Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Aria Jenneth]

"... huh. Invasive species usually start by being really well-adapted to a place in a different setting. It's not the plant that's the problem; it's where the plant ends up. Though ... I'm not sure how much like ecology the relationship between human cultures is. We're not separate species; we're all just one. Water lilies don't take over your pond by turning other flowers into more of themselves."

[Utari Onzo]

"True but in this case the potential invasive qualities of the plant are already widely known. Not so say these water lilies aren't carefully managed to prevent it, but the risks are still there and well documented.

On the topic of culture and plants, I do confess to some amount of bias. It's bittersweet walking on this planet for myself, so I apologise if that slips in from time to time."

[Aria Jenneth]

"True but in this case the potential invasive qualities of the plant are already widely known. Not so say these water lilies aren't carefully managed to prevent it, but the risks are still there and well documented.

On the topic of culture and plants, I do confess to some amount of bias. It's bittersweet walking on this planet for myself, so I apologise if that slips in from time to time."

"Hm."

She's silent for a long moment, looking over the scene.

"... Maybe for me, too, I guess. I'm half Civire, after all. I've been trying to work out ... whether I feel anything special for this place. I'm still not sure."

Another pause.

"Utari? Don't you think the Amarr are susceptible to the very same arguments? ... only if the Federal cultural structure is contagious by nature, it seems like the Empire is contagious by design. And the Gallente keep going around leaving little islands of other cultures inside the Federation, more or less fully intact-- the Raata, the Jin Mei, the Intaki, even some expatriate Achura. I can't really imagine the Empire doing that.

"Isn't the idea that the Federation is a greater threat really just based on a lot of bad blood?"

[Utari Onzo]

Utari bites his lip slightly and takes a while to reply.

"Aria, as someone who visited the Empire I feel like you should know better. While, yes, the Empire is unified in government and faith, each region under each Heir is quite different from the others. The Ni-Kunni continue to thrive culturally in their home planet, the Khanid of the Kingdom, while it's murky how close to the Empire they truly are, they still continue to celebrate their cultures. The Enclaves also exist there where the Caldari are practically blossoming."

He sighs and clicks his tongue. "The Federation believes in the self, liberty, elections. It's a fragile system that works as far as I've gathered on faith, faith in the good of man. It works, for the most part, but it has a chronic vulnerability in that emphasis on the self. I don't think they've ever been truly put under pressure to test their resilience, and I have the feeling if we all follow their ways... We will be found wanting.

The Empire on the otherhand has endured a lot, infact its endured some potentially crippling events all in close sucession and continues to endure. I believe in God, desire a safe and secure home and I know the Empire is a safe bet for continual stability. It won't always be the same kind of Empire, you learnt yourself it can adapt where it needs to, but out of the two, Amarr and Gallente, I think the Empire will prove to be the stronger in the long term."

[Aria Jenneth]

"Yes, I was there. Yeah, it was more diverse than I expected. I'm not saying that the Empire's a monoculture. But I have to wonder what you'll have to do to the Gallente, to make them feudal and obedient, and to make them see God like you do.

"I wonder what will be left of them. No doubt they'll still have their own culture when you're done, just like ... the Ni-Kunni do. I wonder how much it'll look like it does, now."

She turns to look up at him, a little unhappily. Her voice is very quiet.

"You know I can't ... see God, when I look at the Empire, Utari. I'm still a heathen. I see most of what you said, but I don't see Him. ... Just a very useful social construct. That difference changes a lot of things, like ...

"... like whether I think a people being revised and edited to fit is something to celebrate, or something really sad. That's the same for me, whether it's the Amarr doing it, or the Gallente."

[Utari Onzo]

"And that, dear Aria, is where we differ. I believe ultimately human society is trying to achieve stasis. In due time, one culture will dominate over others by a long and slow process. It is my belief that it is the Gallente or the Amarr that will end up the foremost in that race, and it should be plain who I'm banking on."

He stiffens a little, the proverbial walls coming up as Aria prods at the subject. Biting his lip once more, he turns his vision back to the park, then upwards to the sky. He takes a slow breath. "Shall we see more of the park or shall we head to the business district? I understand there's more of the Gallentean influence down there."

[Aria Jenneth]

"Mm." It's more than half a sigh.

"Well, I'm enjoying the park a lot. Tell you what-- we stay here for the moment, and you try pointing out all the Gallentean bits? The place has been under Federal rule for most of the last two hundred years, and I'm really curious how Gallentean style and culture's been interacting with Caldari."

She pauses a beat, and then adds with an impish grin, "... Even if I'm hearing it from the competing brand's representative.

"I'm guessing those water lilies are Gallentean influence. What else?"

[Utari Onzo]

Utari furrows his brow slightly, his eyes darting around before resting at the wood of evergreen trees towards the centre. "Ah, look over there, what looks a little out of place?"

He gestures to where his eyes are pointed, a copse of evergreen pines, kresh varients and the occasional hardy oak. Rising slightly higher then the other trees, towards the middle, are a collection of deep brown-to-red barked sequoia. "If I didn't know any better, that's redwood. One particular species is known to grow on the Jin-Mei home planet, but the biggest come from some of the more mountainous planets in the Federation."

He guides the group along a path closer, passing beside trees as he continues speaking. "Redwoods are evergreens, just like these Caldari pines. They get their name from the distinctive bark colour, it really stands out from the muddy browns and tans surrounding it. They also happen to grow fast, and extremely tall. Good job they put this thing in the middle."

Most of the redwoods stand only a little higher then their coniferous cousins, swaying slightly in the open air. The 'leaves', composed of needles sprouting in leaf shapes, give a feint almost chittering, rustling sound as they move with the slight breeze. "These are relatively new trees, not much older then maybe fifty, sixty? Might also be Jin-Mei, those ones tend to grow little slower and shorter. Wonderful looking when they reach full height, especially among the oaks at fall."

[Aria Jenneth]

Aria's smile is just a tinge melancholy.

"And here I was afraid you might pick something ... troubling. Or sad. Thank you for not doing such a thing.

"Utari? I ... have a question for you. This idea that there's eventually going to be a sort of cultural conqueror, a ... 'winner' that dominates all other cultures.... Coming from a culture that, on the face of it, doesn't seem to have much chance of emerging dominant, and doesn't seem to even want to ... it seems just unutterably sad. Certainly, there's a tendency for things to mix at the edges, and some cultures are more aggressive than others, but ... must it be so simple? New things will emerge. New patterns we can't even imagine from where we are now. There'll be changes, permutations, and they won't be evenly distributed. Even the Ancients don't seem to have had only one culture, one society.

"The Amarr and Gallente both have strong interests in seeing their ways of thinking spread. But why would human society in general be trying to achieve anything at all? It's not as though most of humanity wants either would-be conqueror to succeed."

[Utari Onzo]

"I agree that there is always change, and bleeding between cultures. The Empire of the future might very well be radically different from the Empire of today, as with the Federation. But at their core, they will be the same, faith in God against faith in Man."

He runs his hand down the bark of the redwood, feeling its lumps and bumps under his palm. "Humanity is driven to create civilisation like trees are driven to dig roots into the ground. You, yourself made the argument we construct reasons to believe in something greater then just the raw number of people we can know and care about. Within that concept, the strongest of those unified peoples will always need to compete. For resources, for influence, for power, for a goal. In the end, violence, commerce and diplomacy are simply tools for theshort and long term interests of a state. The Empire seeks to unify man under God, and requires power and dominance in order to do that where it cannot otherwise convince people of its goal simply by its message. Is it a bad thing? To some, but those are the facts of it. We have a mission, and it demands our success in due time."

"As for why we want to achieve anything at all? We all die. Even Capsuleers. Individually, many members of humanity will not leave a mark in history beyond being a number on a population census, or a casualty report from an accident or attack. Not all of us will be able to be remembered by thousands, millions or billions for our exploits, so we project that need to have some sense of immortality in memory upon a culture, a flag. If our nation can be strong and achieve its goals, as citizens of it we can feel we've done our part in creating an immortal history to be taught down the ages. We assisted in creating something that, even if it fails, will leave monuments and records for further research and discovery. It's the closest thing to living forever the base human will get in this world, leaving aside the religious points of Paradise and the afterlife."

[Aria Jenneth]

"Is that all you meant when you said that human society is trying to achieve stasis? People trying to create something that will outlive them?"

[Utari Onzo]

"That is one of the pulls that I feel compels us towards stasis. There's also in the Amarrian school of thinking the need to unite Man under God once more, and the Gallentean drive to bring Liberty to all corners. But the fundamental drive is that desire to build something lasting, and the bigger your civilisation, the more likely it'll be remembered through the ages even after it falls. It's an eternal race to the top."

[Aria Jenneth]

"... Well ... I guess if I were trying to build something I was sure would last a long time, it would look a lot like the Empire. It doesn't seem like a very fundamental drive to me, though. More like ..." She pauses, wincing slightly, but forges ahead nevertheless. "... like an outgrowth of pride.

"Everywhere I go, most people mostly just want to lead happy, useful lives. Things don't have to last forever, to be worthwhile."

She pauses. Then:

"Maybe ... Utari? Maybe distant, long-range ideas of the future aren't a good topic for us. I ... really don't want to be conquered. It's ... um ... become kind of a nightmare of mine since meeting Lady Rkard."

[Utari Onzo]

Utari bows his head slightly to Aria. "As you wish. It was not my intention to cause any upset, perhaps I speak my mind to blunty sometimes."

He takes another moment to look around the scene. Various families, off duty workers in warm coats and tourists seem to make their way lazily around the park's interior. The usual business attire of the native Caldari is obvious, with the odd garnish of colour in a scarf, or a young adult's rebellious haircut.

"Hmm.."

[Aria Jenneth]

"Civire blood. It's ... a quality we share."

She follows his gaze thoughtfully.

"Flares like that-- also Gallentean influence, also, I guess?"