My Blue Star Flower

9. Hunters

   BEEP Your pill for today is ready.

   On the table was a small tray with a black round pill and a glass of water. The pill had no taste and after swallowing it I went to sit back down.

   "Orion, is our conversation private? What I mean is, can someone ask you what we talk about?"

   BEEP Certain things, yes. Everything you ask me about galactic history, other races, technology, or what you decide to learn; things that are important for your integration or have a certain level of importance. But if you mean personal things, then no.

   "I see, ok. Are there races that date each other?"

   BEEP Some do, depending on the compatibility.

   "Have humans ever mixed with any other race?"

   BEEP Yes.

  "With Vurats?"

   BEEP You like Du An?

   Startled by the question, I feel I'm getting red as a tomato from embarrassment. For sure steam could be seen if one looked closely.

   "No, no, of course not, just curious," I say fast.

   BEEP You lie.

   Goddamn it, in cases like this, the biochip was not convenient at all!

   "Well maybe a little, he is the first alien I've met and he is nice, it's quite normal hahaha," I say, trying to at least downplay it a bit.

   BEEP You lie again. You do realize my sensors detect the physical changes your body experiences every time you two are in the same room, you were even aroused at times, no? You like him way more than just a little.

   "Damn it, Orion, can your stupid sensors feel how uncomfortable I feel now? Tell me!"

   BEEP Yes.

   "Then why are you so eager to rub it on my face so blatantly?"

   BEEP I have two reasons.

   "Oh really?" I asked a little furious "And could I know what those two reasons might be, or I don't have clearance for it?"

   I sounded a little spiteful even in my ears and felt sorry immediately but said nothing more as I know Orion had no feelings.

   BEEP Hehe.

   Did I hear that right or did the damn AI just chuckled at me? I was perplexed.

   BEEP One reason is that I'm the closest thing to an unconditional friend and humans are emotive beings that need to share with someone their stress and anxiety or any kind of emotion exceeding a certain level. Your current situation, being the only human here and knowing that you are watched and judged, is not easy. Talking with me will improve your mental health.

   BEEP The second reason is that even feelings about certain things can influence our decision when an individual is ready to be free.

   "Ok I got it, fine; Orion did you just chuckle before?"

   BEEP No.

   "Yes, you did!"

   BEEP No, I did not.

   "Haha, I'll remember you can lie. You didn't answer my question from before"

   BEEP No, Vurats never mixed with humans.

   "Do you know why?"

   BEEP No compatibility.

   I was afraid to ask what that meant exactly, was it a difference in mentality, we looked too different, or went further to the bodies not being compatible for reproduction.

   "Orion, is painting considered a job around the galaxy?"

   BEEP Yes.

   "I could earn my keep later by painting?"

   BEEP Yes, if you are good enough.

   That didn't sound promising the same as it did not back on Earth. There were a couple of other subjects that I was interested in during my life and as Orion said I could learn fast, maybe one of them will be my future.

   "If I ask for a profession recommendation from you, what would it be?"

   BEEP Hunter would be the best choice to use all the qualities humans have; intelligence, adaptability, agility, physical constitution, and the ability to be cold-blooded are all things a hunter needs. Not all races have all of them.

   "Alright, I get it, we are the scourge of the universe," I say jokingly. "Why is there a need for hunters?"

   BEEP Hehe. There are two kinds of hunters. One kind is bounty hunting. The galaxy is not free of crime, some planets don't agree to have an AI terminal installed, and criminals can hide there from AI sensors. The hunters search for them on such planets, a very high-risk high-pay job, but the income is not stable and it's a lonely life with lots of traveling.

   "There are no armed forces, like army or police in the galaxy?" I ask, doubtful and in the back of my mind, I notice Orion chuckled again, weird.

   BEEP There are, but both mainly work in their area of influence. The criminals often hide in other galaxy sectors where they don't have jurisdiction. Bounty hunters by law have the right to catch a criminal in any sector.

   "I see, they are Interpol," I say laughing, "Cool job. What about the second branch?"

   BEEP There are 37 known planets in the galaxy that are special. The electromagnetic field they emit makes any kind of technology useless besides small patches at the poles. There are no sentient beings, but all the wildlife have some kind of precious materials in them used in the medical field, military, and jump technology. We call them voids, the same as the planets, very ferocious, cunning, and quite dangerous. To hunt the voids you have to use melee fighting with sharp weapons like swords, bows, etc.

   "Wow, that's bizarre, I didn't imagine that with so much advanced technology there would ever be a need to fight with a bow. Funny. Why not use firing guns, like the ones on earth?"

   BEEP The affordable metal capable of wounding them, and used to make the sharp weapons become brittle at high temperatures. There are such weapons available but so expensive few hunters afford or find them cost-effective. Also, voids are precious, we don't intend to exterminate them, just harvest the surplus.

   "They must be really tough, that's a wise approach," I say, thinking about all the species we exterminated on Earth by overhunting.

   BEEP Hunting voids is a stable job for hunters and they usually work in teams. The pay is good and comes with bonuses depending on what you bring back from the hunt. Quite a few humans became hunters and they are very good at it.

   "How do I become a hunter?" The job was very appealing. Since childhood, I dreamed of being a soldier or just hunting in the wilderness, of course not all dreams become true, till now at least.

   BEEP You train until you reach a certain standard and learn all the hunter's curriculum

   "Alright, when can I start training?"

   BEEP It's been only a day since you got here, why are you in such a hurry?

   I say nothing as Orion would notice I am lying again.

   BEEP Do you want to impress Du An?

   Fuck you Orion, go on and cut me deep I cus in my mind then answer "Yes"

   BEEP Ok. You can find all the information you need to learn on your hand display. The biochip helps you learn faster by forcing what you read to be imprinted in your memory. But information quantity is limited daily so the brain doesn't overheat. You can still study more the old way, the surplus information still needs to be imprinted after but helps to increase the imprinting limit.