Life as a New Hire: Cast and Notes (May)

Lastly, not seen yet, are the Augurs and the Lore Keepers (one group). They keep the Amazon laws and traditions, plus help select the next High Priestess. Technically, they work for Hayden as High Priestess. More importantly, they are seen as impartial translators of the Ancestors wills. The Amazons do not separate their worship of their numerous Goddesses with the veneration of their Ancestors - it is all one Faith to them. Religion is key to Amazon society. It is the glue that holds them together. One the Ancestors have decided on a course of action, it is madness to go against it. This is why what Ursula did by sending Leona to kill Cael was so horrible in Amazon eyes and why no one, but Ursula, batted an eye when Hayden dispatched Leona - Leona had gone against the Will of the Ancestors and had to be put down as a dangerous lunatic.

Before anyone goes 'Ah, a wingnut religion', let me remind you that this is a Sci-Fi/Fantasy story. Do not expect fireballs and dragons, but answer me this: Cael is alive because he A) has more love than hate, and B) Aya missed her first arrow - the one that skidded to his feet. Had Cael callously ignored the arrow, or had Aya's shot been anywhere else, Leona would have killed Cael.

Since it is an issue... (on Clarifying Full Blood, Half Blood and Runners)

Okay. A Full-blood has as a Mother an Amazon of the Host (i.e. not Buffy, Helena and her crowd - 'Lost Bloods/Runners) who breeds with a male of their captive breeding population.

A Half-Blood has a Mother of the Amazon Host, but whose Father is an 'outsider' male, usually mated with out of love and affection. They are still members of their House, thus the Host, yet are sources of shame and ridicule to other members of that House.

It is the mating out of affection that bothers the Amazons. Until the start of the story, it is a sign of weakness thus 'half' the blood strength of the 'fully dedicated, acceptable Amazons. Does this seem stupid? It should until you understand the Amazons are all about avoiding infighting and promoting harmony in their own ranks. Instead of doing this through tolerance, they do this by punishing non-conformity. Yes, this means Fabiola is the rule of Amazon of behavior, not the exception. The rest of Katrina's recruits were chosen for their 'independent' thinking.

To give an example how much of an uphill battle Katrina, Hayden and (kind of) Cael have. The 'First' Directive - the induction of non-Amazon women into the society took place 60 years ago. The process was supposed to work like this: a recruit works hard, proves themselves and is then inducted into one of the Houses. In reality: in 60 years only 50 'Runners' have been inducted into ANY House.

The 'New Directive' is supposed to bring in a new breeding male population. This time they are basing things on a male's intelligence, strength, resilience, spirit and drive. Their population is dying out and needs help soon. Their response - recruit FIVE males and set those men up for failure. That was the BEST Hayden, Tessa and Katrina could force the others to accept for Round One of the program.

That strong Traditionalist streak feeds back into why the status of 'Full-Blood', 'Half-Blood' and 'No-Blood' are so important. As with all forms of prejudice - its ability to distress any society is based on the number and power of the oppressed. In the same way this one Chinese-American hung out with the African-Americans in this small Iowa town back in the fifties, the Half-Bloods (always in tiny numbers) began hanging out with the 'No-Bloods'. Looking down and insulting those two was easy...while those were in small numbers. Now - now 'No-bloods' amount to half of Havenstone's population, yet they have no voice in affairs and little realistic hope of being 'elevated'.

Before you smugly sit back and think 'what a bunch of dumb broads' - what is the US Government' current deficit at? The People's Republic of China's One Child policy has resulted in a glut of sons...and this surprises anyone who understands an 'Eldest Son' based society? The WWF (that's 'Professional' Wrestling for those not in the US sphere of assimilation) has not even pretended to be real for decades yet still millions of people tune in three, or more, times a week to watch bare-chested men - and scantily clad women - roll around a ring (which is a four cornered sparing area) and touch each other. Cut the Amazons some slack.

Cáel's Pheromones

The pheromones are tailored specifically to work on his Mother's Sisters/his 'Aunts', not femininity in general. That would be highly counter-productive to have EVERY woman around you act like an addict. Cáel's Grandfather put that into Cáel's genetic make-up before he was born. It is far easier to tailor a gene before conception after all.

Besides, Cáel was a dating loser throughout High School as was indicated by his greatest humiliation. Then there is the Desk Sergeant where he keeps picking up Marilynn St. James, Desiree, Ursula, Leona, Constanza and Pamela. They may all eventually like him, but they aren't going at him with amorous intentions.

Cáel's dating prowess is a matter of physical attractiveness, a powerful sexual charisma, seductive instruction and the dedicated study of the art of eroticism. According to this tale, anyone who exercised 2+ hours a day developed the confidence and spent enough time pursuing and studying receptive females could do what he does. It is not magic, or super-science that makes Cáel that way - it is the love of the female form that drives him to do what he does, nothing more.

Why wasn't Ferko named Head of House Ishara

A technicality of Amazon law came into play and that is the terminology 'of the Host'. Cael was clearly 'of the Host' since he worked at Havenstone. Ferko? He was the oldest, but not 'of the Host'. There is no precedent for this. You have seen exactly ONE Amazon not of the Host far and that's Pamela. Pamela took herself to the cliffs and didn't die. No one knows what to make of that. They honor her accomplishments, but she is of no House and has no House protection...yet she is considered full-blooded.

You've heard of another Amazon not 'of the Host' - Desiree's Mom and that woman was labelled a traitor and put under a sentence of Death.

Ferko wasn't of the Host, wasn't a traitor and hadn't taken himself to the cliffs...Hayden didn't know what to do with him and his relationship to Cael. The only thing Hayden did know is that Aunt Stella did NOT carry the Ishara gene - so the only female in the family was disqualified from simplifying the situation. Getting Stella to leave her lifestyle would have been a fun conversation in and of itself.

Stella: "Right - cult of Amazons - ancient Goddesses - you think I'm the Chosen One - How nice, but I've got to be on board my ship at 3 a.m. so you land-lubbers need to get going.

Who is the Heir?

The question was addressed above - The Ishara genes carried in the Vranus line are Y-chromosome dependent. The line 'can' jump genders (back to female, thus the hope for Cael's daughters), but is very rare. Stella doesn't have the gene, thus is not a true descendant of Ishara. This is addressed in future chapters, btw. The readers are not alone in wondering why Stella isn't in charge (as most Amazons would prefer). The genetic information was provided to Cael by Shawnee Arinniti off-screen because this was an obvious complication (Stella being female and Ferko being Cael's father).

Stella and 22 (on resurrecting Dead Houses)

As for Stella - from Shawnee Arinniti's research from the DNA of Vranus, Ishara and a handful of remains from House Ishara male and females at that period, she determined there had become an independent, male Ishara, Y-chromosome dependent bloodline. Vranus was not the first male of the line. Others lived and died before he was born. From that, it was determined that Stella, not having the Y-chromosome, could not be considered an heir to Ishara. She could NEVER produce an Ishara offspring.

Now, this does imply two things: 1) the Vranus line can spread to the X-chromosome, thus there can be Ishara daughters once more. That was not the case with Stella. 2) Amazons possess the ability of 'genetic migration'. That means Amazons not born of a line can, over a series of generations, become of that main genetic line. Thus Buffy's great-granddaughter could inherit the Ishara gene. As an example, Tiger Lily, from Shoshone heritage, has her House genetic lineage as well. In turn, that means that almost every member of a house qualifies for Head of House. If not that Amazon, maybe her daughter. Spiritually, it helps bind the Ancestors together as they will all, eventually, be tied to the First Ancestor of their House.

This also means that Amazons actually NEED new blood from time to time, as all their genetics tend to narrow down to the 52, now 53, lines. Induction increases their genetic diversity in a never ending cycle. The current Amazon leadership is actually fighting their own nature - thus failed births and sterility from both the female and (pre-Cáel) slave male sides. Had the Amazons simply honored their promises to the 'Runners' this tale would not have happened. Cáel would have never been recruited by Havenstone.

Looking at it from that angle, Cáel could be seen as a contingency plan for Amazon survival hatched 2500 years ago.

Since it will come up, the same conditions exist for the 'lost' Arinniti sons and the older male warrior that protected those boys with Vranus. The males of those lines will be the generators of their House genetic identity, not their mothers, aunts, etc.

Sorry you feel that way... (on killing Anima/Brennan)

Anima and Brennan were 'bad people', but this chapter isn't about them. Frat boys? I hope no one takes my portrayal of Trent and Brennan as the Fraternity norm. What they are/were is an example of extreme selfishness and an overblown sense of entitlement. That wasn't the point of the chapter.

What was it about? The growth of Libra and Brooke. They aren't doing what Cael wants. They are doing what they think is right and looking back on their own ways of thinking. I am developing their characters.

I don't feel poverty ennobles and that wealth corrupts. It falls to the individual to make their choices.

What happens in 22 meshes with the actions in Chapter 23. I hope it clarifies things.

Oaths and Honesty

From the story's viewpoint: Cáel didn't make an Oath to Casper - He didn't swear to a higher power, or on something of value, to guarantee Casper's safety. He didn't swear by Ishara, his Ancestors, or on Aya's health. What Cáel did was make a promise to Anima that if something happened to Casper, there would payback she couldn't buy her way out of, or escape. She called his bluff only to learn he wasn't bluffing. No matter what the outcome, Cáel would be considered either honest, or dishonest, not an oath-breaker.

What Cáel told Hayden the last time he saw her would be considered an Oath because of the issue (induction into House Ishara), his status as Head of House (thus speaker for his Goddess and Ancestors) and the audience involved.

In the story, a true Oath involves the person making the pledge, the person/people, or ideal, they are making the declaration to, and the Higher Power they are asking to arbitrate the Oath. The Security Detail swears (as new members) to fight beside their sisters in the SD (both as leaders and followers), protect the Host and serve the High Priestess and Council. The Arbitrator of that Oath is the Goddess Ishara. If the SD member fails to support her sisters, acts in a cowardly manner, and/or betrays her leadership, Ishara punishes the oath-breaker - along with the rest of the Host providing mortal punishment.

Now that House Ishara is active once more, the House itself would be tasked with seeking out and punishing wrong-doers on a specific level (think US Marshal's Fugitive Unit). I hope this clarifies the matter.

There is what you know and what you can prove

Put it this way: You and I have been friends for years. I go to the American Northwest. I come home and tell you I saw the real sasquatch. Okay, you have never known me to act crazy...so what do you do and think?

Go the local Police Chief/Sheriff/Magistrate? Even if that individual has a good relationship with you, what would that official do? Call the Governor? The National Guard? The Army? In game context: who are Timothy and Odette going to tell who would both believe them and have the power to act on that knowledge?

Yasmin was brought into Havenstone because she personally witnessed Amazon business and she was a trained investigator - a threat.

Adding to the events is the general attitude of Amazons toward 'Normal' society. Amazons don't consider themselves a criminal conspiracy - despite their mass murdering history, possession of a vast arsenal of illegal weapons and galactic case of Tax Evasion.

Amazons believe in strength through training and vigilance. They want to birth the next generation of Amazons. They do not want to take over the world, sell drugs, commit acts of terrorism (in a conventional sense), or be involved with Murder for Hire. Amazons are not a threat to any federal, provincial, or state government. They may be a threat on a municipal, or county, level - again, in a self-defense capacity.

Now, if Cáel showed up with the location of mass graves and names of Amazon rural holdings, that would be different. That is concrete evidence. Otherwise, there are no male children, or grown men, missing in recent legal memory. Essentially, the Amazons are butchering people that have never existed.

In most ways the Amazons are their own nation-state with no ill-will toward any other established state (except Hellas). That is Javiera's current angle. There is little point in her eyes to try and ferret out the Amazons when she suspects several other, more insidious, conspiracies are at work. At Ferko's house, the Amazons acted both illegally and in self-defense. From Cáel's activities, she is making the calculated risk that turning Havenstone into a massive 'Confidential Informant' is the best legal course of action for the US. Katrina agrees.

So, what can Javiera take to court against Havenstone? Five, or six, arrests with the solid belief that none of those people will turn on the rest. By having a public, moving ritual, Cáel convinced Javiera that Havenstone was a cult/religion with the corresponding fanaticism/constitutional issues. Now, imagine Javiera explaining this to the US Attorney General. Oh, and wait, it is an 'international' organization that could possibly fold up overnight and end up in some other nation in a week. What then? "You see, Mr. President of this new country, you are harboring Amazon warriors who date their culture back to the Trojan Wars..." That is when they hang up.

By blabbing a bit, Cáel gives potential allies an edge in survival and the option of pursuing an information-exchange relationship. This is somewhat akin to the intelligence sharing between the US - UK - Soviets during WWII; hopefully more of a US - UK affair than one enjoyed with the Russians.

As for the Latin King clique and the dead super-rich. These are crimes Javiera would like to investigate, but to what end? In the future, Javiera may believe she can build a viable case against Havenstone and do some real damage to them/enforce the existing laws.

As for the 9 Clans and Oshea's - this is not something they don't know, or strongly suspect. Cáel's very existence is far more valuable to them.

I hope this mini-essay helps.

Is that right? (On Keeping Cael Alive after he starts fights with other Secret Societies and inducting 'runners')

I thought I covered that. If Cael bites it, what are the 'Runners' going to think? Gosh, Cael got gakked because he was stupid...and Goddess ordained? Or, those bitchy full-bloods offed the only one Head of House honoring their promise? I'm not sure why you believe Buffy could be either co-opted, or marginalized this side of death. Buffy is in Executive Services and she knows what they do. Offing her? Yeah...the President of the United States died in a parachuting accident today. In other news, the Vice President ate a tarantula and died of food poisoning...Cael's death not only doesn't solve the mess that is his existence, it makes things worse.

Sigh - why is there a New Directive? Why was there a First Directive (the creation of the 'Runner' caste)? Amazons are DYING OUT! Killing Cael is the opposite of solving their birthing issues, it exacerbates them since Cael is their 'success story'.

Then there is that nagging little problem that there is a War coming. Cael is trying to build alliances, as is Katrina. Let's see...Cael makes some key introductions then ends on the wrong end of a poorly cooked Puffer Fish...yeah, that makes we want to trust the Amazons. Either they killed off their own emissary, or they couldn't adequately defend him...which is worse?

The blabbing I covered in an earlier response to a post.

There are two guiding principles in Amazon Society - protect the Host, breed more Amazons. Nothing else comes close.

NON FS Comment

I had a question about the SD team thinking they met Uncle Lumpy on the way out.

FinalStand gave me this reply that he allowed me to share with the rest of his readers.

The SD team and Delilah were going over matters at the SD apartment across the street. Sure, Cael can take her word for it, but the SD chicks don't. That was the hole in their security. SD was momentarily distracted, Estere was protecting Libra in a bad neighborhood late at night while on a food run, and Pamela, counting on the other two factors, wasn't around.

FYI: The scenes where the SD was running across the street to Cael's because they have his place wired and Odette's screams alerted them to the danger. The Feds/NYPD were monitoring the place visually - no warrant yet, and they see the four SD chicks, followed by Delilah, rushing in.

Fed: "Freeze! FBI!" (Flashes badge)

SD: (flashes their badges)"Havenstone Security - follow us!" (They are the ones in body armor, wielding PDWs after all)

Fed: "Huh...what the fuck?" (Decides not to shoot the women who are ignoring him)

Two SD weapons killed Lumpy (finally, though he was pretty much a goner when he showed up at Cael's anyway). Those are the two weapons Maddox refers to when she interrogates Cael at Havenstone. In fact, that is why she is allowed inside the facility. Katrina is working with Javiera on this matter. Javiera put the SD member wounded in Chicago in a Havenstone medical facility while under round the clock federal surveillance with some 'friendly' interrogation.

Katrina/Havenstone is not up to working with the US Federal Government, but they are willing to work with Javiera, which is a big enough step in, and of, itself.

Again my thanks to FinalStand for a great story. I am grateful to be a neer-do-well

Poor Uncle Lumpy

By the time Uncle Carrig arrived at Cael's building, he was dying from his wounds. The timing of events was critical. The team across the street was interrogating Delilah. The Federal Task Force team didn't understand the relevance of this seemingly drunk man going up the steps. Several groups had left the domicile so Cael had every reason to be anticipating company. Then there was the downpour, thunder and lightning confusing perceptions for everyone involved.

The last bit of 'strange' was that Lumpy was so badly hurt, he rang the bell. Had he tried to knock the door in, Sovann, Timothy and Cael would have been in the living room and fought Carrig at the same time, greatly increasing their chances of holding out until the Feds and SD arriving less than a minute later. But no, Lumpy was in so much pain, disoriented by his injuries and by the force of his final directive that all he could muster was to ring the bell. Seeing Cael's face, reignited Lumpy's rage and the rest is history.