Intergalactic Summit

Entry One

It's been only a few days since I first approached PIE. Since they haven't yet decided whether to favor my case or not, I'll just hope I don't accidentally offend them with this initial submission.

Whether they accept me or not, I've already seen a lot, just by being here and in contact with them.

At least at the high end, Amarrian society is ... well, it's a hymn.

The architecture, the engineering, the design-- everything in their lives is a part of it. It's in the way they approach their duties; it's in the way they approach their off-hours; it's in the way they approach me.

Even as a heathen outsider, I'm never away from it, never apart. It doesn't permeate their society, because needing to "permeate" would mean that it and the society had ever been separate.

Faith is civilization, here. Civilization is faith. My Buzzard is a scar, an unnatural lump of tritanium, a flaw in the fabric. It mars the station that hosts it, and, though it is a creation of my home ... I am ashamed of it.

No wonder they come down so hard on heretics. If my poor ship is such a violent intrusion ...

... what must corruption look like, here? A cancer, twisting and devouring the kingdom of God?

Or (worse?) disharmony in a civilization-wide song of praise?

The sense of purpose is palpable. This heart of the Empire stands far (at least conceptually) from the Bleak Lands or Derelik, but pilots from here venture out, regularly. If this is the place where they return to rest, it is no surprise if their determination and belief seem unassailable.

As a guest, here, this is partly inspiring and partly terrifying. If the Amarr were driven only by conquest, I might find a collar on my neck-- but I am a guest, a visitor in God's kingdom. Even without the protections I might have claimed as a State citizen, I have never actually felt unsafe. This may be an outsider's shallow understanding, but it seems that even the most conservative (or aggressive) Amarr will not diminish the house of God's glory by Reclaiming me, here, while I am a guest, even if I am not quite an ally.

All this, of course, is without seeing the fine print. It would be strange if an interstellar feudal society escaped without a few hundred thousand plots and machinations, ambitions and entrenched power structures, and the expansion of God's kingdom has its obvious rough edges (probably guarded by slaver dogs).

But here, at the Emperor Family Academy, it's ... difficult to think about things like that.

At any rate, I've been invited to tour Dam-Torsad, from which, I'm told, no traveler leaves unchanged.

I'll admit, I'm skeptical. Even taking the short span of my memories into account, Dam-Torsad is competing against the Talocan "temple" at the Devil's Dig and a 196-kilometer "unknown" Drifter-associated structure, not to mention my first taste of capsule-borne space flight.

(Tch. Not even three weeks old, and already so jaded?)

Then again, we are talking about the four thousand year old (is it?) capital city of a (definitely) four thousand year old interstellar empire. Soul-shaking significance or not, this should really be something.

Hospitality is a responsibility, one we took upon when we engaged in interstellar diplomacy and joined CONCORD. As long as you uphold the duties of the guest--to not breach our customs and laws--you are as safe as anyone born here.

What is a shallow understanding is the belief some outsiders have that Amarr are hiding behind every dark corner with whip and collar. The Reclaiming is our spiritual imperative, but it can be accomplished in many ways.


May you enjoy your time in Dam-Torsad. It is a beautiful city. I've only been there once, when I was doing charity work with a Salvation Church clinic, but I feel blessed to have been able to walk its streets.

Have you ever actually been to Dam-Torsad, Ms. Ikiryo?

Ms. Ikiryo, you do realise that Dam-Torsad is rather large yes? I was born and raised there, it is a wonderful place, you might not know the significance due to being a heathen, and please, do not take disrespect, it merely means you are not a believer, but most of those monuments have meaning, they protect us, they are His symbols, it is viewed differently to thouse of the faith, i have been to many places in my long life, and the Caldari, Gallente, Minmatar, are no different, you all have you monuments to you CEO's, Presidents and Warlords, all to people, ours are of our heroes, our past and future, the God, our leaders, to me this is different, though, from an outside view.. This is the same thing.. No?

I ask you Ms. Ikiryo, if this is how you think, then let me take you on a tour of a place i know of, a simple area that i have been supplying for a while, and i will show you what the faith means to those who have no riches, who do not know the beauty of the golden spires of Dam-Torsad, who do not see his warriors, who only know that they are here, and that they are alive, please, i will only say what i believe nesscessary, i will let your eyes tell you everything else

"To know the true path, but yet, to never follow it. That is possibly the gravest sin"

Humble regards, Eli Sariah

Enjoy the Empire and your time there.

Amarr has such wonders, such beauty. Art, literature, poetry, music, holos... I could go on for days at all the places you "must see."

All built on the backs of slaves and blood of those who are not Amarr.

And you are not Amarr. Never forget that you are a heathen. An outsider. They certainly will not. In a million subtle ways, every day, they will remind you that you do not belong. They will be polite to you. That is their way. They will be gracious. They will be generous. But you will never be an equal. And they will never let you forget it. Soon enough, you will feel the itch. The sense of something wrong. The eyes, staring. Judging. The fawning tone in their voice, like you're a favorite pet who has learned a new trick. How cute.

A "must see" location? Hrm... I suggest the Munory System. There you will see a bonfire, the last tribute to a culture long dead. Destroyed, because like you, they did not belong.

Enjoy your stay.

Lies are fragile as cobwebs, easy to damage, and, when damaged, unravel distressingly fast. When that starts happening, the only way to shore them up is with more trickery. Even if it works, the most you've done is lay illusion over what is usually a frustratingly persistent reality.

Knowing all that, I don't think I lie much, even if I can't remember for sure.

... I'm often just plain wrong, though.

Um.

Implied-what-where-now?

That is the most poetic description I've had the privilege of reading for a long time. I look forward to your full report.

Hmm. Comparing Amarr to a song is apt, I'd say.

Songs can get stuck in your head and drive you crazy.

In my experience, placing three Amarrians in a room and asking them for their opinion will swiftly result in seven opinions.

The Empire is a diverse place, and what a devout Holder of pure genetic Amarrian stock might think is wrong with it is likely to be quite different to the opinion of, say, a ni-kunni slave whose job is to help her master navigate high-society parties, or of an Udorian commoner who owns an electronics store.

Not to mention those of the slave laborers, the free Minmatar citizens, the Caldari enclaves, the Gallentean touring poets, a distant thousand-and-somethingth-in-line child of the royal houses who's become a monk, or his Intaki brother-in-faith. I wonder what a Khanid insurance salesman thinks is wrong with the Empire?

Nobody understands the Amarr. Least of all, themselves.