Chapter 118: The Asgard Question Part 5
Temporary Base, Gate Area, PZ-1875, November 25th, 1999 (Earth Time)
"If we're exploring options," the Secretary of State spoke up just as Samantha Carter wondered if she could focus on a few calculations on her laptop instead of the talk about diplomacy, "then maybe we should ask why you want to help them."
Sam winced at that.
"What do you mean?" Adora asked. "They need help!"
"But they don't want help," the man went on. "They made that clear. The easiest way to settle things with them would be to honour their wishes."
"That would break our agreement with Loki," Glimmer replied.
The Secretary of State didn't say 'Yes, and?', but his polite expression wasn't quite enough to hide his thoughts.
"It would break our word," Adora added with a frown. "Who would trust us if we would go back on an agreement because someone else demanded it?"
"Unless the other side broke the agreement already," Catra added with a snort.
"Or the deal was made under false pretences?" Dr Weir asked, tilting her head a little.
"Yes," Glimmer said. "Though Loki didn't do that. We knew he wasn't supported by the rulers of Asgard."
"You didn't know what he had done in the past, though," Dr Weir pointed out.
"We still don't know what he did," Glimmer said. "The Asgard didn't want to tell us."
"They might be a very secretive species. Loki didn't share much about his culture and history," Daniel speculated. "Or they might be ashamed of their past - both the High Council and Loki, I mean. Bringing up shameful deeds from the past might be taboo in Asgard society."
"Or they simply don't want to risk information that could hurt them get out," Sha're said. "They know the Goa'uld, and so they know that any information showing a weakness of theirs would be exploited against them."
"We aren't the Goa'uld," Entrapta protested.
"But they don't know us - and they don't trust us, as they clearly demonstrated today," Daniel said.
"That's why we need to show them we are trustworthy." Adora nodded. "Once they know us, they will know they can trust us."
"And that's why breaking our word to Loki could backfire," Glimmer added. "You don't trust people who break their word."
Catra mumbled something that Sam couldn't make out. It made Adora frown at her, though, and say: "That's not applicable here."
"But if the choice came down between honouring your agreement with Loki and peace with the Asgard…" The Secretary of State began.
"We aren't at war with the Asgard," Adora interrupted him. "We're talking with the Asgard to settle our differences and clear up misunderstandings so we both understand each other."
"They haven't even threatened to war over this," the General added. "Of course, they're already fighting a war of their own."
"Yes. They would be foolish to engage in another war," Sha're agreed. "And as far as we know, the war against the Replicators won't finish soon."
"According to Loki. He's not exactly privy to their strategic situation," the General pointed out, "being a wanted criminal, and all."
"We lack confirmed data about the war against the Replicators," Entrapta said.
"If we send spy bots to the front, the Asgard might see that as a threat," Bow cautioned.
Sam didn't think it was very likely - but they didn't know enough about the Asgard to tell. "And we would have to find the system they are fighting in first."
"Good point. If the spy bot network were spreading exponentially, we would have a good chance of stumbling upon it," Entrapta said. "But that would probably make the Asgard think we're a threat."
"Probably, yes." The General's sarcasm was obvious to everyone except Entrapta, who nodded with a smile.
"Exactly!"
Sam made a mental note to have a talk with him about it - he looked a little guilty already.
"Anyway, we're not going to break our deal with Loki," Glimmer said. "Because even if the Asgard decide to die out, he disagrees - and they don't have the right to force him to join them."
"Not the moral right, at least." Daniel nodded. "They might have the formal right according to their laws and customs."
"They said he broke their laws with his experiments," the British envoy said. "But we have no treaty with them that would recognise their laws."
"And we won't as long as they act like that." Adora shook her head.
"We would have to know their laws first anyway, before making a treaty," Glimmer added.
"Yeah, it wouldn't be a good idea to make a deal without knowing more about the other side," the General said with an innocent expression.
The Etherians frowned at him. "We knew enough to make the agreement with Loki, and his information has been confirmed by everything we learned since then," Glimmer said.
"So far, yes."
The General had a point, of course. But even if they learned more about Loki's crimes, Sam didn't think the Etherians would go back on their word. That wasn't how they did things.
Unless Loki went back on his word first. Or committed a crime or otherwise betrayed their trust.
She couldn't help wondering if Loki was aware of that - or if he thought the Etherians would forgive future deeds as easily as they did past deeds. If he did, he might be in for a rude awakening.
As would be anyone else who didn't understand that the Etherians gave second chances to everyone but expected you to change and stay changed once you took them, she added to herself with a glance at the diplomats in the room.
"...and I do think we need to consider the fact that the Asgard don't want the Alliance's help more strongly if we want to come to an accommodation with them to secure our, ah, flanks." The American diplomat nodded.
Catra sighed. Those diplomats didn't get it. If someone needed help, Adora and the other princesses would help them. Whether they wanted the help or not. Heh, if Adora had managed to capture Catra in Thaymor, they would have probably done their best to help her. And she would have needed the help. But whether they would have succeeded… Bah, there was no sense in dwelling on the past.
She finished her last fish snack and looked at the diplomats, all lined up on one side of the largest table facing the princesses and SG-1. "What we need is more information," she said. "We can't really make plans without knowing more about the Asgard."
"We can make contingency plans," Adora objected - as Catra had expected; her lover was fond of planning. And overplanning. The stories she had heard from Bow and Glimmer about her plans for the Princess Prom…
"Waste of time," Catra retorted.
"It would be helpful to know more so we can correctly interpret the Asgard's statements," Daniel said. "We can't solve this misunderstanding if we create more misunderstandings. And we can't avoid provoking them -. Or pushing them into an action both sides will regret - if we don't know where they draw their lines."
"Well, we don't know that because they don't tell us that," Glimmer said.
"Unless we already crossed those lines by helping Loki," Sha're pointed out.
That was a good point, Catra had to admit. If the Asgard wouldn't budge on that and were just trying to use diplomacy before they resorted to force… Well, then it would end badly since the Princess Alliance wouldn't back down.
"Being unwilling to compromise wouldn't be very diplomatic," the British envoy said.
"Everyone has some things they won't abandon or compromise about." Jack shrugged.
"Of course," Daniel said. "And the Asgard have been very close-lipped about such things."
"Which is also a diplomatic tactic. Like our stance towards Taiwan. We keep China guessing how we would respond to an attack on the island so they won't attack," the American said.
"That sounds weird," Glimmer said.
Catra nodded. She would have said 'stupid', but if it was working, who was she to judge?
"It has worked well."
"So far," Jack added. "And it also means that we can't support Taiwan as much as we might want to."
"We have an agreement with Loki," Glimmer repeated herself.
"But would the Alliance go to war over it?" the German diplomat asked.
"As we were told, technically, the agreement is between the Kingdom of Bright Moon and Loki," the American assistant, Weir, pointed out. "And the Asgard aren't the Goa'uld. That is why we are merely observing here."
"Yes," Glimmer said, narrowing her eyes.
She didn't deny that an attack by the Asgard wasn't covered by the Alliance against the Goa'uld. But Catra knew that if Earth wanted to stay out of such a conflict using technicalities, the Alliance was dead anyway - the Princesses didn't do things like that. Not the ones of the Princess Alliance. No matter what the Alliance treaty said. "I don't think the Asgard would bother with sorting out which of our forces would defend Etheria and which wouldn't if they go to war," Catra said.
"Nevertheless, fighting a war to protect a criminal - someone who has, as we know, admitted to breaking the laws of his species - wouldn't be very popular on Earth," the American said.
"The Asgard haven't even hinted at the threat of war so far," Daniel said. "They have been appealing at our, well, morality. Or common sense, if you want to interpret their warnings about Loki like that. We shouldn't assume the worst."
"But we can't assume everything will be fine," Jack objected.
"That's why we need data!" Entrpata repeated her earlier words. "And why the Asgard need data. Even if they don't want it."
"We know that we know nothing." Daniel nodded. "The question is: Do the Asgard?"
"They are an old species," Sha're said. "They should be aware that they don't know enough about Earth and the Alliance. However…" She glanced at Adora and Jack. "They have a history with the Gate Builders, or so they claimed. And you are the descendants of the Gate Builders."
"But would they consider us Ancients? We don't share their culture or claim that heritage," Daniel said. "We don't know very much about the Ancients' culture to begin with."
"And what we know about the First Ones isn't good," Catra added. Bunch of ruthless imperialistic bastards.
"If they think we are like the First Ones…" Adora winced.
"The way we showed Thor Alpha might have given the impression that we kind of succeeded the First Ones," Bow said.
Jack snorted. "And if their impression of Earth's culture is a tribe of Vikings, they might expect us to raid and plunder them."
"I think that's another misunderstanding to deal with. A potential misunderstanding," Glimmer said. "Once the talks resume, we should focus on getting to know each other."
Catra snorted at the unintended double-entendre, but Daniel nodded eagerly. "Yes! A cultural exchange. Or something like that. Provided they are willing, of course."
"Earth has been asking for such exchanges for quite some time," Weir pointed out.
And Etheria had stalled them. For a variety of reasons. Good reasons. As their movies and TV shows and everything else showed, too many humans were crazy. And dangerous. But if they could have a cultural exchange with the Asgard, they wouldn't be able to deny Earth one. Still…
"Best have that exchange with Etheria," Catra said with a snort. "I don't know if they would trust us any better if they visited Earth."
The others laughed at that, but Catra wasn't completely joking.
Gate Area, Undesignated Asgard World, November 25th, 1999 (Earth Time)
"...and we will discuss your proposal in the High Council," Thor told them. "Such a decision necessitates careful deliberation."
"And all the data," Entrapta mumbled, though the Asgard didn't react to that, Jack O'Neill noticed.
Thor hasn't mentioned the rest of the Asgard, Jack thought. It seemed that the council would decide this, not the entire population. Not too unexpected - that was how things were run in the USA as well - but at least back home, the government was elected by the people. Indirectly, as Daniel would point out, but that was a technicality. Still, having your government decide whether your species lived or died - which this came down to, in his opinion - didn't sit right with Jack.
Glimmer nodded in response. "Of course. However, we have another proposal for you that shouldn't need a lengthy discussion and could influence your decision. We invite you to visit Etheria and study us - our culture, our people - to better understand us and our friends."
Once more, the Asgard seemed surprised, judging by the glances they exchanged.
"You've seen the research station of the first ones, but you haven't seen our world," Glimmer went on. "You don't know us. We understand that without knowing more about us, you cannot trust us, and we want to change that."
"We have nothing to hide," Adora added, smiling brightly.
"Except for military secrets, of course," Catra added.
Adora nodded. "Yes, that goes without saying."
For all her idealism, she had been raised as an officer in the Horde, Jack reminded himself. She was familiar with information security.
"You already know about our base technology anyway," Entrapta added, "since you knew Horde Prime."
"Yes." Thor nodded after a moment, which might mean he didn't know as much about Horde technology as Entrapta assumed. But if he didn't, he probably was too proud to admit it. Or he was just a little distracted by their offer of a cultural exchange.
"And how much access to your world would we have?" Freyr asked.
"That depends on the individual kingdoms, but you will have full access outside the military areas to Bright Moon and Dryl, and I can't see our friends in the Princess Alliance refusing you access either," Glimmer said. "I can't speak for the kingdoms not associated with us, though."
"Like Earth, your planet has no unified government but is dominated by an alliance of the strongest countries?" Freyr tilted his head.
"Yes." Glimmer nodded.
Jack could see that the diplomats stirred a little at that. Probably took offence at Glimmer being so blunt about it even if she was correct - the NATO countries dominated Earth, now more than ever, with the Alliance technology spreading amongst them.
"Although said dominance is limited by treaties and international law," Daniel pointed out. "Neither world is a dictatorship."
Freyr looked at Anise next.
"The Tok'ra do not have a home world," she said. "Our fight against the Goa'uld necessitates constant moving of our bases to avoid detection. At this point, we are not willing to compromise our security by revealing our bases to outsiders."
"We wouldn't expect you to," Thor commented.
"This is about our agreement with Loki, anyway," Glimmer said. "Earth and the Tok'ra are our allies against the Goa'uld, which is why they are present, but the only countries directly concerned are Bright Moon and the Princess Alliance of Etheria."
"And the Asgard," Penegal added.
"Of course," Glimmer didn't quite frown, but her smile grew a bit strained.
"So, will you visit?" Entrapt leaned forward.
"We will have to discuss this with the High Council," Freyr said.
"Ah." Entrapta pouted, but Glimmer nodded before she could comment further. "Of course. So, will you contact us when you've made a decision?"
"Yes."
And that was it. A few polite goodbyes later, they were back on PZ-1875. Catra made a point of stretching her arms over her head as they walked down the gate ramp. "Now, that was a long meeting with nothing to show for it," she complained.
"We learned more about the Asgard, and we made two important offers," Glimmer disagreed.
"We mostly learned that we don't know anything about them," Catra said.
"Which is generally an important lesson," Daniel said. "Being aware of such ignorance prevents decisions made in ignorance. Or it should," he added.
"Let's hope the Asgard share that view," Jack said.
"They didn't seem to want all the data they could have," Entrapta pointed out. "That's not a good sign."
"Well, that's not really that unique. A lot of politicians don't like data that contradicts them either," Jack said.
"They're not very good politicians, then," Entrapta commented.
The diplomats laughed at that together with the others, but they didn't sound too honest about it. Probably struck too close to home, in Jack's opinion.
Not that he cared. He was a soldier, not a politician or a diplomat. The politicking he had to do as a general was already bad enough.
He just wanted to fight the snakes without having to fight half the generals on his side. Well, except for the admirals, maybe.
Royal Palace, Bright Moon, Etheria, November 26th, 1999 (Earth Time)
"...and so we hope that the High Council of the Asgard will accept our invitation and send a delegation to Etheria," Glimmer finished.
Adora nodded in agreement, but not everyone in the Princess Alliance seemed to share her views. Perfuma, of course, was beaming with obvious enthusiasm, which meant Scorpia would be on board as well, but Mermista seemed more sceptical, as did Frosta. Netossa and Spinnerella seemed interested, but they weren't ruling princesses.
"So, we need to convince the Asgard that they should let us save their species?" Frosta asked with a frown.
"We would settle for convincing them that they shouldn't start a war with us over this," Glimmer replied.
"They're currently fighting those Replicators," Memista chimed in. "Since they're slowly winning, they can't be ready to fight another war. And last we heard, it'll take them a while to finish the robots - if all goes according to plan."
"Yes." Frosta nodded. "They can't do anything to us, and they can't help us in the war either, so why should we go to such lengths to placate them?"
"Because we don't want them as enemies only held back from attacking us by the demands of their current war," Glimmer said.
"The War against the Goa'uld will take a long time," Catra pointed out. "And even if we finish the snakes before the Asgard finish the Replicators, do you want to fight another war?" She scoffed, and Frosta glared at her.
"And we want to be friends with them," Entrapta added. "Loki's a great scientist! The Asgard have great technology - we could learn a lot from each other!"
"As long as you don't learn everything from Loki," Catra mumbled next to Adora.
Adora wanted to frown at her lover, but Catra was right. Loki wasn't the best role model for ethical science. Quite the contrary.
Frosta pouted at that. "I still don't like it."
Mermista shrugged. "Meh. If they want a tour of Salineas, they can have one. But we won't put on a show for them."
"Oh!" Sea Hawk piped up. "But think of all the shanties they have never heard! And we can show them the thrills of…" He jumped on the table and raised his sword. "...ADVENTURE!"
"Sit down!" Glimmer snapped.
"We won't show them an adventure!" Mermista hissed. "We don't want them to think we're trying to kill them!"
"But nothing invigorates you more and makes you appreciate your life than a harrowing brush with death!" Sea Hawk protested. "This could convince them to accept our help!"
"Or convince them that we're dangerous lunatics," Mermista retorted.
"My love!"
As the two bickered, and Glimmer fumed, Adora sighed. At least, it seemed as if Mermista had been convinced to allow this. And Frosta might still change her opinion once everyone else agreed. But that left another issue.
"Alright. Now that that's settled, there's another related issue," Glimmer continued ten minutes later. "Our allies on Earth have indicated that they, too, would like to open cultural exchanges with Etheria. More than we already have," she added.
"Didn't we host enough of their diplomats to fill a frigate?" Mermista asked. "And half my people are addicted to their 'shows'."
Adora frowned. That was hyperbole. Mostly.
"Don't tell me they want to talk about embassies again!" Frosta groaned. "I won't let them take part of my kingdom!"
"Technically, an embassy is still part of your kingdom," Bow spoke up. "It just has certain protections according to their treaty."
"A treaty which we didn't sign," Frosta retorted. "And won't sign."
"They have ambassadors at our courts; they don't need an enclave for diplomacy," Mermista said.
"It's not about embassies," Adora told them. "And it's not about tourism either," she added before anyone could bring that up - the documentaries about the effects of mass tourism on Earth had certainly had an impact on her friends. "It's about cultural exchange - artists and scholars - to show us more about Earth and to learn more about Etheria."
"We already know their culture," Mermista said. "Earth TV shows are spreading everywhere."
"Indeed!" Sea Hawk nodded. "Even in kingdoms where they are banned, smugglers will carry them."
"Viewers that can display Earth media are one of our biggest exports," Scorpia added. "Thank you again for sharing the design." She nodded at Entrapta.
"But we don't have such shows," Glimmer said. "Earth doesn't know as much about us as we do about them. They want to change that."
"You mean they want to make TV shows about us." Mermista closed her eyes. "Ugh."
"Yes." Adora nodded. It was no secret that many journalists and TV companies had been asking for the opportunity to do that.
"We'll need a lot of guards to ensure they don't cause trouble," Netossa said. "Or run into trouble."
"Yes." Glimmer nodded with a frown.
Adora understood her friend. There were security concerns. Smuggling, spying. Recruiting. And getting eaten by monsters. But they could be dealt with. "We can handle it," she said. "And this will help us build more trust with Earth as well."
Something, as the latest news had shown, they still needed - many on Earth didn't like or trust them.
Alliance Base Lübtheen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, November 26th, 1999
"So, the brass is unhappy with Earth being sidelined in the Alliance negotiations with the Asgard," the General said as he refilled his cup of coffee.
Sipping from her own cup - not quite as good as the coffee in her lab, if she were honest, but good nonetheless - Samantha Carter nodded. The Secretary of State had made a few comments expressing that sentiment on the way back to Earth.
"I thought they agreed that this was a matter between Etheria and the Asgard?" Daniel asked.
"That's their official stance," the General replied with a slight snort. "Unofficially, they're still smarting about the fact that they're not top dog any more, and some people think this mess with the Asgard is a great way to gain some influence or leverage."
Daniel frowned as he pushed his glasses up, Sha're mirrored his expression, and Teal'c didn't show any reaction, as usual. Sam tried not to wince. "I don't think the Etherians will like this - it's sending conflicted messages."
"Call it lying to their faces, Carter." The General shrugged. "Or politics. Or diplomacy. Same things."
Sha're nodded in apparent agreement. Sam wasn't surprised - Sha're's idea of politics and diplomacy had been formed by observing Amaunet.
Daniel, of course, didn't. "The Etherians - the princesses in the Alliance, at least - prize honesty. Especially amongst their allies. I thought the government would have realised that - we've been working with the Princess Alliance for a long time by now."
"The President surely knows that," the General replied. "But not everyone in the government agrees that this means we should imitate Adora's approach to diplomacy." He shrugged again. "Anyway, that's just office politics. Officially, our orders haven't changed."
"Since Adora is the Supreme Commander of the Alliance, changing orders against her will would be treason," Teal'c commented.
"The American definition of treason is a bit stricter," the General retorted, "but the sentiment is the same."
Teal'c nodded.
"So… what do we do?" Daniel asked.
"Nothing. It's all unofficial talk so far." The General finished his cup.
"Shouldn't we tell the Etherians?" Daniel frowned again.
"You mean leak internal information, Daniel?" The General's eyebrows rose.
Sam rolled her eyes at his innocent act. He wouldn't have told them if he weren't planning to do something about it.
"To reveal dishonourable actions is not dishonourable," Teal'c stated.
"But if we do this, we expose ourselves as well," Sha're objected. "This could be a loyalty test."
"Oh." Daniel blinked. "You think this is a trap?"
The General shrugged. "It's a bit low-key for a trap. Nothing solid, nothing big, just rumours and sour grapes talk at the water cooler. But it could be a test to see where we stand."
"And where do we stand, Jack?" Daniel stared at him.
"We've sworn an oath to defend our country against all enemies, foreign and domestic."
"That's not an answer," Daniel complained. "And the Etherians aren't our enemies."
"Yep." The General was far too smug about such a delicate subject, in Sam's opinion. For all his complaints and comments about politics, he liked being clever a bit too much.
"I don't think we can classify our own government as a domestic enemy of our country," she commented.
"Of course not," the General agreed. "So, currently, we don't have enemies, foreign or domestic - except for the snakes, of course."
"And except for your rival countries on Earth, chiefly Russia and China," Sha're added.
"Ah… they aren't exactly enemies," the General told her. "Mostly because if they were our enemies, it wouldn't end well for them. Anyway, our job is to ensure that things stay like this. Except for the snakes, of course - there, our job is to defeat them."
Daniel frowned once more. "And what does that mean here?"
"Why, Daniel, something right up your alley: Promoting understanding between everyone!"
Sam smiled thinly. So, that was the reason the General had called them to his base to 'discuss the latest mission'. "Are you referring to the planned cultural exchange between the Asgard and Etheria, sir?"
"And to Earth's part in it."
"You want us to take part in that?" Daniel seemed surprised.
"Do you know anyone who knows more about this? It's sort of your thing, isn't it, Daniel? And you can show Sha're Etheria at the same time."
Or use that as a cover, Sam finished the thought. And she would be expected to do her part as well - even though her best friend on Etheria was about the worst princess for this sort of thing she could think of.
"I guess so," Daniel said, glancing at Sha're.
Sha're nodded at him. "We can do this."
"Great!" The General clapped his hands. "Now, about our last mission…"
Royal Palace, Bright Moon, Etheria, November 27th, 1999 (Earth Time)
"Still no reply from the Asgard…"
Catra snorted at the sigh from her lover. "Did you expect them to make such a decision - any decision - quickly?" She shifted on the chair in Adora's office to curl up a bit more on the cushion and let her tail dangle down over the armrest that was not serving as her headrest until she had the perfect position to read things on her tablet.
"Well…" Adora turned her head to look at her. "...yes?"
"The same people who are currently debating whether dying out is better than trying something new?"
Adora frowned at her. "That's a bit unfair, isn't it? We're asking them to change their culture and genes."
Of course, it was a bit unfair. But it was also, technically, correct. Catra flashed her fangs in a grin. "Everyone else has to do that as well. It's called evolution and progress." Or progress and evolution. Whatever.
"Not as drastically," her lover retorted.
Carta frowned. "Did you change your opinion about helping them?"
"What? No! They need help, so of course we should help them! But I realised that they're… like the Horde."
"Like the Horde?" Catra blinked. How were the Asgard like the Horde?
"Not like that!" Adora frowned again. "I mean, they've been raised in their culture and don't know anything else, so change is hard for them."
Catra gave her a flat stare. "Everyone was raised in their culture - or a culture." Like Adora and herself had been raised in the Horde as orphans.
"Yes, but the Asgard seem to be more conservative than… pretty much anyone we know."
"Except for half of Earth," Catra pointed out. "The half that hates our guts for being different. Or because they think their stupid god tells them so. And like the Asgard, they don't want actual data to make decisions."
"It's not quite that bad…" Adora's frown changed into a pout. "And Earth is changing - we know that."
Catra nodded. Daniel had told them so, and Entrapta got the data. "They are still worse than the Asgard - and hate change even more." Unless the Asgard were better at hiding things than they thought.
"Anyway, it's a big step for them. We have to consider that." Adora nodded. "But they're not hurting anyone. Or trying to colonise planets."
"That we know of," Catra pointed out.
"They didn't colonise Cimmeria," Adora said.
"Unlike Earth." Catra grinned. "At least they would if we let them."
"Earth hates colonialism."
"They say so," Catra corrected her. Adora's frown grew deeper, so she'd better not overdo it. "Anyway, we can't do anything but wait until they call us."
"I know…" Adora sighed again. "But we can prepare the cultural exchange. Even if the Asgard turn our invitation down, Earth is going to send a delegation to visit us."
Catra was tempted to say 'another delegation' - they had had diplomats over - but that would be too much needling Adora. So, change of topic! "Do you think they'll send actors over as well?"
"Actors?" Adora blinked. "Daniel said we'd get scholars and artists."
"Actors are artists," Catra said. "Though I guess we are already familiar with their art thanks to their movies and TV shows. Well, many of us, at least."
Adora blinked again. "Oh…"
It was Catra's turn to frown. "What?"
"We should ask them to send some actors - I think their fans here would love to meet them!" Adora beamed.
That was… well, not a bad idea. Still… Catra shrugged. "As long as it's not one working on one of those catgirl shows, I don't care. And if it is, I'll claw them!"
"Catra! And those are cartoons, anyway." Adora shook her head. "But I think this is a good idea. I'll talk to Glimmer about this. Though we need to find out which actors are the most popular here."
"And vet them," Catra added.
Adora snorted. "I don't think actors are going to be a threat."
"Don't let Double Trouble hear that," Catra retorted. They were damned dangerous.
"That's different. Earth doesn't have anyone like them."
Catra sure hoped so.
Alliance Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium, November 29th, 1999 (Earth Time)
"Hi, Jack. You wanted another meet… You're watching the Simpsons?"
Jack O'Neill snorted as he turned towards Daniel - and Sha're - who had just entered his office. "It's for work."
His friend blinked while Sha're moved to get a better look at the screen. "Work?"
"Cultural exchange, remember? The Etherians had a 'suggestion' about our delegation." Jack pointed at the screen where Homer was making another mess. "They wanted actors to visit."
"Oh." Daniel tilted his head slightly to the side. "That makes sense, I guess - movies and TV shows are a cornerstone of our culture. But that's a cartoon series."
"Voice actors count," Jack defended himself. "And they mentioned the Simpsons being popular on Etheria."
"Oh? I wouldn't have expected that. They have theatres, so live-action movies and shows seem to be a logical step, while they don't seem to have anything similar to cartoons. On the other hand, that might make them more appealing."
"Oh, it's not just cartoons," Jack admitted. "They also have a slew of other shows and movies they like. But I wanted to familiarise myself with the Simpsons," he added with a grin.
"Don't you know the series by heart?" Daniel asked, looking from Jack to the screen, then at Sha're, who was softly laughing at Bart's antics.
"I watched the series. I didn't study it." Jack shrugged. "But if that's part of how the Etherians have experienced our culture so far, I thought I should take a closer look." And rewatch some of the classics on the government's dime.
"Ah, yes." His friend nodded. "That is going to be very interesting - finding out what preconceptions the Etherians have after experiencing our culture mostly through media. And Western media, at that. Although most of their contact with Earth has been limited to Western countries anyway."
"Let's hope they don't take the Simpsons as an example of our culture," Jack joked.
Daniel didn't laugh - he frowned. "That is a danger. Probably not as much with cartoons, but the live-action shows might be mistaken to be closer to documentaries than fiction. And the various cultural references and assumptions won't be understood at all, of course, without the background of having grown up in our culture. When Japanese animation started becoming popular in the West, they often had additional material with the videos that explained Japanese culture so the viewers would have the context to understand the references. It's quite a challenge for translations."
Great. If the Etherians thought that the way families in sitcoms behaved was normal… Jack shook his head.
"Yes. It is often confusing," Sha're chimed in. "But it's still funny."
"Some humour is universal," Daniel agreed.
"And you always explain things to me, so I'm learning more about Earth."
"Of course!" Daniel beamed at her. "And you teach me more about the Goa'uld. Though we should check what shows and movies are popular on Etheria. And maybe introduce them to a few choice examples they might have missed."
"Sounds good. And Hollywood can start getting royalties from the Etherians." Jack chuckled.
Once again, Daniel winced. "Ah… that's actually a problem. The Etherians have no concept of trademarks or intellectual property laws. Quite understandable given their society and culture, of course - it's far more artisan in nature than Earth's industry. They value the work of creating something as much as the idea behind it - sometimes even more."
"They have factories."
"Yes - remnants of the Horde military-industrial complex, as far as I know. And the effects of those being turned to civilian production might be interesting." Daniel nodded. "But they have no concept of intellectual properties. If they can copy something, they do it. Whether that's an idea for a new product or a media."
"They've been pirating Hollywood movies and shows?" Jack asked. Of course, they had - he had known they were copying and recording whatever media and news they could get, and their ships in orbit had full coverage. And soldiers would smuggle things back home, but there weren't that many Etherians on Earth… "How bad is it?"
Daniel winced. "I don't know exact numbers - the Etherians don't know either; I asked. But since it's all data, digitalised copies, it's easy to copy without any loss of quality. The limiting factor seems to be the electronics to view the media. And such viewers, or tablets, apparently are amongst the most popular products of the former Horde lands. And since there are only about fifty million people on the planet, they can probably cover the entire market quite quickly." He shrugged. "I think a lot of people still don't understand that the Etherians aren't a medieval culture just because some of their kingdoms have, ah, 'fantasy aesthetics'. It's probably just a question of time before they start producing their own movies and shows."
Jack snorted. "Hollywood won't like it. They want their cut."
"And that's another issue. In order to pay royalties, the Etherians would need to trade with Earth. Otherwise, their money would not be worth anything on Earth except for collectors and visitors to Etheria. Fungible goods could be a substitute, but that's trading," Daniel said. "And the Etherians probably won't open their countries to Earth's industry since we would flood their markets with our goods. The economic consequences would be… drastic."
"So Wall Street won't like it either," Jack said. But what could they do? And even if the Etherians agreed on cracking down on pirating - the electronic kind - could they stop it? Earth hadn't had a lot of success with that.
This cultural exchange thing was looking to be a lot more complicated than he had thought. And he had been quite pessimistic about it in the first place.