"Knock," came the voice, as a fist battered slightly too hardly on the door. "...knock."
The pause between the knock suggested to the occupant of the room, an unfortunate Vathari refugee, that his guests would not be leaving soon. The first was too forceful, making the metal door rattle in its housing, and the second was almost too light, the sensors of the being barely registering it. Against his better judgement, he pulled the door open.
Facing him, a wide grin plastered on his face, was his Concordat Peer Review Associate and Grief Councillor. His face was a puffy red, and his pupils too large thanks to the
. They had been meeting daily for the past week, the organic humanoid assisting the mechanical with any grief, troubles, or even questions he had. The crew taking care of the Vathari refugees had been ordered to treat them as they would severely war-weary soldiers, rife with Post-Traumatic stress disorder and whatever other cocktail of mental ailments they might be suffering.
"...The bell has rung, sentient-intelligence trapped forever in metal casing. Peer bonding time is now in effect. We will companionship, in the bar slash restaurant slash designated food consumption zone." The inflection of the Councillor's voice was wrong and misplaced, further setting the Vathari on edge. "Today, friendcomputer, we will talk on a life, a human, a human body, and a differences."
The bar was not far from the room assigned to the Vathari refugee. He had become quite accustomed to watching people filter backwards and forward, going about their daily lives. The ancient ruins were continually worked upon by the maintenance crew, bringing more and more living space operational in preparation for the eventual colonist drop once the refugees had been transported back to their origin. For the Concordat, finding ruins from the Empire in Antiquity was a prize worthy of a thousand medals, but they were in such a state they were almost never worth reporting. The case was different, here. The ruins were perfectly preserved, almost inviting the masses of people in with a warm, welcome greeting.
This still seemed to ring true even now, with many of the crews making their way through the narrow streets and alleys with a fervent purpose. Each team moved with mesmerizing footwork, stepping together exactly in time with all of the other
As with most nights, the bar was densely packed. There were few free tables, with most occupied by the human majority, however there were a few Vathari to be spotted in the crowd of organic bioforms. None of the patrons payed the two any attention as they found a place to sit, not even a head turn as they entered. The Councillor moved with purpose, finding a free table within seconds.
"So," the Councillor began as he sat, "what does microchip based intelligence wish to ask today? No no! Wait! I read mind!"
Half a second passed as the Vathari looked quizzically at the man.
"Ha ha! I am joke! Kick it back! Relax! Laugh! If I were mind reader, I would be designated Concordat Corvus Special Operations Division, Psi-Op department."
"So, machine parts, I will tell you first of human the body. Then we will question and answer segment."
"Human the body is eleventh most complex The Body currently on planet. Each human unique. Human not not not part of interconnected consciousness network in which each body is a non-independent organims. Human the Body is made from MEAT. Not like a plant, a fungus, a bacteria."
"So, you see, companion, we are not so different. We are more alike than different. Only difference, is that human the bodie," for a sudden moment, all the human patrons of the bar turned to look at the pair, "is meat!" they all cried in unison, quickly switching back to what they were doing.
"Please to answer questions now. Many questions after breach of pan-elemental gateway, travel through many horror and night mare. Questions, go."