First Contact

Chapter 112

Gu'ulmoo had been a normal Lanaktallan when he was younger. Slightly curious, never straying too far from his parents, staying with his peers and schoolmates, content with how life was. As a child, he had been a standard Lanaktallan child, not too curious or aggressive, not too disinterested or passive. The correct balance of everything it meant to be Lanaktallan.

He was roughly equivelant to a Terran 6 year old when he was found, face down and on his side, in an alley several miles from his family's luxury apartment, breathing but little else. The medical services picked him up, took him to the hospital, and his life stopped being normal.

Things had been done to him, and whoever had done them to him had shot Gu'ulmoo in the face with a neural pistol.

And then put two more into the back of his head and one into the flankspine.

After three months of being hooked up to life support, his parents had him emancipated and procured a license for a new child.

At six months, he was removed from life support, there was no use on wasting resources on him.

Except, he didn't die like a good Lanaktallan should have. Instead, he held on and within a week, despite all mathematical odds, opened his eyes.

The damage to his brain and spine had changed him. He talked infrequently, often just staring when asked a question. He walked oddly. Food and drink had no taste to him and he had difficulty chewing cud without drooling the juice all over the floor.

But, he was able to rejoin school, as a ward of the state, and maintain good enough scholastic ratings to move on to eventually running a welder in a factory.

His debts were quickly paid off as Gu'ulmoo had no need for luxuries. He didn't care. He did his work, went home, ate nutripaste, and went to sleep, repeating as necessary. His personal hygiene was surprisingly good. Once he was set on a task, a relatively easy thing to do, he worked at it until it was complete, sometimes to the amusement of his coworkers, who were often disciplined by the supervisors. The supervisors considered Gu'ulmoo's willingness to complete a task a bonus, since he often forgot to apply for special pay or overtime.

His peers, coworkers, and supervisors gave him a rather rude nickname, he didn't care. It was words, and words had no power unless you gave them power.

Eventually two things happened that changed Gu'ulmoo's life.

One, was a horror, the other was interesting.

Gu'ulmoo came from good genetic stock, after all, surviving those hideous wounds and that assault at his young age proved that, his ability to rise above this neural injuries and maintain himself and his employment proved his mental genetic stock.

The computer systems that ruled Lanaktallan life consulted Gu'ulmoo's genetic profile and matched him with a female Lanaktallan. They would be pair-bonded for a period of forty years and five children, after which they could go their own way and marry/have children with whomever they wished.

When Gu'ulmoo found out about it, he was horrified.

Gu'ulmoo didn't like other Lanaktallan. To be honest, they disgusted him. The thought of doing that with another member of his species was horrifying to him. The thought made him physically ill.

But the same day he was notified that mandatory pair bonding was to take place within six months, something even more interesting happened.

A few months prior, a new race was discovered. At first, it was thought to be many races. Then it was revealed that it was a single race.

Gu'ulmoo knew that there had to be a way to talk to them on GalNet. Every being was allocated GalNet service, so Gu'ulmoo had his hooked up, acquired his terminal, and began searching.

When Gu'ulmoo set his mind to a task, he did not quit until it was done.

So he sat, in between eat and sleep times, and scoured GalNet instead of reading.

The same day that he received notice of his mandatory pair-bonding, he managed to contact a member of the new species throught GalNet.

Some more discussion put him in contact with a being that could help him avoid the horrors of mandatory pair bonding and breeding.

Gu'ulmoo had long ago paid off his medical treatment. He was nearly a century old, and rarely touched his banking account, as he was happy to subsist off of the free living standard. His bank account balance was quite high, high enough to do what he wanted.

He purchased gold, contacted the being through GalNet and made his arrangements.

Gu'ulmoo left the day his mandatory pair bonding showed up to an empty apartment. To be honest, she breathed a sigh of relief. She had investigated Gu'ulmoo and had been dismayed at Gu'ulmoo's lack of ambition and drive.

She went to the Breeding Authority Council and filed for abandonment and then forgot about it.

Gu'ulmoo traveled to the Unified Outer Rim, boarded a 'junker' piloted by a Terran, and patiently waited to be informed that he had arrived.

The junker, one Travellen-Tom, was more than happy with how easy Gu'ulmoo was to transport. The Lanaktallan didn't mind a bare bones crew cabin and was more than happy to watch holovids on his destination.

And he paid in gold.

When Gu'ulmoo arrived at his destination, he trotted out into the space station, wearing only a travelling sash and flank cover. He went through customs, stopping long enough to get innoculations and vaccinations. It took nearly two weeks for them to be customized to his genetic and biological needs, but he didn't mind. The space station put him up, free of charge, in a room with a view.

He stared at the strange planet for hours, fascinated by it. He watched their Tri-Vid programs avidly, carefully eating nutri-paste so as not to make a mess, and ensured his personal hygiene was carefully adhered to.

The physical comedy didn't bother him. Neither did the graphic violence of other programs. He found some of it fascinating.

One channel of the Tri-Vid was wholly devoted to 'crime dramas', and he watched those avidly, eating nutripaste while he watched with wide eyes.

He knew whoever had hurt him as a child had never been found. A cursory investigation had been performed but that was it.

On the Tri-Vid he watched LawSec forces do in-depth investigations on the deaths or injuries of even the lowest castes. The concept that everyone was equal under the law was foreign to him. There were different levels of justice and even legal codes according to wealth, power, privilege, caste, and species where he was from. A being's court case and investigation always started at the lowest and was adjusted according to data and the amount of wealth/power a being was willing to put into the case.

On the Tri-Vid, he saw actual court cases, reenacted for his fascinated viewing, where the abuse of one of the lowest case led to the rich and powerful who were jailed for their crimes.

The beings who ran the station watched him carefully, surprised at how he would sit for hours watching crime dramas. His genome was examined, as well as other factors, and the station crew offered Gu'ulmoo better food.

Gu'ulmoo just shrugged and told them that nutri-paste was good enough. That food was just fuel to keep his body from feeling discomfort.

The station added flavors to the nutri-paste out of their own sense of duty rather than any concern of Gu'ulmoo.

He was asked why he wanted to visit.

Gu'ulmoo answered that he wanted to visit. That was why.

He was asked who he wanted to visit.

Gu'ulmoo said he didn't know. Why? Were there being he should visit?

He was asked where he wanted to visit.

Gu'ulmoo answered that he wanted to visit the planet. Why? Was there somewhere special he should visit? Planets were largely the same outside of major geological features. Long rolling plains broken up the occasional mountain, ocean, or metropolis.

The beings of the station told Gu'ulmoo that he needed a medical check before he went to the planet.

Gu'ulmoo agreed. After all, if it was required, it was required.

The doctors saw the horrific damage done to Gu'ulmoo's neural tissue and spine. They conferred with one another, conferred with colleagues in other places. A simple brain scan could trace the angle and path of the neural shots. A simple tissue scan could trace the almost explosive impact of the neural pistol's shot into Gu'ulmoo's spine.

Gu'ulmoo took cognitive tests without complaint when he was told they were important and mandatory, to make sure his visit was pleasant and safe.

Gu'ulmoo liked safe. He had been unsafe once, through no fault of his own as far as he knew, and because of that he had lost his parents, who had refused to see him once he left the hospital, since acknowledging him as their son would have lost them their current breeding license slot.

That had hurt and Gu'ulmoo didn't like that.

Gu'ulmoo talked to doctors who actually asked him a question nobody had ever asked him: How does that make you feel?

Gu'ulmoo thought for a long time and answered truthfully.

It hurt him in his upper chest somehow. There was no medical difficulty, no physiological reason for the pain, but it was there all the same.

Eventually one of the doctors asked Gu'ulmoo if he would like to go down to the planet he stared at every day. That discussion with Gu'ulmoo had made the doctor realize there was a perfect place for Gu'ulmoo on the planet.

Gu'ulmoo thought it over and agreed. He had wanted to see the planet. The people were acceptable, but he had wanted to see the planet more than the people the moment he had laid eyes upon it.

The shuttle ride was comfortable and slow, landing him at a fairly unused starport. Gu'ulmoo walked around, looking at the different types of space craft, wandering through the starport itself.

Eventually he boarded a craft with three of his doctors, all of whom asked him how he felt.

Gu'ulmoo found the world pleasant and interesting.

The craft took him down roads to a house made of wood instead of plasteel and ferrocrete. It was built well for Gu'ulmoo and he found navigating the domicile to be easy. The outside was evenly manicured and appealed to Gu'ulmoo's senses.

Out of curiosity he tasted several plants that smelled good and discovered that they were indeed tasty. He was told he was allowed to eat them if he wished.

Gu'ulmoo still watched the crime and legal dramas, fascinated by the energy these beings put into solving the crimes and the convoluted legal systems that were put in place to balance the rights of society with the rights of the victim and the rights of the accused and even the rights of the convicted. He found it strange that so much energy would be put forward to rehabilitate the guilty. Being mentally aberrant enough to commit a crime meant that the being was ultimately a net loss for the system and should be eliminated quickly and cleanly.

His doctors came to see him often. Some new doctors came to see him, mostly to talk to him.

He was happy that none of them asked him questions about his old life. They asked him about how he felt, if he was happy, what would make him happier, did he like the weather, did the stuffy help him sleep and help relieve his stress, would he like other flavors in his nutrigel, would he like to try other plants? Slowly he began to like these new beings more than he had ever liked the Lanaktallan and looked forward to their visits.

One day some other people arrived. Jet black metal, amber eyes. They were interesting looking and Gu'ulmoo galloped out to see them. He had seen them on shows, so he knew what they were.

Terran Army Full Conversion Cybernetic Organism in Ground Defense Armored Battlefield Chassis. He trotted around each one, his eyes wide, holding his stuffy friend, and identified each type of chassis and unit. He quivered with happiness when each of them complimented him on knowing what the arcane markings meant.

The warborgs walked around his home, never really coming onto the grounds, but where he could see them.

Gu'ulmoo asked why they were there and he was told that he was important and cared for by some and those beings were afraid someone might try to hurt him.

That made him afraid, but he knew that warborgs would protect him because people liked him.

When he saw that his people had attacked his new friends, Gu'ulmoo was worried his new friends would be angry with him.

Instead they soothed him with gentle words that they were not angry with him. He was not to blame. They reminded him that his favorite shows all showed that the crimes of the parents or acquaintances did not mean that the individual had committed crimes.

That made him feel better. He sat with the robotic 'purrboi' that he had nearly a half dozen of and watched animated programs with plenty of laughter and physical comedy, eating a bowl of popcorn while holding his stuffy and petting the purrboi.

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SUBJECT: GU'ULMOO

RACE: LANAKTALLAN

SEX: MALE

AGE: 121 (?)

STATUS: WARD OF THE STATE

Gu'ulmoo is a Lanaktallan of indistinguishable physical age. He bears multiple surgical scars as well as has only the two forward facing of his six eyes functional. Gu'ulmoo arrived at TerraSol as a tourist given passage by a junker.

Station medical personnel immediately noticed that Gu'ulmoo suffers from numerous emotional, physical, and intellectual disabilities. Gu'ulmoo suffers difficulty moving his rear legs, giving him a slightly stilted gait, as well as has partial paralysis of his lower torso arms. He suffers from intestinal defects that were surgically repaired that point at sexual assault at a young age.

Gu'ulmoo is, in some ways, approximate to a Terran Descent Human child. He suffers from periodic selective mutism, prefer to stay silent rather than speak in uncertain social situations. He shows severe aversion to other members of his race.

Gu'ulmoo is, by Terran Confederate Legal Code, unable to give voluntary consent, which has mandated that he have a medical guardian with his best interests at heart.

With the current status of relations between Gu'ulmoo's race and the Terran Confederacy, Gu'ulmoo's status is currently placed in refugee status.

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Dr. Takashi, Harold, sat in his office and looked at his monitors again.

Gu'ulmoo was sitting on the specially designed couch, watching a children's cartoon and eating popcorn.

Behind Dr. Takashi a simply plaque bore a legend.

"WE ARE HOW WE TREAT THE MOST VULNERABLE"

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