xp_logs | Crystal and Nathan - Bureaucracy (Reply)

Nathan and Crystal meet for Crystal's first Farsi lesson and end up in a discussion about mutant social politics.

"I would like to thank you again for setting up this class for me," Crystal told Nathan at the end of her very first Farsi lesson. "I believe that Medusa has always been interested in learning many languages. She has always enjoyed it very much. I might not have the same zeal for languages that she does, but I have met very few people who have the same passion for languages that you and Medusa share."

"My pleasure," Nathan said, and then chuckled briefly as he closed his copy of the grammar book. "Literally, in this case. I have to say that Farsi is one of my favorite languages - mostly because of the poetry. Which I will have you reading as soon as you're able, by the way."

"I could read translations now, but written works are best when read in the language in which they were originally written," Crystal replied. "It is always interesting to read both the original version and the translation in order to see what changes were made in order to make the words and meanings fit into the translation. Some translations work out quite well; others do not."

"Poetry isn't generally worth reading in translation," Nathan said. "It almost always loses something. In any case," he said more briskly, "you've got a week's worth of exercises to do - if you happen to move through them faster than expected, you can continue with the chapter. We'll meet again same time next week, barring any changes in schedule between now and then?"

"I do not think that my schedule will change," Crystal pointed out with a small smile. "I am here all week, following the same schedule. You are the one who has... rather interesting weeks."

"True enough. Here's hoping, though - as it stands, I have no meetings next Friday, and if anything comes up perhaps I'll ask your sister to stand in for me. She did a good job yesterday, after all," Nathan said a bit dryly.

Crystal nodded. "Yes, she told me about what happened yesterday at the UN. It is quite unfortunate that this happened. You are the same person you were before you told them about your abilities. It is only their perception of the situation that has changed, not you."

Nathan tilted his head at her. "Maybe. But perceptions count more than reality, when it comes to politics. And it's all politics, at the UN..." A slightly odd smile was playing on his lips as he scrawled down a few notes on just how far they'd gotten today. "Besides. When you read minds, you're generally guilty until proven innocent."

"You have not proven your innocence by the fact that you have not behaved in a questionable way before?" Crystal asked. "Or are they assuming that perhaps you did and they simply did not realize it at the time?"

The smile lingered as Nathan regarded her. "For argument's sake... I seem to remember you telling me, the first time we met, that you disliked the idea of someone reading your mind. Now, you've got an edge on the rest of the world in that you've been taught enough to block casual scans, or stop your thoughts from slipping out. If you didn't have that, and yet still felt as strongly as you do... would you trust someone you knew was a telepath?"

"Actually, what I said was that I do not like the actual action of having someone attempt to access my thoughts," Crystal told Nathan, "not the possibility of it. If I did not possess the knowledge of shielding that you speak of, would I trust a telepath?" She looked at Nathan for a few moments, considering her response. "I suppose that would depend on the situation. If I ran across a random telepath I had never met before, would I automatically trust that person? No, but I would not automatically give over my trust to anyone I just met. This, however, does not mean that I would fear or distrust that person." She smiled slightly. "However, what would happen if someone I already knew, and possibly trusted, revealed himself or herself as a telepath? I hope that I would continue to view the person in the way I had before I had the new knowledge. The person would not have changed; I simply would have learned something new about that person."

"Mmm," Nathan said, and left it there. Much more could have been said, but this was supposed to be a Farsi lesson, not a debate about mutant social politics. "In any case, it wouldn't occur to the vast majority of people to bother trying to separate emotion and logic on this subject. I'm liable to see many more incidents like yesterday's, but honestly, I still think that's preferable to ever again having what I am used against me. If you treat something like a shameful secret, people tend to assume you're doing shameful things with it."

"Well, now that they know that you are a telepath, it is not a secret anymore," Crystal replied. "You knew what would happen if you revealed your telepathic abilities, yes?" At Nathan's affirmative response, she added, "You still chose to do so. You chose to stop hiding what you can do, who you are, in front of people you knew would judge you based solely on that fact. I am sure that this was not an easy thing to do but you chose this path all the same and I hope that, despite the difficulties you are sure to face, you are able to feel that you made the right choice." With a slight smile, she added, "The fact that something is the opinion of the majority of people does not necessarily make it the correct view." She stood and collected her textbook, notebook, and pen. "If the world manages to stay out of peril for the next week, I will see you again one week from now, at the latest."

Nathan knocked very deliberately on the top of the wooden desk, then gave her a crooked smile. "Here's hoping. Complaints about bigoted bureaucrats aside, I much prefer dealing with them to dealing with the world in peril. I suppose that means I'm getting wise. Or old. Maybe both."

"As I have not yet had experiences with politicians this week, bigoted or not, I will be attending Senator Creed's speaking engagement this afternoon," Crystal said. "I think it will be interesting to hear what he has to say, and it will be interesting to observe the crowd's reaction. Also, you are not old. If you are old, that means that my parents are old, and they are not old." Nobody would dare tell Lady Ambur Amaquelin that she was old.