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Breq aka Justice of Toren was a (troopcarrier) wrote in thedisplaced,
@ 2018-07-08 14:28:00

Entry tags:

!network post, fray, gideon, justice of toren, katniss everdeen (au), kell maresh, matt holt, michael, ororo munroe / storm (616), rhy maresh, tony stark / iron man (mcu)

Greetings everyone. It would be a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Most recently in my life, most people call me Breq, but I am also Justice of Toren. Please forgive the immediate discussion of business; however, I have some issues that need to be addressed.

Athoek Station, part of it, has arrived with me, and Station - its AI - is in need of more assistance than I can provide. The Botanical Gardens, recently repaired, will need regular work to maintain it. Given enough time, I can take care of the rest of Station. The Undergarden was mostly repaired, and I can fix what remains. However, living things cannot be ignored for so long. Unfortunately, having just arrived, I do not have local currency on a scale to pay anyone yet. I do have more than enough food, we grow our own, as well as tea and other options, pursuant to conversation and your needs.

While I could spend all my hours maintaining Station, and I will spend a good number of them doing just that, I am also interested in gaining paid employment. I have roughly two thousand years experience in the military, five years experience as civilian security, as well as experience in a multitude of jobs from janitorial to sewing to sports. I am fluent in more than sixty languages and learn new ones easily. If you have means and need for any of my skills or ones I could learn, I am interested in speaking with you.

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troopcarrier
2018-07-08 10:23 pm UTC (link)

I am comfortable with either. I understand Breq more closely the naming customs here, but whichever you prefer is fine.

To truly communicate with others, I have found it necessary to learn their languages and cultures. Fifteen languages is more than most people learn in a lifetime. You should not diminish your accomplishments.

Earth is a linguistically rich planet at this time. There is no official formal count of languages, but there is common acceptance that there are at least 6,500. However, a good portion of those have few speakers, and it will be difficult to learn those languages without traveling to their native regions. If you forgive oversimplifications, the most populously spoken languages right now, which should account for more than half the population, are Chinese, Spanish, English, Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, Portugese, Russian, Japanese, Lahnda, Javanese, Turkish, Korean, French, German, Telugu, Marathi, Urdu, Vietnamese, Tamil, Italian, Persian, and Malay. I will endeavor to learn these in their current forms before any others.

This language - English it is called here in this time and place - is an archaic language I know only from reading ancient historical documents. It is of no interest to almost anyone where and when I am from.

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goldenhelm
2018-07-08 10:41 pm UTC (link)

I have no preference; I also have been following this world's customs. My world would demand a lot of formalities from me and anyone that I interact with, which are rather unnecessary here.

Indeed, I agree. My parents have always relied on translators, but I discovered my talent for languages early, and have been determined ever since to never need a translator, at least for important conversations. Though I do, of course, sometimes require a tutor.

When I first arrived, I endeavored to learn first the languages which were most commonly spoken amongst this group of refugees in this world, which many call the displaced. I began with Russian, and then with American Sign Language, and then Spanish. French and Italian were also on my list, but I took a slight detour into Arabic, for the purposes of going to Egypt a few weeks ago.

Is this language called something else where you're from? In my land, Arnes, it is called High Royal. Here it is the common tongue, which I find fascinating. I am unsurprised, though fascinated, to hear that it is an ancient archaic language somewhere else.

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troopcarrier
2018-07-08 10:54 pm UTC (link)

Ah, you come from a good, old, and well positioned house then. The modes for polite communication are less structured here than interacting with even the least among the culture I am the most familiar with. Nearly all my conversations here would be inconceivably rude in Radchaai.

Many esteemed citizens do the same, should they be needed. Not everyone has a gift for languages or an interest. I have been tutor to many ~~of my officers~~ people who expressed interest in learning them. I would be interested in exchanging languages with you and their songs with them, once I have learned priority languages here. Every languages teaches me something.

A reasonable decision. I may add American Sign Language to my list then, to be able to communicate with everyone here. How did your trip go? This is all I have seen of earth firsthand. It was too far away to be worth traveling to before I came here.

Depending on the culture and the point in time documentation was recorded, it has multiple names. However, everyone who could have explained the significance of them was long dead. This language seems to be a common language not only here but to people from many different places, your Arnes included. It is not so challenging a language, but the difference in cultures may still lead to some miscommunications.

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goldenhelm
2018-07-08 11:05 pm UTC (link)

Yes, my bloodline is considered the most royal, and indeed, my family has held the Arnesian throne for generations. I recently inherited it myself. I prefer not to say so too early in the conversation, usually, because many people then feel as though they are obligated to speak to me as a royal. Truly, I have no interest in holding anyone to that, so please do not worry about it.

I have never been a tutor before coming here, but I am currently teaching a Russian class, and would also happily exchange languages with you less formally. I do highly recommend American Sign Language, though it is much less widely spoken, but it is a language meant to be understood by the deaf, who are at a severe disadvantage in any language spoken aloud. I would be happy to teach you either of those or any other language I know, and to learn any of yours. I do, also, know a few songs.

Egypt is quite amazing. We went to see the pyramids, and were able to see many of them up close, because I traveled with a friend of mine who had worked on them before, primarily in breaking the magical curses set upon them. I would gladly recommend it. I also highly recommend Mexico, where I traveled even more recently. I'm sure you could see plenty of Earth while you're here, and indeed, will likely see other planets as well. We travel quite a bit, this group.

It does seem to be a very widely spread language, yes, which is very interesting. There is a world connected to mine which also calls it English, I am told, though I have never been. Are you from a point in time very far in the future, then?

As to your concern about miscommunications, I think most people - at least those on this network - are quite familiar with the fact that we are all from different places, and willing to be understanding when such miscommunications arise. Though I have not found it as difficult as I might have expected, being from an entirely different world and a good two hundred years in the past.

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troopcarrier
2018-07-08 11:34 pm UTC (link)

While I do not wish to be needlessly rude, I have not found someone's house or station to which they were born the best means on which to judge someone and offer respect. It is my preference not to do that.

I have rarely been in a classroom, and I have not learned any of my languages in that fashion. Station has helped me learn some of the Athoeki languages, and I would be pleased to do so with you as well. Most cultures, if not every language, use gestures in communication. It would be much more difficult to have most conversations without them. But I do not wish to alienate anyone by my inability to speak with them. Like your languages, most, if not all, of mine are irrelevant here. However, I will soon be able to offer you local languages, if you prefer ones more immediately useful.

That is an interesting trip. May I inquire what you mean by breaking magical curses? Each part of that phrase can have many meanings when translated into other languages. I do enjoy travel. However, I will need to see that everything is safe and in a state of good repair for Station before I choose to leave it for a notable period of time.

Compared to the time here, yes, I am from the extremely distant future. Thousands upon thousands of years in the future. How do worlds connect, for you?

That is good to hear. I certainly find it more difficult but no means impossible to communicate in this language. It is good to hear that you have not had many troubles, and that is promising for myself and others. Two hundred years, if I remember correctly, is a period of great transition in Earth's history. But then, I do not know of Arnes, so I do not know what that was like for your country.

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goldenhelm
2018-07-09 01:45 am UTC (link)

Of course. I would much rather be judged by my character than my bloodline. And I truly did not mean to make a big deal of it.

There are certainly gestures in every language, but they convey more of the subtleties of the words, and could not convey the full meaning alone. As far as I understand it, Sign Language is intended to convey the full meaning with hand gestures, with facial expressions adding the subtlety, as the also do in verbal communication. And of course, the tension in any hand gestures - or lack of it - conveys something as well.

It was very interesting. And truthfully, if you are interested in curse breaking, I am not the right one to ask, as it was an entirely new concept to me as well. But there were legends of old pharaohs and nobles in Egypt leaving curses to protect their graves and the valuables buried with them, and my friend has some experience with identifying and getting past such curses. We did not encounter any dangerous curses, though, at least to my knowledge. Nor did we rob any tombs. I could help you with the means of traveling, if at some time you are interested in it.

The world that I lived in before here was actually a group of four worlds, all pressed together. We knew that because there are magicians who could move between them, and one of them was my brother. I have never traveled to the other attached worlds, because he was unable to take me - or anyone else - with him. But I have heard stories. The magic to move between worlds does not work here, however; this universe appears not to have such magical doors to others. But of course it does have the portals which brought us here.

I do not know the future of Arnes between my time and this one. The only documentation of Arnes, here, is of the time that I lived in, and everything that transpired in the last year. So I could not say. And this world is quite different from mine, having more technology and less magic, so comparing the two is not particularly helpful in making guesses. But I am hopeful Arnes will be peaceful for at least the majority of that time.

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troopcarrier
2018-07-09 02:08 am UTC (link)

You have not. Your family and your history are what they are. It can be awkward to discuss the way we mean.

I look forward to learning it. The descriptor American before it implies there are more than one here. But given you learned that one, I presume it is the one used here. I have mostly seen much less formal gesturing between people who do not share a language. Though, that can be quite effective when people wish it.

I am familiar with many stories of magic and curses, but they have been just that, stories. If there were any truth to them, they were long since past. What is the magic you are [...] familiar with? I have traveled between planets, so many of them. But it did not involve magic.

Thank you, should there come a time, I will reach out to you. I must look out for my cousin first.

Unless this world is someone's world, unless someone comes from a very different time in one's world, it should be difficult to know the future. Even with documentation, it should be difficult, as they never contain everything. I do wish Arnes a just and peaceful future.

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goldenhelm
2018-07-09 02:22 am UTC (link)

It is awkward, indeed, and you are not the first to react with some wariness. I did not take it as rudeness, at all.

Yes, I believe there are others, but American Sign Language is the only one I've learned. I would not be opposed to learning other variants. It's quite useful, even if you do have perfectly good hearing, to be able to communicate silently at times.

Ah, yes. There seem to be worlds without magic, and worlds with it, in much the same way that some worlds have great technology, and others do not. Magic, as I am familiar with it, is primarily elemental: those with a talent for it may be able to command one or more of the five elements: water, earth, fire, air, and bone (bone magic being, of course, strongly prohibited due to the violence of it). Then there are the magicians who can move between worlds or places within worlds, the Antari, whose power comes from their blood. They are extremely rare. Elemental magic is less rare, though the talent and skill for it varies immensely. And having a "command" over it means that one can move anything made with the element, or sometimes change its substance -- like water into ice -- with one's will or verbal order.

Of course, your family should certainly be a priority.

Thank you, I appreciate it. What world do you come from, Breq, and what is it like?

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troopcarrier
2018-07-09 02:54 am UTC (link)

I am glad. It was not intended to be rude. You have more humility than most people I have met from old houses.

Indeed. I have been in more situations than worth counting where it was necessary to communicate silently. However, we have other means to do so where I came from. There are communication implants that can help with that, so long as you and whoever you are trying to communicate with share established means to connect. However, that does not help with strangers or many people. And here, those implants do not exist to the same extent. People use handhelds.

With all I have seen, the most likely situation then is that my world is one without magic. Magic is, perhaps, the element to being here that least makes sense to my life experience. Are you a magician?

We must all look out for each other, as we are able.

You are welcome. We only just recently declared our independence. Nearly everything is still being discussed and determined, but I am from the Provisional Republic of Two Systems. There have been many systemic injustices, much that had been ignored or permitted because it benefitted the most wealthy, but things have been changing since our arrival. I came with enough authority that with some politics, things have started to change for the better for our citizens, all of them. It had been part of the Radch Empire, but that was not good for any of our citizens, though most of them did not realize that before the tyrant arrived and became more of a direct threat to their lives.

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goldenhelm
2018-07-09 03:19 am UTC (link)

Humility is essential in anyone who holds power, I think. I hope to keep mine.

Implants are... some kind of technology? I am very unfamiliar with such things; you may assume that I know very little about them. Almost everything in my world is made with magic, or by simple crafts, such as stone carving or glass making. Though of course, elemental magicians skilled with earth can combine magic and craft. [...] I am a magician, but not very much of one.

This group of people does usually work together to look out for everyone, including those who have difficulty protecting themselves. Though I am not in the latter category, it does make me feel very much more comfortable here to be part of such a group.

Congratulations on your independence, then! I am glad to hear that you are changing your world for the better. All worlds need people willing to do that. Politics are complicated, of course, and I am familiar with wealth or nobility being a [...] factor in how someone is treated, in many different ways. I hope that you will be able to establish and maintain your independence without too much violent conflict.

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troopcarrier
2018-07-09 03:37 am UTC (link)

Justice, propriety, benefit. That's what was preached where I came from. Humility usually comes from experience.

They are technology that is placed in the human body, often in the brain, that allows for direct interface to some benefit or another. Medics, for example, use them to be able to see internal injuries, so they can better treat their patients. Most people in the Radch have communications implants, minimally. We are writing on this network, and as I was provided with a tablet on my arrival, I guess you are using yours to communicate with me. Your words are being displayed before my eyes, and I can reply here with little effort. I do have the tablet open, so Station can see what we are saying. But I do not need to use it.

Not much of a magician is still more magical than anyone else I have met.

That is good to hear. I am quite willing to work together to help our group, so that we may all adapt as best we can.

Thank you. Due to a treaty with the Presger and the presence of one of their translators, it was achieved with less violence than I had expected would be necessary. Unfortunately, wealth and prestige are factors in people's treatment most places I have seen, though how and to what extent has varied. I am hopeful that we will be able to do that. It is no easy task to establish a just and fair government, but we are trying, and my cousins have given me their blessing to reform the judicial branch as I would like. I will be developing that with input from many different people. After thousands of years of slavery, it is no small thing to do something different.

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goldenhelm
2018-07-09 03:48 am UTC (link)

Those words sound very nice, but they can be twisted into complex meanings that are perhaps not very just, or proper, or beneficial. Not to everyone, at least.

[...] Wow. Implanted inside your mind? That is impressive technology, to be able to put something into the human brain without damaging it. But I can certainly see the use.

Magic flourishes in my world and it is highly prized as a source of strength; the amount that I have is not at all impressive there. My brother and lover are both much more highly skilled.

I am very glad to hear that. And I would be happy to talk to you about your ideas in forming a just and fair government, since I have many concerns about my own. It is far from a tyrannical government and slavery is thankfully limited to only a few daring, vile criminal types, who would be severely punished if they were found, but there are still [...] issues from my parents' reign and earlier that I would like to improve upon. And Arnes has a complicated relationship with one of our neighboring countries, Vesk, whose royal children opportunistically made an attempt at taking the Arnesian throne for themselves while my city was under siege from dark magic.

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troopcarrier
2018-07-09 04:29 am UTC (link)

That was indeed a great deal of the problem.

It is indeed. They have been around long enough that most of the commonly used implants can be done safely with minimal risk of harm. However, there are no Medics here from my world, so it is not a technology that will rapidly spread here. I am no longer an expert at that.

There is never only one way in which to measure strength. And I still find your magic impressive.

There has been much violence done against human beings, including transporting them to distant worlds to perform menial labor, the lowest paid and lowest appreciated work. That ignores all the violence done during annexations and the hierarchies maintained even after them. But slavery, as it comes to AIs, was rooted in the belief that we were equipment and our obedience was expected the same way you would expect your door to lock or your sword to fight in your hand. And there were multiple ways to enforce it.

But I would be interested in hearing your ideas around governance and justice. It is something easier to discuss in the abstract, but it becomes much messier in any real situation.

Peace is tricky. Any victory achieved can be rewritten to be just by those who hold power. Given enough power and time, and to many it will become what they believe was. Had you lost the throne then, I am sure they would tell a much different story. But it is good that you are aware of some of the issues your country has. It gives you the chance to fix them.

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goldenhelm
2018-07-09 04:47 am UTC (link)

I am sorry, though not surprised, to hear that.

Amazing. I never knew such things could exist. I don't know how comfortable I would be with such technology, but I am in awe of it all the same. [...] Which I suppose is, perhaps, similar to how you feel about magic. [...] I am not at the point of offering demonstrations, but perhaps at some point I will be. Magic has always been seen as one of my greatest weaknesses, and as a result the grasp I have on it is a tenuous thing.

[...] It sounds as though you speak from experience, having been enslaved yourself. Is that true?

I am more than willing to share any ideas that would be useful to you. I have been raised for politics, and have been reexamining my beliefs and ideas quite a lot lately, in light of [...] many recent events, including the ones I've already described. It was a very near thing, the assassination attempt. My mother was killed by the Veskans, and I would have died as well if not for my brother's magic. My father survived that attempt on his life, but died as a result of the dark magic not long after. It was on me, as a newly minted king, to prevent the Veskans still attempting to take the throne by outright war rather than quiet assassination. Thankfully I did manage it; the last thing I wanted was to start my reign with a war, even if it was one I could win. And the dark magic was also defeated. But there are many pieces to pick up and put back together, as well as things to fix which had already been broken.