Gravity (Dark Anomaly #1) - Marina Simcoe Page 0,37

design and build our expansive gardens the way they are today. It’s very knowledgeable about agriculture.”

It?

“What is Malahki? A robot? AI?”

“No, it’s a person.”

“Didn’t you just refer to him as it?” Or had I heard him wrong?

“That’s what it is. Malahki is a damirian. Its species are born with no gender. They call it the ‘neutral sex’. They are neither male nor female until they sexually mature.”

That was new to me. Earth had been in contact with damirians. We had recently put a program in place, exchanging research findings between our planets. That didn’t include an exchange of detailed information about the development of our species. Neither had I ever met a damirian in person.

“Referring to them as he or she before they mature is considered offensive,” Vrateus added. “Inconsiderate.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I assured him. “How long does it take for them to reach maturity?”

“There is no definitive age for that. Malahki is a full-grown adult. A damirian remains neutral gender until it meets the right person. They mate for life and choose the gender opposite of their partner.”

“How does it work?” I asked, confused. “If two ‘it-s’ meet, both of neutral gender, who decides which one of them is to become a ‘he’ and which one a ‘she’?”

“They know. Gender roles are clearly defined in their society. The neutral gender works in all levels of government due to their aptitude for diplomacy and their calm demeanour. The males are more aggressive and dominant, with the females being more playful, easy-going, and creative. After spending some time together, each half of a couple leans one way while the other one takes the opposing role. Then the physical differences form.”

The concept sounded fascinating, and I made a note to get more information from the library.

“So, since you told me that Malahki is the only one of his species here, does it mean he...it is destined to remain it forever?”

“It’s been five years since Malahki’s arrival to the Dark Anomaly. I suspect if there was a suitable partner for it here, it would have chosen one already.”

The fact that Malahki hadn’t found a suitable life partner on the Anomaly did not surprise me. Though the fact that it might now be destined to remain alone for the rest of its days carried a certain sadness.

Walking to the gardens took some time. After several turns and curves in the uneven corridor, we finally came to a wide door of opaque glass that folded away to the sides, like an accordion.

The gardens had a very distinct look, different from everything else on the Dark Anomaly. Unlike the glaring white light everywhere else, here it was dimmer, with a yellow softness to it. Vines of every shade of green and purple covered the walls, making the already sizeable space appear even bigger.

The air seemed cleaner, rich with moisture and scents of flowers and wet dirt.

“Malahki,” Vrateus called out into the labyrinth of greens and purples that dominated the place.

“Yes, Captain,” came a calm voice from behind the vines then a tall, lean figure slipped around them and headed our way.

“I want you to show Svetlana everything we have in here.” Vrateus gestured for the errocks accompanying us to stay behind by the entrance.

“Welcome to the gardens, Svetlana,” Malahki greeted me, which made the damirian immediately stand out from the rest of the Anomaly’s crew, none of whom had ever shown any manners.

According to Vrateus, Malahki got here relatively recently. That might be why it still retained some shreds of civilization.

Tall, with toned muscles and shoulders slightly wider than the hips, Malahki’s figure could have equally belonged to a slender male or an athletic female. Its beige skin was smooth and even, like a clean canvas. The same color as its skin, its waist-long hair was braided in plaits of different length and thickness and decorated with vines and flowers.

“It’s nice to meet you.” I gave Malahki a friendly smile.

At first, I thought the damirian was wearing a skin-colored bodysuit, then I realized it wore no clothes at all. Its chest was smooth, as was the area between its legs—no breasts, not even nipples, no distinct genitals, and no body hair.

“Follow me,” it invited.

With all its politeness, Malahki’s expression lacked emotion. There was no aggression or sneering that I was used to seeing from others here. But neither was there any genuine warmth, just a detached stoic calmness.

I understood what Vrateus meant by saying Malahki was of neutral gender. It truly was genderless, like