Part 9: Vance's Speech
There is goon participation in this chapter! 
Mind Your Poise (Carla's Theme)
: I'm usually not.: But I figured – learning how to sew can be a valuable skill. And we're on the brink of a new future for us as individuals. Maybe now's the perfect time to learn something new; give my brain a break from learning everything there is to know about robots and androids.
: ...
: I'm not sure I like it. I think I prefer predictable, easy-to-guess Ezra Foy instead. Can I have her back?: Sure you can.
: After we check out this arts and crafts store.
: Alright, lead the way, then.*The screen fades to black.*
: You didn't even do anything in there, Ezra. You just looked at the pretty fabrics and called it.: Sure. But now I know that I'm not an arts-and-crafts kind of gal, so it wasn't a total waste of time.Man, I'm disappointed that we didn't get to see the store at all, or have Ezra and Carla talk a bit while inside. This is an issue this game has, I think, with showing more than what we see. I am aware that the producer of the game wanted to keep the game brief, dialogue-wise, because it was under development for a long time. Even so, what a waste of showing what the "sci-fi Hobby Lobby," as it were, looks like.
: I'm a bit more surprised by what you took away from that store, though.
: Hasn't that ever happened to you? Where you're given, like, some building blocks or some paint and paper and you suddenly get an idea that you need to put down?: Uhh... maybe? If that's ever happened to me, it's only ever been once or twice.: And I've never considered myself to be a particularly artistic person. I'm sure if the inspiration did hit me, I'd try to put down whatever was in my head, and it'd come out wrong, and then I'd get frustrated and either give up or spend seven hours trying to perfect it.: Ah, so, you're not an artist.
: I'm sure all the greats of yore had the exact same approach to their craft: either it's impossible and can't be done... or it's never perfect, despite how perfect it already is.: I dunno, I think I'd just rather not find out, personally. I'm good with what I am now.: And what 'are you now?': ... Not an artist.: Hah! Good dodge.: What about you, Carla? What are you going to do with what you bought? I've never taken you for a seamstress type.: I'll let you know when I'm ready to reveal it to the world.: It's some big secret, is it?: I wouldn't say it's a 'secret,' exactly.: I just don't want to set expectations. You're right: I'm not a seamstress. The most I've ever done is patch a hole in my shorts when I was a teen. Who knows if it comes out the way I want?: Ah, so you're a casual artist: 'it'll be done when it's done, and it might be trash when it is.': We'll find out which one it is when we get there!: You know, it's funny.
: ... Like... 'ha ha' funny, or...?
: Not counting that one, of course.Let's take a guess: Carla is going to knit Ezra a sweater that says "I AM A ROBOPHILE, ASK ME WHY."
*The music and ambience fade out.*
: Well, that's convenient, that we timed everything exactly right to end at the turn of the hour!: We're tuning in, right?: I feel like we should. The dean made it sound kind of important. And it might have some information on what we should expect for the next school year, now that we're not all focused on the war effort.: Well, alright then! Let's see what's up.
: I'd like to open this press release with congratulating the brave men and women of Earth, and our Ghian friends and companions, who answered the call that our home had made of them; to protect not just us, not just our own galaxy, but that of our neighbours...: ... and the systems that lie beyond the horizon. Our enemies were stopped by these courageous few as they sought dominion over our stations, our roads, our homes, and our cradle.: Thirteen years ago, on the twenty-eighth of March, in the year twenty-three-eleven, our home – the planet Earth, the blue marble – had been attacked, and our solar system had come under siege by an adversary with no face, flying no flag, and making no demands.: And it was three days ago that their efforts were finally halted.: On June twentieth, at fourteen minutes past four P.M. Coordinated Universal Time, our men and women on the front lines had dealt a decisive blow to the aliens' efforts by destroying their largest ship that had been broadcasting their environmental superweapon onto the Earth.: Approximately seventy-two hours later, all remaining enemy vessels have fled our solar system. There are no traces of their ships remaining within the boundaries of our scanners.
: All of humanity and every Ghian, spread all across the solar system, had been working towards the day we could sleep soundly once again, and after thirteen harrowing, difficult years, we earned that day less than seventy-two hours ago.: The streets of Aerodrome Galilei have been sleepless with celebration ever since. And this press briefing hasn't been called to interrupt that. We've all earned a few days to ourselves.: However, I've been asked to lend a special guest an audience of the students of the University of Aerodrome Galilei, Section Four. Attendance was not compulsory, so to every student listening in now: you have the thanks of not just me, but of the entire facility.: I will be yielding my time to our guest speaker now.
(Vance's line and his following speech are spoken.)
: A third generation android...? What's that doing here?
: I'm here to talk to you about the future.: Not just the future of our home and of our species – I'm here to talk about your future. Yours. The individuals listening to this broadcast.: What Dean Hawbert has told you is all true: by all accounts, the Riklid menace has been chased from our solar system, and there are no signs of any of them remaining within the boundaries of our technological capabilities.: Humanity has a long and storied history of being indomitable, adaptable, perseverant, and stubborn as all Hell. Even caught unaware and unprepared, we prevailed against the intruders and came out victorious.: But there's a real and undeniable truth that we must all accept.
: We've pushed our enemies back. We've won the war. But we must accept the reality that we are at our weakest and most vulnerable, and that the Riklid could return.: We have our long-time friends and allies, the Ghians, ready to help us with our rebuilding efforts and they stand as vigilant as us on the walls overlooking our systems, the combined Milky Way and Andromeda, ready to counterattack should the Riklid ever return.: But we can't rely on them indefinitely. The Riklid attacked the Earth – rebuilding it and restoring it is an Earthling task to perform.: As your Dean Hawbert said earlier, we all have every right and reason to want to celebrate. We have won a terrible war after thirteen, gruelling years. The Riklid have stolen your adolescent years – time you never had to enjoy, and time you'll never get back.: But there's still work to be done and preparations to make.: Now that we've all had the last few days to unwind and consider what the future may have in store for us, both as a whole and as individuals, I'm here to suggest to you that you maintain your vigil.: Some of you are training to be software engineers. Roboticists. Soldiers. Pilots. You've spent years valiantly honing your skills to help with the war effort – to help with your fellow humans when they needed you most.: And now that the war has 'ended,' you may be tempted to pursue other avenues. To take your life in a new direction; one you may have always wanted, but circumstances and duty had compelled you otherwise.: I'm not here to dissuade you from that. Part of what it means to be 'human' is to pursue passions that nourish you as a person, and us as a culture and community.: But I am here to suggest that you stay your course. Stay vigilant. The war was won thanks to your efforts, and the efforts of the students in the years and generations before you, and as of yet, there's no guarantee that the Riklid will never return.: The effort hasn't ended just because the fighting has. In fact, as I said earlier: we are, and will be, at our most vulnerable as we rebuild. We need your efforts and contributions now more than ever.: As you enjoy your celebrations tonight, I want you to remember the soldiers before you that had made the ultimate sacrifice in order to afford you the freedom you now have. You owe it to them to consider the lengths and struggles they had gone through...: ... And to consider whether the peace you now have is something you want to continue to fight for, so that those after you never have to go through the struggles that you and those before you had.: Thank you all for your time. Enjoy your week.
Huh. Vance isn't exactly wrong here, is he (it)? It's literally been only three days since the Riklid ran off, who's to say they aren't just regrouping to get even more atmosphere-wrecking ships from deep space, or wherever it is they come from? Not that I like how he's saying the Ghians aren't part of the rebuilding effort. If they participated in the fighting and they've been our allies for centuries, then they can lend a hand (claw?) in restoring humanity's home.
: ...: ... Well, that was... fun?: Hmm. Mind Your Poise (Carla's Theme)
: Oh. Uh...: It... wasn't what I had expected it to be. I was expecting it to be about, like, what we should expect next semester or something. Or when next semester is. Summer break came a few weeks early this year, after all.
: Hmm.
(Carla's line is spoken.): This is a really sudden change in Carla's attitude. Every time I brought up the question, she'd just laugh it off and call me paranoid or something.: But now, it's like she's a different person...: ... I don't think I'm ready to answer that question just yet, Carla. It's a heavy topic that needs more respect and thought than deciding right here and now just because someone in a uniform said I should.
: ... (Carla's following lines are all spoken. You may listen to them here, with slight pauses to account for Ezra's own unvoiced dialogue.): Well said.: As for myself: I think it's a sensible stance for that Gen Three to take.: It's right in that maybe we're acting a little too suddenly to be celebrating like we are, and for as long as we have been. The Riklid were powerful enemies and it took us thirteen years to land a decisive blow.: But...?
: I'm sure you noticed that the Gen Three was wearing stripes on the shoulder of its uniform, telling us its rank.: Uhh, maybe... I was kind of focused on what he was saying, not what he was wearing.: Hmm.
: You'd know this better than me, Ezra, but when did Gen Threes start rolling out?: Um... like, a week ago, now?: So its rank was given, not earned.: If I were to guess...: Using the Gen Three for the press release rather than a human, or even a Ghian, to talk about humanity's 'progress' and 'forward movement' was a deliberate choice. Nothing would signify our 'progress' more than the latest model of android.: And giving it the rank of staff sergeant was an effort to give it more authority, to try and appeal to anybody that responds better to the hierarchy. But they couldn't make anything higher rank without having a lot more people asking a lot more questions.: Are you sure you aren't thinking too deeply into this?: No.: But make your counterargument anyway.: Well... maybe they used a Gen Three because it was only produced here in Galilei very recently. I'm sure a human staff sergeant has more important things to take care of on Earth, and a human staff sergeant wouldn't be way out here in Galilei while a war was going on.: And the reason it has the rank of staff sergeant is because we have the means to put that sort of experience and knowledge into a combat android to begin with. Hell, we could do better than that, now.: Hmm...: No, I don't agree. Everything about that android, and the very specific words that it used... just seemed too deliberate to me.: Why do you think they would go through that kind of effort? Just to gussy up a robot and have him give us a speech about how we need to stay vigilant?: It's an open secret that the military economy loves two things: war, and new recruits. Since the Riklid first invaded thirteen years ago, they've essentially had unlimited money and bodies.: Now that the war is over, their cash flow is suddenly in jeopardy, and they're also going to be losing all those new recruits.: Five years ago, it was inconceivable that a newborn child wouldn't help with the war effort, and now, it's totally possible that no child would enlist at all. A baby born in the last decade was expected to join the war effort by the time they were of age.: And I'm sure you've noticed, but every year, the 'of age' qualifier got younger and younger.: The money is the lesser of two problems, especially now that we know that enemies like the Riklid even exist at all... but the Gen Three said itself that we're going to spend decades on rebuilding. The last thing anyone wants is to think about more war efforts right now.: And don't even get me started on that jingoism about rebuilding Earth being 'an Earthling problem'. That's a hell of a statement for a robot to make.: ...
(This is Carla's final spoken line.): ... Okay, well, first, before I answer that: is that all what you really think? Or were you just being an over-analytical Devil's Advocate?: It's what I really think.: Do you really think I'd put that much effort into bullshitting you?Carla's been pretty thoughtful about this. We could all tell she's got a horny, pushy, and sassy personality, but those eyes don't miss a detail, do they?
: Hah, good point.: Carla certainly has a good point about the war machine being spoiled after the last decade of essentially infinite resources, and them wanting to hold onto that by encouraging current students to stay the course rather than try and restart their lives.: But on the other hand... Vance also made a handful of good points. We're at the most vulnerable we've ever been, especially now that we're letting our guard down, and we don't know where the Riklid came from or went to. Or if they'll be back.
Goon participation! We got a serious conversation out of Carla, for once, regarding our future and what the military actually wants from us after that strange press conference. What do you all think? Is Vance right that we need to maintain vigilance for the Riklid returning, or does Carla make a good point that the powers that be just want to keep society in a "Starship Troopers"-esque forever war situation?