Author’s Note: Hey everyone! Here is the Work in Progress for Chapter 183 I hope you guys enjoy! :D I’m sorry it took a while, my editor is still sick so it’s taken a bit longer than normal haha. This also means that the revised version for Chapter 182 will be releasing tomorrow some time before the full release of Chapter 183! ^^; However, because there’s been some changes to the end of Chapter 182, I've included a snippet of it in the beginning of this one so that it makes sense when reading the work in progress for Chapter 183 haha ^^; I hope you guys enjoy! :D I wanted to put a bit of my own personal experiences in this, being something of a third culture kid myself given the circumstances of how I grew up XD So this chapter in particular is drawn a bit from my personal feelings and experiences irl! :D
“Oh! You confuse my pedigree for my heritage, Cadet Emma Booker! A perfectly understandable point of confusion, but one which I am more than willing to clarify! You see, I’m not what most would call a typical ‘Nexian’. Moreover, it would be more accurate to say that I’m something of a [Translation Confidence 98.32%: third culture kid]!” She began with a sheepish smirk. “All of which is to say, I was actually born in an adjacent realm!”
That answer landed with the impact of a giga-hauler dropping out of warp and straight into an unsuspecting pleasure yacht sitting idly in a holding pattern.
Which is to say, whilst I immediately registered those words, it took a moment before my conscious thoughts managed to catch up to the cavalcade of emotions my limbic system was currently bombarding me with.
It was only when I was finally able to sync with the proverbial relay squawkers, and really dissect what the EVI’s auto-translate displayed, that it finally hit me.
And with it, came an entirely new dimension of Nexian-adjacent social dynamics.
I hadn’t expected the concept of a third culture kid to be brought up, and in the Nexus of all places.
But it only made sense.
There was an undeniable degree of cultural diversity when it came to the Nexus, and especially the adjacent realms, regardless of how strong the trend towards cultural homogenization was following the Nexian reformations.
The sheer number of unique peoples, customs, and niche subcultures I’d encountered thus far was a testament to that.
Moreover, the reformations didn’t inherently preclude the existence of local cultural quirks at the least, and flat out cultural resistance at the most extreme, as evidenced by Thalmin.
So the concept of third culture individuals popping up wasn’t outlandish… it just wasn't expected.
Though it was the explicit use of that term that probably threw me off the most, as it just felt so very… anachronistic.
It was a concept that felt more at home, well… back home, then anything; a definition that encompassed at least a fourth of all humans, if not a third, depending on the independent survey authority being referenced.
And I, to an extent — as much as my spacer friends might deem it a stretch — counted myself amongst them.
Transitioning from a heritage town to one of the largest and most cosmopolitan megacities was, by all measures, the moment that my personal life experiences were split into two. And while my experience was not as dramatic as a ‘station’ spacer making a move to an O’Neill cylinder, it by no means meant that I couldn’t ‘relate’ to it.
Because the result of the two circumstances was the same — the kid in question would have established formative memories in the first culture, grown up immersed in the second culture, before eventually fusing both into an amalgamated ‘third’ culture, one they’d end up identifying with the most.
And given the sheer freedom of movement offered as a fundamental right, and the innate desire for change in many second and third generation families following their move to a new station, planet, moon, or so on and so forth, the phenomenon becomes almost expected.
It was, of course, not what I expected from the Nexus.
But Lovguard was here to prove me wrong.
And I was all for it.
Intel was intel.
But what’s more, it sparked a whole new wave of inquisitive interest in the Nexus’ socio-cultural dynamics.
I quickly turned to Thacea and Thalmin, regarding their expressions, and seeing… not much of any response at all from the pair.
So this wasn’t completely out of the ordinary.
Alright.
I can work with that.
“You know, I can definitely relate to that, Lady Lovguard.” I responded in a gesture of genuine outreach, smiling softly behind my helmet. “Not everyone’s born in the beating heart and vibrant center of ‘civilization’. Sometimes, your life starts in one place, playing at a certain beat and softer tempo. Then, before you know it, you’re thrust into a different stage, one playing by a different rhythm and a completely foreign tune.”
Lovguard’s eyes lit up at that, a slight gasp, and a small smirk forming in ensuing order.
I allowed my words to die down a bit there, knowing well Lovguard was intending on finishing my thoughts.
“Eventually, you manage to… ‘split the difference’ as it were! Adapting well to both and to wherever you end up next, but never really belonging to one or the other; instead becoming comfortable with something outside of both.” She spoke with a knowing grin.
“You kind of always end up thinking in one mindset—” I continued.
“—while always considering the other, always stuck in between two worlds—” Lovguard continued.
“—and managing to confuse and amuse your old and new social circles with quirks belonging to the other.” I concluded. “The only people who would ‘really’ understand you—”
“—are the sorts of people who’ve gone through the same experiences.” The elf nodded, finishing my sentence just as well.
“Huh.” We both sounded at just about the same time, causing both Thacea and Thalmin to momentarily glance at one another, as if trying to dissect exactly what was going on.
It’d be Lovguard who’d take the next beat of the conversation however, as she cocked her hip, and placed a hand atop both.
“I’ll say, Cadet Emma Booker, I was not expecting… this from you, of all people. More than that, I wasn't expecting another who shared in the same experiences so… viscerally, especially from a newrealm, one I imagine to possess neither the breadth nor depth of cultural heritage and social precedence for such a complex phenomenon to manifest! But… stranger things have occurred, and I am willing to overlook such ‘impossibilies’, for the sake of this shared… shall we say… sisterhood of othership, haha!” She practically beamed, before leaning forward with a single hand covering her lips, as if performing an exaggerated whisper, the sorts of acts you’d see on a stage show and not in real life. “Because between you and me, there aren’t too many Nexian elves who share in my unique experiences and I’ve been desperate to actually talk to someone who understands how it is to belong to neither, but a distinct third identity, and while I can’t believe I found it in you, I will take all the wins I can because this scholarship and my aspirations of astromancy have pushed me to the brink of collapse.” She practically rambled out in her signature one-word-sentence word salad, her tone, and even her expression practically drenched with desperation in this rare instance of near-instantaneous personal connection.
I literally just threw out a lure… I hadn’t expected to reel in a catch this cleanly and quickly… I thought to myself.
“You’ll find that there’s a lot more from my realm that isn’t… let’s just say, par for the course as it were.” I began with a nervous smirk. “But yes, erm, I am glad to have found a kindred spirit, I guess you could call it.” I continued. “So… I take it your experiences growing up in an adjacent realm motivated you to… help it? As in, the whole astromancy thing seems to genuinely be a complete and unrepentant boon to it. I imagine you must have some sort of a strong connection to that adjacent realm for this whole fixation to manifest.”
“That it did!” Lovguard nodded. “Though, it was more the realm’s… unique flavor of local customs, so in-line, yet adjacent to His Eternal truths, that made this whole venture all that more alluring to me. For you see, the realm in question was very spiritual, their calling reflected in their obsession over the stars, the moving tapestries, and the meaning imbued in the celestial bodies. In the past, this manifested as primitive and archaic beliefs on superstitious fortune-telling and whatnot. Now? It all ties to his eternal truths, each constellation and every pattern, representing some aspect of his story and some element of his virtuous journey. Though, if you ask me, they’re [Translation Confidence 95.32%: missing the forest for the trees] here. Because even in their primitive customs, I believe they were onto something. This is shown quite brilliantly in certain ‘seasons’, where the alignment of stars really do manage to perform limited miracles. From the accelerated growth of plants for farmers, to the enhancement of strength of builders, I’ve seen so much potential. And to see it squandered without further exploitation of its principles is so very infuriating!” She declared.
All of this prompted me to cock me head once in confusion, as a single question emerged at the tail end of her explanations.
“That all sounds… fascinating, Lady Lovguard.” I first acknowledged. “So, before we get deep into this, do you mind telling me what realm this was? Is it one that we’ve encountered a student from?”
“Oh! Yes! You very well have!” She beamed brightly. “It’s Pronarthiarealm that I originally hail from! Lord… Auris Ping’s realm, I believe that’s his name!”
I felt the proverbial record screeching to a halt, as Thalmin’s features said it all.