Fic: Loyalties
May. 8th, 2008 01:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jeriendhalSummary: General Gisko finds himself in a soul tearing conflict with his creator.
Note: Terinu and related plots, characters and images are copyright![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
chaypeta and used here without permission.
It was at times such as this, when the Gene Mage found himself very glad to have created the Galapados. I had not thought myself capable of surprise any longer. “General Gisko, please repeat yourself. I am uncertain if I heard you correctly.” Behind him, he heard avians singing outside in the gardens beyond the pavilion, while the twin suns rose and warmed the morning air.
General Oyron Gisko, not two weeks recently appointed to be the supreme leader of his race’s Galapados Warriors, knelt before his creator on both knees, palms flat on the ground, head bowed and repeated most abjectly, “I beg of you, Lord Gene Mage, my Creator, my Provider, please remove me from my post and subject me to the blessing of Re-Education.”
“Rise and face me, General.”
“My Lord, I am not worthy.”
“I cannot speak to you properly, addressing only the top of your head. Rise, General, I so order.”
Gisko stood, bringing his face up to meet the Gene Mage’s eyes, though only with great difficultly it appeared. Though his uniform kilt and helm were impeccable, he appeared haggard, out of sorts, as if he had not rested well. Something must trouble him greatly, to beg for such a terrible boon. “General Gisko, I have found no fault in your leadership of the Galapados Warriors. Indeed, you have scarcely had time to make errors that would require my attention. Are you so overwhelmed by your new responsibilities that you have come to fear them?”
“No, Lord Gene Mage, my duties do not overburden me. Training of your Warriors and the construction of the fleet proceeds apace. We will soon be ready to begin the Great Restoration under the Dominion’s benevolent leadership.”
“Then what troubles you, General?”
Gisko ducked his head down and spoke only with great difficultly, as if every word tore a little bit of his soul away. “Of late, I find my loyalty to you divided, Lord Gene Mage. It is a division that I greatly fear will soon affect my performance, perhaps to the detriment of our cause.”
The Gene Mage raised his eyebrows. “You wish to serve under another Wise Master?”
Gisko’s answer was immediate and horrified, “No, Lord Gene Mage! I would never wish that, unless it was your will. My service to you will be until the end of my days, should you permit.”
“Then who else do you wish to serve?”
“Not serve, at least not precisely. It is more that I wish…” He let out a frustrated hiss. “It is so terribly confusing!”
“Speak from the beginning of your tale then, loyal Oryon, so that we might both understand it better.”
“Yes, my Lord Gene Mage.” He took in a breath and began again. “Some two months prior to my ascension to Generalship of the Galapados Warriors, I made the acquaintance of a female, named Skorah. She is a crèche engineer, of notable skill, and wished to speak to me concerning improvements in the efficiency of the gestation tubes. Though the conversation was primarily of technical matters, I found it… oddly pleasurable.”
“In what manner?”
“I did not wish the conversation to end. Indeed, I found myself creating reasons to extend it. When I finally left her presence the first thought that came to my mind was that I wished to meet with her again. Which I did, since the improvements required some coordination of effort to implement.”
“Really? Describe this remarkable Galapados further to me.”
“She is as most of our females, of lighter build, quicker of movement and thought than male Warriors. But, primarily, I find the structure of her face enjoyable to view. She has eyes like molten gold and a marvelous scale pattern on her cheeks. When I touched her in greeting, her scales were warm and pleasant under my palm. When she speaks her voice is somehow both soft and resonating, commanding my attention as I command the attention of those who serve under me.”
“You seem to have been physically attracted to her, that is obvious enough. Was it returned?”
“Yes, my Lord.” Gisko paused. “We coupled, as we were instructed to in training when we felt such attraction. I found it… very pleasant, and she expressed similar satisfaction.”
“And did you repeat the experience?”
“Yes, several times” he replied, then added reluctantly, “I believe that is where my conflict began. When I sleep, I find her appearing often in my dreams. Even in the waking hours, when I am not placing full concentration on my duties, my thoughts drift back to her.” His voice grew strained. “That is not right.”
“That you think of her? Why should it not be?”
“But, my Lord, I am your creation. I was made to serve both you and the Varn Dominion. I should have loyalty to no other! And when I do think of Skorah I am overwhelmed by the most terrible feelings of helplessness, because I am not… I am not…” He let out another hiss, “I do not have the words!”
The Gene Mage smiled. “Complete, is one of the words you are searching for, I believe.”
“Yes, complete, this is the word. She completes me. When I am not in her presence, I do not feel whole. I want… I want… I have no wealth, I have no property, save what you, my Wise Master, provides. I have nothing to give to her except myself. I wish to give myself to her, as I give myself to you.” Gisko looked up at him in desperation. “My Lord, this is wrong. I should hold no one above you. Service should be all for a Warrior.”
Gently, the Gene Mage took hold of his servant’s shoulders, steadying him. “Oryon Gisko, my most loyal of Galapados Warriors, have you even ventured the thought of disobeying my directives since you met this female?”
“No, but…”
“Then set your mind at ease. What you are experiencing is an emotion that was common among several of the races that once served the Dominion before yours. It is called love.”
“Love,” Gisko repeated, appearing to test the word in his mouth, as one might test a bit of food one suspected was poisoned. “It seems a very confusing and dangerous emotion.”
“Potentially, but your Wise Masters recognize the utility of it outweighs its possible risks. It is a means of creating strong pair bonds between the opposite sexes of a species, in order to create a safe and stable environment for bearing and raising children.”
Gisko still looked confused. “But then what use is it for a Galapados Warrior? We are brought to maturity in gestation chambers, taught the skills of life in our crèches. We have no use for pair bonding.”
“But that will not always be so. A race that is only capable of reproduction through artificial means is not an elegant design, from the perspective of your Creator. I desire you be able to produce through un-augmented methods, therefore I placed the potential for this emotion in your hormonal production matrix. It is all perfectly logical.”
His general nodded carefully, relaxing. “So, my… love… for Skorah is permissible?”
“And, I hope, fruitful. But for that, I must examine her and make minor alterations to her biochemistry.”
“She would be pleased, I think, to be the object of your direct attentions, my Lord.”
“As I will be pleased to meet her. A female that creates such strong emotions in my strongest of warriors, is worth my respect.”
Gisko finally smiled, “Thank you, my Lord. May I tell her this?”
“Of course.” The Gene Mage gestured to his servitor. “Return to your duties with a lightened heart, General.”
“I shall, my Lord.” Gisko bowed and turned to go. When he reached the steps of the pavilion, he paused, turned around and then asked, “What you and your fellow Varn, Lord Gene Mage? Do the gods feel love?”
The Gene Mage considered the question seriously for a moment, then answered, “If we ever did, it has been removed from our genetic makeup, during our quest for perfection. It exists only in our servants now.”
“Do you miss it?”
“I have no need for it now. Attend to your duties, General.”
Gisko bowed again. “As you will, my Lord. Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For granting me a gift, that you have denied yourselves.”
Note: Terinu and related plots, characters and images are copyright
chaypeta and used here without permission.It was at times such as this, when the Gene Mage found himself very glad to have created the Galapados. I had not thought myself capable of surprise any longer. “General Gisko, please repeat yourself. I am uncertain if I heard you correctly.” Behind him, he heard avians singing outside in the gardens beyond the pavilion, while the twin suns rose and warmed the morning air.
General Oyron Gisko, not two weeks recently appointed to be the supreme leader of his race’s Galapados Warriors, knelt before his creator on both knees, palms flat on the ground, head bowed and repeated most abjectly, “I beg of you, Lord Gene Mage, my Creator, my Provider, please remove me from my post and subject me to the blessing of Re-Education.”
“Rise and face me, General.”
“My Lord, I am not worthy.”
“I cannot speak to you properly, addressing only the top of your head. Rise, General, I so order.”
Gisko stood, bringing his face up to meet the Gene Mage’s eyes, though only with great difficultly it appeared. Though his uniform kilt and helm were impeccable, he appeared haggard, out of sorts, as if he had not rested well. Something must trouble him greatly, to beg for such a terrible boon. “General Gisko, I have found no fault in your leadership of the Galapados Warriors. Indeed, you have scarcely had time to make errors that would require my attention. Are you so overwhelmed by your new responsibilities that you have come to fear them?”
“No, Lord Gene Mage, my duties do not overburden me. Training of your Warriors and the construction of the fleet proceeds apace. We will soon be ready to begin the Great Restoration under the Dominion’s benevolent leadership.”
“Then what troubles you, General?”
Gisko ducked his head down and spoke only with great difficultly, as if every word tore a little bit of his soul away. “Of late, I find my loyalty to you divided, Lord Gene Mage. It is a division that I greatly fear will soon affect my performance, perhaps to the detriment of our cause.”
The Gene Mage raised his eyebrows. “You wish to serve under another Wise Master?”
Gisko’s answer was immediate and horrified, “No, Lord Gene Mage! I would never wish that, unless it was your will. My service to you will be until the end of my days, should you permit.”
“Then who else do you wish to serve?”
“Not serve, at least not precisely. It is more that I wish…” He let out a frustrated hiss. “It is so terribly confusing!”
“Speak from the beginning of your tale then, loyal Oryon, so that we might both understand it better.”
“Yes, my Lord Gene Mage.” He took in a breath and began again. “Some two months prior to my ascension to Generalship of the Galapados Warriors, I made the acquaintance of a female, named Skorah. She is a crèche engineer, of notable skill, and wished to speak to me concerning improvements in the efficiency of the gestation tubes. Though the conversation was primarily of technical matters, I found it… oddly pleasurable.”
“In what manner?”
“I did not wish the conversation to end. Indeed, I found myself creating reasons to extend it. When I finally left her presence the first thought that came to my mind was that I wished to meet with her again. Which I did, since the improvements required some coordination of effort to implement.”
“Really? Describe this remarkable Galapados further to me.”
“She is as most of our females, of lighter build, quicker of movement and thought than male Warriors. But, primarily, I find the structure of her face enjoyable to view. She has eyes like molten gold and a marvelous scale pattern on her cheeks. When I touched her in greeting, her scales were warm and pleasant under my palm. When she speaks her voice is somehow both soft and resonating, commanding my attention as I command the attention of those who serve under me.”
“You seem to have been physically attracted to her, that is obvious enough. Was it returned?”
“Yes, my Lord.” Gisko paused. “We coupled, as we were instructed to in training when we felt such attraction. I found it… very pleasant, and she expressed similar satisfaction.”
“And did you repeat the experience?”
“Yes, several times” he replied, then added reluctantly, “I believe that is where my conflict began. When I sleep, I find her appearing often in my dreams. Even in the waking hours, when I am not placing full concentration on my duties, my thoughts drift back to her.” His voice grew strained. “That is not right.”
“That you think of her? Why should it not be?”
“But, my Lord, I am your creation. I was made to serve both you and the Varn Dominion. I should have loyalty to no other! And when I do think of Skorah I am overwhelmed by the most terrible feelings of helplessness, because I am not… I am not…” He let out another hiss, “I do not have the words!”
The Gene Mage smiled. “Complete, is one of the words you are searching for, I believe.”
“Yes, complete, this is the word. She completes me. When I am not in her presence, I do not feel whole. I want… I want… I have no wealth, I have no property, save what you, my Wise Master, provides. I have nothing to give to her except myself. I wish to give myself to her, as I give myself to you.” Gisko looked up at him in desperation. “My Lord, this is wrong. I should hold no one above you. Service should be all for a Warrior.”
Gently, the Gene Mage took hold of his servant’s shoulders, steadying him. “Oryon Gisko, my most loyal of Galapados Warriors, have you even ventured the thought of disobeying my directives since you met this female?”
“No, but…”
“Then set your mind at ease. What you are experiencing is an emotion that was common among several of the races that once served the Dominion before yours. It is called love.”
“Love,” Gisko repeated, appearing to test the word in his mouth, as one might test a bit of food one suspected was poisoned. “It seems a very confusing and dangerous emotion.”
“Potentially, but your Wise Masters recognize the utility of it outweighs its possible risks. It is a means of creating strong pair bonds between the opposite sexes of a species, in order to create a safe and stable environment for bearing and raising children.”
Gisko still looked confused. “But then what use is it for a Galapados Warrior? We are brought to maturity in gestation chambers, taught the skills of life in our crèches. We have no use for pair bonding.”
“But that will not always be so. A race that is only capable of reproduction through artificial means is not an elegant design, from the perspective of your Creator. I desire you be able to produce through un-augmented methods, therefore I placed the potential for this emotion in your hormonal production matrix. It is all perfectly logical.”
His general nodded carefully, relaxing. “So, my… love… for Skorah is permissible?”
“And, I hope, fruitful. But for that, I must examine her and make minor alterations to her biochemistry.”
“She would be pleased, I think, to be the object of your direct attentions, my Lord.”
“As I will be pleased to meet her. A female that creates such strong emotions in my strongest of warriors, is worth my respect.”
Gisko finally smiled, “Thank you, my Lord. May I tell her this?”
“Of course.” The Gene Mage gestured to his servitor. “Return to your duties with a lightened heart, General.”
“I shall, my Lord.” Gisko bowed and turned to go. When he reached the steps of the pavilion, he paused, turned around and then asked, “What you and your fellow Varn, Lord Gene Mage? Do the gods feel love?”
The Gene Mage considered the question seriously for a moment, then answered, “If we ever did, it has been removed from our genetic makeup, during our quest for perfection. It exists only in our servants now.”
“Do you miss it?”
“I have no need for it now. Attend to your duties, General.”
Gisko bowed again. “As you will, my Lord. Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For granting me a gift, that you have denied yourselves.”
