“It is,” mumbled Emily.
They ate in silence for several minutes.
“What’s happening with the great and glorious Republic of Tara? There’s not been much news about it where I’ve been.”
“You haven’t heard?” Emily frowned, an expression that Van disliked on her face. Some people could frown and express mild displeasure. Emily’s frown always suggested extreme displeasure, even when she was not that displeased. He didn’t like the idea that she might be displeased with him.
“Heard what?” Van took the smallest sip of ale.
“Marshal Eamon is the acting prime minister. There was an attack on Founder’s Day…at the big celebration. It might even have been like what happened on Scandya. The entire cabinet was killed, including the minister of defense—”
Van repressed a shiver. Like the Scandyan incident? “Did they ever discover who was behind it?”
“They found three of the attackers, but they were killed. They were Republic citizens…two with strong Keltyr ties…and one from Sulyn.”
“That bothers me. I can’t imagine a Keltyr tie,” Van admitted. “I can’t imagine someone from Sulyn, at all, even given the way things have been going, because that’s just not…”
“Not what?”
“Not the Sulynese way. We learned a long time ago that direct confrontation doesn’t work unless you’re the one with the power, and Sulyn certainly doesn’t have that now.” He pursed his lips. “Blaming it on Sulyn bothers me. A great deal.”
“It seemed strange. I can’t see what either the Keltyr or, now, the Sulynese, had to gain. Neither could the ambassador here, nor Commander McIlhenny.”
“I can’t either.” Van wondered if the Revenants were involved and trying to pit the two smaller powers against each other. “So the RSF is running the Republic?”
“The marshal claims it’s temporary.” She glanced around and lowered her voice. “I’ve been looking into establishing residence here. I can’t yet, not and claim retirement, and it’s too hot, but…”
Van understood. “The marshal hasn’t scheduled new elections?”
“Before next year, they say.”
“Are any of the systems unhappy…protesting?”
“From what we hear, most are accepting it, reluctantly. There were some protests on Sulyn.” She stopped. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s all right. I’d rather know.”
“They were peaceful, but the RSF still sent in a peacekeeping unit, but no one was hurt. That’s what we got. Some systems, the more militant ones, like Gaerloch and Coole, passed resolutions asking Marshal Eamon to run for prime minister.”
“That’s…” Van wasn’t quite sure what to say.
Emily looked down, and, for a long moment, there was silence.
“You once started to say something about RSF officers,” Van offered, with a smile. “A long time back. I’ve always wondered what it might have been.”
“You remembered that?” Her voice was not quite disbelieving. “From more than three years ago?”
“What were you going to say?” Van pressed.
“Does it matter?”
“It does to me. After all, I am a retired RSF officer, even if I’m only just commander of a private foundation ship. Now…. about what you almost said?”
“You don’t give up, do you?”
“Not about some things.” Van grinned.
“Let’s just say that, unlike some techs, I enjoyed working on ships and seeing new planets. My early experience with RSF officers…well, that wasn’t as favorable as it could have been. My later experiences, especially some of my very later experiences, have been more favorable.”
“You saw officers from a less than flattering position.”
“The least flattering position is from below. You see the underside of things. You know that.” She smiled.
Van just took in her smile, enjoying it.
For a while, he could forget that he had to leave for Korkenny the next day. It had been his choice, but he wasn’t looking forward to it. Then, perhaps he could link into a Republic database and find out more about the Fergus and the Collyns. Maybe.
Chapter 57
Traditionally, one of the fundamental questions behind every considered attempt to define ethical behavior has been whether there is an absolute standard of morality or whether ethics can be defined only in terms of an individual and the culture in which that individual lives.
Both universal absolutism and cultural relativism are in themselves unethical. Not only is the application of universal absolutism impractical, but it can be unethical, because the universe is so complex that there are bound to be conflicts between such standards in actual application, unless, of course, the standards are so vague that they convey only general sentiments.
“Be kind to one another” is good general guidance, but it does not qualify as an ethical standard because the range of interpretation of the meaning of “kind” is so broad as to allow individuals incredible discretion. That does not even take into account the problems when society must deal with unethical or violent individuals.
There is indeed an ethical absolute for any situation in which an individual may find himself (or herself), but each of those absolutes exists only for that individual and that time and situation. This individual “absolutism” is not the same thing as cultural relativism, because cultures can be, and often have been, totally unethical and immoral, even by their own professed standards. That a practice or standard is culturally accepted does not make it ethical. There have been cultures that thought themselves moral that practiced slavery, undertook genocide, committed infanticide, and enforced unequal rights based on gender or sexual orientation.
The principal practical problems with individual moral absolutism are that, first, one cannot implement a workable societal moral code on that basis, and, second, that any individual can claim unethical behaviors to be moral in a particular situation, which, given human nature, would soon result in endless self-justification for the most unethical and immoral acts. That said, the practical problems do not invalidate absolute individual morality, only its societal application….
In practice, what is necessary for a society is a secular legal structure that affirms basic ethical principles (e.g., one should not kill, or injure others; one should not steal or deceive, etc.), and that also provides a structured forum, such as
