Stranger from the Sky, chapter 5:

An Educational Process

Twenty minutes later, Robin, Kitten, and Cyborg were assembled, along with Athena, in her room. The alien girl was seated on the floor, in her traditional sitting-on-her-heels posture, and looking up at the assembled group. "Look, Athena. You can't just go into someone else's room and take stuff without asking for permission first. What you did was wrong."

"I am still having difficulty understanding those concepts." Robin sighed.

Omega phased through the door. "Excuse me, Robin. I know I am violating your orders to remain at a distance from Athena, and while I am not trying to defend her actions, perhaps I can offer something along the lines of an explanation." Athena crossed her arms and resolutely refused to look at him.

Robin sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Hard. He was feeling another one of his headaches coming on. "Well, anything that'll lead to a better understanding of this whole clusterfubar, I suppose, is welcome. So go ahead."

Omega paused, gathering his thoughts. "You have to remember, Osira, or pretty much any of the planets in our empire, were mostly continuous battlegrounds, at least when Athena and I remembered them. When one found something that might potentially be of value, one secured it, and took it back to whatever HQ one was assigned to, to be made use of, by whomever needed it, later. The whole notion of private property, of someone having something that another was not allowed to touch, was virtually unknown in our culture at that time." He turned to Athena. "Understand, I am not trying to excuse her actions, but I offer this by way of a partial explanation for them. She simply didn't know any better. She thought the book would be useful to her in her, uhm, studies, and did not see the harm in taking it, so she simply took it. And, as to her question," and here his face took on an embarrassed expression, "please remember that Osiran society was, at least, as much as I know of it, completely desexualized. Therefore, to her, her question was of purely academic interest only." He looked around at the group. "I'll leave now." And with that, he phased back through the wall.

Robin turned back to Athena. "Look, Athena. Taking something from someone without their permission is hurtful to them. In this case, you've caused a great deal of emotional pain and embarrassment to Raven, because she didn't want anyone to know she possessed such a book. Now everyone knows. Don't you see?"

"But..but how can knowledge cause embarrassment? I don't understand."

"It has to do with the customs and mores of our people. The, the mating process is considered very private, and anything related to it is considered private, as well. People do not like to make their interest in such proceedings known, especially to people with whom they are not already sharing intimate relations or are ready to share intimate relations. Do you understand?" Robin was beginning to think he could write a book: How to Train Your Osiran, except he didn't seem to be having a huge amount of success.

"But what of your educational websites?"

"Excuse me?"

"The educational websites—at least that is what I assume them to be—that I've noticed while browsing your primitive binary mechanical Link system, what you call the 'internet'. There seem to be a great many of them. Most of them show videos of humans involved in the mating process and are quite explicit, and often deal with the mating process between humans who've scarcely met. And they frequently deal with humans interacting in groups, or before other people. Many of the practices I've noticed seem very inefficient, at least as far as reproduction is concerned, especially the ones where the male removes his organ from the female immediately prior to ejaculation. Or the ones where he wears a small piece of what I assume to be either rubber or latex over his sexual organ. And also the ones where the interaction takes place between members of the same sex, or involves the use of some artificially constructed artifact. Or is reproduction not the goal in these particular cases? Though now that I think of it," she mused, "I can envision the artificially constructed artifacts to be so designed as to deliver the male's sperm into the female, without the direct involvement of an actual male. Or am I totally wrong about that?"

Everyone in the room was beet-red: Kitten's face was actually turning dark, almost black in some spots, while parts of Robin's and Cyborg's face resembled ripening tomatoes. Most of them were studying their toes. "Uh, Athena, those weren't educational websites, those were what we call 'pornography' or simply 'porn' websites. I'm surprised the Tower's firewall allowed you to access them, but I guess nothing's perfect." He shot a scorching look at Cyborg, who only shrugged and mouthed, have to upgrade. "They were more for entertainment purposes than educational ones."

"How can viewing of the reproductive process be considered a venue for the entertainment of others?"

"You'll have to trust me on that one. It just is, with some people." Athena nodded. "But what you saw on those sites was not really the way it actually happens, not usually, between two people. And please, for God's sake, don't go using your senses to watch people having sex. Okay?"

"Very well. I do not know of whom this 'God' is that you speak, or why this should be done for his sake, but I will restrain myself. It is unlikely that such information will ever be of any use to me, anyway."

Now Robin took a different tack. "Now, tell me if I'm wrong, but didn't you and Omega undergo a forced mind-link, back on Osira?"

Athena seem to blush, splotches of silver appearing on her cheeks. Robin took note of that. Did Osirans have silver blood? Or some similar bodily fluid? "He told you about that, did he?" She folded her arms across her chest and looked away.

"Yes, he did. Athena, what you did to Raven was very similar to what you were forced to undergo. It was a revealing of information she did not wish revealed. You acted out of ignorance, it is true, but you nonetheless violated her, by violating her sense of privacy. Even as you and your sense of privacy were violated, albeit, in her case, to a lesser degree."

Athena was silent for a long time, thinking…and remembering. She actually shuddered; Robin took note of that, too. He'd never actually seen an Osiran shudder before. He hadn't known they could. "So….what is the proper course of action to take upon having made such a….colossal ….error?"

"You need to apologize to her and promise never to do it again. That's a start, at least. I have to warn you: Raven isn't the most forgiving person I've ever met, but whether she forgives you or not is unimportant; it's still something you have to do. For your own sake."

….

Raven's door: Athena signaled for entrance. "Who is it?" came in over the speaker.

"It is I, Athena. I wish to apologize."

The door opened. Raven was seated on her bed, flanked by both Beast Boy and Haywire. All of them glared at her with open hostility.

She approached the assembled group, adopting as humble and submissive a stance as she knew how. "I am sorry for what I did. I know now that I should not have taken the book from your room without your permission, and I definitely should not have revealed that I had the book to the group. I…am sorry. I…do not know anything else to say. I humbly ask your forgiveness. Should you choose not to forgive me, I will understand and accept that." And she hung her head in the human gesture of humility.

Athena wasn't just putting on an act. She knew, from her own personal familiarity, that such a public violation was a horrible, humiliating experience.

Raven got up and walked over to the alien woman. Athena towered over her, but she nonetheless stared her right in the eyes. The sheer force of Raven's gaze made Athena look away. "I may, on some level, forgive you, in light of your ignorance, but know you this: I will never, ever forget what you have done to me this day. 'Friendship,' as it stands, is no longer a possibility between us. And frankly, right now, I don't trust you very much, a condition that is unlikely to change in any future I foresee. So stay away from me, and do not EVER enter my room. Ever. Do you understand?

"Yes, Raven. I understand," It was much the same as she'd told the traitor. And so she made a short bow, as a gesture of respect, and left the room.