Home » The Archives » Chapter 7 » Trouble Under the Hood
| Re: Trouble Under the Hood [message #1859 is a reply to message #1858] |
Sat, 28 July 2012 17:03   |
Lillehafrue
Messages: 478
Registered: July 2012
Location: Northeastern USA
Karma:
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TB Pilot
Evil Genius |
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From: Tikatu Sent: 4/7/2006 9:40 PM
Saturday, July 7, 2068, 4:30 p.m., Tracy Island
"So, what did you want to talk about?" Jeff asked his wife as they took a walk along the beach together. "I know with sleeping in and all the vehicle maintenance yesterday we really didn't have time to talk, did we?"
"No, we didn't," Dianne said amiably. She took a deep breath and tugged her sweater around her a little bit more. "A bit chilly today, I think."
Jeff nodded. "It never gets too wintery, but once in a while there's a nip in the air." He put his arm around her. "Now, let's talk about whatever's bothering you."
Dianne sighed heavily. "It's just that this last rescue would have been so much easier if some of the men had gone along. I really could have used Dom's skills in Thunderbird Seven. Having Nikki along was great, just... not quite enough. We needed more personnel, especially since we were dealing with a lot of injured people." She looked up at him, her forehead puckered in a frown. "Why must we adhere to the cultural mores of the people we rescue?"
"Hmm. That's an interesting question," Jeff said, nodding gravely. He was quiet for a bit as he considered his answer. "I guess that we do it because, in some respects, we now have the capacity to do it. Before the women came aboard, we just didn't get calls that made it necessary for us to consider the culture of those we rescued. I'm under the distinct impression from Alan's report that if we hadn't had female crew to handle the situation, that sheik wouldn't even have called us."
"You're probably right," Dianne admitted. "Still, I think this is a dangerous precedent to set. There are going to be times when adhering to those cultural or religious standards is going to hinder us from rescuing people."
"How so?" Jeff asked. "Give me an example."
"Welllll," Dianne said, thinking hard. "Okay, try this. What if we need to use the Mole to get to some people trapped underground, but the safest and most direct route is through some sort of holy place, maybe a burial ground of some sort. What do we do then?"
Jeff stopped walking for a moment and thought over the question. "I suppose that we'd have to consult with the people whose holy place it was and see if we could come to an agreement. Or we'd have to devise an alternate route. But if we had to have that alternate route, we'd have to make it clear that the time we spent devising it was putting off the rescue, and that the people in danger might end up being there too long for our help to be effective."
Dianne shook her head. "You know that wouldn't be acceptable to the powers that be or to the public. We're not allowed to fail, Jeff. We are the 'miracle workers'."
"We've failed plenty of times since we started operations, love. You know that very well. But we have to at least give the people involved a choice; let us destroy their holy place and get to the people who need us in time, or avoid the holy place, and suffer the possible consequences." He sighed. "Being sensitive to a culture doesn't mean we always have to bow down to it. But it does mean that sometimes we have to make allowances."
"Even when those allowances get in the way of our effectiveness as a rescue team?"
Jeff nodded. "Even so. It doesn't hurt to have the full and eager cooperation of those who are waiting for us to perform that miracle." He raised an eyebrow in challenge. "Why do I get the feeling that this isn't so much about cultural mores in general as it is about the specific cultural barriers we faced in the last rescue?"
Dianne folded her arms. "Maybe because it is. It was frustrating, Jeff. Knowing that we could have done the job - not necessarily better - but much faster if one or two of the men were along. Even if Scott had been able to be right there, lending a hand. I know he was pretty frustrated to be so far away from the action; especially since none of us knew what we were going into." She shook her head. "It seems so backwards for women to be treated like... property in this day and age."
"I agree," Jeff replied mildly. "But... you and the other women gave that sheik something to think about."
"Huh?" Dianne's puzzled reaction was very real.
"I didn't see it myself at the time, but your mother emailed me about it and I checked it out. It's quite interesting. You'll have to see it for yourself, though."
"Hmm. I guess I will." Dianne put her hands on Jeff's shoulders and gazed up into his face. "How did you get to be so wise?"
"Uhhhh," Jeff said, stalling for time. Finally, he smiled mischievously. "Trade secret?"
Dianne's eyebrow went up in challenge and she folded her arms again. "Yeah, right. Try again... wise guy."
Her expression made Jeff laugh, and he pulled her to him, trying to get her to abandon her mock-belligerent stance. After a few minutes, she unfolded her arms and put them around him for a steady, loving embrace.
"We'd better go back," he said. "Dinner will be ready soon."
"Okay," she replied. He took her hand and they walked back to the villa together, their fingers entwined.
98% pure evil...and loving every minute of it.
 
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