Family Matters

[boldygoing]

There's a starship captain in the Plaza, sitting at an outdoor cafe style table which bears a half-consumed cup of coffee and a glowing, transparent datapad. Jim Kirk is not in uniform, clad in well-worn civilian clothes, though given that his shirt says PROPERTY OF STARFLEET ACADEMY in faded text, he's probably not trying to be covert. He's fairly focused on the datapad, and one might assume that he's catching up on reports or requisition forms during his off-hours if not for the quietly contemplative look on his face.

And, of course, the fact that he's chosen to take a break here rather than anywhere near Starfleet property.

His thoughts don't remain a mystery for long, as this does tend to be the place to go for advice, no matter how small the matter. "How's your relationship with your family? Have you ever tried to reconnect after spending years apart?"

There's an empty chair on the other side of the table. Feel free to have a seat, if you'd like.



[OOC: Tags don't seem to work, but dupes are okay!]

Comments

[chiron_survivor]

She thinks about people that she has known who are on the stoic side. Her sleeper agent friend comes to mind immediately but she hastily pushes him out of her thoughts. No need to go back down that conversational path. "That's usually how it goes. Do you have other aliens in the Federation? Or just Vulcans?"

"You're telling me," she says with a sheepish laugh. "But like you said, you know your first officer very well. It should help you identify him from the other ones."

"Twelve," she answers automatically. Her expression brightens. "There's a thirteenth colony called Earth that for the longest time we thought was only a myth. But we have proof now that it exists, and we're headed there."

[boldygoing]

"The Federation has hundreds of species over thousands of worlds," Jim says, and despite himself, he's a little proud of what his people have accomplished in the few short centuries they've been part of the galactic community. "Vulcans made first contact with us, and they founded the Federation with humans, the Andorians, and the Tellarites. We've met a lot more allies since then, and we're still spreading out."

He isn't quite as certain as she that he'll be able to tell his Spocks apart, but there's little point in worrying about it until it's relevant.

Twelve colonies isn't much, by his reckoning, but it's more than humans have in most of the universes he's encountered here. The name of the thirteenth, however, gets a surprised look from him. "Earth is - was - a myth where you're from?"

[chiron_survivor]

Hundreds! The number leaves her a little stunned, but in a good way. Jim's universe is full of so much life... "What are they like? The Andorians and the Tellarites, I mean. Are any of your alien allies, um... non-humanoid?" It would be kind of a weird coincidence otherwise.

She nods, a little pleased at his interest. "Yes. The history of humanity is that originally all twelve tribes lived on a planet called Kobol. There was some sort of cataclysmic event, and the tribes dispersed. But one tribe -- the thirteenth tribe -- left before anyone else and founded a colony called Earth. This was all in the Sacred Scrolls, which is a religious text, so naturally people didn't know if this was fact or merely an allegory." She smiles wryly. "You can imagine how shocked I was when I first came here and started meeting so many people from Earth."

Even now, the thought of Earth brings out a nearly child-like look of wonder on her face. "But now we have proof. Real proof! The thirteenth tribe is out there and we aren't alone."

[boldygoing]

Her interest doesn't surprise him, and he's more than content to help sate her curiosity. "Some of them aren't humanoid, but a lot of them are. The Horta are probably the most alien race we've met so far - they're silicon-based, basically living rock slugs the size of a small pony." He isn't sure she knows what a pony is, so he uses his hand to indicate a height of a few feet off the ground as a visual aid. "The Andorians are fairly humanlike except for blue skin, antennae, and four sexes. The Tellarites aren't entirely humanoid... more like bipedal pigs, I guess. And they love arguing. It's like their national sport or something."

In turn, he's fascinated by her own history, especially the Earth part of it. "That's great. Religious texts aren't usually completely literal, but there's usually at least some truth to them. What kind of proof did you find?"

[chiron_survivor]

She knows what a pony is, yes. "A silicon-based rock slug... how do you know that it's sentient? How does it communicate?" She's mentally itching for a pen and paper to write down all these fascinating alien facts. Antennae! Four sexes! Arguing pigs! The last description actually makes her giggle. "They can't argue that much or they wouldn't have helped found the Federation, I'm assuming. All the same, I think I'd rather spend time with a Horta. I hate arguing."

"The Sacred Scrolls are over two thousand years old, so obviously some things got lost in the translation. But in it is a description of the Eye of Jupiter, which we found in the Temple of Five on a planet orbiting a dying star. It turns out it's a beacon, full of navigational information that is pointing us towards Earth."

[boldygoing]

"Long story short, a Vulcan scientist managed to mind meld with one. Before that, people thought they were monsters, or some kind of really weird animal. They mostly keep to themselves, but the ones that don't use telepathic translator devices that the Vulcans invented ages ago. And they can write, sort of." He gives her a wry grin. "They can produce a really strong acid that eats through rock, so as long as you're someplace that doesn't mind corroding the floors, they can write simple messages with it."

Two thousand years is a respectably long time. No wonder Earth was nothing more than a legend to them. "That sounds rock-solid. Bet that was a surprise."

[chiron_survivor]

She can't help but feel bad for the Horta being misinterpreted as monsters or unintelligent animals. "A mind-meld?" She asks. "Is that the touch-telepath power you were telling me about?" What an experience that must have been, to read the thoughts of a creature so difference from yourself... "We couldn't have a Horta on the ship," she says, matching his grin. "But it'd still be neat to meet one."

It is strange how a society with space travel for over two thousand years could forget such vital information, but these things happen. "It was to many people... but not me. After all the Earthlings I met here, I had a feeling we'd find it."

[boldygoing]

Jim gives an affirmative nod to her question regarding mind melds. "Actually, it's not as impossible as you might think. Command's still hammering out all the regulations, but a lab on Starbase Eleven recently invented a new anti-corrosive polymer that isn't toxic to Horta and sticks pretty great to their undersides, so we might be able to let them serve in Starfleet soon."

The word 'Earthling' is such an archaic term to him that he has to politely stifle a laugh. "I gotta admit, I'm curious... are your Sacred Scrolls actually scrolls, or is that just a symbolic kinda name?"

[chiron_survivor]

Their attempt at inclusiveness is admirable. It's impossible for her to imagine a pony-sized rock slug in a Starfleet uniform, but likely they'll make an exception. "Are there are aliens on Earth, too?" she asks curiously. "Any sort of... um, exchange programs?"

She needs some term to distinguish herself from the people of Earth. Just calling herself a human doesn't cut it in the Nexus. "They were originally written on scrolls, although the oldest copies we now have are in book form," she answers. "But the name is symbolic, too. Cycles are important to Colonial religion. 'All of this has happened before and it will happen again.' It's a saying from the Scrolls, and a common theme."

[boldygoing]

"Earth's sapient population was somewhere around eighty-six percent human, last I checked," Jim responds, after a moment's thought to recall the statistics. "Anyone in the Federation's welcome to visit for any reason, and Starfleet's responsible for most of the non-native student population. There's not really a dedicated exchange student program, but people do sometimes study on other planets if they can't get some kind of specialized training on Earth."

Just plain 'human' doesn't really cut it in Jim's corner of the multiverse either. Sure, it's useful as a catch-all for the species, but the term for Earth-born humans is Terran, where he's from. Still, it's all semantics anyway.

"Cyclical time," he says thoughtfully, considering that. Not something he thinks he can believe in, given the strong role that time travel has played in his own personal history, diverting his destiny in a surprisingly tangible way. "I can think of a few cultures that see time the same way."

[chiron_survivor]

"Are people on Earth tolerant of aliens?" Fourteen percent is not an insignificant minority, although it sounds like they're mostly working for Starfleet. She smiles sheepishly. "Sorry if these are silly questions... I read a lot of science fiction as a kid, and I always liked the stories about aliens befriending humans."

When she meets the thirteenth tribe in her universe, they'll let her know what they liked to be called. She's looking forward to it.

"Yes. Or rather, things happening in cycles. I've heard of some similar philosophies, when I've read up on Earth religions." She pauses a moment, then admits, "I wasn't raised religiously, so the idea of fate and things that have happened coming to pass again doesn't sit well with me. I'd rather make my own future."

[boldygoing]

"Oh sure, for the most part. We've had a couple centuries to get used to being part of a galactic community, and Earth's the capital of the Federation, so there's been aliens on Earth for a while now. There are still xenophobes and bigots, but they're in the minority." He smiles back at her when she apologizes. "Hey, don't worry about it. Curiosity's the only way we learn."

He does wonder, though, why it's never come up between her and the other Jim Kirk before. Maybe it's just that there was never a good opportunity, or maybe they haven't known each other as long as he'd assumed. Or maybe their universes are more different than he thought. In any case, he doesn't mind sharing.

Religion can be a touchy topic, no matter what culture or species you belong to. But there's also insight to be gained into the way people think by learning more about that, so he considers his question carefully before he asks it. "Is that unusual for your people?"

[chiron_survivor]

That time frame puts a new perspective on things. That seems like enough time to learn to co-exist with aliens. "It sounds nice." She smiles. "A little like the Nexus."

It does seem strange that Adia wouldn't have already learned all this from the Jim she already knows, but maybe it was never the right time to ask. Or maybe by asking for advice on personal matters, this Jim opens himself up to more questions in general.

"No," she answers, before pausing and amending her answer. "Not for most of us, at least. Only the Gemenese take the Sacred Scrolls literally." Religion is not a touchy subject for her, but she recognizes the need to be nuanced and respectful when discussing it. "It's, uh... a little more varied now. How much people put their faith into gods and fate. But a war will do that."

[boldygoing]

"Kind of," Jim agrees. It's not precisely the same, of course, but the diversity of species and life experiences is similar, anyway.

He can't speak from personal experience about war and its effect on faith, but he knows a little about individual tragedy influencing the same. Not anything he's willing to talk about - not even here, where Federation witness protection is probably pointless - but he can give a sympathetic ear. "I can imagine. People could get pushed to either extreme."

[chiron_survivor]

There's nothing like the Nexus. Aliens, magic, and alternate versions of yourself. It has it all.

"It's been oddly polarizing," she notes thoughtfully. "Having something in the Sacred Scrolls confirmed. The ultra religious use it as confirmation that everything in the Scrolls is true. But there are a lot of explanations for how the thirteenth tribe would be able to pass information on their location back to Kobol, when the Scrolls were written." She shrugs. "But it's been unifying, too. There were many people who wanted to give up searching for Earth, when we didn't have any proof. Now everyone's on board."

[boldygoing]

He nods a little as he listens. Something that unites an entire group of people to achieve a common goal, something for the benefit of the group as a whole, is an uncommon thing. But valuable. "Is there a plan for once you get there?"

[chiron_survivor]

"Um..."

That's a good question, Jim, She'd like to know that herself. "Ideally, they'll welcome us and we'll work together on a way to end the war with the Cylons. President Roslin and the quorum are working on the details..."

[boldygoing]

Ideally, she said. Well, if Earth has been lost to them for so long, he can understand the uncertainty. There could be anything waiting for them at the end of their journey.

Props to her for looking at the positive side of things, he supposes.

"Here's hoping you get there soon. It sounds like you've got your work cut out for you as it is."

[chiron_survivor]

"Thanks." It's either look at the positive side or worry herself crazy over what could go wrong. Not that she can't do both, Adia is an expert multitasker when it comes to her emotions. "I feel... not great about potentially bringing a way to the thirteenth tribe, but they're our last hope. The Sacred Scrolls describe Earth as a utopia of science and philosophy. That's probably an exaggeration -- but they have at least several decades on the rest of the colonies in terms of technology. They could have the solution."

Something in her pocket makes a quiet ding. She digs out a small electronic device and frowns at it softly. "Oh... I need to go." She gives him another smile. "It was very nice to meet you, Jim. Sorry for the earlier confusion... if, um, I mistake you for the other Jim the next time we meet, please don't hold it against me." They really do look identical, and despite dealing with clones on her world, she's not confident that she'll ever be able to tell the two apart at first glance.

[boldygoing]

He smiles back at her on reflex. "Don't worry about it. I'll figure out something for people to tell us apart... even if I've gotta grow a beard or something." It wasn't something he'd planned to do, but he's nothing if not adaptable.

Jim puts out his hand for a farewell handshake. "It really has been nice talking to you." Even if it wasn't the kind of conversation he expected, he certainly feels like his time has been well-invested, anyway.

[chiron_survivor]

"Oh... well, don't do anything you don't feel comfortable with..." There's the tiniest of nose wrinkles there. Jim has a nice face, he shouldn't cover it up with a beard. "The concept of alternates is explained in the pamphlets, people should be aware of that..."

She shakes his hand again. At least both Jims are friendly. She can approach either with a smile and not worry about offending anyone. "Nice talking to you, too. I'll see you around."

Her coffee has gone tepid, but she takes it with her anyway and drinks it as she heads off to wherever it is she needs to go.

[boldygoing]

Jim grins at her expression. "Sure, but there's no reason to make things harder than they've gotta be." And it's better to do something easily reversible, in the long run.

"See you around," he agrees, and turns his attention back to the datapad. Distractions or not, he still has papers to grade, and all the time in the multiverse to do it.