Chapter Text
Your name is Buturi Bartah and you happen to be a teal-blooded scienterrorist
The Empire has taken you to their latest conquest planet, a small blue planet that the natives have called “Earth” or “Terra”. You doubt that the empire will keep the name once the planet is conquered, but its an important factor in naming the natives of this planet. You are debating whether to call the creatures who live here “Earthlings”, “Earthicans” or perhaps “Terrans”.
Speaking of the natives, they are such fascinating creatures! In all of the previous conquests of the empire you have yet to see an alien race that resembles the troll race as much as the natives of Earth (Terra?).
There are some major distinctions between the races of course, terrans are smaller, only growing to about the size of a juvenile troll. Terrans lack horns and horn-sense (you wonder how they get around) and have softer skin and hair. They only have one blood color (bright scandalous red) but their eyes and hair come is a dizzying array of colors. Where a troll eye is grey as a juvenile and the same solid color as their blood as an adult, human eyes can be many many different colors all at the same time! You’ve seen samples of humans with bright gold eyes with green and teal flecks, starbursts of teal around the pupil of a brown eyes, some are even spotted! Their hair is also fascinating, their hair ranges anywhere from a bright white or a pale yellow, to deep reds, browns, golds, the familiar trollish black, and anything inbetween!
You hear that some of the higher ups have taken to using the soft and colorful hair in embroidery projects. You think you can understand that, why buy gold thread when there are creatures who can grow them?
Human skin also comes in a wide variety of colors, anywhere from pale white to deep, almost black brown and anything inbetween. Some are dotted with strange little brown marks called “Freckles”. From your research you found that humans used to have a subjugation system based on their skin colors, you wonder if it was spectrum based on the degree of color? Even more surprising is that in your research it was found that humans had abolished this system and were actively destroying all remnants of it in their culture.
It was always assumed in your society that if the hemospectrum subjugation system was destroyed that your entire culture would dissolve into anarchy and destroy itself. That's why rebels were so dangerous. The only way Trolls survived as a species, was that they were controlled so tightly. However, the Terrans (or humans), at least based off your research were doing so well after abolishing their system, they were making such progress before the Empire came that-
You try to quell such traitorous thoughts. In a society where mind readers exist you can’t even THINK such thoughts. That could’ve been disastrous. You quickly look up from your workstation, you almost feel like at any second one of your co-workers will jump up from their station and out you as a traitor of the Empire and recite your blasphemous thoughts for all to hear. Its thoughts like that, that gets troll’s quadrant mates killed, along with themselves. You think of your little yellow-blooded moirail Yandah at the hands of a subjuggulator and shudder.
Anyways, what you’re most interested about in humans is their lususing capabilities. Terrans lusus their own offspring, they can take care of multiple offspring at the same time and have been known to take in offspring not genetically their own. They also regularly take in the young of other species, like the young of the dog or the cat and raise the creature for companion purposes.
Trolls as a species are “brood parasites”, meaning that they use other species to raise their young. Suitable lusii on Alternia has always been a precious commodity. When broods first started exceeding lusii numbers in the pre-cellestial period, screening measures were put in place to make sure no deformed, mutated or ill grubs were to be given lusii, then it was only the best out of the healthy grubs, then the best of those, until the grub trials became as brutal as they are today. Now there are grubs who complete all of the trials set out for them only to come to the surface and not be chosen due to lack of lusii.
Its an incredibly irritating problem, think of all of the great soldiers who died at the brooding cavern exit. You’re sure that the highbloods wouldn't care so much if it were just rust-blooded grubs who got left behind, but lusii don’t abide by the hemospectrum and rust to violet-blooded grubs get left behind equally.
Which is why a species like the Terrans could be so valuable. Once Terra is conquered the remaining Terrans could be enslaved for lususing uses. Its absolutely genius! Not only that but think of having a lusus that could properly communicate! Alternian lusii are intelligent but none of them can talk. Terran language is strangely musical, without all the harsh clicks and whirrs and growls of the troll language, but it is still a language. And just think of the possibilities of teaching a human to speak Alternian! They would be able to speak with their grubs! Rationally explain away the fears of grubhood, gives grubs a head start on language!
You loved your bird-mom dearly, but there's only so many problems that can be solved with squawking and regurgitated insects.
Also inexperienced lusii are known to tear open their grub’s pupation cocoons because they’re worried about their grubs and accidentally kill them when they do so. It would be so nice to have lusii that you could explain things to, give instructions.
Which is exactly why you've been given clearance to conduct your current experiment!