This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/micktalian on 2025-12-17 21:31:21+00:00.
Part 154 Different ways to learn (Part 1) (Part 153)
Experiencing alcohol intoxication and its consequences can vary wildly based on the individual. Biology, diet, cultural pressures, built-up tolerance, and several other factors all play a role. That is just as true for humanity as it is for every other species in the galaxy. Some people can get drunk quickly, stay drunk for hours, but then wake up with a debilitating hangover. Others may struggle to catch a buzz without especially potential spirits, will drink enough to drown a fish, and still somehow come out completely unscathed. A few species even have the unfortunate combination of high natural mental tolerance but lack the biochemistry to rapidly metabolize alcohol. While humanity may have a particularly wide range of alcohol consumption ability, both in tolerance and metabolism, no human alive or dead could win a galactic drinking contest against certain members of certain species.
Morning Dew was fifteen years old when he first drank one of humanity's alcoholic beverages. A group of tourists had decided they wanted to have a little party directly under the tree he had nested in for the night. When he climbed down to try to scare them off to get some good night's rest, they instead offered him food and a can of what he had assumed to be a sweet fuzzy drink. Despite noticing the taste of alcohol, something he had learned when his mother was teaching him about fermented fruits that had fallen to the jungle floor, the brew tasted good enough that he finished it in just a few minutes. The already drunk tourists, seeing that, then proceeded to be even more generous with their food and drink. That first experience was much like the one he had last night. He never really got drunk enough to be noticeable but did enjoy the warm sensation in his body while watching humans provide entertainment.
The simulated night sky began to shift to a sunrise right around the time Morning Dew woke up with a lingering sense of warmth and a message from Espen. He was the first to leave his room and the only person to see the impressively rendered colors. If he was back in the jungle of Bukit Lawang, this would be when he foraged for breakfast. But all he had to do here was take a short walk along a soft cobblestone path and return to the place where last night's party happened. Espen told him he would find a plethora of fruit, a salad, and even a roasted skewer of his favorite crickets waiting for him there. While Morning Dew still didn't really understand what exactly an AI was or how this entire place could be one’s physical body, he could recognize that the human woman made of light was special. As the color of the holographic sky shone with a brilliant blue a few minutes after Morning Dew sat down, his silent breakfast was interrupted by the sound of footsteps.
“Good Morning, Morning Dew.” TJ called out the orangutan while casually approaching to ensure he didn't appear threatening. “Did you sleep well? No hangover from last night?”
“Waking headache caused by dehydration from alcohol?” Morning Dew responded with exactly how his translator contextualized the word ‘hangover’. “I slept well and woke up still feeling… Warm. But I, uh… I don't have a headache. Do humans get headaches from alcohol?”
“Ha-ha! Yes we do.” The mostly metal man answered with a deep laugh while sitting down at the far end of Morning Dew's table. “I think pretty much every human culture has a special word for it too. In English, the word is ‘hangover’.”
“Hh-ng-ah-er.” Though the orangutan tried to mimic the sound he heard TJ make, it would take him quite a bit of practice to get it right. “That seems dumb to me. Why would anyone drink something they know will make them feel bad?”
“We don't get hangovers every time we drink alcohol. If we eat enough food, drink enough water, and don't have too much alcohol, there usually isn't a hangover. But getting drunk makes us humans feel so good that we can lose control and take things too far.”
“It doesn't make me feel that good. I just get a warm and fuzzy feeling.”
“Really?” TJ had been trying his best not to let the researcher side of his personality take over but couldn't hold it back anymore. “You had what? Three glasses of that blueberry soda-wine? That's not a lot but still… You weren't feeling any different? Happier? Sadder? Maybe trouble with your balance? Anything like that?”
“Not really, no. Being able to talk to people and make new friends so easily made me happy.” Morning Dew shrugged his hairy shoulders, threw a small fruit in his mouth, and continued with his grunts, chirps, and various gestures. “That fermented fruit water just made me feel warm and kind of… Fuzzy. Like how some caterpillars look. I don't know how else to describe it. And I still feel a bit warm. But I was never off balance or sad or anything like that. It wasn't like that time I ate a flower from the stinky plants you and friends smoke. That stuff made me feel strange and I couldn't think how I normally do.”
“That is very interesting.” Despite TJ’s academic specialty revolving around how terrestrial life adapts in non-terrestrial environments, non-human psychology has always been a strong side interest of his. “There hasn't actually been too much good research done concerning how drugs like cannabis and alcohol cognitively affect non-humans. You, my friend, may have just answered hundreds of years of questions that scientists have never been able to ask right. If you don't mind, there’s a lot more things people would want to ask you about.”
“Not right now, but…” The orangutan replied in a flat and almost somber manner, an act which TJ’s translated as sarcasm, before a devious but toothless smirk formed on his furless face. “I'll answer your questions after breakfast. You just have to promise to teach me to learn things the way humans do.”
“My questions can wait until you can read, understand, and sign a consent form.” As much as TJ would love to research the effects of drugs on sapient non-humans, his morals would prevent him or anyone else from going about this the wrong way. “And that means we need to teach you how to read and type. If you can learn how to read, you can learn to do just about anything. Almost everything I know is because I was able to read about it first.”
/-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Not being authorized to take his trainees for their first drop was becoming mildly annoying for Mnowato. He had already ran them through over a dozen simulations with escalating intensity. Everyone had fully bonded with their control-AI, experienced the highest simulated G-forces they could while stuck in a mech bay, and achieved what he would consider a solid beginner's grasp of BD operation. This initial training is so easy that it normally only takes a week. The difficulty comes into play when applying the fundamentals in a real world situation. Despite the fact the operators will always experience the battlefield through a virtualized augmented reality system, no simulation can compare to the real thing.
Wato thought he'd finally get a chance to drop when he and his trainees were transferred to the Zhaweno. This drop cruiser can travel at a few hundred thousand times faster than light thanks to its top of the line hyperlane drives. Even if it were politically impossible to let his trainees drop anywhere in Sol, this ship could easily take them to the nearest system with an Earth-like planet. The whole trip would likely take less than twenty four hours. Waiting for authorization to filter through bureaucracy is not something most Nishnabe Militia members are used to. But Wato had been given express orders by War Chief Msko himself to wait for permission.
While the Nishnabe Brave may still get forbidden from taking his trainees on their first drop, he could try to advance their curriculum. Usually a mech operator would need to go on their first drop before learning about the full plethora of ways they can customize their machine. Anyone can imagine themselves being a great sniper, supporting their allies with suppressive fire, and engaging in death-defying melee combat. A simulated combat encounter can even lend credence to an ill-suited choice of weapon load out. It's only after a person gets a real feel for how they move in their mech that they can actually learn their own optimal fighting style. Seeing as that wouldn't happen any time soon, Wato believed he could give the Revolutionaries a bit of a head start.
“Brave Mnowato, sir.” Heeroko Yamado politely raised her hand to ask a question. “Why do so many of these weapon choices appear so similar to each other?”
“We usually have modular light, normal, and heavy versions of every weapon system so operators can adjust their loadouts for each mission.” Considering his brief introduction at the start of this class, Wato had been expecting questions like that. He also skipped over a few sections of the usual lesson plan that would only make sense after these trainees had their...
Content cut off. Read original on https://old.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/1pp8qa6/the_gardens_of_deathworlders_part_154/