Letter 9
August 20, 2506
My dearest Willy,
I find it ironic that in the very letter you chose to warn me of mail redactions, your letter was randomly chosen to be redacted. Gao Guhn, cousin. As a result, I hardly understood what you were going on about, but I did my best to piece it all together. I can't say I didn't grin when I heard that an Independent General resisted Alliance attacks on Verbena with a much smaller force (and causing Alliance troops fall back to Osiris, too!), but who am I to comment?
Though the decision was initially met with adversity, Alek is thoroughly enjoying his time spent at the military academy. Within his first month, he and the other cadets began to comprehend the realities of war, after being shown graphic footage of the fire at IAV Sumter. The other soldiers, they learned, were Wei Shian Dohn Woo, about as delightful to the young cadets as Yi Da Tuo Da Bian. I jest, but I think I get my point across. Alek understands, as I hoped he eventually would, that he will only have to be there until late November and he recognizes the importance of learning how to defend oneself.
Speaking of family, Grace has conceived a child. After she experienced nausea off and on for a week, we took her to the doctor only to find out that she is pregnant. We couldn't be more thrilled with the news. Another child, cousin! Grace has already dusted off the old books of baby names and has begun to make a list of her favorites. Any suggestions?
Aside from the menial things I must attend to as mayor, I spent most of today reading a new newspaper that just published its first issue. They're calling it Jone Yee Weekly. (Apparently Indepdendents are called Browncoats now. When did this happen?) From what I understand, the newspaper is headquartered on one of the Core planets, operated by six Independent sympathizers. Of course, the paper itself doesn't specify which Core planet, nor do the authors use their real names, but pennames. The interesting thing is I've read these men's works before. Griswold, Powell, Mapp, Gideon, Bakke, and Engel… I'm familiar with all of their names. It wasn't until just before I sat down to write this letter that I realized they are all fairly well-respected intellectuals on the cortex. Before publishing Jone Yee Weekly, each ran a popular web log that promoted political autonomy. One argued from a purely economic position, another from a philosophical position, et cetera. The newspaper therefore acts as an outstanding anthology of some of the brightest minds in Independent academia.
Included is a copy of the first issue. While there are a dozen articles that support the Independent ideologies, I'd love to hear what you think about the offbeat article – "Do Zombies Have Unalienable Rights?" by Mapp. While the term zombie initially eluded me, I realized that a zombie is strikingly similar to a Reaver. I suppose Mapp didn't write about Reavers, though, as the Alliance has repeatedly denied their existence, something which continues to infuriate me considering Reavers are a harsh reality for us Rim inhabitants. At any rate, Mapp's article provides a well-rounded and honest analysis of the philosophical issues that surround animated corpses and their rights.
I hope all is well with you and your family. You are certainly in all of our prayers.
Jing Tian Dwohn Di,
Cousin Georgie
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All your Firefly are belong to FOX.
The Unification Letters are written by Phillip Shifflet and Jonas Choi. New installments are published on Mondays and Fridays.
