fandomhigh | Urban Survival - The Uglier Side of City Living, Thursday, Period 2

Once it looked like the students who were going to show up today had settled in, Sparkle grinned a little and launched right into his lecture.

"Hey, guys. So, before we get into any of the 'how to survive alone in a city' stuff, first we have to figure out what you have to worry about in that situation. Or like, any situation. There are certain things that people need in order to survive, whether they have a steady housing situation or not."

"I've got a handout for you today, with a list of basic human needs. It should apply to most sentient species. At the very least, it should apply to most of the people in my class. If I'm wrong, let me know, and I'll adjust how I approach these lessons going forward. I'm from one of the boring Earths." He shrugged a little as he gestured to a stack of handouts. "This one is a table, most of what I've found are pyramids, which, while pretty, don't, like, actually go into depth about stuff like what 'physiological' is supposed to mean. This one has columns. You know it's being thorough when it has columns."

They were easier to follow, shut up.

"What we're mostly going to focus on this semester are the things in the 'subsistence' and 'protection' rows. Which isn't to say that the other stuff isn't important at all - I mean, freedom? Hugely freaking important too, and we'll probably touch on it down the road anyway. But a lot of the stuff below the top two rows kind of starts settling into 'suggestion' territory instead of 'requirement.' Things like your health, your ability to eat, clothing and a shelter are priorities that should be near the top of your to-do list. And I know 'equal rights' isn't exactly something we all have the luxury of saying we have. It's also not something you can necessarily focus on doing something about while you're struggling to survive. That one's a tough one we're going to touch on later, too. For today I just want you to look at the table. Get to know what your priorities on it are. Then I want you to go through the table from Affection on down and tell me a few things you think are most important, and a few things you figure you could probably get by without, at least for a while. A lot of that stuff is stuff we aren't going to cover in class, but if, like, half of you think I should be, I'm going to want to know."

Because seeing where people's priorities sat was fun and educational, okay?

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"Perhaps I have just seen too many for whom that didn't go well," Breq said. "But you're right."

"If it didn't go well, maybe something else was missing," Sparkle suggested. "Freedom, maybe? Freedom to think and form your own opinions and care about things is pretty important, even if it is at the bottom of that list. Curiosity and critical thinking aren't generally the problem, there."

"I suppose I meant conditions where freedom is lacking. They are connected though," Breq said. "Freedom and critical thinking. And many can survive and do well without either."

"I'd argue that if you're homeless, you're not going to survive and do well if you're missing them," Sparkle noted. "If you're on your own, and you have to rely on yourself alone in order to stay alive, you need to be able to think, and you need the freedom to act in order to get what you need. Thought police aren't going to help you, there."

Or anywhere, really. Fuck the thought police.

Perhaps she was reasoning from the point of view of an AI who had been reasonably comfortable for two thousand years not contradicting her programming. Not even considering the possibility that it could be done, and seen someone she loved shot for trying to act according to her own judgement.

None of that was something she wanted to bring up in class, though, and her face stayed blank.

"I think you have a point." she said in a flat voice.

He did. She would have to remind herself of that once she returned to her own universe. She had in fact managed that reasonably well so far, although that had mostly been luck.

Sparkle tilted his head at her thoughtfully, at that blank tone in her voice. And then he nodded.

"Wouldn't be teaching this class if I didn't," he settled on. "Freedom. Totally not overrated."

"So, are you saying that survival depends on creating freedom for yourself where there doesn't seem to be any?" Breq asked, still expressionless.

"I'm saying it's complicated," Sparkle replied, "and that a person who has only themselves to rely on is going to have a more difficult time if they don't have the freedom to do so."

He shrugged his shoulders.

"There's no cut-and-dry answer, here. If you don't have freedom, fighting to have it might be worth your life to you, but it isn't going to do your chances of survival any favours, either. If you have the luxury of not having to worry about a roof over your head and where your next meal is coming from, you might even be in a better position to fight for it. Doesn't mean you'll get any better results. It's going to be situational. Do you keep your head down and play by the rules? Even while you're starving? Even when winter is on the way? Maybe winter isn't a concern. Maybe water is on ration, but only to those who are playing nice, or only to those of a particular social status. How are you going to figure that one out without being able to think critically?"

"Some people would do it by doing what everyone else does," Breq replied. "Which doesn't work if you're completely alone. But yes, imitating others could be a solution. Potentially a bad one, though."

"Depending on the situation," Sparkle agreed again. "And critical thinking is going to be at least part of what lets you discern what the best thing to do in those situations is."

"It's hard to have some kind of intelligence without using it to some extent," Breq said. "My original point wasn't to question that. I've just seen too many people get shot for attempting to act in ways they deemed just and proper."

Sparkle nodded a little. Oof.

"Then that definitely sounds like a lack of freedom is the issue, Breq. Like they were living in a society where autonomy and dissent were punishable by death. That isn't the fault of critical thought. That's a failure of justice."

"No, but it shows the dangers of critical thought," Breq said. "The risks of it might go against survival. I have seen many who weren't particularly clever do acceptably well. There's always a need for people who can be used. But maybe that's not really within the topic of this class. Those people all had their basic needs met."

She should stop letting this get so personal.

Meanwhile, Sparkle was just kind of reaching up and scrubbing his face with one hand.

Oh boy.

"The dangers of critical thought," he echoed. "Better to be a mindless zombie? I'm not gonna buy that. But you're right, at least, in that this class really isn't about that. Might want to take that one up with, like, Skywalker or Professor Rogers. This seems like an ethical or political thing, now."

For someone who had recently been blown up when she had exercised a newfound freedom, this had been a very practical question. But, Breq reminded herself, she wasn't a ship anymore. Her situation was that of any human, and that was why she was in this class.

She was a little offended by 'mindless zombie' though.

"I apologize," she said, expressionless.

"Don't," Sparkle replied, shrugging. "The classroom might not be a democracy either, but I'm not going to get angry at anybody for thinking, just so long as they aren't being disruptive to the class."

And, whether she was offended or not, it was sure sounding to Sparkle like the place she was coming from would much prefer people who didn't dare think for themselves. What kind of life was that?

He had just come out of his own little mind control hell a few weeks back. It was possible that Sparkle felt a little strongly about this one, too.

Ships weren't considered people.

"I will do my best not to disrupt." This was a joke, so she smiled.

Well, if it could think, Sparkle was going to consider it people, dammit.

"I'm not terribly worried," he replied, and he smiled back.

Urban Survival - The Uglier Side of City Living, Thursday, Period 2

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