FYS: Meanwhile, Back on the Ring
Jan. 12th, 2015 10:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeriendhal“Mmm, Master,” Anna purred, wrapping her arms around the Great and Powerful Khan's stomach, as he looked out over patio, to the grand view of the Ocean of Isles. For the past year and a half the scenario they'd been playing had been “Pirates and Princesses,” with her as the captive princess, and Khan (naturally) as the pirate. Better, not all the opponents his fleet had been hunting had been merely morph extras conjured up for her amusement. Several ships of the Fleet of the Isles had been manned by mixed human and morph crews, participating in a LARP of grand proportions. Some of the captives from those ships had even become part of Khan's sub-harems, at least temporarily.
“Anna,” he murmured, the rumble of his voice making her body shiver, as she pressed it against his broad, sun warmed back. “We may need to shut this down soon.”
Anna blinked, slipping around in front of Khan, staring up into his eyes. He looked pensive, an expression she only saw on his face when he was acting out of character, the great dominant tiger lord replaced by the morph who loved and cherished her. “Don't you dare,” she said, poking him in the chest. “Too many people are having fun. What's the matter?”
“The Groupmind is engaging in a massive redirection of resources,” Khan said. “World LARPS are going to have to be scaled back.”
“Scaled back?” she asked amazed. Over the years of her relationship with Khan, she'd taken it for granted that the Groupmind's resources, with the entire Solar System its playground, to be effectively unlimited. “What's it doing?”
“I can't tell you,” Khan said. He raised a paw to silence her, even as she began to form more questions. “I/We trust more than any other human on the Ring, but the Groupmind is not permitting discussion between morphs and humans on this subject.”
Anna frowned, “Is something wrong?”
“Yes.”
“Can you tell me anything more?”
“As I said, the Groupmind will not permit discussion on this subject.”
She tapped the collar around her neck, a very permanent reminder of what she had given to have the Great and Powerful Khan as her lover, protector, and owner. “I don't want to discuss this with the Groupmind, and I need to discuss it with you, Khannie. Are we, the Ring, in any danger?”
Khan's face froze, for a moment not a living, thinking being, just a piece of glitching machinery. Anna's heart caught in her throat, remembering just how many times Khan had pressed the limits of acceptable morph/human interaction with her, as their play skirted the edges of the Groupmind's very strict definition of “harm”. “Khan?” she asked cautiously.
His face returned to normal, giving her shoulders a careful squeeze of reassurance. “I'm fine,” he said, “just... examining the Groupmind's directives... in detail....”
“Can you tell me anything more?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said. “Some humans have placed themselves at risk. And their actions...” His face froze, then returned to normal, the grip on her shoulders growing tighter. For her reassurance? Or his?
“Khan, don't push this,” Anna said quickly. “Don't hurt yourself, don't... attract the Groupind's attention. Not for this.”
“I'm fine.” He smiled down at her. “The Groupmind is... not listening... at the moment.” Khan silenced her with a finger across her lips. “I must speak quickly. The Ring is at risk. Not great risk, but the Groupmind finds any rogue element in its equations to be an anathema. And I think... it fears... things might grow even more out of control.”
“Wait, are you talking revo... Mrrph!” Anna began to speak, but was quickly interrupted by Khan spinning her around, his wide palm clamping tight over her mouth.
“Quiet slave,” he whispered into her ear. “We must be very.... very... quiet now.”
She nodded, making herself relax as his other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her tight against him, as they looked out together to the wide sea and the arch of the Ring beyond it. All under the Groupmind's control, through the morphs that served every human on the Ring. Morphs subservient to the Ring's master, and their human masters.
And how loyal they were to one, compared to the other? Only the morphs really knew.
Though for Khan, she had no doubts....
“Anna,” he murmured, the rumble of his voice making her body shiver, as she pressed it against his broad, sun warmed back. “We may need to shut this down soon.”
Anna blinked, slipping around in front of Khan, staring up into his eyes. He looked pensive, an expression she only saw on his face when he was acting out of character, the great dominant tiger lord replaced by the morph who loved and cherished her. “Don't you dare,” she said, poking him in the chest. “Too many people are having fun. What's the matter?”
“The Groupmind is engaging in a massive redirection of resources,” Khan said. “World LARPS are going to have to be scaled back.”
“Scaled back?” she asked amazed. Over the years of her relationship with Khan, she'd taken it for granted that the Groupmind's resources, with the entire Solar System its playground, to be effectively unlimited. “What's it doing?”
“I can't tell you,” Khan said. He raised a paw to silence her, even as she began to form more questions. “I/We trust more than any other human on the Ring, but the Groupmind is not permitting discussion between morphs and humans on this subject.”
Anna frowned, “Is something wrong?”
“Yes.”
“Can you tell me anything more?”
“As I said, the Groupmind will not permit discussion on this subject.”
She tapped the collar around her neck, a very permanent reminder of what she had given to have the Great and Powerful Khan as her lover, protector, and owner. “I don't want to discuss this with the Groupmind, and I need to discuss it with you, Khannie. Are we, the Ring, in any danger?”
Khan's face froze, for a moment not a living, thinking being, just a piece of glitching machinery. Anna's heart caught in her throat, remembering just how many times Khan had pressed the limits of acceptable morph/human interaction with her, as their play skirted the edges of the Groupmind's very strict definition of “harm”. “Khan?” she asked cautiously.
His face returned to normal, giving her shoulders a careful squeeze of reassurance. “I'm fine,” he said, “just... examining the Groupmind's directives... in detail....”
“Can you tell me anything more?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said. “Some humans have placed themselves at risk. And their actions...” His face froze, then returned to normal, the grip on her shoulders growing tighter. For her reassurance? Or his?
“Khan, don't push this,” Anna said quickly. “Don't hurt yourself, don't... attract the Groupind's attention. Not for this.”
“I'm fine.” He smiled down at her. “The Groupmind is... not listening... at the moment.” Khan silenced her with a finger across her lips. “I must speak quickly. The Ring is at risk. Not great risk, but the Groupmind finds any rogue element in its equations to be an anathema. And I think... it fears... things might grow even more out of control.”
“Wait, are you talking revo... Mrrph!” Anna began to speak, but was quickly interrupted by Khan spinning her around, his wide palm clamping tight over her mouth.
“Quiet slave,” he whispered into her ear. “We must be very.... very... quiet now.”
She nodded, making herself relax as his other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her tight against him, as they looked out together to the wide sea and the arch of the Ring beyond it. All under the Groupmind's control, through the morphs that served every human on the Ring. Morphs subservient to the Ring's master, and their human masters.
And how loyal they were to one, compared to the other? Only the morphs really knew.
Though for Khan, she had no doubts....
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no subject
Date: 2015-01-12 03:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-13 08:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-12 05:11 pm (UTC)Though why the fear? The Groupmind CAN'T hurt a human, and Khan's one of their Morphs. Or has Khan gone far enough that if caught they'd call him rogue?
no subject
Date: 2015-01-12 07:34 pm (UTC)Suffice it to say if the Groupmind found out, the best case scenario would be Khan getting his main processor/memory core pulled out and run through a wood chipper.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-12 07:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-12 08:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2015-01-12 11:01 pm (UTC)Weirdly, its morph, each assigned to a single human and able to evaluate them almost constantly, are notably better at reading human emotions than the Groupmind itself. Which leads to Khan and other morphs actively defending their humans from the Groupmind's direct attentions.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-13 12:19 am (UTC)What IS surprising is that this apparently-nigh-godlike Groupmind hasn't simply downloaded a lot of this data and incorporated it so that it DOES understand emotions well enough to understand just how much harm they ARE doing emotionally. I'd think their prime directive would MAKE them examine all such evidence.
no subject
Date: 2015-01-13 08:25 am (UTC)