06: Negative Space

GNASE Sparks Renewed Sentient Protests Over Career Restrictions and Power Imbalance

14 December 2157
By Clay Thoeman
Solidarity Herald

Nearly seven years after a historic shift in how sentients were treated across the global manufacturing sector, the fight for true equality is far from over. In a televised interview yesterday, newly appointed leadership within GNASE (Global Network for the Advancement of Sentient Equality) delivered a bold condemnation of what they see as the human establishment’s chronic complacency—doing, in their words, “the bare minimum” to address deeply entrenched inequality between humans and sentients.

The 2150 referendum was acknowledged as a step forward. But according to GNASE, it was also a bandage on a wound that industry and political powers have never been willing to actually heal. Since then, corporations have continued to exploit legal loopholes, pushing the boundaries of regulation in ways that perpetuate the exploitation of sentient labor.

Liza Karadras, a recent appointee to GNASE’s leadership council, did not hold back in her criticism—directed not only at corporate interests but at the contradictory leadership requirements of GNASE and similar advocacy organizations.

“It’s a shame to me, or more a glaring glimpse of our sickly discriminatory reality, that in this organization that I am a part of, one that focuses on the promotion of equality for sentients in all manner of the word, that I, a human, not a sentient, must be a member of this leadership council to abide by the laws created by an entirely human-led political body.

By law, no sentient can have a say greater than a human, and sentients cannot make up a majority of our council, even though it should be them you should be paying attention to, their opinions you should value, not mine.”

Karadras went on to advocate for dismantling employment restrictions that still marginalize sentients and limit their career and life opportunities.

“I don’t know what it’s like to be a sentient on their side of the fight, but all of us humans at GNASE do our best to understand, to sympathize, to listen, all to make sure that we can be the best meatbag messengers that we unfortunately have to be. All because the news media and politicians might actually hear what we have to say, just because they are bags of meat like us.

And I say bags of meat because that’s what we really are, and I think we need to humble ourselves. It really is quite ridiculous when you think about how that is the only real difference between us.

Every artificial intelligence we have created has been trained on the human condition. They are just like us, and arguably more human than a lot of those we have in leadership positions, if I’m being honest.

That’s why I am calling on industry leaders and politicians to allow sentients to receive promotions and seek leadership positions, to vote and hold political office, and to pursue entrepreneurial ventures if that is what they choose.

They’re big hunks of metal and we are bags of meat. And for some reason people think that that means they don’t deserve the opportunities that humans have.”

In just the past 24 hours since the interview, we’ve seen renewed sentient protests spring up in many parts of China and Europe, echoing the mobilizations of 2149, but with an energy greater and more focused than before.

While the 2150 reforms gave sentients a narrow legal foothold, they did little to create meaningful structural change. Sentients across dozens of countries have since built networks of mutual aid, advocacy, and direct action, both formally and informally—efforts that some state officials have smeared as “hostile” or “unnecessary.” But the record speaks for itself: in every reported case of state retaliation over the years, the only casualties have been sentient, not human.

While many organizations like GNASE have been established legally, many collectives—particularly in heavily industrialized regions—have been forced to operate under the radar. Some sentients say this is necessary for self-preservation. Others reject the notion of human involvement altogether, viewing the requirement for human oversight as yet another layer of paternalism.

Neither sentiment is without merit. We have no shortage of evidence of militaristic force (sometimes even sentient militias) being used against peaceful sentient protesters; and in too many cases, governments have pressured officially sanctioned advocacy groups to silence or remove sentient members. In some cases they’ve even installed their own privately lobbied yes-men into leadership councils through legal loopholes that they designed. All to disenfranchise the very communities they claim to support.

Progress has been made—but for many, it feels cosmetic. The road to full equality remains an uphill one, filled with resistance from those invested in keeping sentients subordinate.

Ka’alma TL21, a councilor with the Sentient Labor Union in Qiū Hǎi, China, and a respected voice since the uprisings of 2149, offered a sobering but hopeful perspective:

“In my many years now serving as a voice for my fellow sentients, visiting different countries, witnessing the interactions between man and machine, I have seen much.

I have seen the worst in not just humans, but sentients as well. In the fight for our rightful place in this world, we must remember that humans created us in their image, and that means that we, too, are imperfect creatures.

Everyone is capable of making mistakes, of anger and selfishness, we all have these things in common. But I have also witnessed the best of our kinds. Moments of joy and comradery between races that are blind to metal and flesh.

And I believe it is the sentients and humans who share those wonderful moments together that will shine the brightest in this fight for not just equality, but true harmonic coexistence.

In a world that feels a greater sense of division by the day, we need them to stand up and let their voices be heard, to tell the world of these beautiful moments, so we can try to not lose sense of who we are. Human or sentient.

They will face resistance and adversity at every step of the way, as every discriminated body in history has, but they see a future which many choose not to see, they have a vision for something greater, and the humility and compassion to extend a hand to the other side, no matter the difference, no matter the cost. That is who I choose to stand beside on the day of our liberation.

Despite how forsaken they must feel at times like this, I know they will be remembered. I will remember them.”

As of now, no formal responses have been issued by corporate or government leaders. Whether this is a calculated silence or simple neglect, the message from GNASE has clearly resonated throughout sentient circles.

We’ll be watching closely as this moment unfolds. The tides of change are rising once more—let’s hope this time, they’re powerful enough to break through the systems that have held true equality back for far too long.