How is That

“How is that? To, live forever, isn’t that, boring after some time? Don’t you, saw everything, have you not done, everything?” she asked. Genuine effort in her eyes, trying to imagine it.

“Oh, it is not to live thousands, or hundreds of thousands years. How it is? Imagine trillions, multiplied by trillions of years, elevated to the same number. Then, consider this. Once you see that period of time has passed, you still have ahead of you as much time as you have right now. That is pretty much it, my daughter. I have lived a couple hundred times that, and I know many people who are over a trillion times older than me. I have not seem everything or done everything, and they say they haven’t either. Boredom? No, that’s one thing your don’t need to worry about.

There is always new people, saying and doing things that will surprise you. Boredom only happens when you close yourself to the people around you. And when you do that, eventually, your mind open again. No reason to worry about that.

However, neither of us is immortal. Once our specie leaves this pocket dimension where your birth Universe is, we are adults, and considerably harder to destroy. Besides, outside pockets like that is illegal for us to kill each other. Here is not, and any other adult of our specie could try to kill me without fear repercussions right now. They could not kill you in the same way, that would be a serious crime. However, any other aspirant can do that. Kill you.

You are certainly far from invincible. Right now, your body is little less fragile than a human body. I cannot help you protect yourself too much, because it would hinder your development. Risk is necessary for our development from your age up to adulthood. I will help you in the extent I can help you, but not so much that you would have to stay here far too long than normal. Your heritage waits you outside.”

“So, I can, die here”.

He looked at her, curious about her expression. Concern, fear, also, curiosity. “How is it, outside?”

“Like in here, in most aspects. We place humans here, and you look like a human, because that is how we used to be. Eyes, arms, legs, fingers, etc. The technology has evolved and does not make much sense for me to describe it to you. Our minds and bodies are, powerful and flexible. We can, do many sorts of things.

There is still social order. Families, very large for the standards of humans. Some families are noble, others are not. Even the less noble and less powerful among our specie have access to more luxury than you can imagine. And are as immortal as you will be, if you live long enough to mature. However, ours is a noble family. High Nobility, in fact. It’s mostly a matter of status, but it is a important matter in our civilization.

Well, children are born and grow here. In planets like that. The moment to tell them they are not humans is a personal judgement of the father. I decided to do than now, in your anniversary of 12 years. Sometimes it is done much sooner, sometimes latter.

I wanted to tell you now, because it gives us some 20 more years, give or take. I have time to teach you something about the things that wait for you in this planet, and universe. And also in the other universes inside that Pocket. Once you learn how to move by ourself, in here.

Then, I must leave you behind. We will only see each other again outside the pocket dimension. In the adult world.”

She was not sad. Perhaps because 20 years didn’t felt like too brief a period of time.

“You said it is a decision of the father. How about the decisions of the mother?”

“Oh, that. This society of humans where we live, it has adopted a mostly non-directive and anti-hierarchical ideal. Women here have not just the same rights of men, but in fact, objectively, far more rights than men have. It never works for very long, but I personally like the flavour of it, the tone of interactions, while it lasts. That’s why we have raised you here.

Our people has strong and strict sense of hierarchy. And all the authority inside a family belongs to the men. I talk to your mother, and she certainly says what she thinks would be best, but the burden of decision is mine. She could not contest it if she wanted, and I don’t think she wants to. Women have their own structures of power, and their own interests, I could not tell you much about, you must ask her yourself.

There is a very clear separation between the sexes in our society. And an implicit necessity of cooperation. Since a couple is an alliance between partners, playing to improve their position as a couple inside a larger family. On the same time, cooperating with other members of the family, to advance the collective interest of the family. The notion of competition between men and women rarely make any sense outside places like this.”

She was intrigued by something.

“Why do you kill each other, in here? If this amazing technology can provide all the necessary goods and comforts, for everybody. Also, why don’t give everybody the same status, the same authority, why that militaristic mindset, if no war is necessary?”

He had other children before, boys and girls, astronomic number of them. Sometimes a question he never has listened before surprised him. In one of those conversations. That was not one of those times.

“Just because the necessity is not outside us, that does not mean it do not exist. We carry the need for structure, hierarchy and male dominance inside our beings. Oh, not by fate! We have the tools to write it out from our genetic code any time, like snap of fingers. Our civilization is old, much older than I am, older than anyone I know in person. There was time to try many things, and egalitarian model of organization was something that occurred to many people, several times. Becomes old, faster than you can imagine.

What we have, for the most part, is what endured the test of time.

See, most humans here on Planet Fever do not know that but there is a species of octopus here that is as intelligent as humans. Despite being much smaller than humans. The individuals of that specie are in fact able to learn faster than humans. Have great talent for mathematics and abstract thinking in general. Potentially. Because, you see. This specie lives up to ten months, less than one year.

In that time, they cannot develop much of their intellect. We can, of course, change the lifespan of any individual or specie as we please. We have, in many occasions, creates octopus of that specie, modified to live 100 years or more. That is not something we do often, because they always end up finding a way to destroy or **** humanity on the planet shared by the two species. Eventually, if we want to prevent that so we can keep using the planet to raise aspirants, we must exterminate the octopus.

Well, males and females in that specie have almost the same level of intelligence, with some strong and weak points on average, mostly balanced capacities. However, the females are much larger, and more aggressive. And, as usually happens when that is the case, they eat the males.

When we extend the time this specie has to live, and change nothing else. The females still eat their males. The societies they develop are all strictly dominated by females, and killing males of their specie to consume their flesh is never considered a crime. No matter how abundant the sources of food happen to be. They do it for fun, pleasure, and as a game. Now, that do not mean those societies cannot work, they are usually very well structured and capable of endure the passage of time even a little more frequently than human societies when we do not interfere.

They just keep evolving according to their nature. And, in the rare occasions when we allow a specie like that to develop enough technology to rewrite its own DNA in very significant ways. They make themselves more durable, capable to live longer, smarter, and create all sorts of living weapons integrated to their physiology. One thing I never saw they do, and have not heard about, was they make themselves gender egalitarian. If they change their males is to make them less intelligent, weaker in some way. And to improve the taste of their flesh. Not to make them as powerful as they are.

Compared to the usual fate of males in species inclined toward female dominance by physiology. Females in species like ours and humans, get a lighter burden.

It is still a burden, of course! Boys of our species, when they are aspirants like you are now, kill each other. More likely than not. When they find each other here in the pocket. If they are from different families, or from rival branches of a family, they are supposed to kill each other or die trying. Because, we want the imbalance between males and females generated by that killing. We incentive that. However, even when they are not supposed to kill each other, and their fathers would prefer if they didn’t, too often, one kills the other anyway.

Happens! Alliances happen as well, on the ground of friendship, but just as often if the boys choose to not kill each other, they will keep distance from each other.

With girls is different. You are free to kill each other, as much as your brothers are. There is no intention from our part to drive you in that direction. Instead, girls are educated to play a different game. The game of dominance. Any other aspirant girl you find will try to trap and **** you, if she has some slaves already she will use them as soldiers. The bonds stablished here during the development of your powers go deep, and will accompany you for a long time, after you enter adult society. Eventually, in most cases, those bonds fade. Until that happen, they remain a tool of manipulation that can help improve the status of minor families. In unexpected ways.

You should avoid the aspirant boys here, by default. They have more chance to **** you than the opposite. Albeit, sometimes it happens. But aspirant boys are trained to kill other boys, first and foremost. By accident, even without wanting to, even the most tamed of them could end up killing you.

Not a problem for now. As long as I am here, I will protect you.

Of course, we cultivate all those species of intelligent beings here to give you aspirants something to practice your mind powers. You will learn how to **** and use the lesser races, starting by humans.

Even them can be dangerous to someone as young as you. Would not serve your interest to became overconfident about them.

They will became less dangerous to you as your powers mature. Other aspirants, on the contrary, will remain a serious danger. Until the moment when you manage to open the passage to leave the pocket and enter proper society.”

The girls looked at her father’s face. Trying to think about any other question.

Suddenly, 20 years didn’t felt like a long enough time anymore. In her chest, the urgency grew by the minute. As if she could not hope to find time to ask all she needed to, before she was abandoned on this world. Alone.

Despite the feeling, that night she was not able to think about any naditional question.

Except for her father and mother everyone she knew would age and die. They would disappear, she would have no chance to see them for thousands of years. During this period, she would be completely alone. An alien, hiding among normal humans.

From her point of view the impression was that this was a very inconvenient way to raise children. Perhaps one day she would understand? “Once I have my own babies” she though.

One can only hope.