A woman's voice spoke from behind him, “Lorne Smith,”
The Archivist turned slowly. He recognized the voice distorted by the radio in her helmet. “Invicta.”
The woman wore a suit made of metal cloth and grafted tissue. A small tendril flailed in the air, sprouting from her right shoulder. He couldn't see through the visor. Her face hid behind a thick green fog within.
“It’s been a long while,” she said. “How have you-”
“Leave.” The Archivist said.
“Why? Lorne It’s me.”
“Leave.”
The woman stood silently for a time, as if she didn’t expect rejection. “So that’s it? I disgust you, now?”
“You disgusted me then. Now, your true colors are just easier to see. Leave. I won't ask again.”
Invicta let out a chuckle. "Oh? Good. It's getting irritating. I have news you may want to hear."
"News?"
"I wish to add my story to the archive. You asked me once. Is the offer still open?"
I hoped I'd never have to speak of them again. That was kind of the point in getting rid of them, you see. Like all skeletons placed in a closet, they came back to remind us of the horrors we left behind. They are our greatest enemy. There are some good deeds in their ledger, but don't forget it. Don't believe their lies.
The exiles are comprised of humans who chose a different path. They were faced with the wonders of our new home, and it left them feeling hollow. Perhaps it was their history, or maybe their humanity died long before it became apparent. Perhaps they couldn't appreciate it because they had forgotten how. It wouldn't have mattered. We forced them to leave, whether they wanted to go or not.
The Exiles are mercenaries. They drift from system to system, collecting bounties, claiming salvage, and engaging in the occasional act of piracy. Despite this, They won't touch human vessels, no matter what they stand to gain. It's easy to call them honorable criminals, but don't let it fool you. We gave them the boot for a reason. They are the ones who killed the earth.
Oooh. This is really awesome. I love the whole connection back and the overwhelming sense of bias place upon the article. I am also thrilled to see you've begun to include references -- which is amazing! One thing that kind of threw me off was the line "disgrace to our species" as that suggests that the Archivist considers himself(itself?) human despite -- if I recall -- the Archivist being an AI. Another thing that I'm not sure about is the lifespan of these people as, though I don't know anything about the timeline of your world, it seems strange for the Archivist's opening passage to reference Invicta. I just reread the archivist section on Lorne since I felt like I was missing something and that clear some of this up. However, there's still the question of timing and whether or not a living AI would still consider itself human -- even with the origins you outline. Pretty awesome, I really love this setting and can't wait to see what comes of it in the future.
I probably should highlight the nature of human longevity. The earthborn are starting to die out. They are OLD. How old is kind of one of the mysteries. No one really knows how long its been, BUT they do know its been at least 6 generations. The human lifespan has significantly increased due to genetic tampering. The archivist is a bit of a sassy character. He still refers to himself as human both to mess with others and maintain his own identity. He kind of does it to spite those who don't really know how he got the way he is and insist he isn't human. YES the references! all of them! im glad you enjoyed it. I'll expand on it more in the future, namely the prominent members of the group and their ships.