Intergalactic Summit

Dearest Narivan,

I submit this to you as you request. I can’t refuse you anything. I know your enthusiasm for this project, though “Capsuleers Before They Were Capsuleers” seems a mundane title. I suspect you will be sharing my story in an effort to encourage others to do the same. I know you feel my remaining sense of shame is unwarranted. Telling about my life seems an enormous risk, but I have attempted to be as forthright as you would be in my place.

I was born in Sazre, in the Kingdom. I was the eldest of Father’s twelve children. There are five from Mother and seven from my step-mother. My family’s Holdings were my universe as a child. As the eldest, I was taught that I would someday rule. My youth was shaped by the wisdom Father, Mother and my tutors passed on to me.

As I got older I realized that while our estates and ventures were successful and relatively large, there remained a subtle distinction in our Khanid family’s status among the Holders. Even within the Kingdom, where Khanid blood is viewed even more favorably than in the Empire, Holders are a hidebound and traditional caste. The Amarr Holders cling to status with all their power. Khanid Holders are ever-aware of this and Father was not immune. He was true Khanid patriot, proud of our king (Amarr though he is) and proud of our people. Father courted an image as an honorable, respectable, and pious man. In the closeness of our family compound, some knew our father was not a believer. The show of faith was his public face, his private thoughts were more wide-ranging.

My own name “Mazian” was a quiet signal. Mother showed me the ancient chronicle where Mazian was a protector of the birthplace of humanity. He fought to the end to hold his people safe from an overpowering threat. Driven to extremes, he threw off traditional rules of morality to protect his people. It was only because there was a centuries-dead theologian named “Mezian” that my parents took the risk of naming their oldest for an infidel.

I was a perfectly behaved heir. I was attentive, stoic, studious, and responsible. I learned how to be a good patron to our family’s clients and how to be a good master to our slaves.

Even after Mother’s death, my position was assured. My half siblings were no threat to my place. I was betrothed to a well-placed Holder’s daughter. Father had scored particularly well in his matchmaking. The girl was half-Amarr. I thought I was content because I knew that I did right.

Things did no continue so, or there would be no story to tell. Everything changed. I hesitate to say it because it seems so trite and so foolish.

I fell in love.

As the heir to the Holder, this was a problem but it needn’t be insurmountable. Many Holders have mistresses. In Sazre, a long-term mistress is less problematic than a series of affairs. There was no doubt that my step-mother had been Father’s mistress. A man or woman faces no particular sanction so long as they are discrete, even if others whisper.

Unfortunately, I fell in love with someone beyond all bounds of respectability. The one I loved was a man; far worse than that, he was Minmatar and he was a slave.

I still find it painful to recall my confusion and self-hatred during that time. My attraction to him went against everything I had been raised to believe. Father may not have been a believer, but I was. My culture, my caste, and my religion all taught me about the differences between nobles, commoners, and slaves. Father taught me the importance of status, reputation and the pride of the Khanid. I was breaking almost every rule I knew.

I’m still somewhat the man I was raised to be. My mind and heart are changed, but my manner remains. I find I can’t tell you of my time with Yrning other than to say that I became truly alive and aware. The beliefs I had taken as my birthright fell away so quickly that I was left unmoored. Knowing him broke me and saved me all at once. It also ended me to my family.

We were so careful, but we couldn’t continue. Discovery was only a matter of time. My sister Narivan gave hints that she suspected. Dabbling with a slave might be forgiven as a youthful indiscretion, but I found I couldn’t tolerate Yrning’s enslavement. I embezzled money from Father’s accounts and worked with a disreputable broker to hire a ship to smuggle him and his family to Federation space. I gave them as much money as I thought I could keep hidden from Father. And I said goodbye.

I knew I had done what I must and I knew it was for the good of everyone concerned. My eyes were dry, but I ached. I resigned myself to misery after he had left. I would be the heir to the Holder. I would marry my slightly higher-status betrothed. I would maintain the façade of respectability and piety. I would honor God, King, Father, and Family. I would carefully explain the responsibility and the burden of the Reclaiming to my children. I would lie as Father had.

None of that was to be. The missing slaves were a problem, of course. My attempts to make it seem they had simply fled were flimsy. My step-mother discovered the missing money in the accounts. She investigated. The broker betrayed me by telling her his guess of my sins. My step-mother saw an opportunity to disgrace me and perhaps maneuver one of her children to become heir. Narivan learned of my step-mother’s plans. She warned me too late to change my fate.

(see next page)

I was born on a freighter of a traveling show, my momma' would dance for the money they'd throw. Papa' would do whatever he could....

Before I was a capsuleer I was a good girl!

...and now I'm very, very, good.

Before they discovered I was capsule-compatible, I was training to be an electrical engineer. I imagine I'd have ended up with Roden Shipyards or the Federal Navy. Perhaps I'd have taken a job on a capsuleer ship.

I'm a megacorp child to the bone. Born aboard an Ishukone deep space mineral survey vessel (I arrived unexpectedly early), grew up in a corp creche, went down the military>medical career track, served in Ishukone Watch SWAT, "Tanto" Unit #35, Nebula Squad.

When the squad was disbanded, I underwent intensive re-education, acquired my trauma surgery fellowship and served briefly in the Watch Medical Support Corps with the rank of Major, until I was discovered to be pod-compatible. Promptly retired, took my pension as a lump sum and used it to pay my way through the School of Applied Knowledge, with the aid of an international outreach scholarship program. Graduated in the top 5% of the October YC107 class, winning the Acuri Prize and a silver Kanamane Medal.

At which point things started to get interesting.

When a couple jaijii, they were up to no good,
Started makin' trouble in my neighborhood.
We got in one little fight and the State got scared
and said, "You're going to enlist in faction warfare!"

Tier four man, yo this is phat
Whoring LP blappin all these fail rats .
Is this what faction war peeps living like?
Hmmmmm this might be alright.

You've kindly offered another dogma to replace the one I've lost. I respectfully decline.

As you say.

As for myself, as the topic of the thread seems to have become about sharing:
I was bred on Hexandria in a creche. I was raised as a Kameira in the Subigos.
I am a Kameira and now, also a capsuleer.

I was batched and engineered for the specific purposes of macroeconomic engineering, infrastricture planning, and national logistics... Then I was told not to think too much, point out the problems I saw, or come up with solutions that fell anywhere outside the comfort zone of the people that made me to do those very things. In essence, the very tasks I was given life to undertake never came to pass because facts are unpopular.

Thankfully, I turned out to be capsule compatible. The rest is a matter of record.