Exchanging Pleasantries

[Deux]

Deux rubbed the palms of his hands against his face. He did not like the feeling hopefully he wouldn’t have to try and control his negation anytime soon. Then again if he wanted to get any semblance of endurance for the task he would have to practice. Groaning he sat up and decided that practice could wait, maybe several days.

“No,” he answered and looked at Kaden. He was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. “There are guards standing outside the brig but I don’t know if they would run a message to the kitchen.”

Taking a moment to gather up what energy he had Deux stood and walked to the brig door. He opened the door and looked at one of the guards playing a game, “Is food coming soon?”

The man shrugged and put his cards down, “I’ll go find out.”

“Thank you,” Deux nodded before heading back to his spot in front of Kaden’s cell. “A man is going to the kitchen. I don’t know if he’s bringing back food,” he told the prisoner.

He sat down slowly and blinked wearily. Finally he laid on his side and curled into himself. If food came maybe he would get up or Kaden could just eat it. Deux wasn’t that hungry, just tired.

[Kaden]

Kaden watched as Deux tried to throw off the fatigue that attempting to control his negation effect had left him with. Giving up, the boy curled into a ball and, as far as Kaden could tell, went to sleep.

As he watched Deux Kaden felt an emotion he was having a hard time putting a finger on. Whenever he tried to put it into words the only ones his mind would supply him with were that Deux reminded him of a cat. That was hardly a description of an emotion but it was the closest thing to an emotional truth that he could come up with. He decided to leave it alone for now. His emotions would make themselves known to him when they were good and ready and not a moment before or so a lifetime's (albeit a short lifetime) worth of experience taught him. He thought about following Deux's example but he was too hungry to fall asleep.

Deciding to hold out for food he set himself to another task. He closed his eyes and located the source of the draining feeling he'd felt and attempted to block it. It was nearly impossible. There was nothing in his past that directly prepared him to attempt to mentally control a power he didn't understand nor knew the source of. He kept losing track of the source of the draining feeling and had to look for it again before he could even attempt to block it.

He almost wished he'd undergone some of the training other pilots had gone through that enabled them to successfully link with their ships. He'd always felt it was unnatural to link a human neural net to a machine. It effectively made the machine a part of your body and he didn't like the thought of that. The training had been mandatory for promotion in the Fleet and his reluctance had held him back, something he hadn't minded too much since he had never intended to make the Fleet his life.

But now he wished he'd at least had the basic lessons. He wondered if the training on how to integrate new body parts into your control may have helped in this case. While these powers were not physical new body parts, they were new abilities that his mind had to control. And, for all he knew, it was a new body part. He was again reminded of the fact that he had no idea what caused these powers. He could have a new organ somewhere.

A tapping caused him to shift his attention back to the external world. Looking up he saw an old man standing outside of his cage with a tray of food in his hands. Kaden didn't know how much time had passed. His stomach had felt empty before and it still felt empty now. He stood up and walked over to the front of the cage. He glanced at Deux to see if the boy planned on eating but Deux still appeared to be asleep. For some reason Kaden doubted that he was actually asleep (at least fully) and unaware. If questioned on the source of this certainty again his mind just supplied him with the notion that Deux reminded him of cat. A cat did not sleep through the arrival of visitors, it just ignored the inconvenient ones. If Deux's sleep was feigned, he'd chosen not to eat and, if it were real, he probably needed the sleep more than the food so Kaden didn't attempt to wake him.

"Thank you for your hospitality and your care in preparing this food," Kaden said courteously and softly as he took the tray from the old man. He was dismayed to see it only held some thin soup and some bread. If his body didn't get proper nutrition he would not be able to maintain his current level of fitness. He made a mental note to cut back on his exercise routine so as to conserve his resources. He didn't want to end up as a skeleton at the end of this ordeal.

"Didn mak it," the old man said through a lifetime's worth of slurring, "but ye welcum." The man glanced down and sniffed at Deux's apparent failings as a guard before turning and going back the way he'd come.

"Have a good evening," Kaden called after him before he took the tray of food back to the far wall of his cell. He put the bread in his bowl and went over to the sink to fill it with a little water to soften the bread. He could have let it soften in the soup but he was too hungry to wait.

He downed the soup in a few gulps and then turned to the bread. It was soggy on the outside, hard on the inside and tough some layer in between the two. But it was food and he ate it with thanks to the universe for providing and only a slight hope for better in the days to come.

He took the bowl back over to the extremely small sink in the corner of the cell. It appeared as if it had once just been a wall faucet in this cage that had been built to house cattle. No doubt it had been used on the rare occasions when the stall had needed to be washed down. Someone, when converting the animal cages to holding cells, had turned the faucet into a sink by attaching a tiny aluminum basin hardly bigger than his bowl to the wall beneath it.

Kaden wished they hadn't. He would have been better served by the faucet alone. With unlimited access to the faucet he would have been able to use the water to wash properly. The basin only got in the way.

He turned the faucet on and held his bowl under the flow of water until it was full. He brought the bowl to his lips and washed down the thin meal with the refreshingly cold water. That was the one good thing about spaceships, the life support system was ship wide and the water he drank now was the same that Greg himself would be drinking.

He let the bowl refill a few more times, filling the empty space in his stomach with water to get rid of the last of his hunger, before pulling off the shirt of his outer uniform and attempted to wash it. He wasn't really successful. The basin was too small to allow him to get the shirt under the water and he had no soap. The best he could do was get it a little wet.

He hung the shirt on the end of his bed to dry over night and then pulled his undershirt off. The material was thinner and slightly easier to get into the sink. He used the thin garment as a makeshift wash cloth and did his best to wash off some of the grime he'd accumulated in this cell. It left him dirty still but slightly mollified by the fact that he'd tried and wasn't just letting his hygiene fall by the way side. He hung the undershirt and the rest of his clothing which he'd attempted to wash in the process next to his shirt.

As fed and clean as he was going to get, Kaden got into bed and finally followed Deux into sleep.

[Deux]

Deux had woken up twice during the night. The first was after the fatigue was gone and he looked around the brig. Satisfied that nothing much had changed besides Kaden’s position he drank the soup left behind and went back to sleep. Sometime later a group of men passed by the door laughing loudly, Deux had sat up quickly only to glare in the direction of the sound and lay back down.

When Kaden had woken, kept still and kept his eyes closed to give the man some illusion of privacy. He had learned that people like having time to themselves without people watching. Deux didn’t understand why and frequently forgot this, staring and not leaving the area when it was desired by others. Usually it took someone else informing him to get him to stop or leave, so when he did remember he did his best to give it. It wasn’t until just before the first meal of the day came that he sat up and stretched.

He examined the piece of bread left from the night before wondering if he should finally eat it or horde it. Food was coming regularly but the compulsion was still there. It wasn’t until he had spent some time on the ship that he had stopped collecting dried goods every chance he got. Exhaling Deux set the bread back on the tray next to him.

“Why do you talk to me?” He asked Kaden. He was glad that Kaden did talk but part of him was surprised that he did and to such lengths. No one had taken the time to discuss things, just things, with him before.

[Kaden]

Kaden stared at the ceiling of the cell. He'd just awoken and he was concentrating on committing his dream to memory.

He had been standing on a dock, the old type where ships that traveled the seas would tie up. For a dock of this type it wasn't exactly modest, more like a pier and he was at the end of it, looking out over a vast lake to a ship that floated in the middle. It was night and the ship was bright against the horizon, the only bright thing in kilometers of black water.

He looked to his right and saw Tamrin standing on the dock next to him looking out at the same ship with a smile on her face. The muted sounds of a music and a crowd just barely reached them over the water. She shrugged off the heavy outer coat of the UIF's pilot uniform and let it drop to the dock at their feet. Her dog tags got caught on the buttons and she pulled them free without much thought, the little pieces of metal so much a part of her everyday life that she hardly took note of their existence.

It was at this point that he began to marvel at the complexity of the dream. Usually dreams weren't so detail oriented. Then again, this had happened before. In the way that certainty comes easily in dreams he was sure of this.

Tamrin knelt down and untied her boots before kicking them off and leaving them with the outer coat of her uniform. She stood up and looked at him, the usually cocky and challenging look in her eyes. "You comin'?" She asked.

He felt his face make a disapproving expression and he saw her shrug before turning around and diving into the water. She surfaced a few meters from her entry point and began making for the ship.

Kaden shook his head and then took off his outer clothing. He couldn't let her go alone...

Kaden turned as he heard Deux begin to stir. He sat up in his bed and pulled on his undershirt, leaving off the over coat. He pulled his pants on and stood up and walked over to the sink. He was just finishing attempting to clear his mouth of the unpleasant taste when Deux voiced his question.

Kaden didn't turn to face him or even acknowledge he'd heard at first, letting the water run down his cheeks and drip from his eyelashes. His hand tightened on the edge of the sink though and he worked to control his breathing and his expression so that he could face his jailer.

When he had enough control to suit him he turned around and walked back over to his bed. "Because," Kaden began quietly, still partially lost in the dream, "I..." He trailed off as he realized he didn't have an answer. As any well trained Safi man would do he took cover in courtesy. "Am I keeping you from more important duties? If so feel free to pursue them. I do not wish to needlessly waste your time."

[Deux]

“Because you, why?” Deux leaned his head to the side.

He straightened up when the man changed the subject. On him pulse he felt himself exhaling and closing his eyes for a moment, rubbing his eyelids. It was an unfamiliar but compared to his previous life so was the situation. Perhaps it was an action he had seen in the mess hall or among the crew.

“No, my only duty is to watch you and ensure you have do not escape. Beyond that I have nothing else to do, besides walk around the ship. I could train perhaps, I’m not sure of the facilities available,” he shrugged, “Honestly even if the option was present I think I’d like to stay here.”

Deux observed Kaden for a moment wondering what prompted the question. His body was tenser than he usually talked and he kept facing away. He looked to see if Kaden had a weapon of some sort but he wasn’t behaving aggressively so noticing none was not a surprise. It didn’t appear that he was going to try and teleport either. His behavior was odd but Deux could not determine why. Seeing no other solution he finally said, “Are you alright?”

[Kaden]

For a moment it looked as if a cloud had passed through Kaden's eyes. His face closed down and the only evidence that he was attempting to suppress an emotion were the pain lines around his eyes. He was so used to hiding his feelings in polite company that he wasn't even sure what emotion he was hiding. It had been a long time since he'd been able to be himself with anyone. So long, too long. He hadn't truly shared a moment of companionship with anyone since he'd left his planet. Not really.

Tamrin was the closest thing he had to a friend, talking to her was the closest he'd come to having an unguarded conversation. She knew as much about him as he was willing to share but how much was that? He missed his home. He missed his wife and his son and his friends. He missed his parents. And he would never see any of them again.

Even the few friends he'd made, the Safi ambassador and the android appointee to the Senate, were now dead most likely. Along with everyone else on Earth. They'd been his last connection to his home and now it was gone.

"Nothing," Kaden said with a slight sigh. "I'm just a little tired. I didn't sleep well." Kaden looked over at Deux and forced himself to smile. It wasn't happy, he wasn't that good of an actor and it would have felt fake, but it was sincere in the sense that wanted to show Deux that there was nothing to worry about. "Do you want to continue with our investigation?"

[Deux]

Deux lowered his face when the man remained quiet. He kept his eyes on Kaden and hands folded in his lap. The man hadn’t answered his question but he hadn’t initially the first day either. Then again he had ended up revealing the answer later on, maybe he would this time as well.

“Would you like to get more sleep?” Deux lifted his head up when Kaden spoke again. He leaned forward and lightly clasped his hands. The smile was not comforting and he wasn’t sure what it meant. Sitting back up he shrugged and closed his eyes briefly.

“If you would like,” he uncrossed his legs and stretched upward. It would depend on if Kaden wanted to try and sleep. Hard to have a conversation when one participate is dead to the world.

[Kaden]

"No, I've slept enough," he said with a little annoyance though it wasn't directed at Deux. He felt like he was getting fat and lazy being forced to sit in this cell all this time. He almost wished Greg would put him to work doing something even if it meant cleaning floors. At least he would have been able to walk around.

"Well where did we leave off yesterday?" Kaden asked, standing up and walking the five paces the cell allowed before turning and repeating himself. He honestly wouldn't mind the reminder but he also wanted to see how much Deux had retained and what form it had taken over the night.

[Deux]

“Alright,” Deux nodded. He pulled on the inside of his right sleeve, then shifted how he was sitting. Impulse drove him to keep an eye on Kaden but he turned his face away from the man. He didn’t understand why he behaving the way he was.

“We were going over will, you were saying that every living creature has one,” he paused before adding, “you also talked about how you believed will could not be taken away. Before that we went over fears and desires. After we were done you asked to see if food was coming. Did I leave anything out?”

Deux stretched out one of his feet and let it tap the ground. One, pause, one, pause, two, pause, three, pause, five, pause and then repeating. He leaned back as his foot continued tapping out the rhythm without thought.

[Kaden]

"No, that's a very complete summary but it is only a report." Kaden's voice was tired and lacked the energy of yesterday. He tried to force himself out of it. He figured he'd get into the conversation eventually. Chasing arguments and theories was almost like exercise. "

"Pretend I do not know what we were talking about, that I was not here yesterday. Explain to me what we have decided on so far and how it all fits in the greater question of what rights and responsibilities you have as a citizen." He wanted to know what Deux was thinking about all of this.

[Deux]

Deux’s foot stopped tapping the ground and he tilted his head. For the first time during the conversation he intentionally stared at Kaden for longer than necessary. He closed his eyes for a moment then looked back at Kaden as if by doing so would explain what the man had asked him to do. It made no sense, he had heard the whole conversation. What was the point? A question he was very close to voicing out loud.

Instead he exhaled and leaned forward, bringing his legs in and pressing fingers to his temples. While his methods were odd Kaden seemed to have a reason for the things he did and said. Even if he was difficult at times to understand, he eventually got to a point. Deux just had to trust that they would get there eventually.

“Yesterday, after establishing laws and why individuals followed them the day before, we talked about what it was that made people follow them,” Deux lifted his head and rested his chin on his hands, “In order to explain who they could decide not to we talked about what at the base of human behavior compels us such as fear and desire. However if a person has a strong enough will and is willing deal with the consequences of ignoring their impulses they can overcome their fears and desires. Will is the person’s ability to reason, control their actions, and a part of an out survival as a species. Lastly we went over how if a human is stripped of it’s will it effectively stops being human as it can no longer think and behave on it’s own.”

He paused before inhaling and continuing, “In regards to that fits into the rights and responsibilities of a citizen of the UIR, it addresses the motivation. Communities come together for protection and this protection is facilitated by laws. A person must follow these laws or risk punishment and decide if following them is in the best interest of themselves and the community.”

The answer felt slightly incomplete but Deux did not know what else to add to it. He let his arms fall into his lap and relaxed. Deux looked at Kaden after a moment, silently asking if he needed to continue or if the man was going to now take control of the conversation.

[Kaden]

Kaden smiled when Deux continued to stare at him. It was a small action but it was the first time Deux had demonstrated a very real and very age relevant emotion. He reminded Kaden of many other teenage boys forced to do something they didn't see the point of. For the first time Kaden felt the joy of a teacher, the almost sadistic enjoyment of watching a student struggle to succeed. To see someone try something they had never done before, to see something there where there was nothing before, it was a thrill unrivaled by most other things Kaden had experienced.

His smile only grew when he heard Deux's answer. It was more complete than Kaden could have hoped for. And it helped set Kaden back on a path. To be completely honest, he'd been a little lost himself. He had known he was on a particular path the day before but it had slipped away in the night, the way clouded by old memories tinged with loneliness.

"Good, very good," Kaden said from his position in the center of the cell where he'd stopped his pacing to give Deux his full attention. "So where do we go from here? Our goal was to discover more laws, if any existed. In order to do this we set out to explain why people follow laws. And from here we hoped to be able to determine when a person is following a law or not. So, we have said that every human has fears and desires and a will to choose between the two."

Kaden stopped and tried to figure out how to frame the next portion of his question to give Deux enough of a starting point to get to an answer without imposing his own answer on the conversation. "Well let's take our first law. We have a right to life and a duty not to kill or cause the deaths of those around us. When put together we get our first law, let's call it the Conservation of Life. This is the passive version of this law, meaning it tells us what we can not do, kill others meaninglessly. The active version of this law would tell us what we must do and would be phrased something like, "you must preserve the lives of those around you to the best of your ability." We'll call this the Preservation of Life. Where a society falls in between these two is up to that culture. How willing they are to hold someone accountable for not acting varies across cultures. But in general, the will is the same. Life must be protected. People follow these rules because they desire life themselves and fear death. What else do people desire or fear? Perhaps this will lead us to another law."

[Deux]

At the smile Kaden had on his face Deux felt the urge to throw something. Unfortunately his only options for ammunition were either sharpened or bread. Neither of were an opinion for different reasons. Thankfully the urge decreased significantly when the man spoke positively about his answer. Still he flexed his fingers until the tension was worked out.

He looked over Kaden’s head when he thought about the new question. It was like his previous request to look for laws without them being spoken. Now he wished he’d given it more thought. His foot tapped a few times before he figured out an answer.

“Companionship,” he said with a bit of a question, “They seem to come together not just for protection but just for communication. I don’t know how this would make a law but it does appear to be a desire.” Even though he wasn’t very good at it Deux would admit he sought the company of others. It was probably an influencing factor on why he attempted talking to Kaden in the first place.

[Kaden]

"Yeeeeeees," Kaden said slowly as he thought about Deux's answer. He hadn't expected it but that was the point. They were supposed to be building a theory together. "Yes we do. So, I suppose it is my turn. If companionship is a desire what is the other side? Everything in life has two sides, like a coin. This is what I was taught. Everyone, everything has a duel nature. So what is the fear here? Being alone?" It was phrased as a question but Kaden wasn't looking for an answer, he was just thinking out loud. Unfortunately the topic of conversation was hitting a little too close to home for him.

"I think we have discovered a law then. And I think this law is even more fundamental than the one concerning killing. We have been looking at laws that govern groups of people, but your law establishes that group. Wherever humans are found, they are found in groups." Kaden began pacing again as he tried to think of where to go next. "Would you agree? Like the law for sensless murder, this law can be broken. A human can choose to live alone just as a person could choose to kill, and just as with a killer, there are consequences for isolating oneself, but we'll go into those later. Right now, where do you stand on this new law? Do you accept it?"

[Deux]

“Not necessarily,” Deux leaned forward, “Not all individuals desire companionship and even those that do still require time to be by themselves. To think, privacy, or other reasons I’m not aware of. Isolation in this case would not be an effective punishment.”

He rolled his neck to give himself time to think. The long pauses were undesirable and he felt the need do something within them. “Being alone is not a fear but not being included in the community at all.”

“I’d agree to that law,” his foot started tapping again, “though who would the individual kill if they were alone?