KY321B | voice | day 012

[backsassin]

Just want to clarify something I said when I first got here:

Whatever brought me to this place didn’t just get me stuck in human form. It actually made me human.

Case in point: sweat glands. Clawdites don’t have them. Humans do.

On a related note: how do you all deal with being so wet all the time? I know it’s how you thermoregulate, but it feels so gross. I feel like I need to be carrying around a towel…

[ It’s one of many, many complaints Zam has about her new human physiology, but in the interest of not offending her majority-human fellow islanders, she’ll keep them to herself. For now. ]

Anyone else get their species swapped upon waking up here? And more importantly: what are the chances we'll be able to be turned back?

Comments

cs: LO431Y; voice

[lonelynotforsaken]

I think you're one of the first people who isn't human to turn up here. But, um... sweating is good! It-it means you're not so dehydrated you can't. It's when you stop sweating that it gets bad. If there's water nearby, you can wash off in that. M-m-maybe not the ocean, thought. That's probably... worse.

[Crusty with salt.]

voice;

[backsassin]

[ A snort. ] Yeah, all good on that front. I'm a hydrated and healthy endotherm.

[ Well, mostly hydrated. Technically she's still recovering from several days spent wandering the island without water, but she has access to enough now. ]

If this island turns everyone human, I guess we wouldn't know, would we? Some people might just be less inclined to share than I am.

[lonelynotforsaken]

Maybe? I- but it can't be everyone. Well... maybe it can? I don't know. I sort of have a theory about some of the animals getting brought here the same way we've been. So-so why would they get to stay like they are, but you got changed?

[...]

Not that I'm implying you're like an animal! Oh, god. Sorry! That came out- I just- I-I mean non-human-

Maybe it's because you're a person? L-like a sapient person.

voice | KD201D (little threadjack if that's okay)

[obeir]

[ K's tone is wry; he's teasing Martin. ] Speaking as one of the other resident non-humans, I think I'd rather be likened to an animal than a human.

[ Look, he has complicated feelings about the species responsible for enslaving and abusing him and his kind. ]

[lonelynotforsaken]

I- um. [How do you even respond to that? He can tell K is joking, but he doesn't know the man well enough to gauge where lines might be on humor. Is a human joking about that okay, or only other non-humans? Probably best to just... slide past it.] I'll just... try to avoid comparing anyone who's a person to an animal. That-that seems like a better idea. Nicer, certainly.

[backsassin]

[ Zam actually chuckles at his panicked apologies. ] Hey, relax—I know what you mean. I hadn't heard about the animals showing up here, but yeah, sounds like whatever human-ification effect they're hitting people with only extends to sapients.

Guess we've got to ask ourselves: if the thing bringing us over has some kind of agenda, why's it need all the people on the island to be human? [ A wry huff of laughter. ] I'd guess it wanted a level playing field, but that didn't stop it from bringing me in minus an arm.

[lonelynotforsaken]

I mean, it's just a theory, but we had a really random assortment of birds that some people mentioned, and then my group ran into a dinosaur. So, it... just seems like those might mean there are random creatures being dropped here on the island. There might not even be a consciousness behind it. If there's some sort of-of tear in reality, it would make sense, right? It wouldn't just be people coming through. Just whoever or whatever was unlucky enough to get caught in it.

I don't know why it would trap you in one form, though. Or leave you without an arm.

BT612L; voice

[ichoosefight]

Baseline human here, but... your shape-changing doesn't alter your internal biology at all?

I'm sorry if that's a rude question, but the ability to genetically alter live organisms doesn't fit with the level of technology we've seen so far.

[ Which is not to say that they were genetically altered before they were alive! Because that's the clone theory. And it's very disturbing to some. ]

Re: BT612L; voice

[backsassin]

Not to this extent. I can move around what’s already there, but I can’t create new organs.

Assuming this is a question of technology, then we’re already dealing with something or someone that can potentially teleport people across universes. I don’t see why altering someone’s biology would be too far of a stretch for them either.

[ Hell, it might even be easier. Physiology has always been something with a degree of fluidity to it for Zam. The laws of physics, on the other hand, have always seemed much less flexible.

She adds, wryly: ]

And if it is—the afterlife theory’s still on the table.

BT612L; voice

[ichoosefight]

It's not that, exactly.

I've heard of other universes, and I know that there are people in my world that have tried to find ways between them. And depending on how a power works, that's something that could be blocked in several ways.

But those are things that can be done instantly, by an outside force. I can't think of any way to add or remove whole internal systems that wouldn't take time, assuming it was even possible. Magic, maybe, but I don't have a frame of reference for how much power that kind of thing would take.

It's not really that one is more feasible than the other, they're just sort of... categorically different. You know?

And no offense, but an afterlife that makes everyone human seems dumb. Not that you're dumb for suggesting it, but whoever is in charge of it is seriously weird.

voice;

[backsassin]

Why shouldn't an afterlife be dumb? Everything I heard about it while I was alive sounded dumb. [ She says it half-laughing, but there's a sourness there that's unusual for her. It's been in the back of her mind since she arrived now—that, if the Mabari were right and her changing her face really was a sin, then trapping her in the false form she most often took would be an all-too-fitting cosmic punishment. Honestly, the only thing stopping that idea from truly taking root is that there are other natural-born humans here with her—not other damned Clawdites. ]

But fine. I'm not really attached to the afterlife theory, anyway. Fact of the matter is, something changed me from Clawdite to human, and whether it was tech or magic, it seems like a hell of a lot of trouble to go through without reason.

[ She blows out a breath. ]

Not that we've got enough to work with to figure out what that reason is yet, but it's something to keep in mind.

voice;

[ichoosefight]

[ Give her a second with that, she never really formed any particular feelings about religion. ]

...Yeah, fair.

It's a piece of the puzzle. I just wish we had more than, like, 5.

It'd be nice if any other not-baseline-humans spoke up now, see if "human" really is the standard here, but it's reasonable for everyone to be suspicious.

voice; SH442K

[sharktrash]

[ They're probably staying in the same camp at this point, but Squalo's constantly off with errands, so he figures he might as well respond over the radio. Zam will probably recognize his voice, at least (it's hard not to), loud and scratchy and barking a laugh that's obnoxious on the ears. ]

If you're enjoying sweat glands, can't wait to hear your opinion about bladders.

voice;

[backsassin]

[ Zam's first reaction to this responses is baffled silence. Her second is delighted, incredulous laughter. ]

Wait, wait—are you under the impression that humans are the only ones in the galaxy that piss?

[ She knows humans can have some pretty odd ideas about other sapient species, but that about takes the cake. ]

voice;

[sharktrash]

[ She's welcome! ]

Hey, how the fuck would I know? [ The words may be harsh, but his tone is conversational, like they're two buddies shooting the shit. ] You're the one waltzing in here with your-- lack of glands.

[ He gestures at the radio out of habit, forgetting it can't be seen. ]

We don't have lizard people on other planets where I'm from, so I don't exactly have a frame of reference.

[ They had at least one alien, to be fair, but that was... complicated. ]

voice;

[backsassin]

[ Zam grins at the coarse words; she likes this guy already. ]

You don't know that, [ she says breezily. ] We're shapeshifters, remember? Maybe we're on your planet already: infiltrating your governments, seducing your women...

Or maybe we're just hundreds of parsecs away, minding our own business. Your people ever get off-planet much back home?

[sharktrash]

[ He fakes an indignant gasp. ]

Shit, you're right. You could be everywhere. I knew my neighbor was hiding something--

[ And he's back to a normal tone of voice like flipping a switch. ]

Nah. We've been to the Moon and there's a space station in Earth's orbit, that's about it.

voice | KD201D

[obeir]

I'm still very much an android, like I previously mentioned, but the physiological changes I've noticed in myself... [ Here he's grimacing at the thought of being turned into a human. How horrific. ] Could be it's this place trying to make me closer to a human. HE412T mentioned being human but losing all his powers, too. Almost like — whatever brought us here is trying to equalise us?

[backsassin]

Huh. So this place didn't make you human—just more human than you were before?

[ It's still odd to think that he's a droid—or, was one anyway. He doesn't look nor sound anything like one to her, but then, that could've just been another change wrought by the island. She wonders what he looked like before this place. ]

Maybe someone really is trying to make it a level playing field, then. Or to set some kind of experimental baseline.

I don't think we have the information to draw any solid conclusions yet, but... I don't know. This feels significant.

[obeir]

It's strange being so weak. [ After considering how that might sound to the resident human population, he diplomatically adds: ] Compared to what I'm used to. [ There. Better. Ish.

And it hasn't stopped bothering him, just the sheer amount of eating and sleeping that the average baseline human requires in order to remain functional. And now him. It seems terribly inefficient. So much time that could be put toward better things. ]

As far as I'm aware, we're the only two confirmed non-humans who've been brought here. Recently, at least. [ If there are others, maybe this will encourage them to speak up. ] And Martin raises an interesting point about the animals here, and Ben about objects...

[ And the sweat factor. After Ben chimes in on that, K performs a curious sniff check of himself that Zam might actually be able to see if she's in camp anywhere. Other than the smell of woodfire smoke clinging to him, there's a noticeable lack of... much else, really. Nothing like the musky body odor that he's caught whiffs of from humans before. ]

Well, I don't smell like a human. [ Wryly: ] Small mercies, I suppose.

[backsassin]

Tell me about it, [ Zam commiserates. ] I don't think I'm any weaker as a human, but being stuck in one form? It's so boring.

[ That last word comes out with more heat than Zam intended. Not like shapeshifting and being a Clawdite were important parts of her identity or anything, right? She can't help but run on a little. ]

I mean, even if I hadn't been turned into a human, I probably would've stuck with this form for the most part here. Keep a low profile, you know? But not even having the choice—ugh, it's like an itch I can't scratch and I know it's just going to get worse.

[ Okay, maybe she's a bit more upset about it than she's been letting on—even to herself. She huffs out a breath and reminds herself that just because Kaydee is another non-human, it doesn't mean he can relate at all to being suddenly non-Clawdite. ]

Anyway, [ she sighs, trying to re-assume her usual nonchalant demeanor. ] How have you been coping? I guess this must be your first time eating and drinking, right? How's that going?

audio | DI481O

[salamanca]

Oh, that's not even the worst part about sweating, mija. Wait until you experience the smell! Whew! Am I right or am I right?

voice;

[backsassin]

Ugh, don't remind me. I thought I'd been around enough humans to know what they smell like; turns out, you all smell like wet bantha when you don't wash.

[ Maybe not that bad, but it feels like it to someone who literally never sweat before. ]

If there's a shower in that locked house: I call dibs.

voice;

[salamanca]

Tell me about it! [ Brief pause. Then, cheerily: ] What's a bantha? [ Just as cheerily: ] What's a Clawdite?

If there's a shower in that locked house, you better hope it's not in the same state as the toilets I saw in the drone prisons! Even grosser than a wet bantha! [ He even says that exactly like he knows what a "bantha" is, despite having no clue! ]

[backsassin]

A bantha's a big shaggy creature used as a pack animal on some planets. And a Clawdite is what I am—or, what I was before I came here. [ She blows out a breath, trying to think of what she actually wants to share. ] We're repto-mammalian bipeds from the planet Zolan. All of us can shapeshift, though some of us are better at it than others. And we're all incredibly smart, beautiful, and talented.

And we smell better than humans, so there's that, too.