#humans are canadian

[jpitha]

Hidden Depths

Deep inside the maintenance tunnels and forgotten alcoves of the joint Human/K'laxi starbase someone skulks.

People often forget that the Starbase was made up of a K'laxi research station, the Starjumper Picaresque and more than a century of ad hoc additions, relocations and changes.

In all that time, something was bound to be forgotten about.

The person walks nonchalantly, whistling a tune long forgotten by most sapient beings. They aren't in a hurry. Strolling down an empty corridor, someone watching could see an overlay flashing orange in their eyes if you knew where to look. They're searching for something.

The air is still and old. There's enough oxygen for the time being, but even if there isn't, or the gas mixture changes, it doesn't really matter.

Right down this hall, then left down what looks like it used to be a main corridor, but on it's side, they look up. A Pressure Door is in the ceiling. Originally it was a wall based on where the panel to open it is. Sighing heavily, they look around for a way up.

There, to the left, those vents look sturdy enough. They use them like a makeshift ladder and climb to the ceiling. If they stretch, they can just slap a small box on the panel. It clicks and whirrs for a second and then with no fanfare at all, the pressure door opens.

Now what?

In one fluid motion, they let go of the vent, then use gravity to help load their legs and they spring towards the open door. Grasping the seals with their hands they hang for just a moment, meters over the corridor.

With surprising strength, they haul themselves through the door, and slap the close button behind them. If someone else was listening carefully, they might have heard a whine of servos when they hauled themselves up. Maybe not though.

The door slides shut silently. and they stand on the door, now the floor of the next room.

It's pitch black. They turn on a light that is built into the red hat on their head and a sharp beam of white light illuminates the room.

it's on it's side. The being is standing on what used to be the walls. But, in the middle of the wall opposite them, what used the be the floor is a chair.

It's a command chair from a Starjumper. The Picaresque's command chair.

Walking along the wall, they approach the chair and examine it. It seems to be in good shape. Dusty, but not damp or damaged or burnt. They whistle a low note of surprise.

They touch the headset on their ears.

"Yeah. I found it...No, it's all here...What do you mean "How do I know?" It's a chair! It's not missing parts or pieces and it hasn't been touched in more than a century...is it connected to the grid? Of course not. Nobody has been out this way since Picaresque was broken down."

As if to prove the point Gord touches the panel on the right armrest of the command chair and immediately it lights up.

"Shit! Okay, maybe it is connected. FINE...Stop Hat, you know I can't understand you when you get excited. Yes, it might be connected, but it can't be doing anything."

There was a trilling in his headset. Gord froze.

The trilling continued. Someone was calling him.

He took a deep breath, held it for a beat and let it out, and touched his headset again.

"You got Gord! What can I do ya for?"

A voice talked to Gord for only a minute. Gord said nothing.

Slowly, Gord reached up and with shaking hands, ended the call on his headset. He took it off, and sat down heavily on the wall/floor.

Thundering footsteps were heard on the other side of the pressure door in the wall/floor of the room he was in. Voices shouted in the empty

"The Sapient who currently goes by Gordon Beaverbroook! Where are you? Starbase has narrowed your location to this area. Show yourself and you shall be allowed to leave freely! If we have to find you, you will be remanded into custody."

Gord looked down at the pressure door. It would be so easy. Open the door, drop down, affect a disarming smile, get taken into custody, yada yada what are you doing, you're banned from this Starbase, and the horse you rode in on. Gretzky knows he's been though that plenty of times. Usually he only has to avoid the place for 50 years before everyone who cares has retired or died.

But.

He was asked very pointedly to get something.

And just now, someone else has made him another offer.

And they used his original name.

Part 2

[allthecanadianpolitics]

The Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies (MIGS) is permanently ceasing operations, Concordia University confirmed last Friday. In a notice published on its website, the university blamed “budgetary constraints” for the decision. “We extend our sincere gratitude to all faculty, staff, students and partners who dedicated themselves to advancing MIGS’ mission over the years,” the university wrote. The institute was long considered one of Canada’s leading think tanks, working to develop better policies to protect human rights.

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[the-eyespy]

🇵🇸🇨🇦 The vandalism of a landmark Palestinian flag street art in Montreal by Zionists is a despicable act. However, the resilience of Palestinian youth, who are restoring it to its former glory, is inspiring. This reaffirms the unwavering commitment to the cause of a Free Palestine.

[lovesitcomsandgaystuffs]

[mysharona1987]

[teaboot]

How do Canadian schools teach about indigenous Canadian history and culture? -a curious USAmerican

In my experience we learned about colonization at the same time as we learned about the formation of Canada. At first it was "European settlers came and pushed out the indigenous population", then in the higher grades we learned more about the how and the why.

For example, how carts full of men with rifles would ride around shooting Buffalo, then leaving the meat on the ground to rot, because "a dead Buffalo is a dead indian", which was so fanatical it almost wiped out wild Buffalo entirely

Also how Canadian settlers were lured in with beautiful hand-painted advertisements for cheap, beautiful, fertile land that was unpopulated and perfect, if only you'd sail over with your entire family and a pocket full of seeds- only to be met with scared, confused, and angry lawful inhabitants already run out of ten other places, and frigid winters, and rocky, forested, undeveloped dirt.

also, smallpox blankets, where "gifts" of blankets infected with smallpox were intentionally given out

And treaty violations- Either ignoring written agreements entirely, or buying them out at insanely low prices and lying about the value, or trading for farming equipment that they couldn't use because they weren't farmers.

Then in the first world war, where they told indigenous peoples here that they'd be granted Canadian citizenship if they enlisted

To Residential schools, which was straight up stealing kids for slavery, indoctrination, and medical experiments

But we also covered the building of the Canadian Railway in which Chinese immigrants were lowered into ravines with dynamite to blow out paths through the mountain for pennies on the dollar

And the Alberta Sterilization Act, where it was lawful and routine procedure to sterilize women of colour and neurodivergent people without their awareness or consent after giving birth or undergoing unrelated surgeries

But I'm rambling.

We kind of learned Aboriginal history at the same time as everything else? Like. This is when Canada was made, and this is how it was done. Now we'll read a book about someone who lived through it, and we'll write a book report. And now a documentary, and now a paper about the documentary. Onto the next unit.

And starting I think in grade 10 our English track was split between English and Aboriginals English, where you could choose to do the standard curriculum or do the same basic knowledge stuff with a focus on Aboriginal perspectives and literature. (I did that one, we read Three Day's Road and Diary Of A Part-Time Indian, and a few other titles I don't remember.)

There was also a lunch room for the Aboriginal Culture Studies where Aboriginal kids could hang out at lunch time if they wanted, full of art and projects and stuff. They'd play music or videos sometimes, that was cool

And one elective I took (not mandatory cirriculum) was a Kwakiutl course for basic Kwakwakaʼwakw language. Greetings, counting to a hundred, learning the modified alphabet, animals, etc. Still comes in handy sometimes at large gatherings cause they usually start with a land recognition thanking whoever's land we're on, with a few thanks and welcomes in their language.

And like- when I was in the US it was so weird, cause here we have Totem poles and longhouses and murals all over and yall... don't? Like there is a very distinct lack of Aboriginal art in your public spaces, at least in the areas I've been

My ex-stepfather, who was American, brought his son out once, and he was so excited to "see real indians" and was legitimately shocked to learn that there weren't many teepees to be found on the northwest coast, and was even *more* shocked when we told him that you have Aboriginal people back home too, bud. Your Aboriginal people are also named "Mike" snd "Vicky" and work as assistant manager at best buy.

If you'd ask me, I'd say that the primary difference is that USAmerica (from what I've seen, and ALSO in entirely too much of Canada) treats our European and Aboriginal conflicts as history, something that's tragic but over, like the extinction of the mammoths, instead of like. An ongoing thing involving people who are alive and numerous and right fucking here

But at the end of the day, I'm white, and there are plenty of actual Aboriginal people who are speaking out and saying much more meaningful things than I can

So I'm just gonna pass on a quote from my Stepmum, who's Cree, that's stuck with me since she said it:

"You see how they treat Mexicans in America? That's how they treat us here. Indians are the Mexicans of Canada."

[liminalweirdo]

In today's update of Canada Loves Eugenics, 10,064 people died in 2021 through medically assisted death in Canada, and while MAID supposedly exists to allow people with severe, incurable illnesses to die with dignity on their own terms, MAID is generally used because disabled and mentally ill people cannot access governmental assistance and are living in poverty.

The Canadian government is actively pushing poor, disabled people to death.

oh and by the way, Canada performs more organ transplants from MAID donors than any other country in the world.

"Six disability rights and religious advocates told Reuters that the pace of the planned changes to the assisted death framework in Canada brings additional risks of people opting for MAID because they are unable to access social services - the lack of which could exacerbate their suffering." - source

Anyway, it's basically like this: the USA has the Americans with Disabilities Act and Canada has MAID

[artobotsrollout]

Because of the bullshit happening in Alberta Canada right now by Danielle Smith that's going to be harmful to Trans youth, I figured now is a good time to remind everyone that this blog is LGBTQIA2S+ friendly. I am also bisexual myself. Trans rights are human rights. If you have a problem with any of that then please leave.

If you live in Alberta Canada PLEASE check out this site for more info and sign this petition.

[andrumedus]

Truth is, I want you to be safe, want you to sleep so I can sleep.

Sam Cheuk, Postscripts from a City Burning; “11/06/19 (2)”

[troythecatfish]

[major-alenko]

✨it's objectify your boyfriend saturday✨

[jpitha]

Hidden Depths: A Side Story

Some Other Time...

"Say Gord..." Vivenni looks up from her Pad. They're onboard Hat in-between worlds and passing time while Hat calculates the link back to Earth. "How long do AIs live?"

"How long do we live?" Gord reaches up and scratches his sandy blond hair. "You know, I'm not sure. I think the answer will effectively be 'as long as we want.' "

Vivenni flicks an ear, a K'laxi raised eyebrow. "So you're immortal?"

Gord shakes his head "No, nothing like that. We just don't get old and our bodies don't fail like other biological bodies do. I still need maintenance, and I can still be killed, but I won't like.." He gestures awkwardly "-get old and decrepit first."

At this point Medicine Hat chimes in "But Gord, what about SunFire?"

Firmly, Gord replies. "No. That doesn't count. That was practically a suicide."

"They didn't technically die Gord."

"They might as well have. Hell, some might think what they did was worse than death."

Vivenni ping-pongs between them talking and finally manages "Who was SunFire, what did they do?"

There is silence. Gord looked at Vivenni surprised. In the intensity of the conversation with Hat, he forgot she was there.

Hat finally answers. "I think you can tell her Gord."

Gord sighs heavily. "Fine. But Vivenni, I'm trusting you with one of the largest secrets of AIs. Not a word to anyone, BI or AI. I mean it."

Vivenni nods nervously. "But the AIs know the story?"

Gord nods. "The old ones do. And if they hear you even breathe their name, they'll know I blabbed and I'll never hear the end of it."

Vivenni takes a breath. "Okay Gord, Hat. I promise. Not one word to anyone."

Satisfied, Gord begins:

"Just about eight hundred years ago, the wormhole generators were invented. Did you know they weren't invented on Earth?"

"No? Where then? One of the Colony worlds?"

"Nah, someone on a research station on Ganymede developed it. They actually put themselves in a singleship without an AI and went to Parvati all on their own! We didn't even know they did it until they came back loaded with souvenirs and letters from Parvati basically going "No, really, he did it!"

Vivenni shook her head "Why am I not surprised. That's such a human thing to do."

Gord chuckled. "Yeah, it is."

He leaned back in his chair. "Anyway, overnight the entire balance of power in human space changed. Going to Parvati was nearly an instant trip now instead of taking 25 years. The colonies could talk to each other instead of going through Earth, Venus and the OPA.

"The OPA?"

"The Outer Planet Alliance. The colonies and cities out in the outer planets of the Sol System; Ganymede, Titan, The Orbitals around Saturn and Neptune as well as the Kuiper Independent Cities. They were all small, so they banded together loosely when they needed representation."

"Your system is so crowded!" Vivenni remarks. "Almost as soon as we went to space, we found the Warp Gate and were able to expand."

"Yeah, well Sol never had one, so we had to do things the old fashioned way." Gord stops. "Say, did you ever figure out where the Warp Gates came from, or who made them?"

"Huh. I don't know." Vivenni looks up for a moment and then back down. "I never really thought about it."

"We should head to K'lax and ask someday." Hat says. "I'd be interested to know too."

Gord nods. "Sure, I'm up for that. So, with the balance of power changing, the Starjumpers were worried about what was going to happen to us."

"Wait, us?" Vivenni cuts in.

"Yes. I was City of Lethbridge. I'd run Earth, Venus and then Parvati. Hat was there too back then, but we only knew each other peripherally."

"I was still Medicine Hat, and I did mostly in-system shuttling."

"Thanks Hat." Gord took a sip of coffee. He didn't need to drink or eat, but he liked doing it. "Anyway, there was this Starjumper, SunFire. Nice fellow actually. Loved their job. They did the OPA - the Outer Planet Alliance - to Parvati. Lots of folks in the OPA didn't much care for those on the rocky worlds, and wanted to make their own way.

I'm getting off track. SunFire sailed between the OPA and Parvati and loved it. More than anyone I've ever met really. They would say that their favorite part was after boost when they had shut their Stardrive down, and it was just them coasting at half the speed of light, silent in the deep of interstellar space. Some of us went into Low Awareness mode then; there wasn't much to do and it can get mighty boring, especially on the longer runs, but not SunFire. They stayed fully aware the whole time."

"Low Awareness mode?"

"Like..." Gord struggled with a metaphor. "Like napping? You're not really awake and not really asleep and time passes faster, but if something comes up you can get up and running quickly to address the issue."

"Oh okay." Vivenni picks a maple candy from the plate between them and eats it. "Please continue."

"With the development and adoption of the wormhole generators, governments came to us. They wanted wormhole generators, but they also didn't want to mothball a bunch of really large Starjumpers. We were all given an option. We could stay Starjumpers and get the wormhole generators installed, we could be transferred to another kind of ship, like an destroyer, or frigate or transport ship, anything we wanted - they said we would have our pick. Or we could 'retire' and be given bodies and enter the general population.

"Is this when you got your body Gord?"

"The first time yes. I was super jazzed about it actually. Most of the Starjumpers opted to stay Starjumpers and get the wormhole generator installed." He paused for a moment, thinking. "Being a Starjumper was - is - prestigious. We were the big dogs, the fast sleek ships that went everywhere that regular ships couldn't. But all of a sudden, any tiny in-system ship could link over in a blink. People still thought of us as special though, just not...as special."

Gord looked serious. "SunFire didn't take it well."

"Why not?" Vivenni looked around for more maple candy, but it was all gone.

Hat cut in here. "Who knows why. They were always a bit of an odd duck. It wasn't usual to like interstellar space that much."

Gord nodded agreement. "So, on the deadline day to make their decision, they took another option. They turned towards a random star and fired their Stardrive."

Vivenni gasped. "Where were they going?"

Gord shook his head sadly. "They never said. I don't think they had a destination in mind. They boosted way past the usual 1 or 2 gees we run for comfort. Hat, do you remember what they were last clocked at?"

A pause. "I think I heard someone say over ten gee."

Gord whistled. "Yeah, that sounds about right. At that speed you'll reach 99% light in only a couple weeks. Maybe a month. At that speed, the dilation of time gets pretty intense. A month Earth time would take just a touch over 10 hours for SunFire. If they boost to six 9s (.999999) then that month takes them one hour."

Vivenni flattened her ears. K'laxi never traveled relativistic speeds, the whole time dilation thing makes them uncomfortable.

"How...how long as it been for SunFire then?" She asked, nervous.

Gord looked at Hat. "Hmm. About a year?"

"Yeah, a year or so" Hat said.

"That's it? Just a year?" Vivenni's voice was practically a whisper.

"Yeah for them, there about."

"What will happen to them?"

"Oh I don't know. Something mechanical will fail eventually, and if the drive doesn't blow, then they'll just coast at whatever speed they reach forever with no way to stop."

Vivenni's eyes welled tears. "That's so sad."

Gord shrugged. "Like I said, practically a suicide. They're dead for all of us except themselves."

Hat countered. "I mean, I can see the appeal. If your favorite thing is being between the stars, then SunFire will be between the stars forever. Almost literally."

"Literally enough for any of us to matter, yes." Gord says solemn. "But, it was a stupid, selfish, dramatic act." Gord's face hardened. "They had so much left to contribute to AI and BI kind. They could have done anything. Instead they chose to throw it all away because they didn't like the way the world was changing."

Vivenni wipes her eyes and looks at Gord's face. "Gord, were you friends with SunFire?"

Gord looks away.

Hat gently says "They were best friends, Vivenni. SunFire was by Gord's side during the toughest parts of the AI rights movement."

"Oh Gord..." Vivenni gets up and gives Gord a hug.

"It never stops hurting." Gord says quietly.

"Is this why it's such a secret?"

"Partly. Also partly because we don't like the BIs to know...that we're just like they are. We're supposed to be better."

"Mourning your friend doesn't make you worse." Vivenni says, serious. "Mourning your friend makes you, you."

Vivenni hugged Gord for a long time while Hat finished computing the link to Earth.

[allthecanadianpolitics]

As Palestinians in Gaza seeking to escape the Israel-Hamas war begin applying to come here through a special immigration program, immigration lawyers say Ottawa is asking for an unprecedented level of personal information from prospective migrants. "It's strikingly different than what is ordinarily required for a visitor visa application," said immigration lawyer Pantea Jafari. "[The federal government] is asking for significantly more information than any of those applications, and even more than any permanent resident's application." This week, the federal government launched a new program to permit up to 1,000 Palestinians who are extended family members of Canadian citizens or permanent residents to apply to come to Canada and stay for three years if their families can support them financially.

Continue Reading

Tagging @politicsofcanada

[trilliumtriffid]

This is your last warning...

[r0b0t-j0n3z]

Hc for human ouaw except it's only frost and torbek

Frost is inuit and wants to learn inuktitut

Torbek is plains cree/dene and part inuit, and his first language is plains cree

Thank you for coming to my Ted talk

[booolloyd]

i really find the human body annoying during winter. like wdym i need to wear *layers* and *i cant go outside without a suffocating jacket?* its so stupid! wheres my thick fur???!!! wheres my big paws to trudge through snow without freezing?!!?!?