dear_mun | Re: possibly sending him to a game.

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Re: possibly sending him to a game.

Humans. You want to send me to a game full of humans.

[Ukiuvak's voice is flat with sheer, utter disdain. He can't glare at a human without inflicting pain on them, but hey, that's what the mask is for.]

You want to send me into a sea of humans so I can do what, exactly? So I can waste my time here rather than guard and defend my people back home? I am not a healer, my scholarly pursuits are nothing of use to anyone outside of my people, and I doubt if I have much value in the eyes of humans. Perhaps you should 'app' someone with a higher capacity for violence. That is what humans find admirable, is it not? Leave me to the Guard and to the High North, where I belong.

Or at least find a place with fewer humans. Is there not a game of - what is that moniker you apply to non-humans? aliens? - is there not a game of aliens I could go to, instead?

And I refuse to even address your joke about 'shipping'. I will stab myself right through the chest before I touch a human bare-handed. Do not test me.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

We're not that bad. [Says the young man who looks more like a deity than a human.]

I have seen what your people do, to each other and to others who were just trying to help. [There's baggage, there, as implied by his tone as he adjusts his gloves, a sort of nervous tic of his he's developed to avoid having to look at people during confrontations.] I am not some zealot who wishes for humans to go extinct, but I would prefer it greatly if I never had to interact with your kind. Peaceful seperation is best.

I admit that humans can be naive and aggressive, but I promise you, the gods are no better. We are reflections of them. [And that is a depressing conclusion that he has been forced to swallow.] What are you - if you don't mind me asking?

Edited 2019-05-10 15:00 (UTC)

...are you under the impression that is reassuring? [It really, truly isn't, and is so far off the mark as to be baffling more than anything.] I am an Ieuqun. Unless you venture into the Arctic, you likely do not know of my people. Many humans living in the Arctic do not know of us, through thousands of years of concentrated effort. Though maintaining that was become more difficult, lately. Humans are an invasive species, in some ways.

No. [His expression and tone are flat. He isn't here to reassure where humans and gods are concerned.] I never left Troy, so I will take your word for it.

Edited 2019-05-10 15:14 (UTC)

I have never left the High North, which adds to my reluctance to go among humans. Ieuqut towns are all I have ever known - all that is safe. To leave would not only be dangerous for me, it would endanger humans. Looking at the uncovered face of an ieuqun has very poor side effects for a human without substantial magical power. I do not wish to harm anyone, even accidentally.

I doubt you could harm me. [He shrugs his slender shoulders, brushing back his golden hair to reveal large equally golden earrings.] I am Zeus's pet. Actually...

[Now he tips his head back, looking around.]

I'm surprised Apollo hasn't followed me.

Your own personal immunity is not the point. The point is, I could endanger people, and I may not like humans, but I have no desire to harm any of you. That is neither right nor fair.

I do not recognize those names. I am not well-educated on matters not pertaining to the three peoples of the Far North; my apologies. [There's a polite sort of small bow, if only out of sheer force of habit. Unlike the slender human (?) in front of him, Ukiuvak is tall, of medium build and swathed in layers of thick, black clothing. There is no ornamentation, be it jewelry or otherwise. A member of the Guard set such things aside while on duty, and frankly, he never had much style to begin with.] I am not entirely hostile to the idea of learning such things should I have to dwell in a human area. I just doubt the wisdom of my being placed in such a situation.

Your wishes are admirable; I understand better now why you said what you did.

[He sits down on the ground, drawing his knees to his chest. Ganymede has long forgotten the comfort of a chair or bed.]

I am curious about the Far North. Other cultures are fascinating, but - [He exhales.] I will only watch, unable to change anything.

Looking upon my people, unmasked, can create hallucinations and dizziness in most humans. They hear things, see things, cannot properly run to remove themselves from the situation. I have never seen a human under the effects, as I take precautions to stay hidden and stay covered, but I have talked with those who have, and it does not sound particularly pleasant.

[Unsure of proper human etiquette, he sits in turn, though he folds his legs underneath himself as he might if he were in an official meeting of some kind. How does one maintain decorum when among such a foreign culture?]

I am not adverse to answering your questions. My own people have eleven main groups throughout what humans call the Arctic Circle, or what my people call the Far North, so our cultures vary somewhat. But I will try to offer insight, if I can. [He tilts his head, a motion of unmistakable curiosity.] Why would you assume the responsibility to change things was on your shoulders to begin with? Wanting to help is admirable, but these conflicts are bigger than you or I. It would be unreasonable to expect you or any other individual human to fix things.

[Look. He's no fan of humans, and in fact he truly dislikes some of the more local ones, but Ukiuvak isn't a jackass. He understands the fact that regardless of species, power structures and hierarchies are universal.]

Maybe you should petition to be allowed to join the Brotherhood of Mutants instead. With your charming personality, I'm sure you'll fit right in.

[Kane's tone is light, without reprimand. He's encountered this sort of attitude enough from the mutant community that it doesn't even really get under his skin anymore.]

I am not a mutant, so I feel fairly certain I am ineligible. And were I not, I would likely still make others uncomfortable by being the odd one out. That isn't exactly my goal in life.

[He appreciates the thought, but it may be a little misguided, in this case. Ukiuvak nods appreciatively at him in an attempt to be polite regardless. Kane meant well enough, after all.]

No? What are you then, some sort of mutant sub-species? [Maybe a fella from his neck of the woods ought to already know about Ukiuvak's people, but Kane doesn't exactly spend a lot of time back home these days. He returns the nod; whatever Ukiuvak is, he's more courteous than he initially came across, and courtesy's rare enough in his business for him to respect it.]

Regardless, sometimes being the odd one out's unavoidable. If that's what it comes to, you've just gotta roll with it until you can get back home.

Edited 2019-05-26 21:15 (UTC)

The Ieuqut are our own species. We have lived in the Arctic for at least five thousand years, and have survived that long living as well as we have by keeping seperate from humans. Interactions between the species only lead to conflict, which I am trying as best I can to avoid.

[He gives a half-nod, conceding the point despite not particularly wanting to.] I do not know if I could roll with it long enough to get back home. If I take this mask off, every human who looks at my face will suffer headaches, hallucinations, and worse - and I cannot prevent that. It's simply part of who my people are. It would likely lead to misunderstandings, which all too often lead to violence when powers such as those are involved.

That's what a lot of mutant believe too. Humans are dangerous, isolation is the answer. Wanna know how well that's working out for them? Try "not well". Interaction's unavoidable in the long run, my man. Better to get ready for it than to pretend it's never going to happen. At least if you decide the whens and hows it can happen on your terms, instead of rolling onto your people's doorstep uninvited.

[He tilts his head, eyeing the mask more curiously than cautiously.] Now that's a mutant power if ever I heard one. How's that work, telempathic projection? Pheromones? Come to the right humans and maybe we can figure it out together. We don't exactly have the best history of cooperation with other peoples, but we're not the same savages we were five thousand years ago either.

Trying to make peace with humans has led to massacres of Qalupalik and Ieuqut. It would be wonderful if selecting the terms of engagement meant preventing violence, but historically, that has not been the case. The Arctic is vast, and ideally, I think it can accommodate everyone in peace if we all stay apart. I wish... [Spirits, but this is difficult to say.] I wish I could believe humans and Iequt could coexist, but I have seen we can't. My brother was killed by humans after helping one back to her town. There can be no basis for peace negotiations out of that level of hostility. And this was not five thousand years ago, it was merely two.

[He blinks behind the mask, tilting his head curiously in return.] What are mutants? Are they a tribe of humans? And to answer your question, these powers are inherent to my people. We do not know the reasons why or how exactly it works, but it works on all other species, both people and animal alike. It is how we hunt and survive as far north as we do.

[The Arctic Circle was a harsh climate, but being able to disarm animals merely by coming into their line of sight was a major advantage. Privately, Ukiuvak has always wondered how humans survive there without those abilities; it is not a welcoming environment, to say the least.]

I see. I'm very sorry for what those people did to your brother. There's no explanation that can answer for that, no matter the time or place. But be that as it may... [And how can he say this without sounding like one of the asshole humans this guy hates?] ... Human expansion is inevitable. It's our nature as a species. The human population five thousand years ago was in the millions, today it's in the billions. Avoidance is only a delaying tactic. If your people only continue avoid ours, our people will only continue to see you as the other. When we do come, it'll be with no regard for your people's welfare.

[He winces at the question and smiles a rueful, half-embarrassed smile.] Mutants are... complicated. Human, but different. An offshoot. Like your people, I think. They have abilities baseline humans don't, some of them can fly, others can shoot fire from their hands or move things with their minds. They're not nearly as old as your people, though. At least not most of them.

[Ukiuvak may believe his people are separate from humanity entirely, but Kane isn't buying it. He's no biologist, but their similarities to humans are too numerous to be a coincidence. And the ghoulish fact is, he works for an agency that would happily dissect Ukiuvak both figuratively and literally to find out the truth.]

Human expansion into the Arctic is ill-advised. The native humans did well enough before the lighter ones arrived, but as they have expanded and 'civilized' the Arctic, the systems that work well in lower territories and warmer climates are clearly failing in the High North. Humans do not do well emotionally up that far north - the suicides are as frequent as the alcohol abuse - and the poverty many end up in is nothing I would wish on my worst enemy. Expansion that results in suffering of that magnitude needs to be halted if not reversed, for the welfare of not just my people but humans. Humans need to act in their own self interest, as my people are acting.

[Perhaps that's a bit standoffish, but it's said with earnest sincerity and not a small amount of concern for humans. His wariness of them doesn't make them any less as people in his eyes. And his interest in mutants is enough that he almost manages to overlook the claim of a connection between the species. Almost. At the very least, the smile and politeness is enough that he doesn't respond angrily as many of his people might.]

Ieuqut may be an offshoot of the Tornrait of what your kind calls 'Greenland'. They have been native to that region for perhaps twelve thousand years, give or take a hundred or two years in either direction due to some complicated record keeping. But each of the Arctic Circle peoples - the Ieuqut, the Qalupalik, and the Tornrait - are visually distinct, have seperate languages, and have sets of powers that rarely vary from small, predetermined sets. We are not of a similar nature to the mutants you describe in variety or in location, among other things.

Admittedly, I will concede that the ability of Ieuqut to have offspring with humans indicates some similarities deeper within, but polar bears can have offspring with grizzly bears and that does not make them the same thing.

[He's not here to tell Kane he's inherently wrong. But in Ukiuvak's lived experience and studies of his people's history, there isn't a lot of supporting evidence. Frankly, the idea that the Ieuqut come from the Tornrait is already a controversial (if fact-based) stance among his people. Suggesting they come from humans is profane. And the terrible fact is, Ukiuvak would take his helmet off and watch Kane writhe on the ground before he ever allowed himself to be captured or killed by humans the way his brother was - and he would not feel as bad if he killed Kane in the process as he would if he'd killed an Ieuqun.]

All of human expansion has been ill advised. The first human explorers that ventured into the Arctic died cold and lonely deaths. It hasn't stopped our species from trying and it won't stop us as our population continues to grow. I myself work for an organization that is looking to expand its holdings further north. Telling them to reverse their plans isn't going to do any good, it's not the human way. We take remote odds as a challenge and push against impossible odds. I don't like telling you this, but you need to know what you're facing. Even if I march back and tell my superiors they need to reconsider their plans, they won't listen.

[There's no small bit of pride there for the odds his people -- and to a lesser extent he personally -- have overcome, but there's also an impassioned plea in his words and voice. Whether these 'Ieuqut' are truly divergent humans or not, he's seen too many times what happens when two inflexible forces meet. He'd rather not see it happen again if he can help it, and not just because he'd be on the front lines of it.]

Mutants are distinct as well, but not in the same way your people are. So far as we know, they're individually distinct, though distinct abilities do seem to run in certain families. You'd have to talk to a scientist for anything beyond that, though. I'm not a scientist and I'm not really a scholar either. If you say your people aren't human, that's enough for me.

[He spreads his hands, palms open in apology, and nods in acknowledgment of that last point. Even if Ukiuvak is mistaken, it's not his job to convince him of it. This is a first contact, and Kane isn't going to botch it up by needling the far northerner.]

Are you authorized to speak on behalf of your people? If you are, you should come back with me. The organization I work for won't help you, but our government might.

The first white human explorers; not to sound as if I wish to start conflict, but the native ones who were in the area prior to white expansion seem to have a better idea of how to manage in the land. Perhaps more efforts should be made to look into the techniques of those who know how to live up there. If expansion is inevitable, it does not follow that poverty must also be. [That is entirely a side point, but by the spirits, the condition of humans is depressing. He has many questions he could ask about how their society works, that it allows such things. He asks none of them, knowing this is not the time or place.] We plan to tell you nothing. Talking at all is largely seen as a terrible idea, because it has been tried by two out of three of the Arctic peoples and has failed resoundingly every time. To be known by humans is to tempt violence and we are, for all our abilities and all our success in hiding, incredibly afraid of you. We've seen what your people do to each other, let alone to others.

[The history of Native Americans/First Nations people in the Arctic is hardly the best advertisement for humanity. There were tribes of humans living their own lives, brutally wiped out, their religions taken away from them and their languages taught out of them. From the vantage point of non-humans, none of it made sense, but it all reaffirmed their stereotypes of humanity as a violent, unloving people who would harm even their own if the whim struck them. All they could do to avoid that happening to them was to maintain a safe distance - what other solution could there be? How else could peace be realized, for anyone? Ukiuvak is not actively trying to be dogmatic. He's just never been in a conversation where any other option was presented as a real, viable one.]

I am not a scientist, either. I am a guard, with a minor background in history and a thorough study of my people's faith. While I am not as much of a literalist as some believers, you would do well to remember that it is baked into the foundation of the faith that we are a distinct people. Some would take poorly to even your well-intentioned, well-worded suggestions. I know you do not mean anything by it, but faith is... it can be a sensitive topic, is what I'm saying.

[Is there a polite way to say that? He's doing his best, shrugging lightly as if to say 'what can you do'. Ukiuvak isn't here to start a fight, either. That is not part of his personality with his own people or with others. Kane seems like an alright man. He deserves a chance to speak his piece, and a heads up on how that might go over with others.]

I am not. I am part of the Aqiavaat Guard, but of the division that patrols the borders of our territory, not any kind of governmental guard. My brother Isruma is an Atanisiq representing our province to the Subruichait, the governing council of the Arctic Ieuqut who advise and speak with the Ataniq. To get to someone who's meant to speak on our behalf you would have to speak to him, and he would have to put forth the question of who to send, if anyone, past the local council to the Ataniq's Circle, if not the Ataniq herself. Her word on the subject would be final, though I suppose you would have better luck with her than the previous Ataniq, all things considered, given her religious leanings.

And I am completely aware of how frustrating that process would be and how obnoxious it sounds, but I am twenty-three years old, a new guard and from a common family in a small town. I would be just as limited by this chain of command as you if I were to propose anything.

With all due respect, we're talking right now. Maybe for the better, maybe for the worse, but we've got to try and make the best of this contact, both of us, if we don't want our respective peoples to clash. I can't keep what I've learned here a secret from my superiors even if I wanted to, because -- because I'm as much machine as I am man. [He looks away at last with that admission, but recovers quickly, or forces himself to look back up. Now isn't the time to dwell on his personal issues.] Maybe you're right about the earlier peoples having a better idea of how to live. But that's just more evidence against your isolationism, isn't it? Your people had a firsthand view of the mistakes our ancestors made. If you can remind us of that, maybe it can keep us from making those mistakes again.

[He's still trying to be diplomatic, but Kane's head is starting to pound. More and more, this is starting to look like a situation way over his pay grade. An undiscovered civilization with a history going back thousands of years, an organized government and fierce religious beliefs.... one wrong step and it's the perfect recipe for a repeat of the same history that Ukiuvak holds humanity in general and his ethnic group in particular in rightful scorn for. Kane knows that history in a general sense, enough to know he doesn't want to see it repeated. But how can it be avoided? It's a depressing realization for him that Weapon X would have no interest in avoiding such a conflict. They'd see the Ieuqut as potential assets and they wouldn't even give them the dignity of an open war. They'd silently dismantle the Ieuqut civilization, if not eradicate it altogether.]

My apologies if anything I've said has been offensive. I'm a soldier and that's all I am. I've never held much with what my people call faith, so please don't take anything I say as a challenge against your people's faith. I don't even know if any of humanity's religions have merit, let alone anything another people altogether believes. I just don't want to see this contact lead to more needless bloodshed.

[The soldier in him can't help but give Ukiuvak a new once-over glance, even as the rest of him still hopes for a peaceful end to this. Given both their ages and professions, he's taking it as a good sign that they haven't started fighting already. That's a fight Kane feels he can win if it comes down to it, but if it comes to that then he's already failed.]

I wish there was more I could do. If it was solely up to me, I would come back with you and hear your people's due process out. That's not an unreasonable request, in my opinion. Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to make that decision. I'm an agent of a special branch of the Canadian government and I'm only a few years older than you.

I want peace in the present as much as you do, believe me. But I would not know where to start, or how. There are no formal rules or procedures in place for contacting another species, for doing what you are proposing. It is a rare Ieuqun who speaks enough English to have conversations with humans at all; most of us speak what your people refer to as Inupiaq. I can see many, many obstacles in this path towards coexistence you want to chart out. How are we to work past them? How have humans worked past those obstacles in the past? Surely we cannot be the only ones you have ever discovered. The historical records I've read from travelers throughout the Arctic indicate a number of other peoples, and as you yourself have pointed out, human encroachment is an ever-increasing thing. There has to be some historical precedent that can be used to make this work, right?

[And then, with utter seriousness:] I am sorry, I do not know that word. What does 'machine' mean? I have heard it referenced before, I think, maybe by a sailor or merchant, but I am merely a guard.

[Ukiuvak is wildly, breathlessly out of his depth here. He has absolutely nothing approaching diplomatic training, political expertise or authority. His older brother does, and perhaps his sisters would have some advice, but they are all gunshy in the wake of the loss of their eldest brother. His knowledge of humans is limited by his people's own limited interactions with them. Diplomacy, negotiations with humans, revealing to them that there was an entire other group of people in the High North all along, navigating the accidental insensitivies and complications of peaceful coexistence when some Ieuqut hated humans outright and most others were wary? He's not the right guy for this. He's a scholar who turned into a guard who's barely managing this conversation.]

It is alright. I doubt if I will manage not to say anything offensive during this. We do not know enough of each other's peoples or beliefs to avoid some of these moments. I would say you're doing quite well, given the pressure of the situation. And your heart is in a good place, and I believe you to be acting in good faith. That is enough for me.

[Ukiuvak's gloved hands make no move at all towards his sword. It's still firmly tied to his side, and he keeps it that way. In any case, his magic would be enough to give him an edge if it came down to it, which he could use to disarm the man long enough to kill him. He hates thinking like that. Ukiuvak has never killed anyone, of any species.]

You could. Come back with me, I mean. It is not as if they could track you if we took the underground caverns and waterways back, and then I could get you in contact with my brother. Isruma would be willing to pass on your concerns. Actually, if we made good time we might be able to make it to the capital in time for the Festival of Iugavik. The Ataniq takes commoners seeking advice into her council building then - we could go right to her, ask for an audience. It could work. Your superiors would be angry, most likely, but if it avoids conflict, war and bloodshed, then that is worth it, isn't it?

[This is a terrible plan. It is also the first viable solution either of them have had all conversation. How hard would it be to get Kane a spare mask and some Ieuqut clothes to wear? He could journey to the capital virtually unnoticed in the crowds, and of all Ataniqiit, the current one is perhaps the least hostile to humans in three generations. Her allegiance to the sun goddess and steadfast belief in choosing one's own destiny would make her receptive to a soldier turned peace seeker and a guard turned amateur diplomat.

It could work. It could fail, yes, but it's not entirely impossible, and that's the best anyone can hope for when it comes to this.]

Maybe. Don't forget we're basically just two grunts -- if a peace agreement is hashed out, it'll be by people way over both of us. But there's possible historical precedent. The Savage Land -- that's an artificial tropical territory on the other side of the planet just about in Antarctica -- was given international recognition by the U.N. as an autonomous region governed by its own indigenous human tribes. Smaller regions have been granted a more limited autonomy, like the Andaman Islands and Nunatsiavut in Canada. Of course, not everyone is going to be interested in recognizing your people's claims. The lands your people claim, if I understand their location correctly, are currently contested between the eight Arctic coastal nations. That's a nasty setup for a power grab if it's played wrong, but Russia's the only one of those eight nations I can see really making a naked land grab at the expense of your people.

[He nods, then, understanding. He'd expected it, and there's really no spoken explanation that could suffice for someone who's never heard the words 'prosthetic' or 'cybernetic' or 'technology' before. In truth, Kane himself only barely understands how his replacement limbs work. So instead of even going for the spoken explanation, he just demonstrates visually: triggering the synthorg transfer, his arms both morph from their pink flesh camouflage to their true states: silvery metal bionics, of the same shape as the human limbs he lost but drastically different in both composition and function.]

This is what it means. My legs, too. I lost all of my limbs on a mission and the government branch I work for grafted these onto me. They work like the ones I was born with but they make me much stronger. Faster, too. That's why I'm the one way they sent all the way out here.

[Kane knows that's a pretty sorry excuse of an explanation, but right now that's the best he's got for Ukiuvak. By all rights he shouldn't even be having this conversation. The Ieuqut is an agent of an unrecognized state with no legitimacy currently recognized by any human nation. He already knows what the Director would expect of him from this situation: order Ukiuvak to surrender himself, and if he refuses to comply, pacify him and bring him back. But this is so much bigger than the Director, or Department K, or even Weapon X itself. This is an entire civilization at stake. Multiple civilizations, maybe, if those other Arctic Circle peoples Ukiuvak told him about are still around. He's never wanted to be more than a soldier, but he has to be something more than one now, unless he wants to be the man who doomed a ten thousand year old people.]

Thank you. I appreciate that courtesy, seeing as how I'm the stranger currently intruding into your people's territory. You don't really know me and I don't really know you, but if we can come to an understanding between the two of us, maybe our peoples can come to an understanding as well.

[Kane's hands, gloveless now that it's revealed that he has no need of gloves, hang at his sides. He's seemingly lightly armed, with only a sidearm at his belt, but perhaps Ukiuvak understands now that a person like him has no need for heavier weapons. With his arms, he essentially is a weapon. And it's precisely because he has killed before that Kane is so acting so carefully to keep this situation from degenerating into a fight to the death now.]

That's... a hell of a risky plan. My superiors would be more than angry, they'd send other agents out looking for me. Agents a whole lot meaner, and a whole lot crazier, than me. They'd realize there's more up here than meets the eye, too, even if they wouldn't know the specifics. They wouldn't be able to track me through any underground passages, but unless your people live entirely underground, I'd pop up on their radar again once we re-emerged topside, unless I remove my tracking chip implant. And then they'll know I've gone rogue... unless...

[Is he really seriously considering this? This is beyond a terrible plan. This risks Weapon X unleashing the worst of its stable of homicidal maniacs into the Ieuqut territories, with orders to bring him back and kill anyone or anything in their way. But... these people have evaded detection this long, haven't they? If he warns them of what to expect, maybe they can avoid the agents, or send them on pointless circle chases. And in the meantime, he might just have enough time to see through whatever plan Ukiuvak has in mind.]

... You know what, never mind 'unless'. Are you sure about this? You've got plenty to lose here too. If we're found out before we reach your brother, you'll be... what, a criminal to your people?

Grunts can become more important and influence important people. If we are to consider the future, we should try not to disregard hope entirely right at the start. My people's territory extends from the edge of what you call Russia through to Alaska and Canada. Some Tornrait live in Canada and Greenland, but I would leave that negotiation to them. This will be complex enough to figure out with a single species. Are there any records you could give me pertaining to the negotiations of the autonomy of other areas, such as the Savage Lands? It could help to review those rulings, if copies can be obtained, in order to better support my people's case.

[He's grateful for the mask, which hides his surely shocked expression. Disgust isn't exactly the right word for what he feels as he tries to process what he's seeing. Honestly, without context, he can barely understand what's in front of him. There is something beautiful to it, in a way, yet also unnatural, too, in a way that indicates necessity. The metal is not unlike what humans use in the construction of other things he's seen, mostly in pictures, but the control over it and ability to conceal it is wholly new to him.]

I... do not understand how those work. I am not well versed in technology. But still, I am glad that you have those. Even to my untrained eye, it's obvious that this has helped you get around in the world, which is a very good thing despite how little I know of how it works. And if it allows you to experience more of the beauty of the north, then so much the better.

[The explanation does not have to be fully complete. Amputees are not an unknown concept to a people who live in such cold conditions. Whatever helps is a blessing. This is scarcely short of a miracle, really. And with circumstances being what they are, for the human man to open up about his injuries and how he's been healed is quite the gesture. It's a lifeline of sorts, a way to show that humans suffer in the same ways Ieuqut do, have pain and recovery and can be uncomfortable with themselves. For lack of a better word, in English, it is humanizing. All of this is surprisingly good insofar as looks into the minds of humans go. Kane has made up with honesty, openness and lack of pretension whatever he might lack in terms of diplomatic training. If a single random human was picked by the spirits to facilitate this, they could do a lot worse. They are perhaps not the single worst people of their respective species to try to negotiate for the futures of their people. They're on an equal enough level, with genuine concern for all sentient life.]

Understanding is always possible. In the past, it was not unheard of for individual humans to be on good terms with an individual Ieuqun. There's not reason we couldn't recreate that. They likely had just as little insight into each other then as we do now. Perhaps we should begin with our names? I am Ukiuvak Taksruk-Akiougaq. What is your name?

[The question is nearly comical given the severity of the situation at hand. Still, his posture is less guarded by now than it was at the start of the conversation. Though at 6"4, Ukiuvak is a bit short for one of his people, he thinks perhaps that might work in his favor. People tend to underestimate him. He has learned that no amount of weaponry can save someone who is incapable of focusing enough to fight; it would be a close match, if not a victory outright. And if that's a lie he's telling himself to try to get around just how little he wants to fight this man, well, no one is ever perfectly honest in life.]

We could get to the capital entirely via underground travel, yes. We have no topside dwellings. Here and there waterway travel is necessary, but we try to stick to the rivers below-ground when possible. There are ways around ever having to set foot up above. I have the money for food, and my father works in shipping. He could help us plan a route. The risks are still real, I know. I know I am asking a lot. But I know the Ataniq will reward you for your service to your people and mine, and I would be more than willing to aid you in any way I can to make this work. We have a civilization of nineteen million hanging in the balance. We have to try.

[This is so much bigger than them. There are many innocent people with their lives on the line, people who have no hatred of humans, who have lived in gentle harmony with the land, who want nothing more than continued secrecy in which to enjoy the bliss they find in traditional life. They've learned how to apply their powers to keeping themselves hidden and have lived without disrupting humanity for a long time. Surely Kane can see how little they deserve the threat of human encroachment. They're not all flawless, in fact Ukiuvak would argue there's still great social issues among his people that need to be addressed, but they aren't monsters. They aren't the prowling menace old Inuit tales made them out to be. Ukiuvak isn't a monster; like Kane, he is a soldier trying to do his best with what life has dealt him.]

I would not be a criminal if I claimed to be transporting you under the Abavsra Memorial Law. It's an old law, but it states human spouses of an Ieuqun individual can be permitted entry into any Ieuqut territory and town for the sake of their own safety. We would have to tell some creative lies, but I would be seen as doing my duty as a guard, not as a criminal. That I have human ancestry six generations back would make my being the one to escort you to your theoretical wife would add extra credibility.

Edited (html fail) 2019-05-27 06:23 (UTC)

I have the clearance, at least for now, to access those records. Actually accessing them is a different story. That would require us to travel back into human civilization, or at the very least to reach the outskirts of a human settlement that has some sort of Internet access -- ah, that's a long story, so just bear with me on this. In your work as a guard, did you ever witness or receive reports of an area where humans unspooled a great length of cable into the ocean -- preferably within the last twenty years? Satellite access would be easier to get to, but it's slow and there's no guarantee we could access the records you need that way.

[He knows a lot of what he just said will probably be incomprehensible to the Ieuqut, but if he's understanding the situation correctly, they're facing a very tight timetable here. And that's good in a way, because that's how he works best, with a deadline so tight there's no time to stress over the little things. Certainly focusing on how to get those records offers him an escape from wondering what Ukiuvak's reaction to his now-exposed prosthetics is behind that mask of his. He feels, as he always does when forced to reveal his secret, exposed and indecent.]

That's a long story too. Long enough to make explaining the Internet sound easy. Just take my word for it that they work. I don't understands the whys or hows myself, but I've been using them now long enough to know they're reliable. And, luckily for us, I'm the only agent equipped with them. Anyone else Department K sends is going to be hoofing it the traditional way. That should give us a solid lead on them as long as we don't get bogged down getting those negotiation records.

[Opening up like this isn't his traditional way of solving problems, and if Kane's being honest with himself, he'd almost prefer a knock-down drag-out fight. That at least he could get over and done with quickly, without worrying about any glances of disgust, or worse, pity, in the aftermath. But his experiences in the mutant community taught him that sometimes a move like this is necessary -- a baring of personal vulnerability to reach across the other side of a line and find some common ground for himself and another to stand on. By doing this instead of throwing a punch, lives may be saved. But it still feels indecent, and so once he's satisfied that Ukiuvak has seen what he needs to see he hastily recloaks his arms in the façade of flesh, in the manner of a man hastily drawing his pants back up.]

Not always. Sometimes someone gets pushed too far -- human, mutant, or Ieuqun -- and they're not willing to take a chance on understanding anymore. I'm glad we met before that happened to you. You've been pushed too much already. [And then, just like that, it hits him: Ukiuvak's right. They've been talking all this time, and didn't know each other's names. The lingering embarrassment slides off him and he shakes his head in an almost laughing disbelief before turning to face Ukiuvak Taksruk-Akiougaq., whose name he now knows fully, once more.] My name's Garrison Kane. Codename Weapon X. Kane to most folks, Gar to my friends. You can call me whichever one of those you want, Ukiuvak.

[He takes a step forward, extending an open hand in that (he hopes) most universal of bipedal gestures, the handshake. At 6'2" Kane's easily the shorter of the two of them, but he's not intimidated or bothered by Ukiuvak's height. He's spent practically his whole life around giants, half his old team edged close to seven feet tall. He's fought giants too, but he's as sure now he won't need those skills today as a soldier ever can be sure of such a notion. For all his tough talk earlier, Ukiuvak is much more willing to meet him halfway than most mutants have been over the years.]

A subterranean society...? Of course. No wonder your people have evaded detection this long. And there's no concern of my being tracked by my Department K superiors if the path and destination are both underground. If there's a number of rivers we should reach the closest one you know of, that way we can break our scent trail and keep K's mutant tracker from picking up our trail. [He nods, to himself as much as to Ukiuvak.] It could work. Doesn't mean there aren't still risks, but it could work. All right, I'm in.

[He'll probably be drummed out of K for this at the very least. At the worst, they'll try to repossess his arms and legs. But Ukiuvak's right, they have to try. He has to try, even if it means sacrificing everything he's got. How exactly they'll pull this off even if everything they've discussed so far goes as planned, he doesn't know. But it's not like this is the first mission he's charged into with just a goal and no idea of how to reach it. Take it as it comes, that's all they can do. He has an ally here. An ally, a goal, a plan. Get the records, lose their scents, reach the Ataniq. They can do this. They have to do this, because there's nineteen million lives at stake. No room for failure when the stakes are that high.]

So that's my cover story if we run into any suspicious Ieuqut along the way? Okay. I can roll with that. Just one question: what do I do if they start asking me personal questions about this Ieuqun wife I don't have? That's what I would do in their shoes... assuming they wear shoes. Also, won't they expect a certain familiarity with your people's language from me? We've been speaking English so far, but you said before that not many of your people speak that language. We don't have time for an Inupiaq cram session, but maybe it'd be a good idea to give me an abridged notes version as we go.

Edited 2019-05-28 02:30 (UTC)

Ah, right, that's the human equivalent of the ikimayabakiit my people use to transmit messages, images, music and text documents across the provinces, right? Or at least, that is my understanding of it, that your cables serve the same purpose as our crystals. We do not use what you do, but I have heard of that in archived reports. And I am sure that what you speak of is different simply based on the fact it was created by another species, so my ability to grasp exactly what you intend to do is a little off. But essentially, you want to access archives of some sort via your 'internet', yes?

[He's trying his best to keep up with this conversation. There are massive differences in what they're discussing. Pictures being sent through an ikimayabak is a relatively recent breakthrough in crystal based technology. It's certainly beyond his ability to understand as someone who has never learned about technology in-depth; his studies focused in history, not in science and certainly not in human science. But they're in a bind, here. They need to work with what they have, and what they have is a limited timetable, a lot of pressure and a language barrier that's only going to intensify as they keep going.]

I feel like my people would have some very strong ethical and religious objections to having access to those sort of limb replacements and not making that available to everyone. Fortunately that is a hypothetical discussion for another day. You are right, though. The climate is hardly what humans find natural, and the moon's phase is in my people's favor. We have some things working for us, if perhaps not as much as we would like.

[Oddly, that gesture translates well. No Ieuqun would want to show his bare face to someone he scarcely knew, even if it were possible to show it to a human. He's certainly scrambled to put his mask back on more than once in his life, if only due to his own timidity in regards to the concept of near-nakedness. This entire day is full of surprises, it seems. He hopes that their ability to connect in this context means they might be able to become, if not friends, at least comfortable working together. Ukiuvak has never been the most charming of his people, but he's amicable enough.]

I am very aware of how people can get pushed too far. My main area of study is history, and there are reasons why no one else lives in Tornait territory. But we are not primitive people acting on misconceptions and idealized concepts of justice and revenge. We will manage this better than people have managed it in the past. And besides, my brother... my brother would have wanted me to give you a chance. That was who he was, so that is how I should honor his memory. [His brother died protecting a single human. He gave his life to try to save someone he didn't know. Ukiuvak doesn't know how better to honor that sentiment than to mend things between their peoples.] I refuse to call you 'Weapon X' on principle, so I hope Kane will do. My people use nicknames differently than yours, but if you wish to get less formal, I am sometimes called Kaiva, by close friends and family. That might be useful during our travels to give the impression we've known each other for longer than we have.

[Oh! He's seen humans do this and read about it as well. The actual motions are a bit ill-practiced and awkward for him, and his grip may be too tight, but Ukiuvak appreciates the thought and understands the gesture. Up close, it becomes clear that Ukiuvak has longer fingers than a human, and that more of his height is in his legs than it would be if he were human. He takes a step back from Kane afterwards to try to ensure the soldier doesn't feel he's intruding on his space. Hostility is all too easily read into these situations in such accidental ways, he can't help some overthinking. Sheer force of habit has him pressing his dominant hand over the center of his chest and bowing at the waist, as he would in a more normal Ieuqut meeting.]

We go up above to hunt, especially in winter, and to do some trade by ocean with the Qalupalik. Patrol guards go up above more often than most. Many of my people have never gone above ground, though, particularly in recent times as we've become more adept at storing food. Most Ieuqut will not know enough of humans to question you too closely, nor enough to see the flaws in any answers you give them.

[Ah. Well, that's a very valid question. Faking a marriage is a complicated trick to pull, even if they only need it for so long. Ukiuvak knows very few women well enough to falsify their information on paperwork or to curious travelers they may meet along the way. In fact, the only women he knows that well-]

We're telling them you will be marrying one of my sisters. Piqaluyak-Iggabri is close to your age and Sulukuiit has just reached it, and I know all the details people will ask you for. Sulukuiit is also a student of literature and languages, which might add a layer of credibility to the tale, though she is also the one most likely to murder me if this ever gets back to her.

[There are nineteen million people who need their lives more than his sister needs her reputation. That's an awful thought to have, almost comically evil, but she will have to live with it and just kill him afterwards. This isn't something he's doing just to torment his youngest sister, he's trying to help all Ieuqut. He gives Kane a disapproving shake of the head at the shoe comment. Not only do Ieuqut wear shoes, boots and masks are the key pillars of Ieuqut fashion. We're both going to die of embarrassment before we clear the province lines, he thinks, but doesn't say. The thought about fashion makes him realize they'll need to go over a lot of extremely basic information in excruciating detail. Language is nearly an afterthought at this point.]

Ataniq Kasima-Aani speaks English, our dialect of Inupiaq, two other Ieuqut dialects, and Tornrait Uqayalluq. A point of pride for her is not having to rely on translators whose political agendas she cannot be sure of. I will do my best to teach you as much vocabulary as we can cram in along the way, but Her High Authority will be able to converse with you in a tongue you're both fluent in. Past that, we just need you to be able to hold quick conversations, tell people where you are from and profess your undying love for whichever of my sisters we decide is the more convincing lie to go with.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Re: possibly sending him to a game.

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