[@Tortoise]

The usual ECU quarters wouldn’t be fit for this. Chaos is in the air, and the newcomers- if they’re observant at all- would feel it. Abadi led the Mahre ambassadors into the holo-suite, instead.

Based on the scans of their ships and the info leaked from other nations, the Collective should appreciate this. The holo-suite doors open to reveal a holographically created illusion of a forest clearing, rich in green and brown, filled with life all about. But curiously, a wood table sits right in the middle of it, with exactly the right number of seats for the delegation.

“Please, take any chair,” Abadi says. The table is round, so that nobody will sit at the head position. “The place you’re in now is not real, of course. But it should work for our talks. I hope you don’t mind that my compatriot here prefers to stand.” She nodded to a protector, her official security guard. He wore a brown suit, and she wore a long green dress: they were both trying to fit the assigned color theme.



Zephina and Richard had been contacted by another race shortly after their talks with the undefeated and they were glad that the other nations were willing to talk to them. She had soon followed after the message that she would be pleased to meet them. When they met with the representative she could sense a feeling of anxiousness in them although why that is she didn’t know. They were soon lead to a place they called a holo-suite. When they walked in she had Richard her translator as well as a single guard of her own, the same from her previous meeting striking an imposing figure. When the room suddenly changed they were surprised and half expected a fight as they got into a fighting stance Richard in front of Zephina and the guard putting his hands up as if ready to box. When they soon got treated to the sight of a forest they calmed down and instead looked around curiously. They didn’t realize that they could create a forest out of nowhere like this. 

It was pleasant and they didn’t snap out of it until she said to take a seat. Zephina then responded and said “Only if you don’t mind that mine does the same” she said referring to her own guard as she and Richard sat down at the table. She then said “It is a pleasure to meet you in person. I am glad we are quickly meeting other races. Is there anything you would like to discuss with us?”

Abadi sat down opposite of Zephina. She hasn’t slept in two days, but manages to smile anyway- an instinct that months as an interstellar diplomat has forced on her. “Oh, many things, I’m sure…” she ticked through her infopad, skimming bullet-points notes of possible topics, but stopped and frowned a little when she saw one. “Here, there’s something we should get out-of-the-way first. I hear your nation has gone deep into ‘genetic modification?’ Tell me about that.” The ECU was still deeply hostile to any change in the human form.



Zephina was given another translation and was asked the question by Richard. After a few notes she spoke to him, he nodded and Zephina left it up to him to answer. Richard then started to explain “Madam Zephina has given me permission to speak to you as our head of genetic research. I am the lead scientist and as such my words carry enough weight without her needing to vouch for me. Our world was incredibly hostile towards us to a degree that we never thought possible and it wasn’t until a child who we now call the first flower showed us how to live in harmony with our surroundings. We banned all cybernetics, removing them from our history after that point. Since then me and my team have learned how to harness the planet's power into our own makeup. We don’t look like your baseline humans; however our DNA, the DNA of all humanity reveals our greatest strength, our ability to adapt to any environment. After centuries of research our bodies are tougher, stronger, faster, then any baseline human and it was through coexistence that we achieved this. The creed of every geneticist on our planet is Adaptation over domination while we have changed our bodies to be able to handle any extreme from toxins to lethal bites and anything nature can throw at us, we are still at our core human. Even if our forms don’t reflect that we still have our humanity and everything that makes us the same from the rest. Has that answered your question?”

Abadi nodded, slowly, seeming a little reluctant. There was one bright spot: they refused cybernetics. Once-upon-a-time, the ECU would have hated genetic modifications far more than they did cyborgs. But since the war with the Zetans, opinions have changed, and the image of the cyborg has become the go-to villain for all New Hollywood drama. Mutants seem better by comparison. Maybe that’s a selling point? She can see herself now, talking to the Savant: “Look, yes, they’re horrifying mutants. But they’re not [i]cyborg[/i] horrifying mutants!” It probably wouldn’t work.

The protector beside her moved a little uneasily, twitching; almost like he wanted to reach for his weapon. Abadi reached over and rested a hand on his arm. Calm down.

“You’ll have to forgive my security,” she says, to Zephina and Richard. “He’s feeling a little nervous. You see, my people have long feared genetic mutations. Our homeworld, New Hollywood, has a problem with radiation, and that’s caused many generations of concern that it could damage our DNA. We consider human DNA to be precious, so we do not change it. But-” she thought for the right way to phrase this “-since coming here, to the Meeting Place, we have encountered many kinds of life. Mutants, apes who talk, aliens…” her voice trailed off for a second. “I think, perhaps, it is time for us in the ECU to learn to be more open to others.”




Richard listened as they spoke, seeing that their guard was on edge, they looked ready to step in if necessary but the motion to calm their aid made Richard and the escort calm down a bit. It seemed they were not exactly happy that they were mutants as they put it. Soon she mentioned their home and how they had radiation along with the fact that the baseline human DNA is precious while Richard agreed on a scientific standpoint the problem was that they could adapt the wrong way to an environment. Case in point radiation would warp human DNA negatively though how negatively it depends on the person and the amount of exposure, humans by themselves are weak. They then talked about how they should be more open to others and he said “Xenophobia doesn’t help, especially if you're seeking aid.  I hope that we can prove that being open is a good thing rather than a negative thing.” He said as he took a breath to calm down wondering what made them dislike their kind so when they haven’t even met yet. To judge someone based on appearance was not something they practiced, at least not on such a stage. Yes there is the idea of someone looking pretty and being attracted to them but for them it was much different. He then said “Since you mentioned it, if there is such a problem in your home that deals with radiation I know me and my team of geneticists would be happy to look into it for you. We could even find a way to make the radiation a benefit rather than a detriment” He offered making sure not to go into detail that they could manipulate their DNA into harnessing the radiation positively since they seemed so against genetic tampering. 

Abadi scratched her chin, letting her hand off the protector’s arm. “We could not allow any modifications to our own bodies. But you bring up an interesting point: are your people already resistant to radiation? There are certain ‘hot spots’ on New Hollywood. That is, areas where the radiation is particularly bad, and we’ve been unable to explore. Certain teams from the Mahre Collective- properly vetted, of course- might be welcome to them.”




Richard listened as she spoke and asked about if they were resistant to radiation already. He then said "we are already resistant to radiation however it depends on the kind of radiation that is causing it. Not to mention we would need time to adapt to it. We could certainly go to these hot spots and we would be able to set up shop there. We can create a barrier zone if you will while we study the radiation and create a way for us to nullify it, maybe even going so far as to thrive on it given enough time. What would you like?"

Abadi nodded. “Yes, I think I can grant you formal permission to visit these spots and propose solutions. If I may, I would suggest that you keep any observations focused on removing the radiation itself, rather than modifying us to resist it- my government would be closed to such recommendations. Some of these areas have hardly been seen by human eyes before- please share what you find with us.” Without saying it out loud, Abadi knew this was the real benefit of letting the Mahre visit these areas. New Hollywood would never accept modifications. But simply to send in some people, who were already mutants, to scout out radiated areas? That just might be accepted.

“Now,” she said, “what could my government offer as repayment?”




They listened and after hearing that they wanted to get rid of the radiation rather than adapt to it made Richard pause. They could of course figure out the cause but if they were opposed to modifying their own bodies then they couldn't promise to get rid of the radiation after all it could be something that is natural to the planet to produce. If that was the case then they would be against helping them destroy their own planet's unique ecosystem. Still they had no right to judge whether they should or shouldn't coexist with their own planet much like they couldn't do so against them. Soon enough he mentioned what they would like in return and this time Richard had to turn to zephina and asked what they would want from them in return for taking a look after explaining that their problem might be because it's simply a part of their planet. 

She then said "in exchange for us discovering the source of your radiation zones. We would like to set up trade for minerals or material goods your planet can craft. Our planet isn't able to create factory items for example nor do we have the knowledge to create this very room we are standing in. We would simply ask for trade goods if that's acceptable"

The ECU rep nodded. “Yes, I believe we can share mineral resources. We have many alloys and metals. It should work nicely.”



“Then I believe we are finished here. We shall be in contact with you shortly about the finer details. Thank you for seeing us” Zephina said to him before they all got up and gave him a bow before they left and went to go and set things up.