| Into the Loliverse : Taboos : Act II "We give thanks to you Lord for this meal, for our family, and for this safe haven you have given to us. We give thanks to the kindness of our hostesses. Please guide us with your wisdom. Amen.", Reverend case passed some bread to her granddaughter Sara. Sara took a slice and passed it on, "Grandma, do we have to move again?" "This time, there is no place to move. Whatever comes, we must accept as God's will." Ruth passed down a bowl of braised tofu, "They have weapons now." Ruth's older sister Rachael took the bowl, "What do you mean, they have weapons?" she passed it on to Michael. Michael took a few chunks, "She took care to make sure the weapon was non-lethal. I don't think Emerald wants to hurt anyone." he passed them on to his cousin Marion. Marion passed it on without taking any, he never liked tofu," You don't make a weapon unless you have a target in mind.", it was passed on to Rachael's son, Thomas. Thomas gave Marion a look, "How come he doesn't have to eat the tofu?" "What I wonder is," Abraham fidgeted with his vegetables, "What kind of reception are we going to get tomorrow at church?" Ruth sighed, "Or work?" Thomas grumbled, "Or school?" Case rubbed her eyes. She had no answers. *** "It's the last of the feta cheese, you had better appreciate this," Emerald and Ashley sat down to a spinach salad. "Ah do dear. Did ya see the demonstration? Clyde and Ned were pretty good sports about it. They're trainin' to join the resolvers." Ashley took a forkful of salad, "Some of us had to work." "It *was* work.", Emerald took a forkful of spinach, "How did yer day go?" "Not bad. We were mostly mapping the system There are two other planets belonging to this star, and a fourth that seems to do a figure eight around each of the stars. Beta Centauri might even have a planet with life. The Mission astrophysicist is a very charming man." "Should ah be jealous?" "I am not interested in males. I saw Violet bat her eyes at him, but he's married." "What do you think of the foam gun? Give me yer honest opinion." "I don't like it. This isn't the old west, where anyone who picks up a gun becomes the law.." "Honey, it shoots *glue*. It ain't exactly a danger to the habitat. Besides, we'll keep it in the weapon's closet an' take it out during emergencies. An we won't even do that unless the majority of the residents support it." "We have a weapons closet?" "Its not dangerous, but it ain't a toy either. If I had this in Texas I could'a taken that man alive. He woulda faced a jury of his peers. This tool is meant to prevent death, not cause it." "You are a good person, I know that whatever you do, you feel in your heart it is the right thing." *** The virtual environment Azure had created was all black and white in keeping with the old timey feel of the smoke filled twentieth century night club. Azure stood in a sparkling gown that had a slit up the side, exposing smooth legs. Large hoop earrings hung off the lobes. She stared out at the simulated audience, she took hold of the prop microphone. She began to sing. The voice her best attempt at a smoky, sultry voice, but she could not make her voice go that low. She felt odd singing a smooth jazz song about love and longing in her high pitched voice. She could have set the simulation to make her voice lower, to make it sound more like an adult voice. The door chime rang. She discontinued her spex generated fantasy, "Come in." The door opened and Goldie ran in and fell into Azure's arms and began to weep. Azure put her arm around her friend's shoulders and took her gently to the bed to sit down. "What happened?" "Ruth...and the Mission...she's pregnant. That's what they call an IUG. Azure, their all uncleansed. They don't cleanse their children. Why wouldn't you cleanse your child? Why? I don't understand." Azure rubbed Goldie's neck gently with the heel of her palm. Slow gentle circles. "What makes you think the mission is uncleansed?" "Because! Ruth told me! They told all of us. They said we needed to know before tomorrow. Ruth told me that they moved from place to place a lot. They went to Io because they had a religious exemption for cleansing. Which is stupid, because its religious folks that don't cleanse. I mean how could I be so stupid?" Azure kneaded Goldie's shoulders gently, "You're not stupid." Goldie sniffled, "What am I supposed to feel? They were so nice to me, and for the first time I beleived in something that I didn't feel silly about. I belonged. The first time I met poeple I felt I could really be myself with. Except you." Azure's palm drifted down to Goldie's back. Goldie hung her head, "It didn't feel like they were hiding anything from me. I was reading their book and there is violence and cruelty in it. I could talk to them about it. Some of us would even debate. I was all there in plain sight. I guess I just assumed this was just something that they didn't do any more. You know, one of those outdated rules that folks just ignore, because times have changed. You know rules like old dietary laws, or bigamy, or rules against women clergy, or same-sex marriage, or passages telling followers to hate foreigners, or telling you not to wash your hands, or the one that tells you its a sin to masturbate. When we were all singing it felt as if we were all part of something bigger than ourselves. I could feel it, His love. I felt love all around me. Now, I don't know what to feel. I don't understand. Did I just make myself feel that way?" Azure took hold of a hair brush and began to groom her friend's long blond hair, starting from her left, "Why don't they have like twenty kids each?" "Oh they use an old form of birth control called a condom. Since its mostly just a latex bag that goes of the boy thing, its pretty easy to fab." Azure went strand by strand, brushing in a slow deliberate manner, "Huh. So they are trying to control their numbers. They aren't like the Church of the Abundant Womb or Quiver Full, or the folks of Mars Habitat Eden." "Well, no. Ruth told me they weren't forcing her to have an IUG. ", Goldie relaxed a little, "I looked it up, it sounds so painful and risky. Why would anyone want to go through that?" "I don't know. Maybe you should ask them.", gently Azure made her way to the back of Goldie's head. "You think I should go to the service tomorrow?" "I think that whatever you decide, I am with you. If you want to go to the chapel tomorrow and join their weird religion, I will go with you. If you want to ditch them, then Shrag 'em. Its open mic night at the square tomorrow, we can sing there." Goldie sniffled then smiled, "Azure, I like that dress. You should wear girly stuff more often." "You don't think its slutty?" "No. Its sexy, but classy.", Goldie then embraced her friend and they held each other for a time. *** Ashley couldn't sleep, "Emerald?" "Yeah?", Emerald was still half asleep. "I voted against it, just now. I'm sorry." "Its yer right." "You don't feel like I've betrayed you?" "Ah know you are a good person. Whatever you do, its cause you think its right." *** Eliza stayed in Sable's apartment for the night. Though most nights she stayed in the computer room, since she was there most of the time anyway. She kept her clothes there and what few items she owned. The computer room was considered a public space, so anyone at any time could look in on her with spex. True, she could easily manipulate the camera feed to show her lying there or block it altogether. In the end, she just didn't care if anyone watched her play with herself or get dressed. In the end, plenty of folks had seen her naked. Plenty of folks had used her or been used by her. Todd was lying right near her. Sable's bed was too small, and Todd didn't seem to mind., He was first male she'd spent this much time with without having sex with them. Casually, Eliza stroked the boy's hair. She was aroused having a warm body against hers. She knew she wasn't supposed to. She stroked his back, in what she hoped was a motherly way. *** Whispers... "One of the Mission has an IUG." "I bet all of their women have them, they just want to test how we will react." "I hear that in their Heaven, women wake up every morning with an IUG and evacuate it by nightfall." "In their scripture their God was born through a non-consensual IUG." "I hear they plan to breed us out. That's how they take over." "I hear they have already enlisted the other humans." "Don't be ridiculous, I talked to a human, they're just as shocked as we are." "No they're just pretending, to give us a false sense of security." "I told the mayor I wanted the new gun." "How is that going to help?" "I don't know, but they need to be stopped!" *** There are no mornings or evenings in space. In fact "morning" and "evening" is determined mostly by what shift you work. So approximately one third of the habitat's population is active at any one time. On this particular non-morning, Sable stumbled into her apartment to find Eliza and Todd eating breakfast. Sable yawned. She made no attempt to explain herself, because whatever went on ( or didn't ) was entirely her and Silvia's business. Still, that didn't stop folks from being curious. Eliza affected a broad smile and gazed down at the dark haired loli, "Sooo, did you and Silvia have fun?" Sable took a bowl from her cabinet. A container filled with porridge and a pitcher of soy milk sat in the middle of the table. She poured heated soy milk into the bowl and stirred in the porridge. Detecting the hot milk, the bowl began to warm itself. Sable stirred it, hypnotized by the swirls in the finely ground grain. "We were looking at the low orbit images of planet Franklin. Or is it Franklin's planet? Did you see them Todd?" "Yeah Me an' Eliza were looking at them last night. Eliza got bored." Eliza rolled her eyes, "I'm sorry, but the kid was enjoying those vids on a whole other level to me. Besides, I'll get to see Frankie close up in a couple of days." "That reminds me, I have to work on the delivery system. Eliza, I need to replace the chilp in it. Its completely untrainable. No matter how I try, in the simulations, it crashes into the planet" "Of course it does, its the chilp for a nuclear weapon. All it knows is crashing. I'll ask my boys if they can make one for you." Todd cocked his head, "The daemons can't all be boys, they reproduce sexually." "Well, I think of them as boys. So why are you working today? The mayor declared a day of rest. We're supposed to be doing fun things." Sable felt more awake as she chewed her porridge, " Working on the probe's delivery system *is* fun for me. You'd have to be mechanic to understand." "What do you think about Ruth?" "She's a good worker. For someone so tall she can squeeze herself into some small spaces." "No, her condition." "What condition?" "You know, her gestation." "Huh? Did X-utero lift the restraints on new gestations? What? I really don't know." *** The Mission waited quietly at the chapel, it was 1000 hours, and no one had shown yet. The chapel looked like a miniature version of the Parthenon, with no roof. Open to a faux sky and a sun that cut through the center of rotation. The floor was made of stone with a heart shaped stone up front were engaged couples would proclaim their love before friends and family. The Mission was dressed in their Sunday best, blue suites and white dresses, bonnets and white hats. Ruth hung her head, "This is my fault." Michael put her hands on his wife's shoulders, "I think this took two of us." Reverend Case put her hand on the young woman's shoulder, "Its not the first time that its just been us. It is the first time we have been able to worship in such a beautiful place, out in the open. I am thankful for even that small privilege. The Mayor could have taken away our right to the chapel, she didn't. Maybe, we don't have so much to worry about after all." Marion's smooth bald head was covered by a white hat, "Mom, look over there." It was a crowd of small humanoids, a rainbow assortment of long hair and thin bodies in the ballerina style dresses they seemed to favor. She recognized Rust and Cream in front, they saw crosses. No, wait. These had a loop in the top. They were not happy. A rainbow colored mob collected near them. Amber spoke for them, " We know now, the whole habitat knows now that you are uncleansed. Your children deserve twelve months of gestation. Your women deserve to be free of the blood and pain of such primitive practices. What kinds of negative energies are unleashed on a poor defenseless child not even ready to enter the world?" Reverend Case spoke for the Mission, "This is Ruth's choice, and no one else's." "I want to believe you, I really do. Still, I cannot. I cannot believe someone would go through this of their own will. Someone would risk their life and the success of their IUG rather than do what is safe and effective. For what gain? What I think is this poor girl has been raised away from society and subjected to patriarchal conditioning. Like the Church of the Abundant Womb she is told she is a living gestation chamber whose sole purpose is to breed out the unfaithful. We intend to remove her from your company and deprogram her." Case put her hands on her hips. Though thin and frail looking she was still much bigger than Amber. "'Exactly how do you intend to do that?" "You are bigger than us, but there are a *lot* more of us. Once we have her away from you, we will rebuild her broken spirit." Ruth shook her head, "Why is this so hard for you to understand? I *want* this!" A second group of loli formed a line between the Mission and the positivists. They wore the powder blue uniforms of the resolvers. They linked hands and formed a barrier between the two religious groups. Cyan herself stood in the center of the line. They were not relying on brute force but on the commonly held taboo against violence amongst loli. "The Mission has reserved this chapel for the next two hours. They have the right to assemble peacefully." Amber pointed to Reverend Case, "Arrest this woman, she is engaged in an ongoing population crime!" "What they are doing isn't a crime under Io charter. Reverend Case hasn't done anything." "Oh no? The members of the Mission aren't cleansed, on her command." Cyan rubbed her temples, "Any one of them can go to infirmary and be cleansed at any time of day. I have talked to Ruth, she hasn't been brainwashed. I think her ideals are impractical, but they aren't illegal." As Cyan and Amber talked, Emerald spotted Cream, standing among the positivists, she used subvocal
to avoid interrupting Dr. Cyan, < Cream looked around, <> < Cream bit her lip and looked back at Amber. She fidgeted with her Ankh, < Amber smiled and shook her head, "Poor naive Cyan. I know you aren't used to people lying to you. They are trained for this. Remember, they all have higher level degrees. They know ahead of time what questions you will ask. Do you think you are the first therapist they have run across?" Emerald stared at Cream, << Cream, get over here - that's an order!>> Cyan took a deep breath, "It is a principal in civil society that an individual is innocent until proven guilty. Until you have something more compelling than your paranoia, I suggest that you leave." "We will do no such thing. The Mission must live under the norms of our society." Three more lolis came in, Coral, Azure and Goldie. The first and the third in their choir outfits, still wearing their crosses.. Azure wore a blue skirt. Goldie stepped up first, "Reverend, Coral and I am ready to join you." Amber was, for the first time, at a loss for words. Coral stepped up next to Goldie, "I am ready too." Reverend Case smiled at Azure, "I take it you aren't here to convert?" Azure shook her head, "I'm only here for moral support." The Mission had descended from a Christian sect called the Baptists, but restraints on water usage meant that full emersion had to be dropped. Instead, taking a small bottle from her pocket, "Do you Goldie, daughter of Cyan and Orange pledge your heart to the Mission in the Name of Jesus the Christ, the King of Peace?" "Yes Ma'am. I do." "Do you pledge your labor to all the creatures that God has granted awareness to? To develop useful skill for the betterment of those creatures which God has granted awareness to?" "Yes ma'am, I do pledge" Reverend Case sprinkled a few drops of water on her head, "You are now a member of the Mission.", she then turned to Coral, "Coral, daughter of Apple and Vanilla, do you pledge..." Amber backed away as Coral spoke her oath. She did not lose a physical advantage, but she saw things in terms of psychic conflicts, "Come on. There is too much negativity here." Cream seemed bewildered, "That's it? We're running away? " "We are becoming too angry. We need to regroup. Focus our positivitty on the task.", Amber lead her followers from the chapel. Cream looked at Emerald and Cyan, then at Amber, then she ran. A moment later Emerald received a message that Cream had resigned her commission. Reverend Case cupped Goldie's and Coral's small faces, "You knew, and you came to us anyway.", she then kissed them. She then turned to Cyan, "You are all invited to stay for the service, if you like." Cyan folded her hands in front of her, "I think I will do that. I will post a few resolvers at the entrances. The rest have other duties. Reverend, I respect the convictions of your beliefs, but my duty, my faith is the harmony of the habitat. If the population of the habitat should rule against you...." Case nodded, "We are taught to love our enemies. But we aren't enemies yet." *** Emerald and Cherry stood outside the front entrance. "Cherry has checked the polls on the new weapon. Cherry thinks it will be approved." "Yeah. Ah see that." "Emerald is not happy?" "Its not fer the right reasons. Ah shouldn't a' made this out to be an anti-human weapon. It should be about order verses chaos. Not us an' them." "Cherry does not think grumps will take loli seriously." "Cherry we're on duty. I don't want to hear that word." "If humans gestate without X-Utero. If the most skilled are in the Mission, why would humans need loli? Even before, loli needed human experts to come in lots." "Fine then, why don'tcha join the positivists?" "Cherry thinks there is a third way, a better way." "Yes, its what we're doin' right now. Keepin' the peace." "For loli or grump?" " 'I, Emerald, daughter of Garnet and Ivy, do solemnly swear to maintain order and harmony, to resolve conflicts and prevent violence. To serve and protect the residents of Habitat-6.' Does that answer yer question?" *** The service was beautiful, she supposed, in its own way. Though the entire time she had felt like a social scientist observing some ancient ritual. Which, in a sense, was what she had done.. Seeing Goldie, hearing her sing. Seeing her stand up to members of her own race out of love for this ancient religion. Goldie was immersed, she was more like her other mother in her personality. I want a lover, not another mother. Cyan was fairly certain she was a good mother. Goldie seemed to like her. *** Reverend Case spread her arms and said to her small audience, "The service is ended, go in peace.", Reverend Case went up to Cyan, "So what did you think?" "Somewhat dry, though I see the usefulness of it. A weekly reminder social norms, something for the community to be involved with to help define itself." Goldie was standing behind her mother, "Mom! Do you ever turn off?" Case patted Goldie's shoulder, "Don't fret dear, your mother is just giving me an honest opinion. Ruth, what's wrong?" Ruth put a hand to her ear," I'm getting a call from X-Utero. They want me to pay them a visit." Michael rushed to Ruth's side, "I'm going with you." "No, they want me to go alone. I'm not afraid. Its not like we haven't had encounters with X- Utero before. I will be fine. Maybe I can put an end to this, somehow.", Ruth strode purposefully toward the nearest exit from the garden. Abraham approached Reverend Case, "According to the spex, Sable is in the docking bay area. Probably working on the probe." Case scowled, "Abraham, this is the Sabbath, its supposed to be a day of rest." "Rebecca, you cannot know how restful it is when a man is as one with his tools. Besides, a well engineered machine glorifies God." |