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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/allature on 2026-04-17 22:31:47+00:00.
Astronomy was, unfortunately, a very new science. That meant that ‘facts’ were always being reviewed and readjusted. And that’s why General Hydor was once again sat in the expansive dome known as the planetarium. Professor Tski was standing on the stage before her, droning on about new theories about the orbital period of a planet further away from the sun than their world was. In the end, it was not a lecture that she particularly needed to be present for. There was, however, a bright spot in this gloomy cloud. Among the gathered flock of dignitaries, officials, and engineers, there was a familiar face.
General Teo Ach’yuru was a claw-ful of seasons older than General Hydor. She met him when she was just entering the Royal Military Academy. He became one of her closest comrades; somewhere between an older brother and a mentor. Throughout her entire career she could always depend on him for a friendly, listening ear, and, very rarely, for advice. They both advanced through the ranks, and now Hydor was just a two gem-pip general, while Ach’yuru had earned four. Hydor decided that she would take this opportunity to greet him after the useless lecture had concluded. She ended up meeting him at the refreshment table, in the queue for the entha tea dispenser.
“Clear Skies, General.” she said with feigned indifference as she stepped beside him.
“Ah yes, Clear Skies to--” The four-gem general turned to see who had addressed him. “Hydor!? Oh how are you old girl!” Ach’yuru chirped good humouredly when he recognised her.
“I’ve been doing well, old friend.” replied the two-gem with her own happy chirp.
“So I’ve heard.” Ach’yuru said as he leaned in conspirationaly. “I hear that you may or may not be heading up an important new project? Something to do with some of this new science about… Sh-pay-ce?”
“I am indeed leading a bold new initiative for the kingdom…” Hydor said, knowing that that much would be within any general’s clearance. “But I shall neither confirm nor deny my involvement with matters of space.” she added, her improving pronunciation of the alien word alluding to the where the reality in her non-answer truly lay.
“I see…” the four-gem replied understandingly. “Well regardless, I’m sure that you will soar up to the peaks of the kingdom’s goals.”
“Yes, I believe that I can.” the two-gem sighed, not noticing her fore-feathers flattening. “Eventually.”
Ach’yuru noticed his junior’s masked, crestfallen mood. “Something troubles you?” he asked, his voice soft and direct.
“It’s nothing major.”
“But it’s not nothing.” he deftly deduced as he slowly walked towards a more secluded spot in the room.
“No.” Hydor admitted while walking alongside him. “Not nothing.”
“I know you can’t tell me all the details, but you know I’m always willing to hear your concerns.”
The two-gem remained silent for a while, wordlessly editing her thoughts in a way that would satisfy both her pride and her task’s confidentially. “Well, hypothetically, let’s say that there is… An individual... That possesses a great wealth of information that can benefit the kingdom greatly. This individual has been incredibly forthcoming with their knowledge, and with every passing bel our own experts learn more and more from them.”
“I take it this individual is perhaps partially responsible with our new knowledge of sh-payce?” the four-gem implied his own knowledge by way of a false question.
“Perhaps.” the two-gem confirms by way of false vaguery. Given that General Ach’yuru outranked even herself and is present at a planetarium lecture, it would have been more odd if he didn’t know who Adwin was. The initial circumstances of the creature’s arrival caused quite a stir in the upper echelons of Phuratan society, after all. Clear mutual knowledge aside however, she elected to continue speaking in a cryptic manner. It was standard practice with such sensitive material, after all.
“Everyone agrees that this individual hails from a society far more advanced than ours. Again, I neither doubt nor deny the utility of this individual.” General Hydor continues. “However, I do harbor doubts to whether its society’s interests would align with ours.”
General Ach’yuru remained silent for a moment as he digested his junior’s words. “Would you be willing to expound a bit more on your concerns here?”
“Like I said, this being’s society is probably far more advanced than ours. It claims that it arrived here by accident. But how can we be sure that this is the truth?” she paused as she glanced around with what she felt was a reasonable degree of caution. “What if this creature was deliberately sent here?”
“You’re afraid.” mused the four-gem.
“Yes!” hissed the two-gem. “I’m afraid of the impossible infinity of the void. I’m afraid of stray rocks floating around, just waiting to crash into our world. I’m afraid of the untold chol of suns burning unseen, deep and far into the sky.” Hydor started agitatedly pacing back and forth, never moving more than a span away from her confidant. “But more than any of that, I am afraid of that thing. That creature. It casually tells us that the sun is a dark-light. It proposes that we should use rockets as shuttles. And now we use sixty-fours of its words. It sometimes feels like it’s running some kind of counterinsurgency on the kingdom.”
“That’s… Quite an insinuation, General.” commented Ach’yuru.
“Is it?” Hydor paused her pacing, facing her friend. “I recently had a meeting with some scientists and engineers to discuss our new project. I took over from their previous boss, they accepted it. I told them that I would delay their vacations, they accepted it. But the moment that I decided that this alien, this foreigner, should be excluded from this kingdom’s most sensitive affairs, what do you think happened?”
“What?”
“You should have seen it Ach’yuru! It was complete pandemonium! They acted like I’d drowned their pet opocou or something!” she continued her rant, gesturing emphatically as she resumed her pacing. “I know it sounds insane, but these people, everyone working with the creature... They’re acting like they’ve been bewitched somehow. Enthralled even.”
The four-gem said nothing for a while, letting the dragging clegs confer his quiet disagreement with his protege’s overt anxiety. “Perhaps there were more… Mundane reasons for their reaction?”
Hydor sagged. “I know, I know. I’m probably being paranoid.”
“Maybe. But paranoia is part of the job, I suppose.” Ach’yuru said, offering a branch on which Hydor could perch a small bit of her dignity.
The two-gem accepted the branch with a weak grunt. “Aside from all that, the creature is still an unknown variable. From an unknown nation. With unknown values. I can’t be expected to trust it right away, can I?”
“Absolutely not.” Ach’yuru replied immediately this time. “You have no reason to trust it.”
“No. I really don’t.” replied the two-gem.
“Well, I can certainly see why this matter weighs upon your wings so heavily.” said Ach’yuru. “But are you certain you can avoid having this entity involved with the project? It sounds like it’s the biggest expert we have on the necessary subjects.”
“It’s not even a scientist; or so it says. It’s surprisingly honest about it’s errors and gaps in knowledge, and relies heavily on our own academics.” General Hydor sighed. “Even so, I just know that there will be some vital point in the future where we might need its advice again.”
“Yes, I taste that scent on the wind too.” said Ach’yuru. “So, we can’t fully rely on this… Outsider. But it would be unwise to outright reject it as well.”
“Precisely.”
“Well, that’s quite an interesting hypothetical.” the four-gem churred, slyly re-enveloping their dialogue in the veil of plausible deniability. “If you’d humour me, I’d like share one of my own.”
“Please do.” the two-gem replied.
“Well, imagine if you will, a handsome, brilliant general.” he chirped. “Several seasons of loyalty to the kingdom had earned him two gem pips, and he he was keen on earning a third. And in a single wonderful moment, the heavens opened up a new opportunity for him.”
General Ach’yuru walked over to an aisle of cushions that he noticed were recently emptied. “Imagine also, that around this time, a Pitang scientist wanted to defect to The Kingdom of Phuratus. She was an expert in particle physics, and focused on studying the effects of radiation on the te’visk body.”
“Sounds like she would have been an asset to the kingdom.” Hydor commented as she sat next to Ach’yuru.
“Indeed.” replied the four-gem. “So, this scientist tried to strike a deal with the kingdom. Usually, one would would expect a defector to demand money, property, and certain diplomatic and legal protections. But this scientist was a special case. She asked for resources, sure, but it was less than one would expect. But she was particularly interested in manulent plants.”
“Manulent? Isn’t that a rare, toxic herb?” asked Hydor.
“Yes.” answered Ach’yuru. “It doesn’t make sense, does it? All we knew was that as rare as manulet was here in Phuratus, it was practically non-existent in Pitang. Naturally, the general was suspicious. When he asked about the importance of the plant, the scientist said that some o...
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