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Reconciliation of Values
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Saede Riordan
Alexylva Paradox
#1 - 2012-06-21 15:02:57 UTC
Is this thing on?

Stupid camera drone, can't adjust to...wait, there.

My name is Saede Riordan, of clan Hjrotenheim. I am a capsuleer.

As I look out from my pod across my already vast holdings, seemingly endless wealth, and limitless possibility, I must ask: can I really reconcile my existence as a capsuleer, with that of my former self. The Saede that explored dry riverbeds trapping lizards to use for my childish experiments, the Saede that ate cheaply made factory food, drank quafe, and met with the clan once a week for a big meal of what I now know was still rather cheap food; with the Saede that can now afford to eat fine cuisine prepared by a personal chef every meal, the Saede that can buy anything she wants and go anywhere she wants, be anyone she wants.

They say that power corrupts, and my power now is nearly limitless. But is that corruption really a bad thing? I feel less attached to the obligations and responsibilities of clan, but through this I have gained a greater sense of freedom. Is there any reason to retain the values I held before? Is there any reason to continue to exist within that system. I have become so much more then it. Have I reached too far to remain who I was before? Do I even care? Our cultures, our values systems, they all exist to restrain behaviour to within certain limits. Its all control, and most simply have no choice but to give into that control for the sake of an easy life. But I don't need that. I already have everything I could want and more. I already have all the power, so what purpose do those cultural values now serve to me besides as limiters? Those limits clearly aren't required, as they are different for every culture. Every nation and culture has its own, often radically different or even outright opposed, system of values, so one cannot argue its a needed human trait.

Have I simply transcended my culture?

I know that I am still a novice as far as capsuleers go, so I will pose these questions to those more experienced then me. Is it worth the effort to try and reconcile your existence within the culture and system of values that produced you, or is it wiser to discard it, and forge a new path for yourself, embracing your newfound power and becoming truly all that you could become?

I look forward to the opinions of the community on this subject.

-Saede

Fear and Loathing in Internet Spaceships
Jenna Bogatyr
Doomheim
#2 - 2012-06-21 15:11:19 UTC
I am only two weeks or so your senior as a pilot. In the end, these sorts of questions will ultimately be answered by yourself. Even as God's creation, mankind has free will. It is a double-edged blade, able to slice through lies and arrive at the truth or conversely cut ourselves off from the light. In the end, I personally choose to reconcile and even support my pre-capsuleer cuture and values. I have heard some other pilots do not, and go off to lawless space to form their own psuedo-empires and cultures.

So what will you do?
Rek Jaiga
Teraa Matar
#3 - 2012-06-21 15:15:04 UTC
It is virtually impossible to reconcile your old values with the ones you'll pick up as a capsuleer. You have been fundamentally changed: made practically immortal and many orders of magnitude more powerful than an ordinary starship captain.

What matters most is that you retain a human spirit and simply be the best person you can be, even if the question "Am I still human?" remains unanswered by philosophers, shamans, and the like.
Halete
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#4 - 2012-06-21 15:27:48 UTC
This is heart-breaking.

What would make me happier than anything is to have the life I lost - but in an existence where we have peace, where my people are free from war.

Let me offer you a different perspective.

I sleep on cushions, with no formal bed, in a derelict office complex. I rarely splurge. I eat small portions of food and when I have a meal prepared for me, it usually at a family restaurant where a layperson would eat.

I'm a firm believer in keeping my obligations and responsibilities. For me, it's important that I conduct myself carefully so as not to displease the spirits.

My path has placed me into a very fortunate position. I am thankful for this and give most of what I have to the less lucky.

Limiters are important. As an age of immortals, we must be responsible and adhere to a code of ethics. To not would be unspeakably catastrophic and selfish.

I am more human now than I was before I became a capsuleer.

"To know the true path, but yet, to never follow it. That is possibly the gravest sin" - The Scriptures, Book of Missions 13:21
Natalcya Katla
Astropolitan Front
#5 - 2012-06-21 15:32:17 UTC
If you do not see any compelling reason to retain your previous culture, discard it. Why should you not abandon a mindset to which you've probably sworn no formal allegiance, and to which you have become estranged?

Guilt, perhaps? But why should you feel guilty? If choosing to abandon your old culture offends other members of that culture, it only proves that they take you for granted.

You are in space now, and space is vast and glorious. You can either embrace your new environment and let your mindset expand within it...or remain forever tethered to your single native rock by the weight of a cultural anchor.

The choice is indeed yours.
Rogue Integer
Hedion University
Amarr Empire
#6 - 2012-06-21 15:42:23 UTC
We are the vanguard of humanity's future, and clinging to tired old ways only slows our people's progress. Don't let those who remain in shackles, whether due to biology or choice, hold you in their prison. Because, you see, that prison has no doors except the ones in the minds of those within its walls.
Silas Vitalia
Doomheim
#7 - 2012-06-21 16:21:23 UTC
You are asking the right questions. It is a start.


..Just don't confuse your new-found power over baseliners with anything of the sort regarding other capsuleers just yet.



Sabik now, Sabik forever
Malcolm Khross
Doomheim
#8 - 2012-06-21 16:40:42 UTC
You state that you have found a new sense of freedom.

Are there reasons for you to honor the system you came from? To cherish the clan loyalties and duties you were once a part of?

Ultimately, these questions can only be answered by you. If you find merit in those things and seek to continue to honor them, then do so. If instead, they are only systems of control and limitation to you, then cast them away.

It is neither the system you come from nor the system you embrace that defines you but they are a part of you and a reflection of you. Choose wisely, live wisely.

~Malcolm Khross
Rogue Integer
Hedion University
Amarr Empire
#9 - 2012-06-21 16:54:00 UTC
Pilot Khross reflects precisely the sort of shackled fallacy I mean. You can love your origins, family, clan, and values, while still transcending them and creating something new, rather than remaining confined within them.
Logan Fyreite
Grim Bit Interface
#10 - 2012-06-21 17:58:40 UTC
Sometimes things are best answered with a simple question.

You said "Do I even care?"

This seems to be the root of the real dilemma. If you care then you will be led down one path, and more than likely that path will be the one of your ancestors and tribal mates, the benefits or/and issues with this decision could be argued forever.

On the other hand if you choose to not care, your path is, instead, whatever you choose to make it. Be it a brand new trail that you craft as you go, or following a trail of people before you. Indeed the benefits and/or issues with this would also stand a large argument.

For myself, over time I came to the realization that my culture and the cultures of the empires and pirates were beneath my "care." I started off down my own path, and even if sometimes I find myself lost, I console myself and my sense of direction with the fact that I am lost in a place of my choosing rather than a place that I do not care about.

Answering "Do you care?" will lead you to the decision that needs to be made. From there you can step off into whatever you choose.

To look at some of your other questions; I have found great value in transcending the culture I was raised in and taught to respect, as well as learning from the failures and successes of the other empires in turn. Even the Pirate factions have lessons to teach, if you are a willing student.
Makkal Hanaya
Revenent Defence Corperation
#11 - 2012-06-21 18:10:02 UTC
You cannot discard what you are, only what you believed yourself to be.

Render unto Khanid the things which are Khanid's; and unto God the things that are God's.
Saede Riordan
Alexylva Paradox
#12 - 2012-06-22 04:16:34 UTC
Thank you all for these insights, they have given me much to think about.

I have thus boiled the issue down to the following statements that I must ask myself, and answer as truthfully as possible:

1. Do I find satisfaction in retaining my cultural/ethnic/familial ties?
2. Do I feel any sort of obligation to my culture/ethnicity/family that I would feel lessened by letting go?
3. Is there greater or lesser net utility to me to discarding or retaining my cultural morals and values?

These are things I will have to ponder.

Fear and Loathing in Internet Spaceships
Gottii
Brutor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#13 - 2012-06-22 05:44:09 UTC  |  Edited by: Gottii
I once read a wise man's words which said that absence of obligation is not freedom. Real freedom is the ability to chose which obligations we live by.

It is often our obligations and duties that push us to be more than we are, to better ourselves. Conversely, a man or woman without any kind of obligation in their life often turns out weaker and unhappier for it. A young man or woman wealthy at an early age with no need to do much of anything rarely lives a noteworthy life, for example.
Halete
Sebiestor Tribe
Minmatar Republic
#14 - 2012-06-22 05:49:21 UTC
Gottii wrote:
I once read a wise man's words which said that absence of obligation is not freedom. Real freedom is the ability to chose which obligations we live by.

It is often our obligations and duties that push us to be more than we are, to better ourselves Conversely, a man or woman without any kind of obligation in their life often turns out weaken and unhappier for it. For example, a young man or woman wealthy at a young age with no need to do much of anything rarely lives a noteworthy life.


Gottii is often well-spoken, even if we do not always see eye-to-eye.

His words here are very apt and reflect my own interpretation of the role of obligation in our lives.

I realize that my previous post may have sounded like I would wish to tie you down to your old culture, which you may not feel aligned to. This was not my concern at all. Rather, I feel that it is a terrible thing to shed all culture, all obligations and duties, merely because we can.

"To know the true path, but yet, to never follow it. That is possibly the gravest sin" - The Scriptures, Book of Missions 13:21
David Toviyah
University of Caille
Gallente Federation
#15 - 2012-06-26 18:49:38 UTC
Whether or not you should hold fast to your pre-cloning convictions depends entirely on whether you regard them as true or not. Merely discarding them because you dislike their alleged “function” or origin seems to be quite immature ... childish even. I know neither your personal belief structure nor the culture of your people good enough to give you any more precise advice so either leave it at that or tell me the information I require so that I may help you — should that be what you seek.
Kel hound
The Scope
Gallente Federation
#16 - 2012-06-26 21:17:38 UTC
Saede Riordan wrote:
Thank you all for these insights, they have given me much to think about.

I have thus boiled the issue down to the following statements that I must ask myself, and answer as truthfully as possible:

1. Do I find satisfaction in retaining my cultural/ethnic/familial ties?
2. Do I feel any sort of obligation to my culture/ethnicity/family that I would feel lessened by letting go?
3. Is there greater or lesser net utility to me to discarding or retaining my cultural morals and values?

These are things I will have to ponder.


Firstly, welcome. It's always... interesting... to have a new immortal join the club.

As for your questions, allow me to relate a story from when I first became a capsuler as you now have.

When I graduated from the FNA, my father greeted my first clone. He didn't say anything, he just smiled, shook my hand, and left me with a small ISK token. A small plastic disk worthless in every way save for the microchip embedded in it. It was my first ISK and incidental worth exactly 1 ISK. Engraved on the front were the words "Nothing is True" and on the back "Everything is permitted".
Understand at this point, although I was raised in Gallente space my father is Caldari by birth. I've never especialy gotten along with him, he was always distant and a strict, yet fair judicator within my life. To be given such a message by my father then was in many ways quite shattering to my world view at the time. I felt I had been granted licence to do whatever I pleased with whom ever I pleased and for about a month onward, I did.
For about 6 weeks I lived the stereotypical hedonistic Gallente lifestyle. It wasn't until after my first "kill" that I really began to think about what my father had been trying to tell me; that laws and morals arise not from divinity, but reason, I had not been told to be free, but to be wise.


Who you were is a part of you who are now, it is a foundation for you to continue building on and grow. Your 3 questions are innately personal and I suspect that the answer is different for everyone, I wish you the best of luck in coming up with your answer.