audio; un: ade37

[landing_lights]

[ Since he’s arrived, Ade has done his best to maintain a low profile. Even knowing that c’nataat isn’t why he’s been brought here, he’d still figured it was best to limit interactions with the rest of the crew for the time being. Now, with reassurances that the symbiote’s contagious potential has been heavily curtailed in this universe, he’s feeling a bit better about reaching out.

Which is convenient because even just shortly after touchdown on Ciraiwei… there’s a lot to discuss. ]

First things first: My name’s Ade. I’m another new arrival, so sorry in advance if I’m not totally familiar with how things work here.

I think the same question must be on a lot of people’s minds, so I thought I might as well be the one to bite the bullet:

Are we going to tell the Hivawei about the asteroid?

[ There really isn’t a delicate way to put it. The question hangs in the air for a terrible moment before Ade forces himself to continue. ] I think we should. I know there’s nothing anyone can do to stop it but… they should get the chance to make preparations. Say goodbye. You know? [ Ade drags a hand through his hair, grimacing. ] I know it would make things a lot more chaotic, but just taking what we need and then leaving them to it without even a word of warning… It doesn’t sit right with me.

[ There’s a longer pause here. It’s a heavy topic and, as convicted as Ade feels that telling the Hiwavei would be the right thing to do, he can still think of just as compelling reasons to do the opposite. He doesn’t want to act as if his word is law or as he isn’t willing to hear others’ perspectives.

…Unfortunately, there’s also a second part of his message—one that Ade feels like a right tit for bringing up after the discussion of the incoming planetary apocalypse. ]

Also, uh… sorry if I’m going about this the wrong way—I know we all have much, much bigger things to deal with, but…I was assigned a personal task.

[ He winces. They need to do these things to harness the power of the orbs, right? He tells himself that this will bring him one step closer to saving millions of lives in his own universe. He still feels like an ass, though. ]

I need three people to skip breakfast for a day. Just a day. If you’d like, I can make it up to you by making you breakfast another time. I’ll even bring it to your room if you’d like. I’m not a world-class chef or anything, but I should be able to make something simple: pancakes, french toast, that kind of thing.

[ (He’s being humble; this is a man that taught himself to bake and made a cake with frosting on an alien planet. And it was vegan.) ]

So, uh… If anyone’s willing to help with that, just let me know. Like I said, I just need three volunteers.

Thanks.

Comments

voice ↪ un: unohana

[kenpachi]

Hello, Mr. Ade. That's a simple enough task, I will gladly assist you. Consider one person to be abstaining from breakfast on your behalf.

（ not quite touching the rest yet, but. you know. ）

voice;

[landing_lights]

Thanks, I appreciate it. Any requests for your make-up breakfast?

voice | un: stardust

[shadysided]

... Totally weird personal goal, but that's nothing new.

I can totally skip breakfast for a day.

[A pause.]

Maybe... I don't know. Maybe we should tell their leader? Let the person in charge of them make the call? [She sighs through her nose, and the memory of past missions are definitely going through her head right now.] That way, at least someone who lives here can make the choice.

Before, that kind of meant a lot.

[She's hashtag learning.]

voice;

[landing_lights]

Alright, consider yourself on the list. Thanks.

[ As for the more serious part of the discussion... ]

Sounds like a good call. Their leader would probably have a better idea of how to break the news, if that's what they choose.

[ Even if it does feel a bit like passing the buck to some other poor sod... ]

What do you mean?

[ He hasn't been here long enough to know what's happened 'before.' ]

Voice | UN: d.johnson

[morethan084]

I don’t think we should tell them. Not yet anyway, we still have time.

[As for his personal goal…]

I wouldn’t say no to a breakfast in bed. Count me in.

voice;

[landing_lights]

Counted. Thanks.

You really think there's a way to stop what's coming?

[ Because that's the only scenario he can think of where it would be acceptable to put off telling them the truth—if they think there's a chance to stop it before it happens. ]

voice; un: romanoff

[deaddrop]

[Natasha figured someone would bring that up eventually, and it's a valid question to answer.]

If we tell them, we could end up incentivizing them to look for the orb themselves. That's not just chaos.

[Which isn't exactly to say no, but the question isn't just abstract or a matter of convenience or inconvenience.]

It's also not something we can take back once it's out.

voice;

[landing_lights]

Could they use the orb's power to stop the meteor? Because that's the opposite of a problem if you ask me.

Voice; un: raddude5000

[heroooic]

[ The level of disappointment Finn feels over three people getting to this before he does, is not normal.

His own personal mission, forbidding him from ‘meddling’ in other people’s affairs, was severely putting a damper on his usual mission activities of helping other orbers out. Instead of looking for things to involve himself in, he was relegated to simply helping only when asked. A personal hell.]

It does feel sort of…unfair to hide it from them. They deserve the chance to make their own decisions, right? [ Right?] Even if it’s just how to spend the time they have. Maybe they’ll try and save themselves. They might surprise us! [ And optimistic take, but an unlikely one. Finn was still holding out distant hope there would be something they could do to help them…unlikely as that seemed. ]

voice;

[landing_lights]

That's what I'm thinking. Maybe it's grim, but I'd want to know if everything I knew was about to end. Even if was just to make peace with that fact.

And you're right; maybe they will surprise us. [ An unseen shrug. ] Plenty enough things have surprised me here and I've only been here a week.

voice | un: lion cub

[heyciri]

Tell their leaders. Let them decide.

( because why would they necessarily even be believed? it doesn't change their cover story. science is filled with people more concerned with their own progress versus the costs others around them face. the orb doesn't need to be part of the discussion, though if it's anything like the illusion room's training... it might still be part of what's ongoing in measurable difference.

anyway, she's not a fan of not letting people know. Scientists Would Observe, so tell the locals they're fucked. )

If you still need people to skip breakfast? I can manage that, too.

voice;

[landing_lights]

Maybe that's best. We'd be passing the dilemma onto someone else, but... at least they'd have a surer idea of what's best for their people.

And thanks, but I already got three volunteers. No need to skip breakfast on my account.

audio; un: Sabriel.Abhorsen

[bindsthedead]

I agree. If nothing else, we'll need to work with them if we find some way of saving this planet's people. And if the comet is connected to the orb, they'll have a far better idea than us if anything out of the ordinary has been happening.

audio: Gutterson.T

[walkingtrigger]

Guess we'd have to first decide if telling them does them any real good, or if it just makes us feel better about ourselves for knowing.

[ He's keeping an eye on the various conversations that he can see, and his ears open to the whispers he picks up among the crew. It is a miserable situation, one that has left a lead weight in his gut that just keeps growing the more he interacts with these beings.

But truth is he's not decided one way or the other. Some people are bringing up good points in regards to telling these people of their fate, but in his heart -personally- he wouldn't want to know. ]

Seems we'd be putting a lot of fear on them for circumstances they can't escape. Older folks may recognize the opportunity to say goodbye, but the little ones won't be able to process that.

voice;

[landing_lights]

Then we leave it to their parents to decide how much they need to know. I'm not saying we have to shout it from the rooftops, but if we tell their leaders, at least they get a choice in what's best for their people. If we keep it to ourselves, we're effectively making that choice for all of them.

audio; un: redgrave

[shishkabob]

Let's not. What's it gonna do to them if we tell them, hey, you've only got just over a week left to live? They'll panic and it'll make grabbing the orb a lot harder than it really has to be.

[It's a shitty thing to do to them, sure, Dante knows that. Everybody deserves the chance to say goodbye to their loved ones, after all, but...pragmatically speaking, it's not the best idea.

After all, there's nothing any of them can really do about it.]

It sucks, I know, but we came here with a job to do, and the faster we do it the sooner we can get back.

voice;

[landing_lights]

That's assuming they'll react like humans would. That's not a given.

[ The wess'har wouldn't react with blind panic. Neither would the ussissi. If his prolonged contact with aliens has taught Ade anything, it's that humanity's prioritization of personal survival over the good of all else isn't universally shared. ]

I get what you're saying about the risk to the mission, but even if we find the orb before the asteroid hits, we'll still have to make this choice: warn them of what's coming or let them figure it out themselves.

[ Because at some point, it's going to become obvious to these people that the shining light in their sky isn't a blessing. They aren't deciding whether the Hivawei know they're going to die or not—they're just deciding when they know. ]

audio; un: garma.zabi

[gawstruck]

In regards to our moral quandary, I strongly advocate for keeping quiet. I must second what everybody else has said... it will make the mission a lot harder to execute.

[ There is a deep inhale here. Despite knowing that they have to approach this from a pragmatic angle, seeing the little settlement and the happy little people in it does not make this easy on the heart. ]

And besides... They're happy right now, full of optimism. Would you rather they spend their last days in existence panicked and mourning? They have the possibility of experiencing plentiful final days, their hearts filled with joy. I do not see the benefit to taking it from them.

voice;

[landing_lights]

So we focus on finding the orb first. Avoid an even bigger calamity. I get that. But even if we do, what then? Do we just fly off without a word or do we tell them the truth?

[ Focusing on the orb is a choice to delay the decision. Fine, Ade can accept that. But that doesn't make the decision go away. ]

I don't think it should be up to us how they spend their last days. If we tell their leaders, then at least someone who's actually affected gets to make that call: whether to let their people die ignorant and happy or to mourn together.

audio; un: mccoy

[homeostatic]

That's because not tellin' them is paternalistic horse shit.

I don't not tell a patient they've got a terminal prognosis because it'll inconvenience me, or hurt their feelings and make them panic, I tell them so they can make an informed decision about how they want to spend the rest of the time they do have. It's one of the worst conversations I ever have to have as a doctor, but I still do it.

We're not gods and we aren't the rulers of this planet.

private audio;

[softshoes]

[Yujin's been keeping an eye on all the conversations happening around the asteroid, even if he isn't altogether eager to bicker about it publicly on the network. He'd been trying to hold his tongue, but... McCoy's reply sticks with him.]

Primum non nocere, hm?

voice;

[landing_lights]

That's a good comparison. Though, some might say it would be more paternalistic to tell them information they never asked for.

[ After all, a patient goes to a doctor for information about their health—even if it's bad news. The Hivawei, on the other hand, never asked for them to be here. Does that make a difference?

God, this is the Wess'har and the Ebqas all over again. Which is right? To interfere in the lives of others for the greater good? Or to only do so when asked? Ade shakes his head, trying to think it through. ]

I still think we should tell them, [ he says with a sigh. ] Though, now there's a debate over whether to do it now or wait until we've secured the orb...

private audio; un: y.mikotoba

[softshoes]

Do you feel as though we Orbers have come to a consensus on the matter?

[like they're trying to decide on a new paint color for the ship, but... he's nosy and doesn't especially want to get into the debate himself.]

It isn't an easy decision to make.

[landing_lights]

Not really... Feels like half the people want to tell them and the other half wants to let them be. And that's not even getting into the debates about when to tell them.

[ He sighs and rubs his temples. ] Do we have any sort of leadership on this station? Or is it really just up to us as individuals to decide?

[ It's times like these that he misses military structure and hierarchy. Ade had been a leader to his detachment, but even he had directives coming from the top to follow. Even with his convictions, the lack of that familiar structure leaves him feeling paralyzed. ]

I guess Viveca is the closest thing we have...?

voice; un: clarke

[romancekiller]

I was thinking the same thing. I don't think it's right that we're keeping this from them— they deserve to be told what's coming even if we just tell their leaders. [she knows all too well what that is like and much like her father, she thinks the people have a right to know]