Day 30: Cafeteria, Dinner

[captain_hunam]

The cafeteria was all but empty when Zelnick got there. He was a little disappointed; he had gotten the impression that patients usually ate dinner in their rooms, so he hadn't arranged to meet anyone, and there really wasn't anyone to sit by and engage in conversation yet

Comments

therapists, apparently O3

[wantsyourzex]

"What did they look like? I assume they wouldn't have any solid technology... how did they record their history? How do they deal with conflict? How do they reproduce?" ZEX had to rule out exploring that himself, since he wasn't sure how to actually visit the surface of a gas giant and not get killed in the process.

"It's interesting that you describe it as evil," ZEX said. "Human ethics seem to differ from ours. I am not inclined to think the best of most of my countrymen, or the society that decided to banish me when I became too 'problematic' for them, but I'm not sure I would call them evil, necessarily. Foolish, shortsighted, ungrateful, bigoted, but not necessarily evil... simply normal. Typical for my species. But our definition of normal is different than yours, I suppose. I find human's positive attitude towards difference and general open-minded nature to be so refreshing after a lifetime exposed to unwarranted prejudice, merely because I prefer to keep myself open to all possibilities. It's part of why I respect and admire you so much." That and they were incredibly attractive.

ZEX's voice had a bitter tinge beneath the air of deliberately false nonchalance. "I don't think they saw it as murder. Simply necessary. That can be enough. After all, the Insult was enough of a reason for most of my people to vow eternal war against yours without regret."

Bah, they just don't understand the appeal~

[captain_hunam]

"They were amorphous-- sort of resembled zooplankton, in a way, if the zooplankton you know is anything like the stuff I know-- and halfway clear in a glowing white translucent skin. They keep their history through chants, though those aren't perfect." He grinned, briefly. "They mostly avoid conflict by moving away from whoever they're annoyed with. How did Content to Hover put it...? 'All are equal, but that doesn't stop people from being stupid jerks,' I think, or something close. As for reproduction..." Zelnick shrugged. "Though the topic came up accidentally, I dropped it as soon as I figured out why Sullen Plummet was so embarrassed."

Sighing, Zelnick shoved what was left of his mashed potatoes around. The topic at hand was rather destroying his appetite. "Ethics are a difficult subject, because each person's view of them depends on how that person grew up and what they were surrounded with, but that sort of pointless death--" He shook his head, unable to articulate why it was so very wrong. "'Typical' for your species is damned stupid. Even keeping morals out of it, nothing's ever perfect, and situations change-- everything from battle plans to evolution work that way, and if adaption is taken out of the equation, there's a lot of death and failure."

Urgh, that thrice-damned Insult. Zelnick glowered rather fiercely at his food. "Socially condoned murder is still murder, just like socially condoned bigoted idiocy is still bigoted idiocy," he grumbled.

Re: Bah, they just don't understand the appeal~

[wantsyourzex]

"How fascinating." ZEX tried to picture them in his mind, more similar to some of the underwater creatures of Luyten, and with the most beautiful colors. "And chanting, I should have guessed. A verbal history, how amazing..." ZEX's voice still reverent and somewhat dreamy. "I wish I could have seen them, or met with them. They sound exquisite."

ZEX didn't much care for the topic either, although his voice stayed level. "I agree with you of course, my Captain, and not all VUX feel that way. Just the majority of us. It's a shame, really, that there were so few of us at Cerenkov. The smothering pressure to be 'normal' I'm sure keeps some trapped in fear at homeworld, unable to find mental peace without breaking down. It's a pity. In a way I was glad for my banishment, as it provided me a safe place to gather those who were more open-minded." He certainly didn't feel that way when he first heard about the decree and had only come to appreciate the order in hindsight after the anger and hurt subsided, but he decided not to mention that. "I'm sure they find humans just as foolish and distasteful, and I'm sure they wouldn't hesitate to tell you as such, if they saw you. We are both monsters, in their eyes, simply for being different. It's a shame that so many are so mired in their ways, unable to look past what's obvious towards potential. We could be allies, friends, lovers, if only bigotry and hatred didn't make things so simple and violent." ZEX sighed.

"Very true, and I found my countrymen's complete overreaction simply ridiculous. We may be somewhat vain, perhaps, but it was such a poor excuse. Those of us who can see clearly saw the reason we clung to that Insult quickly enough." ZEX had a distinctly unimpressed air to his words. "I certainly never waged battle during the War on behalf of wounded national pride. Battle is not something to be undertaken carelessly, or for such petty reasons. There's an art to it."

[captain_hunam]

"You'd like them," Zelnick said again. "And... while I don't claim to be a great artist, I could try drawing them for you, to give you an idea of what they look like," he offered.

While he agreed with the sentiment, the lovers part at the end made him flinch and blush and notice how very close he was still sitting to ZEX. But still... "I agree with the sentiment," he said, trying his best not to sound like an idiot or like he agreed with everything ZEX said. "It's far better to be allies than enemies, and even better to be friends. I don't see it happening, though, not when the majority of VUX still consider anything outside their narrow world as... monsters."

Zelnick didn't see much art in killing things-- just necessity, and a grim one at that. But he supposed ZEX saw that, like so much, differently. (Though this conversation was beginning to show how much they saw the same... Zelnick supposed it was like he had said, earlier; common ground really was easier to find.) "Pride and belief in your righteousness are all well and good, but they shouldn't be a reason in of themselves," he said, again halfway-agreeing.

[wantsyourzex]

"Ah, I'd love a drawing of them." ZEX smiled. "I really enjoyed the drawings you posted on the bulletin board as well, my Captain. You have far more talent than I do, but I was never creative in... that way."

Ah, the human changed color! ZEX watched him with interest. What did that mean...? Was it an attempt at camouflage? Perhaps a vestigial remnant from early human development? It did make the Captain look very fetching though... something in his human body recognized it, although he wasn't sure what it was. "Yes, definitely! There should be no limits to the rapport that two individuals can develop, regardless of species. It can be as close as one can imagine..." ZEX sighed happily at the thought, then shook himself out of it slightly. "But yes, my countrymen are less than receptive to such talk. Xenophobia can be so hard to overcome... I'd hoped that perhaps I could convince the High Council to at least scale back their inflammatory rhetoric, but I fear it may be a hopeless cause." He had no reason to lie and exaggerate his chances of success now... he wasn't trying to coerce the Captain into giving him something he wanted through emotional manipulation, after all. At least, not at the moment.

"Pride can be quite blinding. Vanity as well. Both are traits we VUX have in abundance. I suppose even I am not entirely exempt, and may rarely succumb to such things..." ZEX thought of some of his jewelry that he'd left behind... a shame he'd never had the chance to show it off for his human. It was really quite beautiful. "Although I do not allow it to dictate my behavior like some do. That's a dangerous path."

[captain_hunam]

The drawings of the ships hadn't been anything to write home about, but he smiled anyway. "I'll have a sketch for you by tomorrow," he promised.

The scrutiny and implication of sex (again!) just made Zelnick go redder. Smiling uneasily, Zelnick managed, "Well, you can't change society if you don't at least try." Argh, ZEX's flirting (or whatever he was doing) was so... uncomfortable, even if the admiral seemed to enjoy it.

Zelnick hadn't thought them dangerous, exactly, though he understood what ZEX meant. "Blindness of any sort is rarely a good trait, no matter what the situation... especially blindness to one's own flaws." Irritation managed to rise past his awkward embarrassment. "Like pride in one's logic making it so it's hard to see the prejudice underneath." Or pride in one's queen making it hard to realize she had ruined your honor, or dependency on an artifact blinding you to the fact you were dependent upon it... "Not that it's a flaw your species holds a monopoly on."

[wantsyourzex]

"Lovely." ZEX was honestly looking forward to it... he liked the idea of the Captain giving him something, even if it was something relatively small.

His color kept changing! ZEX found himself smiling in response and feeling inordinately pleased with himself. For whatever reason, his human body seemed to like the Captain's new color. "I've always ascribed to that philosophy, you know." ZEX was grinning quite widely, his voice smooth and flowing again. "You never quite know what's possible until you try. It opens up many doors, if you're willing to take that risk. It's a shame that more don't... rise to the challenge. My people are all the poorer for it, I believe."

ZEX continued to smile. "If there's anything I've learned in my life, it's that there is no species that's perfect. We're all flawed in our own ways... the magnitude may differ, but it's there. We're all alike in that way... capable of mistakes and misunderstandings, of terrible and great things... we are all people, each race and species. The greatest tragedy is when we allow such problems to prevent a meaningful relationship... misunderstandings that lead to war, or worse. Artificial barriers that keep us all apart."

[captain_hunam]

There wasn't a "or whatever he was doing" about this; ZEX was flirting, Zelnick was sure of it, and grinning like he'd won at life, and oh man awkward. If his face got any hotter, his eyebrows would singe off....

Under the not-very-subtle guise of getting more comfortable, Zelnick slid his chair a few inches away from ZEX and started abusing his food again-- not eating it, just shoving it around his plate nervously. Wasn't this sort of thing supposed to be less awkward, the older you got? Granted, it wasn't every day that a guy got hit on by a xenophilic VUX stuck in a human body, but still...!

He managed to pull his wits together long enough to nod a wooden agreement to whatever ZEX had said. "It's only when you stop thinking of other species as 'people' that you run into problems," he said, a bit faintly-- his thoughts were scattered wildly by the flirting, something that was so much easier to ignore when it was over a viewscreen.

[wantsyourzex]

The human was getting fidgety, and was still that lovely red shade. He did so like that color, and the Captain wore it so well. ZEX wished his human had head tentacles so he could know how he felt... human expressions were so complicated and difficult to understand... all natural movement seem transplanted to their face, which went against most everything that ZEX knew about interpreting body language. ZEX was still rather pleased by the Captain's behavior, somewhere that made him feel warm and satisfied.

The human moved away from him again, a pity, and ZEX tried to think of why, since they were getting along so well... perhaps his Captain was shy? How utterly charming! He found the idea only heightened the thrill of the chase, and he found laughter bubbling up without thought. "Hee! Hee! Hee! My Captain, you seem to have changed color... is something wrong?"

He was still giggling somewhat as he watched the Captain prode his food around his plate. Reminded of the fact he was still holding his fork in one hand, he picked up a small piece of meat and put it in his mouth, leaving the fork in place. He smiled around the tines, watching the Captain for a few seconds. He eventually rested his hand back on the table, his voice smooth as silk and somewhat soft. "I think it's really something that we should put a stop to... focusing on the differences between our species, waging war against one another for such petty reasons. There's so much we can learn from each other, if we only see through it all to see the person beneath. We need only make the effort, have the desire to learn, and worlds of possibilities open up before you, with everything to gain." Being purposefully and teasingly vague. ZEX tilted his head a little, as close an approximization to the gesture he would have used in his natural body as he could get, and he smiled almost serenely. "Don't you agree?"

WELL I'M CONVINCED. <3 ZEX, you charmer~

[captain_hunam]

Oh, and how was he supposed to answer that? "Why yes, there is something wrong, you're making me incredibly uncomfortable and I want you to go away so I can try not to spontaneously combust?" Actually, that wasn't a bad idea, but when he opened his mouth to say it, all that came out was "No, nothing's wrong," in a far too mild tone.

While ZEX was giggling to himself, the knot of nerves in the pit of Zelnick's stomach just keep winding itself tighter, and the way he was speaking... it was obvious that he wasn't talking about politics. Where, Zelnick wondered, does the line between flirting and seduction lie? The instant the thought registered on the rest of his mind, he felt that spontaneous combustion starting, and sunk even more deeply into his chair, edging away again.

succumb to me, human~ O3

[wantsyourzex]

This was more fun than he ever thought it would be! And a good deal more exciting as well... his human body was beginning to react in a way that he could now identify. Something like adrenaline was helping along his sense of elation, he was sure, and perhaps causing his hands to shake just slightly.

"Really?" ZEX said slowly, and he brushed some of his hair out of his open eye. "I didn't know humans could just change color whenever they pleased..." His voice lowered a little, smooth and deliberate. "I'm sure there are all sorts of things that you can do that I don't know about just yet. You did say that humans were... multi-talented."

ZEX paused, eating another piece of food slowly before continuing. "And I'm always eager to learn new skills. I would be a most... attentive student, if you should so decide to teach me." You can teach me all night long, luscious human.

whatever you want~ |D

[captain_hunam]

"Stop it," he finally managed, voice shaking a little.

... he probably should have asked ZEX to stop a while ago. Sometime before his face started to burn, like when ZEX first mentioned interspecies lovers (which Zelnick couldn't protest too loudly, there had been Talana, but the Syreen were so close to humans anyway), or the first time ZEX had called him "love" or "my".

"... I don't think I'm interested in teaching what you want to learn," Zelnick choked out after a pause, feeling like a supernova had gone off under his skin; he didn't trust his voice further than that, right now.

live to perv another day O3

[wantsyourzex]

Hmmm... perhaps he'd gone too far. The human seemed upset now. It had been a somewhat stressful day for them both, he supposed, and perhaps it was a bit premature to bring all of his natural charisma to the fore. It must have been overwhelming for him.

As ZEX had said before, pride and vanity were two traits that VUX were known to possess, and despite what he may have thought, he was no exception. The fact that he was sure his irresistable magnetism had been the cause of the human's discomfort and nothing else was proof enough of that.

ZEX was sure he'd made progress, and he knew when to retreat. He would have to continue his attempt later, when the Captain was more receptive. A few limpets at a time. His smile didn't falter, and his voice was still as smooth and pleasant as before. "Of course, I suppose it's a bit much all at once, isn't it? Diplomatic relations can be so complicated. We can talk about something else, if you like."

He still felt deeply pleased with himself, and it showed.

yes, some other time~ :3

[captain_hunam]

When ZEX backed off, Zelnick couldn't help sighing in relief... even if the Admiral looked entirely too pleased with himself. But the flustered embarrassed wad of nerves were already beginning to unwind, even if his skin still felt too hot.

"I did want to talk to you about something," Zelnick said, voice still not-quite-normal, but stronger than it had been. "Later on, I'll be working with a couple of other people-- I think the plan was to try to make gunpowder, or at least put some use to the supplies Yuber and I found last night. But I don't know how much you know about chemistry, or if any of it would even apply here...?" He left it as a vague question.

[wantsyourzex]

Still such a lovely shade. The human's reactions were delightfully unpredictable, not to mention encouraging. It was difficult for him not to simply grab and take advantage of him right there, as he'd seen in some of the videos the Melnorme had sold him, but he tried to show restraint in the face of temptation.

The Captain's question did slightly dampen ZEX's mood, though. "I'm afraid such things are before my time. Combustive weapons of that kind are not used much in interstellar warfare. Although I can operate all manner of weapons, building one is a different matter." Particularly a VUX weapon, which ZEX knew was out of the question, and he wasn't taking his clumsy human body into account. "Although, what supplies did you find, exactly?"

[captain_hunam]

Chemicals and explosives was a safe topic of conversation, it seemed. "Oh, all kinds of things. A lot of formaldehyde, ethanol, sucrose and glycerin, hydrochloric acid, salt... and potassium nitrate, of course." Saltpeter was probably the best thing he got during his, ah, resource acquisition. "Some vials and funnels, a mortar and pestle..." He waved his hand vaguely. "It should all be in Yuber's room."