“Again,” Mini stated after a moment, “that appears to be a reasonable assumption. Seeking personal benefits is not necessarily bad but is also sensible.”
“Exactly.” Tinker must have nodded as his mech jerked in an odd way. “Folks who simply do what they need to do are…I dunno. I guess you could say it kind of puts them at a middle point. They’re not bad but if they’re not helping others, they’re not necessarily good either. It’s when folks help themselves by hurting others that the problems start.”
“But we all need to survive,” Jessica13 said as her mind struggled to assimilate information and ideas she’d never really considered before. Her communal upbringing was still firmly entrenched and would no doubt remain so for a while, which complicated things. So many of her previous assumptions rose up to cloud the issue and she had difficulty, in a single moment, in deciding what was right and what wasn’t. “I don't understand why they don't get what they want through cooperation. The bunkers work because people combine their efforts for the benefit of everyone.” For the present, she ignored the little voice that suggested some might benefit more than others and hurried on lest she distract herself. “And besides that, humans united to fight the Invaders together when the planet was at risk."
"There is, of course, an odd human response to what might be called an external threat, since you are social creatures by nature.” The AI sounded like he might be reading from a file. “If something threatens the existence of a large group of humans or is even perceived as posing a violent threat to a significant group, most will find ways to cooperate despite any differences of opinion or social standing—even humans who would otherwise fight each other should that threat not exist." A slight surge in the readings indicated that Mini was doing ongoing research in the background.
"Humans do live in a threatening world," she insisted. "Why wouldn't that drive us to cooperate in that way?"
"It is certainly a valid question," he said. "However, my data indicates that the reaction to violent threats versus existential threats is different, for some reason. I can continue to research this oddity in your species if you are curious to discover more about it in depth."
"I…well, go ahead. Aside from the fact that I have no clue what existential threats are, I don't see how I can lose by learning more about folks," she said.
"Again, you can’t generalize," Tinker protested. “I’m sure that even when the Invaders came, there were folks who only involved themselves because it suited them. Maybe the pirates we see today were those who cared only about their own skins and what they could get out of it.”
"I guess we’ll never know," she said and shook her head. “And I’ll never really understand it. Things were definitely simpler in Sanctuary where everyone did your thinking for you.”
Tinker laughed. “And where did that get you?” he reminded her, his tone good-natured despite the hint of mockery. “You couldn’t wait to get yourself away from it.”
“Yes, but—”
"Are you two finished bickering like pirates over scraps?" Windchime asked through the commlink. "If you are, I thought you might want an update. It's not a big deal and you might not want to get right on this,” he said with an edge of sarcasm, “but I've come across what looks like the town we were called to help. What do you think we should do?"
"Why didn't you tell us immediately?" Tinker asked and sounded happy to have something to distract them from the conversation that had made him so uncomfortable. They’d moved way beyond the original matter of Athena, of course, but things had a way of circling.
"And stop you telling the other member of our party what and who it is we'll probably have to fight and why?" Windchime seemed both amused and annoyed at the same time. "In truth, I only caught sight of the buildings a few minutes ago and you’d started to discuss all that other crap, so the timing was perfect."
Jessica13 focused on the location they needed to move toward. They increased the pace without a need to discuss it despite the heavy loads they carried. The two teammates closed the distance between themselves and Windchime quickly. He held a position near a cluster of hills that were very noticeable because the underbrush had begun to gain in profusion and density. The green leaves on the plants around them spoke of a water source close to the surface, and as they drew closer, the sound of running water in the distance confirmed that they were approaching it, whatever it might be.
Their scout indicated for them to remain low. "The town is a few klicks away in that direction. It looks like they found a way to divert the water to their fields, but the underbrush still has water."
"Lucky for us," Tinker said, dropped his load, and covered it with loose grass. "Some cover would be nice to approach the town. There’s no way to tell if they have any defenses that might stop any potential intruders."
Jessica13 dropped the supplies she had carried on her back and tried to make as little noise as possible before she followed them through the surprisingly thick cover of trees and bushes. She grimaced when she realized that while it did provide protection, it also made moving quietly almost impossible.
Thankfully, though, it seemed as though the rest of the world around them was more than content to make as much noise
