Militant vegans, for years after she managed to escape their world, attempt to kidnap Harro, and later their children, and their grandchildren, and great-grandchildren to "pay for crimes against their world". Each time they try, they're stopped rather firmly and placed into prison. Good thing Harro, and their family, are quite fierce about self-defense and have a lot of defenders. The militant vegans, within their cells, and the ones from their homeworlds, both refuse to accept their "heros" have committed crimes and are prison for it, and that each kidnap attempt is going to wind each kidnapper into the prisons as well. It's hard to rehab those with such closed minds.
@internutter/challenge-02970-h047-the-lifelong-argument -- DaniAndShali
Usually, when these things happen, the polity they belong to declares their actions to be that of a "lone wolf" with or without any other adjectives. However, Plabari does not believe in wolves, canids, or other carnivores. Therefore, their turn of phrase is "wild ungulate". Not that they have many of those in their polity either. They went extinct for some reason after the wild lands were all turned to croplands that were protected from unwanted herbivores.
Never let it be said that a Plabari can draw a line between "cause" and "effect". That would spoil everything that they've been working for. If they encounter no proof that a fully vegan lifestyle is not possible for all living things, then they can't have an existential crisis. And for those who would defy the clean and pure way of life? The only answer is death.
Thusly, Plabari Jens has gone out to become a wild ungulate and strike a blow for justice. The offending filthy carnivore, Harro Silentfoot was no longer able to be found, then one of her descendants would do. They could still be found. Jens picked the nearest one and took the shortest possible path to where they lived. It was quite a shock to discover that the Cogniscent Rights Committee intercepted her "for questioning."
It was never just for questioning. Jens only said eight words, "I will only speak to the Plabari ambassador." She thought she would be safe and, in a way, she was. They very kindly escorted her into a habitat that was very safe indeed. No harm could possibly come to her in this environment. In some ways, it was indistinguishable from a minimum standard habitation for one humanoid cogniscent in any given Galactic station. The public area had one gigantic wall that showed an array of similar cells. The private area had everything anyone could need. The garden was lush and almost ready for harvest.
In some ways, it was also indistinguishable from a prison. Though Jens had access to everything else a cogniscent could need, they could not leave this habitat. Not even for exercise. That was available via a workout machine in the private zone. She could talk to anyone she liked, but only through a comms screen or through the intercom to whomsoever decided to visit.
There were no visitors.
Jens called the Plabari Ambassador and only got as far as their office secretary. "I need an extradition, please," she said. "The heinous meat-eaters and abusers of the CRC have me captive."
"Are they forcing you to eat meat?"
"No."
"Are they forcing you to abuse animals?"
"No."
"Are they making you wear or use anything that was animal in origin?"
"No."
"Were you acting on behalf of Plabari complaints against said abusive meat-eaters?"
"Yes."
"Are you free to make your own decisions regarding your medical care, diet, and learning materials?"
"Yes."
"Were you attempting to secure a criminal judged guilty in absentia in Plabari space?"
This was it. This was the moment where Jens knew she would be declared a hero. "Yes."
"The ambassador nor their office cannot help you. As long as you have full options for a healthy, clean life of your own choosing, we cannot act on your behalf. Have a good day."
The office disconnected.
Jens spent a year refusing to accept the CRC's criminal charges. By Plabari law, she had not been the one committing the crime. She was in hot pursuit of a debt owed to her polity and her people. Jens didn't need to use their food printer, which could sneak in horrors like animal-sourced nutrients. She could make everything she needed from the plants in the garden.
After a couple of years, those plants started to fail. All the information said they needed more nutrition. Nutrition sourced from... from...
Blood and bone.
She had avoided this information all her life. Tried to find other ways around it. Petrochemicals could do the work, but petrol was a fossil fuel derived from the fats of long-dead animals and therefore not clean. She could opt to use nutrients derived from the waste recycling system, but there was no way to choose the effluvium of cogniscents who had chosen clean living. Recycling her own waste would only keep things going for five more years.
What did the Plabari Nutrition Committee do to help enrich the plants at home?
Jens looked, doing research into the matter, and discovered a horrible truth. They not only used a combination of plant waste and the waste matter of its populace, but it also ground up the dead to turn into fertiliser. Even worse than that... any dead animal found on Plabari soon became nutrients for the fields.
They even imported organic waste to use for the same purpose.
All this time...
All this time, they had been lying to her.
Cleanliness was a lie.
Plants ate animals. Therefore plants were animal byproducts. Unclean.
Now she had an even bigger decision to make. Die clean... or live dirty?
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / Reana]
If you like my stories, please Check out my blog and Follow me. Or share them with your friends!
Send me a prompt [54 remaining prompts!]