survival purposes. Bynums were Stage Five, and no amount of radiation would harm any of her children. Kenneth Marks knew that now, or at least he should.
She watched the radiation fall. Humans couldn't see it; they didn't possess the necessary rods inside their eyes. But Morena could. The beauty stretched across the sky, like an infinite number of tiny stars falling on the land, lighting up the entire night. It fell directly on Morena, and she watched as her aura lit up briefly with the gold flakes. The radiation faded quickly, and she realized that it had been a high dosage, meant to kill immediately, but allow for humans to come through soon after.
Even the plant growth beneath the strands would be unharmed—the bomb hurt nothing in Grayson.
Kenneth Marks was clearly disappointed. Maybe Morena would drop in and say hi when she finished—drop in as herself and see how he was holding up. She thought she might like toying with him; his arrogance was such a nuisance. The other humans she came in contact with, all of them recognized the difference between her and them immediately, and it created a sense of respect, of fear. Even when Thera tried to stop Morena, it hadn't been with any sense of equality. This man though, he somehow thought that he was owed something.
There's not time for this now, she thought. Morena knew there wasn't; it was just that the man seriously annoyed her.
She stood near the core, a hundred feet from the massive hole opening up into the lava beneath. The heat had burned everything, charred earth lay underneath all the whites strands growing from the core. The trees had been leveled. The animals unlucky enough to be caught in the heat were now ash as well. Morena dared venture no closer than this, because even her aura wouldn't protect her from the danger below.
She needn't go any closer, though. She stood in front of what she wanted to see.
It was an interesting thing, how birth worked for Bynums. It felt normal to her, of course, but after meeting humans, and understanding their process, it seemed… advanced?
Humanity relied on only one source for reproduction, the union of a sperm and egg. It created a need, an imperative, that two humans always exist—one of each sex. If only one human ever remained, their species had no chance of survival. Thus why their society wasn't such an obvious matriarchy as Bynimian had been. Because the Var was mother, the Var was the only being which had the power to continue the species. And yet, reproduction could occur in other ways as well. The sperm and egg still existed for Bynums, if union was reached differently.
As long as a Var existed, though, Bynums had a chance at survival.
And now she looked at their survival full on. No one outside of this town could see what Morena did, and that was good. Because the danger came next. All the rest had been a lead up to this point, to the actual birth of Bynums.
Before her stood a capsule with the palest blue swirling inside. The capsule was the same size as her, the first one to have grown out of the white strands. The first of her children, here, ready to be born onto this strange world. It would be the same size as her, would have an aura—a pale blue one, nearing the color of white—but it would have none of the knowledge or skills that Morena possessed. Radiation wouldn't hurt the male she looked at now, but a bullet? A missile? Yes. He would have no ability to protect himself from such things. And this was only the first one. Many, many more were coming and Morena had to find a way to protect them all.
She saw the Bynum's eyes, the same pale blue as his aura, staring out at her. Soon, minutes maybe, the capsule would deteriorate and this beautiful child's aura would expand out into the world, tasting strange air—air that no other Bynum besides Morena had ever tasted.
This is what you wanted. This was the reason for everything that happened on Bynimian. So that you could see your species survive.
She watched the radiation fall. Humans couldn't see it; they didn't possess the necessary rods inside their eyes. But Morena could. The beauty stretched across the sky, like an infinite number of tiny stars falling on the land, lighting up the entire night. It fell directly on Morena, and she watched as her aura lit up briefly with the gold flakes. The radiation faded quickly, and she realized that it had been a high dosage, meant to kill immediately, but allow for humans to come through soon after.
Even the plant growth beneath the strands would be unharmed—the bomb hurt nothing in Grayson.
Kenneth Marks was clearly disappointed. Maybe Morena would drop in and say hi when she finished—drop in as herself and see how he was holding up. She thought she might like toying with him; his arrogance was such a nuisance. The other humans she came in contact with, all of them recognized the difference between her and them immediately, and it created a sense of respect, of fear. Even when Thera tried to stop Morena, it hadn't been with any sense of equality. This man though, he somehow thought that he was owed something.
There's not time for this now, she thought. Morena knew there wasn't; it was just that the man seriously annoyed her.
She stood near the core, a hundred feet from the massive hole opening up into the lava beneath. The heat had burned everything, charred earth lay underneath all the whites strands growing from the core. The trees had been leveled. The animals unlucky enough to be caught in the heat were now ash as well. Morena dared venture no closer than this, because even her aura wouldn't protect her from the danger below.
She needn't go any closer, though. She stood in front of what she wanted to see.
It was an interesting thing, how birth worked for Bynums. It felt normal to her, of course, but after meeting humans, and understanding their process, it seemed… advanced?
Humanity relied on only one source for reproduction, the union of a sperm and egg. It created a need, an imperative, that two humans always exist—one of each sex. If only one human ever remained, their species had no chance of survival. Thus why their society wasn't such an obvious matriarchy as Bynimian had been. Because the Var was mother, the Var was the only being which had the power to continue the species. And yet, reproduction could occur in other ways as well. The sperm and egg still existed for Bynums, if union was reached differently.
As long as a Var existed, though, Bynums had a chance at survival.
And now she looked at their survival full on. No one outside of this town could see what Morena did, and that was good. Because the danger came next. All the rest had been a lead up to this point, to the actual birth of Bynums.
Before her stood a capsule with the palest blue swirling inside. The capsule was the same size as her, the first one to have grown out of the white strands. The first of her children, here, ready to be born onto this strange world. It would be the same size as her, would have an aura—a pale blue one, nearing the color of white—but it would have none of the knowledge or skills that Morena possessed. Radiation wouldn't hurt the male she looked at now, but a bullet? A missile? Yes. He would have no ability to protect himself from such things. And this was only the first one. Many, many more were coming and Morena had to find a way to protect them all.
She saw the Bynum's eyes, the same pale blue as his aura, staring out at her. Soon, minutes maybe, the capsule would deteriorate and this beautiful child's aura would expand out into the world, tasting strange air—air that no other Bynum besides Morena had ever tasted.
This is what you wanted. This was the reason for everything that happened on Bynimian. So that you could see your species survive.
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