RP [IRC of YE 46] A meeting of cultures

[HarperMadi]

RP Date

46.3

RP Location

Reikan Park, Yamatai

Two Senti women of approximately the same age walked through the bustling conference plaza. Both appeared about eighty years old and both dressed in the warm furs and handwoven fibers of their home. The outfits were simple and practical, certainly, but ornately decorated with familial and personal achievements that would normally place them about the same rank in their society. Both were silverskinned humanoids with blue lips and blood, but there were a few differences. One was an eighty year old doctor, the other, a diplomat of a similar tenure. One was a zealot and conservative, refusing to bend Shurista's knee for Yamatai's culture, the other a progressive who believed that Shurista could use the change. Both had made strides in making sure the great Flotilla of the Eastern Lonely Expanse did not break any laws that would require Yamatai to become more involved than it had to in the ancient culture's affairs.

Dusali Kherras often argued with the Governor on matters of tradition versus progress, and today was no different. The fact that they had a job to do reduced their disagreement to cold bitterness and sarcasm, rather than open aggression between the zealot and the progressive. Granted, much of their argument was in Shuristan, and rapid fire as the musical language bounced between the pair. Finally, she had had enough. "Alright," she spoke in loud Trade. "I'm not going to apologize for approving the soul transfer of our Senator, and we're going to ask another culture new to the concept about it. See the big fluffy dude? I think he's from the... Poku no... Sekaie? Gods, I mispronounced that. We're going."

@Hollander

 

[Hollander]

The conference center's plaza practically boiled with movement and discussion. Languages and scents shifted this way and that as often as delegations and trade representatives. New species met for the first time, tentatively exploring ways to share meaning, while other species reconnected after years of absence with clasped hands hoots of joy.

Like a brown-furred buoy bobbing above waves of beings both organic and synthetic, Toidorno Sejgui wasn't the tallest living creature in the room... But he still rated highly. It made him easy to spot from a distance, and it earned him a bit more attention that he was used to. When aboard the YSS Kyōryoku science station, Toidorno was with a number of other Qaktoro, so he was just one of many tall beings seen for the first time by the members of the Scientific Studies Servicecs who staffed that station; the upward-facing looks of surprise were spread out equally among his party. Here, though, with so much to see and so much variety of living bodies, eyes sometimes drifted toward the extremes. To the morbidly fat. To the hyper-muscular. To the multi-headed. To the tall.

Toidorno had been speaking to a uniformed alien woman, her yellow, ten-pointed star identifying her as a member of the Yamatai Security Agency, when the Ambassador was approached by a pair of beings whose species he didn't immediately recognized. He quickly thanked the Agent in Yamataigo, and turned to greet the two strangers.

"Can I help you?" he began, his green-and-blue eyes moving between both of them, trying to get a measure of who they were and what their goal might be.

 

[HarperMadi]

"Ah, yes, my Governor and I were just... Discussing the nature of the soul, and I wanted to see another people's thoughts on the matter. An outside perspective to break the loop." Dusali spoke with a respectful bow. "I am Dusali Kharras of Shurista, this is Khelas Nascen of the same."

"A pleasure," Khelas gave a diplomatic smile and soft bow. "Our doctor seems to think the Yamataians have some way of transferring the soul between bodies, which, if true, I find rather distasteful, as it breaks the natural cycles."

"Delays," Dusali corrected. "Not breaks. Either way, you're stuck with Senator Natus for another three centuries, and Yamataian technology has already found its way into the hands of our artisans."

"I could say much on how the delaying of the burial steel is a punishment, not an opportunity. Perhaps this lovely man's perspective will shed some light on the matter."

"Would you say the same for the life saving surgeries I can and do perform?"

"I could say that Trade and Yamataigo both make an unusual distinction on the words for surgeon and butcher."

 

[Hollander]

At the revelation of the proposed topic of discussion, Toidorno briefly, very briefly, considered calling back the Agent to use them as some sort of escape route. A religious discussion with another species sounded like a recipe for trouble to him, given the fact that he was only a temporary, acting Ambassador. All he had to do was... shake hands, as many of these cultures seemed to want to do, and after a short while he'd be free to return to his duties. Engaging in a philosophical debate which had severe interstellar repercussions was a sure way to earn himself a very remote, very unpleasant assignment given by the Defender of the Clan... It was not dishonorable in the Clan for one to withdraw from a fight with no clear path to victory, but Toidorno found his sandaled feed remaining right where they were. Stubbornness, and a genuine interest in the beliefs and perspectives of aliens, was outweighing his concerns over the risk of an inter-species faux pas.

"Du-sali... Kkar-ras." he repeated, working through the unfamiliar sounds. "Khelas... Nah.... Nassssen?" They had not yet shared their ranks, and he had not shared his own, so their respective levels of authority were unknown. He returned her bows at equal inclines, for the moment. They each spoke of things he wasn't immediately familiar with... A Senator whose name he did not know, but he presumed from their words had been soul transferred. Talk of the technology 'finding its way' into their hands. Into the hands of their species? And outside of the hands of the Warrior Cat Women? They spoke of burial steel, surgery and butchery... He did his best to follow along, before attempting to offer some useful knowledge of his own.

"The technology you speak of is known to us." Toidorno began. "I am Toidoirno Sejgui, Ambassador of the Hidden Sun Clan." His left ear flicked, though nothing had been anywhere near it to disturb it. "And while the technology of moving spirits is within Yamatai's control... It is not of their making." His mismatched eyes darted briefly, spotting a few winged Elysians not far, but hopefully out of hearing. "I understand that it is a thing taken from the Empire of the Ely-si-ans, decades ago." Toidorno placed his paws behind his back, one grasping the wrist of the opposite arm. "Do your people have access to this technology?" he asked pointedly.

 

[HarperMadi]

"Some," Dusali offered a warm smile. "It is still very rare on Shurista, as we are new to the Empire. And people like Governor Nascen, here, have some... very strict ideas about its use. From what I understand, anyway. But I was not a Librarian's child and raised on some silly half million year old superstitions. In fact, earlier today, I got into a discussion with Premier Hanako about modernizing Shurista's medical infrastructure, much to the governor's chagrin."

Khelas hadn't moved, watching Toidoirno carefully. She didn't quite know what to make of the alien's body language just yet, but noted how his accent seemed to flow differently from her own. She surmized that the basic structure of his language would have been made up of something more akin to the chatters and purrs of similarly laid out creatures native to many worlds, she believed the Yamataians would have called them felinids. But this was significantly more evolved, and judging from her observations, would probably be able to speak Shuristan at least passibly if taught. Not that she was going to be the one to teach him. "Yes, it was during one of their myriad wars. We have recently gained access to their records on the situation and found it to be... Unfortunately unavoidable. Two young expansionist empires colliding. All are lucky it did not go far worse. There are people, Dusali, who the concept of transferring souls makes uncomfortable. Are we speaking to Senator Natus or some flimsy copy? Is the steel that was made from his previous body live or dead as the body was? For longer than we have been nomadic, it was known that the soul was so immutable as to be trapped conscious and aware in the body, and that melting it down joined the body with its ancestors to support the world of the living."

"I don't think that's a conversation for our first interaction with Toidoirno and his people, Khelas. Philosophy is certainly a great topic, but religion can start wars as you well know. So that said, Toidoirno, what is it your people believe on the matter? Is it as uncomfortable for you as it is for some of the Senti? If so, I'd be happy to change the subject to something more agreeable."

 

[Hollander]

Toidorno's furry eyebrows raised expressively as Dusali Kharras spoke of 'silly' half-million year-old superstitions, and for just a moment, his nostrils flared. He heard Khelas' concerns, his stance widening a hair as he settled in for continued conversation.

"It is not uncomfortable..." he replied, searching for the words he wanted to use. "Not uncomfortable to start with. The soul and its nature is... a..." He grimaced, disliking how often he had to pause as he worked through the language. He'd spent too much time around Yamataian scientists, and not enough time around Yamataian philosophers! "It is a topic that helps us understand our boundaries. The boundaries of your people, and the boundaries of my people."

His tail, kept low so as not to disturb passersby, flicked thrice in rapid succession as he noticed a table opening up nearby. The plaza was rife with living traffic, and a seated conversation might be easier. Predatory and direct, Toidorno turned his whole body to the table, announcing, "Let's take a seat for a moment." as he brought his near six-foot height to use, striding through parting crowds with confidence. The moment to flee had passed; he was now fully invested in this battle of the minds.

Assuming the two Senti followed in his wake, he waited for them to sit, taking his own chair carefully; Reikan Park had sagely provided many different kinds of seating, including a stool which he found comfortable and familiar. "There, now we can feel less..." he halted, realizing that none of the idioms of his native language would translate well into Yamataigo, and likely less so with these aliens in particular. "Less busy. To your question." Toidorno planted his elbows on the table, steepling his paws together, the tips of his recessed claws barely visible. "There are a few faiths in the Clan. I will speak on the largest. It is the Divine Way." He gave its name without any particular sense of reverence; he didn't make any special sign, or utter it with any formality. He continued. "I will speak of it as the faith of the Clan, though others have... their own. The Clan believes in the soul, and in... the movement of the soul upon death from the dead body, to a new body. And... we believe the soul is judged in between." He paused there, to see if they had any questions, and to hear more of their own religion's beliefs on the matter.

 

[HarperMadi]

Khelas seemed hesitant, at first, to sit with Toidorno, but relented as she watched Dusali eagerly take a seat at the table. "Other peoples have their beliefs and ways, but a judgement of the soul would occur by its joining with those who came before. Though... Our people have never recorded reincarnation as many see it. I apologize for Dusali's rather offensive comment on the validity of faith."

"I am not deriding faith. Just superstition. Faith is the knowledge that the soul is the story and measure of a person through their life. If that continues past their first body, then it would grow stronger with an extra three centuries, and our Senator can actually do good, rather than be some pretty baubles and furniture components for Yamataians who still barely respect us. You advocate for cultural independence of worlds and peoples of Yamatai, so let us embrace and learn rather than isolating again." Dusali's last word carried an edge to it before she offered Toidorno a soft smile. "This Divine Way interests me greatly. What is to say that the passage of souls between bodies, and the method of such would interrupt this as Khelas is so concerned with?"

 

[Hollander]

Toidorno heard Dusali make a distinction between faith and superstition, but the Qaktoro wasn't sure he knew the difference between the definitions of the two words in Yamataigo... The statement that their Senator might become petty baubles made him uncertain. Furniture components? Was he hearing this right? But a direct question or two made it easier to focus his thoughts.

"In our Divine Way, a soul must be... looked at. Its weight, how important it is, looked at by the divine." He patted his person suddenly, finding and withdrawing a tablet surely created by his species. He tapped at it with the pad of his paw, looking up words to help him better explain. "The Divine Consciousness. That is better words for it. A soul is judged, and that... Allows that soul to be sent to its proper place. Maybe a waiting place, or a new body, or first one and then the other. There are those who believe that... certain things disrupt that... process."

He set the tablet down, grimacing a little. The expression revealed a glimpse of a predator's maw. "The Mishhuvurthyar, who we call Defilers of the Dead, do things to bodies that some believe spoils the soul. Others do, indeed, believe that soul transfer runs counter to the Divine Way. That each soul must life the lives given to it by the Divine Consciousness, whether those lives are short or long, heroic or cowardly."

A claw extended from his paw and tapped the table thoughtfully. It left two tiny indentations in the wood which Toidorno seemed not to notice, engrossed as he was in the conversation. "What is... the link between your concerns and... furniture components?"

 

[HarperMadi]

"Burial steel," Dusali spoke up.

Khelas finished by elaborating. "Most Senti religion believes that the soul is immutable and conscious in our death. Trapped in the body. So the way we bury our dead comes into play. We are iron based life forms, and as such, we melt down our dead, feeding them into forges with trinkets from the friends and family of the deceased. The resultant metal, burial steel, is foundational to Senti technology and art, such as tattoos, clothing components like the steel panels in our space suits or Dusali's brooch, or simple things such as cooking implements, buildings, or..." Her voice trailed off as she pulled a pen made of a honey colored steel from a pocket of her clothes. "Gifts from the loved ones who would call us family. In the steel, our souls and memories are preserved and joined with those of those who came before us."

"Furniture components in this case refers to what Shretas Natus's body would have been used for. In addition to repairing his family ship, the remaining steel would have been used to manufacture ornaments and components for the Yamataian Senate hall as a gift to the Empire," Dusali clarified. "We recycle everything we can. Including our dead. Being nomads in deep space, we can't afford to not. So myths popped up surrounding it, implying that our ancestors eternally watch over and protect us from within the steel as their window into reality. And so immortality is rather... Taboo for the more religious among us."

 

[Hollander]

Toidorno wasn't sure how to feel about this, as they spoke. Then as they contniued, he started to become sure. He didn't like it.

Then he really didn't like it.

They... melted their dead? They were metal people, yes, but they were alive...? But they had souls, and the souls were... in the metal which was... forged into trinkets. Space suits? Tattoos? Toidorno's throat suddenly felt dry, and his toes curled in his sandals with a sensation of revulsion as though he was being made witness to a gory autopsy. Cooking implements? Toidorno imagined the bones of his grandfather being fashioned into a spatula for turning Buvory sausages in a pan. His eyes locked on the pen that Khelas withdrew from a pocket, and the lids of his orbs widened with the realization that the pen was a corpse, fashioned into a writing instrument. It was a great-grand-uncle. It was an honored ancestor fashioned into a tool for signing restaurant receipts. Eyes then looked to their clothes, insignias, communicators... Parts of the molten, reshaped dead? Mummified remains transformed into zippers and cufflinks?

"I see." he said quietly.

The revelation that they, too, believed in watchful ancestors passed over his stunned mind. Even if he had registered it, the knowledge would have given him no comfort. Their ancestors watched over them from the aglets at the ends of their shoelaces.

"This practice is... shocking to hear." he informed them. "For me, I mean to say. Is it... documented? Perhaps... I can read further on this."

 

[HarperMadi]

"Quite well. Burial steel is the base of Senti technology. Starships, houses... Everything. Death is the end of the first stage of our life. The Senti are the living portion of an immortal--"

"Religious belief, not philosophical," Dusali cut Khelas off. "I see how the practice could be shocking. But think of it like this. We live between stars. What we can grow, we do. But resources are scarce. Every precious bit counts. Half a million years ago, the Senti went to war, and we lost our home world, our peace, and our will to fight another. So we hid. But hiding and surviving leaves us living on scraps. Our people have found worlds, found dead Flotillas who strayed. We survived by doing this, and eventually, it started taking religious and cultural reverance. That yellow steel has kept our people alive. for as long as we have been able to traverse space."

"You say religious beliefs, and then you quote the myths of the Cult of Skydas." Khelas gave a slight smirk as though she had won the argument. "The dead protect us and watch over us with their steel as the window into the world of the living. We own nothing. We shape, guide, and protect our ancestors as they protect us and build our world."

"I make statement of the verifiable facts of the Grand Library. The ships we are restoring to hunt the Defilers, the Mishhu are from the same war as cost us so much. The Turassieli had more information, but their Grand Library was shattered in the Fall." The Katamurans are the closest to a military we have left, and they are filthy pirates. Our culture is stagnant, Khelas. Death and desolation is all the Senti have found, and you said yourself that the life we have found here, the people, are as precious as our own. And you allowed one of our own to feel so abandoned that our First Warrior told you to choke on your holy vacuum, and that she would strike down If'Ni, herself if we tried to bring her back to us again. Called us all cowards in front of the Empress."

"The Traitor Aliset. Let us move off the topic of our walking political disaster. She is not here. I cannot claim her blade and strip her of Shuristan honors."

"You will not, you mean. You embarrassed her enough. You will learn what Toidorno's people believe on the matter of the passage of the soul, and their practices to facilitate it. How people treat their dead says a lot about their people. And we are but remains of an elder race. The more I deal with you, the more I see Aliset as having been right."

 

[Hollander]

The Qaktoro watched them discuss, his eyes shifting left, then right, then left again, as though he were watching a highly active game of Otamalvu Kamu'ka, a Poku competitive sport whose name might be translated to 'scratchball'. If these two specimens were indicative of their species as a whole, then the Senti were an exciting people to speak with. But that revelation... that their metal corpses were melted down... He continued to reel from it. He tried to focus.

He had noted that they spoke of Flotillas, and after looking up the word, he learned of its meaning. By their words, the Senti had lost a homeworld just as the old Qaktoro Empire had, though... Half a million years? Had he heard that correctly? That was quite a long time to wander, if they were both using similar measurements of time.

As they spoke of a Great Library, and of Katamurans and a First Warrior, Toidorno was quite lost. He couldn't assemble, from context, the meaning of some of these titles in the history the two women were debating. Ahh, but then they had returned the question him and to his people. Fascinating that they were able to so quickly juggle their own discussion, and return to the topic at hand. Nimble minds, he surmised.

"The Clan does not kill without reason. When we have reason, we do kill, and we do not feel guilt for doing so. The soul will find its judgment, as too will the killer, if their act was unjust. In certain conditions, we may... practice a... ritual self-death." He checked his tablet. "Ritual suicide. For sake of honor, to prevent shame, to protect family. The soul is released. It is not commonly done, but it is done." He halted to share further, as there were other Clan cultural practices, and one in particular, which were a source of interspecies distress. They were practices that some in the Clan had begun to decry, particularly as it pertained to the debate over joining the Star Empire.

The topic returned to how a people treated its dead. "Some of the faithful believe that a soul does not always leave a body immediately. The body that was once alive, if it is harmed, can wound the soul. Or, the soul that has left is dishonored by the treatment of its body. Many in our clan speak to the souls of their dead, ask for advice, assistance. But to the bodies... Many families have their own way. Some burn, some extract the water, some embalm and release into stars." He felt he should explain that the Clan had not been a 'terrestrial' species for many centuries, until recently. "Our people, also... suffered a time of traveling exodus in space, but it was... merely a brief point compared to your Senti, based on your words. Ours lasted fifty years. But we then settled on a fixed station, not on a planet. Only recently have our paws touched soil once again."

He looked at them both. "You spoke of a man whose soul was... moved by this technology. What led to this occurring? If the Empire committed an act against your wishes, I trust that they would attempt to correct the... things." The word 'situation' was beyond him at the moment, and not something that was easy to translate at a moment's notice.

 

[HarperMadi]

"Aah, Senator Natus. A good man, ancient. Three hundred and thirty years old by the Yamataian calendar. And the man representing our people in the Yamataian Senate. He was at the end of his life." Dusali pulled a plastic water bottle from her coat, opening it to release the rich scent of tea as the cap separated into three cups. She poured one for herself and another for Khelas before offering with gesture to pour one for Toidorno.

"The Empire would not have transferred his soul from one body to another without approval from his physician. Who has, for the last thirty years, been Dusali Kherras. He was transferred using the same method developed for the Empire by our First Warrior and her physician. I believe she was a Separa'Shan." Khelas, for her dislike of Dusali, accepted the tea and sipped politely.

"I approved the transferrence. If he had not recieved such a procedure, his three centuries of expertise would have gone to waste, and his steel would have been used in ways that I saw as a waste of his soul. We cannot speak to the dead as your people can. Not that I know of, anyway. As of now, I know of two tsulrati who have had their soul transferred... Oh, there is a distinction, there... Tsulrati is the name of our species, meaning 'people of the void between stars,' roughly. Senti is our people, the followers of Sentisura's teachings."

Khelas nodded approval of the distinction before she spoke again. "Our people, too, kill. Rarely, and never without reason. We are omnivores like many, eating fish and meat as much as plants and fungi. We see all sapient beings as people with a holy right to autonomy of mind, body, and soul. To violate one of these is to mark one's self as a danger to the community, a predator, not a person. These dangerous predators are dealt with without hesitation or process upon identification. After so long, it happens so infrequently as to be barely worth mentioning. But we are part of the Kikyo Sector's community. Much of my task as Governor has been to integrate our culture with those of the peoples around us, including yours. And Empress Himiko had some concerns as to the lack of due process when dealing with such hazards."

"I believe her concern was more the definition of personhood and how she and her people do not believe personhood can be lost so easily. It could be argued that in approving Shretas's body transfer that I violated the autonomy of his soul to enter the burial steel. But I did it to save his life. A necessary evil."

"Still, it is so ingrained in our culture that someone who believes they have lost their personhood may allow themselves to die. Dusali feels no such guilt. And her actions, as distasteful as they were and discomforting for myself or others, do have verifiable positive impact."

"It was not a comfortable decision for me, either. But it did offer time. And his original body has been forged, partially, into the steel. The rest was used with respect to assist in the creation of regeneratives that will allow the thousands of us serving in the Star Army to receive necessary medical care. Thusly, if it is indeed just a copy of his soul that was created, his original soul continues to support and protect his people as he wanted. He volunteered for the Senate. We had no other volunteer, meaning myself or Khelas would have had to take the seat. Which would have been... an awkward transition, and left Shurista without a Councillor of Medicine or a Governor till we found someone better."

 

[Hollander]

Toidorno accepted the tea, watching to see how the two Senti drank it before he tipped the cup to inspect its contents. In his ignorance, Toidorno wondered whether there'd be metal shavings in the tea, or fragments of copper for flavoring... But these aliens wouldn't have offered him something that would've killed him, surely. He sniffed, detecting a smell of something rather like their amavitdâmu fruit, yet different enough and joined with some other scent. Something quite herbal. The Clan had teas, of course, but none that carried anything close to this other scent. He brought it to his ebon-colored lips and took a sip, trying to mimic the hand-movements of the two women, in case that was a culturally significant act.

'Oh no.' he thought to himself, putting the cup down.

'I hate it.'

He had kept the grimace off of his face, but wow, whatever that flavor was, it did not sit well on his tongue. It was bright, strident even, and distinct from the fruity flavors that were trying to join it. Was it just his personal preference, or would any Qaktoro feel the same? He felt his eyes wincing, and he snapped them open swiftly, not wanting to offend. There was an important discussion at hand.

Dusali clarified the distinction between the species, as a whole, and the term for what sounded like a group of followers. Sentisura must've been a significant feature in their history, just as Kotoz Mui was to the Clan. The Clan still named their leader 'Mui', out of respect for the Qaktoro who assembled and led their Exodus. The revelation that it was Dusali who had approved the soul transfer gave even more context to the situation. Toidorno had to wonder how the Senator themselves felt, if they were disturbed by what had been done to them.

He heard them both relay what they saw as positive sides to the soul transfer decision, but he had not yet heard the perspective of the subject of the discussion.

"What was the Senator's request? Had he asked for the transfer?" Toidorno asked carefully.

 

[HarperMadi]

Khelas gave a soft smirk at the man's discomfort of the flavors. "Apologies, that is one of my favorite teas. Unfortunate that it cannot be grown anymore, after some damage to Shurista's Tskugani agriculture dome. There are seedlings grown after the shattering, but they will not produce for several years, and will not go to seed fast enough to preserve the supply."

Dusali sipped her own tea, offering a bit of an apologetic smile. "It does go better with the cannonfruit candies to balance out that pinginess. As to Shretas's decision, he made a comment that I took as consent. He was a Librarian and a politician. He should have known better than to allow implications like that. But in all honesty, despite his discomfort with his new body, he has expressed some degree of thankfulness."

"I believe his words were... 'if I don't wake up tomorrow a new man, this is the last act I will have in this Senate.' I would hardly call that consent to put him in a thirty year old body. Never thought I'd look down to look my superior in the eye. Must be new for you, too. The youngest of the General Council in centuries."

"Very odd, yes. Besides, he did not fight me when I went to visit him in the hospital. Nor did he object immediately before the procedure."

"Was he conscious?"

"And making terrible jokes."

"It is when his jokes are good that we worry," Khelas shrugged. "Sounds like consent to me."

 

[Hollander]

They had spotted his distaste for the tea! He wondered where he had slipped up. How perceptive were these aliens, that they could read him? At most, he had merely winced, right? Had his tail betrayed him?

Putting those worries aside, as well as the curious news that they had an agricultural conundrum, he found this information about the Senator's wishes quite interesting. That one final comment was taken for a desire to have his soul transferred? It was not a clear request, to his ears. "You say he lived... Three hundred plus thirty years of life. That is much time to... decide feelings. What had been the Senator's words on the soul before? Did he... 'think good' of soul transfer?" He twisted his head a little, leaning back and rolling his shoulders, preparing to say something that might be distressing. "Consider, Dusali, that... The man who spoke to you with thankfulness is, in the beliefs of some... not the man who died. Not the same person."

 

[HarperMadi]

"That," Dusali gave a sigh, "Was exactly what Khelas and I were arguing about when we approached you. I have known Shretas for many years. He is a stubborn old bastard, with charisma and humor to match his beliefs and the ferocity he defends them with. If the man I unleashed on Yamatai is not Senator Natus, then it is a man with the complete memories and personality so whole that I could not tell the difference, save his size. I have already given the warnings and ensured he carries condoms, the sheer number of his first life's wives and his children are evidence enough of his charisma. I'd rather he not cause such trouble with the local populace."

Khelas gave a dry laugh. "You think that will stop him from trying? With that much experience and knowledge, that man could choose to be a menace. Granted, it would probably be mostly Senti women he will be able to build new families with. Fortunate that our people are polyamorous or he would have caused far more trouble on the Council."

"He could identify as a problem, and get into as much trouble as he pleases. However, I doubt he would be that bad. Our Senator is a Librarian, after all. A diplomat and a lawyer first and foremost." Dusali gave a small shrug as she sipped on her tea. "Way I see it, to borrow the Yamataian phrase, we have a senator in a comfortable size with the experience and expertise to make good impressions. The Yamataians benefit from his diet not being that of a several ton tricentennial, and we still got some burial steel from his first death. Whether that steel was live is dwarfed by the steel used to bury him. Though watching him interact with his own burial steel was almost as entertaining as your most recent argument with Shosho Kilborn."

"That man awakens things in me I'm not comfortable with. Yamataians are as dangerous as funny men."

"So what is your Gift to him?" Dusali's grin turned more sinister, as though teasing the Governor was a game for her.

"A swift kick in the pants first opportunity. He made me cry in front of the general council."

 

[Hollander]

Toidorno drummed the claws of his right hand on the table thoughtfully. He felt that cultural exchanges were vital to establishing strong, meaningful relations with other nations and species; in fact, this belief had been enshrined in the Clan's Treaty agreement with the Empire, in the establishment of a cultural exchange center in each nation's territory. For the Clan, that exchange center was their Embassy, which was within the environs of Reikan Park.

Despite that desire for openness, Toidorno found himself hesitant about introducing the nature of their beliefs to the Clan. He, himself, believed he was an open-minded individual, curious and able to listen to ideas that differed from his own. But he could already imagine the ripples of shock and horror that would cascade his society about this 'burial steel', and the movement of a soul into an unmoving, unliving item. The faithful might see this practice as an entrapment of souls, preventing them from receiving judgment and re-entering the spiritual cycle. His government would have to phrase the explanation of these practices very carefully... But even the most delicately-worded explanation of burial steel would still infuriate and disgust.

In his mind, he wondered whether Yamataians were similarly distressed by this practice. In the Shinto faith, they, too, revered honored ancestors, and was a molten corpse impure, in their beliefs? Death was a corrupting 'energy', as far as Toidorno understood Yamataian Shintoism... Was every Senti vessel and structure and tool mired in impurities, in their beliefs?

He recalled that the women had clarified the difference between the Tsulrati as a species, and the followers of Sentisura. "Do all Tsulrati... practice the... re-use of the dead, as the Senti do?" he wondered.

 

[HarperMadi]

Khelas looked confused at the question, then thoughtful. "I suppose it's possible that some do not practice, but I don't see it as viable for a non-worldborn tsulrati. Much of the culture was forged by the rigors of deep space."

Dusali gave a contemplative sound as she considered how to continue Khelas's thought. "Cremation, burial pyres are pretty common among a lot of species and peoples. The Duskerians do something similar by converting the bodies of their dead to graphene, which is the base of their technology. Or, they did that when last I checked. I know the Yamataians use their dead Nekovalkyrja to produce their... Hemosynth, I think it's called, for use in making new bodies and healing their wounded. The use of leftover materials after the disposal of a body is pretty normal. Some species are even cannibalistic, ritually consuming their dead. I suppose the treatment of the dead would depend on the culture the individual grew up in, but to date, I know of no multigenerational non-Senti tsulrati populations. That may be a question for the Nepleslians, as their tsulrati population is mostly former Turassieli refugees. As far as traditional burials, I cannot imagine the decomposition of a tsulrati body would be anything more than poisoning the soil. Our blood is oil based, and would likely take a long time to break down, combined with our heavy metal content... I am pretty sure that several environmental protection laws would be violated by not containing our bodies. But decomposition isn't well studied on Shurista, so I don't know. All of this is just educated guesses."

"In short," Khelas finished. "I don't imagine that any would, but I suppose it is possible. What of your people? I assume you are carbon based like everything else in the sector, I imagine your species's burial practices are far more varied than ours?"

 

[Hollander]

The Ambassador of the Hidden Sun Clan listened to the examples shared. He'd not heard of the practice of the 'Duskerians'; there were no formal relations between the New Dusk Enclave and the Clan, though the Clan did know of the NDC. They called them the Poku Saeruo Vakâme, which meant Clan of the Sun Sleep. Due to an initial mistranslation, the Clan has mistakenly called the NDC the Clan of the Sun Rise; this was quickly corrected once it was pointed out.

He, himself, knew of the Yamataian practices with regard to their 'blood which healed'. The blood of the Warrior Women had a technological power; the Free Nekos who had lived in the clan for nearly a decade now had the same stuff pumping through their veins.

"In these cases you cite..." Toidorno gently countered, "Do they believe that the soul stays bound in the... Gra-feen? Or in the blood of the Warrior Cat Women? At least in the case of Yamatai, I understand that they do not believe this." He patted the empty air with his paws, as though he were trying to smooth out ruffled fur. "My intent here is merely to... soften the... hard edges of this to my people. Others will make the same... thoughts, or worse thoughts."

Khelas had asked about the burial practices of the Clan. He checked his translation device, looking over a few words he'd need to pronounce for his answer. "In addition to those I mentioned earlier, some of our dead are released toward the star of our home system, where their bodies become... gone. Kotoz Mui, a legendary leader, was sent to that star, not long after we settled near it."