Infinite Diversity (by Pher & Ethan)

[Ethan Neufeld 0]

Ethan remained at the window for a few minutes after Joe left, a mixture of scrutiny and calculation on his face. He gave little warning when he finally turned his gaze on Pher and strode across the lounge. Taking a seat on the couch nearby, he leaned forward, hands clasped and forearms casually resting on his knees as he decidedly regarded her.

 

"What can you tell me about Samus?"

 

Pher snorted, considered briefly, looking at Ethan, wondering how to answer. "Well, he is the type who'd bug his own luxury suites, then invite in his best friendimies for a party." She laughed. Can't really give you a subtle read on him, not here. If he knew you had it, he'd play you false with it, anticipating. Twisty. Anyway, my angle on him is a girlie one. You wouldn't want to push the sort of buttons I push."

 

She considered. "Still, he's a player. He's trying to be an alpha wolf, his own boss, calling his own shots, making and breaking his own deals, keeping his own secrets, playing loose with other's. He's young for it, but has gotten away with it so far. That implies he's more clever than most who've tried to get this far this fast. I'd rate him as more to the clever side than the brutal side. His pet the Duke plays the muscle and tries to take a bit of the blame, but they're lying in the same bed. He's set down roots, has a place of his own that he'd miss if he had to run. That's a strength and a weakness. You know where to find him. This implies he ought not to make enemies above a given size. He's playing a reputation game. The masseur was a nice touch. He'll pretend to be stronger, more secure than he really is to create leverage that might or might not be real."

 

She shrugged. "But most of that would describe a lot of the nebula's alpha operators. Joe isn't all that much different. Joe's older, more contacts, more secrets, supposedly more savvy with age, but he plays by the same rules or lack thereof. When there are no agreed on and enforced rules defining how to play nice, the game isn't very nice."

 

Ethan smiled subtly at her closing observation. "Little early for a definitive observation, but I'd say they both play by only one rule," he remarked evenly. "Self-preservation."

 

"Nah," Pher replied. "If you're just interested in self-preservation, there are a lot safer career paths than Joe and Samus chose. They didn't become alpha-bulls by accident."

 

"Self-interest," Ethan rephrased with a mildly conceding incline of his head; "a form of self-preservation. They're shrewd, daring; but only as far as their own interests. Taking risks doesn't change that their decisions are based upon principles of self-preservation; considering their interests before others’.”

 

"Joe's apparently interested in getting paid, keeping his secrets, his crew," he said, briefly unclasping his hands to subtly gesture toward Pher and then the bugged room. "Samus is interested in using them to advance his agenda."

 

Pher considered. “Well, you could interpret ‘self interest’ economically, and come up with something like the Ferengi perspective. You could declare self-interest to be logical, and pursue something vaguely Vulcan. You could stretch things and say honorable behavior puts you at the top of the heap, and the Klingon model could come into play…

 

“But I’m Orion. It’s about sex. The best male provider gets the best breeding opportunities. Males in many species have to beat their chest and scramble their way to the peak of some metaphorical mountain. The prize they struggle for to declare themselves alpha might be honor, latinum, logic or whatever, but in a lot of cultures you have some path or another a guy has to prove himself by.

 

“Look at Byblos. He was alpha. He led his own gang, and got it cut out from under him by the Guardians. Now he’s got to reinvent himself. It won’t be easy. Or Shane. I don’t know much about his past, but he has the swagger and the notion that he doesn’t need answer to nobody. Males are males. In abstract, they’ll acknowledge that military groups need rank structures to work effectively, that space ships have to have captains, that for every alpha there’s got to be a bunch of less than alphas making things work. Still, there’s the drive to be at the top, the desire to give orders and not have to accept them, a swagger and some pride. The galaxy doesn’t run on logic, but on ego and passion.

 

“You might not want to agree with me, but I’m Orion, a New Risan. I’ve seen the galaxy from the bottom up, generally from the missionary position. I’ve seen a lot of male alpha types, the only ones that can afford New Risa, up close and personal. They are both more and a lot less than they think they are.

 

“Anyway, if you think to understand Shamus, Joe, Byblos or Shane as logic machines optimized towards self-interest, you’re going to miss quite a lot.”

 

“Thinking of them as fallible men inclined toward self-interest,” Ethan replied, brow slightly furrowed. “Passion, greed, ego: self-interest by any name.”

 

He studied Pher for a moment. “Getting the impression this conversation’s gone circular. Why are you fascinated with alpha males? You obviously have a lot to say about the subject.”

 

“I was Beach Queen at Evenstar Bay, or head life guard if you prefer the public euphemism,” Pher responded in a quiet tone somehow conveyed deep feelings. “Picture a beach full of alphas who paid a lot to get whatever they want, expect always to get what they want, and are used to throwing tantrums if they don’t get what they want. A lot of em felt that vacationing among alphas, they had to prove they were an alpha’s alpha. I was in charge of what they wanted, or were competing for -- Orions, Deltans, Elysians, projecting empaths -- most of whom come from cultures and gene pools where a very strong biological mechanism drives them to mate for life. Most of the ladies had to be biologically, mentally or psychologically crippled lest they damage the alphas, change their values, turning the alphas into something they didn't want to be.

 

"A lot of the ladies had a deep down core belief that Prince Charming was at any moment going to sweep them off the beach to live happily ever after. That’s the way the world is supposed to be when you’re born to have a life mate, when all one’s ancestors back ever so many generations were bred for life mating. You can’t begin to understand the meaning of the word ‘disillusioned’.

 

"I’d no authority over the alphas. Rule one was to keep the alphas happy. If they didn’t all end up happy, it was somehow my fault, or the girl’s.”

 

She tried to meet Ethan’s eyes. “I found a good working understanding of passion, greed and ego kinda important." The last two words dripped irony.

 

“Two alphas want the same girl?" Pher continued. "Seduce one of em. Try to make em both believe they ‘won’ the pissing contest. Some pervert trolling for a youngster who isn’t ready for the rough stuff? Spot him quick, look scared, and pretend you hate rough stuff. For a while I thought there was no problem on the whole wide beach that couldn’t be solved by lying on one's back. ‘Self interest?’ Sure, lying on my back was in my self interest. You can use the phrase if you’d like, but it doesn’t begin to get to the core of the matter.”

 

Pher sighed again. “And if you’re wondering where we’re going circular, you might want to try stretching outside you own values and world view. Not everyone is self interested in the same things in the same way. A world view that reduces all the galaxy’s cultures and genetically driven emotional drives into ‘self interest’ becomes very shallow very fast if you don’t open up to… err… what was that phrase? ‘Infinite diversity in infinite positions’.”

 

Ethan lost the hint of empathy he’d shown as she’d described her life on New Risa. "I haven’t disagreed with you; emotions, motives - people - are diverse and not all of them are self-serving or shallow,” he replied, ignoring that she'd not only misquoted a Vulcan ideal, but spun it into a double entendre. “I get that you're trying to advocate tolerance in the face of a critical opinion; but, right now, I'm more concerned about the result of those self-serving motives."

 

No, Pher thought. He didn’t get it at all. Apparently his choice of a Vulcan disguise wasn’t idle. He seemed not to get the emotional aspects, or at least wasn’t in the least comfortable talking about them. She might have to try a different approach.

 

Rubbing the lower portion if his face, Ethan considered her for another moment. "Ever had to protect someone?" he smoothly asked, evidently a step ahead with an appeal to sensibilities.

 

“I’ve tried,” Pher replied. “Limited success.” She considered. “After the first Zoalus trip comes to mind, trying to protect my team. It was obvious that you knew more than you were saying, but you had your own hidden agenda and lied to my face.”

 

Ethan quietly exhaled. “I chose not confide sensitive information to parties I can’t fully trust, and, given the threat had passed, you didn’t have an exigent need to know. I never intended for you to get involved.

 

“I’m not surprised you’re upset that I won’t freely confide in you, and I don’t expect you to understand. The best I can do is try to help you appreciate my position,” he said, speaking lowly and calmly. He preferred to avoid monologuing, but it was his turn.

 

“There are a lot of people relying on me, and as many or more that would like this mission to fail. I have contacts that would be in danger if their identities were discovered by the wrong people. I can’t risk being negligent with information. There isn’t a ‘logical’ formula for determining who you can trust by their charisma or skin color. I need tangible proof that your intentions are consistent with mine.

 

“What I’ve witnessed on the Qob since Xorax is all I know: a hand-full of people that apply ethics and cooperate when it suits them. Instead of empowering your team, you threatened bodily harm to assert your authority; worked your own angles when you didn’t agree with a teammate. You don't make it easy to believe that you helped the Capricorn out of altruism. That I’m a bought captive and you’re blackmailing me with that vial, has only reinforced concerns that you're exactly the type of people I was trying to avoid. You haven’t given me a reason to trust you; I’ve cooperated this far because I don’t have a choice.

 

“I’m not intentionally being difficult; securing your cooperation is essential if that vial is going to end up where it's needed. But the stakes are too high to forget discretion when I’m backed into a corner.

 

Ethan quieted briefly and the gaze that had rested on Pher as he spoke became intently fixed. “If you were the one relying on me, I’d give up my life to protect you without hesitation. Don’t ask me to give them any less.”

 

Pher considered briefly. “There’s a bunch of stuff there. First, you’re spot on about the Qob’s crew. That’s my problem. Joe hired a whole bunch of new people, and between who was available, who had the right skills and who was willing to hire on, we’ve got a bunch of individuals, not a crew. You aren’t my only headache. I could deal with you as an eccentric with an agenda much easier if I didn’t have a bunch of other eccentrics with agendas.

 

“Seems to me there is more Vulcan in you than those artificial ears. You’re into logic more than emotion. I don’t know that you’ll be able to follow the next bit, or think it important. A crew needs time to jell. We aren’t near there yet. There’s got to be a lot of male bonding, and this takes time, pissing contests, argument and pushing to see how hard the other guy will push back. Maybe you’re into logic more than you’re into emotion, and don’t see how much you’re part of the same problem as the rest of us, how much you’re showing the same symptoms. For sure, what’s important to you isn’t this ship and the people on it. You’ve got your own priorities. You’re not alone. Welcome to the club.

 

“One thing I’d like to get from you is good ideas. Bring em out in front of as many people as possible. Expect them to be evaluated and improved upon. In return, I’ll try to get em blessed and put into practice. I’m trying to change this bunch into a team that can act together. Right now, their own needs, like yours, are more important to them than being able to cooperate. That’s got to change if we’re going to become the sort of people you need. I can’t have, we can’t have, every individual running off on tangents doing their own thing without warning, discussion or apparent cause. This means you, but it isn’t just you.

 

“Yes, you can say you’re mister secret agent man, mutter about need to know and keeping sources secure and there’s something to that, but if you want the crew pulling together in the same direction, I’ll need you to do what you can to suggest what direction we need to pull in and how hard to pull. If there is some need to know protect the sources sort of stuff that is real and still there, I’ll try to honor it, but I’d like you to avoid flaunting it. You may not think you’re involved in pissing contests, but can you try to avoid the appearance of pissing contests, holding your breath until you turn blue or get your own way, all the while radiating righteous virtue?

 

“On a more specific level, we’ve got to get the goo to a lab. Your lab might be a good choice. I know of a few others. I understand you want an antiserum. Good idea. Might not be easy. I want an ODRI / tricorder program that can spot a goo head or goo, preferably in passive mode. That might happen sooner. I’d suggest both you and the Qob get the benefits of the lab work, we try to avoid pissing contests long enough to make that happen, and worry about getting you back to your people when you’ve got something to give em? You with me that far?”

 

A few of the remarks she’d made had drawn a rise or furrow in Ethan’s brow, but he apparently decided to pass them over and focus on other points, dipping his head in a partial nod as his expression relaxed. “I follow you,” he answered. “The lab is the one direction I can point you. Thanks for understanding that I can’t tell you more; I honestly would’ve preferred not to reveal anything, much less gloat.

 

“That said, I’ll need your help if you want me to stop posturing,” he continued, apparently disinterested in conceding that he was part of the problem. “Joe’s holding that vial for information I can’t give him and an ounce of honesty in my position is going to look like defiance. But you’re Joe’s new first mate: you could help him appreciate that I’m not representing or interested in ‘my’ needs. The less he asks for names, the less I need to remind you of my position, the less you’ll hear of fidelity and discretion.”

 

With a telling pause, he straightened in his seat and concluded: “You’re right, the Qob isn’t my priority. Neither is my own life and, honestly, the Qob’s become an obstacle to the needs of those who are relying on and closest to me. But I think you’ll find I’m willing to play along - within reason - and serve the Qob as faithfully, provided we agree to get that vial to the lab.”

 

“Joe is Joe,” Pher observed. “I’ll try to nudge him to stop asking about your friends, at least until the lab work is done. At that point we’ll have to ask questions about how the new toys might best be used. Can your friends stop the goo all by their lonely? Can you convince Joe they can without telling him a lot about your friends? If not, Joe will want to put his own plots in motion, which might or might not mesh well with what your friends will do. Think on that if you would. I might be able to give you until the lab work is done to come up with a scheme that’ll keep everyone happy. I’ll be thinking on it too. I’m hoping more of the male bonding thing might be worked out by then. It might also depend on how well the lab does its work.

 

“If you want to keep quiet about your friends, anything more you can say about our enemies might be nice. If we run into them again, I’d like everyone to be as fully briefed as they might be.

 

“And be useful. Help other folk, and let them help you. I’ve got the feeling that you’ve had more real security training a experience than I’ve had, the conventional sort of security anyway. At some point, without saying where you learned it, I’d like to hear what you can do. I’ve got some stuff to think through first, though.

 

“Anything else you want to add?”

 

“Mm. That your help is all I’ve been asking for and it won’t go unappreciated,” Ethan replied, revealing a mild pensiveness. “I honestly don’t think you need ‘my friends’ to do the right thing with the vial or the lab’s findings.

 

“But,” he said, signalling with his index finger that there was an exception; “build my trust, demonstrate that you are more concerned about the welfare of others by getting that vial there, and I’ll tell you everything you need - or want - to know. Think we’d agree that withholding information is unnecessary once we’ve established a rapport; we won’t need to worry about our intentions clashing. At that point, we can work together to stop this threat or you can pursue your own solution. You’ll have as much claim to the lab’s findings, to use in any humanitarian effort as you see fit, no questions asked.

 

“In the meantime, I’ll help you with whatever you need, you only have to ask. You want my resume; I’ll give it to you. You want information on my enemies; I’ll tell you what I know.”

 

He leaned forward with his forearms on his legs, clasping his hands again. “So what can I tell you about the Motoroils and Rainmakers that you don’t already know?”

 

Pher laughed. “Everything, of course, but not now. Joe’s about due back, and I’m expecting a new set of headaches. I’ll get back to you, though.”

Edited March 10, 2012 by Ethan Neufeld

[Pher 0]

When the Vulcans first made contact with the Orion, when they first heard the phrase ‘Infinite diversity in infinite positions,” they translated it wrong. Messed them up big time. Look. We tried to explain. You know how they are. Everyone knows how they are. Six years out of seven, they just don’t get it. Can’t get any.

 

It’s not our fault!

 

 

 

(And yes, one senses Pher's tongue firmly in cheek...)