Mandate Of Heaven - An "Of Unity" Narrative

[CBR JGWRR]

"Prologue: What Is Love?"
15th Vorosh, 11 U.R.
Buri Of Unity
Thando's Secret Lair, Brigantia​

She throws herself on the floor. "Urgh."

I rub her shoulders. "That bad?"

She looks at me. "Sending Olinbari was a bad idea. They've gotten distracted."

"But... They haven't even got there yet."

She nods. "Yeah. They are a week out from the homeworld..."

I stand. "When do we leave?"

"After I deal with Sophia."

I run my claws down her back. "Deal with Sophia?"

She leans back into my touch. "Sophia is working with The Holocron on ideas to make Olinbari men better. And judging from Juno's report of Lartius new behaviour, and Sophia's rather misandric views..."

"She's made them 'better'." I slide into her memories. "Making her feel like she's in a parallel universe is too far."

She laughs. "Absolutely. I mean, Lartius of all people asking for her consent? No wonder she feels like she is in a parallel universe, I didn't think he could spell the word, let alone desire it..."

I dry her tears as I run through her memories. "I'm sorry Naomi."

She sighs, then leans into me. "Me too... Who wants to hear about the tens of thousands of people who've slept with his wife before him..."

"Someone who cares."

She sniffs. "I'm sorry."

I nuzzle her. "Besides, in the only way that matters, I was your first."

She laughs. Then sighs. "You are so sweet. But yeah, I have to deal with this..."

I take her hand. "May I act as devil's advocate?"

She rolls over. "Go on?"

"Remember our first time?"

Her eyes close. "How could I forget?" She shivers with delight.

"You know I asked Gillian for advice. Maybe... This thing with Sophia modifying them might be the same?"

"Buri... With all respect, it's different for us."

I shrug. "How?"

"You are loving and caring husband who wanted to wow his still fairly newly-wedded wife. The only Olinbari men remotely like that I know is my Dad and Scipio."

"And Scipio knows his wife could literally rip him apart if she felt like it."

She smiles. She frowns. "And I think Scipio is one of those guys who finds a dominant wife arousing anyway. But no, the average Olinbari man would riot if they knew about it, and Humans, male or female, would feel so much squick about this whole thing..." She sighs. "It goes completely against Olinbari and Human concepts of compatibility to rework people and make them love each other."

I think about them. "Ok, I accept that. But the Olinbari know the present circumstances are not sustainable. Something has to change."

"I know. It's why this program was started... But not for this." She shakes her head. "This... Has to be stopped."

I take her hand. "Ready to confront Sophia and The Holocron?"

She nods.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

Charming...

As said - not house-trained.

Well, that's... gross? Icky? Very slippery situation? Can't exactly name what I think of it other than unease.

Also, this is why illusionists are so dangerous. From the moment you enter an illusion, you can never be completely sure of anything.

Yeah, it is.

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

It goes completely against Olinbari and Human concepts of compatibility to rework people and make them love each other."

I'd say there's some (thankfully a small minority of) Humans who would like the ability to rework people and make them love each other.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

I'd say there's some (thankfully a small minority of) Humans who would like the ability to rework people and make them love each other.

Unfortunately.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Prologue: You Give Love A Bad Name"
15th Vorosh, 11 U.R.
Naomi Of Unity
Thando's Secret Lair, Brigantia​

Sophia finally picks up the VR link. "Evening, Scarlet One."

"Sophia, why have I just had a conversation with Juno Laronius telling me Lartius Gargonius worshipped her?"

She does her very best to hide a smirk. "I... Fixed him. You know what he was like before."

I scowl. "Of course I do."

"And Juno will never experience that from him now. He'll treat her right."

"Sophia... You cannot just modify people like that."

She sighs. "You did. You took a wild Xenaya and made him worship you. Literally."

"Don't you dare bring up my husband! He voluntarily asked Gillian for guidance, and I actually stopped him worshipping me as his goddess."

She rolls her eyes. "Naomi, Woman is a goddess, and we should be treated as such. The Olinbari man must be made to understand that."

"That is insane."

"It is a desperate yet necessary step to correct centuries of unbalanced relations within the Olinbari. Sacrifices must be made to ensure my species does not cause our own extinction because the males of the species underperformed that badly."

I look at her. "Six... What the heck happened?"

"Lets break it down. Olinbari men are useless in bed."

I fold my arms. "Agreed."

"That useless many of us Olinbari women turn to other women."

"Yes."

"So, if we fix Olinbari men to not be useless, we stop the cycle of men being so bad us women find each other."

"Yes. But that doesn't mean what has happened to Juno and Lartius."

"Would you prefer that we modify Olinbari women to reproduce parthenogenically?"

I sigh. "I'd prefer we helped the men to work through the issues that contribute to their level of misunderstanding and therefore their wrong behaviour."

She sighs. "Yeah. Me too. But we tried. Didn't work - they weren't interested in being better. A few oddballs like your son-in-law were, but on the whole, they'd happily stick their heads in the sand. So, I and the Holocron decided desperate times called for desperate measures."

I shake my head. "Six..." I sigh. "This is... Just wrong."

She rolls her eyes. "Naomi, how many Olinbari men used your sacred feminine spaces as a toilet?"

I scowl. "Tens of thousands, at least. But that's beside the point."

"It is the point! Radical solutions are needed." She stares at me. "Within a generation, Olinbari society will be put right by this method."

I sigh. "No, they won't."

She scowls. "Trailblazers like Juno and Lartius will act as bar-raisers by setting standards other Olinbari men must reach in order to gain a partner."

"Maybe. But that is not assured, and in any event, modifying them to become a couple against their will is evil."

She shrugs. "It is the price of restoring the right relationship between man and woman."

I think about Juno and Lartius. "They are going to puch your guts so hard that you cough up your lungs." I shake my head. "Six... This whole thing gives me the ick in every part of me. Please... It's one thing to tweak couples who want to change together. But putting Juno and Lartius together by predestining them to fall in love after you modify them, and changing him so much she feels like she's in a parallel universe when he talks, is just not acceptable."

She frowns. "Naomi, this is about saving my species."

I just... I stare. "Sophia..."

She stands. "It is necessary."

I shake my head. "Sophia, this is... This is wrong."

She scowls. "Naomi, I've been a Scarlet for a while now, and I've got the unique perspective of an Olinbari woman who has been a Companionship Asset against her will. Radical action is necessary, I'm convinced of that."

I frown. "Don't make me revoke your authorisation. Using other people as unconsenting and unknowing test subjects for a complete change like this is just... It violates every ethical standard."

She sits. "What would you need to approve it?"

I shake my head. "Sophia, Buri and I were the first people from Life2.0 to use the Engenerators. We staked everything on the future we believed in... And you aren't willing to lead by example yourself. That doesn't encourage me that you really believe in saving your species... I think it's about enjoying power over men who abused you, and I am asking as your friend to reconsider. But also, if anyone does go for it, they need to be fully informed and fully understanding of what will be done. No couple gets put together because you decided that some women have to take one for the team and think you are Cupid."

She shudders. "I... Naomi, I am not some man going around making..." She sighs. "I'm sorry, you're right. I guess I'm close enough to argue the point..."

I nod. "How would you feel if someone made you fall in love against your will? Put yourself in Juno's position."

A tear falls. "Damn."

"Yeah. Just... Fix it. Properly!"

She nods, and closes the link.

Buri wraps his arms around me. "One down."

I sigh. "One to go."

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

Sophia needs to realise that there are much better ways to save her species, such as teaching - teaching, not programming - the men to be better in bed, modifying the women to be able to reproduce parthenogenetically (although that has its own problems with viability of the species), or only having sex with men for means of reproduction... (Just as some examples)

 

[CBR JGWRR]

"Prologue: Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
15th Vorosh, 11 U.R.
Naomi Of Unity
Primary Backup Link, Emergency Restore Cube
​

I imagine a chair for me to sit on. "So, about the Olinbari project."

The Holocron shrugs, and envisions his own chair. "What about it?"

"Why did you modify, or allow Sophia to modify, Lartius and Juno?"

Clouds of data surround us. "Initial testing regimes evaluated the potential of education to deal with the performance deficit. Such methods were subject to substantial resistance from the target population. Radical solutions were deemed necessary." A very familiar cognition map appears. "The most wife-adoring pattern was selected as the template."

I scowl. "You used my husband?"

"Buri stands as the single highest outlier in overall compiled key metrics."

"My husband..." I count to ten. Slowly. "My husband... Damn you."

He shrugs. "Was there a better template to use?"

I count back to one. "I am furious... This is getting even worse. Buri... My Buri... My Buri who... Means everything to me."

He nods. "Buri's accomplishments - most notably, asking Gillian for guidance so that he could surprise you, his careful analysis of your genitalia and calibration of optimal stimulation for your pleasure, his willingness to have a cast of his manhood made for you to enjoy outside of the mating season, and a second one when you wore it out and it didn't feel like the real thing anymore, willingness to use those casts in a strapon for your pleasure, his request to try the inverse position with you wearing it to penetrate him to help him understand your experiences and preferences, his self-modification for your benefit and enjoyment, his years of loving marital relations that were conducted at the cost of his time, energy and complete lack of physiological incentive with his only reward being your pleasure - makes him the perfect candidate pattern."

I sigh. "I concede there isn't a better choice, but..." I shake my head. "This is... It is really personal and intimate stuff we are dealing with here." I frown. "Buri learned all of that with me, we were partners... This..." I sigh. Shake my head. "It gives me the ick."

He nods. "That is understandable. However, I am dealing with the fate of a species that has socially broken down the relationship between man and woman to the extent that population growth has collapsed into far below replacement rates, with the average below one child per formal or informal connubial relationship." He folds his arms. "And Buri volunteered."

I glare at him. Then check through my husband's memories.

Oh.

Oh.

I sigh. "He would do that..."

"He evaluated the situation, and thought he could help. Then agreed to try to smooth things over with you."

"And I insisted on escalating..."

"Quite."

I scowl. Shake my head. "I love him... Nuts."

"Would you like to recommend tweaks?"

I sigh. "This whole thing is just..." Slump in the chair. "Yeah."

"I agree the status quo and transitional stages are subjectively disturbing. But I assess that the end outcome is better."

I look at him. "Do you intend to listen to anything I say?"

"Always."

I think of Lartius. Of Juno. "Could we at least limit it to consenting Olinbari couples? Putting them together without their consent is the most worst bit..."

He brings up projections. "An approach based on voluntary trailblazers will have a much longer restoration time."

I nod. "I know. But, it isn't anywhere near as... I'm struggling to find the words here..." Then I smile. "But, if the demographics are what you say, then they'd inevitably succeed over the long term anyway."

He lets a thin smile form. "True. I will inform Sophia of the changes."

I stand. "Thank you." I sigh. "Now I have to go chase up Juno and Lartius."

 

[StrategyGameEnthusiast]

"Initial testing regimes evaluated the potential of education to deal with the performance deficit. Such methods were subject to substantial resistance from the target population. Radical solutions were deemed necessary."

I think I know what the problem is - most Olinbari men don't like being told they're inadequate so obviously they won't listen to education because in their minds, they aren't inadequate, the women just have too high standards.

 

[CBR JGWRR]

I think I know what the problem is - most Olinbari men don't like being told they're inadequate so obviously they won't listen to education because in their minds, they aren't inadequate, the women just have too high standards.

A century and a half of terrified Companionship Assets complimenting them no matter how terrible they are will do that.