StoryScope for Sun in Libra : THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US
The first thing Captain Elian Voss noticed about the planet was that nobody was fighting.
The second thing he noticed was that nobody was speaking.
The Resolute had been in orbit for six hours, receiving a continuous stream of diplomatic transmissions from the surface. Every message was courteous. Every statement was measured. Every proposal contained concessions.
The planet below was called Asterra, home to three intelligent species and forty-seven distinct cultural regions. For almost two centuries they had maintained what their historians called the Great Accord.
There had been no wars.
There had also been no significant disagreements.
« That seems like an achievement, » Commander Sera Malik said.
Elian looked through the observation window at the blue and green world turning beneath them.
« It depends what they had to give up to achieve it. »
Sera glanced at him.
« You think they're unhappy ? »
« I think nobody gets to call themselves free if they have forgotten how to say no. »
Their mission was supposed to be simple.
The Asterran Council had requested assistance with a proposal to join the Federation. The three major species had agreed in principle. The Council wanted an outside mediator to help resolve the final details.
The Resolute had been chosen because its crew had a reputation for solving impossible diplomatic problems without firing a weapon.
The irony was that nobody on Asterra appeared to believe there was a problem.
The transport descended through the atmosphere.
They were met at the planetary capital by three representatives.
A tall, silver-skinned woman named Ilyra represented the Lumen.
Beside her stood Tarek, a broad-shouldered member of the stone-born Khar.
The third representative, Nemi, appeared almost human except for the translucent markings that moved slowly across her face.
They smiled.
They bowed.
They agreed.
« It is an honour to welcome you, » Ilyra said.
« And an honour to be welcomed, » Elian replied.
« We understand that your Federation values cooperation. »
« Very highly. »
« Then you will find us easy to work with. »
Sera's eyes briefly met Elian's.
Neither of them smiled.
The first meeting lasted four hours.
The Asterrans accepted every Federation proposal.
They agreed to shared scientific research.
They agreed to cultural exchange.
They agreed to mutual defence.
They agreed to open their borders.
They agreed to provide access to their mineral resources.
They agreed to Federation standards governing environmental protection.
They agreed to the establishment of a permanent diplomatic station.
They agreed to everything.
At the end of the meeting, Elian closed his tablet.
« Is there anything you disagree with ? »
The three representatives looked at one another.
« No, » said Tarek.
« Nothing ? »
« We have spent generations learning the value of compromise. »
Elian leaned back.
« Compromise requires two people who know what they want. »
Silence.
Nemi's markings stopped moving.
« Perhaps, » she said carefully, « that is an idea we have forgotten. »
That evening, Elian walked through the capital alone.
The city was extraordinary.
Buildings curved around gardens and waterways. Public spaces were designed so that no monument dominated another. Restaurants displayed food from every culture. Children from different species played together in enormous open courtyards.
There were no advertisements.
No political slogans.
No soldiers.
No prisons.
No homeless people.
It was almost perfect.
And somehow that made it frightening.
He stopped at a public square where a musician was performing.
The crowd listened politely.
When the song ended, everyone applauded.
The musician bowed.
Then she began another song.
Elian watched her face.
She was smiling.
But her hands were trembling.
« You don't like that song, » he said.
She looked at him in surprise.
« It is beautiful. »
« That wasn't my question. »
She stared at him for a long moment.
Then she whispered, « I wrote another one. »
« Why don't you play it ? »
Her eyes moved towards the crowd.
« It isn't harmonious. »
« That doesn't make it bad. »
« Here, it does. »
The musician packed away her instrument.
« We learned that disagreement creates pain. So we stopped disagreeing. »
« Did it work ? »
She smiled sadly.
« We became very peaceful. »
She walked away.
Elian returned to the ship.
Sera was waiting for him in the command centre.
« I've been reviewing the planetary records. »
« And ? »
« There are almost no historical conflicts. »
« I know. »
« But there are also almost no records of individual refusal. »
Elian turned.
« Explain. »
« Every major social change appears to have been achieved through unanimous agreement. Every artistic movement developed collectively. Every scientific theory was adopted after consensus. »
She brought up a graph.
« There hasn't been a major philosophical disagreement in one hundred and eighty-three years. »
Elian stared at it.
« That's impossible. »
« That's what I thought. »
The following morning, the Federation delegation returned to the Council.
Elian placed a single document on the table.
« We cannot sign the agreement. »
The representatives looked stunned.
« Why ? »
« Because none of you have told us what you want. »
Ilyra frowned.
« We have told you what we are willing to accept. »
« That's different. »
Tarek's voice hardened.
« You requested our cooperation. »
« Yes. »
« And we have given it. »
« You have given us permission to take almost anything we ask for. »
Nobody spoke.
Elian stood.
« We are not interested in a partnership where one side keeps shrinking until the other feels comfortable. »
Nemi looked at him.
« What would you have us do ? »
« Disagree with us. »
The Council chamber erupted.
For the first time, the Asterrans raised their voices.
They argued about resources.
They argued about sovereignty.
They argued about religion, science, language and borders.
Someone accused someone else of selfishness.
Someone else accused them of cowardice.
Tarek slammed his fist onto the table.
« You cannot come here and teach us how to live ! »
Elian nodded.
« You're right. »
The room fell silent.
« We can't. »
He looked around the chamber.
« Neither can you. »
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Then Nemi began to laugh.
It was a small, uncertain laugh.
Then Ilyra laughed.
Then Tarek.
Soon the entire chamber was laughing, some of them with embarrassment, others with relief.
The agreement was suspended.
The Federation delegation remained on Asterra for three months.
During that time, the Asterrans discovered something extraordinary.
They could disagree and remain friends.
They could refuse a proposal without rejecting the person who made it.
They could change their minds.
They could negotiate without surrendering.
They could listen without automatically agreeing.
The musician in the square eventually performed her forbidden song.
Half the audience hated it.
Several people walked out.
One person shouted that it was terrible.
The musician stood on the stage, trembling.
Then someone applauded.
Another person joined.
Soon the applause spread.
Not because everyone liked the song.
Because everyone understood that it belonged to her.
Three months later, the Resolute prepared to leave orbit.
The Federation agreement remained unsigned.
Instead, the Asterrans had sent a revised proposal.
It contained fewer concessions.
More boundaries.
Several disagreements.
And one sentence that Elian read twice.
We wish to enter your community not because we are willing to become like you, but because we believe we can remain ourselves while learning from one another.
Sera stood beside him.
« Well ? »
Elian smiled.
« Now we're negotiating. »
The engines began to glow.
Below them, Asterra turned slowly beneath the stars.
Three species.
Forty-seven cultures.
Millions of individual lives.
None of them perfectly aligned.
None of them required to be.
Elian looked out at the planet and thought about the musician in the square.
Harmony, he realised, had never meant producing one sound.
It meant allowing different sounds to exist without destroying one another.
« Set a course, » he said.
« For home ? »
Elian looked once more at the blue world.
« No. »
He smiled.
« For the next conversation. »