Part 14: Until Dawn

: He said that this peace was something that he and Mom fought tooth-and-nail for this past decade, and he wants me to enjoy every day of peace that we have.

: He also said a bunch of bull about how we're 'a very lucky generation' and 'good times like these only come every couple generations.' But I'm choosing to apply the parts that I agree with.





: Yeah, I think that's what he meant, too. Although he also said something about how his optimism is how Mom fell in love with him.





: The word you wanted was 'cynic,' actually.



: So, I was thinking: why don't you and I go for a night on the town? Take in the sights around Subsection Four. I bet the city streets would look a little different now that we're free.

: Ezra, they'd look unalike 'cause the entire city is still carousing on the third straight night.

: You got me there.

: Maybe they'll look different because we'll have each other as company.

: That's really gushy.

: Does it work, though?

: You're cute, and that aids you a lot.

Ezra is very wholesome too, don't forget that, Isol!

: Let's get going, then.

: ... Oh, before we do: did you learn everything that you came here to learn about human observatories? I know it feels like we only just got here.

: That call with your dad lasted longer than you think, clearly. The sun was still in the sky when it started.

: That said, you're clearly not...



: What makes you say that?

: I was hardly interested in the starseeker, Ezra. I was interested in staying with you a while.

: Well...

: I wasn't not interested in the starseeker. You know what I say.

: Right, that's... yeah, I guess I need to work on reading people a little better.

Like a true goon, Ezra needs things stated directly to her. Been there, Ezra. Been there.

: Let's get going, already!

: Alright, alright, no need to shove!

*The screen fades to black.*





: I... that's... the perfect answer. I have no rebuttal.

: So what's the strategy, now that we're here?

: I hadn't thought that far ahead, honestly. I just wanted to head downtown with you. Get in a change of scenery, you know?

: That's okay. Where we are isn't that essential; what's essential is that we're doing it together.

: Even if what we're doing is nothing?





: Well, if you see a store that you want to stop in or something, let me know.

: Say, Ezra.



: My parents? That's not the icebreaker I was expecting, now that we're down here. What would you like to know?

: It's just, you say that your dad was highly idealistic, such that it was one reason it got your... your 'doyenne's' adoration. And you say your doyenne was a soldier stationed on Earth's satellite.

: They just sound like interesting characters, is all.

: Um... well, my dad's name is Nathan, and my mom's name is Eden. You know that she's a soldier that's stationed on the Moon; he's a software engineer that made targeting and life support systems for the battle suits that soldiers like my mom wear into battle.

: You'd think, for a woman that turned out to be a soldier fighting for the fate of all of humanity and the survival of our planet Earth, Mom would be sort of a hard-ass, especially when I was growing up, but it was the opposite, really.

: She wasn't much of a housewife, that's for sure. Like I told you before, Mom wasn't the cook or the cleaner – Dad did most of the housework chores. Which worked out for him because, as a software engineer, he could do most of his work at home.

: What did your doyenne do until the war started?

: For work, you mean? She was a surveyor – she explored wild, uninhabited areas to see if there were any good spots to build on; anything from power plants to aerodromes like Galilei.





: By quite a bit, yes. It'd be a hell of a claim to fame, though, wouldn't it?

: It's quite the hurdle, to study land one year and then enlist in a war the next.

: Yeah, well... she's not really the type to sit around and do nothing all day. Hence, the job where she was paid to wander the wilderness and find good spots for expansion.

: Emergencies tend to bring out parts of us that we never knew existed. I didn't think Mom was the type to enlist either, but once we heard that Earth was being attacked, she hardly hesitated.



: Yeah, every Sunday. We spoke a few days before the war was won.

: It's good that you stay in contact with your guardians, Ezra.

: I... imagine it's difficult for you to do that. What with Ghi being a galaxy away and all.

: They're dead, actually.

: ... Oh.

: Is that a shock? Ghians don't exist as long as Earthlings do.

: I guess it isn't. I just wasn't expecting you to, you know... just say it like that.



: Although I'd guess that, when you get into a war that lasts a decade, 'death' as an idea is a thing that you quickly get used to. We all in Galilei understood that the Riklid could locate us at any occasion and we were all ready in case that occurred.

Did Isol's parents die while she was away from home and trapped here? That would be awful for the family, and would absolutely make her even more upset with her situation. Assuming she loved her own parents, anyway.

: Do Ghians treat death differently from humans?

: Well... yes, and no.

: Ghi is a dry, arid world. Water and nutrition are hard things to stay secure. Our largest cities are constructed around the world's scarce oases.

: When a Ghian dies, we, like Earthlings, understand that it's a... conclusion. An ending. At least, in a sense.



: Wow. That's not the sort of approach I was expecting from a culture like yours.

: Yes, that's why I said it was a 'cold and ruthless' way to see it. We're not androids, Ezra.

: Religion exists on Ghi like it does on Earth, and the largest religion there treats death as...





: We could try using the translator in our codices, would that help?



: Although the technology's existed going on centuries, that doesn't suggest the tech is any good. There are nuances to the Ghian tongue that our codices aren't accurate with sixty occurrences in a hundred.

: And I don't want to go around talking into a glass sheet all day, each day. I need to exist with Earthlings; with the choice going to either talking into a useless codex or struggling with words? I'll learn to endure with the words.

: ...

Isol has not spent years learning English to throw it all away on translation apps.

: We got sidetracked.

: ... Twice, by my count. We were talking about me and my parents.

: I'll condense what I wanted to say, on Ghian religion and how we consider death, then.



: They lie in soil, and on their site, undergrowth will rise – trees, grass, grains, and the like. In a world where resources are scarce, this is a key strategy in sustaining those that succeed the dead.

: Our churchyards are considered hallowed gardens, and whole sections in our cities are dedicated to their care. That's why I said that our dead are likewise to what you would call 'guardian angels;' their carcasses are used to ensure the endurance in all Ghians in the world.

: We, naturally, carry out a succession likewise to an Earthling wake, although that's another issue in another discussion.

: You're right; I do think that's sort of macabre. I'd have a tough time eating, like, fruit from a tree that grew on a grave. But I've also never lived in a world where food can be difficult to come by.

Ezra has probably never heard of bonemeal.

: Culture shock is a thing in Hell, right?

: It's a 'hell of a thing,' yes.

: ...

: What was existence like as an Earthling as you grew? Can I ask that?

: Hah, well, you already did.

: But I wouldn't really know; I didn't grow up on Earth. You know more about what life on Earth is like than I do.

: No... you. Your existence, as an Earthling.

: I... Oh! You're asking what it's like to be human!

: I don't really know how to answer that. That's not exactly the kind of question I practice asking myself, you know?

: Is there anything in particular you're interested in?



: ...say anything. Anything that shoots to your attention when you think on your childhood. Your interests; the things you did with your adored ones; your struggles at school; anything like that.

: Isol's kind of all over the place tonight. Talking about my family, then how Ghians treat death, and now she wants to know about my personal life.

: It's not creepy, but it's a little forward. Maybe she just wants to hear me talk?

: Uhh... well, when I was younger, I really, really liked to climb on stuff. I'd be too small to sit in the adult chairs at the table, but I'd climb my way up there anyway, and from there, onto the table.

: I could climb up the interior walls of buildings by working my finger and toenails into their trimmings for grip.



: Hah, never mind my nails, right?

: We need to concentrate on the essentials, Ezra. You know how it is.

: I'd think your doyenne wasn't enthusiastic on that conduct.

: No, she thought I was being a little monkey: wild, untameable, and impossible to work with. Although she'd probably use stronger language than that today.

: Do you still do that? Like, do you scale rock walls as an interest?

: No, I stopped doing it when I was in my teens or so. I just kind of grew out of it.

: Well, and, I was a hefty girl in my teenage years, and it got really hard to lift myself up like I could. Time has a way of making fools of us all like that.

: I see.

: Would you like to try it again? Not tonight, naturally. Just, one day later?

: Sure, I don't see why I wouldn't put on one of those harnesses and go rock climbing.

: It's been a long time, though, so, we'd have to start with one of the shorter walls.

: Are you scared?

: No, I'm out of practice. There's a difference. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise!



Rock climbing date when? It's a pretty hot date idea, not gonna lie.

: Alright, your turn.

: Tell me about... what city life is like on Ghi. I've never left Subsection Four, let alone Galilei. Tell me how it's different.

: Actually, I wouldn't know all that well. I was what you would call a 'country girl' on Ghi; I resided in a rural area in the world.

: Oh, even better! I don't know what life is like out of an urban setting, and with Ghi being strapped for food and water, I bet every day in the Ghian boonies was a different kind of challenge.

: Well...

: Come on, it's your turn already. Don't leave me out to dry.

: ...

: Alright, alright.

: I guess I can start with...

Far From Home (Isol's Theme)

(Isol's lines are voiced from here.)



: You must really dislike Earth food.

: Ghians weren't created to eat Earth cuisine, no. They're hard to chew and harder to digest. Although, a decade later, it's not as hard as it was.

: At this juncture, it's less that I dislike Earth cuisine and rather that I want Ghi cuisine again. Thirteen years is a long era to go without what you want.

: Yeah, tell me about it. With Mom and Dad coming home tomorrow, it's going to feel like –

: Holy shit, it's morning! The sun is rising!

: ... Would you look at that, so it is.

: I don't think that's ever happened to me before, where I get so lost in doing something or talking with someone that I've totally lost track of time like that.

: Nor I.

: Do you regret it?

: I... do I regret spending time with you? No, Isol, of course I don't. I'd do it again tomorrow if we wanted.

: But I am going to regret not getting home and doing any cleaning. Or getting any sleep. Mom and Dad are coming home today – Dad should be getting here in a few hours, and I'll be as likely to fall asleep greeting him at the door.

: Is that a thing they're likely to get distressed on?

: No, I don't think so. I don't think my dad would get mad at me if I greeted him with bags under my eyes. But I might get a little upset at myself, since, you know, it's been a while since I last saw him, and I wasn't ready to see him home...

: ... I feel like this is all a roundabout way of me saying that I do regret spending the night with you like this.

Ezra no, no! Don't fumble now!

: Heh... don't second-guess your thoughts, Ezra. I know what it is you intend to say. Language is a hard thing to utilize when you're caught unready like this.



: I would suggest a date to do this all again, although it looks like your schedule is taken, at least in the next little while, what with your guardians returning.

: And... it's... less enchanting when instants like these are intentional, you know?

: I get it, and I agree.

: But that doesn't mean we can't get together and see where the night takes us again.

: I like the sound on that.

: Until then, you own a house that needs tending to.

: Heh, I sure do.

: Let's get walking to the tram, what do you say?

: I say... I'd like that.

*The screen fades to black. The music and ambience fade out.*



"Not even a week ago, everyone had accepted the idea that this was what we were going to be doing for the rest of our lives. That I'd still be learning robotics and studying on the advancements of artificial intelligence for the rest of my life."

"And all it took to completely flip our lives upside down was one announcement that it was over. We had won. The last thirteen years were a fever dream that we couldn't wake up from, and then..."

"... just like that."

"It'll take a while for any of us to really process the change. The war might have been won, but it'll be weeks for us to really adjust to our new lives, and years for us to gear down from the tensions as a society – as a species."

"But, for the first time since I can remember... it feels like there's no rush. There's no tension. Things were bad, but they aren't anymore. We had all overcome the hardest part, and now, all that was left was to pick up the pieces and enjoy the lives we had all fought to earn."

"For the first time in over a decade, I was looking forward to waking up tomorrow."