Wiki Wednesday #174 - CHO CHO / チョチョ

 yay for progress and getting things done! I was very far behind, but today is May 19th and this article will go live in June. Small progress, but progress.

Wiki Wednesday #174 - CHO CHO / チョチョ

CHO CHO is the cutest butterfly alien I have ever seen. By her people's standards, she is just a teenager, but she has lived for over a century and a half! Her people stave off the heat death of the universe by fixing stars. She is a princess who is very motherly, but she is also very afraid a lot of the time.

Who is CHO CHO?

official art from wiki

"Supposedly" fictional Chia here.

I listened to my mother and took a vacation to a non-Union planet. She didn't give me any suggestions, so I just opened a book with listings for hotels and picked at random. Apparently, Union money goes much farther on those planets than you'd expect.

Since my mother started her tourism project, she hasn't used any of my money. I have literally no use for it usually. I eat the food in the cafeteria, I sleep in the room they assigned me, and accessing the Union-net is free on ships.

I went for the full package. The ride there was uncomfortable. I hadn't ridden commercial before. The cries of children and whining adults was grating.

I arrived and settled into my room. It was a nice room. I stepped out onto the balcony and looked out into the distance. I could tell it was a boring place that was focused on the beauty of nature. There were mountains in the distance covered in a rainbow of fall colors. It wasn't like Earth - the colors were nearly neon and included blues and purples.

I went down to the cafe and grabbed a menu before sitting down. Before I could even read it, I heard a computerized voice welcoming me. I looked up and saw a sweet looking young woman. I tried to place her species until I realized she was non-Union. 

There was an awkward silence. She swiped at the tablet in her hand. The computerized voice asked if I needed more time. I was tired and hungry, so I bluntly asked why she wasn't using a vocal translator. For obvious reasons, she was able to answer that by pressing one button. Her people didn't have an equivalent to the human arytenoid cartilage. Because of that, they were not able to whisper or use an electrolarynx.

I sighed and apologized for being a rude tourist. I paused before adding that she was going to get a good tip - I would just hand her the money, but I only had my transaction box on me.

I could tell she understood English because her body and face briefly contorted as if she were laughing. She pressed another button and another canned response played. It was accepting the apology and saying that almost everyone makes that mistake. Apologizing made everything okay. 

I told her to just bring me what the locals would order. Her face scrunched up a bit. I guess no one asks for that. I rephrased and asked her to bring me what she would want to eat. She nodded and left me by myself.

The cafe was nearly empty. I didn't expect that after seeing the tourist town back home. In the corner, I saw two people having an animated conversation in sign language. I listened closely and realized that they were emphasizing their signs using unvoiced consonants and whistles.

The food was fine. It was identical to the food in the cafeterias on ships that didn't slaughter their own meat or grow their own produce. I didn't expect that, as the tourist town on my moon had the most amazing food. I paid and made sure to leave a large tip.

I left and just wandered around outside. I looked for any place that would have information. There weren't many buildings. There were a few folksy log cabins, but they were boarded up. My mother explained how to find the information desk, but I had been going in circles for nearly an hour and it simply wasn't where it was supposed to be.

I went back to the hotel and saw that the information desk was illegally placed inside of the hotel in a place only a paying customer could access. I took a deep breath and stood in front of it. There was no one, so I tapped on the old, mechanical bell on the desk. 

How is CHO CHO's bank?

Yay for Hiragana! It is a CV bank with one pitch. I was a little worried that the voice would be strange and alien. Thankfully, the voice is very human! The quality is a bit tinny, but for a lot of people, that is very nostalgic. The voice is a bit more mature and motherly than the design implies, but it is asked to use gender flags. I don't use flags, so the voice is the way the voice is. It is a lovely voice!

Where can I download CHO CHO?

She can be downloaded from her Wiki page. She is so pretty and lovely! I love the art. INANNA, if you are reading this, your art is amazing. I can study it and see your techniques, but even just your color choices are stunning and take real talent to pull together. Keep making art forever!