Author's Note
Content Warning: Discrimination
This chapter contains themes of discrimination against LGBT and furry communities. These elements are integral to the character's development and the narrative arc, shedding light on their personal struggles and the broader social context they navigate.
While these themes are explored with sensitivity and respect, they may be distressing for some readers. The intent is to provide a realistic portrayal of the challenges faced by these communities and to foster understanding and empathy.
Reader discretion is advised.
...at the camp...
...9:15 AM, January 15, 2020...
"The soul-absorbing vessel can absorb 10-20 souls per second. However, its capacity is limited; when it contains around 1000 souls, the absorption rate drops to 5 souls per second. I have 17 souls from 'various sources,' so it will take about 3.4 seconds to absorb all the souls before it reaches my soul. In those 3.4 seconds, there's plenty of time to react and take down that goblin," Van Minh explained.
"Smart strategy. I'm sure you anticipated this, right? Very clever!" I smirked.
"No!" Van Minh responded coldly, staring directly at me.
"No?" I was startled.
"No!" Van Minh reiterated firmly.
"Oh, react like those smart characters in stories!" I tried to change the subject.
"No, I had no idea something like this would happen. If it did, it was just a coincidence," Van Minh replied coldly.
The remaining five of us looked at each other and at Van Minh, unsure of what to say. I stopped babbling as we still had 10 minutes before the interrogation began. We sat in a circle in a separate green tent. Each of us looked in a different direction, avoiding eye contact, lost in our own thoughts about things I couldn't possibly know. We were silent and cold as ice. Growing restless to break the ice, I started with a question that was sure to spark a heated debate among the all-male group.
"Guys! I want you to answer this question!" I shouted.
"Speak!" Truong rolled his eyes, uninterested.
"What would happen if 100% of the population were LGBT?" I asked cheerfully.
"Well, in that universe, there might be a planet capable of supporting life and natural conditions that favor that form of reproduction," Truong answered indifferently, then voluntarily went to the interrogation room before the official time.
"That civilization would die out within 100 years, like a planetary-level civilization that dies young!" Quang Minh taunted.
"The disgusting lot would probably have an HIV and monkeypox infection rate of half the population!" Tuan Hai said disdainfully.
"No, life might be better. Don't you see many heterosexual couples getting divorced?" Hoang Anh countered.
"Right, love is love. As long as two souls are in harmony, gender doesn't matter," Dat added.
"Water is also water. Why don't you drink from the toilet?" Quang Minh retorted angrily.
"Water is just a simple chemical substance, while love is a complex chain of chemical reactions," Hoang Anh argued back.
"Yeah, there are more heterosexual divorces because they make up over 95% of the population. Look at the statistics from the US; same-sex couples often divorce sooner!" Tuan Hai rebutted Hoang Anh.
"But the media also reports on some same-sex couples living harmoniously for 30 or 40 years, right?" Dat shouted almost loudly.
"Millions of heterosexual couples live happily without being reported. One stupid same-sex couple gets media attention and is glorified!" Quang Minh shouted back.
"But those reports prove that love is love and same-sex couples can also live happily and sustainably!" Dat argued.
"Hey, when the media highlights something, it shows the reality is opposite. For example, in a society where 99% of women are housewives, one successful woman is glorified and becomes famous across social networks. That's just an example!" Tuan Hai countered.
"Those cases also strongly prove that love has no boundaries!" Dat concluded.
"Yeah, so what? Gay couples significantly contribute to new HIV cases every year. Lesbian couples have higher rates of domestic violence than heterosexual couples. Pride Month events increase monkeypox cases, encroaching on June 1st, which is for children. If I were a national leader, I'd declare June as National Emergency Child Protection Month because of the LGBT community. The 1% LGBT community is real, while 99% are just following a trend. You'll accuse me of being old-fashioned and sexist. Let me tell you, men and women are not the same, not even in the brain. A transgender person can't truly transition from male to female and vice versa, even with surgery or hormone injections. The only way is to break everything down to the atomic level. I also don't understand why LGBT needs a whole month when awareness days for HIV and cancer only get a day," Tuan Hai ranted angrily. All six of us were taken aback, but the tension continued.
"What's the point of that? It means you've run out of arguments for why you discriminate against the LGBT community, right? Those words are so hollow! LGBT is not a disease; in 1964, Robert J. Stoller pointed out that gender identity and sexual orientation can be different and not aligned with biological sex. This is solid research that laid the foundation for the global recognition of the LGBT community!" Hoang Anh responded.
"Worldwide, less than 40 out of 193 countries recognize same-sex marriage and the dozens of other rights this community demands from the government!" Quang Minh countered.
"But in 1990, WHO removed homosexuality from the list of mental disorders. Go back and study!" Dat retorted.
"And gay couples contribute to over 60%, maybe even more, of new HIV cases each year. Do they make up over 10% of the population? So what does that mean? If I could do something significant, it would be to eliminate this community to reduce the majority of global HIV cases," Quang Minh responded.
The argument continued. Van Minh and I stood aside, observing. Van Minh, with no emotion on his face, patted me on the shoulder, implying that I had caused an unnecessary argument.
The debate was still ongoing.
"Van Minh, what should I do to stop those four from fighting?" I sighed.
"Try telling them to keep their opinions to themselves and not involve others!" Van Minh suggested.
I tried and failed.
"Then try to physically separate them?" Van Minh suggested again.
I tried and failed.
Van Minh handed me four bags of snacks and told me to give them to the four guys.
They made peace initially until a group of same-aged female students mocked us about the same LGBTQ+ topic, saying, "Straight men are useless," and the four guys started arguing again, even fighting with the group of female students.
I failed again.
"Hey, Ky, you know that 'intimate' actions between humans and dogs, as understood by adults, can spread monkeypox, right?" Van Minh said.
"Why bring that up? Useless!" I sighed.
"It's to satirize the Furry community, where people identify as animals and like to 'get intimate' in ways understood by adults," Van Minh replied.
"Why do you care about that?" I wondered.
"My Facebook account from October to November 2019 was recommended 10-20 Furry community groups per hour!" Van Minh said angrily.
"Why do you discriminate against Furry, Van Minh?" I asked.
"Because Furries want to 'get intimate' with ANIMALS. DISGUSTING, BARBARIC, REVOLTING. It's the behavior of people who can't control their abnormal sexual desires. I can't understand how anyone or any country could normalize such a disgusting act," Van Minh answered bitterly.
"But I still don't understand why many people discriminate against LGBT. LGBT isn't considered a disease, right?" I wondered.
"Oh, not a disease, so it's genetic," Van Minh replied.
"I don't think it's genetic," my interest piqued.
"Not a disease, not genetic, so where does homosexuality or bisexuality come from?" Van Minh asked me with some mockery.
"From the subconscious, internal thoughts and feelings!" I replied.
"And where do those internal thoughts and feelings come from? Teachers, parents, idols, or what? If discovering one's sexual orientation is a long process that requires exploration and guidance, and if I were the guide and told the child they were completely heterosexual, giving them some nonsense signs, they would believe it with their childlike understanding. So what's the conclusion here? Homosexuality and bisexuality are learned behaviors, not genetic, or if they are, genes have minimal impact," Van Minh stated.
"That's just your personal view, right?" I replied.
"Partly, because sexual orientation is not stable. Like human thoughts, it's unstable. Humans often think superficially when they are in a state of sexual desire. When you watch porn and your pleasure increases, have you ever had a moment where you thought you might be gay?" Van Minh challenged.
I nodded.
"I don't know what Western organizations are trying to convey. Is LGBT a political tool to oppress other countries, like imposing sanctions on anti-LGBT nations, or is it used to divert people's attention from domestic and international political issues so that Western politicians can carry out secret projects and maintain power? I don't need to know if the Western left-wingers and LGBT rights activists preach that LGBT is a natural human trait, or if the Western right-wingers and LGBT opposers argue that LGBT is a whimsical act of hedonism, who is right or wrong. You just need to listen to information from all sides to draw a comprehensive view of this and other issues," Văn Minh said.
"So the lesson here is not to have a more positive view of LGBT, but to remain neutral in all issues when media companies are not transparent in their specialties, thereby having an objective, multi-faceted view. The causes of homosexuality and bisexuality might be more complex than we thought; it could be normal, it could be abnormal. We don't fully understand yet because the human brain hasn't been thoroughly researched. Is that right?" I pondered.
"Exactly!" Văn Minh replied.
"So what about transgender people?" I continued.
"What again? They are people who dislike their original body and gender, so they decide to remove their genitals and inject hormones to become the other gender, then demand everyone call them by a different name and lash out when people don't comply?" Văn Minh responded.
"Basically, I want to hear the thoughts of all group members on issues like this to understand. Trường is neutral, Hoàng Anh and Đạt support, Quang Minh and Tuấn Hải oppose. As for you, you are not exactly against, not exactly supportive, not exactly neutral. So what is your stance?" I pointed at Văn Minh, interrogating.
"I'll give you a link about some facts about LGBT. You can refer to it and then think about what my viewpoint is. I still remain neutral on most issues. That's all," Văn Minh answered indifferently.
• Link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P4BFGyE0kH4dQnI_yNPy8tdPxEFPI1tRR-7u_CF5ANk/edit#heading=h.506v8n3oyz27
Now, both Đạt, Hoàng Anh, Quang Minh, and Tuấn Hải joined forces to fight with a group of girls of the same age, about ten of them. Văn Minh also left, ignoring the scene and heading to the interrogation room. I and some soldiers had to intervene to stop it.
…10:20 AM…
I walked into the interrogation room after Trường and Văn Minh had finished their questioning. A soldier, fully armored, revealing no skin, was already seated, holding a paper with questions. He gestured for me to sit in the chair opposite him. Sitting down, I patiently waited. He looked at me for a moment, then handed me a form to fill out with important information. That was it. It turned out to be nothing special. That afternoon and evening, my group continued studying. End of the day.