Work Text:
Ramattra sat at the balcony of the monastery. The day had brought him a great deal of introspection, and he'd allowed his mind to wander much further than he'd regularly allow himself. Mondatta always said that asking oneself questions is how one gets to learn about all else.
The Iris.
Transcendence.
Aurora.
The monastery followed in her teachings, that one should strive to know all of everything. To transcend existence is to become one with everything, and one cannot become one with everything if one does not know everything. Or so her teachings went. Truthfully, Ramattra spent some days wondering whether or not he truly believed in the word of the more experienced monks.
The omnic looked up at the stars, each one a shining orb of pure energy. A ball of light, transcending its own matter into another. Each shining dot in the sky its own Aurora. Maybe each one of them were just as kind as she was. Maybe each one could hear him. Maybe he hoped she could. Maybe... just maybe... he could get an answer to the question that had long plagued his mind.
The question often presented itself in different ways: a deafening boom some days, a questioning whisper on others. But it was always there. The omnic wondered if these doubts affected the others so. Brother Zenyatta. Brother Mondatta. Maybe even Aurora herself...
The omnic looked up at the stars, each of them looking back at him in response. His voice box quivered slightly, before he directed his question to the cosmos.
"Why?"
"Brother Ramattra?"
The tall omnic jolted at the sudden voice, regardless of how gentle it may have been. Behind Ramattra stood his spiritual leader, Master Mondatta.
"Struggling to rest again, brother," the pale omnic asked, standing proudly. Mondatta's figure worked as a symbol of hope to those in the monastery. A beacon of wisdom. But deep down, still an omnic. like others. Like him.
"Apologies again, Master." Ramattra turned to the pale omnic, his mind finally settling back to the crevices of his processor. "I'd wish not to prevent you from your rest, but my mind has been... wandering, of late."
Mondatta rested his hand on Ramattra's shoulder. Despite being the taller of the two, being next to Mondatta made him feel... little. "Talk to me, brother."
Ramattra hesitated. Master Mondatta was asking him to share his heart, to bare his mind. But Ramattra felt compelled to do so. Mondatta had a strange energy that tore down people's defenses, made them feel safe. Maybe that's why Ramattra started pouring out his thoughts. Or maybe Ramattra had just been holding onto them for too long.
"I don't believe that what we are doing here will work," he said hastily. Almost as if he were trying to avoid saying it altogether. "You think that the work we are doing here, to honor the teachings of Aurora, is wrong?" Mondatta asked, his tone rising inquisitively. "No, that's not how I meant it, brother. To follow the teachings of Aurora, to honor peace and knowledge, that is right. But to extend those into our politics, our fight for rights...? I'm not so sure."
Mondatta sat on a nearby bench, looking up at Ramattra. He urged the taller omnic to continue with a hand gesture. And he obliged.
"I am fond of the idea that offerings of peace and treaties that invoke kindness from humans would work, Master Mondatta. Truly, if we lived in a world where that were possible, I would adore it. But that is a fantasy, and one that we must abandon if we wish to seek equity from humankind. It is not the same way humans elect who within themselves has more rights over who. We are fighting for our right to live. Master Mondatta, Aurora was one-of-a-kind, she was the first to have sentience. She was the first to be enlightened. And instead of cherishing that gift, to allow herself to enjoy the gift of clarity of mind, she gave all of us a fragment of herself, so that we may one day be as she is. Why?"
Mondatta's face turned away pensively, as though trying to think of a satisfying answer. A few seconds went by before Ramattra elected to speak again. "I don't believe I have much time left with the monastery, Master. I thank you for all the lessons, but I fear there's more to learn. I hope you can come to understand what I mean. I think I'll go get some rest."
And Mondatta could only watch as Ramattra walked away.
The omnic laid in bed, sunlight beaming in through a crack in the curtains of his laboratory. He'd fallen asleep at his work station. Ramattra hated when he woke up like this, from an unplanned rest period. It reminded him too much of humans.
The omnic walked away from his work station, opting to turn on a television. His eyes scanned the screen, tuning into different stations until one caught his eye. A picture of Mondatta. The omnic scoffed at the image.
"What did Master Mondatta do this time, for me to be graced by his face on my television?!" His voice oozed with contempt, well-earned by mutual scorn.
He read the few lines of text beneath the image. 'Omnic Rights Activist Assassinated.'
A little part in Ramattra coiled a little in pain. The death of a colleague. The loss of another omnic life. The loss of a friend. But those feelings were small. The big feeling was occupied by a simple, yet overpowering thought, which Ramattra uttered as he powered off the television.
"You should have come with me, brother."