Chapter 004: Damage Control

Variants are a result of the Humanity 2.5 Project. Unlike the much tamer Humanity 2.0 Project (which eradicated all known deficiencies in the human gene pool, adding nothing new), its successor sought to redefine the physical form of Mankind. It created dozens of subspecies, with different environments or lifestyles in mind. Each of such subspecies received planets to settle.

The H2.5 Project ended with partial success... and a partial disaster that struck twenty years later. H2.0 only erased deficient genes from a mostly stable pre-existing genome. H2.5 tried to assemble utterly new structures. Problems were unavoidable. It’s a sign of Mankind’s extensive knowledge of genetics that as many as five Variants turned out to be fully stable, and a further twenty were stable enough to continue to exist. The remaining twenty-two Variants were either wiped out by genetic deficiencies and various diseases or went through a reverse genetic treatment, their children being born as normal humans.

A similar (but even worse) disaster struck the early transhumans, created as a part of the Humanity 3.0 Project that happened simultaneously with H2.5. 12 out of 15 transhuman genetic Lines ceased to exist, with only the Immortal, Pure and Ascendance Lines left.

It was the peak of Mankind’s genetic experiments. The entirety of Humanity 2.5 and 3.0 projects was deemed a massive failure. Both projects were born from a misplaced belief that everything was possible. That the potential of genetic modifications is limitless. The success of the Humanity 2.0 Project went to Mankind’s collective head, and Variants were forced to pay the price.

Encyclopedia Galactica

Book 3, page 423.

***

Christopher’s initial thought was concise.

Wow.

The woman that entered the quarters was beautiful. Tall (not as tall as Christopher or Ryan, though) and lithe. Fair skin without blemishes. Platinum blonde hair, shoulder-long and well-cared for.

She also had a splendid example of an hourglass figure. Christopher wasn’t the one to instantly review the breast size when encountering a woman for the first time, but it wasn’t possible to avoid doing that in this case.

Tiriel wore a tight, green and black skinsuit (one that covered everything save for her head). This skinsuit (which Christopher thought to be local work clothes) showed almost everything while revealing nothing.

At this point Christopher was certain. Everyone he saw thus far was above average in terms of their looks… or even more. This was too much of a coincidence. Sure, there was a negligible chance that Captain Keller felt that personal charm was an essential thing for Explorer’s Guild personnel and only picked pretty people for Echo’s crew. But that was just absurd.

The only possible explanation at this point was that during the last seven centuries mankind got somewhat enhanced, at least in the looks department. It was less ‘everyone is pretty’ and more ‘Christopher’s idea of what it means to look nice was outdated’. But he had to adapt. So he resolved himself to do just that.

People like Ryan, Tendrik or Eva and Anna seemed to be what passed for average in the 28th Century. While Christopher wasn’t sure how to assess the beauty-level of men, he was confident that both Eva and Anna would be regarded as very good-looking in the 21st Century.

He just had to change ‘his’ pretty into ‘his’ average, and everything would make sense again.

Then he realized that Tiriel’s ears were pointy. Which threw his newly found understanding into disarray. First a catgirl, then a cyborg, and now elves?!

“A star shines upon the hour of our meeting, machine lover.” The elf answered with absolutely foreign-sounding words that Christopher instantly understood. He had no idea what language that was. “And… you must be the recruits, correct?”

She sounded formal and cold, but her voice was melodious. What’s more, the formalness and coldness seemed to be focused at Tendrik, as they disappeared when she spoke to Ryan and Christopher.

“Yes.” Ryan was about to open his mouth, but Christopher reacted quicker. ”My name’s Christopher, and I’m expected to become the petty officer in charge of this squad.”

Tiriel looked at him as if she was measuring him. Finally, she directed her eyes at Ryan.

“Ryan. I will be trained as an engineer.” Ryan didn’t look unusually preoccupied with how Tiriel looked. He acted like an average young adult after having a pretty woman talk to him. Ryan was excited, but he didn’t start acting like a moron. This more or less proved the Christopher outlook on the situation to be correct.

“And I’m Tiriel Artanis.” She made a brief, yet unmistakable curtsy. “I work in the hydroponics section of Echo. In the spare time, I also cook meals for the members of the team, preserving them from inevitable demise or at least the need to learn how to not burn things.” Tendrik’s chuckle made it sound like some private joke. “I will accompany you momentarily, but for now, I need to change into something presentable.”

Then she disappeared into the changing room. Leaving them to wonder what sort of clothes were more presentable than the skinsuit.

After the door of the changing room closed behind her, Ryan was the first to speak.

“Quite an eye-candy.” Christopher nodded. Tendrik, in the meantime, didn’t notice the comment…. and made his own.

“Cybernetic implants would look stunning on her.” Cyborg half-said, half-whispered, obviously to himself. Then he noticed that Ryan and Christopher were staring at him. “W...what?”

Christopher constrained his need to laugh, but Ryan didn’t seem to even bother trying.

Tiriel returned a few minutes later, wearing a humble light green dress that started right beneath the neck and ended beneath her knees. It also covered most of her arms. She also wore tight-fitting white gloves that ended above the wrists, high boots that reached above the ankle and a circlet on her forehead, with some flowery ornaments. The last piece of her outfit was a necklace with a small cross.

She looked beautiful. And modest. Very much so. And… upright, in lack of a better word. Plus, of course, so very elvish.

In the meantime, Christopher was curious about how elves came to be. But he didn’t know how to ask that question. What if it was something insensitive? He decided to wait. He had time to figure out answers.

“If I may inquire, where are you from?” Tiriel didn’t have such reservations. It seemed safe to assume that she hadn’t read Athalia’s massive security breach on the ship’s network, as otherwise, she wouldn’t have asked.

“I’m from Tavia. No longer a citizen, though, so I guess I’m stateless now.” Ryan was the first one to respond.

“And I’m… well, it’s complicated.”

***

“Forgive me for phrasing it like that, but from all the strange people aboard the Echo, you might be the weirdest one.” Tiriel concluded the tale a while later. Christopher agreed with her, though not unconditionally. For him, elves and catgirls were strange. But when you grew up in such a world, they were ordinary. Time travel, in the meantime… seemed to be anomalous for them as well. ”Do you think it was an angel?” Oh please, let her not be a zealot.

“No idea. It looked like one, and it insisted to be their projection. But I can think of at least several alternative interpretations. It even brought up some of them. I will probably wait with deciding until I figure out where this whole ‘adventure’ will take me.”

Tiriel nodded with a thoughtful face. “Reasonable. Keeping a distance is a healthy approach when some entity claims to be a god or a messenger of one.” This made Christopher wonder how often that took place. It was also somewhat reassuring that Tiriel turned out to be rational… unlike some people he met thus far. “I will go prepare some food. Too bad nobody informed me earlier, as I would prepare something special to welcome you aboard.”

“Well, you know the captain. His second name is unpredictable.” Tendrik chuckled. “Though it might as well be ‘predictable’, as that would be even more unpredictable.” Tiriel responded with a polite (and slightly fake) smile. This joke didn’t seem to be funny to her. “It’s not an issue, at least to Chris. He is from the year 2021. They didn’t even have electricity back then. Any of the food you’ll make will be a surprise.”

Tiriel said nothing. Instead, she glanced at Chris. Their eyes met. The look on Christopher’s face was so innocent that Tendrik’s wrong knowledge just had to be intentional.

What Chris didn’t foresee was the impish grin he got in answer.

“If that’s the case, I will present him all the dietary blessings which electricity gave us.” She rose from the table and departed towards the kitchen.

“I don’t know why, but I have an impression that you two dislike each other.” Ryan said, stepping on the landmine that Christopher wanted to avoid.

On the other hand, he was speaking to Tendrik on his own. The dislike for transhumans was set aside, at least for now.

“Diversity of opinions.” Tendrik answered normally, not perturbed by the query. “We are ok with working together. She cooks for me, and I help her with the computers. We are adult enough to not fight. But when it comes to spending time together… I think it’s better when we keep some distance. Besides, the views are better from a distance.” He winked, signaling what sort of views he meant.

The last sentence was a way of returning the talk to a more cheerful atmosphere. Tendrik looked like one of those people who can’t stand talking about something without making jokes or adding funny remarks.

“Beliefs?” Ryan had to dig further. Tendrik sighed, as he stopped being comfortable with the subject.

“Eh, just the age-old dispute about the number and type of implants. Purist and a transformationist living and working together. Friction unavoidable. But enough politics! You know, while she’s preparing a meal, I could show you in detail what we use as entertainment here!”

Rather crude change of subject.

***

Neither Tendrik, nor Ryan returned to the subject. Christopher didn’t try to either.

It was rather cliche.

Antagonism between more nature-loving elves and industry-oriented dwarves changed into the hostility between more biologically aligned space elves and cybernetic oriented transhumanists when you moved it from a fantasy world to a sci-fi setting.

Where were humans in all that? He was yet to discover. There was also an option that he was a bit too simplistic in his shallow understanding of the future. Were cyborg elves a thing? And what about cyber-catgirls? So many questions. Such a small window of opportunity to get answers.

This was mostly curiosity, as he wasn’t interested in taking sides in a debate that had started centuries after his times. Ryan’s view on the issue was different and much less indifferent.

Tavia disliked biomods as much as cybermods. It wasn’t due to the state’s genuine support for the purists, but because of the politics of its historic competitors in the subsector. Techtria was adamantly pro-cyberware and transformationist (not surprising among the Mechanist Line transhumans), Plesia was pro-bioware and transformationist, and Numena was just transformationist. Tavia had to differ somehow.

It was inconceivable for him to just ignore all his purist upbringing, even if it was forced on him by the regime that recently tried to murder him. Especially as his parents - who were anti-regime activists - were also staunch purists of the sane brand (so the basic implants were ok). On the other hand, while Tendrik was more than a transformationist (and one of the thrice accursed transhumans), he seemed like an ok guy.

Saying that it perplexed him would be a serious understatement. Facing something that undermined one of your core beliefs did that to people. Facing it right after narrowly avoiding death and seeing all his friends ‘retired’ by the StateSec was even worse.

The meal Tiriel made was composed of fried pork chops with some unspecified sauce (that had bits of some other meat in it), plus boiled potatoes, a salad, and some pickled mushrooms.

“So, Polish cuisine again? I’m not sure if It was a good idea to show you Lieutenant Nowak’s cookbook that I found on the ship’s network.” Tendrik decided to be snarky when Tiriel called them to take their food from the kitchen. They were going to eat at the table in the living room.

“Practice makes perfect.” Tiriel answered briefly. “And if you don’t like it, you can eat the salad. It’s from my homeworld.”

To Christopher’s slight surprise, Tiriel wasn’t a vegetarian. The large pork chop she put on her plate was an indisputable sign of it. It looked like the future elves differed from the fantasy ones. Although there were also fantasy elves that liked meat, which muddled the situation.

“Enjoy your meal.” Tiriel said once they were seated. Christopher was about to dig in (the food looked tasty and he was famished) when Tendrik grabbed him by the arm. Then he pointed his head towards Tiriel.

She was praying with her eyes closed. Christopher remembered his grandmother doing that before the meal, and he was fairly certain some people still did it. Seeing the same behavior in the 28th Century was a bit unexpected.

A small window opened in the corner of his view, with a message from Tendrik.

Cyberboi: Technically we can eat now, but it’s common courtesy to wait until she finishes.

Life aboard ‘Echo’ kept getting weirder and weirder. Christopher was curious how the rest of the universe looked like. It was probably fifty percent hilarious and fifty percent terrifying.

***

Tiriel was a genuinely great cook. The cuisine was unfamiliar - the only contact Christopher ever had with Polish cuisine was that Polish donut with an unpronounceable name he once got to taste. Despite that, it was delicious.

Maybe save for the pickled mushrooms, he didn’t feel… persuaded by them. And the salad was excellent, but it seemed out of place. You could tell that it was from a different world.

“Tiriel, you are a lifesaver.” Tendrik said once they were finished. They were still sitting around the table, as no one felt like going to wash the dishes.

“Yes, I know.” Tiriel answered. “It is a statistical improbability that out of five people in this team I’m the only one who knows anything about cooking.” She peered towards Christopher and Ryan. “What about you?”

“Nope, I’m awful at cooking.” Christopher answered honestly. His parents’ cooking spoiled him and since he still lived with them, he never felt like learning it on his own. A regrettable mistake.

“Uhm, I can cook rice if that helps.” Ryan announced, his face revealing that he wasn’t very confident in that.

“That’s… unbelievable.” Tiriel shook her head. “At least I will have more occasions to practice. Since cooking is incidentally a fancy of mine, it is not an issue. Time for the true question, who is washing the dishes? And no, Tendrik, I know that your implants are waterproof. You are not deceiving me again.”

“I can do it, no problem.” Tendrik volunteered. “This time the dishwasher works correctly, so I don’t have to do it manually, right? I only need to put the plates and cutlery inside it. It’s not that complex.”

“Just be careful with it, please.” Tiriel sighed. “Leave explosions to Nekia, she is gifted enough in that field.” Tendrik saluted as an answer, then he picked everything up from the table and disappeared in the kitchen. “The two of you should go and rest now. It’s a few hours until Nekia and Kivanna show up, and you are doubtlessly tired after all the… shenanigans that accompanied your admission into the crew.”

“That might be a good idea.” Ryan said and glanced at Christopher for confirmation. Once he saw him nod, he continued. “Right, so I guess we’ll do just that. Time to…” He was cut short by a loud, screeching noise coming from the kitchen. That sound was immediately followed by a worried voice of Tendrik.

“Uhm, Tiriel? I think I might require some aid. I don’t think the dishwasher should produce such noises.”

Christopher and Ryan immediately looked at Tiriel to study her reaction. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then exhaled. Calmed down, she opened her eyes and spoke to Christopher.

“Once you wake up, we must talk about forbidding all but me from entering the kitchen. Especially Mr. Tin Can and Ms. Explosion.” Another loud screech came, this time louder. “Oh, for Eru’s sake.” She darted towards the kitchen in a non-graceful fashion, leaving them alone in the room.

***

Christopher didn’t feel tired, but once he lied down on his bed, he fell asleep instantly. He woke up much later, to the sound of someone knocking on his door.

It was Tendrik.

“Nekia and Kivanna just finished their shifts, so they should be here soon.” The cyborg said once Chris opened the door. “Rukh is still not here, I believe that he won’t show up today at all.”

“And the dishwasher?” Christopher couldn’t stop himself. The pained expression on Tendrik’s face was sufficient reward.

“I’m good with programming stuff. But when it comes to the mechanic side, I’m ecstatic that the First Programmer sent Ryan down to our merry band of misfits.” The intricate network of religious affiliations aboard the Echo was something that Christopher didn’t plan on untangling. However, he couldn’t imagine avoiding the issue completely, as keeping your religious beliefs to yourself wasn’t a part of the Echo’s rules. “Go to the living room, I need to wake Ryan up.”

Christopher nodded as an answer. Then he departed towards the living room, where he found Tiriel standing in the middle of the room, close to the entrance as if waiting for something.

“Uhm, what are you doing there?” Christopher asked her. She seemed somewhat suspicious.

“Preparing for damage control.” The answer was cryptic and scary.

Who the hell are we waiting for?!

Tendrik entered the room, with Ryan coming in right after him.

“Wonderful news, Kivanna’s first.” Cyborg said. “No idea how she arrived here before Nekia, but she’s about to… Hi, Kiv!”

The woman that entered the quarters looked like the exact antithesis of Tiriel. At least ten centimeters shorter, rectangle figure, much slimmer built, and shoulder-long black hair and noticeable make-up. She looked monochromatic. Her skin was pale, yet her hair, skinsuit-uniform and, for some reason, both eyelids and lips were pitch-black.

She looked like sci-fi goth, in short. She was a human, which made her stand out in the team, at least before Ryan and Christopher’s arrival.

“Hello, Tendrik, Tiriel and… uhm… you’re the two new crew members, right?” What followed was a standard set of introductions (and mandatory surprise over the time-traveling backstory).

Kivanna Elsafir came from Plesia (another country in this subsector, after Tavia and Techtria), which provoked a worried look from Ryan. She was also a starfighter pilot in training, who happened to also be learning how to pilot shuttles and drive ground vehicles.

She also didn’t seem to feel comfortable in their presence. Right after introductions, she disappeared in the changing room. That’s when Tendrik suddenly took a deep breath.

“She’s coming. Impact in three, two, one, zer…” Tendrik was cut short when the quarters’ entrance opened and someone rushed in. The intruder was quickly detained, as Tiriel moved behind her, grabbed her by her shoulders (showing a surprising strength) and raised her above ground.

Great, another catgirl.

The ‘intruder’ was of rather short stature. 1,6m at best. Her hair was black, her pupils were feline, and she wore the standard local skinsuit, only in red and black.

She was also Tiriel’s absolute opposite in terms of body build. She was, in the absence of a less straightforward term, flat. Her face, however, was quite pretty... and somehow familiar.

She also looked... cute when hanging in the air with her legs swinging.

“Nekia Sistonen.” Tiriel said with an official tone, immediately confirming Christopher’s suspicions. This also explained what sort of ‘connections’ Nekia used to get her cat to join the Echo’s crew. ”Do you remember the conversation that we had about personal space and cultural differences between cathumans and all other subspecies of Mankind?”

“Yes, yes, I do! Now let me down, let me do…” Tiriel let her down. “I wasn’t THAT excited, I’d behave!”

“Ok, so what’s the insider joke here that I do not understand?” Christopher leaned towards Tendrik, while Tiriel was scolding Nekia (this time for not telling the truth) in the background. Ryan seemed to be listening to them, rather than the scolding.

“Cathumans have this cultural habit of clinginess and absence of personal space.” Tendrik answered. “Those that live outside of their worlds for a longer time, like Chief Tiaa, learn how to… behave. Nekia, in the meantime, is somewhat… spontaneous, and this is her first time among non-cathumans. When she met Kivanna, her greetings were SO close that Kivanna had a panic attack, as she doesn’t like physical contact. So we are trying to limit damage when she gets too enthusiastic. And meeting new team members counts as an exciting thing.”

“Makes sense. So, what is Nekia’s position aboard the Echo and during the trips outside of it?” Definitely not something that had anything to do with stealth. That would be a recipe for disaster.

“Weapon technician, so maintenance of the ship’s weaponry and ammunition. And on the ground, she’s in charge of explosives.”

Ryan and Christopher stared at Tendrik in utter silence for several seconds. What they heard was too outrageous for them to believe. They both waited for some ‘haha, just kidding’ coming from the cyborg, but they got nothing like it.

“You had the most crazily impulsive member of your team handle EXPLOSIVES?!” Ryan’s words proved to Christopher that the future wasn’t completely insane. Or that at least there were still people capable of seeing the lunacy and being appalled by it.

“Under Rukh’s supervision! He is a marine trainee, so he knows how to handle explosives and makes sure she doesn’t make a mistake!” Christopher failed to comprehend the point of having Nekia learn how to cause explosions if she could only do that under strict surveillance. Nepotism overused? Chief Tiaa didn’t feel like a person to go that far. He asked Tendrik about it.

“Her mother sent her here so she would learn some essential skills, including social ones.” Cyborg answered. “Don’t ask me why she considers explosives to be an essential skill for her daughter, I’m not part of the Explorers’ Guild for long enough for that to make sense.”

Huh.

“So, now we know all people here, save for that Rukh guy, who doesn’t seem to be interested in coming back to the quarters.” Christopher said. Tendrik nodded in return.

“Well, as his superior you could just open up his personnel file through your implants. Even without reading details, you’d at least learn how he looks.” Cyborg added. Checking ‘personnel files’ felt like a violation of privacy, but he was now in some pathetic travesty of a professional navy, so he should get used to that. Probably.

Christopher opened up Rukh’s file. Five seconds later he sighed loudly.

They had furries in the 28th Century.