It’s international Pronoun day, and for those going through gender transitions or trying to decide what they want to be called, respect their decision, as you respect mine to be called she/her/hers.
I once had a thought while watching a re-run of Star Trek Voyager that those aliens the Trek encountered were often mirrors of our own, with two sexes. Why not have more? Why not require three different sexes to procreate? And with that, why do they have to have humanoid pronouns of He/Her/She/They?
So I made up some and wrote a short story. The Paonen people have three sexes: Arf, Klu and Sim. They require all three to mate and create children. Arf are referred to by te/ter/tes. Klu are referred to by zi/zir/zis, and Sim are referred to by se/ser/ses.
On the other hand, instead of Humans, we had Mod-Humen, genetically modified Humans, who were able to change gender completely once in their life. You know, in case you found out you were in the wrong body and should have been born female or male.
So here’s my short story:
The small passenger vessel sped through the black waves of space, leaving the green and gold planet of Vargas behind. Coordinates had been programmed in, taking the two hundred Armada Academy graduates from the school on Vargas to the space station Coelacanth, where they would all disembark and transfer to the starships they were to spend the next three months on while serving their probationary space duty. In the interior, the graduates had formed groups in the passenger quarters, laughing and talking, and most of them were relieved to have left the rigorous training of the Academy behind. It was going to be a day’s journey to the space station, even travelling at maximum acceleration, and they were relaxing, glad to have a moment where they were not answerable to anyone.
Dars sat alone in the corner of the main lounge, a silver disc, about as big as a person’s palm, in the Paonen Sim’s hands. Information slowly flowed across the hand-held computer, the writing black against the silver background. The other occupants of the lounge ignored ser, not even looking in ser direction. Dars did not seem to notice or care, the Sim’s attention completely focussed on the words.
The lounge was comfortable, with tables and chairs, a food processing unit and a vending machine on the far wall, and screens along the side that showed the area of space they were passing through. The Wolf system, with its seven planets and small dual red stars, faded quickly into the background. More stars were visible, dotting the screens. Nobody paid any attention to the outside space. The graduates, all wearing their new, crisp scarlet uniforms, were too busy comparing their positions and ranks. Some were involved in a game of Ricochet with a pack of plastic cards, and betting with chocolate bars they had purchased from the vending machine.
All of the graduates wore their uniforms with pride. On the back of each scarlet jacket was emblazoned the black mask of the Illuminous Stellar Empire, with its sharply delineated features and enormous eyes, and their badges of rank were displayed on their collars and sleeves. Interestingly, out of everyone there, Dars, alone in the corner, was the only person with the white collar of a Captain. Almost everyone else had the black collar of an Ensign or the grey of a Lieutenant.
The Empire had been formed almost two hundred years ago, after the collapse of the Celestial Senate, when the Mod-Humen (genetically modified Humans) had split from the Senate and the other star systems, and had created their own civilisation. Even now, tensions were high between the Empire and the Central Star Alliance, and peace had only recently been achieved with the Western Senate. As a result, the only species in the Stellar Armada were Mod-Humen and the orange-skinned Paonens. For all intents and purposes, Mod-Humen were physically identical to Humans, for they had come from them originally, but they had advanced physical and mental abilities, the ability to transition their gender once in their life, and were distinctive from Humans thanks to the black sclera of their eyes. Space travel was not new to them.
On the other hand, Paonens had six genders and brightly-coloured skin and hair, and while they may have had two upper limbs and two lower limbs and one head, they had a silicate-based skeletal system and the ability to harden their skin at will. While they were recent graduates to space travel, these two adaptations made them perfect for deep-space missions. The Paonens in the ship were eagerly discussing where they would be posted.
Paone had only become a part of the Illuminous Stellar Empire relatively recently, and until they had been contacted by the Mod-Humen, space travel had merely been a dream. Shifting easily between star systems was something that Mod-Humen and the other species took for granted, as it had been a part of their lives for hundreds of years. Paonens found the vast reaches of space just as thrilling as the other species did, but they still had to obtain permission to leave their home planet. Dars, with ser vibrant lemon-coloured skin, could barely believe that se was about to embark on a life among the stars, and was busy reading about Captain’s protocols while the others chatted about where they would be.
Dars stood, pocketed the silver disc, and left the lounge, heading for ser cabin. Ser cabin on this ship was closest to the elevator. Se knew that when se got to ser own ship, se would have the cabin right beside the bridge. This was just temporary. Dars touched the gene-pad to the side of ser door, and for a second it did not open. Se pressed it again, and with relief se saw the door slide across, and se could enter. The Sim did so, dropping ser pack by the door, and the door sealed behind ser.
Se looked around the cabin, thoughts and emotions swirling through ser body. It was cold, clinical, utilitarian. There was nothing of the people who used it. It had been stripped and sanitised for each voyage, and now it was a skeleton.
Se turned and opened the pack. Se began to unpack, and soon the cabin was enlivened by a splash of colour. The quilt, lovingly crafted by ser triad before se had left Paone, was quickly thrown over the stark bed, and ser bright clothes were stuffed into the cupboards. Se took out a photograph of ser triad, and stuck it to the wall above ser pillow, and alongside it was a photograph of ser and the two mate-partners se’d claimed before leaving Paone. Se paused to touch the faces of the Arf and Klu. Se missed Tirrs, the Arf, and zis humour. Zi would have thought the Academy the perfect ground for playing pranks. Se didn’t miss Hinrin, the Klu, as much. Te came with Tirrs as a pair, and if se was going to mate with one, se had to mate with the other. Hinrin knew it as much as se did, and had done tes best to accept ser.
At the bottom of the pack, once the rest of the clothes and shoes had been thrown into a drawer, Dars pulled out a small brown box. It was cardboard, and nothing special apart from the old postage markings it had on it in ink. Se opened it, and from the foam packaging, took out a glass ornament. Se activated the magnetic seal on its base, and placed it on the metal shelf that was above the wall-mounted sink and below the mirror. It was a representation of a sea creature from Paone, and it had been given to ser by ser mate-partners when se had left.
The cabin was oblong in shape. At the entrance there were cupboards to put shoes and clothes in, and opposite, a desk with a floating chair. At the back of the cabin it was divided into two. Most of the back was where the bed was, and a large screen that could be programmed to view what was on the outside. The rest was walled up, and contained a waste unit and a wash unit. The sink and mirror were in the main room, right beside the door to the washroom.
Dars rose to ser feet and shrugged off the uniform jacket so se was only wearing the white shirt and scarlet pants. Feeling more free, se pulled out the floating chair and curled up on it, touching the gene-pad on the desk to activate the personal computer. Gene-pads, a far more advanced method of identification and access than the primitive fingerprint pads of the earlier centuries (especially considering some species did not have fingerprints, let along fingers), activated the computer instantly and signed the Sim into the ship’s main system. With a few strokes of the desk panel, se also had access to the planetary internet.
‘Hello, Captain Dars,’ said a voice from the small speaker near the screen. It was a pleasant, mellifluous voice, and sounded like a singer. ‘Welcome on board. I am the computer. You may call me Operator.’
Dars smiled. ‘They’ve given you personality programming,’ se said.
‘That is correct.’
Dars smiled. ‘It is a nice touch. How long until we get to the Coelacanth?’
The computer calculated. ‘Thirty hours, Captain.’
Dars nodded. Se looked around the newly-decorated cabin. In thirty hours se would have to take it all down again, but for now it was nice to be reminded of home. ‘Wake me in twenty,’ se said.