Chapter Text
The birth rate of Devin's, with thirteen billion people on the planet, was a rapid increase to the point the population was nearing fourteen billion people in just two years since thirteen billion people exactly had been born. Although the whole world had been used to house all these Devin's, with skyscrapers and houses that were fifty stories tall, the people had soon realized that they were running out of space. Houses were filled and the house market was looking scary, with not many houses left to the buy, the citizens of Devin began to worry about their kids never being able to buy a house and move out. Whispers had been making its way throughout the world, and it had reached the council.
The president, a twenty-four-year-old Devin, had called a meeting to talk about resolving the issues. She wanted the brain of her four teammates and other council members to put in input about solving this soon-to-be crisis. The president stood from her chair and walked around the table, passing 2, a twenty-eight-year-old who was best friends with 3007 and had recently been promoted to Devin #2 after the murder of the former president and retirement of the former #2.
She continued to walk, ignoring the soft stare that 2 gave her and passed by Devin #3, the Devin recruited at the same time as 2 and who 2 found deathly annoying. She was obnoxious with her voice and her outfits, and today she wore a dark green shirt, an orange skirt that dragged on the floor, and a rainbow necklace. As the president passed her, she put her head down and crochet, continuing on with a baby blanket for her newborn nephew. 3 whispered to herself as the president walked past her and around the table to meet the other two council members. "Oh, ho, ho! 7293 10^2 is going to love this. I must stitch on 7293 only though-" she chuckled, "-such a cute nickname."
2 rolled his eyes at her shrill voice hitting his left ear and covered it with his palm; his gaze following the president as she walked past Devin #4, a male Devin with long hair, always wearing it as two braids that ran down his chest and stopped at his pot belly. 4 terrified 2 to the core with him always wearing a stern look and deciding that always being truthful, no matter how mean it sounded, was something he needed to do. Give people reality checks about their beauty, or ugliness, about their brilliant ideas, and stupid ones. He stared deeply into the wall; his eyes never fixated on anything else but the blank wall past 3.
The final person the president passed was Devin #5, a nonbinary, ever-changing sexes of a Devin. They were the only Devin to be gender non-conforming and loved to go from female to male, to right in between, every chance he got. Today, and for a few weeks, they were a female Devin, with a wolf-cut and using unisex clothing with rings on every finger of his.
Devin's were a species that all looked the same and were capable of changing sexes when they wanted or needed. 2 had been born a male and had never changed his sex to represent female. 3007 was hard to tell if they represented male or female and it was great news to 3007, the only other nonbinary Devin that 2 knew. The president had been born male but became female at eight and she said she never wanted to go back, being more comfortable with female anatomy. Now for the other members of the council, 2 had no idea if they had ever changed sexes and for what reason, and it wasn't his place to ever find out.
The entirety of the council had been passed by the president, and she began to speak before making it to her seat, "Glad you guys all came here so quickly. We have a real issue to talk about, and I want to hear a solution by today, no one is allowed to leave this room until we have solved the crisis!" She spoke loudly, unlike her shy nature where she was always quiet and had to pump herself up to speak. 2 knew her well enough where he understood that she had taken a role to become more extroverted and outspoken, to become the perfect president so quickly. However, he still knew that this was a difficult character for her to deal with.
He had watched her go from an introverted council member forced to do large speeches in front of news channels and audiences, as per her job requirement as former Devin #5, to becoming a president who loved to talk. He had also watched her be drained after the job was done and she could take a break, going nonverbal and barely speaking. 2 enjoyed that about her, enjoyed being in her presence to talk about his day or anything as she nodded and said quick, "Yes," or "Interesting." Both of them were the only close people in the council as 4 and 5 had been freshly added just days ago and 3 was busy with her family and work.
The president sat down in her chair comfortably, putting her hands on the table, outspread and tapping on said table with her fingers. "The world is about to hit fourteen billion Devin's, and our planet is not large enough to house these many Devin's. With thirteen billion being hit just two years ago, our planet was already straining and I as the one council member from the former group, saw how easy it was to solve but still, hardships came. Now that we are nearing fourteen billion-" she decided to not go into much detail about the issue from two years ago. "-our planet will no longer be able to support the rapid growth, and we need to figure out a way to make space for the upcoming surge of citizens."
Now, it was time for the council to think of solutions and spit them out. 2 went first, making his idea heard before anyone talked before him and interrupted his brilliant plan. "Taller skyscrapers to fit in more houses, careers, entertainment, and all that sort of stuff. We can just build more floors and if we build at least ten in every skyscraper, we will have nearly a billion more units for the standard of living to continue being high."
"I love that idea! Is what I would say if we hadn't already topped the max," the president said solemnly, not pretending to be excited about his idea with the first sentence and then dropping her expression to state the next. That idea was how they had solved the first crisis two years ago; they built higher skyscrapers, and everything continued to function as normally as it could. Two years wasn't enough time to build a number of new floors on every skyscraper; it was slow to maintain livable structures that would not cave in. She explained this all and then added, "If we add more floors, the air pressure will make it hard to live in and breathe in. I'm afraid we cannot build higher, and we cannot build any new buildings. We are officially out of space."
3 stood up and yelled with excitement, 2 jumped out of his and covered his ears, wanting to rapidly bang his head on the table to make this pain stop, after of course, telling 3 to shut the fuck up. The whole room went silent and everyone stared at 3. "Okay. So, we just discovered rocket ships and a new planet where life is sustained. How about we take those rocket ships and fly them up to space to find habitable planets for the Devin's to live in?"
4 rolled his eyes and laughed, "How the fuck do you think that will be possible? How will the council rule if Devin's are on another goddamn planet? How do you think food and water will reach those planets? Where will we build the skyscrapers? How will we build them? The solution is stupid and won't work..."
3 continued smiling, knowing this was a smart plan, he just needed to think about solutions to this solution. "Put your thinking cap on!" She said positively, and unhurt. "I gave an idea that can work, is totally plausible, now you give me your ideas to perfect it! That's what we do here as a council member 4."
For once, 2 agreed with 3 and decided to back her up. "Yeah, it can work. First though, we need to find a planet that we can actually live on and not have the species try to kill us and experiment on us."
The president nodded, "Yes! I love that idea 3! And now that this is a good plan, what planet can we live on?"
Now the entirety of the council thought about what they were going to do to solve this little issue of living on another planet. 5 shared their idea, "I think it's important to set the rules, so we know how to plan this up. We must keep the same laws as we have here on Devin and so, we must find a planet where life can be sustained but there is no life other than us."
2 shook his head, "How will we know if life can be sustained if there isn't? I say we move into a planet that we know is livable by finding a specie or species of animal or plants. However, to avoid the problem of abuse and torture of live animals while destroying their ecosystem as we move in, we should find out where exactly they live. You know, the type of conditions, food, and stuff, and live somewhere opposite of that. For example, we find a species that loves the hot summer days, and we live in a place that cold."
The president nodded, "I agree with you both. Let's try to find a planet that has no life, but we can live on comfortably or life on a planet with life and live alongside it without interrupting nature. We cannot set limits otherwise; we may not find the perfect planet. 3 and 4, thoughts?"
3 nodded, agreeing that both would be fine as long as they plan out perfectly to make sure they can co-habit. 4 disagreed and decided that focusing on the planet they lived on was more important than taking over a new one. But with a 4-1 vote, and four votes having the president's vote, the proposition was sealed in, and the voter's booklet would begin. After the council reached a decision on a choice, the citizens would be the ones to vote on if this was something they wanted or didn't want. For many propositions and many votes, almost all were accepted by the council and citizens of Devin. There were only six in history that had been thrown away after the public voted 'No.'
"Perfect!" The president continued, "Any more rules we should worry about?"
4 scoffed and decided to put his input after being forced to agree with this ridiculous idea. "If we want to live on another planet, we must make sure that the council still has power. Wherever we live we need a mode of transportation to and back, we need a way of communication to and back, and we need an actual council member there."
"Uh-huh! Yes!" 3 squealed in agreement.
2 added his opinions, "On the planet we visited they were able to talk through these tiny gadgets, and I think we should use that to talk to the people who live on another planet. Transportation can be rocket ships, easy to do as they were already invented, all we would need are the restrictions and rules of using them. Now for the council, I feel it's a brilliant idea to have a member move into that planet to help maintain order."
"The lowest number would be moving into that planet-" the president thought with her flexed index finger on her chin, then she looked up from the mahogany table and at 5. "-Devin #5, you would have the honor of living in another planet to communicate with and as the council, while making sure laws are still followed on that planet."
5 nodded, not being able to disagree and his only way out of this would be the people of Devin voting 'No' on the proposition. With that another three questions would be added to the voting booklet.
The meeting continued and with a lot of talking and planning they decided to put on the voting ballots: if the astronauts should focus on finding planets with no life for Devin's to live on, life but they would make sure to never intervene and destroy that life, or both. In what way should the Devin's communicate from planet to planet-- this was a free response answer-- then, if the Devin's should move from planet to planet with the rocket ships of if there was a better way for transportation, and if a council member should live on the planet to have laws in order. The three questions here were mostly about opinion, asking if a Devin has a new idea that could make this transition easier and comfortable. Maybe the mode of transportation was incredible, but Devin's would love it more if it was bigger to have a whole house as they move about, things like that was what the council wanted.
Other questions in the ballot were: Would you be willing to move to another planet? If yes, why? If no, why? If you were to be moving to another planet, what would you like out of the council? How long would you like to travel from planet to planet? If you would be willing to move to another planet, what are the most important careers and things you would like first as we build more and more?
With the ballot questions finalized, the council sent the first ballot to be printed for all thirteen billion citizens, and they began working on the speech they would give out tonight for every Devin to hear. The council continued to work in their bedrooms or spread throughout the Dana. 2 was in his bedroom writing down his speech and wondering what was important to add where the citizens felt comfortable with this idea. He added that the council would be thorough and using the ideas of the people to make the first city in the unknown future planet they would live at. He felt like the comfort of the Devin's was the main target for persuasion, as they had already seen how effective the rocket ship was when traveling to earth and saw that the council and two citizens came back unharmed. There was precaution already being thought about and it would be the astronauts-- a new career that was coming-- that would deal with the dangers before sending anyone there.
He walked over to the meeting table and handed the speech to 3, the person next to him that would read it and annotate anything she liked and didn't. 2 received the president's speech and he read it, happy to see that she was also thinking of the people. Her speech assured the citizens of Devin that they would live a life exactly how they lived here; it would just be in a different planet with it potentially being a different environment and climate. If the people voted to live with other life, the Devin's living on that planet would also be safe when dealing with the creatures. They would also uphold respect towards the creatures and would never touch, hurt, kill, or bother them.
2 enjoyed the last part about the animal's safety if they lived alongside creatures, but he did make a note that this was unnecessary and that throwing that would persuade the audience to vote one way while also, removing the focus on the main idea: Making sure the Devin's want to live on a different planet. With that, he passed down the speech and was handed 5's speech.
When the council finished up the final speech and the president handed it to 5 for him to memorize and declare it tonight, 2 left the Dana and went over to visit 3007. He had not seen them all day and with the time being five in the afternoon, he knew that they had been done with work and at home.
3007 when at home, took pictures for their photography hobby and exercised. They had bought a home gym after deciding that going to the gym was a waste of precious minutes they could use to be with 2. 2 was still their only friend and family, they had never met anyone they were as close as they were with 2. They enjoyed that and didn't mind, because they felt like they didn't need anyone but him. The close bond they both had with each other, for 3007 was platonic, but for 2, he wanted something more. He had developed a crush on 3007 that had just grown over time that he knew he was in love with them. He had never told this to 3007 however, because he could see clearly that it wasn't reciprocated. 3007 showed to romantic love and attraction towards him, they only showed a platonic love. 2 wouldn't tell 3007 about his true feelings towards them ever from the fear that it would mess their relationship up and he would lose them.
2 knocked on 3007's door and after standing there for a few seconds, he heard them rush to the door and open it. "Hi!" They giddied and hugged him tightly, 2 feeling their muscles on his skin. 3007 was warm to the touch but not sweaty and smelled cleaned; they had done their workout and was fresh out of the shower when 2 showed.
"Hi! I have amazing news for you, but I won't lie to you, it's going to take a while." 2 entered their home and stood in the middle of the living with 3007 in front of him, just a few feet apart from him. They smelled so good, a musky and earthy scent that only 3007 would use with their love for nature and 2 loved it. Every time he smelled them, it was like he was in heaven.
3007 smiled and nodded their head in excitement, remembering how just a few days ago, 2 had told them that he would talk to the council about making an astronaut career. With this career, 3007 would be able to travel to other planets and get the desire and need to be with nature and with animals out of the way. "Is it the astronaut thing? Were you able to get it started?"
"Better-ish," he shrugged, remembering that this whole idea came because the planet was running out of space. Soon, Devin would be so full, families would have to live together in these small homes and there wouldn't be enough jobs, food, or items. "We, the council, have planned and began working on creating a way to make Devins live on other planets. The astronauts would have the honor of exploring space and finding a suitable planet for us, which hopefully is you!"
"Shut up! Are you serious? Are you saying that I can live another planet?" 3007's excitement shot through the roof, and they had to mentally calm themselves down. 3007's journey with substance abuse had come far and long, and after getting the news that they could be an astronaut, they had decided to only smoke one cigarette per day. The only reason they continued smoking was because they hated showing emotions and it only made it worse when they realized that their dream of living somewhere else was totally possible. 3007 was going on a down spiral and the only thing that helped them was hope for a better life, and that motivated them to go back to one cigarette a day. That was enough to keep them numb for a bit but still hopeful for a better life.
2 looked nervous, not thinking of the fact that 3007 would actually want to live on another planet instead of here. He had thought that they would feel like exploring space and planets to find life was satiable enough to continue living here. "Well... we have no clue yet. We still have to wait for the people to vote," 2 said to make sure they did not rush to any conclusions and decide here and now that they were going to be the first ones to move out. "But I can assure you that you can become an astronaut to explore and search for a habitable planet. Moving to that planet, when we find it, doesn't mean you'll be able to move in. We still have so much to do."
"Right, of course. We don't want to rush our move to another planet and mess it up. So, what do I have to do to be chosen as an astronaut? I don't just want to get the job because I'm friends with a council member," they explained, moving on with the subject and 2 found that as a relief. He wanted 3007 to be happy but moving to another planet sounded like a huge decision and 2 didn't want that decision to be talked about to taken.
"We have not yet made plans on what we need, but I can say that we need someone who can fight, is fit, has no family to leave behind on those long space missions, and don't worry, we are not looking for high IQ's or Devin's who went to college. This is a new career as a whole and traveling space also doesn't sound like you would need to be doctor, engineer, or anything of that sort."
3007 laughed happily, "I can definitely fight and look at these muscles." They flexed their arms to show off their large biceps and pulled up their shirt to expose their abs. 2 laughed at this but also, felt red and hot by the whole thing. He tried not to act flustered by this moment and did a good job at it as 3007 didn't notice at all. "You know what I really wanna do?" 3007 asked and didn't allow 2 to answer, "I wanna go roller skating! We should go!"
"Yeah! Sounds like a great idea to me!" 2 agreed, not having thought about this activity but now that 3007 suggested it, he wanted to do it. Rolling around and just having a blast with 3007 sounded amazing.
3007 grabbed his hand and walked out of the house, and because they lived on the third floor of the council members family building, they had to order the car from the balcony. When the car arrived, they both went off to skate for a few hours and eat chilli cheese dogs from a restaurant next door.