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01/01/10(Fri)22:50 No.7383278rolled 6, 3, 1 = 10
Some Humans value other species as personal companions, which they group in a series called "pets."
The vast majority of these pets are non-sapient, "dumb beasts," but more than a few are actual members of full-intelligent species, or the larval stages of the same. I cannot fathom the rationalization behind keeping a being of another species, especially one as or more intelligent than myself, as a permanent pet. But some Humans seem to relish the thought, despite certain obvious problems, and considering that most of them know next to nothing about xenobiology.
Once, I witnessed a Human male leading a Crafted Ripper, an eight-foot tall mass of teeth and blades, on a carbon-fiber leash, ignorant of the danger he was putting himself and the rest of the station in. Further observation revealed that the Human was wearing a Pheromone Band, which continually emitted a chemical signal used by CR mothers to calm their children.
This Ripper, one of the most fearsome animals known to modern science, had likely been kept in a mellow, docile state for most of its life, even as it grew into a killing machine impervious to small arms. Conversation with the Human revealed that the Band contained a vast catalogue of signals, and with it, the Ripper could be directed to do any number of things, most of them some variation of "attack."
It was most disconcerting to feel the Human's complete lack of appreciation for the Ripper's capabilities. To him, it was a symbol of his "badassery," a personal guard, and an insurance policy. Were the Band disengaged, the Ripper would almost immediately begin to slaughter everything in sight, and the Human had quite cleverly tied his neurological "beat" into the device.
What he had not done, however, is procure a backup, in case the first failed. Moreover, he seemed not to recognize the necessity of such. I left the station immediately, and had my Pilot mark it as No-Dock. I have never returned. |
