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That Time I Became A Dictator Of A Small Asian Communist Nation

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Jave we gotten to the
HeroCooky said:
-[X] [Are Homo Lupus Human?]
--[X] That is the wrong question. The better question is: why does it matter?
(Why should they be human? What right does this assembly have to decide what is and is not worthy of dignity and respect, like some Victorian aristocrat-scholar measuring skulls? Because that's what this definition is really about: drawing lines in the sand and saying that you're not a person if you don't fit our expectations.
What if we create sapient computer programs? Or little green men from space come by to say hi? Or if humpback whales turn out to be sapient? Are we gonna have a little skull measuring party every time a new form of sapient life comes around?)
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1982 - H1 - Congress of Humanity - Between Worlds
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    • -[X] [Questions - Wolfsmenschen]
    --[X] What was their life growing up?
    --[X] What do they think about the world they've entered into? What about the world have they been exposed to?
    --[X] What do they (or at least the representatives present) want from this? What justice, what reparations? How can we help you right now?

    -[X] [Are Homo Lupus Human?]
    --[X] That is the wrong question. The better question is: why does it matter?
    (Why should they be human? What right does this assembly have to decide what is and is not worthy of dignity and respect, like some Victorian aristocrat-scholar measuring skulls? Because that's what this definition is really about: drawing lines in the sand and saying that you're not a person if you don't fit our expectations.
    What if we create sapient computer programs? Or little green men from space come by to say hi? Or if humpback whales turn out to be sapient? Are we gonna have a little skull measuring party every time a new form of sapient life comes around?)

    -[X] [Ban/Condemn Sapient Gene Creation]
    --[X] No, genetic engineering is a tool that can be used for tremendous good - this attempt to ban the technology is nothing but another attempt to enclose and restrict the means of production to maintain the status quo as it serves those already in power.
    The first thing I can remember is feeling the cold floor underneath me as I sat, carefully picking up a grey block from beside me. It had nothing special about it, nothing that would mark it as anything grand or exciting, yet I, somehow, knew that it simply was. And I needed to put it into the correct place. So I picked it up, looked to the front of me, and placed the cube on top of the right hole, seeing it fall in without anything happening beyond the sound of metal falling onto metal.

    I can still feel the tension in my muscles when I wake up from dreaming about that day again some nights when nothing happened as I dropped the cube...and reached for the cylinder next. Like the cube, it was grey, yet it had a spiral of white running over it, twisting and going around and around, never stopping. I felt the urge to look at it, to rotate the cylinder, but suppressed it due to...some vague feeling. Something would happen if I didn't. And so, I looked at the box, stretched out my hand, and...dropped the cylinder into the correct hole. Metal struck metal when it stopped falling.

    The pyramid was next. To my delight, it was blue, not grey, and I can still vividly remember the colors, the slight imperfections of darker and lighter blue all across it, the places where the paint didn't take as much hold, or something happened. I still wonder if it was intentional or accidental because all other objects were grey. But at that moment, the coloration didn't matter. What mattered was that I knew that it needed to go into the correct hole and that good things would happen if I did so. My arm stretched out as I felt my ears twitch in giddy anticipation of what could come next. I let go of the pyramid. It fell. Metal struck metal.

    Above the door before me, a buzz sounded as its lamp turned green, and the door opened, letting one of the coat men into the room. The smell of meat filled my nose, and I stared wide-eyed at the towering man, noticing his smile and relaxed posture. I had done good. Otherwise, he wouldn't smile. 'But why does he have a piece of meat in his hand?' I thought at that time, standing up when I was given the indication to do so. Then I paused as he showed me the piece of fried bacon, still warm, in his hand. I felt my mouth water at the smell and the taste I had rarely tasted, and my hand reached out before I could stop it.

    Metal.
    Struck.
    Flesh.

    I still have the scar from that time. It is only noticeable if you know what you are looking for; people only notice if I show them the place. I do not know what to make of their faces when they react after I tell them how I got it; after all, I deserved it. I acted without permission.

    "Our upbringing was one of rules, observation, and training," Tanya said, bringing me out of my thoughts after I had answered my question, wondering who had asked her or what they had asked her. Our childhood? "We were tasked with taking care of ourselves, cleaning, solving tests, learning, running, climbing, donating samples, and performing to the expectations of the scientists," she continues in her even voice, uncowed and unbent before the intimidating mass of people here. This is why I admired her. No matter what happened, what the situation or demand of us was, she remained collected, calm, and attentive. She never lost her thoughts, nor did she waver. "The older we got, the more demands were levied upon us. Longer runs, faster times, more weight, better reaction speeds. We were tasked with taking over more functions in the installation and given more freedoms to develop self-reliance," she said, looking at a woman that seemed to be halfway between anger and sorrow. People had that weird emotion when we told them how we were treated. I never got why. "And when it became apparent that we were sterile after tests and examinations, we were tasked with caring for the next crafted generation as one. We were given the tools and food needed to live and work, alongside clothing and medicine when we were sick. There was nothing to complain about," she finished and nodded at me.

    I wondered why she didn't mention that she was the one who did the most work, the one who cared for us all and gave over medicine or food she had "saved for later" to those hungry or sick. She never talked about it, but wouldn't doing so now be good for her? These people liked shows of generosity. Then again, she may not have been asked to explain her childhood, but all of ours. She wouldn't talk about that then; she has always been a stickler for rules. "Thank you, Tanya," the woman who still looked torn between two emotions said, taking a breath before looking at me. "This question is also from the people of Guangchou," she began, causing a memory to surface. Guangchou...Guangchou...that was that backward deviant kingdom, right? "We would like to know what you think about the world you've entered? What about the world have you been exposed to? What have you liked, what not?"

    I hummed at that. That...wasn't really a thing I had ever thought about. When we were...freed, I had felt fear, being out underneath the 'sky,' this impossibly large not-ceiling that stretched into eternity, feeling the rain upon my fur and body, the mud on my feet, the new smells and the fear I felt when that soldier held me at gunpoint. I had been afraid then and had been fearful for the children after that when all these people showed up to poke at them, to look at them, the hundreds of people trying to catch a glimpse of us beyond the fences the soldiers had put up for our safety as the hundreds became thousands and we were moved. Maybe I should start there? "I was afraid," I began, trying to ignore the murmuring in the room and the click and whirr of cameras from the back. "It was...new, everything was. We had been told about the world, had been shown pictures, but the sheer size was...frightening. Back underground, we had been able to walk from one end to the other within an hour, but up here? I am told that there are cities that you can walk through and not reach the end after a day and walk for weeks more before leaving the country you started in altogether or that it can take months to pass through a continent. How large everything was...it was scary. Not only the length but height. It took days for some children to walk out of tents or buildings, afraid of falling into the sky," someone laughed. I ignored them, pressing on. "We have also been taught some history, but with every passing day, we are told or learn about another thing that further shows that we know nothing in truth. For example, I did know that humanity started with stones as their tools, yet I had never known the numerous tribes that existed or the hundreds of places where monuments to the gods were created with little more than them. We were told about the pyramids, but not about the temples to Ra, the Parthenon, the shrines of Japan, and the African peoples' dances and festivals. Everything we learn only shows how little we know and what we have missed, and it is intimidating yet somehow fascinating in the same breath."

    I paused, trying to order my thoughts. Then, taking a breath, I pushed on. "We have also learned about your wars," I said, a whisper falling over the hall like a silent blanket, eyes staring at me with intensity and curiousness. "In the facility, we had been told about the time it was built, but it seemed...not real. There were less than two hundred people there, us not included, and a conflict that would see millions dead? None of us believed it. Even when we were shown images and videos of the various wars you had and have, it still seemed fake to most of us, like a lie told in the dead of night between two people unable to sleep yet, and eager to make up stories for their amusement. But to some," I said, looking away, "it was the most horrifying thing they had ever seen. If you were willing to do those things to each other...what were you willing to do to us?" I took another breath and looked back at the silent hall. "You asked what we think about this world? It is big. It is scary. We do not know what we don't know, and what we know only tells us how little we do. Many things about how you do things do not make sense to us in the first generation, while things we took for granted have baffled you. We have been exposed to many things that were only barely understood before we came to the surface, like religion. Many of us have taken comfort in it," a murmur swept through the ranks of humans at that, some more friendly than others. The woman that had asked me looked slightly angry. "The idea of Creators that have shaped everything is not alien to us, and it is comforting that you have the want for such stability. We know who created us; I cannot imagine what it is like to not do so. Or to be faced with the uncertainty of your purpose. Does this answer your question?"

    The woman shuffled her papers, taking several seconds to organize her things, before she looked at me again. "Yes, it does. But if you would humor me, we have one more question." Looking at Tanya and the Chancellor, I see the latter nod and the former nod minutely, making me look back. "What do you want from this?" She began, sweeping an arm out to the Conference. "What justice, what reparations? Tell us, how can we help you right now?"

    I...blinked at that. I had never thought about this, nor did I ever question that we could have that option. What did we want out of this? Yet, before I could open my mouth, Tanya answered for me. "Purpose," she said into the hall, shifting the attention of everyone present to her. "We were made to prove a point, to show something, and we cannot ignore that part of our existence. We know for what we have been created, and our creation is the point, nothing more. The idea of nothing coming after we have proven to be viable is taboo among my siblings, and so is the idea that there is no purpose to be had for us. You ask how you can help us right now?" She asked, looking at the woman with a look I had never seen on her, "then give us time to find a purpose and become useful. Give us the tools we need to build ourselves a future so that we can become people in our own right and not dependents living off of the goodwill of others. We adults do not know what our lives will be, beyond caregivers to the next generation, but we know that they will be able to create a better future as long as we can give them the means to do so. Some are entranced by the soldiers that protect us, imitating them," she spoke, confidently and unbowed, the center of attention, "while others eagerly learn all they are given. One wishes to learn how to become a doctor so that she can heal any sick or injured, while another wishes to become a librarian after learning what they were, spending his time surrounded by books and stories. You want to know how you can help us? Give us the time needed to adjust. You want to know what we ask? A chance to live freely, without fear. That is all," she said, ending with murmured silence in the air and a complicated expression on the face of the woman.

    Then, the questions continued, some more difficult, others easier, though the questions about love or sexuality were awkward to answer before so many people.
    The silence hangs thick enough that, if you just reached out your arm, one could effortlessly grab fistfuls out of the air. And yet, as heavy as it was, it was also fragile and brittle, like glass taking on a bullet, shattered by a single point, like a woman standing defiant, speaking once more to the world, ignoring the leering gazes of politicians and diplomats eager to exploit the words she had just said.

    "You hear me," Onishi Uma said, her face set in stone and path set. "The people of Guangchou do not believe the Homo Lupus to be Human," she spoke again, emphasizing the last part of the scientific name. "It is evident to one and all that they are not Sapiens. And before my colleagues and friends in diplomacy and news try to spin this as us denying them their rights and freedoms; we do not." The American delegation didn't seem all that much heartbroken over her words, some eagerly writing things out as she spoke. Vultures. "Rather, our vote in the negative is a protest against the presumption of this assembly to give itself the right to decide what is and is not worthy of dignity and respect, like some Victorian aristocrat-scholar measuring skulls? Because that's what this definition is really about: drawing lines in the sand and saying that you're not a person if you don't fit our expectations. You'll be treated as nothing if you don't meet the silent criteria to be counted as one of us. History is full of times when one group declared another to be "Nonhuman" and committed atrocity after atrocity upon them, from genocide to slavery, again and again. It should not matter if they are human," Onishi spoke with anger in her voice and fury in her eyes. "They are sapient beings and deserve all the respect and rights we have thus far reserved only for ourselves. And what should happen if we create sapient computer programs? Or little green men from space come by? Or humpback whales turn out to be sapient? Are we gonna have a little skull-measuring party every time a new form of sapient life comes around?" Some laughter came from the hall, but she ignored it all. "To be human is not a pre-requisite to be treated with respect, and I am ashamed that this question is one that has ever needed to be answered seriously, and not by students of philosophy arguing for the sake of arguing. They are Sapient, and that is all that is needed for Guangchou to hold open its ports and arms for them should you ever decide to tighten your decision of what a human is, once more eager to cast out those that don't fit neat little boxes or cannot be exploited anymore." The hall was now a mess of voices, people talking over each other to talk with one another, though Onishi bulled onward. "And in the same vein, Guangchou will not be a signatory nation for any attempt to ban genetic research. This attempt to deny the technology to the world is nothing but another attempt to enclose and restrict the means of production to maintain the status quo as it serves those already in power!"

    After that, the hall descended into open arguing, nothing worth being decided or produced for the entire day.

    The next day was the same. What had been hoped would be a show of unity by humanity had instead become another front to be fought on, yet more disunity and conflict growing from seeds sown onto fertile soil.

    Only 71 Countries would unite to ban and condemn any research and attempts to create new sapient species.



    AN: I am moving the coming weeks, so things will get hectic for me. But have the last part of this event!
     
  • Threadmarks
    • We continue to stir the global pot, huh? Good and bad things are going to come out of this but I think on the whole it will be more good than bad. Probably. Interesting to see this from the Lupus perspective too. I don't expect anything like a detailed write-up, but it would be good to get an overview of were the major countries fell on the opinion on Lupus.

    Also, good look with the move! I hope it goes as painless as possible!
     
    I always love throwing flashbangs, this most definitely is one.

    I think we did pretty well. Also that our speech at the end can hopefully inspire more people to less connect humanity and sapience as impossible without the other.
     
    Eh. The real juicy bits of the research is in the ancillary tech. The exo wombs, the genetic engineering that we can use to make fancy yeasts that produce pharmaceutical precursors, stuff like that.
     
    That these 71 countries banned genetic engineering is meaningless, the knowledge of possibilities is free. The ideas awakened by that knowledge
    will not be silenced by the ban, as there are gonna be a lot of projects , not a lot of people able to recognize them for what they are, to say nothig of government projects that will definietly sprout all over the world. This is cold war era after all, it is a lot easier to justify thigs by framing them propertly.
     
    PeaterDuck12 said:
    The only thing I think should be banned is the purposeful creation of new sapient species, but genetic research is to useful to ban completely.
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    The "And" is doing way to much lifting here to be let down by lacking reading comprehension here. 😔

    They didn't ban ban genetic research, they banned research that is seeking to create a new sapient species.
     
    Guangchou: Does not vote to ban the creation of sapient species.
    Guangchou: Creates a research city for medicine and biosciences to combine the expertise of the third world.
    Guangchou: Ignores catgirls in favor of making fancy yeast.
     
    Night_stalker said:
    Well, I'm totally certain the US won't try to use this in propaganda against us.
    Click to expand...
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    Guangchou: "I think that-"
    USA: "Stop forcing your vile ideology down our throats!"
    G: *Opens Mouth*
    USA: "Oh. My. God! Will you shut up?!"
    G: *Closes mouth*
    USA: "This is just you being an attention seeki-"
    *BANG*
    G: *Lowers smoking mecha-gun*
    USA: "Called...it" *spits blood, dies*
     
    Regardless of what the world thinks, we made our position clear and did not give a half response. That is very important.

    Plus banning the creation of new species is going to make it easy for governments to arrest scientists by claiming they are going in that direction, or it will get into semantic battles over life saving medicine.
     
    @HeroCooky You know this whole Lupi incident could make for a good LANCER module.

    I mean you might have change a few details around to fit in setting, like them being a lost colony and/or a seccom blacksite for a project to make a race of super soldiers and SSC will definitely be involved if the whole Constellr worlds is any indication.

    Hell why not limit ourselves to Lancer why not Battlegroup since last thing the ship crew expected to be captain is a 9 ft tall wolfperson.
     
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