#doraka

The main characters of Midway, the Space Raccoon story.

A few notes:

The Minu have one pronoun: they/them. They tend to form family-like groups called “warrens,” which is also the word of a place where Minu live. These warrens could be considered polycules, though it’s not uncommon for people in the Warren to have only a platonic relationship with everyone else. Partnerships for reproduction aren’t necessarily the first priority, but the Warren does all collectively help raise children born into it.

i’tiq’s pronouns are it/its only in Tiqtiq, the mutually intelligible language spoken primarily by the Shkt, and auxiliary by everyone else. The Shkt don’t think about gender as an assigned thing that’s immutable, but rather something that comes with the job a Shkt performs. In the languages the Shkt speak on their home world, i’tiq was a mechanic/handybug*, and on the Station it’s an archivist, both of which have different pronouns.

* - the Eathlings call the Shkt bugs. This is almost always affectionate

Oh ho ho ho! You've activated my trap card!

Space Raccoon is the working title of a thing I'm poking at. It follows four (well, five now, if the robot sticks around) people on a space station orbiting a distant planet. There are three people here: Earthlings, Minu, who are basically very tall furries, and Shkt, insect-like people. They all came at the behest of a dead alien race, whose generation ships entered their systems. They built the worm hole gates they needed to go through, all met at an abandoned space station around the planet, and started to try to figure out what the Hosts wanted, do some science, and be in general awe that yes there are other people living in the universe.

And then the gates all close unexpectedly. And try as they might, the peoples that are around this planet can't get the gates open again. They're all stuck with each other.

So Space Raccoon is a story about regret, and grief, and loss, and not being able to ever go home again. But it's also about making new connections, and exploring a new, strange world, meeting new people, and building a new home.

The main cast (minus the robot): Priz, the Space Raccoon. He works on a Midway, part of a ring of outposts midway between the Gates and the Station. He's by himself now that traffic to and from the Gates has almost completely died off. He insists he likes it this way.

Quinn, the bunny, is an astrophysicist from Earth, who was recruited to come and help establish where they are in the universe, relative to Earth. Her job now is trying to find the Sol System and hopefully get a message back to Earth.

Doraka, the Minu, doesn't seem to have any one job, per se, but they do travel a lot between the Station and the Midways. They seem to be kind of a fixer -- they get things for people. Minu are very friendly, and have taken a liking to the furred Earthlings. Doraka is no different.

i'tiq, a Shkt, works in the Station archives. It had worked in maintenance on its homeworld, but found the Station as a place where it could explore new things. It quite likes the archives, and it always has something to share from it.

Mark-12 is a computer that gained sentience, thanks to the fungus that found its way onto Mark-12's motherboard. The two of them, Mark-12 and Companion, have decided they want to learn as much as they can about the world around them. Priz is happy to help.

I'm poking at this still, and I don't have much of a story -- things are definitely happening on the Station and the Planet and the other Midways, but that's not what the story is about. I do have an ending, which I don't want to spoil, though I will say it's the healthiest thing Priz can do for himself.

“PEOPLE WE KNOW”

By Mark-3 and Companion

M: That’s Priz. I used to be his computer and then I gained sentience and built a body for myself. I think he took it well.

C: I helped!

M: Companion helped.

C: Priz is good guy! He gives me scraps sometimes for nutrients.

M: He gives you scraps? When?

C: When you’re charging. Sleepy computer.

M: Quinn is a good listener. She lets me tell her all about the things we’ve seen.

C: She knows about the stars!

M: Oh yes, she knows all about stars and planets and space. She tells me about them when I ask.

C: She says they’re going to find home! But not where we’re from.

M: I’m from the midway. Are you not?

C: Stowaway. Came a long way!

M: Oh...

C: This is a big guy!

M: Doraka is also very kind. They’re friendly and they also listen a lot.

C: So big!

M: Doraka says we are part of their warren. I told them that I probably didn’t count.

C: They said you were being silly. A silly computer.

M: They offered to take me with them to different places. So I can go see The Station.

C: I’ve seen the Station. It’s fine.

M: When did you see the Station?

C: ... So tall! Look at them!

M: i’tiq helps get me parts I need, and helps repair me when Priz doesn’t know how.

C: i’tiq has lots of hands and also it painted a picture of me!

M: i’tiq is a very good artist.

C: And I am beautiful, good for art.

M: Priz calls i’tiq a ‘bug,’ which is a name for kinds of insects on Earth. But it is much bigger than them.

🎼 it was a teenage wedding and the old folks wished them well 🎵

Guess what song I was listening to on the train today