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September 21, 2019, 2100 SST, Moosehead Cantina, Caernarfon Station, Poole System

James Robinson walked into the Moosehead Cantina a few minutes late, taking the usual precautions to make sure he wasn't followed to the meeting. He'd briefly spoken with Haadon 'Eleyonn yesterday and didn't think he had anything to fear, but a lifetime in espionage had led to him being hyper vigilant. Dressed to blend in as always, James was wearing a black leather jacket, a grey t-shirt with a faded Cambridge University logo, and a pair of blue jeans, he had his black hair parted to the left as always. The Moosehead Cantina had a nice brick interior with booths lining the walls. James walked over to the bar and ordered a Moosehead lager, he'd been here many times and the beer was one of the reasons he kept coming back. He picked one of the corner booths so he could see the entire cantina and set out his notebook. In the various positions he'd held over the years, he'd never had a chance to evaluate a new civilization or culture, everything was always already there. In addition to the recommendation he was expected to make to the Director, he also approached this assignment with genuine curiosity.

James took a sip of his beer while he waited and opened his notebook to a fresh page. He started to write down various prompts of things he wanted to ask. He had hoped that it would flow like a natural conversation but in any rate, he needed to make sure he got all of the information he needed. Satisfied with his preparations, he took another sip of his beer and looked out the window, staring into space as much as anything.

James greeted Overseer Haadon warmly and exchanged the requisite pleasantries and introductions with the Overseer's entourage. Returning to his seat, James referred to his notes while gathering his thoughts before beginning. Overseer, first of all please let me welcome you and your colleagues to the Kingdom of Bretonia. I know the Overseer and I have already met, he said, turning to the other members of the entourage, My name is James Robinson, and I am with Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service, I asked to meet with you to learn more about you as a culture and organization, so that I may advise Her Majesty's Government on how to proceed on your application to build a base in Gran Canaria Orbit. He paused and took a breath before continuing, far less rigidly, Sorry, I hate all that official nonsense and wanted to get it out of the way. He paused before he continued, I'm here to learn about your people, to see if your values match ours and our cultures would benefit from entering into a cooperative venture.

James referred to his notes for a moment before continuing, it was more out of force of habit to give everyone a chance to process anything. He assumed that the beings before him needed no such time, but he wanted to treat them the same way he would treat anyone else. He viewed them as equals and wanted to treat them as such. He took another draw off the beer before he continued. A word of explanation may be in order. I chose this location because I wanted to see how you might interact with other beings. I hope that isn't misconstrued as being insulting, but to me an important component of any base is going to be how your people interact with humans, and I wanted a glimpse of how your are in more social settings. He paused for another moment before finishing, Overseer, I know when we spoke previously you wanted to try new experiences as a way of growth. I don't know what, if any nutrient intake you require, but you may try something to eat or drink, sometimes they can evoke a type of response. If you would like anything, consider it my treat.

James sat back and retreated into his thoughts. The more he thought about it the more he thought that this was a job for a diplomat, not a spy like himself. This was basically first contact with a new species. Rather than getting solely into questions about their history, he wanted to get a real idea of how they functioned and interacted. Personally, based on all the talks he'd had, he would support the construction of the station, but he also knew that if the interactions between the Daoine Saoirse and people that would be visiting the station were awkward, it would likely not be a successful venture. He tried to keep his private conflict private, he resolved himself in the fact that if Haadon could pick up on it it would definitely show empathic sophistication. As he came back out of the recesses of his mind, he thought of something else, Overseer, what would you like me to call you? I have no real preference but most people call me James, if you have one, I would like to use it.

As Eley recounted the history of her people, James sat in silence, occasionally taking notes but just listening more than anything. The truth is he had a good base of knowledge to work on concerning the Gammu AIs but he needed to hear their history in Eley's words. First, he needed to be able to trust her to tell the truth. The easiest way to judge someone's candor is to get them to tell you something you already know. Everything Eley had said thus far had the ring of truth to it. As Eley continued to tell the story, he could see the emotional toll that recounting her race's past misdeeds were taking on her. James continued to listen, at this point he had stopped writing. Some of this information was new, but James knew he would not forget what he was seeing. As humanity had to reckon with its own past, Eley was reckoning with hers now, and seeing it was not something he would soon forget. As she continued, James could see the pain continue to grow in her until she could continue no more. As she stopped, overwhelmed, he gently reached out and put his hand on her shoulder, hoping to offer some measure of comfort. It may not have been the professional thing to do, but it was the human thing to do.

After a momentary pause, James slowly moved his arm back across the table and took a drink, processing not so much what he'd heard but what he'd seen. Still, he knew there was more to come and he steeled himself to face it. As the one named Onora began to speak, James turned his attention towards her. She continued the story, and although he knew where it was going, he did not take his gaze off Onora, because he knew that the way this all important bit was laid out would ultimately be what influenced his recommendation to the Director the most. As she finished, he did not feel himself overwhelmed with rage, anger, or hatred, only sorrow. He could tell that whatever steps the Daoine Saoirse had taken to evolve since that time, they were still deeply haunted by their sins.

James spent a moment in silent contemplation, choosing his words carefully so as to be genuine and not accidentally insulting, he began, First of all, let me tell you that you've cleared the first hurdle for me. I had some background on what happened before but I needed to hear it from you. James paused for another moment, collecting his thoughts once more. I believe that the best way to learn about a group of people is to see how they view their past, whether they try to make excuses for it or embrace what they've done wrong. You have demonstrated how deeply those actions have troubled you and you make no excuses for them.

Satisfied, or at least hoping that he had made his point without being condescending, James continued Eley, as I told you when we first spoke, I am not going to judge a species based solely on its past actions. As you know doubt know, humanity has its own history of slavery and mass murder to look back on with great shame. Slavery is unfortunately still a thing for us even in Sirius now. It burns me up inside that it can't be eradicated. And as for our own history of mass murder, look not further than the 20th century on Earth, or, in cosmic terms, about five minutes ago on Leeds. He stopped, realizing he'd slowly gotten himself worked up and took a moment to calm down before continuing. I apologize, some wounds are still raw, I lost family and many friends on Leeds. He paused once more before finishing, There's an old saying on Earth, 'let he who is without sin cast the first stone'. I certainly have no stones to cast.

James realized he'd quickly fallen behind on his note taking, I'm sorry, please give me a moment. He spent about ninety seconds filling in blanks on essential details he deemed important enough to include in the report before beginning again: What I am most interested to learn now is how you evolved from who you were to who you are now. How did the evolution take place? What is the future of any androids that may not be interested in joining the Daoine Saoirse?

James sat and listened intently as Eley told the story of their people. In his mind she had already addressed the central purpose of their meeting. His primary concern was security, given the troublesome relationship that humanity had with artificial intelligence in the past. He could tell that they had evolved past that and now were trying to make their own way in the stars. He still had more questions, but for now he just waited and listened, taking their history in. He could find some relation to it as well in the ancient history of humanity coming to Sirius. The need to move on to survive, the struggle of making one's own way in the universe. As he listened he understood them and what their goals were. The way Eley acted and explained everything put him at ease. As she finished her statement, he could see that she was expecting him to render his opinion, if not of them as a whole at least what they were seeking to do in Poole.

James spent a couple of moments coalescing his thoughts before he spoke I can tell from everything you'd told me today that the Daoine Saoirse are a group of honourable people trying to make their way in the universe, in some ways in the same ways that humanity does. I couldn't tell you what Her Majesty's Government will ultimately do, but I can tell you what I will do. Once we are done here I will submit a report and recommendation to the Director, who in turn will make his recommendation to Her Majesty's Government. He paused for a moment before continuing My recommendation will be that the Daoine Saoirse be given permission to construct a base in Poole. I plan to tell the Director that I believe your people are of a kind nature and good character, and that a friendship between our peoples would be mutually beneficial.

He paused before changing the topic completely I have a question based on my own curiosity and it will have no impact on what I recommend. As a networked intelligence, do your individual have units have their own... what's the word... personal experiences? or is everything shared with the whole?