Intergalactic Summit

YOU ARE THE LEAST VALUABLE, SO DIE!

That was the sentiment expressed by the pilot who dumped a group of scientist into a death can and jettisoned them to die. When the pilot was contacted after the scientist were rescued, he said that he didn't have room in his corgo bay and that the scientist were the least valuable of his cargoes, so he dumped them. Hmm?

How do you reflect on such a brazen disregard for life?

You didn't specify the kind of life.

You have to learn and accept that there are tiers of value, when it comes to life. It's grim but it's true.

Tell me, Ston - when piloting a Minmatar ship, do you take special care to step around the cleaning Fedos? Or do you, like most Minmatar vessel operators, occasionally step in one, squishing it flat and making the whole room stink of methane?

When you do, do you regret the loss of that Fedo's life as deeply as you reacted to this scientist's maltreatment?

I don't think you do.

I don't think you shed tears for the millions of bacteria ground to death under your every footfall, even though such micro-genocide is inevitable for ambulatory species.

Well, here's the thing. Humans aren't in short supply in New Eden. Trillions of the little buggers running about. They're cheap. The capsuleer community is admittedly derived from these basic forms, but we are gods compared to them, and they are an infinity of ants to us. Or to use a less pithy analogy, we're the ones who matter, and they're the Fedo you accidentally stepped on.

They die; you don't. They're expendable; you aren't. They're cheap, and if they're taking up cargo room that could be used to store a valuable module... well, I hope their earning potential exceeds the value of said module, or they're going to take a tumbling trip in a cargo can.

There's always more where they came from.

Callous, yes. Realistic... also, yes.

Tell me, Thgil... when your lasers shatter a terrorist Minmatar ship... do you weep for those who fell?

Mmmm... I already know the answer.

Doesn't it?

Let me give you a sliver of insight into crew-hiring procedures at space stations capsuleers frequent. A capsuleer puts out an automated order every time he docks. This order replaces crew lost to attrition and warfare, but it doesn't specify the cause said crew will be fighting for. No, the crew serve merely as extensions of the capsuleer's will, whether it be freedom-fighting for the Minmatar, or slave-harvesting for the Amarr. Each crew member's job is merely to operate the console he is assigned - theirs is not the lot of deciding whether to fight slavery or abet it.

You, my dear Thgil, have committed just as many murders as the rest of us. Murder is inescapable as a capsuleer, regardless of how you spin it. You, my dear, have murdered - as far as the victims of said murders are concerned.

So let's stop pretending any of this matters. Even with the 90% likelihood of total crew death within 10 minutes of undocking, we capsuleers have no problem recruiting a crew hungry for adventure, and willing to gamble their lives. Whether it's to fight the Amarr empire or assist it, they seriously don't matter in the end.

If you wish to prove me wrong, please point me to the well-maintained cemetary where all the dead you've claimed are enshrined with honour.

Don't have one?

Then I guess you're just as callous as I am...

DOES IT MATTER HOW YOU ARE IDENTIFIED?

Recently I was identified as a Minmatar. At first, I felt a bit of pride about such an identification. I thinking, of course, of many Minmatar that I know and respect. Some have worked with us in our rescue ops and others have given thoughtful comment from time to time. But then, I was stopped short by the fact that some Minmatar have made their way on the wall of shame. Then I remembered that some Achura have also made their way on the wall of shame. (Side note: I am Achura.)

Perhaps it is not how we are identified that matters, but how we shape our tribe's image, our nation's image, our sex's image, our religion's image, etc, by the way we conduct our lives, the values we espouse, and the integrity in which we carry out those values. The person who mistook me for a Matari is a Deteis. We do not share common values, but that doesn't mean that all Deteis are like this man.

I suppose it does matter how you are identified if the identification is accurate and true. In the capsuleer community, most name calling is inaccurate but perhaps some is on the mark. So are you a good Matari or an evil Matari? Are you a Deteis of value or a Deteis without moral conscience? Well, the list goes on if you get the gist.

The Disciples of Ston bid you peace.

P.S. The ships we pilot are too small for clone vat facilities. We as pilots are confined to our capsules while we pilot. I have personally never stepped on a Fedo. You will have to ask Manwe about that one.

BACK IN JITA. WHY?

Manwe,
Since I was near Jita when I read your post above, I decided to search for clone bodies and rewrite the notification letter. Two out of the first three responses went to the cadaver program. Thank you to those two pilots. At first, I thought, "how undignified" but then it occurred to me, what could be more dignified than using death as a way to help others. Mere humans will donate organs to save lives. Those who release their discarded bodies to help train these cadaver dogs will also save lives, solve crimes, help families recover their dead, etc.

Jita isn't my favorite place to be, but for a while I will work here to help get the cadaver program going. Two bodies is a beginning but the center will need more.

The Disciples of Ston bid you peace

WHAT IS "HOME" FOR YOU, CAPSULEER?

While working in Jita and before heading back to rescue ops, I went on a "pilgrimage" of sorts back to Piekura where Edaine and I first met and where the Disciples of Ston began. There was no one there I knew; no names were familiar.

Capsuleers do not tend to have "homes" in the traditional sense of the term. We can, hoowever, have a sort of stable home in the values we espouse. That perhaps is what we come back to when seeking home.

The Disciples of Ston bid you peace

The Disciples of Ston had to make an agonizing purchase today; a supply of Vitoc for a group of rescued former slaves. One in the group was ill and needed the antidote immediately. Thankfully the nearest supply available for sale was only three gates distant.

This is ironic considering our recent interaction with Ms. Taam. For now, the purchase of Vitoc is a necessary evil to save lives. Thankfully, it is a rare occurrence. There is a systemic evil behind this sad state of affairs. A great pity that this systemic evil is perpetrated in the name of God, even a God of mercy and grace. How the Deity must grieve.

I have noted that the other Disciples are active in rescue ops. This is good. My tribal Elders have requested that I do stellar core research for then in Endulf while I am there. So, that is what I am presently doing. I am mapping the stellar core of the Endulf star. It is relaxing work, truth be told. There is no pressure in such work especially in a high security system where no one is actively scanning you down to destroy you. The view is also spectacular. I also hope to do some observational data recording on the effect of residual warp fields in low density matter such as planetary cores. That is next on the agenda here. It is good to do this work for my own people as it has been some time since I devoted much time to their concerns.

Disclaimer: I am venting

I am very angry at my government. Written words cannot describe the heat of my anger at an institution of hypocrisy such as I have experienced today from the Republic Government Bureaucrats in Pator. I am not allowed to use profanity as a Disciples of Ston, but how tempted I am at this moment to find a few choice words for those copulating anal orifices running customs in their posh offices in Pator.

(Check the story here)

Here is irony; as a result of the encounter literally between Avesber and Abudban, I now have higher standing with the Amarr and the Khanid than I do with my own government. I just spent several days serving my tribal Elders in Eldulf doing stellar core research. Tomorrow, I will be clone jumping back there to give them a piece of my mind. What kind of anally retentive idiocy could keep our officials so “off the ball” on the issue of allowing humanitarian groups to transport our people to freedom. Stupid idiots!

How sad that I and my 342 passengers find ourselves breathing a sigh of relief as we leave Republic space and enter Empire space where we can finally de-cloak and travel without anxiety. How in the world are these newly freed people going to learn to trust their government when their government tries to vaporize those who actually are actively helping to free them? Stupid idiots!

Solution: provide a legal designation for humanitarian Capsuleers that allows transportation of former slaves across borders but absolutely disallows sales or transfers of the same. Add to that a legal mechanism to change the status of these individuals from slaves to citizens. Part of that status would be that a mechanism that allows the pilot to “release” these individuals, not “trash” them or “sell” them. This needs to happen, but the powers that be are too busy sniffing each other’s hind ends to pay attention to reality. Stupid Idiots!

While I am at it, the Federation and State are guilty of the same, but I hold the Republic to the greatest guilt in the matter. Of all institutions, they should be enabling the Humanitarian Capsuleer to assist in freedom, not penalizing him for trying. I am convinced that our bureaucrats have the intelligence of a pubic crab. Stupid Idiots!

I could go on, but I should stop before I embarrass myself. Venting is supposed to relieve anger, but mine seems to be getting hotter by the second.