The Noridians didn’t seem to understand the art of small talk. Jaki started the conversation abruptly but with a very pleasant and friendly tone of voice. “Dr. Bell and Dr. Spencer, Zeke mentioned to me that he may have gotten off-track in his last conversation and I thought I would invite you to an informal sit-down to clear up any misunderstandings so we do not lose any valuable time on relatively unimportant details.”
Jaki was even more strikingly beautiful in person than I’d realized from watching her on the blogcast. With short cropped hair, a well-endowed torso above a flat stomach and extra-long legs highlighted by the form-fitting mini dress she wore, she had fashion model good looks. Apparently Rasheed had also noticed because instead of answering he just nervously glanced at me, so I spoke first, “Jaki, we appreciate that but if we understood correctly and if your people don’t have a government then that’s hardly unimportant to us.”
“This is exactly the type of misunderstanding that I want to clear up,” said Jaki. “What our two peoples define as government might differ but there must be some hierarchy, do you not agree Dr. Bell?”
“Well, certainly… I suppose,” said Rasheed. “But then what exactly is your hierarchy?”
“Gentlemen, a complete explanation of how our society operates could take months and still will not be properly understood until you have spent some time amongst us—which is why we have extended the invitation to take you back with us. We would like the courtesy of explaining over time to your diplomatic corps,” continued Jaki. “If we understand your hierarchy correctly then this would seem the best way to proceed for all concerned.”
As I watched Bell nodding to himself I could see that he, like everyone, was caught up in the grand adventure of meeting a new ‘people’ who were superior to us in every observable way. I had to admit that the allure of the knowledge they could give us was a strong motivation to make fast friends and not ‘rock the boat,’ but my bullshit meter was going through the roof.
One of my better qualities has always been to sense hidden agendas and I had developed tactful ways of getting to the truth…
“I don’t buy it,” I said.
“What?” everyone replied.
“Jaki, with all respect…” I continued. “Today’s recordings will already be reviewed by the diplomats so there is no reason not to start down that long road of explanation right now. At least you can give us a general outline - is there any reason you wouldn’t want to do that?”
Jaki and Zeke exchanged a long glance and she then leaned back on the couch and crossed her long shapely legs, which interestingly enough didn’t bother my concentration one iota.
Jaki began, “You will learn that in greater galactic society patience is considered a virtue and it is a virtue that your race will need to cultivate if you desire to survive and prosper…”
Was that a helpful hint or a threat, I wondered?
“I have already stated that this was an informal meeting. I guess I should have elaborated to explain that our conversation is private—no one else can hear our discussion.
“I had hoped,” she continued, “that we could move forward with a friendly understanding that all would be explained to the diplomatic corps in due course… Dr. Spencer, will you allow us that grace?”
With all eyes upon me I responded with one word, “no.”
“Very well,” she said after a moment. “But this will take some time. Do you need anything to make you comfortable?”
At the same time Dr. Bell was saying ‘no’ I said, “Yes. Jaki, I need you to turn the recording equipment back on.”
In a tone of voice that was just short of dismissal Jaki told me that she had been assured that her quarters weren’t recorded—so there shouldn’t be anything to turn on. Even if I hadn’t been able to sense the evasion there is no way I would believe that our government would willingly leave anything to do with the Noridians unobserved. “Jaki,” I repeated. “Turn it on.”
After a long look that probably should have intimidated me Jaki said, “Very well, your security offices now have full access.”
I’m not sure how many hours that first session lasted but it ended up as the most fascinating of my life, even if for me it started slow.
Jaki began by laying the ground rules; explaining that because some of these concepts may be new to us she reserved the right to explain them in her own way. She would be using what we called the Socratic method of teaching; asking questions that could guide us to understanding.
The first question she asked us was the most complicated, “What is government?”
Dr. Bell responded by saying government’s purpose was to do for society what individuals couldn’t. I don’t know if he was influenced by Plato’s writings on the subject (he was a philosophy professor) but he spent a rather lengthy amount of time expounding on how those that had the vision and resources should have the authority to tailor society to best benefit all. Personally, I had eschewed all politics above a departmental level for years but since I had degrees in both History and Anthropology I recognized his viewpoint as reflecting the styles of influence and government most currently in vogue: liberalism and socialism.
Jaki seemed totally absorbed in Dr. Bell’s words and my mind might have wondered a little; I had taken the opportunity to glance around the room and I had to admit to being a little fixated on the hemline of the short dress that Jaki was wearing but my demeanor was totally professional when I suddenly realized that Rasheed had finished and Jaki was staring at me intently.
“You do not seem to agree Dr. Spencer?” Jaki said with a small smile.
“It’s not that I disagree,” I responded. “I think Dr. Bell has done a great job of summarizing what most people think of as the duties of government… it’s just that I don’t think that’s what government actually is.”
I explained that from a historical viewpoint, at its core government was nothing more than a small group of people exercising control over a larger group of people. Dr. Bell argues that the motives are for the greater good but history shows us otherwise. The small group of people inevitably uses their control to funnel the resources of the greater group through themselves and while some of those resources get redistributed to others, a significant amount enriches the controlling group. Of the resources that do get passed on the controlling group controls the distribution and therefore enhances its own control and power. If you understand this definition of government you can understand how the ancient City-States came about, how feudalism tied the peasants to the land, and how monarchies built kingdoms. It gets a little more complicated in modern times but whether it’s socialism openly redistributing wealth or capitalistic politicians extorting donations from businesses it’s all the same. We talk about the importance of fairness and freedom but those are just window dressings to placate the majority that are controlled. In my country we actually have governments within governments. We have the Federal government as well as State and Local but we also have labor unions and powerful trade groups like the American Medical Association that all fit the definition.
Early in my explanation Rasheed had been interjecting frequently; sometimes with clarifications and sometimes with questions. By the time I finished I realized that I’d been lecturing solo for quite some time.
Rasheed actually broke the silence first by implying that my viewpoint was fairly radical. I insisted that there was nothing radical about an observation. I don’t march in the streets, practice politics, or assign moral value to any side; I simply study history and observe it when I can.
“So,” Jaki said. “You believe government is an unnecessary evil?”