A Species of Contradictions

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What can I say of humans?

I would say that they are a contradictory species. They are beings capable of great kindness, but at the same time predisposed to actions of ruthlessness that many of my people cannot even begin to fathom. They are a nigh unstoppable force united, but keep themselves fractured in times of peace. They are creatures of habit, yet adaptable to the most staggering of changes in their environment. Yes, humans themselves will always remain a mystery to the Coalition because there is not a single aspect that all humans possess that truly defines them. It is easy to call them stubborn, but in reality that only applies to their leaders, for there are many humans that have easily integrated into the Coalition society. At the same time, however, there are far more humans that keep to UPN space, not unwelcoming to those of the Coalition, but also in no hurry to join our great society.

Perhaps it stems from the nature of human culture itself. In the times before the Second Galactic Civil War, human society kept itself isolated from the influence of the Rezenaga Empire. Before the formation of our own Coalition, we had assumed that there would come a time where they too would be subservient to the privileged class of Rezenaga that ruled over us, but for some reason they were kept relatively alone. Perhaps it was due to the rate of their expansion. Unlike the Rezenaga’s far-reaching and quick subjugation of the Galaxy through strength, the humans own efforts in colonization were slow and meticulous. Humans have an odd respect to the concept of borders, and in their efforts to expand in an already crowded Galaxy, they merely kept to the systems that were closest to their own home system of Sol. As a result, the amount of planets in the Galaxy that are solely human are in fact very miniscule in comparison to the Coalition and Empire species. However, as evidenced by their conflict with the Empire, penetration into human space is an endeavor that seems improbable as best. However, that really only applies to war, since the Coalition still makes entreaties for humanity to completely integrate itself into our ranks, truly making us a group of species that stand equally amongst one another.

Yet… the humans resist these offers of unity, instead preferring the independence of their own systems. We are free to go into human systems and spread our message of unity, but these… missionary missions into their space produce meager results. Even the labeling their space as the UPN has drawn the ire of many humans, since according to them the UPN is merely a small body of power in comparison with their actual territories. Yes, the humans themselves are not united in their entirety. In reality, there are many “nations” among the human star systems, their origins being from their homeworld of Earth. I do not understand why that is however, for even during my travels through human space I found that many of these nations held many of the same core ideologies and beliefs. The only differences between each nation was that the traditions and religions they practiced often had many variations amongst each other. There was no complete isolation from one another either, for I could find the citizens of other nations frequently traveling between planets and interacting with others as if it were the most casual thing in the world. Marriages between citizens of different nations was common, and it was not rare to find people that held dual or even triple citizenship to different nations. It is a concept of nationality that makes no sense in comparison with the Coalition, which unites its people under one banner, one power, and one system of beliefs. Even the UPN merely acts as a convenient body for the human territories to represent all of them across the Galaxy, but beyond that it holds very little power over these sovereign systems.

The humans, however, handle these variations amongst each other like it were the most natural thing in the world. In fact, they seem to relish in these differences in one another, frequently comparing and discussing their differences in culture, beliefs, and values. As such, debates are a constant in human society. At times such conversations could get very heated, yet by the time the conversation was done they would be cordial like nothing had really happened. Human social spheres were more likely to be filled with people that challenged one another, even if their ideals were aligned, and their society seems to operate of the constant clash of ideals, which I believe could be the main reason that they as a whole are so resistant to our own. To us, the humans are an oddity, a highly inefficient society that spends its time on needless competition when it could be united under the Coalition's own proven ideals of togetherness. To the humans, however, the Coalition is merely another set of values that they would respect and discuss ideals with, but not submit to. We were merely like any one of their “nations” and not a system of government that controlled a quarter of the Galaxy.

Of course, I cannot be so naive as to believe that the Coalition came to being without the aid of the humans. Without the humans, it is very possible that we would still be under Rezenaga rule. At the time it seemed as if the humans were much like the Coalition, united under one banner and one force to fight back against a force that wished to destroy them. They were like kindred spirits to our own struggles, and had driven the Empire back just as they were about to crush us. We did not go to aid the humans in their war, and had let them finish their conflict with the Rezenaga before truly associating ourselves with them. It was the only sensible thing for us to do, since we barely had any semblance of a force with which to aid them. However, it was during the signing of the Treaty of Itraxy that we realized that the humans were of a different mind. We wished to crush the Empire in that moment, to settle on a set of terms that, if not put them under our rule, would leave them crippled and weakened for years to come, but the humans did not agree with such measures. Instead they spared the Empire, letting them keep enough power to stay functional, but allowing us our own sovereignty as well. It was an arrangement none of the Council was truly happy with, but one that we could not really challenge. After all, it was not us that had defeated the Rezenaga, it was the humans. Still, after the Treaty we had assumed our new alliance with the UPN meant their membership into the Coalition was merely a matter of time. There have been motions to do so, but the nations of human space have resisted us at each meeting to discuss this subject. So, in the fifty years after the war, the humans are still a wholly independent species. One with a friendly relationship with our people, yes, but still resistant to the idea of unity.

I cannot truly say they are wholly against unity, however, for their pride in their nationalities leads me to believe that they are a people that are united in smaller groups across their space. If there is anything that the humans wholly agree on, it is that pride in one’s nation is nothing to be ashamed of, and that if any nation were to come out ahead of one another, there would be a share of cordial congratulations among them, and then the other nations would then be driven to catch up with whatever nation was pulling ahead. They called this the “Good Neighbor” policy, in which they would leave the business of nations to themselves, but not hesitate to help one another in times of great need, such as the war with the Rezenaga.  It was a system that continuously built itself up, using the forces of competition to bring about a change, but still held an aspect of altruism that did not leave many nations underdeveloped. Humans had, in effect, turned conflict into a vehicle of development, and while I must admit that it is an effective force for change, the chaotic aspect to such competition brings in alarming comparisons to the Rezenaga’s own competitive nature. Allowing such competition would eventually establish some sort of hierarchy would it not? So why would they not instead accept the equality and normality of Coalition society?

The Coalition is of the belief that no species is superior to one another, and to achieve this sense of equality there must be no discrimination of outcome in any aspect of our society. Every member of our society is entitled to the basic needs needed to survive, and should be allowed to purchase what they want, when they want, within reason. It is a happy society, in which all species held equal weight in the Council’s considerations. We could not allow ourselves to fall into the cycle of conflict once again, for in doing so we would be no better than the Rezenaga that once ruled over us. We are a society that thrives on its diversity, not one that bends to the authority of a privileged species. Competition among us would only result in the disproportionate representation of species across different fields of work, which resulted in a less diverse, less unified environment for all. We have tried numerous times to relay these concerns to the humans upon taking a look at their culture, but every time we have been, for the most part, ignored. Even the humans that attempt to integrate with our society seem to possess a lower sense of satisfaction than those that lived in human space, and have a tendency to challenge our policies and quotas. I cannot even say that it is limited to the humans themselves, for even the other species of the Coalition that have taken up residence in human space have been recorded to have higher levels of self-efficacy and esteem.

Why this is I cannot say, for the need for this equal, diverse society comes from the numerous records we have discovered of the Timeless Ones, or Faar’Shaar as they like to call themselves. Within their histories we learned that they were beings from Andromeda, one that, from inferences we can draw through their texts, thrived as a society that embraced unity and equality for all. In doing so, they became a society capable of traversing Galaxies, capable of bending the laws of physics to suit their needs. It makes sense to pursue this example of a progressive society in order to reach such great heights ourselves, and is also something we have frequently relayed to the humans in order to understand our reasons. But still, the humans resisted this message. They were interested in certain aspects of the the Faar’Shar’s technologies, but any inquiries into their societal functions applied only to the applications of said technologies. The occasional archeologist would be interested in their histories, yet even that was only a scholarly interest, one that merely wished to know, rather than be.

I must stress that humans that are not resistant to change, if their history is anything to go by. But their method of change is far more… grounded than the Coalition’s own idealistically driven view of society. They are both bold and cautious at the same time, following a set of ideals to guide their policy but at the same time using the vehicle of competition to drive themselves forward to keep themselves in line with one another. Their own people have their essential needs met, but instead of being given the funds to purchase anything of leisurely value they work for it, resulting in what we see as an unequal distribution of these resources. Yet… they do not seem to care about this, as seen in the following conversation:

Missionary: Do you not all see what you are capable of being? There is inequality to your society, one that results from the failure of your system to make sure all of your receive your fair share.

Pedestrian: What is this “fair” share exactly?

Missionary: Excuse me?

Pedestrian: What’s “fair” in your eyes? Thats kind of subjective don’t you think? What I think is fair could be completely different than say… that guy right there.

Pedestrian #2: He’s right you know, if life were fair I’d be the one with the hot wife.

Pedestrian: What’d you say Bob? You got a problem with me you say it to my face.

Pedestrian #2: Maybe I will, maybe I’ll swing by your place later and chat up the missus, better keep an eye out.

Pedestrian: I’ll be doing more than that in a minute.

[Laughter]

Missionary: People please! Let us focus shall we? Do none of you feel that you’ve been suppressed by your own society? That the people that have more than you have an unfair advantage that results in this inequality?

Pedestrian #3: They question here is, why should I care?

Missionary: Would you mind elaborating?

Pedestrian #3: Why should I care if someone else has more than me? Hell, my sister outearns me by the millions, but I never thought that she had any advantage over me. In fact, I’m happy for her. Girl is a hard worker. I if I wanted to, if any of us wanted to, we’d could work just as hard and make just as much. But honestly? If I have enough for me and my family to live a comfortable life then that’s enough.

[Murmurs of agreement]

Missionary: What if these people who have more than you decided that you should never have these opportunities? What if they close the door behind them, leaving you all behind?

Pedestrian #3: Then we open that door back up, and if they seal it off we blow the damn thing off its hinges.

[Whoops from the crowd]

Pedestrian #3: What I’m saying here is that we all don’t need the same thing. Thats boring, as long as we all have the opportunity to better ourselves, then that's really just on us to do anything right?

Missionary: Do you all believe your system will allow that? That the people above you—

Pedestrian #3: Stop with all this “above you” nonsense. What, just because someone makes more than me all of the sudden they’re better than me? That’s bullshit, some trillionare isn’t going to have any more say than I do just because they can buy some fancy space cruiser.

Missionary: No, but with money comes influence, influence that could be used to shackle all of you where you are.

Pedestrian #3: If it comes to that then we just change the system to remove those shackles, not take away what other people have earned.

Missionary: Do you believe you are capable of that sort of change? Would it not be better to equalize the wealth amongst your people for mutual prosperity, to prevent any undue influence from those that have more than you?

Pedestrian #3: I believe it because we’ve done it plenty of times in the past, and, like I said, that sounds boring. Why should I take away what someone else has because I don’t have it? If I really wanted it I’d go out and earn it myself. Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of corrupt bastards out there, but there are far more of us than there are of them.

[Murmurs of agreement]

Missionary: I see…

What I can gather from this conversation is that a human’s own happiness comes from the fact they earn their position in life through their own hands. Many do not care if someone has more than them, and instead leave themselves to their own devices. In the eyes of the Council, it makes them a perpetually imperfect species, one that pursues an impossible goal of perfection through flawed methodologies. However, we cannot say that their ideals do not produce results, since this constant state of competition with one another applies to their interactions with many species across the Galaxy. Never have I seen another species communicate and compete with the Thulus in the Poros Systems so efficiently, and their own might against the Rezenaga is something that has always made the other species hesitant to start any conflict against them. They are a species that defies all logic, yet at the same time present their ideas in a seemingly logical and profound way.

In no way should such a chaotic society work, yet it does, and I realize that this could be due to the fact that the humans must have resolved much of their societal differences before they truly began to reach for the stars. That not only explains their societal dynamics, but also the effectiveness of their technology since they must have been continuously developing even during such times of conflict. Humanity may have been late in expanding across the Galaxy, but by no means were they any less developed than we were. As a result, they prove to be a highly resilient species in the face of the rest of the Galaxy. The reason I believe they settled their own differences long ago is because humans possess far more variation amongst themselves than other species do in the Galaxy. In resolving the differences between their “races” the humans have adapted a mentality of selective apathy. What I mean by this is that when questioned about any potential differences of race amongst their species, the humans tend to respond that they do not care about such things. Instead they “let the cards fall where they fall,” as they say. To them, this apathy is the great equalizer, and one that makes them more open to other species as well, since they do not seem to care about that either. It is strange, they seemed to shudder at the idea of a group identity, but are perfectly fine with having pride in the nations they live in. Their society balances both individualism and collectivism, moderating the needs of the self with the needs of the society. This allows them to operate not only as separate entities, but also as parts of the whole if the need arises. It is a system that is highly reactive, bringing about unity in times of turmoil but also individuality in times of peace. But, would it not be better instead to be united at all times? To use that togetherness as the pathway to progress and prosperity for all?

Perhaps I will never know, for the humans to this day remain rigid in their variability, and I cannot see them changing anytime soon, try as we may.

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