"Hm. So in other words, expressing your identity as an individual, outside the context of your societal role. Is that right?"
It makes sense, given what he knows of her culture. Kaulahren society is rigidly hierarchical, essentially a caste system. As a priestess, Elleru sat very near the top of said hierarchy, but that doesn't mean it constrained her any less. As she said, status confers its own responsibilities - for example, that of subordinating her own interests to those of the colony.
Qubit's origin may be very different from hers, but the clash between uniqueness and conformity is a common thread in nearly every culture he's familiar with, human or no. Some societies have arrived at a firmer answer to the question than others (hive minds, for instance, exhibit collectivism in the far extreme), but most exist somewhere in the middle - or even contradict themselves. Imagine a society that blithely sings the praises of the individual, while simultaneously hammering down any nail that sticks out too far. That would just be maddening, wouldn't it?
... Anyway, they're not talking cultural relativism at the moment. The point is, when she asks, Could you not be yourself? she's really asking whether he was constrained by his position, like she was. Past tense, not a hypothetical.
"In that sense, it's not quite the same," he says. "For me, my role and responsibilities were all self-imposed. Our team was the first of its kind, you see, so the expectations placed on us were..." He waves his hand, searching. "That is, we had plenty of latitude for self-expression. They were expectations of behavior more than appearance."
no subject
It makes sense, given what he knows of her culture. Kaulahren society is rigidly hierarchical, essentially a caste system. As a priestess, Elleru sat very near the top of said hierarchy, but that doesn't mean it constrained her any less. As she said, status confers its own responsibilities - for example, that of subordinating her own interests to those of the colony.
Qubit's origin may be very different from hers, but the clash between uniqueness and conformity is a common thread in nearly every culture he's familiar with, human or no. Some societies have arrived at a firmer answer to the question than others (hive minds, for instance, exhibit collectivism in the far extreme), but most exist somewhere in the middle - or even contradict themselves. Imagine a society that blithely sings the praises of the individual, while simultaneously hammering down any nail that sticks out too far. That would just be maddening, wouldn't it?
... Anyway, they're not talking cultural relativism at the moment. The point is, when she asks, Could you not be yourself? she's really asking whether he was constrained by his position, like she was. Past tense, not a hypothetical.
"In that sense, it's not quite the same," he says. "For me, my role and responsibilities were all self-imposed. Our team was the first of its kind, you see, so the expectations placed on us were..." He waves his hand, searching. "That is, we had plenty of latitude for self-expression. They were expectations of behavior more than appearance."