Chojin Patriarch
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I suppose it shows that some delegation is expected. Those like P'thet probably consider policing below those of 'Noble' status...5th July 2012
21:47 GMT
"'Counsellors. I am at your service.'"
"Is it odd that the Marshall is Green rather than Red?"
Big assumption, OL. Those Reds might well have been in ceremonial positions."Not at all. General patrol duties are.. considered appropriate for Green Martians."
"Right, but he's in a command rank. Xan'Xie had Red Manhunters."
Because Humanity has the will and the ability to do so. You want a say in your border security, you'll have to participate in defending them properly."No, they had Red Honour Guards. Mel'dilo'rn allows Reds to join our Manhunters, but it is more usual for separate units of Reds to protect certain high-value sites. Our society does not bar non-Reds from all positions of authority. Only a few cities take it that far. And now I'm behind. Ah, he's concerned about security threats if we are literally incapable of securing our territory… '…individuals capable of faster than light travel are able to go where they please without prior notification or detection. Despite having been far more sophisticated for most of our history and our physical advantages in nearly every respect, nearly the entirety of in-system defence is left to the humans. Even-."
In other words: "There's a lot of Whites. Why shouldn't we recruit them to increase our numbers?" And he wants the external military under the purview of the planetary council? Sensible, given the attitude of some prelates..."What's that got to do with Whites?"
"He was asked about Mars security in a general sense. Ah, 'removing existing barrier based on colour would allow for a dramatic expansion of our extra-atmospheric capacity and ameliorate the psychological difficulties which we are known to encounter. Since this would put the population outside the traditional bounds of any city, a change in governance structure would be helpful in preserving clear accountability of the military to the civilian government.'"
Understandable. It's a pretty big revelation. I don't doubt more than a few Martians in the know are doing the same."How genuine does he sound?"
"He was only recently told about the actions of the Guardians. It has left him with a strong desire to lash out against anything outside of our society. He seeks to control his own desires through regulation and orders, which is a desirable trait."
And here we go...I nod as the Marshall returns to the waiting area.
"It is now your turn."
Quite the concession. Presumably one or two will talk, relaying questions from others..."Are you going to be translating for me?"
"No, they will just speak to you."
An interesting visual. Necessary for the ability to vocalise, of course. Still, reminds me of some of J'onn J'onnz' later humanoid forms..."Rightoh." I fly to the spot formerly occupied by the Marshall. "Counsellors, I am at your service."
The Red leading the opening questions shifts to a more humanoid shape, though they keep the upper part of their head as-was.
"Please state your name and point of interest."
I mean, he's not going to be recruiting solely from that one city... But better not to complicate matters at this stage."I am the Illustres of the Orange Lantern Corps. My interests are twofold. Firstly, I am an off-world party who wishes to employ a significant number of Martians from a city which does not wish to allow me to do to. Ideally, I'd like this Counsel to rule that they don't have that authority and.. not grant it to them. Secondly, having uncovered the origin of Martian Neapolitanism and having determined that there's no rational underlying biological basis for the common colour-prejudgements, I have a strong distaste for the ongoing role they play in Martian public life."
Species like the Clickers, of course. Or the Spider Guild..."'Strong distaste'?"
"I've had contact with species where different subdivisions of that species have widely different physical traits. There, assigning different rights and responsibilities to each group is entirely rational. However, in the Martian case the only effect that I've been able to isolate is that Reds are slightly more psychologically resilient, and even that can be overcome with training. As such, I have concluded that the basis of Neapolitanism is biased prejudgement, and as such it is immoral."
And harming them will make them want to harm the ones doing it... Violently."Your distaste comes from your moral convictions?"
I shrug. "There are many injustices in the universe. If our planets weren't neighbours and it didn't directly affect a friend of mine, it probably wouldn't bother me as much. Though I've.. sometimes considered that morals are a built-in way of forcing us to consider the long term collective good rather than just the short term personal advantage. The policy of continuing to oppress Whites -as some cities are doing- harms them and doesn't help anyone."
Which we know to largely be historical coverups, after all. I suppose, in those early days as they found their feet after the Guardian's meddling, influential personalities would naturally play a part..."How well do you understand Martian society?"
"Not all that well. Usually, I'd just have my ring download a database, but it isn't compatible with Martian telepathic data storage devices. And M'gann's rather gone native, so… Only ever really explained it in the broadest terms. The first time I even heard Karmang's name was from a member of the Hyperclan, and I still don't truly understand how your reverence for him has shaped your civilisation. Prelate P'thet mentioned that she considered it appropriate that Reds occupy all positions of authority because all of his acolytes were Red."
Besides population density, in which case the Whites would have taken priority...I shrug.
"But even one as.. devout as she could not point to a commandment from Karmang that non-Reds be excluded, or any record of his justification for choosing Red acolytes. Without the ability to question Karmang personally, I cannot accept the status quo as correct, even within a Martian framework. And there is still no canonical justification for distinguishing between Greens and Whites."
...It's probably a good thing he can't pick up the no doubt very loud telepathic exclamations he provoked with that little statement..."And outside of that framework?"
"Karmang's just some dead guy, and I don't really care what he said or did."
So P'thet and those like her may well be a very vocal minority... Isn't that always the way?The fact that Martians aren't big on facial expressions probably explains why me saying 'Jesus is just some dead guy' to the College of Cardinals doesn't get more of a response. Or maybe not. The very fact that J'emm was as moderate as he was when we first met might indicate that this shift has been a while coming. That's the problem with being an outsider in a situation like this: with the best will in the world you just can't tell why what's happening is happening.
Is it wrong to hope that one of the White planning to speak is Karmang in disguise? If only so we get to see the reactions of the Prelates to his continued existence?"Thank you, Illustres. You will be recalled presently."
I nod, and drift back to my position out of the limelight as one of the Whites move forwards.
'My, these human faces have some unusually delightful muscles...'"Well?"
S'yrra shifts her head into a far closer likeness of the human head. Eyebrows, short hair, eyes with discrete irises and a nose. Once her skin has settled on a form she takes a moment to test its range of movement with the reshaped muscles, take a deep breath in and then lets it out.
Heh. I bet he was hoping to rattle a few cages, so to speak, with that line. He seemed almost disappointed."You communicated your point clearly and effectively."
"Not going to say anything about the 'some dead guy' line?"
Oh, boy. Good thing you have that human face, it's going to be a priceless image..."We don't expect aliens to share our reverence."
"On that note, I asked P'thet about necromancy."
"Necromancy?"
Come now, S'yrra, you're honestly surprised? You should realise by now that Humans are Bullshit..."Communicating with the dead. If Karmang ended up in some sort of afterlife then it should be possible to reach him. If he reincarnated then we're out of luck."
"Reach..? Speak with… Karmang?"
Then again, what even happens to Martian minds when they die? There's no grand repository of uploads of dying Martians' minds, after all. I suppose those who are aware of impending mortality can share their knowledge with trusted friends so it's not lost..."Apparently, Mars doesn't have a necromantic tradition. Which seems odd to me, because simple necromancy is among the oldest recorded forms of human magic."
"That-. I have not studied magic enough to know if that is possible for us."
**Seriously, my lord, Humans are insane!** Man, imagine if he tried, and succeeded... I mean, we know he can't because Karmang's not dead, but they don;t know that..."I can get a necromancer. In Atlantis it's not a heavily restricted field."
"You propose-? I will need to speak with Prelate J'emm about this."
So, I expect the White Martians will have their say tomorrow. These little political scenes are always nice breathers, with lots of fun character conversation...
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