(Actually) Interesting Ideas for Ending the Amarr-Minmatar Conflict

Fiction Portal Intergalactic Summit
1465

So … this seems like a reasonable criticism to me. As an Achur visitor to the Empire, I’m allowed to explore the details of the Imperial Rite to my heart’s content, but, offering alternative views is a little troublesome. I can talk about my beliefs as a kind of academic presentation of what I believe and why, but sometimes I worry that one day I might win a convert.

That would get … awkward, more for the Amarr in my life than for me, but, it wouldn’t be so good for me either.

Only, taking it from their own perspective: the Imperial Rite doesn’t claim to be the most attractive, engaging, or even the most pleasant system of belief-- only to be the true, correct one. It should be obvious that God’s ways are difficult to hold to; after all, most of humanity turned away from God. That implies that the world is full of enticing illusions and traps, that will easily ensnare foolish or even possibly very clever or even wise people, perhaps by playing on those very qualities to draw people away from God.

The duty of the Amarr is to unite humanity into a single nation, God’s kingdom in this world. It’s not to debate on even terms with heathens like me. I’m tolerated, even when I do talk about my beliefs, but that’s probably partly because it’s a pretty rare Amarr who’d find my understanding of this world persuasive.

In the end, the kind of peaceful, persuasive approach advocated by Mr. Ayin (and by the Society), is typically sold to orthodox Amarr as effective. That isn’t to say that heathens like us shouldn’t prefer it; Arrendis’s suspicions that they’ll just get frustrated and revert to Reclaiming by the sword if they don’t win converts as fast as they might want is only much of a worry if at some point Reclaiming by the sword becomes a (the?) viable, non-calamitous option again.

That’s way-far from a foregone conclusion. The inner powers are too evenly matched, and the outer powers too eager to exploit an opening. And that’s leaving aside true wild cards like the Drifters and, now, Triglavians. Additionally, while the Amarr are called to unite humanity, the goal is success ever, not success on a particular timetable.

Probably the Amarr, as a power, will be content to pursue the vision of Pax Amarria for quite a while. You might see some rethinking if they haven’t made substantial progress in a few thousand years.

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1466

Again, taken on their own terms, this is the creator of the universe we are talking about and his desired form of worship.

To feel that it can’t win a debate with a false belief is to loose faith with the creator and the system of worship that he has created.

And, yet, see how many of the faithful fall into error even without competing systems. To the best of my knowledge the Sani Sabik & the Equilibrium of Mankind were both produced internally.

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1467

Is it? Let’s keep in mind that I’m not talking about ‘today’ or even ‘this millennium’, Aria. Eventually, by sheer process of elimination, everyone who can be converted will have been converted.

What happens then? Do the Amarr go ‘oh, well, time to stop pursuing our divinely-commanded mission!’?

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1468

So, again, Mr. Ogunkoya, it’s tempting for me to agree. Fair’s fair, right?

But, at the same time, you don’t argue with cosmic truth-- and while God’s word, properly understood, might be sufficient to sweep aside all debate and discussion, human beings are fallible and prone to errors in both understanding and presentation.

In other words, having faith in God, and in your own people’s ability to withstand reasonable-sounding deception without fail, are two very different things. The Amarr believe they have the truth that matters, and I can’t really blame them for not wanting to risk it.

It’s a little unfair for them to insist that the conversation only go both ways on their frontiers-- that is, in the Federation or Republic-- but then they’re not in this for a contest over who’s right. They, by their belief, definitely are; it’s just a matter of the most effective way of getting the rest of us to join them.

And about the EoM and the Sabik? They know. Believe me, they know. It’s probably a large part of why they’re leery of allowing competing systems into theirs.

Uh, assuming purely for the sake of argument that there is some reliable way to tell, a thousand years from now, that they’ve run out of potential converts … I don’t know? And neither do you? It’s a THOUSAND YEARS.

What is the balance of power going to look like in a thousand years? What is the Empire going to look like? Will there still be slavery? What will the socio-political environment be like?

We don’t know. At the rate history’s been going just the last two hundred years, the situation then might not resemble what we have today all that much.

It’s true that change in the Empire historically moves pretty slowly, but, looking at the course of events since Vak’Atioth, it’s pretty easy to say: “Not anymore!”

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1469

Well, here are the options, Aria:
Either A) They’ll have given up one of the absolute core beliefs of what makes them Amarr, or B)They won’t

Until such time as they demonstrate even a tiny willingness toward (A), I’ll treat them like (B).

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1470

Yeah, I know. You’re one of the reasons I briefly concluded a ways back that I should maximize your casualty rate for the sake of the cluster.

Thanks for talking me out of that, Ms. Vess.

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1471

Until (A), they plan to do it to your homeworld, too.

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1472

See, this is the flip-side of that thing Mr. Ogunkoya was saying: I actually trust the Caldari to protect Achura the way they protect their own.

The State is dedicated utterly, possibly myopically, to its own survival. The Amarr aren’t allowed to spread their faith there, which I have mixed feelings about for pretty much the reasons Mr. Ogunkoya mentioned: I actually DO think my faith would stand the competition (though I worry it wouldn’t. Being correct doesn’t necessarily mean you win). It’s a comfort, but also a bit of a strain on relations. That strain is greatly reduced by the presence of shared rivals (or enemies, if you like).

If in some hypothetical future time, the Reclaiming turns its eyes to the Citadel … we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, but I have confidence the State will prevail. It won’t necessarily be for the right reasons, but, if you dedicate your entire existence to surviving on the level of culture and ethnicity, you’re apt to be pretty good at doing exactly that.

I’m willing to risk it coming to that. I won’t be ruled by my fears. Nor will I limit the possibilities of history and human affairs to binary logic gates.

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1473

See that? We agree. I trust us to protect our kin the way we protect our own.

Lethally.

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1474

Then do as you must, and I’ll do the same. Don’t expect me to call you “friend” at the end, though, Arrendis.

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1475

No problem on that, though I hate to say it but that A or B thing is something we all should worry about. I wouldn’t argue against trying to talk them out of it but I don’t hone my combat prowess for fun… It is a threat, looking at how others on BOTH sides are taking things one would be a fool to not prepare for the worst, my faith in diplomacy by either party is faltering pretty heavily, dont think it ever was a strong faith even when i wished it so wholeheartedly.

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1476

Aria, you value loyalty, right?

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1477

It depends a lot, Arrendis. Like most things.

I hold myself to certain standards-- not because I must, but because that is the kind of person I want to be.

Perhaps it’s because that’s a standard I failed to live up to, in that life I can no longer remember. I was a traitor in that life, and, while it doesn’t seem to have exactly killed her, my predecessor drowned in despair. Her final writings are heavy with depression.

My true loyalty is to my own integrity, my sense of self.

I try not to ask, or expect, too much of others. That isn’t to say I’m unaffected by others’ acts, but, that I try not to attach great moral weight to contexts I can’t see. I try not to judge harshly, if at all.

I accept this world, and my place in it. Even if I say I must kill as many of you as I can, it is only because I have begun to see that as my proper place.

I have a path to walk. What you become in this world, is up to you.

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1478

So, was that a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’? It seems like a ‘yes’, like you value that ‘true loyalty to your own integrity’, for example.

It also seems like you’re reading a lot into a simple question. Do you, or don’t you? I’m asking for this clarification, you see, because I don’t want to go reading things into what you’re saying that aren’t what you mean… the way you seem to have read all sorts of things into the question the first time.

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1479

It’s an “it depends.”

This is where I’m going to sound a little like Ms. Tsukiyo.

I value conformity to the flow of the world-- those who understand their part, and play it. I value treachery in a trickster (but would expect to be betrayed, also), curiosity and rigor in a scientist, clarity in a seeker. Good bread, from a baker.

I value loyalty in one who should show it. As a sworn retainer, I am such a person.

I value my own loyalty.

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1480

Ok. So, you value loyalty in one who should show it.

Knowing what you know of my culture, do you consider me someone who should show loyalty to my people, to my kin and blood, or no?

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1481

That’s … kind of for you to decide, Arrendis. But, as a default, perhaps. It’s not really for me to question, one way or the other.

That’s not really the issue here, though. I don’t want to see the Achura disappear, either. But I don’t insist on horrible, world-savaging wars to protect them.

I don’t believe those wars are necessary.

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1482

Well, see… I tell you what: if the Amarr will actually stop making war on my people, then we can talk about maintaining the peace.

See, loyalty to our kin is expected of all of us. It’s a part of who we are. So, see… if I were the sort of person who would abandon my responsibility to my kin, if I were the sort who would disregard my obligations and responsibilities… would that be someone you should call ‘friend’?

Because it strikes me that the kind of people I would want as friends would be people who take their obligations seriously, people who honor their commitments, even at personal cost.

If you were someone who would abandon your charges for the sake of keeping friends… you wouldn’t be worth being someone’s friend. Even if we have clashes from time to time, even if you support a system that I find reprehensible, your loyalty and your dedication are worth honor and respect. It’s why I’ve never tried to push you to abandon your position, but to use your position to push your employers to re-examine their society’s ways.

So you do what you have to do. And make whatever value judgments you feel you need to.

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1483

Well … a few observations, Arrendis.

There are people who are just doing as they should, given their circumstances, on all sides of most wars. Maybe all wars. There’s a lot of room for people to fall into sad or troublesome circumstances in this world.

What I really hear you saying is that you value loyalty, which, given how things worked with Ali, I kind of knew.

For myself, your loyalty to your kin isn’t for me to judge. Actually it should be pretty clear from other conversations that, if anything, I think you as a culture take it a little too far. There’s no rule that having cruelties inflicted on you means you’ll never be cruel; if anything, the rule of the world seems to be closer to the opposite.

That’s how it was with me. That’s maybe even how it is, and the face I see in my mind’s eye when I reflect on that isn’t The Butcher’s, or Miz’s. It’s yours.

Our clashes haven’t been rare. They’ve been constant, increasing in frequency and intensity until I refused to talk to you anymore. You could barely speak to me without bringing up my loyalties, calling me names, cursing me as a moral coward and whatever else. I warned you long ago that I’m not especially well armored. You chose to ignore or even exploit that.

You hurt me, and said it was for my own good. Don’t think I’ve forgotten.

I don’t need a friend who does such things to me.

Did it ever occur to you that although I always sympathized a little with the Matari cause, and said so, that I was in a difficult position? That even if your arguments worked, I’d never be able to say, even to you? That if I became an activist, my position and those I cared for could be at grave and immediate risk? That if I was going to do anything at all, it would have to be so subtly that not even you would notice?

You riddled me with holes, and never once seemed to consider that all you were being was cruel, that the only change you were making in me, was making me hate you.

And maybe I came to hate your cause a little, too.

■■■■ you for doing that to me.

It’s a little better, lately, and I’m terrible at holding grudges anyway.

Anyway, your loyalties are your own affair, and I’m totally capable of admiring people I have nothing in common with. But if my first impulse upon meeting you in person would be to shoot to kill and take your tongue as a trophy, “friend” might not be the right word.

You overplayed, Arrendis. I don’t think you’ve apologies enough to fix it. But this feeling, too, will pass in time.

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1484

Oh, I hope not. It’s sincere. It’s unadulterated and pure and it’s so very much more real than all of the philosophy you and Tsukiyo construct to fumble your way toward understanding a universe that, ultimately, you just encapsulated perfectly.

No, our clashes haven’t been rare, and yes, I was hard on you. You weren’t nearly as fragile by the end of that as you were at the start. You toughened up.

Part of me finds it darkly humorous, in a way. Not that I find your pain humorous, or anything like that, just… an appreciation for irony.

We were peaceful people. We had left war and violence at any notable scale behind. We had no military force. And then the Amarr came, and of all the things they taught us, in the long run, maybe the most valuable lesson was this: They taught us how to hate. And that gave us the tenacity and the strength to fight back.

So, a lesson learned, a lesson perhaps unintentionally passed on. There’s irony there, and it’s that irony that I find amusing, in a kind of gallows humor way.

But don’t let it fade. It’s real… and more, it’s honest.

This. This right there, Aria. That’s honest, and that honesty is a beautiful thing. Especially when you contrast it with just six hours earlier:

There, you’re telling me that fighting for my people, being violent toward your charges, making war on the Empire, would make you not call me ‘friend’. But it’s not the core truth. It’s an intellectual position, a rationalization and justification. It’s a construction, a scenario…

Now that’s honest. That’s real. Not what I might do to them, but what I have done to you. No hemming and hawing, no qualifications and equivocations the way you speak about pretty much everything else.

Just Truth, right from the core of your pain. Truth beyond any of the shrouding, insulating nonsense philosophy and religion insist on cloaking themselves in. And fairly eloquently expressed, too. But then, Truth is Beauty.

I’m sorry you were hurt. I’m sorry I was cruel to you when I may not have intended to be. Intent months after a fact is a sketchy thing, after all, but I can’t say for certain that cruelty was what I was aiming for. I’m sorry I was cruel to you when I was intending to be. And, you know, if I’m being perversely honest, in a twisted, the-mind-is-a-complex-place kind of way… I’m not.

You’ve gotten tougher, and I’m not sorry that that’s happened. I’m not taking credit, mind… maybe some of the blame, but never credit. That’s all yours.

So hate me, Aria. Cultivate that grudge-holding skill, and hate me with all you’ve got. And hey, I let Diana kick my butt earlier this week, and I’m at 16 days now… who knows? Maybe in another couple of weeks I’ll come let you get that trophy, just so I don’t go deluding myself into thinking I might live for a while before the next me shows up to be terrible to you.

Hang onto that Truth.

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