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[mothmansplaining]

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"Stanford Pines. Leave a message."

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[supposedtochange]

She would, and lowers herself down carefully.

"Jasper's a Gem too," Rose agrees. "We're both quartzes. We were created to be soldiers."

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"Created?" Ford repeats, interested. "So Gems are a form of artificial intelligence?"

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Rose pulls a face.

"Not exactly? There's nothing creating us that isn't a Gem. We're just not organic life, we don't reproduce like humans do. Homeworld sends injectors to a colony planet, they seed the Gems in rocks on the surface, and eventually we just - bust out."

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"Oh. I see," Ford says, not thinking to ask what happens on colony worlds. "Interesting. I've never seen inorganic life that plants itself before."

But then again, he isn't as well-travelled through the multiverse as he's always felt he is, so it's not that surprising.

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"That's good. I don't like to think that there are other universes with a Homeworld like mine," she says, quietly. "What they do is...it's terrible."

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Ford's eyebrows go up.

"What do you mean, 'terrible'?"

This is a request for clarification. There's a wide range of things that might be considered terrible, and finding out what Rose Quartz considers a terrible thing will help him feel out whether she is a potential ally.

[supposedtochange]

"Well - take Earth," she says. "When they first started seeding Gems there, the process started to drain the planet of its organic life. If the process had been completed, there would have been nothing left. No plants, no animals, no humans. Just a...drained husk of a planet. Who knows how may other life forms they'd driven to extinction on other worlds - and the Diamonds didn't even care."

[mothmansplaining]

Ah. They made more of themselves by using organic life like...well, like fertilizer. But it's not the first time Ford's met someone whose hunger destroys planets.

"I have to admit, that is pretty bad," he confirms. "Now, the Diamonds. How are they different from other Gems?"

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"They were the first," Rose says, quietly. "And the most powerful. Some Gems are able to terraform planets, but...only the Diamonds have the power to give life to other Gems."

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"Like queens in a hive," Ford says, putting it back into biological terms because he can't seem to help himself.

"All right, I think I have an idea of what your society is like. I presume there was a rebellion against the genocidal diamond regime? Is that how you died?" She said she was a soldier; it adds up.

(He missed her network post.)

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"No," she says, shaking her head. "I mean - there was a rebellion. I led the fight against the Diamonds to save the Earth. They left us alone, I lived there for around six thousand years, but...the cost was terribly high. After the retreat, then bombarded the planet with a light that corrupted the Gems that were left behind. I was only able to protect a couple of my friends."

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"Ah. I'm sorry to hear that."

That is terrible, but not so terrible that Ford doesn't get the impulse to take notes. He holds himself back, not because it would be insensitive, but because she might get the wrong idea about his wardening plans.

"And, when a Gem is corrupted," he prompts. "Is it like death?"

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"No. We can only 'die' if our Gems are shattered. The corruption turned them into monsters. No consciousness, no voice, just...anger and pain. I've tried to heal them, but nothing works. All we can do is keep their Gems suspended so their bodies can't reform."

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"Oh."

That's pretty horrifying. This sparkle-diamond-gem world is consistently surprisingly dark.

"That's terrible."

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She wraps her arms around herself, frowning sadly.

"...Yes. Yes, it is. I wish there was more I could have done. More Gems I could have saved."

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There's quiet for a moment.

"Well," Ford says, "if it helps, I can assure you that the chances of that being why you're here are next to nothing."

And dramatic irony means theatrically ironlike, right, Stanford?

[supposedtochange]

"O-okay."

She looks at him hopefully.

"You said you might be able to work out why I'm here?"

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"Yes. But it won't be the reasons you're expecting."

Ford takes a deep breath, arranging his thoughts.

"Did the Admiral approach you, or did you just wake up here?"

cw from this point; suicide

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"I just woke up here. If the Admiral had invited me I wouldn't have wanted to come. I'd made up my mind about passing on my Gem and ending my existence."

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Gray eyebrows go up.

"You can do that, too? How exactly does one 'pass on' a gem?"

Sounds like reprogramming to him, but she's not a robot.

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Rose smiles at that, soft and warm.

"I was going to have a child," she says. "With a human man. It's the first time a Gem's tried it, I think, but I know from Jasper that it worked. His name is Steven. He took my Gem, he has my powers."

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"And you didn't survive the process," he says. It is a bit like reprogramming, but with human DNA.

Ford can't imagine wanting a child so badly that he would end his own life. Even now that he's had one in a breach, one he loved very much, one who he would have died for after the fact....well, it was her choice.

"Well, I can explain why you were brought here," Ford says. "The Admiral works for a shadowy organization I've only seen once. They're called the Authority. At least, he used to work for them -- before he stole the ship we're currently on and ran away from their headquarters rather than be decommissioned for running the Barge incompetently."

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"But that's - that's how I was brought here," she says softly. "It doesn't really explain why."

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Ford looks at her, sadly.

"The Authority brought you here," he says, "because they thought it would be interesting to see what you would do on the Barge. I believe they're watching us, from their dimension. To us, graduation is life or death, but to them, it's a game. We're their entertainment."

[supposedtochange]

Rose's brow furrows.

"That's - awful. Is it true? Can you prove it?"