乙巳 006: 立秋

[singlemilletgrain]

[video]
[It's time for another Yanese fes -- Hm. Wait.]

Hello, Corsairs.

[The image of Shu has some... alterations from its usual appearance. One arm is in a sling and bandages run up the length of the visible skin.]

It is time to begin the harvest. This year, I humbly request your assistance with this task. I am experiencing some physical limitations at the moment.

[Anyone more than casually familiar with Shu may find this a bit odd, given she is a highly proficient healer.]

If you are willing, please stop by the fields in Vault at your convenience. ...I will feed you, of course.

[harvest 1]
[After running through the general idea of how to operate the oxen and the thresher, Shu gently encourages you to go ahead with a pat on the back. It probably goes fairly well at first. Perhaps even for a significant length of time. ...And then, for some reason, one of the plants you run the thresher over explodes???, violently spooking the oxen until you find yourself directing two runaway beasts headed straight into the cavern wall of the Vault.]

Oh, dear. I forgot I was growing those Bomb Plants... Ah, please do aim away from the wall.

[She sounds very calm about this despite that you're headed for rocky death.]

[harvest 2]
[Both you and Shu are holding a sickle. Shu demonstrates the correct hand motion for you to mimic, after which she gives an approving nod.]

In Dahuang, we sing during the harvest times to make the work go faster. ~ Ti oh oh, bei lok ho ~ ...

Here, teach me a song from your world and we shall reap the wheat together.

[harvest 3]
[Where is the ultra fancy feast?? As Shu brings out the food, it is perhaps a little disappointing that it is a simple meal of rice gruel and vegetables. Perhaps it is her injury. But perhaps not? She explains as she doles out a bowl.]

Please, have a seat and take a break.

This is the traditional meal the farmers eat at lunchtime. It is nutritious and hearty, made from the same crops you are harvesting right this moment. Let us share this time together. Tell me, how did you fare on this last mission?

Comments

[singlemilletgrain]

I fear I cannot respond accurately... but perhaps I can improvise? The harvest songs, too, are simply to keep pace as we work through the fields, for it is onerous work, indeed.

[Shu listens attentively to the beginning notes of the shanty, and though music is not her particular specialty, she has been around long enough that she understands the relative relationship of tones. When he gets to a section that has a pause or that seems to require a second voice, Shu will softly hum something satisfactorily harmonious.

Thus with the beat, she begins to reap the wheat.]

[freearcadia]

[A smile tugged at the corner of his lips, as Shu managed to hum something appropriate.

She was right about the work being onerous - he's used to waiting, and repetitive tasks, but there's something different about reaping, maybe it's the bending over that's required. As the last syllables faded, he was silent as he cuts the current stalk, taking a moment to exhale, and breathe.]

I can see why Death is often depicted as a harvester back where I am from.

[singlemilletgrain]

[She laughs lightly, like the sound of chimes in the wind.]

Is it so very taxing?

Perhaps it is good to have a reminder of hard work. Even if it is exhausting... does it not make you feel more alive, somehow? Recognizing that you are more than your mind, that you occupy a physical body with all its limitations. And being one of the many lifeforms laboring out here in the wilds.

[...well. in the underground caves]

As the wolf hunts the deer and the deer seeks the foliage, so this is how we must survive.

[freearcadia]

It's... definitely a different kind of labor than what I'm used to - working on engines and rigging sails feels different.

[He gives a thoughtful sound]

Life begets life, death begets life as well.

[singlemilletgrain]

That, too, is work of great import, of course. But it was the invention of agriculture that allowed humans to take the first step into becoming what they are today. Without such labors, they would still be roaming tribes of animals. So I feel... most connected to myself here.

[Shu lifts her sack of collected wheat.]

Captain Harlock, what do you think of the mission we completed?

[freearcadia]

[He nods - agriculture, creating tools - even taking care of the sick, he can see her point of view, and he doesn't disagree with the notion.]

Reflexively? That man was a bastard.

[He then sigh as he starts to tie up what he cut.]

It certainly could have gone smoother, we weren't prepared for what those bullets did - killing him... I think was the right decision in the end.

[There's no joy in his tone, just a grim sense of certainty, though he is more disappointed by the crew - not by the fact they didn't turn on their captain, but their utter inability to make a decision one way or another when presented with one, his expression darkens slightly at the thought]

[singlemilletgrain]

I do fear... [she pauses as she thinks of how to phrase this] where the sliding scale of justified death begins and ends. When is it right to take a life? Do we say, 'this man will go on to kill more' and accept that as a rationale? How many must he go on to kill? 1? 10? Do we say, 'this man will cause hurt'? What kind of hurt?

And how do we know?

I do not have answers. I merely wish to think about the questions. You see... in Terra, life is lost so easily it can seem... disposable.

Here, at least, you all have a chance to live well...

[freearcadia]

[He pauses as he close his eye.]

It's a good question to ask, and I'd be suspicious of anyone who would tell me there's a science in determining the worth of a life, or that there's an exact formula one can use to calculate when to kill or to spare.

[No doubt there's some determined fool out to find that. He picks up a stray shaft, rolling it between his fingertips.]

There's no good answer, there shouldn't be - if you have to make that choice, you have to weigh it every time, least that is what I believe. My Earth, life isn't disposable, but - there is a callousness among the Diet, and I wonder if the people do not change, it would have spread...

[He paused as he pulled up to his feet with the bundle]

Living well...

[There's a soft bitterness to it]

[singlemilletgrain]

At the end of the day, we must do what we believe is right. But when our individual conceptions of what is right begin to conflict... perhaps troubles may arise.

At the end of this, after all, we will need to decide what to do about the governance of this world.

[She gently pulls some heads of wheat and detaches them from the stalk.]

Do you not think so? That it will be possible to live well here.

[freearcadia]

'we'?

[He pauses in mid-step, turning his head so his good eye can see her]

I suppose if there is no way of returning home, we will have to decide. However, should we find a way home...

[Harlock looks up]

At best we should give suggestions, anything more - it wouldn't be right.

[singlemilletgrain]

The Corsairs, of course. Though I may have some thoughts, I should not presume that I understand the intricacies of the politics here. Each of the leaders of the Corsairs is different in temperament and in aims. At the end, I doubt they shall all unanimously hold the same opinions.

I intend to return home, Captain Harlock. With or without a way present at the moment.

[Shu smiles, and one has the sense that what she desires, she usually receives.]

...Of course... I intend to create that pathway for us all.

But you have not answered my thought. Do you not feel hopeful for the possibilities of Esthere?