[Citadel, Zakera Ward] Inspiration on Memory Lane (Open)

Black was a good color to wear, it seemed quite appropriate for how Stezenyn felt today. A black derby hat was what he chose to wear today before he left his little home and went on a stroll down Memory Lane, so to speak. At the suggestion of one CDN user, Stezenyn went on a walk, looking for inspiration for his next song. As if by habit, Stezenyn soon found himself walking the path to where his old shops were. He hadn't been that way since he was last open over a year ago. As he passed one of the stores, the one that was his first, he stopped and looked. Repairs had been completed, but it was empty now. After the war, Stezenyn had simply not had enough money to reopen, and so he turned to his original career choice before he had moved here to the Citadel. He was now a musician, although with only few songs.

"This one.. misses the old days."

Is this what depression felt like? He had never before experienced the phenomenon as described by the other races. Never before had he felt this sort of sadness. But.. perhaps that feeling was what was missing from his songs? As he pondered upon this, he continued to stare at the empty store.

He wasn't the only hanar out and about. Over the last few days, Laykalar had made periodic, though very polite, attack runs on the Citadel, striking with probing questions and eager greetings, engaged in furious note-taking before retreating happily to the Greater Encompassing, to launch another philosophical raid the next morning. Already some of those who walked Zakera Ward with any degree of frequency had learned to recognise the floating hanar by sight, a rare achievement given the lack of distinguishing features. Perhaps it was the way he quivered, fairly shaking in happy excitement. Or perhaps it was the desire never again to be dragged into an earnest conversation about the Hindu Festival of Lights and its "fascinating implications for human/hanar comparative religious identity". For his part, Laykalar was satisfied that he had kept within the bounds of correct and decorous structure; and he had found much to engage his intellectual curiosity. His mood, then, was about the very opposite of Stezenyn's.

Laykalar pulsed happily, before taking note of the other hanar across the way. It sported an artificial head-covering over its bell, something he'd never before observed. How intriguing! Perhaps here was another among his kind who found delight in the perspectives and customs of the Many Voices. To be honest, as wondrous as the aliens were - in their disorganized, sometimes strangely ill-spoken ways - he did miss the attention of other hanar. Their people were adapted to large communities, and the scholars of the Greater Encompassing were a rather enclosed society, in which he lacked full acceptance.

He drifted over.

"Greetings to the honoured other! This one hopes the other's waters are clear and rich!"

Stezenyn's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the familiar lights of another Hanar communicating with him. Quite a surprise, it was also not too often that he got to interact with others of his own species; at least not since he arrived at the Citadel. He turned to "observe", for lack of a better word for creatures with no eyes, the other who had addressed him in such a cheery manner.

"This one greets the other. Although this one's waters are quite murky today, it hopes the other fares better."

He truly did mean that, despite his own feelings. He was determined to not let his own problems make him feel as if other's problems were lesser.

"This one apologizes if it does not share the same joyous feelings that the other seems to. It is happy to see another of it's own kind, but it feels quite.. 'down', it believes the other species tend to describe it."

Ever sensitive to the emotional needs of others (and actually being able to comprehend the moods of his own people, in contrast to his well-meaning ignorance with aliens) Laykalar felt a pang of empathic distress. Even in the wondrous environment of the Citadel, where crests of knowledge and Enkindlement could be ridden on a daily basis, his fellow hanar had apparently floundered in the swell.

"This one offers its sympathy for the other's spiritual distress. May this one be of use in providing assistance or encouraging greater illumination?"

He had learnt so much about the many paths to insight already; perhaps now he could put his knowledge to use. Somewhere among the churning waves of experience the Citadel had so far offered him, there must be an answer to this other's woes. Yes, this would be a most suitable experiment in formulating new arguments from the disparate perspectives of a multi-racial population! He could aid a fellow hanar in distress and demonstrate with satisfaction that the hanar could be improved through combining the light of their voices with those of other races!

"This one is unsure as to whether the other could help, but the other may certainly attempt to do so. It would welcome the help. This one.. has been feeling saddened lately due to feelings of being homesick and missing the familiarity of it's former life."

Stezenyn was glad to have someone to talk to about his feelings. Perhaps this conversation could certainly help him in feeling better?

"This one use to own this store," Stezenyn explained, motioning to the empty shop he had been observing. "When it first arrived on the Citadel, a friend recommended that I buy it, rather than attempting to illegally sell out of it's storage units. This one then opened another store, not too far from here, and it was quite content until the events of the war forced it to close both stores. Now it attempts to make a living as a musician, but it still misses everything that came with the territory, so to speak, of being a merchant.. Helping others, interacting with friendly locals... Has the other ever felt in such a way?"

The other hanar had clearly long adapted to life on the Citadel; perhaps this was why it wore an artificial head covering. To fit in among the aliens. Its language, while mannered and pleasant, was also less formal than Laykalar anticipated. He felt a strange thrill of excitement mingled with a hint of foreboding: is such how this one will be, after this one becomes more comfortable on the station? Now he was more intrigued than ever. He noted the other was a former merchant - presumably, one of those rare hanar who had represented the Primacy in trade with outsiders. Such an other could have much knowledgeable experience to share!

"This one understands the feeling the other describes, though its circumstance is somewhat reflected. This one has recently left Kahje to pursue its studies in the wider galaxy, immersing in the Many Voices so as to gain greater insight into the post-Reaper climate. This one has been reluctant to acknowledge such, but it misses the Banks of its polyphood. This one reflects often on the wisdom of the learned Syacindil in Broken Fragments of the Coral Shelf with the Passing of the Fifty-Year Tempest, which teaches that when the environment around these ones is altered grossly, these ones must find the courage to adapt. The other has succeeded out in the wider galaxy despite the Primacy's history of relative isolation; this one respectfully suggests that the other has demonstrated a history of courage, and has the capacity to adapt still further!"

Stezenyn used one of his front tentacles to rub his.. er.. chin?... as if in thought, another habit he had picked up from other races. It was correct to say that Stezenyn seemed to be adapting more to the ways of other species, but this was mostly due to his curiousity about them. He was always asking questions about curious habits of others, asking why they did it, what it all meant, etcetera.

"This one does believe that the other does make a good point. Unfortunately, even knowing that it will adapt, this one still cannot help the feelings it feels. However, this one does thank the other for it's enlightenment. It is appreciative and does feel somewhat better." Stezenyn would smile if he could.

"This one wonders how much the other knows of creating music?"

"The other did mention it was a musician. This one has little knowledge of the industry, but is certainly appreciative of any who use the gift of language in provocative and creative ways! Where might this one find samples of the other's work?"

Laykalar was glad he'd come across this pleasant fellow hanar.

"This one is positive that the other could find this one's songs on the extranet. This one had a friend help it in setting up a small site in order to distribute it's songs. It only has a few, but it wishes to create more."

Stezenyn provided his new friend with the website, and then suddenly realized...

"Oh! How rude of this one, it apologizes. This one's face name is Stezenyn."

Laykalar would certainly try to locate records of the others' musical creations upon his return to the ship. The arguments and perspectives of one who had already experienced the galaxy outside of the Primacy's borders, perhaps even incorporating alien perspectives into his overall worldview, would be valuable indeed. Increasingly, Laykalar was finding Stezenyn to be not only a pleasant - if liberally spoken - companion, but potentially a teacher and ally. How interesting, that today's most productive exchange was proving to be with another native of Kahje, rather than an alien! He wondered if he should invite the other to make correct introductions to the Learned Elders aboard ship. Then again...the Learned Elders were rather conservative in many ways. Laykalar had the suspicion that the sight of a hanar in a hat would go over rather poorly, and he didn't want another night of cold, pointed commentary on his choice of companions.

"This one is most pleased to meet the other. This one's face name is Laykalar".

Seeing one hanar floating aimlessly about wasn't that odd of a sight on the Citadel. Two in the same place only really made people quirk an eyebrow. A third though wasn't something most people would expect. The floating jellies just weren't that populous on the Citadel to really see that many in a crowd at any given point in time. A certain batarian would probably chalk this up to the CDN Probability Vortex, while others would simply say that it was a coincidence. If questioned, Emaleus would've thought the same thing. Usually staying around the Presidium or Tayseri ward, today, the hanar had to meet with a fellow from the office over the possibility of a new trade route opening between hanar and elcor space. As luck would have it, the meeting was taking place only a few streets away from where Stezenyn and Laykalar were chatting.

Of course since luck was interested in the more mundane things, Emaleus, being absorbed in its own thoughts about work and some recent...tensions with a friend, it didn't really notice what sort of path it was taking. As it floated past the two others of its species, it failed to notice the signpost that was in its way and promptly crashed into it. The advertisement for Lady Sweat's latest album flickered somewhat as the hanar bounced off of it like a balloon bumping into a wall; it hit the post slowly and floated back just as slowly. Emaleus pulled itself out of its thoughts, and quickly looked around as if wondering what just happened.

After a confused experience such as that, even a fellow hanar might be alarmed to have Laykalar suddenly shining in their face.

"Greetings! This one humbly inquires after the other's health. It hopes the other was not discomforted!"

And just like that another Hanar had joined them and his new friend was greeting them after they had had quite a collision with an advertisement sign and a wall. That looked mildly discomforting. A bit worried, Stezenyn joined them.

"This one hopes the other is not injured.."

Emaleus twitched somewhat at the sudden appearance of another in its line of sight. "Oh, no, this one is not injured." It replied, the flashes much dimmer compared to the other twos'. Thankfully, the audio output from its omnitool compensated for its quiet. Inclining itself lower in a sort of bow, it continued to speak. "This one apologizes for alarming the others. It simply was not paying attention to where it was going."

Three hanar might have clued in any bystander that something really good was about to happen here if they kept watching. And that was going to be Flash of Light.

The geth had followed Emaleus' bumblings with closest equivalent of curiosity it could manifest from its machine intelligence. This hanar (aquatic, originating from Kahje or Kahje-aligned colonies, uplifted by Protheans, communicated via light emissions that was rendered into speech by translators) had been on a collision course with a signpost for some time, and had failed to correct its course with expected results. Had it collided on purpose to initiate contact or been unaware of the obstacle in its way?

The other hanar in the group adhered to appearance usually found from pictures across the Extranet, but the third one, it was wearing a hat. Was this headwear use born from desire to stand out of the mass, be individual or some other manner of personal statement?

This was the moment when it decided more direct contact was required. The three hanar were soon joined by a geth.

"Do you require medical assistance? I saw you collide with the signpost." Initiate contact with helpful inquiry. Record reactions. Monitor development of encounter.

Were Laykalar human, an appropriate phrase (for all that it was so very early in the year) would be "Christmas come early". His interest in the geth had been sparked some days ago, but so far none of their number had paid him much attention. Those geth currently walking the Citadel were there to aid in reconstruction, not to engage in conversation, and several earlier attempts to pester them had seen him politely shooed on by C-Sec. Now, one of the Servants of the People had initiated conversation on its own terms, displaying a curiosity equal to his own! The opportunity to expand his limited knowledge of synthetic philosophy was unparalleled!

He pulsed happily. This was proving to be quite a day indeed; first an illuminating exercise in aiding his fellow hanar, and now the arrival of an inquisitional synthetic. Trying to keep his excitement under some semblance of control (it would be a poor move to neglect courteous linguistic structure during his first true conversation with the Servants), he addressed the new arrival.

"Most humble greetings to the honoured other. This one would welcome the other's participation in this exchange. The other's concern mirrors these ones' own, demonstrating that equivalencies between our peoples are even now in evidence".

There, that should be enough to provoke reflection on the Servant's part, and hopefully its own expansion of the point he had brought into play.

I'm going to debate with a geth!

And just like that, Stezenyn's worry was replaced by surprise and curiousity. A synthetic life form, a Geth, had just joined them, offering medical assistance to the seemingly-uninjured Hanar. Stezenyn hd never seen a Geth up close. It was quite beautiful, really.

"This one would also like to extend greetings to the other. It is humbled to meet one of your species for the first time."

Stezenyn nervously rubbed two tentacles together, another habit gained from interactions with the others. He wasn't exactly sure how to interact with Geth, they had never learned this on Kahje. Things were much different back then.

Well, this looked like the beginnings of a joke. Three hanar and a Geth run into each other on the street.... Well, unlike the other two hanar, Emaleus' work meant that it had come across a few geth platforms so far. Trade relations with Rannoch were one of the first things to take care of once that relay had opened up to the Citadel again, so it had a little bit more warning when the geth had stepped over. "This one is perfectly fine; it did not collide with the advertisement too badly. It apologizes for the commotion, and also extends its greetings to the others." it dimly replied.

The first hanar to speak thought geth and hanar were alike in positive terms? This was unexpected. The one wearing a hat merely greeted it, as did the stumbling hanar.

My presence was met with polite greetings. No hostility towards geth detected. Reciprocation of the gesture is expected. Introduction is next step.

"Greetings. You may call me Flash of Light. May I inquire your names?"

This conversation bore no definite goal beyond of having conversation for its sake. It was new ground for it, but unlike the interviews, stating that this spontaneous conversation was being recorded for posterity had high probability of altering the hanars' attitudes. Technically, it was recording it, but sharing this recording's contents with the consensus wouldn't be allowed to be so open per Citadel legislation. Would the laws of this station reach all the way to Rannoch? What it meant for Flash if it broke the law? Did the laws apply to synthetics or not? There was something to think of for it in the meanwhile.

The geth wouldn't know it (unless it ran the appropriate search) but it was potentially skating on thin ice with its opening question. Inquiring after a hanar's name would likely be interpreted in one of two ways. The first: asking for its public identity, the face it presented to the world in a courteous effort to avoid gross assertion of excessive individuality. The second: asking after its true name, the name of the soul. The former was more than acceptable, the latter the height of rudeness. Fortunately, Laykalar was too caught up in his own excitement to consider how much or how little the geth currently knew about hanar, and automatically assumed the former, in spite of the unspecific language the geth had used. Had his Elders aboard ship been observing the exchange, they would probably scold him, but he was too busy anticipating the conversation to register the possible breach of etiquette.

Flash of Light! Even the face it presents to these ones is compatible with a hanar worldview! How fascinating

He pulsed in pleasurable acknowledgement of the geth's question, while simultaneously sending a friendly flicker to the other hanar present. In his usual enthusiasm, Laykalar had decided the other two were part of his own swarm, and was reinforcing his positive intent and regard for their presence. Incorporating geth perspectives into a microcosm of hanar society - what a test run this was turning out to be!

"This one's face name is Laykalar, of the registered pilgrim vessel Greater Encompassing."