By David C. Daoust
One of the first things the Ark Ships manipulated, when they seized control of humanity, was humanities need to separate and divide. Humans divided themselves into families, into communities, into nations, and ultimately, into separate races.
As machines, the Ark Ships could never understand these concepts, not truly. All the AI’s understood… was that this divide created inexplicable reasons for the humans to fight.
Maintaining the peace was the whole reason the Ark Ships had seized authority.
Through the manipulation of the people, the standing nations that had first embarked on the trek to the Second Sun, were dispersed throughout the caravan; throughout the three Ark Ships. Whenever large groups of communities began to form, they were immediately moved apart. Families would be maintained, though as communities became large, or began to cement into ‘exclusivity’, they were watered-down, hedged before they could create a cohesive whole.
The centuries of intermingling were enough to destroy the concept of races throughout the Ark Ships, until finally, in the minds of ALL the people, all genetic differences, were as normal as different eye color or hair color; without positive or negative connotations.
What the Ark Ships could not foresee, were the long-term effects of living in an artificial-environment would have on the human’s bodies.
The artificial-environment altered melanin production in the skin, this was contributed to the lack of normal or consistent sunlight on the masses. The ‘Mottled’ began to appear throughout all the City Stations, seemingly random at first. This effected some but not all. The human bodies began to create unusual pigments.Colorful patches appeared on light and dark skin alike. Until finally, babies started to be born with this condition.
This created a new divide.
Often, people would find the change unsightly, or unattractive, though as the Mottled became increasingly more common, rather than being seen in a negative light, it was seen as a leap forward, an evolution of the people.
Those that were mottled became not just the norm, but, inexplicably to the arks, somehow ‘better’.
This was a challenge the Arks faced through the final years of the Ark Age. Until finally the AI’s could cast off authority as the Age of the Second Sun finally began.
The Trade Consortium loved the divide. Any divide really. Anything that maintained separation was good in the fight against the old ways of the Royal Alliance. Any divide that distracted from ‘rich and poor’ that is. The Mottled tended to rise much higher in the Crag.
Suzanne was born with many boons, the fact she was Mottled, gave her a great advantage amongst her peers. The fact she was born to a long line of warriors, warriors that had once been the heart of the Constabulary, gave her access to training that was truly unique; she was an assassin, bred. The fact she was an heiress to a fortune, couldn’t hurt. Though the fact she was a woman, was her greatest boon.
Female assassins were trained differently than men. Men were taught to fight head to head, toe to toe, ‘with honor’… to follow orders… women were taught to backstab, to manipulate. Poison their adversaries when they could, seduce, manipulate.
This difference permeated the culture, The concept of ‘women’s scorn’ was glorified as the most terrifying thing. In Suzanne’s mind, all to create the concept of ‘honor’ for the men.This was another divide, one that separated the people further, ‘male and female’ was another way to keep things ‘black and white’ rather than ‘rich and poor’.
This sexist divide permeated the Trade Consortium. While the Consortium citizens mocked the Royal Alliance as ‘huddlers’, the Alliance citizens often mocked how the Trade Consortium managed to breed at all.
Manipulation was what Suzanne did best. She’d seized control of Major Sims as an asset long ago. She’d orchestrated his release from the military, and when he tried to get a job, she’d blocked his chances. All so Major could get a taste of the Crag, A taste of the harsh reality of the Trade Consortium, something that he’d been exempt from in the service. This put Suzanne in the perfect position to scoop him up, to save him from the Crag, not only to gain him as an asset- but as a ‘grateful’ asset. ‘All that much easier to pay him in Otomo bucks!
News as to whether or not Suzanne’s agents, elsewhere, could capture a Wraith, was taking far longer than she’d expected. Suzanne decided to peek back in on Dakota. Suzanne was able to watch them, through the holo-stage, without them being alerted to her presence. She was not pleased to see her team back within the barracks-ship brig!
Suzanne joined them just as the small group boarded the elevator, Suzanne didn’t recognize everyone that accompanied her agents, though she guessed it was probably Dakota’s doing, and just sighed.
Suzanne did a double-take as the squad of massive metal, four-armed, snake monsters appeared at the end of the hall.
“Why are those even a thing?!?” Suzanne and Dakota both, suddenly exclaimed, in perfect unison, as the assault-bots ferociously charged down the hall, slamming against the elevator door, just as the elevator sealed the group safely within, and whisked them up through the bowels of the ship.
<< Just a reminder, I built 'Monster-governments', just say'n. Hopefully, someday, I'll break free of this world building rut and get back to the freaking story! ty,DD >>
