Gravity's Pull

Jade rapidly jotted down notes, then looked up at Máté's question. Did she have any other questions about the government? His answer to the previous indicated that they were aware of the flaws of both popular vote and representative vote, and so they used them based on which would offer the most fair result.

"It seems as though you looked at the American system and put a lot of effort into making it viable for electing officials." The words came out absent-mindedly. "You have my congratulations. I did not think it was possible."

The woman did not even seem to notice her jab at the American democratic system as she went into another question. "What are election campaigns like?"

If only Máté knew Jade wouldn't care if he asked.
 
Was that one of the old countries on Earth? It probably was so and it seemed like it was not thought of overly fondly, at least Jade obviously did not have a very high opinion of them based on how she said it. Two-Stars-Weeks-Away confirmed his suspicion as well, and it was good to know that various tones meant at least similar things. Granted, ónic included a lot more shifts than what Jade was using currently, which meant that they would still come across as strange to people when they spoke, but it was better than an extreme number of misunderstandings that were rooted in the different ways they used sound. The next question, however, gave that relief a slap in the face.

"We do not know what you mean by election campaigns." The silence which followed after that was almost palpable. He knew what the words meant separately, by themselves, but using them together in the same context was completely foreign to the Ruler. What would they be even doing near each other? It did not make any sense! Hopefully, Jade would shed some light on the situation because terminology that involved elections was usually important to know. He also hoped that it was not something too important that he should be aware of.
 
Jade blinked, then covered her mouth. They didn't have any idea? She removed her hand and jotted that down before she explained.

"An election campaign is what a candidate puts forth to advertise their run for elected office." Was that enough information? No. She had to be informative. "In the Earth I am from, it is a combination of putting one's best traits forward and spreading word of the competition's negative traits. This is primarily seen in elections where the seat of power comes with a large pay check or opportunity for monetary profit." She shook her head. "This is at most a general description. There is more to the process, but I neglected to learn that which does not apply to the government I run, nor to the government in which I reside."
 
That sounded completely, absolutely, utterly and plainly ridiculous to Máté and this time, he could not help his reaction. A scowl sat out onto his face for a few seconds before he could control himself, but it was already done. Jade had likely noticed it but... but how could humanity be content with that form of leadership? How could it not see that its leaders were using them for their own gain? It was a truly horrific, dystopian system that sought the gain of its figureheads rather than its people, who were surely left behind in the dust because of the financial interests of those at the top! He had read the studies of the communities which worked like that and they were not favourable at all. It made him revolt deep inside. Two-Stars-Weeks-Away was of a similar position too, except that the soundmason's response was more measured.

"I apologise for that display," said Máté as he finally managed to collect himself. "However, we find that system to be highly objectionable. We hope that it had been overturned and if it had not, then we sincerely wish that it be overturned soon because it is dangerous to put the needs of the leadership above the needs of the people who it leads." Oh yes. That lesson had been learned thoroughly, along with many things and that was not an era that Máté, or indeed, anyone within Civitatem Lucis wanted to revisit. Neither did the planets which had been under the oppressive rules that resulted from such a grave misunderstanding of humanity's basic truths.
 
At his scowl, a hint of a smile appeared at the corners of Jade's lips. "You will be pleased to know that Sister Holly is currently working at a diplomatic and economic takeover that will take a few decades, but will put her in power over the country that is most notable for having such a government. She will rule it as my mother rules the rest of the world, because Sister Holly is her heir, should Mother ever lose or give up her position. My family is patient, and when rushed, the citizens of that country are prone to rebellion."
 
Last edited:
That sounded like Jade's mother also performed interventions of various kinds like Civitatem Lucis and in this instance, it was perfectly justifiable for them to do so. In fact, forget about the reported eccentricity of Jade's mother along with the attitude of the tiny woman, if they staged interventions like this against regimes of questionable quality, the system might have had more legitimacy than he had thought before. Of course, the rule of a family was not extremely democratic, nor did it go well with the principles that he had grown up with, but if there was anything that each and every citizen could respect along with Máté, it was the benevolence of a ruler. Therefore, though the faults of these people remained with Máté, he had given everything a once-over in his head to reconsider the necessity of an intervention.

In retrospect, it was perhaps mistake to try and judge the situation from so far.

"We are pleased to hear that your government does not support actions that are not for the benefit of the people who live under a rule that oppresses them," said Máté and this time, he deliberately let his pleased smile through the mask that he usually wore. "We hope that it will be successful, however, we are not sure as to why people would resist a change that occurs for their own good. Or have they been decieved that this system is indeed for their benefit?" A slight, unpleasant tone entered Máté's voice as he asked that question. That would not have been the first in history and once again, Máté was glad that it had been left behind.
 
"They are brainwashed, yes. Every morning through their childhood they recite a pledge they do not understand. They scream their country's name to the heavens and bomb any who stand in their way. Mother nearly died several times during her climb to power, along with several thousand of the country's own children, because they considered her a terrorist. The people rally behind leaders selected through rigged elections, and the journalists of the nation are owned by the highest bidder to turn the public to their favor." She frowned, the expression subtle on her youthful features. "I would love nothing more than to send the guilty parties directly to a universe of torment, but that would solve more problems for the people than it would bring solutions."

She paused. "Forgive me. I do not enjoy the suffering of others."
 
That sounded absolutely abominable. It went against every single principle of Civitatem Lucis, no, it went against every single human right that Máté was aware of and it violated them so thoroughly that it left an unpleasant feeling that crawled along his skin. An unpleasant expression sat out onto his face once again despite his best efforts. It dominated his expression for a while as he wondered how their people did not realise they were being brainwashed into serving the ends of their tyrannical regime. He imagined that there were some invisible, insidious systems in place to keep them from realising the truth that could free them, which made it all the more despicable.

"We believe that in this matter, your people will be able to count on the help of Civitatem Lucis," said Máté after he had finished his trek down this outright unpleasant lane of mindless dictatorship. "Though we can not speak for the Senate of Reason, the rule that you describes violates almost all of the principles that Civitatem Lucis has been founded on. Therefore, we do not believe that we are reaching beyond our authority when we declare that you could expect support from our citizens in the overthrowing of this rule." Really, as far as Máté was concered, even people with extremist beliefs would see that this could not continue no matter where it took place. And while he realised the importance of a slow intervention with people who have been brainwashed, the faster they were rescued from their prisons, the better.
 
Jade bowed her head briefly. "Thank you. It is good to have support, though it would be up to Mother and Sister Holly whether such aid, if rendered, is accepted." She doubted her mother would accept the aid from someone outside the family, but her sister might. Her sister was not so prideful as to reject assistance just because it came from outside the family. Were Jade the one for whom the support was offered, she would accept because with it would come the beginnings of an alliance, and an alliance with Civitatem Lucis was growing more and more tempting, since they clearly valued life and freedoms of their people. Shame they weren't interested in the Hunters at all, but then, the Hunters weren't human at all, so she could understand the lack of interest.
 
"We understand the need to manage one's own affairs on the planetary level and the Senate of Reason will not consider a refusal of help to be an insult. We would like to note, however, that such an effort of cooperation may serve well to strengthen the ties between our peoples and our governments." Apparently, Máté was thinking the same thing about the prospect of an alliance, except that he did not feel the need to censor himself about the possibility of close ties between them. After all, was Jade not also a part of humanity, which Civitatem Lucis had sworn to protect with all of its might? And even if she had not been, she still would be the first successful and peaceful contact with an alien species that they had managed to make. That would be worthy of dialouge alone.

"Do you have any more questions regarding the structure of Civitatem Lucis' government?" asked Máté after a brief pause. "As usual, we will answer any questions to the best of our ability." Like that even needed to be mentioned.
 
Jade shook her head. "At the moment, none I can put to words." She paused after a moment. "Actually, one. What sort of law enforcement do you utilize?" It was important to know. She'd briefly seen... what she assumed were police, but assumptions didn't have much place in a location she felt she only barely understood.

The question was fairly simple, and one that she knew the answer for in her home, but Civitatem Lucis was a new beast, one she'd not encountered before. She wanted to learn all she could, even from a strange question about how the ruling parties enforced regulations meant to ensure what she assumed was safety.

"I realize it is a strange question after the previous, but it is... of importance to me as an individual, in a way."
 
That did not seem to be such a strange question to ask in Máté's opinion, especially not in the light of the matters they had discussed. Jade merely wanted to know more about the way Civitatem Lucis was organised and while not a part of the political structure, the law enforcement definitely contributed a great deal to how various communities were run. Given that the tiny woman would be spending a lot of her time here until her power to open portals was completely recharged, it was not a surprise that she wanted to know what to look for and that she would have liked to be aware of people whom she could trust to ask on the streets.

"You have encountered the local police forces before when you arrived," said Máté as he displayed a picture of the Abevr law enforcement uniform for Jade to see. It was more militaristic than to what she was used, but in her time, the weapons used by criminals were not nearly as deadly as those which the unlawful elements of Civitatem Lucis possessed. She would recognise as the clothes the two men she met wore. "The law enforcement of Civitatem Lucis is divided into two levels, just as its political structure. There is a standardised police attire, but each planet alters it in a minor way to suit its environment the best, however, the insignia," and there, the hologram highlighted the four-point star on the vest of the clothes, "is always present."

The picture then changed to that of a man and a woman in much bulkier armour. They had the very same insignia on their chest, except that it was gold and not white. "This is the uniform of the interstellar law enforcement. Both forces are made up of volunteers who go through a series of physical and mental tests to determine their suitability for the job, then the best candidates are selected. All officers are forbidden from using lethal force unless they are dealing with individuals who have been deemed highly dangerous." That was as comprehensive of an overview as Máté could provide without going into too much detail a bout how the different arms of the police operated.
 
Jade nodded as she paid close attention, then made notes. "Ah, so Ínavák and Azoém were police officers." She was... frankly surprised she remembered their names. The unfortunate pair had seemed so lost the entire time she was conscious before she woke in Ríváné's care.

"I had been uncertain about their roles before, and thought they were merely citizens who had a robot assistant that called them over when it encountered me." The joys of a language barrier, but thankfully that was cleared up now. She was glad she didn't assume them to be sanitation workers. "The two officers I met seemed pleasant, but confused. I hope I did not cause them undue stress."

Her mind returned briefly to her Hunters, but she decided not to bring them up unless asked. Hunters were, she realized, strange, and perhaps she hadn't mentioned them before after all. It was unlikely the Hunters would be involved anyway, save for acting as bodyguards, though that role was likely unnecessary, since the people she'd met thus far did not appear to greet the unfamiliar with weaponry.
 
That was most likely because at the time, nothing was known about Jade, but Máté was sure that the small woman knew this too. She had been an enigma back then and to a degree, she still was now because there were still many unknown factors concerning her. Obviously, Two-Stars-Weeks-Away had picked up on the fact that she was absolutely not what she seemed to be, but there were far stranger implications. Given that their topic of political discussion seemed to have ended, the Ruler figured that this might as well be the best time to ask a more pointed question.

"We have a question that is of paramount importance as it concerns the safety of Civitatem Lucis' people and you," said Máté without a blink of hesitation. "We know that this may be sudden to ask of you, however, we have noted that you do not seem to be ill despite that you have not been treated with immunising shots for Abevr's bacteria and virus culture. We have also been prepared to enact quarantine after your arrival, however, that does not seem necessary ass no one in your presence has caught any infections. We would like to have an explanation of this phenomenon as it is rather unnerving." Truth to be told, Máté was not afraid of getting infected, especially with the result of those examinations and scans. He was, however, responsible for he safety of this planet to a degree, even if he was not its governor.
 
Jade blinked at the question. "Oh." She paused a moment, thinking back to something her mother told her. "Demis do not easily catch or spread disease, because our immune systems are... unusual. Mother has not yet been able to successfully map our DNA, and it is difficult to predict which diseases spread and which do not between us and standard humans." The small woman paused thoughtfully. "However, those diseases we do catch tend to have unpredictable consequences. The last time I was ill was nearly twenty years ago, and my Hunters thought I would perish because I was hospitalized for two months and lost fifteen kilograms." Slightly less interesting to her host, presumably, she spoke the word 'Hunters' with unusual emphasis.

She paused, then shook her head. "I have since regained the mass and regrown my hair. I do not anticipate such an occurrence, though." She offered a brief smile, meant to reassure. "It has been unheard of thus far for a demi to spread disease to a human, also."
 
That was most unusual and Máté was not sure how to take this into account. Obviously, if it was unlikely that these so-called demis, which was apparently Jade's species or at least subspecies, spread disease to humans then she did not represent a great deal of danger. However, given what she described as the consequence of one of the illnesses she did manage to catch, the ruler absolutely did not know how to deal with this in a reasonable manner. Therefore, overly cautious paranoia had won out in the end which meant that Jade would have to go some unpleasant experiences, but his primary duty was towards his people.

"We understand, but we are afraid that after our conversation, we will have to instruct your escorts to take you to a medical facility where you will be thoroughly examined. We are deeply sorry for any inconvenience this may cause to you, however, you must understand that we do not want our people to catch any diseases that you may pass to them. While the risk is minimal, we fear that the law of large numbers would work against our people and thus, an infection would break out." Honestly, this was not the cleanest decision that Máté had made and he was aware that he was technically overstepping his boundaries, but this was one of the cases where special circumstances came into play. Whether it would go against Jade's will or not, his duty to protect Civitatem Lucis' billions of citizens was more important than her personal wishes as of this moment.
 
Jade blinked, then nodded. "I have no objections. I am surprised I was not sent sooner." She shrugged. "Infection risk is low, yes, but I would much rather be inconvenienced than potentially bring danger to anyone." She paused thoughtfully. "I may be able to offer them a copy of my medical records, if possible." She kept them on a USB stick and her phone, though... it was likely neither were compatible with current technology on this world.

She paused at that thought. "Do you utilize USB ports or dot-tee-ex-tee files at all in Civitatem Lucis? The question is somewhat relevant to sharing my medical records."

Txt files in her time and world were some of the most compatible file types available, and USB's were similarly compatible across many devices, but if nothing else, she had a phone, and could translate as needed.
 
What in the name of reason and science were those things? Máté had not the slightest clue on what those terms meant, but from their description, they seemed to be related to computers in some manner. Which meant that if Jade's Earth was Civitatem Lucis' incredibly distant past, it was possible that there were replicas that could conceivably interpret whatever format that era used. Except that none of those would be on hand and while there may be a few in the many museums that tried to showcase the various ages which humanity went through, Máté could not imagine that they would lend their painfully reconstructed theoretical models be used in this manner. Not to mention that it would take a long time to process everything.

"We are not familiar with the method of sharing information you just described," answered Máté with a reluctant expression on his face that showed he would really have liked if he could access those records. They would have made it far easier on Jade. "We apologise in advance for any inconvenience that this will cause." Jade would no doubt know what he meant and Máté felt a pang of empathy for the poor woman. He would have liked to extend more courtesy towards her in this matter, but he was a Ruler. And as invasive as complete examinations were, they would ensure the safety of his people.
 
Jade shrugged. "I do not mind." She kept to herself that certain medical tools terrified her—particularly syringes and scalpels. She assumed she could simply send her mind out into the multiverse and check the status of her Hunters during those times, to distract herself. "I expected as much." She pulled herself back into the current conversation. "I simply assumed they could be useful. I could write them out at a later time to share if it is requested."

Jade had a lot to write, and made a note of writing out culture and history, then her medical records. She could give them to Máté, since he seemed scholarly enough to appreciate them, and discreet enough not to share them around too freely. They were, after all, her private records, and some of her medical history was... embarrassing. She recalled the time one of her brothers, Judas, shared his stolen vodka with her when they were eight, and they both ended up waking in the infirmary to three upset parents.

Then there was the time- No, no need to remember THAT embarrassment. That had been a mess and a half, back when her worst day was being away from her twin for more than twelve hours.

She blinked herself back to the present. "Do you have any other questions? I have learned a lot today, so I would like to concentrate on telling for a time, to allow myself to process everything." She wanted to know more, but she couldn't form a single question. Her mind just felt so full!
 
Máté along with Two-Stars-Weeks-Away ran over their previous conversation to see if there was anything that they could ask of Jade. Nearly all of their questions have been already answered during the exchange between them, but there was one thing that stood out to them as of recently. It was perhaps not important as it was only mentioned in passing, yet the soundmason displayed remarkable curiousity about it, far more than any other subject which had been mentioned between them. This signalled that it may have an unusual significance for Jade along with the forging of her identity, therefore, it would be the first question to ask.

"We have what we assume to be a simple question," said the Ruler. "You have just mentioned a species or perhaps an organisation called Hunters. Are you able and willing to share information with us regarding these individuals?" It was a very simple question indeed, even though the name of the organisation or species did raise a couple of questions, mainly: if they were really hunters, then what was it that they hunted? Máté prepared himself for a more than disturbing answer to that idle thought of his.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back