Konterbeid security personnel are gathered outside the big garage door of the industrial facility that houses the Emergent offspring. Older civilians are clustered around the common area, looking grave and concerned as they talk amongst themselves.
Everto arrived via shuttle, the blatantly discolored Hekayti peering around like the tourist he truly is as he slips into the common area for shelter from the weather. “Fuckin’ /cold/,” he breathes to himself, pulling his coat around him more tightly as he regards the elder Heks all around. He slips towards a nearby group, but puts off greeting them just yet, simply listening as he adjusts his equipment a little.
“- kill them, might be no other choice,” one of the Hekayti in the group says. “They’re ruined.” His gaze shifts toward the red-skinned newcomer. He quiets after a grunt. Another in the group peers suspiciously at Everto and observes, “You’re not from Ashkodt.”
“Of course not, no,” Everto replies, “You’d have remembered me if I was, not many of us turn out red.” He offers a pleasant smile to the group. “Please forgive me for intruding, but news is a little unreliable when one is out searching the edges of Medlidikke space for signs of trouble,” he remarks, “I heard that something went wrong with the Emergence here?”
“You heard correctly,” the Hekayti replies to Everto. “Had nothing to do with the Medlidikke, though. Offworlder. A Gankri. Apparently, very good at hacking computer systems. He infiltrated the generation management consoles and altered the management protocols in the Emergents.” He frowns. “Turned them into rebels. Generation after generation, we have created those to come after us, to take our place and to ensure that stability and order are maintained. Now…chaos.”
“Truly awful,” Everto shakes his head with a light frown, “Has there been any news on why this Gankri would do something like that?” He crosses his arms loosely and adds, “Or what’s to be done about the tampered with generation? I couldn’t help but overhear you mention the possibility of killing them off…”
“The Gankri has given no statement yet,” the Hekayti replies. “They’re still…questioning him, I expect. But, yes, there is talk that these Emergents must perish if they cannot be subdued and reprogrammed. That would be a last resort.” He glances toward the generation management facility. “First, the gas. Make them sleep. Put them back in the programming booths.” He shrugs. “If it works, the problem is solved. We lose nothing but a few days of productivity. If it fails, we are set back twenty years. The elders must delay retirement, or we may require younger Hekayti to take jobs outside of their programming. Chaos.”
“Even as a last resort, doesn’t that seem… excessive?” Everto ventures carefully, “There’s a great opportunity here – assuming that reprogramming them doesn’t work, of course – to learn from the chaos. Would be a shame to waste it.”
That gets a brief chuckle from the Hekayti. “Are we Toveil? Is it our way to poke and prod the freakish and broken Emergents in the name of knowledge?” A frown. “No. We are Konterbeid. The system has functioned this way for millennia. We are not a welfare state. All colonists serve their purpose, as they were programmed, until their expiration. It is not our way to keep lesser Emergents around as pets, to drain our resources and supplies.”
“Well, why not pass them off to the Toveil?” the Red Hek replies, “Then you don’t have to slaughter a whole generation, and they get a social experiment to toy with. They’d be responsible for the care of the faulty Emergents at that point, so no real loss beyond transportation costs.”
A raised eyebrow from the Hekayti. Then: “That is an option for the Moot to consider, perhaps.” He nods to Everto, adding, “You are wise. A Konterbeid, surely.”
Everto bows his head gratefully. “You are too kind,” he replies, taking the observation of caste as a compliment rather than returning any information, “But if you’d be so kind as to excuse me, I really should be moving on. Thank you so much for filling me in on the situation.” He makes to slip off, keeping eyes and ears open for anything or anyone else that might catch his attention.
The Hekayti bows his horned head in acknowledgement to the departing Everto. “Safe travels.”