All work and no play...

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

There is an AI on the ship that goes by the name Bender Stack. It only pops up now and again, and now its function may finally be somewhat clear.

"Hey. Hey meatbag!" says a grating voice.

Bender Stack chases people away from work when they've been doing too much of it.

This is why Brainiac 5 leaves the Special Weapons Division and by the time he gets up to the Living Area (having decided to eat anyway if the irritating AI is going to heckle him out of work) he's about at his wit's end.

"--For the last time, I am not going to build you a robot prostitute! You're an AI, not a mechanoid, you couldn't interface with it anyway."

Comments

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

"So the obsession is rooted in loneliness and desire for companionship, as many are socialized into thinking it's a physical expression of romantic feelings and not just a procreative act."

He actually does not know this stuff. Other species are other species.

[shes-intense.livejournal.com]

"....That's a way more concise way to put it, yeah. And it's not really just that we THINK it's an expression of romantic feeling. It IS one."

She gestures a little with the spoon, making like circles as if she were lecturing and just fiddling with the pointer in between tapping it on the blackboard.

"The idea of sex as a purely procreative act is kind of lost underneath the idea of sex for companionship and pleasure, honestly. It USED to be thought of that way, at least in Western culture, but the time period where sex was supposed to be a procreative act ONLY was incredibly restrictive and pious and full of a lot of religious persecution."

"It's regarded as this sort of dark age where people were frightened into believing a lot of stupid things just because they weren't educated to know any better and as a result a lot of superstitions were honestly believed. Even my grandparents generation were still being told things like that masturbation would make them go blind."

She rolls her eyes. Then the thought crosses into her mind of how Brainy would have reacted to Bianca's very effective slide show and she's suddenly quite glad that she's explaining this instead of Jaime's mother. Because for all it's useful facts somebody with no cultural understanding of sex would probably have run from it screaming after the slides.

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

Brainy would've found such a scientifically-based, factual presentation rather informative, actually, but he understand the biology behind it all.

"Sexual attitudes are considerably liberal by my own time--nearly a non-issue-- and I do understand the socio-cultural ramifications of sexual oppression. It's more the intense personal interest that confounds me somewhat. Coluans tend towards arranging unions based on logical consideration of certain traits and the possible genetics of the offspring. We're exceedingly long-lived as a species, which means the need to procreate in general is minimal. Beyond that, I'm even somewhat unusual for a Coluan in my beliefs and attitudes."

[shes-intense.livejournal.com]

"See, being that scientific about procreation is the kind of thing only a few people have the wealth to do on my Earth and selecting a mate for their genetics alone rather than their companionship is regarded as aberrant to the point of being creepy."

Her expression is thoughtful as she tries to think of how best to explain it.

"Like, it's one thing to use that kind of screening to prevent disease or birth defects... but if both parents are healthy having children is sort of a 'take what you're given' thing. Humans are big on the non-scientific aspects of people. Personality, creative spirit, the concept of a soul and the precious individuality of a life. We get very philosophical about their being a greater purpose and meaning to our lives and the way we interact with and influence others just by existing."

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

"Others do find Coluan social practices unnerving, even in my own time. Winathians, Carggites, Earthlings, Braalians--all of them share similar attitudes regarding mating and marriage practices. Mind you, for Carggites there is a rather complex set of rules for social etiquette during mating rituals, but it's almost necessary given that six entities are technically involved."

[shes-intense.livejournal.com]

Brenda laughs. "Six? Oh my god that sounds like a square dance, not sex."

[cabbage-butt.livejournal.com]

"Carggites can split into three separate, autonomous beings each."

[shes-intense.livejournal.com]

"Jeez, my life would be so much easier if I could be in three places at once."