war, war never changes. But men do, through the roads they walk. -- Anon Guest
"Humans are trained to combat from an early age. It is considered a rite of passage that adults 'attack' their young as part of play activities. See file, Household Nerf Wars." Educator Mil read to the class. "This is an older entry on the infonets regarding Humans and Human development. My question to you is, how accurate or inaccurate is it, where is it inaccurate, and why?"
The assembled class murmured amongst themselves for minutes before one stood to announce, "The statement is inaccurate in that it leaves certain truths unsaid. It does not define 'nerf' nor does it state that said parentals do no lasting harm to their young."
A second student stood. "Further to the unsaid truth, the footage is marked unsuitable for level three Havenworlders and above. It could mislead more fragile cogniscents regarding the hazardous nature of Humankind." They looked to their friends for encouragement. "It's many such errata that has caused vast and unnecessary prejudice against Humans for centuries, even after the acceptance of Human colonies in the Alliance. It remains a consistent problem. My return question is - how do we remedy it?"
"That is a very good question. Outlying civilisations may be able to access Alliance infonets, but they lack access to the Time necessary to redeem up to date information. Thus, they can only be informed to a point. This leads to prejudices caused by free-to-access ignorance."
"People still have to be paid for their research. Time is valuable."
"This is true, however, some authors are choosing to waive fees to those civilisations in the Edge Territories and beyond. All so they can bypass free-to-access ignorance."
"Why would anyone do anything at a loss?"
"Which leads us neatly to the fiscal paradox," said Educator Mil. "Once commerce enters into the equation, people want more, people want access to that which is restricted or rare. People make other people pay for what they should have as a right. To an extent, using Time Plus as a payment method has ameliorated that effect. Recognising the rights and responsibilities of cogniscent life has helped. However, like Student Bind, there are some who won't do anything with sufficient motivation."
Bind slid a little lower in their seat.
"That is a choice. Every cogniscent has the right to make choices and the responsibility to accept the consequences. Some choices, like keeping intellectual property behind a 'pay wall' can lead to unintended consequences, such as free-to-access ignorance. We cannot see all that we set in motion, but consider the following..." Educator Mil brought it up on the big screen. Words for all to read in friendly letters. "Kindness costs nothing, and benefits more than one."
Student Bind, an ex-Deregger, had to offer a challenge, "Like what?"
Educator Mil smiled. Perfect. They had fallen right into the trap. "That is a question worth deeper study. Let's examine several historic instances of selfless and senseless generosity..."
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / VAV]
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