nexus_crossings | (no subject)

"How does one make a city of unhappy people happy again?" Tyrion is sitting outside of a bar with a strange color drink in his hand. The Nexus is a very wonderful and exciting place from where Tyrion stands. And if there is one thing he loves about his visits here is a chance to experience something new to drink. And he just happens to be enjoying something that is very green in color and has a tiny umbrella. Sure, it is in a glass, and not a gold goblet or any other of the luxuries of being on the Queen's Council back in Mareen.

"I've been trying everything possible, and yet, Her Grace's subject is still quite unhappy. And if she finds out I've tried to placate one group of people, it only angered the rest." He lowers his head and he sighs while muttering under his breath. "I do hope she comes back soon to set things right." And he sounds like he craves a return to Westeros where he understands how the people there think and behave. Having a population of people that still see slavery as a means to an end is a lot different. So much for thinking them to be one of the same.

He lowers his head, and he takes a sniff of the sour apple flavored liquor. "And before one needs to ask, yes, I tend to think better when I'm drunk."

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"I never had those before," says Tyrion about both coffee and hot chocolate. Then again, he is never really heard of the two until now. And he is just going to wait until his wine arrives, so he sits there at his seat and he reaches his hand to tug at his beard. "Slavery came to an end the moment the Andals set foot on Westeros I believe."

"But still slavers do come looking for someone to take back with them to Essos where it is still practiced. And if one were to be caught, both slaver and one selling said person into slavery." He moves his hand from his beard, and he makes a slicing motion with his finger across his neck. "

"You should try hot chocolate, if you like sweet things. Coffee is more of an acquired taste. They don't have them where you're from? Do you have tea?" Maybe he's one of the rare Nexus-goers who, like her, isn't from Earth.

"So it was an outside group who abolished slavery?" She frowns a little. No wonder he's getting so much pushback from the former slaveowners. "I'm surprised people are still risking the slave trade, if the punishment is death."

"This happened hundreds of years ago. And while it is seen as barbaric to most of us, the lure of coin can drive a man to do many unpleasant things." Tyrion knows this part all too well. And he's sure his father wasn't below the point of selling off a prisoner or two. Or it is something that was done without his name attached to it.

"Or by people who simply want someone gone without making too much of a mess."

Based on their clothing alone, they're from very different worlds, but Tyrion's words still resonate strongly with Adia. She takes a seat at the bar and sighs. "There's a war on my world," she says, "between humans and the robots we created. We treated them like slaves because it was cheaper and safer than hiring human labor. I'm hoping that if we get the chance, we won't make the same mistake."

Tyrion looks a little confused at the mention of 'robots' having no idea what they are. And even more so if they were 'made'. "How does that differ from using an ox to plow a field, or for a horse to pull a wagon?"

Adia is taken back by Tyrion's question, even though it's something that her own people have said on occasion. "Cylons are as intelligent as we are, with similar emotions. And if a horse could speak and tell you that it didn't like pulling the wagon, you'd at least consider stopping, right?"

"Then perhaps I should have used a hammer and anvil or any other tool forged by a person as an anology and not a horse or goat." Tyrion has his hands full when it comes to dealing with people. And he takes another sip of his wine. "If a horse were on the level of a dragon, then their place in society would be reconsidered. And I still know nothing of these Cylons other than they were built to help people with hard labor."

"It'd be a good analogy if they weren't sentient," Adia says quietly, looking somewhat apologetic. "Our worlds sound very different, in that respect. Cylons were originally beings made of metal... humanoid in shape. Somehow they gained a... a 'spark of life' and were able to think and feel, like a human. They wanted to be treated better, but their creators denied that they really were thinking for themselves, and still treated them badly. Do you have anything like that on your world? An inanimate object given life?"

"I see. Then I can see your point. And as far as I know, there has been nothing like that where I come from." Tyrion almost seems to visibly shudder that the thought of some powerful magics bringing to life something like a statue or worse. "Thinking of the statues of both Westeros and Essoes suddenly becoming like us is horrifying."

But he suspects it is not something on such a big scale, and he squints just a little. "Am I missing something? Because I suspect these Cylons aren't giant statues. And trust me, if such a thing were to exist back home, what would become of the humans themselves. That is if a metal man were to do the job of a cook, smith, or tailor. And The Sevens forbid that there are metal whores."

"Not giants, no. Human-sized, and... well, some of them are made of metal, but some of them look like humans. Not by our design, though." She hopes it isn't too confusing. If Tyrion's world doesn't even have the concept of robots, Adia worries she'll have too hard a time explaining Cylons in more detail.

"Oh... that's something people were concerned about, when the Cylons were first built. But they were used for such intense, dangerous labor... I don't think any human would want that job, no matter how much it paid." She looks vaguely embarrassed at the phrase "metal whores" but tries not to show it. She gets the point Tyrion is trying to make. "My world has -- well, had, mostly -- machines that replaced quite a bit of human labor -- but it also improved the overall quality of life, and let people pursue more skilled professions."