Microstory 340: Heritage

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Tribal Belonging

There are many different kinds of heritage. They’re all about holding onto something from the past for cultural and traditional purposes. This may refer to artwork, landmarks, or other physical artifacts, or of transgenerational wisdom. You’ve all been told how important heritage is, and since this is an entry in my Stepwisdom series, I’m going to do the same thing. Be prepared for some repetition, because I think the value in historical reflection sort of speaks for itself. There’s a quote that I can’t find, so it may not exist, but I’m going to try to paraphrase it anyway. “You can’t know where you’re going if you don’t know where you’ve been.” It’s important to understand the people who came before, and what they learned from their mistakes and triumphs. Cultural tradition is an important aspect of progress. Forever now, people have been commemorating events with tangible evidence. History is very much tied to place, so we’ve built and preserved historical sites to immerse ourselves in that history. Knowledge and stories have also been passed down so that descendants will be able to make wise decisions about their future with the power of perspective. There are some pitfalls in being so concerned with our heritage, though. If we focus too much on the past, and even too much on the present, we lose sight of the future we’re trying to build. Progress is so often held back because people who hate change whine about how much better things once were. Simply having done something a certain way in the past is never a good reason to do continue with the status quo. Things were not better before, but they did lead us to where we are now. That should never be taken for granted. Legal slavery is a part of our heritage that we should remember so that we can move past it, not so that we can repeat it. In the spirit of this, I’ll say…don’t “make America great again”. Make the whole world better than it ever was.

Subculture Recognition

Microstory 339: Tribal Belonging

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Close Friends

You may have noticed that we’re starting to get into a gray area here. These recent “steps” and pretty much all following steps are going to be more like checkboxes. In hindsight, I should have come up with a better name for this series. You may not need one step before going for another, and in fact, you may not need them all to be happy. This is one of those achievements that you have to question whether it’s even important to you in the first place. I personally have no real need for a tribe. I have tried joining groups, but none of them stuck. My autism allows me to see connections others don’t, but it also allows me to see disconnects. It’s just as easy, if not easier, for me to put up roadblocks as it is for me to see patterns. But a great deal of the population is made up of little groups of people who are interested in a smaller number of things. People fit into boxes better than you would think. And the reason you don’t think so is because boxes are a bad metaphor since they preclude people from being within more than one box at the same time, assuming no matryoshka situation. If you don’t know what that means, look it up. It’s a very important concept for my recursiverse stories. If you’re a linguist, you might even be able to tell why. Back to tribes, this does not refer to only to ethnic groups. These are a subsectors of subcultures. To put it in perspective, a subculture is the entire population serving a particular commonality, but a tribe is a smaller group of people interacting with each other without necessarily branching out to other tribes. Cosplaying is a subculture, and a group of friends who cosplay together is but one tribe. Are you starting to see why this might not be relevant to everybody? We all want to belong, but we don’t all need to meet with others so directly.

Heritage

Microstory 338: Close Friends

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Identity

I had a few friends when I was younger, but then my family moved. At that point, I was making decisions for myself as a free-thinking individual. Those friends from before were mainly a result of parental interference (which is fine, by the way). Suddenly, however, I had to make my own friends, but couldn’t because I was quiet, weird, and awkward. Fortunately for me, as a speculative fiction writer, I had plenty of characters to interact with, across an infinite number of worlds. Others with social anxiety are not so lucky, and I feel for them, because they want to belong, but too often feel that no one will accept them. Over time, I think I’ve encountered a higher number of people than the average guy. Since I didn’t belong to a clique like most, it was easy to get noticed by anyone and everyone. Though I generally don’t speak unless spoken to, I always answer questions, which makes me accessible. This put me in this weird position where I had a lot of people I could call upon for help, but I didn’t have anyone who just wanted to hang out. I’ve needed volunteers for scientific studies, I’ve gotten caught in dangerous storms, and one time I forgot to pay a speeding ticket and lost my license for a day. People I barely knew stepped up and helped me out of these jams, because they knew enough about me to know that I didn’t have anyone else to call. There were even two guys I would have considered to be my enemies. I ended up becoming a roommate to one of them, and hating him again for it. But the other guy gave me an employee discount at the sandwich shop, despite us never having spoken a word to each other since “the fight” a decade before. These are examples of what close friends are there to do for you. They’re unusual examples, but I wouldn’t give them up for a small group of hangout buddies.

Tribal Belonging

Microstory 337: Identity

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Capacity to Provide

This is probably the best word to use when describing a person’s place in the world, because it includes gender, sexuality, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, political leanings, and much, much more. Understanding who you are is one of the most important things you can do. Though it may be further down this list, it’s something that should be considered throughout your entire life, regardless of your station. While you’re finding food and clothing, or a job, you need to figure out what you really want out of life, all things being equal. Because if you don’t know how you feel about things, you won’t be able to go very far. Your identity informs your approach to life, and to others. Without it, you may be able to survive, but you won’t truly live. The study of identity, however, is not just about who you are as an individual. It is also about gaining perspective on other people, and recognizing how these people combine to form a subculture, a community, a nation, and a world. I’ve struggled through arguments from people who hate others for who they are. They have no real reason for this hate; they’re just ignorant, arrogant, and fearful. We could all do with a little more education into other people’s identities, but I do want to point out certain things in that regard. There are two sides of identity; that which we are, and that which we choose. I personally believe that it’s okay to judge someone based on the latter. I’m going to treat you differently if you think I’m going to hell by not joining your religion, because you’ve already judged me anyway. Your religion is a choice..that you have made..and I refuse to show you respect for it just because. Likewise, you have every right to judge me for not sharing your beliefs, as long as you agree to not infringe upon my belief system. Just be careful with opinions. I would speak more to identity, but I’ve run out of

Close Friends

Microstory 336: Capacity to Provide

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Job Security

So far, I’ve discussed finding job security, and trying to become as financially sound as possible, but it’s all been mostly about the individual. Many people however, do not only have themselves to provide for. They have other responsibilities; to their spouses, to their children, and to other family members in need. Of course, if this is not the kind of life you’re looking for, that’s perfectly okay. But if it is, then there are certain extra things that you will need to consider. A single job at minimum wage is probably not going to cut it if you have to support other people. Job security is that much lower in a situation like this, so when and if you ever find something, you’ll always be feeling that much more pressure to both keep it, and to find something better. I personally only have to provide for myself, and I’ve not been able to do a great job of it. I don’t know what I would do if someone else were relying on me. Maybe I would use that in interviews, and maybe it would help. Maybe recruiters have hesitated to hire me once it becomes clear from their perspective that I’m “not as needy” as some of the other candidates. I can’t know for sure, but I know that there are lots of people out there struggling even more than me to take care of their loved ones. If you’re one of these people, you’ll have to think more about your priorities. It’s become a recent trend for college students to move on to postgraduate studies because of how tough the job market is. It is as yet unclear whether this works. Getting more training or education could help you land a better job, but it could also take time and money away from you in the meantime. You have to do the math and figure whether it’s worth it; how much, or how little, of an advantage it would even give you. You decide.

Identity

The Advancement of Mateo Matic: May 24, 2078

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After murdering Leona’s father, Frank Delaney, The Cleanser inspected the point on the ground where Darko died. He waved his hands over it with his eyes closed, as if checking to see if his body was still there, but invisible. Mateo worried that he could somehow track his family, but the Cleanser seemed to think not. He just responded to Mateo’s thought, like a mind reader, “the Rogue is too smart for me to catch up with him. He’ll keep teleporting to a new location, running several meters away, and then teleporting out again. He’ll do this dozens of time, and each time he does, the number of possibilities will branch out exponentially, especially since he’ll leave your family somewhere safe and then walk back in his own tracks to form dummy trails. Your people are safe...” He stood up and tried to lower his heart rate. “...for now.” Then he disappeared.

“Are they safe?” Mateo asked of Makarion who had teleported them both back to the island from the Cast Away tribulation.

“They are as safe as anyone can be in a world with men like the Cleanser,” Makarion replied. “I think it’s best if I don’t tell you where. For now.”

“I agree. This is about me. If I can keep them out of it, we might get out of this yet.”

“Indeed.”

“I wanted to thank you for saving them. I just wish you had shown your true colors earlier.”

“That would have ruined the Cleanser’s game, and my contract with him.”

“What’s changed? Did you sign a new contract? What are the stipulations?”

“They’re mostly what he said during his big speech.” Makarion hesitated to continue. “But there’s one line item I was unable to remove.”

“What’s that?”

He was afraid to answer.

“Makarion. Tell me. I need to know. No more lies.”

“I cannot promise I won’t continue to lie to you. For instance, it’s not my place to tell you why the Cleanser was so upset with Darko’s death. Whatever you’re thinking it is,” he said, “it’s probably right. Their connection would not be a shocking reveal like when Reaver told you he and Leona were married in an alternate timeline.”

“What can you tell me?” Mateo pressed, setting aside his theory that Darko would turn out to be the Cleanser’s father, son, uncle, nephew, ancestor, or descendant. Or even somehow himself.

“The Cleanser wants Leona dead, and will break all time traveling rules to make that happen. He would be happy with destroying time if it means she pays for what she did.” He hesitated again, but was able to continue, “the only way I could keep him at bay was to promise you would kill at least one person for each of the next tribulations.”

Mateo shifted in his lounge chair. He had killed before, but that had been a desperate heat-of-the-moment call. It was in no way premeditated. These would be different because of the anxiety that comes from the anticipation of the kill. Mateo didn’t want to kill anyone, but couldn’t let his reservations get in the way of taking care of his family. Protecting Leona was the only reason he would do such a thing again, even if it meant she would never look at him again. “If that’s the cost...then very well. As long as it isn’t someone else I love.”

“The Cleanser is aware of how pointless it would be for you to choose between Leona and someone else you know. Besides, he did the sadistic choice tribulation yesterday, and he does not like to repeat himself.”

They sat in silence for a few moments. Mateo every once in awhile looked over at the stargate sitting down the beach, wondering exactly what it was doing there. Makarion must have been using it as some kind of portal for things too difficult to move via simple apportation. “As all this was beginning, the Cleanser warned me that the Rogue was going to be my worst enemy yet. He acted like he could be an ally for me, or even a friend. As it turns out, I formed an alliance with a Rogue against him instead.”

Mateo could see Makarion shake his head subtly. “It’s not as ironic as you would think. If you truly understood what was going on, it would make perfect sense.”

“Is there anything else you can tell me?” Mateo asked, but then added, “like maybe why he referred to you as Boyce?”

“No one else heard that,” Makarion said as he was taking a sip of his bourbon. “Don’t tell them, whenever you see them again. It would not be your place.”

“I understand. I assume you’re his son. The math checks out...I think. He would have been what, in his forties when he had you?”

He laughed. “Unlike the Cleanser’s relationship with Darko, my connection to Gilbert Boyce is rather complicated. It’s not something I wish to get into right now.”

Mateo looked back to the forest. “As you wish. I just find it odd that we all seem to be connected. We completely unpredictably landed on the moon with our enemy’s employee’s brother. Both of them turned out to be temporary allies of ours. Everyone in my family is a salmon. I don’t even know what my cousin, Danica is. You know Gilbert Boyce, the Cleanser knows Darko, Kyle worked for Reaver, my neighbor turned out to be my sister. Am I missing anything?”

“Saga and Vearden became the respective parents of Sam and your mother after they died and were reincarnated,” Makarion answered without missing a beat.

What? That he did not know. “Why didn’t anyone ever tell me that?”

“Must have slipped their minds,” he said casually.

“Maybe we should make a rule that says we need to find out who everyone is related to.”

He snickered as a hint of the old Makarion broke through the non-confrontational demeanor. “Do you really want all that information? You might not like it.”

“What do you know?”

“I dunno,” he said before mumbling some other things under his breath.

“You teased me with it,” Mateo said, “so just pay up.”

“You remember how upset you were about having kissed your sister?”

Yeah, that was a dark time in his life. His mother stopped talking to him for a period after that, and their relationship had yet to be totally repaired after it. Of course Mateo didn’t know who she was at the time, but if he could go back in time and stop himself from going on the date, he would. Oh, wait...

“Well I’m sorry to inform you that you’re technically related to Leona.”

“WHAT!? In what way?” That can’t be right. He had done so much more with Leona than with Frida. They were in love. There was no way they could be related.

“I said technically. I don’t know why, but for some reason, they didn’t tell you.” It looked like he was counting in his head. “Let’s see if I get this right, Edward—one the names used by the man you know as Theo—had a bit of a thing with your mother, Lauren’s great great great grandmother. Yeah, I think that’s the right number of greats.

Again, what? “What?”

“And then, ya know, he jumped forward in time, aged, died, and came back as Leona’s little brother.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You want me to write it down?”

“No, I understand the timeline and reincarnation, and all that.” Mateo claimed. “I just don’t know how Leona and I would be related.

He worked it out in his head again. “I think that makes her your great great great great aunt. But again, only technically.”

Mateo’s head was about to explode. The family tree was more complicated than anything anyone had ever heard of. Before all this, Leona and Mateo could never have met, because she would be dead long before he was born. It was only possible with time travel and reincarnation. It would eventually be possible with the oncoming immortality of the world, but it still wasn’t the same. No, Mateo and Leona were decidedly not related. There was too much separating them. The parents of a reincarnated salmon are but surrogates. He certainly wasn’t going to feel bad about this; not after all they had been through together.

“I’ve seen this sort of thing before in fiction. My name, Makarion comes out of a fictional universe, as I’ve told you. In that same universe, there’s another character who is the great great great grandmother of someone with the ability to separate his soul and send it across time and space to be born as different people. These multiple versions of the original are considered both a collective, and individuals, including one who was in a relationship with an alternate timeline version of the ancestor character I told you about.”

Mateo just stared at him blankly. “Could we stop talking about this?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t want your brain to turn to mush.”

“Maybe instead we could discuss my impending death at the next tribulation? Maybe you could tell me what movie I’ll be in?”

“I have a backup idea if the original falls through. Right now, I’m trying to get my builders back. Assuming they return in time, then you’ll be playing the lead role in a movie that doesn’t even exist.”

“How’s that? Was it created in an alternate timeline?”

“No, it was planned but never made, especially since different people involved had different ideas for the script. I assume they would have called it Gladiator II.”

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Second Stage of Something Started: Contracts (Part VIII)

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“Where have you been?” Vearden asked. The portal on Mars had transported him back to the island through the replica of the stargate. Saga was just walking up to him from down the beach.

“I’ve been traveling through time as Baxter’s nurse.”

“You two are on a first name basis?”

“It’s been six years for me.”

“Really?” The last time they were separated, she had lived with Sam, Lorena, and Edward for three years in the mid-19th century. When they were finally returned to each other, he had only experienced a year. This time, she had him beat again. Why were the powers that be separating two partners in the first place, and why the difference in duration? “It’s only been a week for me.”

“Where were you?”

“Makarion and I were forced through the timeline thousands of...times. We always landed either just before, or just after Mateo Matic’s midnight, though we usually didn’t actually encounter him.”

“That’s very interesting.”

“I’m tired of being away from you,” Vearden lamented. “Why are they doing this?”

“We’re the freelancers. We go where we’re needed, but only once it’s time.”

“Sounds like you’ve become quite comfortable with this life.”

“It’s why ‘cause all the lives I’ve saved,” Saga answered amusingly.

“I only care about the one,” he responded. “Did Sarka—I mean Baxter, patch you up?”

“Yes,” Saga replied. “But I had to get myself to him first. Running with a gut wound is not fun, but at least we now know how to operate the stargate.”

“We’ve no idea where we would end up if we do.”

“As long as it isn’t an island, I’m not all that worried about it.”

“Fair point.” The two friends took each other by the hand and walked back through the gate together.

They found themselves in a very darkly lit chamber of stone, reminding them of when they first landed in the original Colosseum. Torch light flickered on the wall up ahead. They could hear voices, but could not make out any words. Nothing around them could have acted as a new portal, so there only choice was to move forward. As they drew nearer, the voices became clearer, and even familiar. Before they reached the opening, Makarion popped into view with a torch and stopped them defensively. “Oh my God, it’s you.”

“What are you two doing here?” Makarion ordered them to explain themselves.

“We walked through the stargate. Where is here?”

“Giza.”

“Giza? As in...the Great Pyramid of—?”

The sound of Vearden’s daughter’s voice came from around the corner, “Makarion, what’s going on up there?”

“Laura!” Vearden exclaimed.

They rudely ran past Makarion and bolted down to find both of their children sitting in a surprisingly modern chamber, along with Theo Delaney. There was a living room with couches and a television. Off to the side were cabinets, a sink, and other appliances. Hugs were hugged and laughs were laughed. They caught up with each other about what they had gone through since first being separated before getting into what was happening more recently.

“What are you guys doing down here?”

“We had a run-in with The Cleanser,” Samsonite started to explain. “He killed Leona’s parents after she accidentally killed Darko while trying to kill Makarion. She came here with us, but isn’t here now because today is not her day.”

“Are we actually in the pyramid?” Saga asked, fascinated. She had always wanted to photograph the pyramids. She had planned on developing a photobook including pyramids from all over the world, but never found the time or money. “How have tourists not caught you? Are we deep in the past again?”

“No, they’re around,” Makarion jumped in. “They just don’t know about this part of it. Neither does any egyptologist, or any expert, really.”

“How is that possible with modern day technology?” Vearden asked. “Radars and other sciencey stuff that goes over my head,” he suggested.

A naked woman they had never met before walked in from an opening on the other side of the wall, still in the middle of drying herself off after a shower. “They can’t see into these chambers,” she assured them. “They exist in a shielded bidimensional parastructure,” she technobabbled redundantly.

“Well, that’s what I figured, but...” Vearden said sarcastically.

The woman started back into it while rigorously scratching at her hair with the towel. She had obviously been over this multiple times. “There are some places in the world that exhibit very special physical properties. They are why salmon, choosers, and powers that be exist in the first place. Easter Island, the Bermuda Triangle, a random clearing in Ontario; salmon are constantly being drawn to these places, and will in fact, be more likely born in one of them than anywhere else. Hell, the entirety of Kansas seems to be a giant hotspot, with lots of smaller hotspots inside of it like Lebanon, Stull, and Lawrence. Choosers and powers have been declaring ownership of these landmarks of lore since their discoveries. The Delegator owns Stonehenge, The Concierge owns The Constant, and The Gravedigger owns The Graveyard. A salmon named Horace Reaver tried to take control of Uluru years ago. He refused to leave, even after failing.”

“So The Great Pyramid of Giza is yours,” Saga said, suddenly feeling the need to admire the walls, looking for what was protecting them from prying eyes.

“It is,” she said while pulling on her pants. “For now.”

“Choosers are not allowed to enter each other’s domains without permission,” Makarion said. “This is one of the few safe places on Earth, and our host has graciously agreed to provide us with sanctuary.”

“There is no sanctuary,” the woman said in a dark and low tone. Then she laughed, “just kidding. Meliora has control over that.”

“We...” Saga started, “do not know your name.”

“I prefer to keep my name secret, like many others. You can call me The Escapologist. Don’t ask me where I escaped from. Not even Makarion knows that much about what’s really going on.”

With the conversation fizzled out, Saga and Vearden retreated to the couches so they could focus on their family. The Escapologist and Theo started cooking them all a meal.

Just before dinner, Makarion politely asked if he could speak with them in the other room. He seemed quite different than he was the last time they saw him. The sadistic choice that the Cleanser had put them through had affected him a great deal. No longer was he the quippy, confident little jerk from before. He was scared. “I guess the cat’s out of the bag,” he said ominously. “I have been working for the Cleanser, but only so that he doesn’t wreak havoc on you people. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no saint, and I enjoy...toying with people. But he’s so much worse. The contract I had with him prevented me from revealing this, but I’m hoping to remedy the situation. If I don’t, you’re all in danger. But I need something. From you, and from Mateo, when he returns.”

“What is it?” Saga asked, not hopeful it was something she wanted to give.

“I need you to keep going. I need you to fulfill your contract with me. I still need you to build the Colosseum. When I showed up after the golf game, I was there to inform you that your job had been voided due to Mateo’s death. Now that we know him to be alive, I have to do everything I can to put us back on track.”

“We were building the Colosseum for him?”

“I’ve been putting him through what I call tribulations. They’re much like the ones you’ve been going through, but far more planned out, elaborate, and structured. The Cleanser thinks that kind of life is worse than death, and he may be right. But if he’s not, then we simply cannot stop. I don’t want to do this.” He stared at the floor solemnly. “Certainly not anymore. But if I don’t try—if I don’t make an attempt to get back to where we were, I fear the worst.”

Vearden thought about the offer. He made a good point about not knowing the danger lurking in alternate realities, but there must still have been something he wasn’t telling them. “What will Mateo be doing there once it’s finished?”

“It’s the Colosseum, what do you think?”

The just stared at him down their noses.

“Sorry. Force of habit.” He took an acceptable pause. “So, are you in, or do we band together and try to fight? I warn you that he’s the most powerful chooser I’ve met, and probably is exactly that.”

“Well, I’ve tried to fight before,” Vearden said with a sigh. “And that hasn’t worked out for me thus far.”

Saga looked at him and they nodded at each other with pure understanding. “We’ll play along for now, but when it’s time to fight, will you agree to fight with us?”

“Yes. I’ll even add that to the contract.”

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Microstory 335: Job Security

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Economic Participation

Ah, job security. Does it exist? Nope. One thing you have to know is that working is an exchange, much like paying for things is. I give you money, you give me product or service. With a job, I do work for you, you give me money. The complexities will come into play later, but in the end, that’s what it boils down to. And you have to know this in order to understand one simple fact; no one in the job market owes you anything, and you don’t owe them anything either. A company is getting just as much out of you working for them as you are getting by being gainfully employed. And I do mean that it’s just as much, because the market has determined how much that job is worth, and you have agreed to work for that amount of money. If you want more money, you’ll have to ask for a raise, or find a new job. Likewise, if they want to pay less, they’re either going to have to give you a pay cut, or hire someone else. All this makes it sound like the system is perfect, and that I have no problem with it. It actually is a problem, and steps should be taken to rectify it. Women tend to be paid less than men for the same job. Age seems to be a double-edged sword, because employers want experience, but they also want cheap, young labor. So these companies are constantly turning employees over and shifting structure, essentially desperate to find a loophole to this whole thing about slavery being illegal. They hire interns and contractors, and they keep people under 40 hours a week so they don’t have to provide benefits, and they’ll always be that much closer to letting you go. No, job security does not exist, but some positions are closer than others. Once you’re comfortable where you are, your next step is further up the ladder towards the securiest job security available.

Capacity to Provide