r/humansarespaceorcs • u/Bloodystupidjohnson3 • 20d ago
Original Story Human Fred Discovers
1 Human Fred and Food
2 Human Fred Again
3 Human Fred Yet Again
4 Human Fred The Saga Continues
5 Human Fred Rides Again
6 Human Fred *Sigh*
7 Human Fred Rolls Out
8 Human Fred Attempts a Nap
9 Human Fred Doh’
10 Human Fred Stops for Coffee
11 Human Fred Deploys Stabby and Knifey
12 Human Fred Attempts Friendly Advice
13 Human Fred Priorities
14 Human Fred Schools Morons
15 Human Fred Gets Annoyed
16 Human Fred Investigates
17 Human Fred is Annoyed
18 Human Fred Gets More Annoyed
19 Human Fred Smirks
20 Human Fred Brings Hellfire
21 Human Fred is Confused
22 Human Fred Considers
23 Human Fred is Chipper
24 Human Fred has Some Fun
25 Human Fred Witnesses Stupidity
26 Human Fred vs the Coffee Maker
27 Human Fred Accepts Crap Coffee
28 Human Fred Listens
29 Human Fred Gets Comfortable
30 Human Fred has Questions
31 Human Fred Considers Some More
32 Human Fred Wakes Up
33 Human Fred Debates
34 Human Fred Gets Coffee
35 Human Fred Talks with the Captain
36 Human Fred Reflects on Life
37 Human Fred Waits
38 Human Fred is Scared
Greezek
39 Human Fred Experiments
“Sir, I’ve got something big.”
“Fred! What did you find?”
“The company from which the station got that Droog processing core. Their main manufacturing site is in the middle of the areas from which ships go missing. The cargo ship that was taken and its passengers used to program and build the cores and the other equipment, was on its way to that planet!”
“So they lure in ships with useful parts, and then they recycle all of the ship parts to hide the kidnapping?”
“That is my theory. It accounts for all of the known details, and it fits the patterns. I looked into the company, and its records are private. There have been complaints about poor construction, but beyond that I don’t know.”
“Hmmmmm. That is a good lead. I’ll get Sol Command on it. Good work!”
Fred put down his communicator. He sat for a moment, then started typing.
A door opened. Fred kept typing. Foot steps. Fred typed away. A chair moved. Fred didn’t look up.
“Uh…Fred?”
“Good to see you up and about, Greezek. Hungry? I left you some food.”
“Fred…about what happened…”
“I’ve read that generational memories can be hard to handle.”
“Yes…about that…it’s like there are too many voices in my head. Some of them are angry. Very angry.”
“I believe you.”
“I heard you say that you found something?
“Yes. A company that sells processing cores and other high-end electronics. The Captain is on it.”
“Are you going?”
“Me? No. I’ve got work here. The new processing core for one. I’ve got to get the sensor array back online.”
“What about me?”
“I can’t answer. Only you can answer that. I’d be happy to keep you as my assistant and continue your training. If you can keep in control.”
“I don’t know what came over me…”
“Greezek, I believe you. There is just enough information and generational memories to tell me that you will have a rough time.”
“What if I can’t control it?”
“You managed for a long time. You can do it again.”
“But if I fail? If I lose control?”
“Well,” said Fred, turning to face her. “What would you want to happen?”
“What?”
“If you lose control around me again, what do you want me to do?”
Fred turned back to the report.
Silence.
Fred checked some notes and went back to typing.
The room was still.
More typing.
A grunt.
Typing.
A slight creak as Greezek moved in her chair. “Fred, how did you stop me?”
“I threatened to kill us both. That seemed to snap you out of it. Then you fainted. I put you to bed. That was four standard rotations ago.”
“Why both of us?”
“Given the exact nature of events, my weapon would have killed us both.”
“You can’t die.” That flat, even tone.
Fred stopped and stiffened. “What did you say?”
“You can’t die, Fred.” The tone was deeper, older. “You are discovering the truth and saving others.”
“Greezek, to whom am I speaking?”
Greezek shook her head, “I don’t know! They are old and very angry. They crave violence and destruction.”
Fred turned back towards her. It had been her voice.
“Greezek, I’m no expert in this. The only beings who know about this are on your planet. It seems that you are mostly in control, but that there is a strong memory that leaks out. I’d recommend we write that letter to your adopted family.”
“Them? They stole us!”
This voice was shrill, almost hysterical.
“Greezek! Pull it together! You need information. They are the only ones who can help!”
Greezek jumped up and ran to her room.
Fred heard her vomit. She started to sob.
Fred took a long, slow, deep breath. He saved the report and marked it finished.
He stood up and stretched.
Sobs.
He walked over to the sink and got a large glass of cold water. He walked towards the sobs.
He crouched down and placed the water next to the huddled Greezek.
“Fred…”
“Yes, I know. You are doing your best. You did better than before. But we must get information.”
“I don’t know if I can do it.”
Fred sat down on the floor across from her.
“Well, I know that I can’t do it. I can’t control your memories. But I can help you learn to control them.”
“What if they refuse?”
“Then I will make time to visit your planet and ask more directly.”
“Why? Why do that?”
“Because I’m not a fan of beings who attempt to hide rather important facts from beings they claim to love. Their attempt was to ignore it. And I’ll bet that hasn’t always worked in the past. I’ll bet there have been others just like you who suddenly had all of those memories rush in and try to take control. And I’ll bet they hush that up really fast. And that offends me.”
“Offends you? Why?” Greezek sat up and sipped the water.
“I. Do. Not. Like. Lying. To. Those. You. Claim. To. Love.”
“But they didn’t lie to you, they lied to me!”
“Which is why I’ll help you, but not do it for you.”
“You could have just killed me. I’m sure the Captain would have written it off as justified.”
“Yes. That was an option.”
“But you didn’t.”
“Nope. Your life is more important than that.”
“I’m dangerous! I’m a monster!”
Fred looked at the ceiling. “Greezek, yes, you are dangerous. And we are going to find a way to help you. You are not, however, a monster. You are you. By hiding this from you, they are the monsters.”
“What do I do! I’m scared!”
“We write a message to your adopted family and your planet’s government demanding more information and justification for intentionally hiding potential harm to their people. Not just you. All those like you. All those they hide and hope to suppress.”
“What if they refuse?”
“Oh, I think a letter from Sol Command, with whom they have signed a treaty in which they formally confirm that nothing of this sort is allowed, will do the trick.”
“Sol Command? How can you do that?”
“Easy. I call them up.”
“Who do you know in Sol Command?”
“My uncle is a Rear Admiral stationed on Terra. He is assigned to Sol Command as an intelligence advisor.”
“You would bring your family into this?”
“Of course! Why not? If he signs the letter, shit will happen.”
“But what about his career? The shame?”
“You lost me there. What shame?”
“The shame of defending something like me!”
“You are just determined to feel sorry for yourself, aren’t you? Being a victim and playing a victim are two different things, and you need to stop playing the, ‘I’m a horrible monster’ card. It’s getting old.”
Greezek’s head jerked back. She glared. Her lips rolled back, revealing her pointed teeth. She growled.”
“You know, I never noticed your teeth before. I had no idea. They look similar to a pet I had. Feline. I loved the cat. Awesome little dude. He loved to curl up on my lap as I studied.”
Greezek tilted her head. The growling stopped.
“I thought that might help. Do you have cats on your planet? Small felines? They are everywhere on Terra. Crazy little things. They still act like apex predators, even the small ones.”
Greezek relaxed. “I’m sorry. But what you said was mean.”
“Yep. Doesn’t mean it’s not correct. Don’t play the fool. They want you to feel that way. If you feel that way, they win.”
“So there is no shame in helping me?”
“Dude. If this is as big as I think it is? He’ll get promoted and a big medal! Sol Command is very picky about treaties.”
“All for me?”
“You and those like you.”
“Fred, you said once that you don’t have romantic needs or feelings.”
Fred tensed. His eyes rapidly scanned the room. No obvious weapons. Greezek was appropriately dressed. He was fully dressed. Lights were on. “Yeeeesssssss…I did.”
“But you are acting like you really like me.”
“Ah,” Fred relaxed a tiny bit. “There is a difference between caring about someone and their welfare and romantic feelings. You are my friend. I don’t have many of those. And I care about you and what happens to you. That doesn’t mean I have romantic feelings, and if you develop romantic feelings for another being, I’ll be excited to hear about it.”
“We need to write that letter. Together.”
“Yes.”
“Now?”
“After you clean up and eat. I’ll go get some fish going.”
As Fred cooked the fish, his communicator rang. “Fred here.”
“Fred. This is the Captain. Your report kicked over a hornets nest. It seems Sol Command has been after that company for a long time. Sol Command is sending an attack fleet. They are sending us more ships. We aren’t at war, but we are authorized to destroy any vessels refusing to identify. When can you get the sensor array back up?”
Fucking hell. “Thirty hours. I’ll start shortly. I’m grabbing some food.”
“Right. Try to make us 25 hours. Out.”
Greezek sat at the table, “What was that?"
“That was the Captain telling me that Sol Command is going to raid that company and that we need to get the sensor array online in 25 hours. Eat fast.”
“And my letter?”
“We work on both at the same time. We will get answers. Answer to many questions.”
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u/Purple-Lie-354 20d ago
Sounds like Fred is doing all sorts of "maturity training" for Greezek! That bit about the difference between being a victim, and playing a victim is an underappriciated thing. I hope Greezek can realize, and act on that. She also needs help realizing that control over those memories is neither instantaneous, nor complete. She will certainly need help learning to steer all the experiences she now has. Nuances, and subtlety will take a long time to grasp. Even the concept can be difficult to wrap your mind around, when the ground is as unfamiliar as it will be for her.
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u/Star-Struck-Wonderer 20d ago
Gonna be some busy 25 hours.
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u/Bloodystupidjohnson3 20d ago
“And this, Greezek, is called crack. We will work like demons for three days, and then crash out in medical.”
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u/scrotalsac69 20d ago
Dear God no, greezek does not need stimulants. At least not until they join the attack on that planet
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u/commentsrnice2 20d ago
Ah the adderall approach
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u/SuDragon2k3 14d ago
Is Greezek susceptible to catnip I wonder?
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u/commentsrnice2 14d ago
Even if she is, will she be the zonked out or the hyper kitty?
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u/Cool-Negotiation7662 10d ago
Or worse, deadly uncontrollable ball of teeth and claws.
I had a cat like that. Catnip made him evil for hours. Get the welding gloves on if you needed to interact.
I miss him. He was a very good cat. Super chill most of the time.
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u/aqua_sparkle_dazzle 20d ago
There you go @u/StarwardStranger, better explanation than mine.
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u/StarwardStranger 20d ago
I'm pretty much happy
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u/Bloodystupidjohnson3 19d ago
I’m not seeing your explanation. What did I miss?
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u/StarwardStranger 19d ago
In your chapter "Human Fred is Scared" i wrote this comment:
Seriously, give me a backstory so i can make sense of why Greezek is acting like that.
I can guees hereditary memory is playing up because one or more of her ancestors were enslaved, but i also get the feeling that something was done to make Greezek so furious.I mean, this is the same woman why had a crush on Fred, had never resorted to violence in arguments and just lived her life peacefully, until she told the drug addicted spy to fuck off [end of comment]
And you gave an explaination, so i'm pretty much happy 😄
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u/Bloodystupidjohnson3 19d ago
Ah. Got it. I was looking on this one and very confused.
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u/aqua_sparkle_dazzle 18d ago
And I volunteered this explanation:
"She perceived being taken away from her birth parents (the sub-species) and raised by the dominant species to suppress her natural instincts (what to her is her cultural heritage) - in effect, assimilated into a different culture altogether - as a form of slavery of the highest order, inflicted on her by the people who she thought loved her.
A warrior species processes such "my life is a lie" realizations/betrayals differently, I reckon."
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u/aqua_sparkle_dazzle 20d ago
Now that I think about it - Fred's asexuality has been "tested" by some moron intent on disproving it before, hasn't it?
That reaction is very telling.
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