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Cultural Identities and Integration
Written, translated and complied by Gabrielle Forsythe, Xenoanthropologist
Volume Three: The Alteri
Foreward:
Even though Humans have lived on the planet of Haelrahv for about 200 years, many of us still do not understand the cultural and behavioral norms of the other inhabitants, which I believe holds us back from further growth, not only as Humans but as Haelrahvians. Thus, through this series, I hope to give greater insight into these cultures.
I did both my current and previous study of the Alteri amongst the inhabitants of Seihao Xa. In all honesty, the Alteri appear to have changed relatively little over the ages. Their technology has improved, but their customs remain the same. The Alteri are extremely open, even to the point of rudeness, and they are also quite spontaneous. Both of these qualities stem from their mental abilities. Telepathy has played a critical role in their development; their entire society has been shaped around its existence. In the case of integration, it seems to be more of an issue for those who encounter the Alteri than the Alteri themselves. They welcome different ideas and methods of improving themselves and their lifestyles. It is usually those who immigrate into Alteri society that have difficulty relating to their new environment, again due to their inherent mental abilities. Despite their open and honest nature, the Alteri proved to be the most difficult of all the races to research. My inability to communicate telepathically significantly hindered my capability to truly identify with them.
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As told by Yaca Soshir and compiled by Gabrielle Forsythe:
Soooo, you want to know about the Alteri, eh? Well, I'm not really sure how to describe us. Hmm, I got an idea, I'll just tell you about the day I just had and maybe you'll get a better idea. Then again, maybe you won't, for some reason people think we're hard to understand. I donno why really, most Alteri can speak Common perfectly fine that I've heard. Anyway, it started something like this..
"So are you going to the play tonight?"
"I wouldn't miss it!"
"Yeah, I'm going."
"Me too."
"As much as I'd like to go, I've got studio time and can't reschedule. Let me know how it goes, alright?"
"Sure, Heweic."
A jumble of voices greeted me as the late morning sun greeted my eyes. You know how some people feel, I donno, at ease about seeing the sky or birds when they wake up, I get that same feeling when I hear the thoughts of my friends. It'd be a terrible thing to wake up and be alone in my own head. It'd be terrible for sure, gives me the shivers just thinking about it.
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Well, I jumped out of bed and rummaged through the pile of clothes on the floor. Oh, I forgot to mention I rent a small room from Xeysha, one of my mother's friends. She likes to take in aspiring artisans. I think it's mostly because it kept her house filled with a constantly changing assortment of goodies. It was like living in a gallery, hey that's a good living if you can get it.
Three other students live in the house too, but the one I'm closest with is Wililo. Anyway on this particular day he came bounding in through the door as I was pulling on my pants. Come to think of it, he came bounding in most days, I can't remember a morning when he didn't burst in, oh yeah, about a month ago he was sick he didn't, had me pretty worried too..oh, sorry the story.
So Wililo came running in shouting, "Come on Yaca! We have to get going or we're going to miss it! I promised her we'd be early and it's already.."
"Alright, alright" I interjected as I checked the mirror and adjusted my hat, "Let's go."
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Wililo had been talking all week about this visit. We were heading to see Vireh Shiwshec, I guess she was some kind of scientist. Scientists weren't too common around here, but Wililo said she had tried living in Rinth, but felt her most creative staying here. I couldn't imagine living in Rinth, from what I hear you have to file paperwork just to do ANYTHING there. Get a license to be a craftsman, get another license to shop in specialty stores, get another license to sell stuff, and that's on top of filing to live there. Yuck! It seems like a lot of hassle, I can see why she moved. Anyways, she had just finished some new creation, not sure what it did, but Wililo was excited to see it, so was I too.
As we approached, the door swung open to reveal Vireh wearing a long lab coat and a pair of goggles perched on top of her head. Not like she had special powers or anything, she could hear our thoughts and knew we were on the steps. Besides, I bet the whole town knew where we were with the excitement coming from Wililo's thoughts. Anyway, Vireh hurried us inside and down a short hallway to a room at the end.
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The place was amazing! I had never been inside a laboratory like this before! I've never really seen a room like this before! Knobby nodes of light attached to some contraption or another haphazardly lit the room. Although, it did almost seem as if the room had a glow of its own, something that didn't come from the lights. It was kinda creepy. Anyways, the room was large and circular with a low domed ceiling and along the back wall stairs wound their way to a second level. From where I could see the second floor was filled with shelves packed full with a bunch of different stuff. The main level contained so many wonders it'd be impossible to describe them all. Machines of every design lay scattered throughout, things that seemed to be formed from dreams.
As Vireh and Wililo caught up I wondered a bit taking in the sights. I noticed the shimmer of paraqin amongst a pile of weird looking doodads. That's a pretty rare metal, mind you, so I HAD to see what was made out of it. Oh I forgot to mention, I'm a metal smith, so these things interest me. Besides that, that thing looked almost like a forged bracelet! How could I resist? Well, I went to pick it up and Vireh slapped my hand away just as I was about to touch it.
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"Ouch!" I exclaimed.
"That's dangerous, don't touch it." I heard a *click* as Vireh pushed something and then quickly dropped the metal ring. Small spikes shot out all over the interior and an electric shock charged through the spikes, making it jump around on the floor for a moment before the charge stopped. Looking back, yeah, I guess it would have been bad if I had triggered it.
"I just wanted to see how it was made," I said dejectedly. She gave me a quick pat on the back and turned back to chatting with Wililo. Finally after what seemed like forever she brought us to one area of her workshop and turned to a tall draped object. I could hear a low humming sound coming from beneath the drape. Ok, my curiosity was peaked again. Vireh exclaimed "Xoha!", which is like "Voila!" in Common by the way, as she snapped back the cloth.
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Water or some kind of liquid bubbled inside six thick tubes sticking out from the top of a tall, cylindrical machine. Every now and then a tiny spark would shoot up between the tubes. It was kinda pretty.
"So, what's it do?" I asked.
"It's a sonic light. It will transform sound waves into light, just watch."
She flipped a switch and started talking just nonsense and clapping her hands. A lens on the front of the machine began to glow faintly. It didn't get very bright.
"It's only in its initial stages, I've got to modify it, get it to work on a smaller scale."
She talked a little more about her plans, I didn't really get what she was saying, but the machine sure was cool looking! We still had some time to kill before the play and I felt inspired by the sights in Vireh's lab, so I told Wililo I'd meet up with him later.
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Xeysha let me setup a forge in the back of her house. It wasn't much to look at, a cloth awning and a small stand with my little forge on top, a table for tools and a small bucket that was my quench. I made all kinds of things out of metal: jewelry, sculptures, ornaments. I even crafted some armor once, though there's not much request for that besides an ornamental piece here and there. I started up my small forge and opened the box that held my metal. I glanced over the pieces I had and picked out some halxna. Holding it securely between a pair of tongs, I put it in the flame to heat. I haven't sold many pieces, but enough to keep me in metal. One day I'll be good enough to have a booth in the market square or even a shop of my own! That would be great! And the news of my works would spread even to the Matriarch herself and she'd praise my skill and wear a necklace I crafted just for her! I can't wait! Oh the metal's hot enough now...
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I pulled it from the heat and began to hammer it into shape. I felt a sculpture coming from inside this chunk of metal. As I cycled between heating and hammering I could feel the way that the metal wanted to grow. Just as I was really getting into my work, I heard Ali calling out to me. She had just moved in a week or so ago, so I guess she wasn't familiar with our customs. When an artist is working you never, NEVER EVER, interrupt their work, it disrupts the whole flow of a piece and can ruin it. I tried to ignore her and keep working, but she's a Human, so she's persistent.
"Whatcha making?" she said.
I let out a huge sigh as I watched the metal cooling and felt the inspiration leaving. "Well I WAS making a sculpture."
"Oh how neat! I've always wanted to learn metal crafting."
"Oh really?!" I perked up, finally someone interested in metalsmithing! "Well, I can tell you everything and anything you want to know about it."
We chatted for a while about different kinds of metal and their properties. A while later, I glanced at my watch and noticed the time. Hissoi! It was time for the play! I'm going to be late!
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Ali was saying something but I interrupted, "Hey, I gotta run! The play's going to start soon! We'll catch up later I'm sure!" I waved and ran to find Wililo. I found him inside and he was sketching as usual. Frantically, I pulled Wililo from the couch and pushed him towards the door. We ran as fast as we could but the amphitheatre was already packed up tight. Plays were always a treat; it was always interesting to see how it would end up. Even the classics could get adapted mid-performance.
The curtain was raised and a lone figure took center stage. Cloaked and wearing plain white mask, the figure waited a few moments drenched in the glow of the spotlight before speaking. "Tonight's tale is one of love and deceit, passion and woe." As he spoke the mask flickered between different emotions. "Watch carefully, my friends, as the story unfolds of poor Queen Xyco." An inner curtain then drew back to reveal a stage, the holo generator had been set to make it look like the interior of a castle throne room. Wow! They can get pretty intricate sets with that thing!
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Let me quickly sum up the action here. I'm not going to go through the whole thing, besides a play's got to be performed to give it any justice. So here goes..
Ok, so there's this middle-aged Queen, Xyco. She's never found love and wants it really bad. Don't we all, eh? Anyways, Rewi, a young noble visits court and the Queen falls for him. Of course, things aren't that simple. Before seeing the Queen, Rewi sees Liala, a courtisan, and falls for her on sight. I thought that was sooo cute, the way he was going on about her. Anyways, the Queen asks none other than Liala to talk to Rewi for her. While at the same time, Rewi has confided in Yix, the Queen's counselor, who has been in love with her for a while and never said anything. Typical love story stuff ensues, you know what I'm talking about, everyone gets all confused about who wants who and who's really saying what.
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Then it all took a turn for the worse. I had been wondering why the announcer said "poor Queen." Yix gives this speech about how he's planning to get rid of Rewi by sending him to investigate the rumors of "bandits" attacking traders along the road. Hired to attack Rewi is what I think. Well, by now we all knew where this was leading anyway. Rewi would die at the hands of some "thieves", Yix's plan would be discovered and he would be imprisoned, Liala would die of heartbreak and the Queen would become a bitter old maid. I love a good tragedy, but it seems the rest of the crowd was in a different mood tonight. I could hear the rumblings in the back of my mind already. And now the suggestions started pouring in, mostly ways to have the love story work out and not end all badly.
And just like that the plot changed. Yix realized that he went about things the wrong way and decides to confront the Queen about his feelings rather than hurt Rewi. And the others also confessed their feelings, no more "poor Queen." Those who couldn't hear thoughts had no clue that the play wasn't supposed to end up this way. Kinda neat isn't it?! I think so. Anyway, as the performance ended, the good mood of the crowd spilled out onto the streets and a party broke out in the middle of Veitch Way! It was the best party I'd been to in a long time! Wililo and I enjoyed the festivities for a while before heading home to bed so we could be ready for the next day's adventure!
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