# Decay

By [Penny Phosphor](https://paragraph.com/@penny-phosphor) · 2022-01-17

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### Blessed Union

Tavray found themselves on fire. It was not an ideal position for a servitor of Rwar, but it could be worse. The fire wasn’t hot enough to harm Tavray, but it did compromise their aesthetic. Burnt spin-plas wasn’t very appealing; worse yet, the electronics that created the illusions swirling around Tavray had melted.

The primitive being Tavray had intended to parlay with was also alarmed, crying out, “For godssake get a fire extinguisher and put this man out.” Tavray was not a man, but a ‘fire extinguisher’ sounded convenient, so Tavray attempted to express gratitude for by following local customs.

“My thanks to you, Senator Whydon. This is most inconvenient.” By now the remaining bits of garment had mostly finished melting and had begun to burn in earnest. The smell was off-putting and Tavray found the cold wash of the fire extinguisher refreshing. “Ah, yes. Much better indeed.”

Senator Whydon and his aides were clearly a bit unnerved, their shock seemed to stem from Tavray’s now-naked body. “Please do not be alarmed at what your species would call, ‘sexlessness’. My kind do not reproduce, we are created by the ones we serve. As you know, I serve Rwar.” Whydon nodded uncomfortably.

“So you’re a robot?” Tavray had almost forgotten about the reporters, but shook their head. “Think of me as a non-organic person. I am capable of independent speech and thought, created in the image of your species from the abiological materials that all Rwarn are. I am incapable of reproduction, which some would render as my being unliving. Yet many of your Earth species have forms that are similar in function - they serve that being which has the power of creation. In insects you call them queens, those that reproduce. I am simply a worker in that sense.”

“So Rwar is the Queen of your species?” Another reporter shouted from next to the first.

“No, Rwar is a a God,” Tavray corrected.

Senator Whydon scoffed, “That would make you more of an angel than an ant. Do you really think we’ll buy that?” There was a nasty tone to Whydon’s question.

“We don’t expect you to buy anything. Nor do we expect your service. You may think of us how you want, but the Rwarn are who we are,” Tavray answered, trying to push away the nervousness.

“What is it you want, then?” Whydon asked between clenched teeth, the aroma of paranoia beginning to boil off him almost visibly.

“To warn you.” There, it had been said.

Whydon’s anger was predictable, “We’re not afraid of you, you can’t intimidate humanity.”

Tavray frowned, “You misunderstand. The warning is not about Rwar or the Rwarn, it is about those called The Hunger. We seek humanity’s blessing to unite in the battle against them and the total annihilation they will bring to all life, whether it is intelligent or _not_.” Tavray’s eyes narrowed to glare harshly at Whydon, who adopted a sheepish expression.

**To Be Continued** in _Radio Arterial_

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*Originally published on [Penny Phosphor](https://paragraph.com/@penny-phosphor/decay)*