"I gotta say, I like your Earth Cooking,"
Shalamorn admitted, and put the spoon next to her empty bowl of ice cream. "I especially enjoy your grain products. Bread, noodles and Pizza... All made of the same basic product, and yet the outcome is so different. We never put much creativity into the preparing o
f meals."
Diane smiled. "This is, were books came into good use," she explained. "My grandmother still used to write down her recipes into a book, my mother inherited."
"Very old-fashioned, but adorable," Xiung said. "My family loves to cook, but never wrote down anything. Many recipes used to be passed on from generation to generation by actual cooking. But that kind of traditions disappeared when the internet and digital networkings started to spread around the globe."
"How are these things connected?" Shalamorn wanted to know.
Sokolow shrugged. "Many posted their recipes, ideas and videos. Shared they knowledge in the world wide web, where others could
access it, and make it to good use."
"This is, why we have to maintain this level of secrecy," Xiung said. "Put only one little piece of information out there, and in seconds you find it in every corner of the planet."
"Children nowadays are obsessed with blogs, and social networking," Diane added.
"It's a curse, and a blessing at the same time."
"I can see, what you mean," Shalamorn answered. "Accessible information of any kind at every time at every place is indeed a gift for anyone, who seeks knowledge and wisdom. But it is also a danger, for it makes it easy for the more vicious to influence the innocent. To get organised in crime, and to put plans into action."
"Exactly," De Souza responded. "I'm all for transparency, but it's impossible to control the information flow. Of course, we have people in ag
encies around the world, who try to filter the flow for anything, that might be a threat. But cleverness is unfortunately spread among the good and the bad. By the time, a new secret code in Mafia circles is detected and decrypted, another one appears."
"Well, I heard, you managed to lower the rate of crimes down by 48% in just about three years," Shalamorn said.
De Souza shrugged. "That's only if you look at the numbers of Brazil only. The laws, I established, still take their time to be effective in all of South America."
"Ah, Katherina," Bricks nudged his shoulder against hers. "All modest and serious. Your achievements will last for decades. You should be proud of yourself! You earned a lot of respect."
Shalamorn smiled warmly at De Souza. "You certainly enjoy my respect.
It's been a while since I was last challenged to that extent. But this is how we learn, isn't it? By putting each other into question, and push our boundaries?"
"You have a point," De Souza agreed. "And I, too, love a productive discussion. My apologies for my aggressive behaviour. I really had no intention to appear this hostile."
"Apology accepted," Shalamorn said. "I admire your sense of justice. You were able to transform it into penal law, which is
fair and protective of the innocent."
"I did my best," De Souza responded. "But to be honest: sometimes I wish, I could go just by instinct, and throw some of those bastards into a dark hole in the ground. Without taking them to the court, where cases are sometimes stuck for years in the system."
De Souza didn't exactly smile. But her expression right now could easily be interpreted as friendly.
"So," Umbajali interjected in a careful tone, "we are now allowed again to talk about pros and cons of bureaucracy? Because I really still have some questions about your way!"
Some of the other senators nodded, and Shalamorn chuckled. "What is it, you say on Earth? Ah yes, shoot right away!" She opened her arms to emphasise her words.
"How do you seal contracts?" Umbajali shot. "How can you make sure, the other side of the bargain is held?"
"Suspicion and mistrust are barely known among my people," Shalamorn said. "We feel connected, – not just by telepathy, – but also in our respect for every creature. To bring harm is against the wishes of the Ancient Ones, so to say, of our origin."
Sokolow frowned. "Isn't it a bit naive?"
Shalamorn gave him a friendly look. "You might think. But once we were not so different from you. We ripped our planet apart for resources. The oceans were almost emptied to a point where no recovery was possible. The air was thick with dust and toxine. War was raging, and corruption to be found on every corner."
"You make it sound even worse than our situation on Earth these days," Madame President deemed.
"It was worse," Shalamorn answered. "Or at least, this is how the historians make it look like. After all, it is ancient history. The technology was still primitive at this time. And stories passed on from generation to generation often change. They get to be amplified, sometimes twisted to serve a certain purpose."
"Tell me about it," Solokow smirked. "As a historian, I can tell you, sometimes you find three different version of an event, which are discussed for decades in our community."
"How did you manage to overcome your struggles?" Xiung wanted to know.
"Much is left to assumption," Shalamorn confessed. "But likely to one of your saviours, – Christ?" Common nodding encouraged her. "There were those who rose from the ashes and spread a message of love, kindness and respect. A message of responsibility of the strong and the wise towards the less unfortunate. It is the very foundation of our society. We had to change, or we would have wiped us out of existence by our own hands."
"Well," Ferrière said in a thoughtful tone, "this kind of change surely doesn't come overnight."
"Of course not," Shalamorn agreed. "This is why we came here almost twenty years ago. We watched your progress, observed your achievements and wars. Admired your creativity and your inventive spirit. But soon we also realised the destructive direction, you were heading at. That you were about to take the same path, which we once took."
"So you came to warn us?" De Souza assumed. "To prevent us from doing further damage to our ecology?"
Shalamorn nodded. "Yes. We hoped to establish a dialogue, in which we could share our knowledge and save your planet from infinitive destruction."
"You made it out," Xiung objected. "Maybe the geek in me is talking right now but wouldn't it be wiser to let us make our own mistakes?"
Shalamorn chuckled. "Indeed, we discussed this for over a decade before we come to the obvious conclusion." Her face changed to a more serious expression. "Earth is unique in the universe, as far as we know. Our knowledge is, of course, still limited. But your planet is home to so many species. It is rich, almost thick, with life. We fear the death of Earth will have consequences of interstellar extent. Too much is at stake."
Ferrière and Dikshit, the senators with the scientific background in biology, exchanged an agreeing smirk.
"If one ecosystem dies on Earth," Dikshit said slowly, "others along the food chain might die as well. Often the consequences can not be estimated to a full extent. From this point of view, I can only consent with your decision to interfere."
"Nature has the ability to adapt," De Souza argued. "Don't you think, it is slightly … arrogant, to force your opinion on us? We are well aware of our problems."
"And yet, you barely take action," Shalamorn shot back. "And how could you? You're too much in love with your bureaucracy and your money!"
De Souza's corner of the mouth crimped. "You are fast to judge, Your Majesty."
"So are you, Senator" Shalamorn responded calmly. "And yet, you know much less about us, than we know of you."
De Souza folded her arms, flashing annoyingly at the Queen. "So you took a few circles in orbit, and think, you know your way around?"
"Unfortunately, I got a lot of information first handed." Shalamorn took a breath and leant back in her seat. "You keep attacking me, put my morality into question. You felt offended by the idea of a matriarchy, offended by our ways and traditions. And yet, it is you, who cultivated a system, where marriages are solemnised and disbanded just by a handwritten signature on a simple sheet of paper. A system, in which children are left alone in foster homes. A system, in which you are even in need of laws, to make sure the breeder pays alimony."
Mera.
She hadn't talked about much about her former life, and surely she hadn't complained. After reunited with her sister, she had seemed happy and it had been easy to forget her past.
At least for Jason, but not for her mother. He could feel her anger and disappointment. It must have been there for a while, just waiting to burst out.
He exchanged a look with Neri. He could tell by her face, she was thinking the same thing. He took her hand and squeezed it.
"Are you telling me, you don't have orphans on your planet?" De Souza asked shaking her head.
"Of course, we have. Especially, since the Red Virus," Shalamorn conceded. "But our children do only find a roof, they find a home. You don't even have to look for foster parents, for it's our duty to provide for them. The family is a holy good."
De Souza snorted. "You are the folk with a majority of arranged marriages, which means forcing two people together. And yet, you speak of a family? What if someone falls for someone else?"
"You're right," Shalamorn answered. She seemed calmer now, but Jason still felt her anger. "We don't know such a thing as a divorce. We still consider the commitment when entering a marriage as a lifelong endeavour, not just as temporary whim!"
"Yeah, like you give them any other choice," De Souza sneered, "and your husbands certainly never stray, do they?"
Obviously, a sore point.
"If you are referring to extramarital mating," Shalamorn said firmly, "it is not regarded as a betrayal."
"Oh, you're not telling me, you practice the concept of concubines?"
Shalamorn shook her head. "No, we don't. But mating is just a trivial physical urge, just like the need for food, water or oxygen," she explained. "Extramarital mating is a banality, compared to the commitment made to a spouse and the common children. You may have condemned sexuality as a feral impulse, due to your religious beliefs. But we have embraced that part of our physiology, for we all come from an evolutionary state, where surviving was depending on this very beastly instincts."
"My ex-husband must be one of yours then," De Souza concluded, as angry as Shalamorn now. Bricks had put a hand on her arm, but she shook him off. "He said exactly the same thing when I caught him cheating on me with my personal trainer."
"I'm sorry, your marriage didn't turn out right for you," Shalamorn said softly, and De Souza blinked surprised. "But you steer your anger in the wrong direction," she ran on. "You should not be blinded by your personal grudge!"
"I'm not the one who brought my whole family along, including my future son-in-law and his mother," De Souza responded heatedly. "Did you arrange this marriage as well, or did your daughter got to say at least something about it?"
Diane seemed to be angry now, as well. With an outraged expression, she opened her mouth, but Shalamorn kept on speaking.
"Under normal circumstances, I would have indeed searched for an appropriate spouse, but Neri is perfectly capable of making her own choices," she said proudly. "She never needed much help in her decisions, and especially not in the choice of her man!"
Jason felt himself blushing, for her tone had gained a very warm tone when she spoke of him.
"Jason has found my youngest daughter in one of your foster homes and brought her back to her sister. He protected my first-born with his life, and I will always be grateful for that. It is unfortunate, we don't have time to inform you about all the things, this remarkable man has also done for you and your planet, for all that matter. But be assured, Jason is everything, I would have wished for my daughter, and more!"
"I hope, they chose each other," De Souza said. "To me, they are still children. Not ready for any kind of lifelong commitment. Will you force them to stay together forever?"
During the argument, the pressure on his hand had grown with every word. Jason was getting annoyed himself by De Souza's words, but Neri's expression did cut him deeper. She had drawn her legs together. Her other arm was pressed to her side, her hand clenched in a fist. Blankly she stared at the table, not even noticing, that her nails pierced into her flesh.
"Will you cut it off already?" he interjected loudly and found himself at the centre of attention. "First of all, I would be very grateful, if you could keep Neri's and my relationship out of your dispu
te, as you should with any personal issues," he said as polite as he could, but it was hard to hide the anger out of his voice. "And second, this is totally inappropriate! You two screaming at each other is leading us nowhere."
"Agreed," Rugeaux said with an annoyed tone herself. "It seems, we have to cut this evening short."