Challenge #02990-H067: To Ease Dreams

Try petting a sleepy human, you may be surprised how they react

Going by my household, that reaction can be anything from screaming and flailing to rolling over, hugging you, and purring. – Anon Guest(s)

[AN: This was in two posts by as many as two Nonnies, so I added the option for a plural]

Companion Hyekk read and re-read the helpful hint in the Companion’s Guide to Bonding With Your Human, and considered what he knew of Human Gof. Not merely a wild Human from the Edge and beyond, but also very likely a Deregger escapee. On the rare occasions that Gof opened up about their past, the horror of their birthplace was present in almost every word.

Gof did not give out enough details to trace them back to a precise point of origin, but there was enough there to make everyone around them want to keep them far, far away from that particular gravity well. They were a light sleeper at best and experienced frequent interruptions to their slumber. Their sleep schedule was in a permanent revision state.

That advice, at a minimum, seemed like a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad idea. Human Gof was a bundle of nerves at the best of times and interrupting the precious moments when they were actually sleeping sounded like the worst kind of treachery. Nevertheless, as Hyekk watched over their new Human, he was tempted to run his talons through that soft fluff the Human had covering their head.

[Check the source to see the full story]

(Source: peakd.com)

Challenge #02989-H066: One Somber Free Time in the Soft Corner

A: I thought this was your dedicated study time?

B: …my brain is too full of sad to fit any more information right now… – Anon Guest

It was easy to tell when Human Jori was having a bad day. They were magnetically attracted to the Soft Corner, and burrowed in. Not to sleep, but to be comfortable and, if truly stressed, entertain themselves with simple things meant for children.

Jori was deep in the beanbags, burrowed under the weighted blanket, and watching Tinky Funkerbeans in Fairyland on hir datareader[1]. The theme tune was unmistakable, as were the eye-bleeding colours that leaked out of the gaps in Jori’s fortress of softness.

Companion Gesh crouched by Jori’s head, visible only as a tuft of amber-dyed hair. “Is this not your hours of learning? Are you not feeling well?”

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(Source: peakd.com)

Challenge #02988-H065: It’s Friendly Out There

They’d stowed away aboard a galactic ship. They were very sick, feverish, shaking, and all alone. They had no family, and the few friends they’d had died of the coughing sickness that was common among those that lived in the slums that smelled of acrid soot. They spotted the owner of the ship, but dizzy from illness, had collapsed. They expected to be spaced, now, and was surprised to wake up alive. – Anon Guest

Bubba had one goal. I am not going to die on this stink planet. As circumstance would have it, amidst sickness, fees, fines, and the general grindstone of Planet Fiskal… there were few chances to actually do that.

The number of chances was just one. A Galactic trading ship in a poorly-guarded port. An open door in the dead of night. Exhausted and sick, Bubba took that one chance. They couldn’t even stifle the cough that meant that they were doomed to a slow, expensive, and painful death. They were sure to get caught. Yet they were not caught.

Nobody stopped Bubba as they crossed the expanse of the landing/takeoff zone. Nobody was alerted by their wracking bark of a cough. Nobody yelled for Bubba to stop. No alarms went off. Not as Bubba crept through the fences, nor as they lurked and tried to stifle their battle with a plegm uprising. Not even as Bubba raced as fast as they could into the alien ship to find a space to hide themselves. Somewhere far away from the trader’s habitation. Somewhere, they hoped, that they would not be found. Without food. Without water. Without any kind of protection but the clothes they came with. No alarms sounded even as the Galactic who ran the ship set everything up for launch. Not even when the engines started and the pressures of launch almost made Bubba pass out.

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(Source: peakd.com)

Challenge #02987-H064: Unwelcome Advancements

[H] “Hold still, we’re going to try this again.”

[galactic volunteer] “It won’t knock me out like last time?”

[H] “Nope, bugs are worked out, we tested on other humans first for a reason after all, that knock-out was accidental, sorry about that.”

[galactic volunteer] “Alright, I’m ready.”

The human throws the small metal disk which adheres to the galactic and, suddenly, they can’t move. They can breathe, see, hear, they are not being hurt, but they can’t, otherwise, move.

[galactic] “Well… it works, take it off now please.”

[human] “Thank you very much for your help, I’m grateful.” They remove the disk and transfer time to their volunteer’s account before heading straight to medical

[galactic] “Why did you make that?”

[Human] “The more we go after bad guys, the more people end up dying in the fight. The more we can stop bad guys without killing, the happier I’ll be.” – DaniAndShali

All high-octane policing has one significant problem - collateral damage. Even with stunner fire, a miss can create problems. Worse, many stunners need calibration to be sure that the target species is safely knocked out, without harming any others. Since many offenders are Deathworlders, this means that any Havenworlders caught in the crossfire could die. They needed a better way that wasn’t controlled exclusively by a keen eye and a steady hand.

Which was the key to the body lock disk. A specific charge, some micro-scanners, and a very specific program involving species specific neurology and nanomachines to seek out and disrupt certain key areas. Upon contact, the disk released a series of seeker drones that spun nano-wires into the prospective victim’s nervous system. It would scan the one struck, and render them immobile without also ceasing autonomic functions.

Those struck by it would be stopped, without it being terminal. From Havenworlder to Deathworlder, any fleeing miscreant would not be able to escape justice. Of course, they tested it from Deathworlder to Havenworlder, in that specific order, with Mediks on standby in case anything went wrong. It didn’t.

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(Source: peakd.com)

Challenge #02986-H063: Surprising Gifts

They were a level 3.5 to level 4 deathworlder. Yet they wore a livesuit because they were quite small and looked almost like a humanoid jellyfish in appearance. Their world would be considered a ‘gas planet’ where none could land, but in a world where there is tonnes of organic matter, life would evolve. Not quite a gas giant as far as size and gravity, but not a small world. Yet the livesuit was not to protect them from the atmosphere of the station they had walked on to, it was to protect others from the stinging fronts that made up the majority of their body. – DaniAndShali

They have a saying in the Alliance - assumptions will get you. The more common model of cogniscent follows the general rule of smaller Havenworlder, and bigger Deathworlder. Such is not always the case. It’s always surprising when a small cogniscent unleashes a can of violence, or when a relative giant attempts to hide themselves from what they perceive as a menace. Then there’s the matter of livesuits.

Some people wear livesuits to protect themselves. Some wear livesuits to protect others. It’s never polite to ask which one was their reason. Some just decide to play it safe until they’re in a guaranteed environment. Some unfortunate souls believe that livesuits are some kind of control-and-trace plot by shadowy figures and it’s no surprise that they hardly go anywhere[1].

Livesuits only seem to be uniformly humanoid in shape. That’s because one standard gravity is the most common area in which cogniscent life arises. Nevertheless, life finds its way. From phytoplankton in Venus’ clouds to tardigrades hibernating inside comets, and cogniscents on the very edges of conceptual space. Cogniscents like the Zaang of Renkyn III.

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(Source: peakd.com)

Challenge #02985-H062: The Superman Paradox

I would like to see a level 2 or 3 deathworlder who doesn’t recognize a human as a level 4/4.5 deathworlder trying to be protective of the squishy. And the human letting them, on account of not being a fighting type of person. Right up until the level 2 or 3 deathworlder gets in over their head, and then the human is like nope. You do not hurt my protector. I am protector now, and it is time for adrenaline blitz. – Anon Guest

Phrin took one look at Human Stiv and instantly concluded that this could not be the legendary kick-rump-and-take-names Deathworlders that scared the Vorax away from entire stellar empires. Not this one, at the very least. Human Stiv was meek and softly-spoken, the kind who didn’t just blend in with the wallpaper, but would sidle nervously aside to get out of the wallpaper’s way.

Phrin, not exactly a Deathworlder Companion on account of being a Deathworlder herself, decided on the spot that she would take this meekly murmuring embodiment of a shadow made from diffuse lighting and teach them to be bolder, better, and brighter. Or at the minimum, capable of giving the wallpaper some attitude.

The wing part was easy enough, and Human Stiv was glad of the invitation to hug. They liked being in the security of darker and comfortable places, and a good friend top hold was a bonus in a strange new place. Owing to this, they sort of shared Companion Kresh, who was a small and fluffy creature that clearly needed nurturing. In their own ways, they each adopted Kresh.

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(Source: peakd.com)

Challenge #02984-H061: Surprising on Every Level

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-02840-g283-for-great-fit please show us what happens to the next set of Vorax raiders. – Anon Guest

Three months into training, Kin’s students encountered their first challenge. Human Kin had just worked a double and was therefore sound asleep when the raiders came. From all available accounts, the raiding party had been stealthily stalking their vessel, waiting for such a time of comparable weakness.

The first thing that Companion Thresk knew about it was the alert to head immediately for the lifepods and secure all valuable information. Some crewmembers were already scrambling to all-stations. But not, he noted, members of Kin’s Dojo. All those capable of throwing Human Kin into a wall stayed to guard the others as they fled. If they could also protect their sensei, that was a bonus.

As one cogniscent, they readied their defensive stance and screwed their courage to their sticking-places. They were quite a sight. Seven relatively small saurian Havenworlders, blocking the hall in a V formation. The Vorax raid chief was quite amused, and gestured a Junior forward to deal with them by hand.

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(Source: peakd.com)

Challenge #02983-H060: Me Next!

It was many years since the Saurians had first learned Tai-Chi from their human friend. From there it had begun to spread through other ships, then to stations and colonies of their people. But once it hit their homeworld, its popularity spread like wildfire. Soon it became a required part of the physical education of their young, and a part of their cultural identity. Needless to say, the humans liked the change.

https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-02840-g283-for-great-fit – Fighting Fit

Of all the Human combat styles with alternative uses, Tai Chi is the most surprisingly versatile. Students of various species need a sensei who understands that not all bodies can move the same way, but it is still adaptive to need.

It’s also amazingly fortifying for Havenworlders to realise that they can defend themselves against a far more fortified enemy. It was also entertaining for Deathworlders to watch with optional snacks on the side.

It’s also something Humans enjoy encountering by surprise, for reasons known only to Humans. They’re not often the antagonist in these cases, since the Humans favoured in Alliance space are also the Humans who get along with Havenworlders.

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(Source: peakd.com)

Challenge #02982-H059: It Comes to Life

Oh Flakk! Those idiots were out on a run - Traction Engines, rolling roadblocks, every damn dog in the district went crazy. Every small child fell instantly in Love with them. – Knitnan

No matter how far science progresses, there are still pockets of obscure weirdos who go old school. It should not be shocking that many of those weirdos are Humans. Some of them crave a fictional past that misses out on all the yucky bits associated with the era in question.

The steam era is always a favourite. There’s magic in steam and visible gears, in that even a casual viewer can see how the machine works. As technology increasingly becomes a black mystery box, the yearning for understandable tech rises with it. Then there’s the aesthetic of valve tubes’ golden light or a nixie tube digital display. They’re more comfortable to many.

Even now, when there is much faster, shinier technology, there is still a visual appeal with brass, gears, amber-hued lights, and the odd smokestack. There’s a healthy business involving creating aesthetic casings for extant technology. There’s an even more healthy business crafting entire vessels with the aesthetic. Just the aesthetic. It’s a very bad idea to be burning coal for steam in an enclosed space with limited atmosphere. In the middle of all of this, there is the Consortium of Steam.

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(Source: peakd.com)

Challenge #02981-H058: Just in Case

If you make stuff, or take part in Recreation, someone will ask why you “Bother” - it’s old, you can get it quicker and cheap in the shops. “In case of the Zombie Apocalypse!” Usually gets them to either shut up or actually Think. Zombies aside, there are times when old and slow skills come in handy. – Anon Guest

Progress steps in, and the people who benefit from it see no value in the older way of doing things. Why bother growing linen and the years-long process of making clothes with it when there are chemicals and machines to make something arguably better than linen? Why bother sewing with needle and thread when machines do it so much faster? Why bother making clothes when a machine can print them on demand?

Why bother making bread when you can buy it? Or print it? Why bother keeping a starter alive when you can just buy yeast? Sure, the bread is delicious, but you could get the same effect from much quicker means. Whatever the hobby, there is a machine that does it quicker. Further, some of those machines could produce works that no cogniscent’s hand could create. At least, not very easily.

Human Cess spent a lot of time on what might be called obscure arts. Fibrecraft and sourdough was just the beginning. Human Cess also investigated basic chemistry, how to create compounds that could prove useful in a longer process of hazard analysis. How to create elementary satellites. How to make circuits from scratch. How to build anything that could resemble modern society from the ground up.

[Check the source to see the full story]

(Source: peakd.com)