A Brief Introduction of Imperial Gems to a Particular Aspect of Human Culture

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  "So you just... stop working?" Ax3 asked, blinking as she tried to wrap her head around the concept. She, and a few of the other Peridots assigned to the Retaliator that were currently with her, followed after Viridian, who was leading them through the Human settlement.

  Viridian -And oh it was so nice to see her shining form again, even with what she'd learned- nodded. "Humans aren't like Gems. They need to maintain their bodies and minds, and cannot simply continue forever. In this country, the average Human will spend approximately eight hours sleeping, seven to nine hours working, and uses the rest of the day however they see fit. Two days of the seven day week are also usually taken off completely, to allow rest and recovery. That isn't a hard rule, however, and the details vary between everybody."

  Ax3 couldn't help but feel like that applied to a lot more than just working hours. Even now, just walking down the street, Humans were a wild mess of colours and styles; wearing appearance modifiers of all shapes and sizes, walking differently, talking differently... It was a lot. There was variance within any given caste of Gem, sure, but nothing like what the Humans did.

  "Why not just keep working, though?" Ax4, her batchmate asked. "You're a Gem. Wouldn't that get you more, uh... value tokens?"

  "Money." Viridian corrected her absently. "And the point of money is that you spend it on things that either you need, or enjoy. I keep a surplus for emergencies, but aside from that..." Viridian glanced at them. "Well, life is meant to be enjoyed. Ax4, if you were allowed to go work on your barrier generator project freely after completing your daily duties, would you enjoy that?"

  Ax3 blinked, looking at Ax4 alongside Zr2 and Ba5. This was the first she'd heard of any such project. It definitely wasn't something that a Peridot of Ax4's rank and position should have been doing, but that was often overlooked if their tinkering provided something useful. Their Emerald especially wouldn't discourage them.

  It didn't surprise her that Viridian knew about it, though. She had been close to many Gems on the Retaliator- and Ax3 pushed down the feeling that came from remembering why.

  Ax4, meanwhile, flushed a deeper green. Her look around was pure reflex, even though none would have blamed her now. Viridian had been the one to talk Emerald into allowing them all this 'free time', even.

  Viridian smiled, not unkindly. "Exactly. Which does rather nicely segue into why I've brought you four here with me today." She paused on the spot, gesturing upwards.

  Ax3's head tilted backwards. "'Funland Arcade'?" She asked.

  Viridian nodded. "Indeed." She stepped forwards, and the doors groaned open. Ax3 noted the sound of what clearly a failing motor, but that wasn't currently her job to fix. "Now, none of you know what a video game is, do you?"

  Most of the Peridots shook their heads, though Zr2 answered with a guess. "A game... that is a video?"

  "Not quite." Viridian walked inside, the four of them following her. "A 'video game' is an electronic game played on a computer that gives you feedback in response to actions you take. Since Humans are primarily visual, and most games are played with visual feedback, it was shortened to 'video'."

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  The Peridots nodded.

  "There's a lot of different types of video games, in a lot of different genres, but I brought the four of you here today because from what I know about your personalities, you're probably going to enjoy this specific video game."

  "Viridian!" A deeper voice called, gruff in a way that none of the Peridots were used to. Ax3 turned to find a Human -of course-, but one that was even stranger than usual. He was tall, but hunched forwards, his 'skin' spotted and loose.

  'Old', she realized after a few moments. She was still getting used to the whole 'aging' thing.

  "Michael." Viridian smiled at him. "Still going strong, I see."

  "These ol' bones have got a few years in them yet!" The man chuckled. "But you didn't come to talk to an old man."

  "I didn't, but it doesn't mean I can't." She smirked. "How did these 'newfangled computer things' go?"

  He sighed. "Let's just say that I'll thank you for convincing me to only buy four rather than ten." He grumbled. "So, this is your group, huh? You're..." He blinked, looking over the four of them.

  "Ax3, Ax4, Ba5, Zr2, all Peridots." Viridian introduced them, each of them giving a greeting as their names were spoken.

  "Uh-"

  "Don't worry, Mike, I don't actually expect you to remember that." Viridian grinned.

  "Whoo." The human breathed a sigh of relief. "Anyway, they're in the back, and all yours for the day."

  "Thanks, I'll make sure it stays nice." Viridian nodded, briefly gesturing at the Peridots following her as she continued onwards.

  Viridian took them into a small, but well lit room. It was fairly simple, unremarkably save for the table in the center, which had four of the Human computers already set up for it.

  "Is this really a computer?" Ba5 couldn't help but ask, leaning down to examine the machines.

  "They look primitive, don't they?" Viridian asked, amused. "By Gem standards, they are. By Human standards, these are actually quite new. They'll be completely out of date within five years, considered ancient in ten, and in thirty years, people will wonder how they ever got by on just this." She shrugged. "Now then, take a seat everyone."

  They did. Ax3 couldn't help but think that the chair was a weird one; so squishy and soft, turning with only a bit of force. Still, it wasn't bad. "Are you going to teach this to everyone?" Ax3 asked.

  "Not quite. The game we'll be playing today is called 'Colonization 2'. It's not for everyone, but I do think you four will enjoy it." Viridian stated. "Other Gems will likely find different games they enjoy. I know Garnet took a bunch of Rubies when I raised this idea-"

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  "This-" Garnet spoke, gesturing to a screen. "- is DOOM."

  "Oooooh." Her audience of Rubies echoed.

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  "- but right now, this is just for you." Viridian smiled. Ax3 tried very hard not to blush. "You ready?"

  The Peridots nodded.

  Fourteen hours later, Viridian almost had to guilt-trip them to get them to leave the arcade. They had been introduced to a thing of beauty, a sublime experience.

  It took them three more hours to find a way to emulate Human software on the Retaliator's systems. In two days, ninety percent of the Peridots on the ship had been exposed, and 'free time' became a coveted thing. Motivation rose like a rocket.

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