25 ⚜ Video

[restingstitchface]

[Crane sends the address out at 3pm sharp. He stands hunched against a wall with a bundle of files in his arms. Those with an eye for detail might notice math problems on a public whiteboard on the right; peppered with numerous red corrections that range from simple corrections to veiled insults.]

What affect have our ambassadors had on our lives?

[He turns his attention to the camera, eyes hooded. His tone is calm and polite but with a measure of boredom to it.]

Do we possess the same rights as native people? Does the government provide adequate care? Is it safe where we live? [In Maurtia Falls especially.] Who enacts the laws that rule our lives? Who legislates for education and social security? Ambassadors are our representatives - yet they are intimately acquainted with the culture of our hosts. Does this cozy arrangement mean they are politically trusted because they don't ask questions and challenge official stories? In simple terms, what do our ambassadors do for us?

[His fingertips grasp his chin.]

Also, one last question: who amongst us might earn your future nomination? Count Dooku, perhaps? Now there's a man with a political mind...

[Koma-san June 2016. Never forget.]

Comments

[reexamined]

If you aren't looking for alternatives to this current government, only alternatives to import representation, then that isn't anarchy.

[Which almost sounds like he's agreeing. But really, just stating facts.]

Even if you were looking to encourage more radically orientated Ambassadors to take up office, that still wouldn't be anarchy. That would just be politics.

...Would you want anarchy, if it was a viable option?

[restingstitchface]

[Crane clears his throat. This fellow is blunt to a fault with sharing facts and opinions. His tone stays calm. He doesn't react much to being corrected. He specifically said "almost", after all.]

Yes, but only if you refer to the absolute freedom of the individual.

[The masses chase materialism and spiritualism this way and that to avoid the fact their lives are meaningless. He finds them to be a bundle of behaviors given fuel. Easy to control. Not free at all.]

[reexamined]

I suppose that is really every human's ideal in the end, "the freedom to do whatever they want without consequence," even if it's entirely unobtainable. But that's why I asked hypothetically. I don't have much information in specific political ideologies.

[He's never had a conversation like this before. Most people don't think a droid's opinion is worth much. It's nice, in a way.]

[restingstitchface]

Do you have a specific reason why? A lack of education?

[This person must live a sheltered existence.]

[reexamined]

I've never downloaded it, and it was never a part of my programming.

[Ah, that might have been too much. Well, the conversation was nice while it lasted.]

[restingstitchface]

I see.

[Another robot, he thinks disappointedly. Their minds are unfamiliar. Harder to control because of their lack of chemicals and human limits.]

You are in good company here. It might help you to become somewhat acclimatized.

[reexamined]

[Or easier, depending on someone's skill at hacking.]

As a teacher, do you have access to more information than others? Are there more efficient databanks available for use? I have seen local libraries. They still often use organic materials to store information.

[restingstitchface]

Organic materials are my speciality, I'm afraid.

[There's nothing like a good, musky book! Who needs smartphones?]

Children prefer the internet, these days. Consider it an elecric depository of - too often useless - opinion and information. You will certainly find it preferable to access.

[If you do, you're a heathen who needs to be whalloped with a good book because how dare.]

[reexamined]

[Feh, books. He'd have to scan every page, of every book, and even then, there's nothing to check that information against without scanning more books. History written solely by humans is so subjective. And his hands are so big, he might tear the pages. He wasn't built for turning pages.

He wants to state about how much of a waste of time books are, and having some kind of nostalgia for an outdated form of publication is stupid, but instead he is once again unable to stop his "mouth"-]

This network is on the internet in a sense, isn't it? Are you meaning to imply that using the network to convey your opinion was also useless?

[Sorry Crane, he literally can't stop himself.]

[restingstitchface]

[Crane brushes "him" off.]

No.

[He holds onto his silence for effect whilst through the feed comes the scratch of pen on paper. It lasts for a short while. Then he drops any pretense in the conversation and drives it ahead.]

Do you know Count Dooku?

[Because that was the first issue you replied about, droid. Don't think he didn't notice that.]

[reexamined]

I know of him. He's a historical figure from my galaxy.

[Hello, relentless honesty.]

[restingstitchface]

Historical?

[Past tense usually doesn't bode that well. What might he learn?]

[reexamined]

Have you never asked him yourself? Isn't that the first thing you should do, before backing someone politically?

[Because overall, this might not be a good thing to say so plainly in public, for Dooku's benefit. Not that he has any allegiance to the other, and in fact, should really oppose them. But if really pressed, he really wouldn't be able to help himself, would he?]

[restingstitchface]

Isn't history written by the victor? I've asked him. Now I'm asking you.

[Gossip is good no matter the source. And when somebody's evasive he just has to get stuck in and learn why that is.]

[reexamined]

He was a major conductor of the Separatist War, that lead to the eventual rise of the Galactic Empire, at the cost of the Galactic Republic.

I'm sure I don't need to tell you the difference between the two.

[restingstitchface]

Of course not.

But even within a republic, power rests in the hands of a chosen few. The constant struggle for power and machinations of which are hardly a reflection of the people's aspirations. It is difficult to accept, but sometimes the people favor a strong, unyielding ruler. In short, people prefer order to chaos.

[reexamined]

If the goal for most- if not all- humans is "total freedom without compromise," but there is also a desire for order as opposed to chaos, then that is already a conflict of interest, and cannot be pursued at the same time. Is this true?

[restingstitchface]

No. A being can simultaneously hold two or more contradictory beliefs and values. Humans can be stimulated to reach internal consistency; that inner need to achieve harmony and lessen disharmony. Inconsistant behavior is, well, in my profession we call it cognitive dissonance.

[reexamined]

[Why one would find that kind of internal conflict desirable, he'll never understand. It's also why it's a miracle humans get anything done at all, when they don't even really know what they want most of the time.]

In your profession, you analyze other humans behavior. You gain insight, but what is the benefit for the one you're analyzing? I'm assuming this is an agreement you come to.

[He can stop his curiosity as much as he can stop himself from blabbing.]

And what do you mean "stimulated"?

[He's assuming drugs. That's what most people mean when they use the word stimulated.]

[restingstitchface]

Stimulation. Stimulus. The elicitation of sensory or behavioral response in an individual.

[There's a lot more to it, but that's a simple explanation he's willing to give, since it means he can still focus on everything else he's doing.]

Primarily, controlled by medical experts via the means of events and objects. Medication generally in cases of the latter. [Drugs.] Which would be my speciality...

Threadjacking with permission.

[dun_moch]

[Okay, time to do some damage control here. Another who has seen the rise of an Empire without Dooku... what absurd parallel universe do these people come from?]

I must say that you are quite well-informed, for a droid. But I must say, that you've neglected to mention that the Separatists wage their battle against the growing corruption of the Republic. The rise of this... Empire I have heard of cannot be laid at our feet.

[reexamined]

Oh.

[ That sure is the guy he's been shittalking. But what's worse- ]

...You don't know.

[ It's a good thing this is audio, because his photoreceptors are shifting around in a way that might be considered "nervous." ]

That's unfortunate.

[dun_moch]

I have already been told that the Confederacy is fated to lose the war, if that is what you are referring to.

[He's not going to mention the matter of his own death. He hasn't really brought himself to acknowledge such an absurd thing as a possibility yet.]

[reexamined]

[He wants to know how much Dooku knows. Rather badly, actually. It's more out of morbid curiosity.]

I shouldn't be talking to you.

[Is what he blurts out instead, because that's what he's really thinking about first and foremost.]

[dun_moch]

And why not? What harm could it do?

[Dooku inquires in as innocent a tone as his deep, portentous voice can muster. He wants more knowledge, and this droid has it, even if he doesn't have much in the way of manners.]