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Chapter 4
"You are ever the bearer of bad news," the tigress demon said. "What is it this time?"
"I found an alien," Jakob said, wagging his tail proudly, like a dog who'd found a particularly nice-looking stick. "Can I keep him...?"
Strauss gave a start as Xerian entered the room, and studied the winged robot with a look of trepidation.
"Just a few years ago, a certain rival of yours was trying to build some kind of dragon creature that could survive in our realm," the tigress said, looking very concerned. "Is this it?!"
"No," the wolf replied instantly. "He is not a dragon, he has no powers at all, and in fact, he did not survive in our realm. He is an android of alien design, who has entered our universe by accident. His ship crashed, and the local magic was eating into his brain circuitry. We have repaired him as best we could, modifying one of the panther brains, transferring his soul into it and then interfacing it with his existing systems as best we could."
"Have you considered that he may have been some creation of your enemies, built to deceive you?" Strauss frowned. "Do you have any actual proof of his origin?"
"I dunno... maybe that crashed spaceship outside?" Jakob offered. "Also, here - have some alien technology."
"What is this... thing?" Strauss asked, looking at the round, grey device and glancing quizzically at Xerian, who had clenched his hands and was starting to make soft keening noises.
"It's my brain," the robot wailed. "Please be gentle with it!"
"Well, unfortunately it's just a paperweight now," Jakob sighed. "The local magic has bricked it completely."
"But it's still mine! Please show a little reverence! How would you like it if someone handed your pickled brain around like a trinket while you had to watch?!"
"This is true," Jakob said, wings drooping with contrition. "That was thoughtless of me and I apologise."
"Very well," Strauss said, handing the device back to Xerian, who cradled it gently.
"I accept that Xerian here appears to be an alien rather than some unauthorised experiment of yours or the late Professor's, but still..." she sighed with exasperation. "Dammit, Mr. Pettersohn... why are you are such a locus for trouble!?
"...Or did your Lord Daryil have something to do with this?" the tigress asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "The chances of an alien landing in your back yard are what...?"
"I was aiming for a sparsely-populated area," Xerian offered. "I didn't want to harm any inhabitants or property. But at the same time, I wanted a chance of rescue. Crashing in the ocean or a desert would likely be fatal, but worlds often have research camps in the arctic regions, so I aimed for one of those."
"That makes sense," Strauss conceded grudgingly. "So then, Mr. Xerian... can you tell us a little about yourself and your creator's race? What is your job, for instance?"
"I am a starship pilot," Xerian said. "This was supposed to be a routine trip, but some kind of anomaly opened up while I was in hyperspace. I was not able to avoid it, and it left me stranded... here. As mentioned, the divergent physics in this place were damaging my electronics and I... Well... they tell me that I died."
Strauss glanced surreptitiously at Jakob, who nodded to confirm that Xerian was telling the truth.
"Very well, then. Tell me about the race that created you, and for what purpose."
"We were built to assist organic lifeforms," Xerian started. "There were several species on my homeworld, but a catastrophe occurred, resulting in a famine which caused society to collapse. There was very little food, and not enough manpower to grow it on the scale required. However, there were still large amounts of electrical power to hand.
"Our creators' finest minds designed us to help rebuild the world, by providing a large labour pool of servants who do not require precious organic food to survive."
"And did you succeed in rebuilding?"
"Oh, yes. Our civilisation is now spread across multiple worlds, to help avert a similar disaster in future.
"For our role in this, we were granted full legal rights and accepted as a species on our homeworld. Even though the crisis is long ended and we were granted our freedom, we still try to be useful and helpful to organic lifeforms. Kind of a debt for creating us, you know?"
"I see. Well, let me tell you a little bit about this world. We, too, have recently recovered from a catastrophe as well... but it was more a societal one.
"Mr. Pettersohn seems to believe you are telling the truth, and he is an empath, capable of sensing your emotions and surface thoughts.
"Taking what you said at face value, you come from a world much more pleasant than ours. In Furrae there are a large number of different races. But while yours seem to have got along reasonably well - unless your catastrophe was the result of a war, of course - I cannot say the same for race relations on our world.
"For long aeons the strong have ruled the weaker - to survive, an individual must become powerful enough to hold their own, but not too powerful, in case they disturb the tier above them and be crushed as a warning to others. This went on so long that it seemed to be the natural order of things, and only those with great insight could imagine a world that worked any other way.
"Thank the gods, we have got over that hump, but the echoes are still being felt. There are still places where it is considered normal to punish relatively minor crimes by public execution. Even in the more enlightened areas, death may still be the penalty for those who commit the highest crimes such as destroying a person's soul or attempting to bring about the end of the world.
"The organisation I belong to helps police the world. Our reach is not universal, but most civilised areas have some kind of treaty to uphold our laws. Laws that are intended to keep our world safe, and prevent us relapsing into the bad old ways.
"To put it bluntly, you're in a rough neighbourhood, Mr. Xerian."
The Synths's animated eyes had widened and gone through a variety of curious expressions as he listened. His jaw had fallen open when prospect of public execution was raised, and he took a step back.
"I want to go home," he said, plaintively.
"That would be best for all concerned, but if that is not an option, it is probably wise if you remain with Jakob for now," Strauss said. "Indeed, if you fear for your safety, Daryil's clan is one the safest places for you to be, and they may even be able to assist you in rebuilding your ship. Though how much help that will be if you need to travel between universes, I couldn't say.
"And now, if you don't mind, I would like a word with Mr. Pettersohn in private."
"Yes, Ma'am," Xerian said, and left the room.
"That he finds some of our ways barbaric is a good sign," Strauss said quietly. "Obviously, if it turns out that he is some kind of spy or evil death robot sent to invade us, I must ask you to confine him immediately and inform us as soon as possible. Otherwise, this Xerian seems to be a harmless visitor."
"Remember, he has a panther brain now, and all the safeguards that entails," Jakob said. "If push comes to shove and he does turn hostile, we can leave him as helpless as a bowl of noodles."
"And does he know this?" Strauss asked.
"No, and hopefully he won't have to. That said, he's likely to find out eventually if he looks into the panthers or androids. And who knows? Maybe the fact that it's a soft option rather than a self-destruct system will make us look a touch less savage in his eyes."
"...even if we could return you immediately to your native universe, there's still some work we need to do on you," Jakob said. "We should try and get you seeing in colour, and whatever other senses that rig in your head provides, such as range-finding or hyperspectral imaging. We also need to check your self-repair systems are functioning correctly and won't try to turn you into goo or deconstruct your brain."
"Very reassuring," Xerian said.
"Well, if our understanding of the nanite firmware disassembly is correct, they will ignore things they don't understand. Which makes sense, otherwise your nanites might do weird things to furniture or people you interact with. So they should just ignore the alien hardware we've added.
"For what it's worth, we have similar systems in our own androids," Jakob pointed out. "So we have experience with this kind of technology. Interfacing with an alien visual system, that's more of a challenge. Either way, since you're going to be here for a while, I suppose we'd better introduce you to Lord Daryil."
"You mentioned this Daryil before, with the tiger lady," Xerian said. "She seemed to fear and distrust him."
"Daryil is... big," Jakob said. Xerian blinked and cocked his head slightly in confusion.
"He is several stories high," Jakob added, and looked morose. "I'm not explaining this very well."
"Good. I was starting to worry about incipient brain damage."
"I'll start again," the wolf said. "You have no doubt observed that I have wings on my back, as did Ms. Strauss. In our world, wings usually indicate that someone is of a magical race.
"Unlike Ms. Strauss, I also have a smaller pair of wings on my head, which is a trait peculiar to incubi and succubi. Daryil has these too, but in addition he also has a third pair of wings on his hips, which indicates that he has become astonishingly powerful. He was once a normal incubus like myself, but he managed to... 'level up' doesn't really do it justice.
"It's a thing we can do, in theory. In practice, the transformation to become a tri-wing is usually lethal. Our race appeared or was created around 100'000 years ago, but in all that time, there have been only a few hundred successful ascensions of this kind. It has left him staggeringly powerful and with an indefinite lifespan. The oldest survivor - most were killed in the wars - is more than 75'000 years old."
"Daryil is more powerful than you can imagine," Jakob continued. "Ms. Strauss... she's a Demon. She can make her skin diamond-hard, or crush someone's head with a single hand. She could demolish a wall without breaking a sweat. But Daryil... he could crush her like a bug if he was so inclined.
"Short of actually becoming some kind of deity, he's the ultimate evolution of my race. We, most of us here, are his descendants. We can commune with him telepathically, and share in his power.
"Daryil is one of the most powerful creatures in our world, and as such, he has a great deal of influence. Here in his territory, his word is law. Given the things he could do, I am ever grateful that we are on good terms with him, and that his goals in life are benevolent."
Xerian looked worried.
Chapter 5: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/37506366/
Chapter 1: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/36864702/
"You are ever the bearer of bad news," the tigress demon said. "What is it this time?"
"I found an alien," Jakob said, wagging his tail proudly, like a dog who'd found a particularly nice-looking stick. "Can I keep him...?"
Strauss gave a start as Xerian entered the room, and studied the winged robot with a look of trepidation.
"Just a few years ago, a certain rival of yours was trying to build some kind of dragon creature that could survive in our realm," the tigress said, looking very concerned. "Is this it?!"
"No," the wolf replied instantly. "He is not a dragon, he has no powers at all, and in fact, he did not survive in our realm. He is an android of alien design, who has entered our universe by accident. His ship crashed, and the local magic was eating into his brain circuitry. We have repaired him as best we could, modifying one of the panther brains, transferring his soul into it and then interfacing it with his existing systems as best we could."
"Have you considered that he may have been some creation of your enemies, built to deceive you?" Strauss frowned. "Do you have any actual proof of his origin?"
"I dunno... maybe that crashed spaceship outside?" Jakob offered. "Also, here - have some alien technology."
"What is this... thing?" Strauss asked, looking at the round, grey device and glancing quizzically at Xerian, who had clenched his hands and was starting to make soft keening noises.
"It's my brain," the robot wailed. "Please be gentle with it!"
"Well, unfortunately it's just a paperweight now," Jakob sighed. "The local magic has bricked it completely."
"But it's still mine! Please show a little reverence! How would you like it if someone handed your pickled brain around like a trinket while you had to watch?!"
"This is true," Jakob said, wings drooping with contrition. "That was thoughtless of me and I apologise."
"Very well," Strauss said, handing the device back to Xerian, who cradled it gently.
"I accept that Xerian here appears to be an alien rather than some unauthorised experiment of yours or the late Professor's, but still..." she sighed with exasperation. "Dammit, Mr. Pettersohn... why are you are such a locus for trouble!?
"...Or did your Lord Daryil have something to do with this?" the tigress asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "The chances of an alien landing in your back yard are what...?"
"I was aiming for a sparsely-populated area," Xerian offered. "I didn't want to harm any inhabitants or property. But at the same time, I wanted a chance of rescue. Crashing in the ocean or a desert would likely be fatal, but worlds often have research camps in the arctic regions, so I aimed for one of those."
"That makes sense," Strauss conceded grudgingly. "So then, Mr. Xerian... can you tell us a little about yourself and your creator's race? What is your job, for instance?"
"I am a starship pilot," Xerian said. "This was supposed to be a routine trip, but some kind of anomaly opened up while I was in hyperspace. I was not able to avoid it, and it left me stranded... here. As mentioned, the divergent physics in this place were damaging my electronics and I... Well... they tell me that I died."
Strauss glanced surreptitiously at Jakob, who nodded to confirm that Xerian was telling the truth.
"Very well, then. Tell me about the race that created you, and for what purpose."
"We were built to assist organic lifeforms," Xerian started. "There were several species on my homeworld, but a catastrophe occurred, resulting in a famine which caused society to collapse. There was very little food, and not enough manpower to grow it on the scale required. However, there were still large amounts of electrical power to hand.
"Our creators' finest minds designed us to help rebuild the world, by providing a large labour pool of servants who do not require precious organic food to survive."
"And did you succeed in rebuilding?"
"Oh, yes. Our civilisation is now spread across multiple worlds, to help avert a similar disaster in future.
"For our role in this, we were granted full legal rights and accepted as a species on our homeworld. Even though the crisis is long ended and we were granted our freedom, we still try to be useful and helpful to organic lifeforms. Kind of a debt for creating us, you know?"
"I see. Well, let me tell you a little bit about this world. We, too, have recently recovered from a catastrophe as well... but it was more a societal one.
"Mr. Pettersohn seems to believe you are telling the truth, and he is an empath, capable of sensing your emotions and surface thoughts.
"Taking what you said at face value, you come from a world much more pleasant than ours. In Furrae there are a large number of different races. But while yours seem to have got along reasonably well - unless your catastrophe was the result of a war, of course - I cannot say the same for race relations on our world.
"For long aeons the strong have ruled the weaker - to survive, an individual must become powerful enough to hold their own, but not too powerful, in case they disturb the tier above them and be crushed as a warning to others. This went on so long that it seemed to be the natural order of things, and only those with great insight could imagine a world that worked any other way.
"Thank the gods, we have got over that hump, but the echoes are still being felt. There are still places where it is considered normal to punish relatively minor crimes by public execution. Even in the more enlightened areas, death may still be the penalty for those who commit the highest crimes such as destroying a person's soul or attempting to bring about the end of the world.
"The organisation I belong to helps police the world. Our reach is not universal, but most civilised areas have some kind of treaty to uphold our laws. Laws that are intended to keep our world safe, and prevent us relapsing into the bad old ways.
"To put it bluntly, you're in a rough neighbourhood, Mr. Xerian."
The Synths's animated eyes had widened and gone through a variety of curious expressions as he listened. His jaw had fallen open when prospect of public execution was raised, and he took a step back.
"I want to go home," he said, plaintively.
"That would be best for all concerned, but if that is not an option, it is probably wise if you remain with Jakob for now," Strauss said. "Indeed, if you fear for your safety, Daryil's clan is one the safest places for you to be, and they may even be able to assist you in rebuilding your ship. Though how much help that will be if you need to travel between universes, I couldn't say.
"And now, if you don't mind, I would like a word with Mr. Pettersohn in private."
"Yes, Ma'am," Xerian said, and left the room.
"That he finds some of our ways barbaric is a good sign," Strauss said quietly. "Obviously, if it turns out that he is some kind of spy or evil death robot sent to invade us, I must ask you to confine him immediately and inform us as soon as possible. Otherwise, this Xerian seems to be a harmless visitor."
"Remember, he has a panther brain now, and all the safeguards that entails," Jakob said. "If push comes to shove and he does turn hostile, we can leave him as helpless as a bowl of noodles."
"And does he know this?" Strauss asked.
"No, and hopefully he won't have to. That said, he's likely to find out eventually if he looks into the panthers or androids. And who knows? Maybe the fact that it's a soft option rather than a self-destruct system will make us look a touch less savage in his eyes."
* * *"...even if we could return you immediately to your native universe, there's still some work we need to do on you," Jakob said. "We should try and get you seeing in colour, and whatever other senses that rig in your head provides, such as range-finding or hyperspectral imaging. We also need to check your self-repair systems are functioning correctly and won't try to turn you into goo or deconstruct your brain."
"Very reassuring," Xerian said.
"Well, if our understanding of the nanite firmware disassembly is correct, they will ignore things they don't understand. Which makes sense, otherwise your nanites might do weird things to furniture or people you interact with. So they should just ignore the alien hardware we've added.
"For what it's worth, we have similar systems in our own androids," Jakob pointed out. "So we have experience with this kind of technology. Interfacing with an alien visual system, that's more of a challenge. Either way, since you're going to be here for a while, I suppose we'd better introduce you to Lord Daryil."
"You mentioned this Daryil before, with the tiger lady," Xerian said. "She seemed to fear and distrust him."
"Daryil is... big," Jakob said. Xerian blinked and cocked his head slightly in confusion.
"He is several stories high," Jakob added, and looked morose. "I'm not explaining this very well."
"Good. I was starting to worry about incipient brain damage."
"I'll start again," the wolf said. "You have no doubt observed that I have wings on my back, as did Ms. Strauss. In our world, wings usually indicate that someone is of a magical race.
"Unlike Ms. Strauss, I also have a smaller pair of wings on my head, which is a trait peculiar to incubi and succubi. Daryil has these too, but in addition he also has a third pair of wings on his hips, which indicates that he has become astonishingly powerful. He was once a normal incubus like myself, but he managed to... 'level up' doesn't really do it justice.
"It's a thing we can do, in theory. In practice, the transformation to become a tri-wing is usually lethal. Our race appeared or was created around 100'000 years ago, but in all that time, there have been only a few hundred successful ascensions of this kind. It has left him staggeringly powerful and with an indefinite lifespan. The oldest survivor - most were killed in the wars - is more than 75'000 years old."
"Daryil is more powerful than you can imagine," Jakob continued. "Ms. Strauss... she's a Demon. She can make her skin diamond-hard, or crush someone's head with a single hand. She could demolish a wall without breaking a sweat. But Daryil... he could crush her like a bug if he was so inclined.
"Short of actually becoming some kind of deity, he's the ultimate evolution of my race. We, most of us here, are his descendants. We can commune with him telepathically, and share in his power.
"Daryil is one of the most powerful creatures in our world, and as such, he has a great deal of influence. Here in his territory, his word is law. Given the things he could do, I am ever grateful that we are on good terms with him, and that his goals in life are benevolent."
Xerian looked worried.
Chapter 5: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/37506366/
Chapter 1: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/36864702/
Category Story / All
Species Alien (Other)
Size 120 x 120px
File Size 41.2 kB
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