A Plea for Leniency
12 Feb 2024Kasumi Goto
A Letter about the AbductedWritten by Kasumi (Kira) Goto, on January 24, 3310
[Helped by Alba and Seo]
Published: February 12, 3310
[Location: Aegis Headquarters]
This... letter. Is it a letter, a plea, a message? I'm honestly not sure. And I shouldn't start a "formal" piece of writing off that way, but I've never been very good at it, and I... want to be straight with anyone reading this. That goes down to me not being sure how to start this off. If you're looking for 'natural' or 'honest', you're getting it.
I want to write this as a plea, about the Thargoid abduction victims. And for that, I need to be straight with you. Both to support my point, and to let people understand better. Or, at least, make a decision about if they want to hear me out.
I'm a hybrid. Possibly the only one in existence, or at the very least, the only known case. I intended to make this fact clear in the title already, but Seo suggested I only mention this here, in the main text.
I was abducted by the Thargoids over a year ago, in HIP 22460, when the Proteus Wave failed, and taken to an unknown location - possibly one of the Titans making their way to the Bubble. There, I was experimented on, revived, and... turned into what I am now, after a failsafe from a mind control chip implanted by Azimuth - effectively - killed me. It is also the entire reason why I was there to begin with. Nothing is known about why I was released and returned to human society.
But the how and why matters less than my nature. Maybe you're just not going to listen because of it, assuming that I'm just acting on the Thargoids' behalf, that I'm controlled by them, trying to you name it. And, you know what, maybe I can't fault you for thinking that, looking at... what I've done, the last year.
I'm not like this now. And I want to call out to people about those abduction victims, from my own, unique position. Whether it is right to, or not, I feel like I have to.
Please, don't consider those people as... "war assets" for the Thargoids. Possible saboteurs, soldiers, sleeper agents... whatever else is said that they could be. They are still people, with feelings, dreams, hopes... not "tools".
They didn't get to choose that they were abducted by the Thargoids, to be a part of this war, caused by the ambitions of an insane megalomaniac. And if it's the one thing that I know from what I personally went through, from the pain, the nightmares, the exposure to their hive mind. They should be supported through such an ordeal, not rejected and constantly scrutinized because they "might be cooperating with the enemy".
And, please, don't be judgemental if any of them do happen to be... "hybrids", or whatever you might call it, like me. Or something similar. They might 'look' different or not quite be... biologically human, but it matters less than their minds. It is ultimately what makes them a 'human', not so much the superficially apparent traits of their physical form. If someone had to place their brain inside of a cybernetic body to continue living, or replace parts of their body with mechanical components out of necessity, are they suddenly no longer a "human"?
Would you treat these people, who already had to suffer through getting abducted by the Thargoids, and the mental scars that experience may have left on them, in the same way, if there was no war, or once it ends? If the answer to that is no, I want to ask you to reconsider how you look at them. Don't view these people as a "threat", but someone who is in need of support. Especially if they are no danger to anyone, or don't want to be.
Imagine if they were to "turn" through some hidden genetic markers, indistinguishable until triggered by some remote signal or external conditions, but they remained free of the Thargoids' control, still allowed to have their own free thoughts. They might still be inclined to support their own species, even if they no longer look entirely human. But would they, would you, if you faced constant threats, suspicion and discrimination from your own kind?
Even now, I already see such claims from people, who would shoot those "dirty Thargoid zombies" without even a second thought, regardless of who they claimed allegiance to, or their intelligence after such a possible transformation. It would, or should, come as no surprise if that made those people choose to abandon their own kind, on their own behalf. Even the term itself speaks of the lack of respect held toward what will, or should, by all aspects still be a sentient/sapient being.
I know that, for my case, despite no longer genetically/biologically being human, I still hold my own allegiance to humanity, and would rather die than to see myself turned against them. Even with the voices of the Thargoids in my head, I won't betray the species that I belong to, unless I was driven to do so by it, not the Thargoids, or anyone else. Hell, I nearly fucking died, again, to stop them from using me.
It will be the same for many others if they ever find themselves in the same, or a similar situation to my own. Even with no demonstrable proof that the abducted have been affected in any way, there are already voices who would try to claim they are no longer to be trusted and should remain locked away in padded cells forever, with the key "misplaced".
Sometimes, I do have to wonder who the real enemy of humanity is, when these are the suggestions made toward our own kind, and they are being likened to a brainless "zombie", an undead creature barely capable of shuffling around on its two feet, just because their genetic makeup no longer fits the preconceived notion of what makes a human, "human".
What if it happened to one of your friends, or even family? Would you rather they run to the Thargoids than try to support them through it?
People like me could help set up a middle ground for communication and cooperation between the Thargoids and humans, not be a symbol of a needless, destructive war for both sides. I would do so the second anyone offered, whether that be from the human or the Thargoid side. Or would you rather see them turn their backs to humanity, because of a vague possibility that they might be associated to the "enemy"?
Be lenient. Clement. Show them compassion. Show them that they will find support in humanity, regardless of their adherence to some arbitrary standards about physical appearance, that one of our core values is to care for and be compassionate to our own kind, even when they may look superficially different.
Don't be one of those people who makes us think the alien species that put us through a horrible ordeal is the better choice.
That is all.
- A former Thargoid abduction victim