The Divine Gift of Life - Stellaris Lore Stories

[@chriscomp20]

When the robots are more human than biologicals. Right in the feels

[@ace_the_race9340]

You are walking along the shores of a lake,’ Sindermann said. ‘A boy is drowning. Do you let him drown because he was foolish enough to fall into the water before he had learned to swim? Or do you fish him out, and teach him how to swim?’ Loken shrugged. ‘The latter.’ ‘What if he fights you off as you attempt to save him, because he is afraid of you? Because he doesn’t want to learn how to swim?’ ‘I save him anyway.

[@ace_the_race9340]

“I believe in a universe that doesn’t care and people who do” - Angus Delaney

[@kikenriacoacosta6919]

Man. I can't even describe how it feels. When 2B revealed the motive behind their assistance, my heart kind of sunk. But in a good way. Man, kudos to the writer AND to you for narrating it in such a lovely way. Excuse me now while I accompany Greslaw in shedding tears :'D

[@TheRedKing]

Glad you enjoyed it!!! :)

[@StarboyXL9]

Beautiful story. I was skeptical throughout most of it, but the twist near the end got me good.

[@TheRedKing]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@farferfirforfur]

The way I was just passively listening while doing something else and just stopped what I was doing, standing still, when the answer was given. A fantastic story, bravo.

[@TheRedKing]

Glad you enjoyed it!! :)

[@Zathurious]

Loved this story. At its conclusion, I began pondering how an organic hive mind would've responded to the situation.

[@dariuswheeler3183]

Awww man those walking toasters got me right in my feelings.

[@quackers7239]

Loved the story, loved the narration and I loved the video! The writer is clearly very skilled and this is 100% novel worthy!

[@TheRedKing]

Couldn't agree more! Glad you enjoyed it

[@AaronJLong]

Ok, I think the tears have stopped now. It's only been like 10 minutes since the video ended. I had a queue lined up for the night, as I tend to do, perhaps still containing whatever I put on before setting out for work at the start of the day near the top, or at least going back to the day's obligatory queue clearing app crash that always seems to happen on a long drive or work rush ensuring that I'm left in silence or the dreaded background noise of whatever is going on, engine, work chatter, same as every day, every year, just as boring as silence. Once the queue starts, it keeps going until I fall asleep, barring crashes or something that demands a comment that can't be typed up during the runtime, but needs to be said, even if it means doing so surrounded by oppressive silence, or worse, the sounds that may break it, that turn my ever-present anxiety into dread, that previously drove me to drink, then heavy medication, before I found respite in the constant distraction of the smart phone, a late adopter, and unlimited data to ensure that I could always passively have something completely new to me playing in the background of my life to occupy me outside of the rare instances that something unusual requires my complete, undivided attention, from when I start my day until I sleep. I had to stop the playlist after this, not just to leave a comment, but first to take the time to process what I had just listened to and allow me to reflect and experince the emotion reaction this brought out in me. In such moments, a period of silence is necessary. No phone audio or ipod or TV or radio or talking, we are taught from a young age what we instinctively know when we are more emotionally mature, lest we break the silence for those that understand, profound moments, those of great shared cultural significance, important rituals, great tragedies, require moments of public silence, as do times and places where other people are mourning a private loss, experiencing something beautiful, performing a momentus task, or absorbed in reading be it for pleasure, education, or both. While not the first time a story has required me to stop and take a personal period of silence to process and reflect, and in some cases cry, be they famous works of old or more contemporary published works, or something posted to the internet freely by someone with a good story to tell and the only price they charge is however much time and attention one is willing to give to it, though the stories that resonate with me enough to demand me to stop and reflect on them in silence also often cause me to shed tears while I do so, it's always a pleasure, a rare treat. When asked to name a time when a moment of silence was necessary, one may think of national tragedies, or funerals for loved ones, as we're wired to place more weight on the negative and traumatic, or perhaps the one following the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America that, depending on where they grew up, may have been part of a daily ritual, five days a week, most of the year, from before they could read, much less understand the meaning of the pledge they dutifully recited at the beginning of every school day up until they reached adulthood. But one does not heckle a symphony, at least not one that doesn't deserve it, and libraries are quiet for a reason, not because it is a prerequisite to read, or even study, as people do both in cafes and on public transit all the time, but libraries contain far more than textbooks, or the kind of books people pick up to pass the time during a boring commute as one would with a waiting room magazine, or just as a polite signal that they don't want to be bothered in a busy place, or possibly an invitation for someone with a shared niche interest to make small talk. Libraries have all kinds of books, and at any point one of the other patrons there may be completely absorbed in a waking dream that could be easily shattered as their eyes glide across the page and yet they see not words on paper, but what those words are describing, and of course, someone may be taking their own personal moment of silence after having read something they found profound, powerful, beautiful, demanding introspection, and perhaps sheer respect. As someone who used to read physical books to the point of losing sleep just as readily as I would end up staying up late engrossed in TV or video games, and now packs my playlist with listenable youtube junk food for the day and stories of all sorts from well known and established channels, new voices or at peast those new to me, or even AI deepfakes of video game characters reading Kafka or Lovecraft or independent internet horror that is often classified as creepypasta despite the fact that it wasn't copypasted onto message boards or otherwise highly derivative of other stories making the rounds on /x/ and nosleep, stories that could be accurately described as such, the mutant offspring of creepypasta that is the SCP and its extended universes where you never know what kind of story you'll get, but its likely to be weird and leave questions intentionally unanswered, and the less abundant non-horror-adjacent stories when something I'm into (like sci-fi and/or fantasy), and sometimes video game related stories like those Dwarf Fortress is known for, or this channel's way of presenting video game lore in the form of short, interesting narratives that I hope to come across more examples of. In this case I love how such a mod friendly game's mod lore is given the same respect, sure at this point we're in the realm of fanfiction, but don't turn your nose up at stories people write to post online and definitely don't underestimate fanfiction. It may just make you stop, reflect, and even cry. Well done.

[@TheRedKing]

I've passed this onto the author :)

[@remisteele8904]

Sometimes less is far more.

[@MarcusAgrippa390]

Absolutely fantastic story. I've never even played Stellaris but I don't think it's necessary because this is so well written that it could be set in any universe or timeline. Bravo!

[@TheRedKing]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@IrradiatedFeline]

That was really good! And beautifully read. This should be a "short" animation

[@chickendmac9085]

This is gonna be radical

[@TheRedKing]

Hope you enjoy it :)

[@ace_the_race9340]

Toil and blood, effort and hardship, these were payments worth making in return for a greater future. Ideals were never won cheaply, whether the cost was the raising of one dream city or the razing of another.

[@Diarmuhnd]

Kudos to the winner ! Thanks for sharing some fun entertainment.

[@TheRedKing]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@TrippaMazing87]

Literally one of the best stories I’ve heard! Absolutely novel worthy!!

[@TheRedKing]

Happy to hear you enjoyed it! Props to the Author :)

[@smoore6461]

Very well done and a very well writren story! Deep and moving! Im quite impressed with the writer and as always with the red Kings delivey! Thank you both for sharing!

[@TheRedKing]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@spacebandit1918]

Been waiting for this one!!

[@Sandycheeks6699]

I absolutely love this type of content, please do more of it when possible!

[@TheRedKing]

Thanks Ben, i'll do my best!

[@XxplosiveL]

These stories keep getting better and better 😊 keep it up

[@TheRedKing]

Glad you like them; I shall certainly try!

[@bneskylights1152]

This was awesome. Dude should write a book

[@theaveragegamer7221]

It must have taken them the whole 1k influence to convince them

[@SmugLookingBarrel]

Very well done, both well written and narrated.

[@TheRedKing]

Glad you liked it!

[@agpc0529]

Great story Sam! Keep writing

[@sutemeb4063]

Beautiful, thank you!

[@TheRedKing]

Glad you enjoyed it!!

[@vargha44]

Awesome! Can't wait for more stories

[@TheRedKing]

More to come!

[@bodydropper765]

Beautiful

[@jrdarby]

Congrats Sam! Cool event. Thanks.

[@andremilanimartin3338]

oh someone didnt invest in defensive bases

[@ace_the_race9340]

He who keeps silent consents

[@bongo526]

Epsilon eridani is the system of reach from the halo franchise

[@TheRedKing]

It's also a real system, out there waiting for us to explore it :)

[@EmperorEZ]

Brilliant story and Brilliantly read!

[@kelsier766]

Absolute gangsta level video

[@mordor_3]

Very emotional wonderful story.😢

[@TheRedKing]

It is indeed!!

[@sondkyou]

more of this that was great

[@brittak0556]

This is so good. I want to hear more of it so I agree its novel worthy!

[@KUREIJIMAN]

Beautiful. Absolutely Beautiful.

[@TheRedKing]

Thanks for listening :)

[@ace_the_race9340]

Life is a risk, my friend. ... We cannot avoid risk, my friend, for if we do, we achieve nothing.

[@outofcontrolsjsgaming]

That was a great story. Well done!

[@TheRedKing]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@samuellove9619]

Man i was really waiting for 2b to say something along the lines of "life is sacred", just to really push home the similarity of their motivations. Another great piece. One point of criticism though, maybe do something to break up your oration when you change perspectives. The shift to and from the fighter pilot was rather sudden, like the video had skipped forward. That being said good work on this

[@TheRedKing]

Yeah agreed, it's always tough to break up between chapters/perspective, it's something I need to work on

[@1650th]

The hive has returned

[@Valryia]

I wonder if its possible to just submit random stories which you may narrate should these stories be adequate for narration. Even without something like a lore writing event

[@TheRedKing]

I'd certainly be open to that, there is a section inthe discord where people can submit fan stories.

[@1650th]

The hive requires more

[@leonardoalfonso7080]

Great job. I wish Stellaris released DLC based on deep lore and the mysteries of the universe instead of adding more screens. Stellaris is very precious to so I don't want it to turn into an excel simulator.

[@TheRedKing]

Agreed, story packs are the real content :)

[@leonardoalfonso7080]

@@TheRedKing Please use your influence to save the game.

[@ace_the_race9340]

The seeker after truth must have a care he is not deceived, for false knowledge is far more dangerous than ignorance. All men wish to possess knowledge, but few are willing to pay the price. Always men will seek to take the short cut, the quick route to power, and it is a man’s own mind, not his enemy or foe, that will lure him to evil ways. True knowledge is gained only after the acquisition of wisdom. Without wisdom, a powerful person does not become more powerful, he becomes reckless. His power will turn on him and eventually destroy all he has built.

[@worldboxvn8214]

The Galatic community actually do something good instead Being useless 99% of the time? This story is just Unreal. But it is a good story anyway

[@dumbsimpleton207]

Are you planning on making a great Khan lore video? That would be cool

[@TheRedKing]

Maybe one day :)

[@dumbsimpleton207]

@@TheRedKing thank you for the response, I appreciate it. I enjoy your lore readings a lot.

[@whynot3d64]

Mystery box: we do a little trolling.

[@whynot3d64]

How TF did this comment even get here? I wasn't even watching this video at the time, and I was on the short section. all on mobile, TF!? Thanks for the like I guess I'm so confused.

[@TheRedKing]

KZbin hacks ?! I dono, but engagement = good 😂

[@commissarkordoshky219]

nearly brought me to tears, dammit

[@dr.veronica6155]

Man, imagine being such a bigot and unimaginable asshole that you go to the Galactic Senate and force everybody to watch a live-action snuff film to try to guilt trip them into helping you in a war, and then, once you actually get that help, instead of thanking the nation that helped you, you instead explode at your rescuers for being the wrong kind of help.

[@TheRedKing]

the "wrong kind of help" really sums it up ey!

[@dr.veronica6155]

@TheRedKing In my games, I'm all about protecting everybody, whether they like me or not. In my most recent game, I conquered a religious Fallen Empire despite being religious myself because they tried to exterminate my arch-enemies, who had turned themselves into robots. My rivals didn't yell at me for saving them. You'd think gratitude would be the default for anybody in that situation, lol

[@Samuel034]

​@@dr.veronica6155 Hey there. I'm the writer for this story. You hit the nail on the head. Of course, one could always say that God works in mysterious ways ;) Was the Asgrid's help divine intervention that Greslaw refused to acknowledge, or evidence that maybe his faith needs some adjustment? For the Asgrid's part, they gave their answer "Belief is not required" - they just did what they determined to be the right thing. Thanks for the comment!

[@remisteele8904]

I really enjoyed the majority of this story, but it really fell apart for me at the end. Ambassador Greeshlaw's initial reaction towards 2B is just far too extreme. Even for the most extreme of species, his reaction just doesn't fit. While, yes, I totally understand that is sort of the set up for the entire stories pay-off climax, its exactly for that reason that it falls so short of the stories potential. Instead of the lazy 'organic hates machines' trope from Greeshlaw's initial ham-fisted near-attack towards 2B, theres so much room to add real nuance and character development to that exchange that would pay off in the same way or better, without the flatness of such a trope.

[@skolldrachen9058]

holy shit....

[@Rhino-Prime]

What music do you use in answers?

[@TheRedKing]

Glimmering - Dan Phillipson, uppbeat.io/track/dan-phillipson/glimmering

[@ScorpioneOrzion]

Daim this story...

[@StarboyXL9]

Made me cry ngl

[@ScorpioneOrzion]

@@StarboyXL9 same, strongest was when the answer came from the robot...

[@ditlev5154]

Well damn still a good story

[@TheRedKing]

You know it!

[@ace_the_race9340]

You fuss too much over making the "right" choice Gaius. All we need do is make a good choice, see it through, and accept the consequences.

[@ChrissieBear]

PLEASE order your playlists correctly

[@TheRedKing]

?

[@remisteele8904]

No