That's terrible. You're not goods. And there's nothing wrong with needing to heal from trauma. No one can go through something like that and feel nothing. Listen, I'm taking you under my care as a Doctor, and I won't take no for an answer. All you have to do is indulge this old chap with questions, and stories now and again, and don't punish yourself for being in a bad situation and getting out of it alive, but a little wounded, agreed?
[He's REALLY not sure how much good he can do, even beyond, "first do no harm" which he definitely can do, but it's not like he's ever mastered healing his own injuries. Still, he can't ignore it either. He's a knight. And he remembers all too well the soldiers who died for simply not having basic training in the most simple of things.]
[A soft grin about his childhood.] It wasn't my mother's choice. She took in any child of my father's while he was off drinking and having otherwise illegitimate children. That's what I mean about her being Catholic. They don't believe in divorce. And she was willing to take responsibility for his wayward affairs. Alcoholism is a terrible disease on Earth. One of the worst. I didn't mind thar life though! Not that I'll ever let myself back into poverty. But my mother was the best! As soon as I had my own practice, I got a telephone so I could call her all the time. She taught me storytelling, and 9understood public audience better than I ever did. I used to tell her how much I wanted to kill off my main character, but she knew the backlash would be steeper than I expected. Having all the younger children around I got to practice my storytelling, and I've always enjoyed it more than any amount of Doctoring. Easier to see fast direct results.
All right then, your apprenticing sounds more like what I did as a Doctor. At least after the initial many years in college. [Makes a face! He hated it bleh!]
Quarantine zone... quite possibly. But Earth isn't as bad in another hundred years as my own time, supposedly. Not that I have any real idea what it's like then, but Sebastian is from 2019 and everything is less... dreadful. Less disease, less wars, less tyranny. I think I helps to have those like Napoleon happen now and again, to champion a cause, no matter how destructive. It's like wildfire. Frightening, destructuve, terrible, but afterwards, the plants grow back stronger and greener than ever. Almost cleansing.
[A small laugh! Easy going, and clearly impressed!] You're very modest, Lieutenant, but I can see right through how hard you've worked to get where you are! Your adopted father sounds just like my Daddy -- adopted patron: le Comte. Educating you, even if accidentally, in all manners of good politics.
Aye lass. When they first started, it took 61 days to cross the Atlantic ocean. And that was with good weather and using the currents in their favor. But obviously the more they did it, the more it sped up. Telephones weren't invented until after Napoleon's time, 1876, but the aristocracy are the slowest to change, so the idea that word from someplace else would get around to their own corner of the world completely knackered them. Even now they do tend to -- like in India, as you saw. They tend to ignore things that could be solved, because they don't think it affects them personally, and they don't care. That's all adding powder to a keg and they think they can just avoid sparks, but it's impossible, can't be done.
[Another small laugh.] Not tired! [Yes he is. He needs caffeine, maybe blood (not exactly since he's not vampiric this moment!) But he's enjoying himself!] I'd love that lass, thank you ever so much.
[He bites his glove in thought!] East Indies Trading Company is a book onto itself that one is.
Let's see if I can do it justice, but still summarize it. When Columbus set sail, he was trying to sail to India. It's even more months traveling by land, there's all manners of bandits and terrible mayhem in the way, and the spice market was the first thing to really start pulling Europe out of the dark ages. Food, hygiene, culture, all those things started to become important again. He found America instead, a whole other two sets of contents, the New World. The monarchies that funded him sent more and more expeditions to found colonies there or just steal every bit of gold and treasure they could. And they were still looking for an ocean route to India.
Spain and Portugal had a complete monopoly on sailing the world. But in 1588, England defeated Spain's Armada with pure ship firepower technology. Suddenly the world was England's pearl for the taking. 1600, the East Indies Trading Company was founded to wedge apart the monopoly on Indian spices, now that the ocean voyages there were established, and all manner of ports along the way had to be set up to resupply.
It wasn't like they could do it without military firepower, so they had to have some backing from the crown, but because it meant England wouldn't be forced to contribute to her rivals or enemies, it was a very small price to pay.
They started using stocks, raising shares to fund capital to send expeditions off. Oh! Women could own those stocks, but you have to be royal. And to be honest, I think most women knew better. That was the... good things. The part that reminded me of what you spoke of, but everything got dark fast, as you'll probably think it does with Earth. I'm going to find some books on Tirva history, just you watch now!
[A giant beam, and a dark headshake!]
They started slave trading. The Dutch did it too. In those days, everyone did anything they wanted. The Dutch East Indies Company took up power after Spain's defeat too, but they had a really foolish governor who got too into his own head. He believed the English were conspiring with the Japanese and Portuguese to assassinate him and ordered everyone beheaded. After that, no one could work with him obviously, so East Indies, the English one, used that as a weapon to force Netherlands out, and just like that had their own new monopoly on India.
I'll tell you lass, anytime anyone gets power on Earth, it goes straight to their heads, and they can do some terrible with things with it if not stopped.
Most of the British problems in the Eastern world are from the East Indies Trading Company. Some even say American independence is too!
They had a monopoly on tea, and spices are needed to survive. It's the only way to make food last. Medicines too. They also started dabbling in opium in China. Drugs. They would take things other countries wanted outlawed, and market it anyway. And if other countries got mad, run and hide under Britain's military might. That's what they did with America too. They blamed America for expenses incurred by the war, so demanded a sugar and tea tax. Spread the financial pain if you will. But until then, colonies didn't pay taxes, so it was injustice heaped on another.
Obviously, your Tradelines is -- not evil. [A nervous laugh.] I don't think I've ever said that aloud before! I'm not one to shy from controversial opinions, but calling a bunch of bankers and dealers evil? [He rolls his shoulders, closes his eyes, and nods.] They are though. Some of them. When they band together. I had my hero call my main villain the "Napoleon of crime," but I based Moriarty on the East Indies Trading Company. He uses drug dens, black market deals to subterfuge and disguise his slavery -- it's been outlawed internationally, finally though it took a heavy fight! And infiltrates the government to whisper in their ears things to do and people to be paranoid of.
That's the reason India's militia was so criminally under resourced. Because the East Indies Trading Company only sees the cost of buying things like medicines, or protective gear, or training. And they don't have financial reason to give a damn about those lives. It's not theirs, they aren't on the front lines. They're in literal castles far away removed from it. To them it's all just numbers.
They have a charter mind you. But it's just words if people don't exact consequences on them for it. And to some extent, people can't. They can't even wholly boycott, because they owned everything. And even if you did, what about your whole colony?
But it's getting better. People did stop the slavery, and they're still working on tye drugs and the rest. And governments can't get away with everything, so long as there's enough public outcry to pressure them. It's all an ongoing struggle though, like I said.
no subject
[He's REALLY not sure how much good he can do, even beyond, "first do no harm" which he definitely can do, but it's not like he's ever mastered healing his own injuries. Still, he can't ignore it either. He's a knight. And he remembers all too well the soldiers who died for simply not having basic training in the most simple of things.]
[A soft grin about his childhood.] It wasn't my mother's choice. She took in any child of my father's while he was off drinking and having otherwise illegitimate children. That's what I mean about her being Catholic. They don't believe in divorce. And she was willing to take responsibility for his wayward affairs. Alcoholism is a terrible disease on Earth. One of the worst. I didn't mind thar life though! Not that I'll ever let myself back into poverty. But my mother was the best! As soon as I had my own practice, I got a telephone so I could call her all the time. She taught me storytelling, and 9understood public audience better than I ever did. I used to tell her how much I wanted to kill off my main character, but she knew the backlash would be steeper than I expected. Having all the younger children around I got to practice my storytelling, and I've always enjoyed it more than any amount of Doctoring. Easier to see fast direct results.
All right then, your apprenticing sounds more like what I did as a Doctor. At least after the initial many years in college. [Makes a face! He hated it bleh!]
Quarantine zone... quite possibly. But Earth isn't as bad in another hundred years as my own time, supposedly. Not that I have any real idea what it's like then, but Sebastian is from 2019 and everything is less... dreadful. Less disease, less wars, less tyranny. I think I helps to have those like Napoleon happen now and again, to champion a cause, no matter how destructive. It's like wildfire. Frightening, destructuve, terrible, but afterwards, the plants grow back stronger and greener than ever. Almost cleansing.
[A small laugh! Easy going, and clearly impressed!] You're very modest, Lieutenant, but I can see right through how hard you've worked to get where you are! Your adopted father sounds just like my Daddy -- adopted patron: le Comte. Educating you, even if accidentally, in all manners of good politics.
Aye lass. When they first started, it took 61 days to cross the Atlantic ocean. And that was with good weather and using the currents in their favor. But obviously the more they did it, the more it sped up. Telephones weren't invented until after Napoleon's time, 1876, but the aristocracy are the slowest to change, so the idea that word from someplace else would get around to their own corner of the world completely knackered them. Even now they do tend to -- like in India, as you saw. They tend to ignore things that could be solved, because they don't think it affects them personally, and they don't care. That's all adding powder to a keg and they think they can just avoid sparks, but it's impossible, can't be done.
[Another small laugh.] Not tired! [Yes he is. He needs caffeine, maybe blood (not exactly since he's not vampiric this moment!) But he's enjoying himself!] I'd love that lass, thank you ever so much.
[He bites his glove in thought!] East Indies Trading Company is a book onto itself that one is.
Let's see if I can do it justice, but still summarize it. When Columbus set sail, he was trying to sail to India. It's even more months traveling by land, there's all manners of bandits and terrible mayhem in the way, and the spice market was the first thing to really start pulling Europe out of the dark ages. Food, hygiene, culture, all those things started to become important again. He found America instead, a whole other two sets of contents, the New World. The monarchies that funded him sent more and more expeditions to found colonies there or just steal every bit of gold and treasure they could. And they were still looking for an ocean route to India.
Spain and Portugal had a complete monopoly on sailing the world. But in 1588, England defeated Spain's Armada with pure ship firepower technology. Suddenly the world was England's pearl for the taking. 1600, the East Indies Trading Company was founded to wedge apart the monopoly on Indian spices, now that the ocean voyages there were established, and all manner of ports along the way had to be set up to resupply.
It wasn't like they could do it without military firepower, so they had to have some backing from the crown, but because it meant England wouldn't be forced to contribute to her rivals or enemies, it was a very small price to pay.
They started using stocks, raising shares to fund capital to send expeditions off. Oh! Women could own those stocks, but you have to be royal. And to be honest, I think most women knew better. That was the... good things. The part that reminded me of what you spoke of, but everything got dark fast, as you'll probably think it does with Earth. I'm going to find some books on Tirva history, just you watch now!
[A giant beam, and a dark headshake!]
They started slave trading. The Dutch did it too. In those days, everyone did anything they wanted. The Dutch East Indies Company took up power after Spain's defeat too, but they had a really foolish governor who got too into his own head. He believed the English were conspiring with the Japanese and Portuguese to assassinate him and ordered everyone beheaded. After that, no one could work with him obviously, so East Indies, the English one, used that as a weapon to force Netherlands out, and just like that had their own new monopoly on India.
I'll tell you lass, anytime anyone gets power on Earth, it goes straight to their heads, and they can do some terrible with things with it if not stopped.
Most of the British problems in the Eastern world are from the East Indies Trading Company. Some even say American independence is too!
They had a monopoly on tea, and spices are needed to survive. It's the only way to make food last. Medicines too. They also started dabbling in opium in China. Drugs. They would take things other countries wanted outlawed, and market it anyway. And if other countries got mad, run and hide under Britain's military might. That's what they did with America too. They blamed America for expenses incurred by the war, so demanded a sugar and tea tax. Spread the financial pain if you will. But until then, colonies didn't pay taxes, so it was injustice heaped on another.
Obviously, your Tradelines is -- not evil. [A nervous laugh.] I don't think I've ever said that aloud before! I'm not one to shy from controversial opinions, but calling a bunch of bankers and dealers evil? [He rolls his shoulders, closes his eyes, and nods.] They are though. Some of them. When they band together. I had my hero call my main villain the "Napoleon of crime," but I based Moriarty on the East Indies Trading Company. He uses drug dens, black market deals to subterfuge and disguise his slavery -- it's been outlawed internationally, finally though it took a heavy fight! And infiltrates the government to whisper in their ears things to do and people to be paranoid of.
That's the reason India's militia was so criminally under resourced. Because the East Indies Trading Company only sees the cost of buying things like medicines, or protective gear, or training. And they don't have financial reason to give a damn about those lives. It's not theirs, they aren't on the front lines. They're in literal castles far away removed from it. To them it's all just numbers.
They have a charter mind you. But it's just words if people don't exact consequences on them for it. And to some extent, people can't. They can't even wholly boycott, because they owned everything. And even if you did, what about your whole colony?
But it's getting better. People did stop the slavery, and they're still working on tye drugs and the rest. And governments can't get away with everything, so long as there's enough public outcry to pressure them. It's all an ongoing struggle though, like I said.