ataraxion | 02 - Video (I.D. number hidden)

[When the video feed flicks on, it displays a dimly-lit room covered in some sort of greasy-looking chitin. Those who have ventured down to the science decks may be familiar with it, though it's bare of anything of value. In the background are workbenches and aquariums filled with what at a glance appears to be pond scum. The current inhabitant of this lab is little more appealing than the rest of his room - or, at least, what the camera can pick up of him isn't. Mostly, it catches his long white hair and his sharp cheekbones, his tired brow and the sensory pits carved into his face. His eyes are too sunken in to see, except when the light catches just right -- then, for just a second, his catlike pupils cast a greenish glow back to the camera.]

[And when he speaks, he sounds like rust and the creak of old leather.]

This shall mark the third time that I have asked for charity, and it shall also mark the third time that I have heard humans question why I have used another's voice to ask. To those who seek an answer, look to your kin who would call for my extermination, and you shall have it. I do not have time to waste upon answering to each of you individually.

It is to this latter group that I give this message. Your instincts do not allow you to abide a predator in your midst, but to kill me is to kill whatever slim chance you now have at returning home alive. I have been a spacefarer since before so many of your ancestors built their dens beside each other and called it Civilization. The scientific achievements that you laud or fear are as relevant to my kind as a stone-bladed axe is to yours. A human would grow old and die before I could begin to teach her all that I know about the spacefarer's life.

[He tilts his head upward slightly, and the light finally reaches his yellow eyes. He is old and tired, but he's proud of what he is. He is a man of the Hive, Son of Night's Lineage. Wraith.]

I cannot stop you from doing what you please, if you are truly determined to kill me. However, I will not be killed without it being known what it would cost this ship. Satisfying my hunger is a small price for the centuries of personal experience that you shall benefit from.

[He turns his head slightly to one side, apparently looking down. Whether it's merely exhaustion, or whether it's the shame of asking for help, is difficult to read.]

I have been notified that the ship's medical facilities are prepared to receive the volunteers. I cannot promise that it shall be painless, but it shall be as swift as it can be.

[OOC: Volunteers, please head right this way.]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

[Ah. Well; this does explain a few things.]

With due respect, there are better ways to go about your appeal.

And you in all you years know this, young human?

[That rouses his temper at once.]

Excuse me; I fail utterly to see what my age has to do with anything.

This sounds a lot like blackmail.

It is not your age that concerns me. It is your experience, and your lack thereof. Your hands are soft and untested.

When you have roughed your palms and learned a few things that have not been ladled into your mouth, I shall consider your counsel.

Right.

[He bites that out.]

And tell me - precisely how much have you interacted with humans? By this speech, I suspect your experience is somewhat limited.

[He switches over to voice-only. Staring at a screen is not doing wonders for his eyes.]

Were it so, I would not offer my knowledge. This is a trade, not holding hostages.

[ if this switch bothers her, her expression betrays nothing. ]

Well, I mean, it's not really a trade if one or both parties are threatened.

More than your suspicions would allow you to believe. I address humans as they are capable of understanding. To address this ship is to address a variety of humans, some of whom are not as sophisticated as you think yourself to be.

By that logic, it is you humans who are the blackmailers. I was the first to be threatened.

And that I would totally agree with.

So, what're we supposed to call you anyway?

[There's a very long pause at the other end of the feed. He's not even really sure, since humans keep calling him by names of their own design.]

... That is not so simple a question as you would think.

And yet you make your appeal to those least likely to listen to you. The least likely to provide you protection. And you make it in such a way that they'll not care about - for what care have they for the general welfare of the ship?

Either you do not know humans or you do not know rhetoric.

A quick note: coercion.

They care for their own lives. This ship is their only haven - do you expect them to swim through the vacuum of space to the nearest inhabitable planet? If it is lost, so are they.

Even they are capable of understanding that much.

I figured it was complicated, since I think I've heard people call you a million different things since I've been here... [ her voice trails off, and Hayley chews distractedly on her bottom lip for a moment. ]

I get not using your own name and stuff, hey, free country. Er, space ship. Whatever. But it's not like you're a pet or something. I'd feel mega weird naming you.

Hey, in law, isn't coercion called a duress crime?

But you're not speaking of salvation from an immediate threat. You're speaking of general helpfulness.

[He hesitates, and then, with genuine surprise:]

Yes. It is.

[He doesn't know this young woman well enough to puzzle out something, so it'll just have to be a compromise.]

It is a common practice for humans to address each other by rank, is it not? I am the Commander of my Queen's forces, and a Lord of her zenana. I am also her Consort. Any of those titles would be acceptable.

You must be a terrestrial human. No spacefarer would ever consider that their life is not immediately threatened. It only takes one small mistake to kill an entire ship.

And given that government agencies frequently use intimidating methods during their investigations- you know like, the threat of legal penalties and stuff, coercion is not only socially acceptable but also typically legal? I mean, how often does plea bargaining alone occur?

Edited 2012-09-23 23:12 (UTC)

And what proportion of the people here are terrestrial humans? Take a guess.

That's quite thoroughly different, miss. Coercion involves the threat of bodily harm. It is nothing like the methods used during investigation, which are limited to offering the benefits of a lighter penalty in return for cooperation.

Oh, I know how many of you there are. I know quite well that too many humans here have never crossed the void between stars. The fact that there have been so few deaths yet is a blessing.

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