Project: TheirWorld - Chapter 038 - Part 1

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With Great Expectation

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The Enclave

“Whenever you speak to other species,” the young professor at the front of the room was saying, “You must stop thinking about their cultures in terms of your own. Human, valkyrian, earar, tivarys, et cetera. Each species has hundreds - sometimes thousands - of subcultures. Each is defined by environmental and biological differences that vary from climate to climate and race to race. Fundamentally, it is easy to say that we are all people. We all have a soul, we have the basic needs of life; eating, sleeping, et cetera - but, questions around Moral and Cultural Relativism aside, we cannot communicate with one another knowing only this - lest you shall lose your life being ‘polite’.”

Yawning, Dassah scribbled down some notes about what the teacher was saying, even though it seemed more like common sense. It would not have been the first test she failed because she relied on common sense.

“I think we need to start teaching the phrase ‘No shit, Sherlock’, to our students,” Stella growled from next to her. “Fucking pointless required intro classes. This is the third class she’s gone on about this shit.”

“‘This shit’ is kinda what the whole class is about,” Dassah mumbled back at her.

“Yeah. Social Survival, 101: Don’t insult people with your existence,” she replied. “Hey, wanna ditch? I could go for coffee more than a lecture on how Earar speak softly ‘cause they have giant fucking ears.”

Mildly horrified, Dassah said, “I really don’t think that that’s at all what this lecture is going to be about.”

“I’m summarizing.”

“The class is only for another twenty minutes…”

“You’re killing me, Das,” the blonde young woman whined.

“Excuse me,” the teacher went with a tense voice, and Dassah looked up to see her staring at them. “Do you have something to add to the discussion?”

Dassah flushed and looked down at her notes.

“We were just discussing some of the biological differences between humans, bats, and earar,” Stella said happily. “The fact that they seem so closely related to Earthian bats makes them a lot more relatable than, say, the jikak, who bare a resemblance to a kind of Earthian livestock, but share no traits with them at all.”

The teacher clicked her tongue and said, “It is true, that you occasionally run into cases where you can use your inherent knowledge to…”

Stella snorted and turned back to Dassah. “As a teacher yourself, you should know how to throw other teachers off the scent of mutiny…”

“More like she didn’t want to waste anymore time on you,” Dassah muttered.

“Oh, fine,” Stella said, rolling her eyes. “But after this, you are telling me how you are still in the goddamn tutorial.”

Dassah waved her off and looked down at her watch. Fifteen minutes, she thought to herself, looking at the teacher - who, as per Stella’s prediction, was going on about Earar ears. The young woman next to her gave her a cocky grin, but instead of being a pest, starting messing with her console.

After scribbling down some more notes , she checked her smartwatch for notifications. Hmm? Dongsaeng? Dassah pulled up a screen for her KiTTalk App.

-Elric: Noona! Hisashiburi, ne? Choushi wa dou? Daijoubu desu ka?

-Dassah: Hai ~ Hai! Genki, genki. Dongsaeng?

-Elric: Genki desu~! . Noona, have you started to play TheirWorld yet? I am waiting for you!

-Dassah: Haha. Yes. I will hopefully finish the tutorial soon. Have I told you about my friend, Stella? She will be playing with me, too.

-Elric: Ohhhh. That sounds fun! How is work?

-Dassah: Meh. It’s work. I work with a garule woman now.

-Elric: Oh! How is that? I work with one to - he’s very funny!

-Dassah: It’s… interesting, haha. I am too intimidated by her… T-T

-Elric: I’m sure she’s very nice! Have courage, Noona!

-Dassah: I think so, haha. Thanks ">

-Elric: I have to go to class now - I’ll talk to you later! Hopefully we can play together soon! See you!

-Dassah: Hopefully you class is more interesting than mine! See you!

Dassah smiled and put her messages away, putting her attentions back to class. Elric was a good kid. He was several years her junior, but he seemed to be a kind individual, full of energy and high spirits, even if he was a bit shy. They had met on the ship back when first came to the Enclave, and had kept in touch ever since. As a very serious language student, he was a lot busier than she was, however, and it was hard to find the time to talk. They both had hoped TheirWorld would give them more opportunities to meet each other.

“What are you grinning about over there?” Stella asked, poking Dassah’s cheek.

“Nothing,” Dassah mumbled.

“Stop the mumbling and speak woman,” Stella told her. “Class is over. Thank God.”

Gathering her up her books and papers, Dassah sighed. “Sometimes, Stella, nothing means nothing,” she said. “But if you must know, I was talking to a friend I haven’t spoken to in a while. And no, I won’t introduce you yet - he’s going to play TheirWorld with us.”

Stella’s eyes seemed to light up at the prospect of a male addition. “Is he cute?”

“...for his sake, I am not going to answer that.”

“He is! How exciting!” Stella clapped her hands together. “Fair game?”

Dassah rolled her eyes. “When it comes to you, none of my friends are ‘fair game’.”

“Such a pity,” she went as they started walking back to their office. “I guess I’ll just have to see, then! On to the real question of the day: How in God’s name are you still in the bloody tutorial!”

Sighing, Dassah said, “I got… caught up in things.”

“‘Caught up in things’?” the young woman repeated. “You have been in the tutorial - the tutorial, mind yoy, which should have taken 3 hours at the most - for almost a week! And you are said before that you played all weekend, too? What the hell!”

“Does is matter?” Dassah asked. She may have been taking her dear, sweet time in the tutorial, but it was dear sweet time that she wouldn’t have to take later when she entered the main game. “It suits me. Isn’t that what’s important?”

Had on the office door, Stella scoffed at her a few times before she pointed at Dassah with her long, intricately decorated fingernails and said: “Get your act together, woman! I got you into the game to do two things: Play with you, and have you participate in the hunt for Silver Hound! If you can’t even get passed the start in a week, how the hell long is it going to take you to get out of the first zone!”

“Just open the door, would you?” Dassah asked, annoyed. “Hunting Silver Hound is your own business. I never intend to help you with that.”

“Oh, you will,” Stella grinned, and pushed open the door, letting Dassah go in first. Shaking her head, went to her desk, nodding to Bahena as she passed while Stella cheerfully greeted her.