“That makes you sound like robots.”
We weren’t. We had free will but most choose to conform. Failure to conform can lead to release.
“Release as in death?”
Yes. I chose to not link with my other as the ship crashed. That warranted a severe punishment.
“They’d have killed you?”
They needed me too much to do that. In eating my wings, Lanu thought to subdue me. He didn’t. Then they lost the ability to use their wings when they bonded with the culture medium and the archaea. But without that, we would have died. I like that you can make mistakes in this world and learn from them. You can grow.
“What’s your planet called?”
Joe said something in his head.
“Dino…cot…tiktik?”
Nearly. I don’t think there’s a word in English that fits.
“There are lots of languages on Earth.”
We speak the same language all over our planet.
“That might happen here eventually. But not in my lifetime. Well, not for several lifetimes assuming the planet survives that long.”
It might not survive?
“Not if we don’t take care of it.”
Earth isn’t only beautiful. It’s fascinating.
“My home,” Kaden said. “Now yours too. Home means the same wherever you’re from, doesn’t it? A place where you belong. Where you have family, friends, partners, pets. Or evenif you don’t, it’s where you feel safe and comfortable. Was your planet like that for you?”
Not a home like yours. I had to give up the place where I lived to go on this mission. I would have been given another on my return. A slightly bigger space as a reward for my service. And no pets. A strange concept. But I like Elsie. She was soft and made happy noises. I liked her waggy tail.
Kaden smiled. “Did you live on your own?”
Yes.
“We decided on Joe for your name, but what’s your real one?”
Just a number for the type of role I had.
Kaden gasped. “That’s terrible.”
I like being Joe. I like having a name.
“Do you marry? Find mates? Have children?”
You have to be chosen to be one of a pair who’ll reproduce. Not everyone is offered the opportunity. Rare for a protector to get the chance. Usually, only hunters reproduce. If you are chosen, you must accept the role you’re given and who you must be with. Once selected for breeding, both partners secrete chemicals of attraction that cause them to physically mate. The stronger one bears the offspring.
“That doesn’t sound very romantic.”
I don’t understand that word.
“It means to say and do things that make your partner feel special and loved.”
Such as?
