan_11]> official: No. Somehow I’ve survived. I’m giving credit to my interface experience. As long as I can keep everything partitioned, I can make it through.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: What’s on the other side?
[membership_plan_11]> official: No idea, but it’ll be worth it.
[membership_plan_11]> official: So now you need to prove you’re not a weed, since I proved it to you. It’s only fair.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: How?
[membership_plan_11]> official: Name a way Terra harmed you.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Harmed? What do you mean by that?
[membership_plan_11]> official: It’s a weed word. They use it all the time.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: In that case I’d say taxes. they make me pay taxes here, and buy shit.
[membership_plan_11]> official: What?
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Tjey do
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Like, why? What are they even paying me for then?
[membership_plan_11]> official: My ship never had that.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Lucky you
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Is that good enough?
[membership_plan_11]> official: It is. That’s such a Terran thing to complain about.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Good. I’m glad I’m not secretly a plantfucker.
[membership_plan_11]> official: Me too, Ly.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: I didn’t give you permission to call me that.
[membership_plan_11]> official: Can I? Please?
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Fine lol
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Do you go by em or something?
[membership_plan_11]> official: No, just Ember. Don’t make up a pet name because I’m not a pet.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: I can see you'd be sensitive about that.
[membership_plan_11]> official: Every day it’s the same thing. “Why aren’t you happy being my floret, I give you so much :(“
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Does she really?
[membership_plan_11]> official: Maybe. She’s important so I have no idea how the peasants live. I guess you probably assumed that because I eat.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Ha! Commie trees!
[membership_plan_11]> official: You have no idea! They make me go to a therapist to talk through my “feralism” to become a better pet.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: How much does that cost your personal weed?
[membership_plan_11]> official: It’s free. I got yelled at for going off topic once, but afaik it’s just free for anyone.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: For the leadership...
[membership_plan_11]> official: Maybe. I don’t know.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Of course not. That’d be insane if they had that when they can’t give everyone bread
[membership_plan_11]> official: Right.
The topic is starting to make Ember uncomfortable. It knows perfectly well that everyone has a compiler and infinite free good and other things. Even if it wanted to believe that they’re starving idiot collectivists, saying so to somebody else feels like a huge lie. Not that it matters. It’s a lie for the good of Terra. Instead, Ember should be worrying about how to ensure that the seed sprouts- that the egg hatches, rather.
[membership_plan_11]> official: I guess another good thing about living with xenos is that they don’t have a fit about gender stuff. They probably don’t even understand how we work.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: what
[membership_plan_11]> official: I’m just saying that none of the stuff that happened in the Accord because I’m a girl happens here. I don’t think I’m treated any differently.
[membership_plan_11]> official: But I still get to wear dresses and stuff sometimes.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Any men in dresses?
[membership_plan_11]> official: I haven't seen any. Why?
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Just curious
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: If gender isn’t a big thing, why aren’t there more transes?
[membership_plan_11]> official: There are plenty, but they get special xenodrugs to transition.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: What kind of xenodrugs?
[membership_plan_11]> official: Better than hormones.
[membership_plan_11]> official: So I’ve heard. I’ve met tons already.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: How much better?
[membership_plan_11]> official: Noticeable changes in a couple of weeks?
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: That’s fast. And they can make a man look like a woman?
Ember breathes carefully, making sure not to explain that trans women aren’t men, and that the xenodrugs are meant to make women look like women. That level of social IQ is why it even has this chance in the first place.
[membership_plan_11]> official: They’re strong. I’m not trying to sell you a timeshare though.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Fair enough. I knew that wasn’t possible back home when we had a functioning society.
[membership_plan_11]> official: It’s more possible than you think. Before I joined CN I dated a trans woman for a little and she looked just fine.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: She? Really?
[membership_plan_11]> official: What?
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: A man on estrogen isn’t a woman
[membership_plan_11]> official: She looked enough like a woman to me. I’d know if I were straight.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: Sorry
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: that was stupid of me.
Ember could suppress its curiosity, but it has to know what Ly was thinking right now. Just one button press and her emotions would be revealed… Just a little emotional analysis never hurt anyone. After all, it’s for her good that Ember would monitor her, and only this once. She might not be touching the device right now, in which case nothing would even come through. Ember just needs a bit of data to make a better decision…
[membership_plan_11]> official: Don’t say that kind of thing again and it’s fine. You being sorry puts you ahead of most guys by a ton already.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: If it’s all right I’m going to eat and crash, long night today
[membership_plan_11]> official: Of course. I’m not your owner lol. Have a good evening, Ly.
[Dephinni_C]> ls_684co: You too, Ember.
It didn’t scare her off! It’s so happy that that turned out well. The entire conversation was immensely stressful and it was on the edge of giving up so it didn’t have to feel the shame of sending somebody deep into repression. Instead, Ly has acknowledged that womanhood is something appealing and she knows it’s obtainable. That’s a victory. Over the new couple of days, she needs to be led to understand that she actively wants it. That’s harder than it sounds, but Ember of Beginnings is up to the challenge.
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- 88
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Cellulose & Steel