"And... there!"
After spending nearly the entire day mounting the TV to the wall, we finally finished the setup. I collapsed onto the sofa next to Diana, who began curiously browsing through the channels.
"Thank you so much for helping me, Viel!" Diana said as she flipped through the various broadcasts. There were plenty of art programs and movies, as well as videos of tradespeople showing off their crafts and sharing tips and tricks.
I couldn't help but notice the total absence of woodworkers.
"Oooh, the Gauntlet of Kings," Diana said. "I've always wondered what the Ingenuity Gauntlet was like."
The TV displayed what looked like a high-budget action movie set on the surface. A group of people were fleeing from a massive swarm of spiders the size of timber wolves. They scattered in a panic, running in all directions, while an announcer began explaining the rules of a challenge.
"Wait... is this... real?"
Diana tilted her head. "I think so. It looks like a proper Gauntlet."
I blinked slowly. "You guys have the Hunger Games?"
"Umm, what are the 'Hunger Games'?"
"Pitting people against deadly challenges for the sake of entertainment?"
CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE VIOLATION
Yes, yes, I know. You don't have to tell me.
"Umm, well, it's for entertainment, but it's also a vetting process and transparency," Diana explained. "I mean, the Gauntlet is very important."
I tilted my head. "What does the winner actually get?"
"They become a Council member."
I blinked again. "A Council member? Like... a ruler?"
"Yes. The ones who make the rules, tell people what they can and cannot do, and adjust the Procedural Justice System however they like," Diana replied. "The Council... they're like kings, I suppose, but there are five, well technically four of them instead of one."
Reverse Hunger Games, huh...
"Is it forced?"
"No, they can opt out at any time."
Wow.
The red warning on my HUD finally faded, letting me focus on the screen again. The camera angle shifted to a vast cavern thick with layers of spider silk. A few men and women were carrying long poles and were currently...
...harvesting the spider webs.
"Jesus, what?"
I was mesmerized, watching the group work together. Half the team lured the spiders away while the other half harvested the silk. At the end of the segment, everyone regrouped at a checkpoint.
Then, they had a knitting competition.
The camera focused on each contestant. Some were weaving intricate tapestries, some made shirts, and others crafted banners.
Wait, what? They attack a giant spider nest to harvest silk, and then they finish it off with a knitting competition?
"Oh, that one's lovely," Diana commented, pointing at a contestant who had crafted a flag with a heart symbol. It was, indeed, knitted out of giant spider silk.
"So, uhh, this competition is to...?"
"Measure how skilled the potential Council members are at crafting using non-traditional materials," Diana said matter-of-factly. "Or maybe to measure how well they work under pressure and if they can create something beautiful under the threat of death?"
Huh.
"Okay, so tell me more about this Council. Who are they? What do they actually do?"
Diana tilted her head. "Well, I don't understand much about politics, but I know the basics." She tapped her cheek. "There are five roles on the Council. The main ones are the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judicial. They're the core pillars; they manage day-to-day operations."
That part is familiar.
"What about the other two?"
"Well, there's Contingent."
"Contingent?"
"Yes. They are the one who creates Contingency Protocols," Diana explained. "Their job is simple, the city's survival. They can override any decision but only during emergency. They also make plans and their team of experts fine tune the genes required for humans to survive,"
I clasped my robotic hands. "This triggers so many red flags and touches on so many topics I never even knew existed... but thank you for telling me, what about the fifth seat?"
"The Fifth Seat is known as the Empty Seat, they are the people's vote," Diana began. "During decision making, the seat always abstain, but when they require a tie breaker, they call in the Empty Seat," she tapped her cheek. "The Empty Seat is a mass city-wide voting, usually enacted on massive policy. They have 3 votes instead of one, they are also the one capable of forcing a council member to step down,"
Wow...
I looked back at the Reverse Hunger Games. "And as for the Council members—what else do they test?"
"Everything," Diana replied. "Math, science, philosophy, management, dueling, hunting, survival... they have to be the best of the best at absolutely everything."
I nodded slowly. "Right. Right." I looked back at the TV. You really couldn't get more hardcore than harvesting giant spider silk to make tapestries. "What other crazy challenges are there? What was it like in Love?"
Diana looked up and tapped her chin. "Well, the contestants had to design and build a fully functional sailing vessel in a single week. Then the city would score and vote on the ships."
Jesus, what the fuck? A whole ship? In a week?
These people can't be human.
A knock came from the door.
"I'll go get it," Diana stood up and walked up to the door. "Hello, how can I--"
A blur of black and red burst forth from the entrance.
"It is I! Inata Wildfire!" the girl jumped in the moment Diana welcomed her. "The Truth Cloaked In Deception, The Fire That Burns The Cold Hearted," she made a dramatic pose with a black cloak right there, in our living room.
"Hello Inata, nice to meet you," Diana smiled sweetly.
"Umu!" Inata made an exaggerated bow. "Likewise fair maiden," she took Diana's hand and gave her a forearm a kiss.
"Skip the theatrics, what do you want?"
"Oh hey Viel," Inata abruptly broke character and sat on a sofa next to me. "Yeah, I'm kinda curious about your old world," she grinned. "Also, I never seen someone having the guts to say 'unregulated child rearing' in front of Sally's face, holy shit, you're so lucky she was unarmed,"
I groaned a little. "Jesus, unregulated child rearing, you made it sound so barbaric,"
"How is it not!?" Inata asked with a grin, throwing her hands. "I mean, look, I personally don't give a shit, but I want to hear how you justify that!"
"Well... Okay, so, in the old world, everyone can make children,"
"Ahh, so the script is flipped, you are preventing something people can already do, that's why it's bad," Inata pointed out.
"YES! And in here, okay, everyone is already infertile, big deal, but if you can mass produce fertility pills, why shouldn't you?" I shook my head. "Let's forget we live in a box for a moment, let's pretend, we don't live in a box and resource is abundant, why shouldn't you?"
Inata folded her arms. "Good question, well, it's just unfair to the children, no?" she waved her hand. "I get it, it's totally fair for the adults and potential parents, but for the children? Is it fair? They can't consent to being born, the least you can do is to make sure they end up taken care of,"
I blinked, slowly, then turned to Diana.
"You agree to this?"
Diana smiled sheepishly. "I mean... yes? Children are the most vulnerable group of people, ergo you must do everything in your power to protect them,"
I clasped my hand, screaming internally.
...
"Okay, so, instead of the parent, it's the caretaker, what is the criteria to be a caretaker?"
Inata nodded a little. "It's hard, like super hard," she gestured around. "It's... financial check, environment check, they measure what sort of place the child will grow up in, so you have to own a house, then there's also mental wellness check, the interviews, so many interviews, and of course, criminal background and medical exam," she listed it off. "Honestly, it's pretty basic, the problem is that once you pass these test, you get on the queue, since there's only so many new babies,"
Jesus christ...
"What are they interviewing???"
"You need to prove that you can be irrational about taking care of a children,"
I narrowed my eyes. "What do you mean?"
"You have to like... what's the word, love? no, more like, you need to be so incredibly passionate and prioritize a children's well being to the point of irrationality. You must have the capacity to choose to care for a child even when it's irrational to do so. Because being a caretaker is that big of a deal," she paused. "Oh and you also need a partner who passes the checks, and... unfortunately, I don't pass it too, ahaha!"
I blinked, slowly. "Why not?"
Inata looked at me, a grin grew on her face. "I'll tell you if you ever become a trailblazer,"
"Right, so you test for competence?"
"Not just competent, you are literally a child's entire world, you shape the world that the child will be living in, and that sort of commitment, isn't just backed by rationality, it's also irrational, you have to be not just rational about it, but also irrational about it," Inata explained. "That's why Sally flipped, you turned something so sacred, so important to the point of irrationality, into something that anyone with a functioning womb can do,"
Fuck...
"Do you groom and raise them for a specific purpose?" I asked her. "Does the state gives you things you must or may not raise a child to do?"
"No, not really, just be decent. How you define that is up to the caretaker's style, and the city can intervere if there's signs of abuse,"
Right, parenting style...
I looked back at Diana who's been silent this whole time. "And you agree to this completely,"
"I'm... not sure why you find this strange Viel..." she shrugged. "Why does it seem so wrong for you?"
"Because breeding is a fundamental right?"
The two looked at each other then back at me. "Why?" Inata asked.
"What?"
"Yes, why?" Inata shrugged. "Breeding is just biology, why would you want that? If you ask a thousand people here if they want to have children, 85% would say yes, if you ask those thousand people if they choose to have children with their genes or not, most would shrug and either say no or whatever," she looked at me. "Why are genes so important? You shouldn't love a kid based on their genetic make up, that's messed up,"
I screamed internally, the culture shock was gonna be the death of me. "And why the fuck did you call 'unregulated child rearing' as 'slavery'?"
"Because you gain an unregulated ownership of a person?" Inata asked. "That's how it works right? It's the 'mini me' fantasy, the ultimate power fantasy," she explained. "For caretaker, they are at least regulated, you get to raise the kid however you want but you have to report back on the child's welfare and wellbeing to the government, it's just fair for the child, without check and balance, parenting becomes an obscene power imbalance fantasy,"
"And the genes??? How are you so sure they don't breed for like, aesthetics, or IQ, or EQ, or whatever?"
Inata tilted her head. "Of course they do, but would you love a child less if their gene isn't 'natural'? That's... very messed up..."
Oh fuck me... "Okay, okay, you know what? I don't want to remember this conversation anymore, I'm purging it out, god I'm purging it out,"