Fiction Friday - Series 3: Chapter 11

Previously:
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9
Chapter 10

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As I emerged from my pod in the private decanting wing of the medical facility on the Duvolle station in Pelille, I was immediately struck by the difference in Gallentean architecture compared to the Caldari stations I was used to.

Now don't get me wrong. The popular belief that we Caldari live and work in steel grey metal boxes all our lives is pretty far off base. We have our atriums with sunlight and our living quarters are decorated with vibrant warm colours and comfortable furniture. And our entertainment districts are bright and lively and we Caldari know how to let loose and have a good time. We're not inhuman. But as I showered and dressed I gained an appreciation for why my people felt so foreign in Gallente space.

First off, everything was pastels, off whites, glowing blue or green or yellow. Nothing was black. There were no shadows - anywhere. Glass walls, floors, ceilings were not just common, but seemed almost preferred.

There were almost no sharp corners. Everything was rounded and smooth, flowing from one surface to another like it had been pushed into place instead of manufactured.

When I got into the capsuleer's pavilion, I was practically overcome with vertigo as I looked up to a ceiling I could not really see, and looked down over an edge to the common pavilion nearly a kilometer below. And bright! My god it took my eyes an entire day to adjust to the brightness of the common areas and when I finally got to my rent apartment I turned the lights right off since so many luminescent surfaces gave off plenty of light for me.

But all of that compares to the difference in people. The Gallente dress so flashy, vibrant clothing of exotic materials, some whose colour was impossible to determine. The fashions are so different from Caldari where the clothes are function and form first. Most of the women had more exposed skin than some girls I slept with back in school.

Yet for all the flashiness and exposed flesh, the people here seemed more guarded; colder, harder if you can imagine. It was as if the act of exposing themselves and their culture so forcefully caused them to hide their true emotions and opinions all the more. They say that Caldari are like stone but we have nothing on the facade of the Gallente.