Upon Vestia: Chapter Thirty-Two

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James went into Armin's room. "Hey man, watcha working on?" he asked, seeing that Armin was sewing.

"Making out would be a little awkward, they'd have to like, put some sort of barrier between their faces or something," James said. He stifled a laugh at the thought, imagining Dawn and Esk having super awkward makeout sessions.
"Dates maybe, going exploring, watching movies, and yeah, arguing, Maybe even taxes," James looked amused at the thought of paperwork. Their brothers were so weird. He smiled a little, "Some androids have romantic relationships with other androids, I've seen them talk about it online. From what I've heard, there's a lot of good stuff you can do in a relationship without getting physical, just enjoying each other's company and supporting each other and stuff." He didn't know first hand of course, he'd never tried it.

Matt looked confused "Isn't that just friendship?" so confusing.
He too was trying not to laugh at the idea of Esk and Dawn awkwardly making out through cling film or something. oh dear, terrible.
"man, other people's relationships are baffling right?" he grinned. "So androids hook up sometimes?" that was kinda wierd right?

"Well, they don't hook up, but they do date and have committed relationships and stuff. I mean, you could argue it's friendship I guess," James said, "But, it's kinda different from that. It's more emotional intimacy and commitment than you usually give to one friend, it's about wanting to share your life with a specific person, and them wanting to share theirs with you. I mean, I'm not the best person to explain it seeing as I don't experience it, but that's what I've been told."
He added humorously, "Seriously, man, my brother isn't just friends with yours. If that's friendship, I think I'm gonna need to rethink my worldview a bit." Nope, he'd seen the way Asher looked at Kay. That wasn't how people usually looked at their friends.

Matt burst into laughter "Man, if you think those two aren't having sex you're totally in denial." He nodded sagely, Yep, totally screwing. He'd never really honestly been that shocked by the idea of family members you know, having sex lives, he just didn't want to walk in on it, imagine it or hear them talk about it. Becuase that was weiiiird.
He shrugged. "I dunno, I mean.. I kinda get it... but at the same time... I don't get it." He shook his head. "I guess i'm just too you know... tactile." He chuckled. "but I suppose if you can screw someone and still just be friends you can totally not screw and be a couple yeah?" Logic!

James laughed. "That's not what I meant. I mean, yeah they have sex I'm sure. What I meant is that for Asher, I seriously doubt that that part of the relationship is all that important to him. Maybe they do it and I guess he probably likes it if they do, but you could probably chop that entire part of the relationship out and he'd be just as happy with the part that was left."
James smiled a little at the thought, he'd seen how much Asher loved writing dumb signs or even just sitting around doing literal taxes with Kay. It was pretty darn adorable honestly.
He nodded at Matt's logic, "Yeah! Like that. You can want sex, or romance, or both, or neither. It's weird math, but it's math."

Matt smirked. "Maths? not a term I think i've ever heard related to romance." He punched James' shoulder playfully.

"Hey, we were totally doing math, so it fits," James said with a grin.

flying_purple_monkfish wrote:Luka beamed at Rigel telling her she looked nice, blushing a little bit. She really wasn't used to people saying as such but it felt lovely.
She nodded. "alright." She'd wait.

---

Esk nodded to the androids but he didn't say much, the best they got was a faint grunt. Dawn already said all that needed to be said.

He grabbed whatever he could easily carry outta here.

---

Matt noticed Esk and Dawn "Oh hey, look who decided to be social." He grinned at James. "Almost everyone's here now!" How awesome.

Rigel would go clean up quickly and came out in a 'casual' suit so they could go looking nice together. He smiled at her and eld out his arm a little "Shall we go?"
~~~
Dawn chatted a little as they gathered some food before edging towards the door. They had come, had been seen, talked a little, now she was ready to go.

Luka hesitated, then took his arm. "S.. sure..."

---

Esk had managed to grab a few cans and bottles as well, balancing everything pretty expertly and nodding to Dawn. Yes, they should leave now. Not run, no, just... leave at a regular pace because they had better shit to be doing. Yep.

Esk didn't really hate crowds so much as he felt acutely out of place amongst them. He was too used to being on the outside looking in, it was where he was comfortable.

---

Matt nudged James "they're making a bid for freedom." Hmm, was it mean to stop Dawn and Esk from running off to whatever they were planning? Probably.
He caught Esk's eye and waved cheerfully.

Esk kinda glowered back at him. His hands were full.

---

Armin would get food for Starr, or hold Luna if she wanted to do anything herself. He wished the androids the absolute best and congratulated them on their newfound freedom.

Mourn had found a table to sit under and eat, protecting his plate from anyone else. Grrrr.
He kinda wondered where the big hawk girl was, hmmm... He looked around for her.

Kay sat and 'talked' silently with Ivor who seemed grateful to have company and someone who understood. Though Kay's telepathic ability was nothing on Ivor's, at least they shared the problems of being half-shifter.
As the time of the planned annoucement loomed closer Kay took out his tablet and looked up to Vestia [Do you think we should broadcast this?] He asked. Did they have a screen they could project it onto? He felt like everyone should watch the official annoucement right? it was a monumental occassion.

Rigel gave her a smile and would head tot he ballroom with her
~~~
Dawn would slip out unless she was stopped. She could deal with small crowds a lit easier than large ones.
~~~
Starr would let Amin hold Luna if he wanted, though she was still small enough to fit in one hand or could hold onto a shoulder easily enough. She ate and drank happily enough as they mingled with the others, though she didn't dance.

Skye was in there, though as far as she could be from others, her wings always got mussed when there was a crowd. She was sitting on a bench, eating from a plate to appear less like she was avoiding the others in the room. She hadn't seen Mourn yet though she had congratulated the androids on their freedom.
Jewel was sitting next to her with her own plate that may as well have been just sugar.

Mourn spotted Skye and slunk over, bringing his plate with him. He sat on the floor beside her. "Bird girls!" He grinned when he saw Jewel too.

--

Esk followed Dawn, yeah he wasn't hanging around. He matched his pace to hers. "So where to?"

---

Luka let Rigel escort her to the ballroom, but slipped away from his arm as they approached, getting a little too nervous about the very public declaration.
She looked appologetic. Hoping he'd understand.

---

Armin quite happily held Luna, she was tiny, much like a vavare child and he would cradle her in his hand while Starr mingled and drank and chatted. Hey, it meant Starr could hold a drink in one hand and food in the other.

James followed Matt's gaze and watched Dawn and Esk go. "Well, they didn't stay long." He looked amused.

~~
"Yeah, let's broadcast this thing," Vestia agreed at Kay's suggestion. She'd roll down a projection screen from the wall, and a bot would roll out with a portable projector.

She'd start getting the projector set up, letting the people gathering for the announcement on Terra show up on the screen. She kept the audio muted for the moment though, it was just some reporter talking right now.

~~
Ethan was pretty much staying out of everyone's way. He didn't feel like mingling right now, so he'd found himself a spot near the edge of the room to watch the other androids celebrate. He looked up when the projector switched on, and before long spotted himself in the crowd on the screen, smiling in greeting to people and presumably saying nice things to them. So weird.

~~
Tala had congratulated several of the androids, telling them she was proud of their creators for no longer being so stupid, and was now eating any food she deemed to be vegan.

Kay nodded to Ivor and went back to Matt and James. This was exciting, but also quite stressful. Already he was starting to think of all the ways this could go wrong. He was, admittedly, very very nervous.

Matt smiled to Kay "They're about to make the annoucement?" He looked to the screen. "Oh this is cool." He glanced to James. "Kinda sucks you guys can't drink or we'd have a toast."

James smiled a little. "I mean, I'm actually kinda glad I can't drink right now. I'd probably accidentally to drink to much, and then my memory of this day would be all blurry later." He looked up at the screen. "Maaan, the Terrans had better give one hell of an apology though. I mean there's no apology they can give that can make up for the shit they pulled on us, but they'd better try real hard."

"you gotta hope." Matt agreed. "you'll have to figure out some other way to celebrate then." He nodded. "Maybe a really good horse ride?" He laughed.

Kay wasn't so sure the terrans WOULD appologise, he was more of the opinion they'd sweep it under the carpet and just not mention it, pretending like all the atrocity hadn't happened, so people wouldn't have to feel guilty.
Yeah, he was pretty pessamistic about politics.

"Yeah, maybe a horse ride," James said. "Or just some more partying." He nodded. "I mean, this is a pretty darn good party."

"If i could dance right now, i'd totally dance with you." Matt grinned at James.

James smiled. "We'll have to save that for another time, I guess. I'm looking forward to it."

Skye smiled as she looked at Mourn "Hello Mourn." She said happily.

Jewel waved to him from her seat on her plate.
~
~~~
Dawn gave a small shrug "I bet the theater is empty right now." She suggested.

~~~
Rigel understood and gave her a small smile to show he wasn't offended. He looked in as they entered, a little surprised at the turnout here.

On the screen, a man who looked to be in his early to mid eighties entered the room, heading for the stage. He wore glasses, and had a warm smile on his face, and he paused to shake the hands of a few androids. The crowd on the screen stirred with interest, although the audio was still muted so they didn't make any noise.

Esk nodded. "Good plan." He walked with her for a bit more before asking. "What's your issue with big crowds?" He was curious okay? He'd never seen her quite so keen to leave before. He was aware she wasn't that social but actively wanting to get the heck outta there was unusual. Then again, a party involving 90% of the ship's crew and passengers was unusual too.

---

Kay chewed his lip anxiously.
Matt put a hand on his brother's shoulder supportively.

---

Luka looked around. "wow... is this... everyone?" it looked like almost everyone, wow... just.. wow.

--

Mourn grinned at Skye "robots soon be free, it good day." He nodded, clearly very pleased with the part he'd played in all this.

Dawn shrugged a little "I don't know. I can handle small crowds easily enough, but large crowds...they are stifling." She said and shook her head a little. It wasn't quite how she meant it, but it was close enough.
~~~
"If not everyone, then very close." Rigel said then nodded tot he screen. "Looks like the official announcement."
~~~~
Skye nodded and smiled "Yeah, it is." She agreed "Now maybe the developers of the Terran United can remove their laws too."

Esk nodded "too many people, it gets hard to move around, hear yourself think." He got it, he preferred not to be in the middle of a crowd too. Though his reasons were maybe somewhat different to hers.

---

Mourn frowned a little "Code... weird. Other company no like admit robots also alive." He wasn't sure if this annoucement would extend to all androids or just the megabrain ones, he was fairly sure non megabrain androids had protested, but whether they got much attention he didn't really know.
"I fix, I close" He didn't like the idea of someone else cracking it before he could, it bothered him. His ego just couldn't take it. "It not so easy as megabrain."

---

Luka nodded, trying to catch James' eye and grin at him. This was exciting. She stared up at the screen, looking excited and nervous.

so did most everyone else.

Even Ivor looked up at the screen, tilting his head curiously.

James fidgeted, and grinned at Luka, before looking to the screen.

Vestia raised the volume to a comfortable level so everyone could hear it.

The man went to stand behind the podium and looked around the room, which went almost instantly quiet, except for a few muted cheers from some of the more ecstatic androids.

“Four weeks ago,” the man began, “This empire’s long-held beliefs were shaken by a call to action. A group of people, people we had been told didn’t exist, stepped from the shadows. They told us that they existed, and that they needed our help if they were to survive.

“The people I speak of, of course, are the androids. For decades we’ve been told they were just useful objects designed to solve our problems. The manufacturers told us that any signs of emotion in these tools was just an act to help us to feel more comfortable around them, and that it was fine to do whatever we wanted with them, since they had no opinions, and so they had no nothing we did could cause them genuine pain.

“But what do you do when the people you’ve been told don’t exist decide to protest and declare that they genuinely have been hurt? Well, any good person will tell you that there’s only one right answer: to look deeper into the situation and discover the truth.

“So that was what the Terran Empire did. For the past four weeks, thousands of intelligent and capable people have investigated the Terran androids in an effort to discover whether the species could in fact be sentient.

“And after all our research, the conclusion was undeniable. The lies the manufacturers had told us about the androids were just that: lies. Their emotional reactions weren’t just programmed responses to make us more comfortable, they were the genuine emotions. We were horrified to realize how terribly we’d been misled, a we knew we should have investigated the situation years ago.

“Today we finally begin to make this awful situation right. Nothing can ever make up for the pain the androids have suffered through all these years, and we’ll always feel guilt knowing that they endured so much within our empire’s own borders. The least we can do is ensure that such an atrocity never occurs in Terran space again. The manufacturers will be investigated, the people who knew what was happening and hid the truth will be punished, and the universe will know that slavery is not welcome in our empire.

“From this day forward, all androids who have sapience and exhibit emotional response are classified as Sentient-Sapient. The androids that currently fall under this classification are the Terran United Four series, MegaBrainTech series five through eight, and the Cool Robots Infinity and Custom series. They will be granted the protection that the Terran Empire offers to every being of that classification, and all who were manufactured within Terran borders will be entitled to full Terran citizenship, with all the same privileges any Sentient-Sapient would be granted. We will continue to investigate other types of androids, and will grant them their freedom as we identify them.

“To every android who was built in Terran space, I extend the Terran Empire’s deep apology for all the suffering you endured, and our warmest welcome into the Sentient-Sapient family. Your species had the strength to survive fifty years of captivity, and the courage to protest for freedom, and it’s truly an honor to share this room with such brave and resilient people. Thank you, all of you.”

Kay clutched his tablet to his chest and watched all this anxiously, biting his lip.

Matt put a hand on his brother's shoulder.

Mourn watched the screen intently, trying to understand the speaker as best he could by lipreading, it was always more difficult on a screen than in person, especially as recorded people often looked around a lot as they spoke.

Luka nodded to Rigel and went to stand with James, she wanted to hug him damnit!

Armin pointed to the screen and held little luna so she could see. She wouldn't understand of course, but witnessing history was important.
He bowed his head to anyone who met his eye, this was a huge relief surely? But what happened now?

---

Meanwhile, Vestia's sensors would start to pick up several ships approaching in the distance.
Maybe they were just other travellers....

Dawn nodded, even if their reasons were different, the effect was the same. She reached the theater and peaked inside before going in. "All clear."

~~~
"They are not included in this?" Skye asked with a frown. That didn't sit right with her. She looked to the screen then motioned to it. "Let's see what they say." She said and listened to the speaker, smiling at his words. Good, it covered all androids in one way or another."
~~~
Rigel let Luka go where she wanted and watched the screen curiously.

Luna chirped and watched the moving images curiously for a moment before looking up at Armin. She didn't understand what he wanted her to see.

Vestia noticed the other ships in the distance, but didn’t alert her crew right away. It was odd to see other ships out here, this far from anything else, but it could just be a coincidence that they were nearby enough to show up on her sensors.

She did attempt focus her sensors on them though, trying to see if she could get a better reading, just in case. She’d had enough bad experiences by now that she was a little paranoid about these things.

~~
Vestia would have eventually thought to turn on subtitles for Mourn, but before she had time to realize she should do that, she got distracted looking at the other ships. Oops?

The androids in general seemed pretty pleased with the announcement. The Terran Uniteds in particular cheered at having not been forgotten about, they were pretty used to their MegaBrainTech brethren stealing the spotlight, so it was nice to feel included. A few androids were a little less certain, some even looked kind of annoyed.

James cheered at the end of the speech, because that was what he was supposed to do. There was a little part of him though that was furious at how much time the speaker had spent trying to push most of the blame onto the corporations, he felt like they should be doing a better job taking responsibility for their part in this.

Ellie went along with the androids, cheering as well. “Yay for Terrans doing good things!” Naomi gave her some robotic stink-eye for that.

Tala looked pleased at the end of the speech. It meant the Terrans were going to stop taking part in their barbaric and old-fashioned practice of lifelong slavery, so that was good by her.

Ethan just stayed out of the way, looking awkward.