[WC5C] Lt. Cmdrs. Saveron, Moonsong, & DeVeau - “Cultural Comparisons” Part II (No Tags)

[Sarah Eccles]

((W Cygni 5 C, Camp))

Moonsong: You have heard the creation myths of two cultures. Did you note the similarities?

Saavok: Affirmative. ::He paused, considering.:: There is the emergence, the ‘God’ entities, and the damaging of the world due to selfish behaviour. Then there’s the struggle of people with the results of that damage. ::He looked across at Raissa, wondering whether he’d answered correctly.::

::Alora listened to her beau and best friend converse, but she eyed the bag that sat beside Ris.  Had the woman squirreled away some chocolate in there?  Although Ris had said she’d brought chocolate, Alora had only indulged in a little bit and it was indicated that there was more.  Slowly, she leaned over, inching closer to the bag.::

Moonsong: Yes, that is a common theme. Often, these entities were prone to the same weaknesses as their followers.  ::She paused, studying the child.:: Now, consider, why were such beliefs necessary for primitive peoples?

::Raissa moved the bag to the opposite side. Alora’s mind had been chanting in increasing volume: ‘mmmmm...chocolate’::

::That was a more difficult question. Raised in modern Vulcan culture, Saavok didn’t think that myths were necessary at all, and hadn’t yet acquired his father’s appreciation of ancient culture.::

Saavok: I don’t think that they were necessary for survival. ::He said.:: But I would assume that they were used as moral lessons. ::He proposed.:: Belief systems could also be used to control the actions of the adherents.

::She held up a finger as emphasis.::

Moonsong: That is a more modern usage of belief systems, Saavok. They were necessary for survival.

::He found that difficult to internalise.::

Saavok: We have not utilised belief systems for over two thousand years. ::In his mind there was nothing ‘modern’ about them.::

Moonsong: You must consider the mindset of the primitive culture. They did not yet have science to explain why the world was the way was. Weather changed without warning, because they did not yet know how to understand the pattern.

::As child and adult conversed, Alora leaned further and barely manage to catch on to the bag with her fingers.  With a gentle tug, the handle plopped into her hand and Alora began to pull it toward her.::

Saavok: So, now that we have scientific understanding, why do some species persist with belief systems?

Moonsong: ~ Drop it, Lor!~

Moonsong: Because understanding and knowing are two different things for some cultures.

::Alora didn’t drop it, but she did freeze.::

::The words ‘that is not logical’ were on Saavok’s lips but he paused just short of saying them, and thought further about what Raissa had just said.::

Saavok: You are saying that it is difficult for some people to internalise that knowledge?

::Raissa nodded her approval and pulled her bag into her lap.::

DeVeau: ~But...but...chocolate…~

Moonsong: Yes, particularly when you are dealing with individuals who are guided by emotion, not logic. ::she paused.:: Consider this… ::points toward the sky.:: We know that those stars are far away. Yet, they give the illusion of being close together.  If I knew nothing of science… would their natural beauty be diminished? If I see shapes in those pattern then only thing that changes is my perception.

Saavok: That is true. ::He allowed.:: The brains of most humanoids have advanced pattern recognition abilities as a survival trait. ::Which led people to draw patterns in the stars, and in the weather.:: So belief systems evolved from instinctive efforts to find patterns where either none existed, or were too complex for initial comprehension?

DeVeau: ~Chooooocolate…~

::Alora resumed the slow pull of the bag.::

DeVeau: ~Come to me, preciousssss…~

::taps Alora’s hand away.::

Moonsong ~There is a price for chocolate. ~

::Alora straightened and eyed her friend.::

DeVeau: ~I refuse to jump up and down, scratch my head and make monkey noises.  I also don’t like bananas.~

Moonsong: ~ You will tell Saavok a story. ~

DeVeau: ~Are you sure I can’t just jump up and down, scratch my head and make monkey noises? ~

Moonsong: ~ One of your fairy tales perhaps ~

::Raissa shot her friend a look. This silliness was without the benefit of alcohol or drugs.::

Moonsong: More precisely, Saavok, they imposed the patterns they were most familiar with on the external world. That pattern is often informed by emotion.

Saavok: So that is why deities often reflect people and their actions. ::That seemed logical.::

DeVeau: ~He seems quite content conversing with you. ~

::Alora stretched out toward the bag again.::

Moonsong: ~ I have to resist the urge to hug him. ~

::That comment made Alora pause and she nodded despite the fact that the words spoken were not aloud.::

DeVeau: ~I have to fight that urge every single day.~

Moonsong: And now Alora will share a story with you.

DeVeau: It’ll be booooring.

::Alora straightened up again, that time without the bag in hand.::

Moonsong: No story. No chocolate.

::Alora heaved a dramatic sigh, one of pining though surely chocolate was not worthy of such a bombastic display.  Then again, it was chocolate, so yes it was. Raissa rolled her eyes.::

Moonsong: oO Behold… your future stepmother. Oo

::Saavok turned his attention to Alora, who often had interesting things to say, in his opinion. Whilst he’d heard his father’s story before, he’d not heard creation myths from other species and this was proving to be a very interesting evening.::

DeVeau: I suppose.  Would you care for a Japanese creation story to go with the theme, or something different, such as my favourite fairy tale?

::Which, despite past experience with Saveron, actually wasn’t Cinderella.::

Saavok: The Japanese story sounds interesting. ::And it was on the theme.::

DeVeau: The fairy tale is more romantic.

::Saavok raised an eyebrow, managing with Vulcan minimalistic facial expression to display the same level of disdain that all children of that age had for anything romantic and squishy.::

::Alora would humour the child, however.  She clapped her hands and rubbed them together.::

DeVeau: Let’s see...

::Raissa struggled to keep a straight face. Romance would be wasted on a Vulcan child. And there was no point bringing up the effect it had on an uninformed Vulcan adult.::

DeVeau: In the beginning, before the world was formed, when land was formless like jellyfish and lay as oil, the first deities came into being at Takamagahara, the High Plain of Heaven.  Those deities numbered three in the beginning, and their names were Amenominakanushi, Takamimusubi, and Kamimusubi.

::Alora plucked one of the sticks that would be used for kindling out of a pile near the fire, then stood and began to etch lines into the sand.  At first, she created a swirl, then three forms.  Below those forms, she drew seven others, but two she set to the side.  

DeVeau:  From them, seven generations of gods and goddesses came into being.  That seventh generation consisted of Izanagi and and Izanami.  Those two were special.

::She paused, her eyes glinting with mischief.  Alora dropped the stick and tugged on Saveron, encouraging him to get to his feet.::

::Saveron looked up at Alora as she tugged on the shoulder of his robe and raised an eyebrow. As she insisted he rose to his feet and regarded her expressionlessly, hands tucked into the sleeves of his robe. This was her story; what did she wish from him?::

::Raissa stared as Alora dragged Saveron to his feet with a sense of horrified fascination. It was like a train wreck. The test of Vulcan patience was going to last years at this rate.::

DeVeau: Izanagi.  ::One hand motioned to the Vulcan.::  Izanami.  ::That time, Alora indicated herself, then curtsied to their audience.::

::Saveron glanced at Raissa and Saavok as Alora bowed, but mostly he was watching Alora, waiting for some indication as to what she expected of him. He held a deepening suspicion that it involved play-acting; and she had already demonstrated how unsuited he was to that passtime.::

DeVeau: They were chosen, chosen by the elders to bring order to the chaos that roiled beneath them, to shape the world into a concrete form.  In order to assist them, the two deities were given a jewelled spear named Ama no Nuboko.  ::At this, Alora put up her hand and spoke to the side in a stage whisper.::  AKA, the heavenly spear.

::Back to the pile Alora darted and from it she grabbed two sticks and lay them perpendicular.  Two more followed, then two more, and a final set before she stopped.  Once done, she clasped Saveron’s hand and pulled him over to stand on the path between the two lines of sticks with her.::

::Not given a lot of choice in the matter, Saveron followed.::

TBC

=====

Lt Cmdr Saveron

SO and CMO

USS Invicta

R238802S10

&

Lt. Commander Alora DeVeau

Chief of Science

USS Invicta

M239008AD0

&

Lt. Commander Raissa Moonsong

Chief of Counseling

USS Invicta

G239107RM0