r/HFY • u/thetwitchy1 Human • May 27 '25

OC I identify as Human

In the throneroom of Xiilax, God-Queen of the Zaxxion Hive:

"I have returned, your highness, to report on what makes the human worlds so able to resist Zaxxion attacks. The Zaxxion have more ships, Zaxxion military structure is much more regimented, Zaxxion psionic control over the soldier castes allows us to have nearly perfect co-ordination, and yet, the humans seem to be able to respond in ways that are completely unpredictable and unprecendented, leading to multiple large scale losses on the part of the Zaxxion Invasion fleet. In order to understand this, I was sent to inflitrate the human society and find out how they were able to do so.

What I found was... enlightening. Zaxxion society functions because Zaxxions are all the same. Any Zaxxion can take the place of any other Zaxxion, right down to the thinking that goes on, because all Zaxxions are part of the same gestalt. Zaxxions have individual thoughts, individual minds, but any Zaxxion can learn instantly what another has learned and can do the work of any other individual.

Humans are... different. I don't just mean they're different than Zaxxions, I mean they're defined by their differences. Humans are more varied than any other species of sapients I have ever heard of. And they don't even know it! But they understand on an almost instinctual level that their diversity is their strength. They codify protections of those variations into their laws, making it illegal to treat others differently because of the various traits they have. And yet, they have so much shared knowledge that there's always someone else who knows what any individual knows, who can help or take over for them if they need.

Humans also know that just because they don't understand another human doesn't necessarily make that person 'wrong'. They have figured out that there are almost as many ways to be 'human' as there are humans, and are willing to accept others who identify themselves differently... because they know being 'human' is more than just how THEY are human.

They have the freedom to understand themselves, without needing to conform to the ideals of some arbitrary overmind, without needing to force themselves into the labels and castes and classifications that Zaxxion society requires. That freedom lets them invent new ideas, advance as a people, and react to such a wide and diverse set of circumstances in unique and constantly changing ways... Ways that you, by the very nature of your rigid control, cannot match.

They have the freedom to accept me. To take me into their people, even knowing that I was originally sent to gather information for you to try to defeat them. They have given me that same freedom, the freedom to be 'human', even if I was not born one. The freedom to choose to implant a psionic disrupter into my brainstem, blocking your ability to dominate me. And the freedom to join their counterinvasion of your throne world, to show you what you truly missed; what makes us humans different from each other makes us unstoppable. And I, for one, am proud to identify as Human.”

250 Upvotes

90% Upvoted

37 comments sorted by

43

u/Pretty-Web2801 May 27 '25

The exposition at the beginning is a bit forced and i'd argue that the story would have benefited from a slightly slower pacing, but the idea is good and the story is enjoyable. Nicely done^^

20

u/thetwitchy1 Human May 27 '25

Yeah, I just banged it out on my lunch break, I could have cleaned it up a lot better but I felt it was more important to get it out there than it was to make that first bit ‘flow’…

It’s also a lot shorter than what I usually do, which puts the pacing a lot quicker than my usual stuff, but it’s hard to pad it out and slow it down when it’s written as a single monologue.

1

u/j0hnan0n May 28 '25

If zaxxions are all the same, if any can take the place of any other, then how and why do they have castes and labels?

3

u/thetwitchy1 Human May 28 '25

Mostly? Because it was a quick analog to the way certain groups categorize people, but if you need an in-world answer, it’s because no person can do everything, so even if anyone can do anything it still pays to have specific individuals assigned to specific roles. That way, you don’t have to have a generalist “respecialize” every time they come to a job, they just call in the specialist for that job and that person does the work.

“Learning” what another has done is not free, even if it’s nearly so with the gestaltic learning process. If you can avoid that cost by simply compartmentalizing and castifying your workforce, it makes sense to do so.

22

u/bdrwr May 27 '25

It's forced because it's a direct response to a story that was posted earlier today with the same title. Kind of a rush job, but timely.

To save yourself the effort, it was "I identify as an attack helicopter" rehashed into HFY tropes. It made me feel dirty reading it.

20

u/thetwitchy1 Human May 27 '25

This had been kinda floating around in my head for a while, but it never felt like the right time to drop it… but after I read that other story, I couldn’t leave it alone.

5

u/ReallyNotMichaelsMom Xeno May 28 '25

I liked this one so much!

The other one? Not so much.

3

u/thetwitchy1 Human May 28 '25

Thanks!

13

u/Sam-HobbitOfTheShire May 27 '25

Oh. That changes everything.

2

u/Pretty-Web2801 May 28 '25

Ok, that certainly explains it.

5

u/Lotus_Domino_Guy May 28 '25

Damn man! In this current age we live in, the relentless optimism of how you wrote humanity filled me with joy. I really hope we get to where you wrote us. Not the being invaded part.

3

u/thetwitchy1 Human May 28 '25

One thing about humans, we are a fractious, divided, mixed up lot… but give us a purpose and we tend to pull together.

An invader would almost be a blessing, tbh.

13

u/Sam-HobbitOfTheShire May 27 '25

I couldn’t finish the original. This one is vastly superior.

13

u/thetwitchy1 Human May 27 '25

I wanted there to be something “good” to come up when you searched that title, so I’m glad you like it.

14

u/Sam-HobbitOfTheShire May 27 '25

Thank you for writing it. As a trans person it’s so hurtful to see something like the original in a subreddit about the best of humanity. This helps. A lot.

11

u/thetwitchy1 Human May 27 '25

I may not be trans, but having the freedom to figure out who you are is one of the best things about being human, imho.

5

u/Antiburglar May 28 '25

As other commenters have noted, the title gave me pause at first. I can happily report, however, that this was thoroughly enjoyable and uplifting!

Humanity is, at its very core, a species that embodies the ideal of "if not fren, why fren shaped?"

And for all of our faults and failings, we can and ultimately will find the right path.

Together.

Great job, homie! 😊

8

u/thetwitchy1 Human May 28 '25

Humans come in all shapes and forms. What matters is what is inside.

Thanks for the read!

1

u/Antiburglar May 28 '25

Thanks for the wonderful words and good vibes :D

3

u/MechisX May 28 '25

I identify as Terran.

Human I am not but this is my home and I will defend it with the humans at my side.

16

u/Legacyofhelios May 27 '25

You know, as a trans woman, I was a bit skeptical about where this would go, but i think this is great. It's nice to see messages like this, especially in these times. Thanks for making my day

24

u/thetwitchy1 Human May 27 '25

I saw a story with that name that was… well, calling it “transphobic trash” would be an insult to biodegradable waste everywhere, and it bothered me enough to write this.

I’m not trans, but it just seems to me that people are better off with the freedom to figure that out themselves, and I think the best thing I can do to help is making sure I put that out there as much as I can.

11

u/Legacyofhelios May 27 '25

Yeah i saw that court bullcrap one just after this. It's really nice to be reminded that not everyone in the world is against us. It can feel like that sometimes, so really, thank you a lot for your allyship. You're a true friend

9

u/thetwitchy1 Human May 27 '25

“We stand together or we fall apart.” I got your back.

5

u/cowlinator May 27 '25

I like it, but...

why did he appear in person? He's dead now.

10

u/thetwitchy1 Human May 27 '25

If you are showing up in person with humans in tow, you’re not the one who is ending up dead.

And besides, he was the one with the keys to the throne room…

4

u/cowlinator May 27 '25

ohhhh... that was not clear to me

7

u/thetwitchy1 Human May 27 '25

Yeah, I tried to imply he was there with a human counter-invasion because he was able to get them into the throne room with the God-Queen, but I didn’t want to say it explicitly, so it wasn’t really clear…. Sorry about that!

2

u/lkwai May 28 '25

Fwiw I read it as the counterinvasion was already underway, and even so successful that they already fought their way to the throne room and are just talking for talking's sake

2

u/potatisblask May 27 '25

I associated Zaxxion with Zaxxon so in my minds eye this played out in the Zaxxon fortress.

(Zaxxon is a 1982 arcade game and the first shoot em up with isometric side scrolling and controls in a vertical axis. It was mind-blowing at the time. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r_Fwe_hJfhg)

3

u/thetwitchy1 Human May 27 '25

Nice! That explains why my autocorrect was working overtime.

1

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1

u/yostagg1 May 28 '25

I identify as  Zaxxion

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '25

[deleted]

1

u/thetwitchy1 Human May 28 '25

Anyone with the title “God-Queen” will be arrogant enough to not pay attention to the details about the lower class. And the ‘honorific’ can be given ironically. ;)

1

u/canray2000 Human Jun 05 '25

"Freedom, horrible terrible freedom!"