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Practical Philosophy, Monday

Ender waited until everyone was seated on the lawn, as per usual; his eyes skipped over the class, lingering briefly on Mara ~~if she was there~~, since she'd inspired today's class.

"Friendship," he said, "is a virtue which is ‘most necessary with a view to living … for without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods’. At least, that's according to Aristotle, one of our most ancient philosophers. His definition of friendship is two people who bear good will towards each other, without this escaping their notice. With this, he meant that friendships had to be based on one of three things: an appreciation of each other's goodness, or pleasantness, or usefulness. Friendships based in full appreciation of each other and a willingness to wish each other well even when there's no immediate advantage in it for you, well, those were greatest of all."

He smiled faintly. "It sounds like a romantic ideal, but it's also good advice," he said. "Of course, Aristotle also believed there was such a thing as perfect friendship - to have a friend who is like another self. To appreciate each other's ability to exercise reason and virtue, that, he felt, was most important. You could certainly argue with that more strongly."

"One thing hasn't changed since Aristotle's time, though, and that's that we value such social bonds strongly," he continued. "Most cultures have some kind of fundamental belief about the necessity of friendship, though not everyone agrees on what that should be like. Or how to accomplish it. I'd like us to talk about this for a bit: have you ever had something approaching a 'perfect friend'? Do you believe you can sort friendships the way Aristotle did, or are things murkier? Is friendship that important to you?"

There. This shouldn't be too hard, surely. It was a nice day, even if the lawn smelled like cheese.

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Peridot tilted her head at Ender for a moment, and then shrugged her shoulders.

"Some Gems are more important than others, so they have more leeway in what they do," she replied, matter-of-factly. "Or they've got a position that naturally leads to them interacting more with others. Rubies and different Quartz are strong, they're soldiers, they don't often go on missions alone, or they're at least in a position of power enough that others look up to them. Peridots... we work with our technology, we're given missions and we do them. There isn't much time to make friends, get to know other Gems. Any of that."

"So your work is almost always done alone?" Ender asked. "Isn't there much cooperation between Peridots?"

"Not generally," Peridot replied, shrugging her shoulders a little. "We aren't like Rubies, who just fuse if they need to be bigger or stronger. It only takes one Peridot to pilot a ship, or to run diagnostics on a Kindergarten."

"And you don't discuss information after you acquire it? How to fix a particularly difficult problem?" Ender asked.

"It all goes into logs. We don't sit around and chat about it or anything. It's right there at our fingertips if and when we need to access that information."

She held her hand up, let her fingers come apart to display her screen.

"We can access information from any Gem database across multiple star systems. There are few enough of us, we're spread that thin."

That sounded... lonely, but Ender was aware his own human perspective might have been playing into it.

"I see," he said. "That would affect your perspective of what relationships with other beings should be like."

It was terribly lonely. But until coming to the island, Peridot didn't know what it felt like to not be alone.

"It puts me at a disadvantage when it comes to understanding human relationships, at the very least. I know my place among other Homeworld Gems. That's what matters, for me."

By necessity, granted. But it made sense.

"Us humans have to eke out our own place in the community," Ender said quietly. "We are all born with some attributes that nudge us in one way or another, or steer us to different communities where making connections is easier, because you share a communality with them - whether it be religion, sexual orientation, or even a hobby."

He took a sip of his water.

"But in the end, we have to forge our connections ourselves, build a reputation. Find a place."

Peridot considered that quietly for a few moments.

"That sounds... terrifying," she decided, finally. "Gems are created with a place. With a role. If we can't fill that role..."

She shrugged, dancing around the consequences of that and re-claiming her screen so that she could spread her hands a little.

"... then what are we for?"

"We talked about that a little last time," Ender said, tilting his head. It was a recurring theme with Peridot, wasn't it?

"Humans aren't born knowing much of a purpose. Some possibilities are pushed at us; raise a family, get a job. But the particulars, we must discover ourselves, based on who we are. Identity comes first, for humans, and purpose must flow from it with time."

It was her entire world, Ender. With Homeworld as low on resources as it was, the threat of being harvested and put to use elsewhere was a very real one. Gems who were of no use as people made excellent components in Homeworld's tools, instead.

"But... what happens to you if you never find where you belong?"

"You settle in a role you can live with, and look for other ways to find meaning," Ender said gently. "Some people don't care overmuch for their job - their primary task - and focus whatever time they can on hobbies, family, or indeed - friends."

Peridot was kind of chewing on the inside of her cheek, now. She wasn't going to let herself stoop to jealously, or even longing for a life like that. That would be absurd. Comparing humans to Gems was like comparing comets to stars. There was little point.

Still...

"I was told by one of my..." She hesitated, not sure if she ought to use the word 'friends,' "... peers here that that's a strength, for humanity. Not a shortcoming. That being able to find your place and live the paths you choose for yourself is part of what pushes you forward as a species. And I'd have my doubts about that, but your species has made significant strides since the last time Gems came to Earth. Your relationships, your focus on family and friends... those appear to play into that, for you."

"I would go as far as to call that the very fabric of which my species is made," Ender said. "To be able to function independently, yet in unison when we need to be, based on our ties to one another. It has significant drawbacks as well, of course. But it has allowed us to thrive."

Though the Hive Queen had her own thoughts about that. Something about isolated humans who couldn't dream each other's dreams.

"Maybe... maybe aspects of that would be... beneficial... to my people, as well," Peridot hedged. "It bears consideration, at the very least. Research."

It was something for her to focus on until she could find a way to get home. Her Diamond would hear her out, she was certain, if it meant being able to make Homeworld stronger still.

Peridot was setting herself up for so much disappointment.

"Try making a friend, perhaps," Ender said. "Have you met any humans you feel you have something in common with?"

"A few, maybe," Peridot replied, thinking of Rufus and Gratuity and Jalian. Then she grimaced a little. "Though I might have pushed one of them off of a roof."

IT HAD BEEN FOR SCIENCE.

There was a short pause. "Why?" Ender asked eventually, with interest because that was the kind of teacher he was.

Peridot was blushing again, at least having come far enough these days to realize that she'd done something wrong.

"I didn't realize how fragile humans are," she explained, "and asking if all Earth creatures can fly didn't occur to me. It seemed as though many were capable of it. So I... tested."

She paused, then added, a bit awkwardly, "She was fine."

She also understood that maybe people might want to know that part, now.

"Good to know," Ender said lightly. Though that sounded perfectly in line with what he'd gleaned of Peridot so far. "They didn't take it personally?"

"She yelled," came Peridot's lament. "She knows I didn't mean to hurt her, and she hasn't been unpleasant since, but I don't think she was terribly happy about it."

The fact that she kept bringing it up was a good indication of that one.

"Then again, she trusted me to affect repairs to a damaged weapon she had. That's a good sign, right?"

"It sounds like she wanted to make a gesture of trust," Ender offered. "But that's a tentative assessment. I don't know the girl. Still, she seems to be okay with talking to you. That's a good sign, too."

Peridot nodded a little, thoughtfully.

"I thought it might be," she replied. And then, hesitantly, "does... does it sound like maybe a sign of friendship?"

"It sounds like she wants to be friends," Ender said, offering her a small smile.

Peridot looked hopeful for a moment, but her tone was still cautious as she piped up to say, "Then... I think I want that, too."

Not just to understand what friendship was supposed to be, either.

Well, maybe partly.

Practical Philosophy, Monday

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