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fandomweekly2017-02-06 05:22 pm
sealrat) wrote in fandomweekly2017-02-06 05:22 pm
Entry tags:
#031 - Kaleidoscope (Babylon 5)
Theme Prompt: #031 - Intellectual Property
Title: Kaleidoscope
Fandom: Bablyon 5
Rating/Warnings: None
Bonus: No
Word Count: 740
Summary: Talia and Susan always find a way to argue about telepaths
It had taken Ivanova a long time to warm up to Talia Winters. Her vocal dislike of Psi Corps put them at odds almost immediately, but after a year or so they’d reached a point of something resembling friendship. All that needed to happen was Talia admitting she was wrong.
Ivanova could also admit - privately - that she’d been rather harsh, but that was her way. That was the Russian way.
Another year on, and Susan was even comfortable inviting Talia to stay over in her quarters when the telepath’s were being maintenanced. Their conversation inevitably drifted to the limits that should or shouldn’t be placed on telepaths.
"We can’t steal ideas, Susan," Talia chided gently. "They aren’t ours, for starters, and there are rules, you know that."
"Theoretically, you could steal the ideas. Rules and regulations against that kind of thing don’t mean it’s impossible," Ivanova remarked, sipping her tea.
Talia resisted the urge to roll her eyes in amusement, and settled on a wry smile instead. "Theoretically, yes," she conceded. The telepath curled her legs up on the couch. "But Psi Corps doesn’t exist for that kind of thing. In fact, it’s there to protect telepaths from being used for things like corporate espionage. Non-telepaths are good enough at that already, anyway."
Ivanova shot her a narrow look, the Russian equivalent of sticking her tongue out. The lieutenant commander hadn’t done that since she was five. "It does make you wonder, though," she said after a few moments.
"About?"
"Ideas. You must be familiar with the concept of collective intelligence?"
"Of course," Talia acknowledged, curious.
"As a telepath, you get exposed to the way thousands of people think every day - can ideas ever really be original, anymore? You must have encountered a time when two people thought of the same thing, but they had never directly interacted," Ivanova said. When Talia started laughing quietly, her eyebrows went up, not sure if she should be skeptical or offended. "What?"
"Well, sure, there are a lot of similarities in the way people think, but that’s not universally true. Every species on Babylon 5 sees the world a different way, and that interaction keeps pushing us - all of us, not just humans - to innovate," she replied. "Take Ambassador Kosh. No one even knows what he looks like, and everything about him makes people ask questions." Ivanova frowned slightly. "Would you prefer that originality be lost?"
"No. No, absolutely not," Ivanova protested. "But it just seems like we keep making the same mistakes, over and over. The patterns repeat themselves. Russians know this very well." She sighed. "This station sees as much innovation as repetition. It’s hard to tell them apart sometimes."
Talia tilted her head against her hand, studying Ivanova: her posture, her expression, the shape of her thoughts without taking any of them in. The background of who Susan Ivanova was, and the presence of her in the room. "It was a man named Mark Twain, I think, who gets quoted a lot for saying there’s no such thing as an original idea. That it’s impossible. A-- a mental kaleidoscope, if I remember correctly, and all we’re doing is turning it over and over and making new combinations of the same colored glass."
"That sounds about right. Look at Babylon 5," Ivanova said, gesturing to her quarters and the station by extension. "This is the fifth time we built it, for the same purpose, with almost the same structure. It is a literal kaleidoscope; we even spin, constantly. You’re not being very reassuring about this."
The telepath’s expression turned mischievous, and she took a sip of her tea. Ivanova wasn’t known for patience, and even that little pause was enough to raise the shadow of annoyance. "Well, here’s something to remember about Mark Twain," she said, and winked at Susan. "He never lived among the stars. There are hundreds of alien races out there, with their own kaleidoscopes, and we’re lucky enough that we get to look through some of them. The moment we run out of original ideas will be the moment the universe wipes the whole slate clean and starts over. At that point, it isn’t worth worrying about."
Now Ivanova mirrored Talia’s mischief, holding up her mug of tea in a toast. "I’ll drink to that. Dlya idey."
"Dlya idey," the telepath echoed.
Title: Kaleidoscope
Fandom: Bablyon 5
Rating/Warnings: None
Bonus: No
Word Count: 740
Summary: Talia and Susan always find a way to argue about telepaths
It had taken Ivanova a long time to warm up to Talia Winters. Her vocal dislike of Psi Corps put them at odds almost immediately, but after a year or so they’d reached a point of something resembling friendship. All that needed to happen was Talia admitting she was wrong.
Ivanova could also admit - privately - that she’d been rather harsh, but that was her way. That was the Russian way.
Another year on, and Susan was even comfortable inviting Talia to stay over in her quarters when the telepath’s were being maintenanced. Their conversation inevitably drifted to the limits that should or shouldn’t be placed on telepaths.
"We can’t steal ideas, Susan," Talia chided gently. "They aren’t ours, for starters, and there are rules, you know that."
"Theoretically, you could steal the ideas. Rules and regulations against that kind of thing don’t mean it’s impossible," Ivanova remarked, sipping her tea.
Talia resisted the urge to roll her eyes in amusement, and settled on a wry smile instead. "Theoretically, yes," she conceded. The telepath curled her legs up on the couch. "But Psi Corps doesn’t exist for that kind of thing. In fact, it’s there to protect telepaths from being used for things like corporate espionage. Non-telepaths are good enough at that already, anyway."
Ivanova shot her a narrow look, the Russian equivalent of sticking her tongue out. The lieutenant commander hadn’t done that since she was five. "It does make you wonder, though," she said after a few moments.
"About?"
"Ideas. You must be familiar with the concept of collective intelligence?"
"Of course," Talia acknowledged, curious.
"As a telepath, you get exposed to the way thousands of people think every day - can ideas ever really be original, anymore? You must have encountered a time when two people thought of the same thing, but they had never directly interacted," Ivanova said. When Talia started laughing quietly, her eyebrows went up, not sure if she should be skeptical or offended. "What?"
"Well, sure, there are a lot of similarities in the way people think, but that’s not universally true. Every species on Babylon 5 sees the world a different way, and that interaction keeps pushing us - all of us, not just humans - to innovate," she replied. "Take Ambassador Kosh. No one even knows what he looks like, and everything about him makes people ask questions." Ivanova frowned slightly. "Would you prefer that originality be lost?"
"No. No, absolutely not," Ivanova protested. "But it just seems like we keep making the same mistakes, over and over. The patterns repeat themselves. Russians know this very well." She sighed. "This station sees as much innovation as repetition. It’s hard to tell them apart sometimes."
Talia tilted her head against her hand, studying Ivanova: her posture, her expression, the shape of her thoughts without taking any of them in. The background of who Susan Ivanova was, and the presence of her in the room. "It was a man named Mark Twain, I think, who gets quoted a lot for saying there’s no such thing as an original idea. That it’s impossible. A-- a mental kaleidoscope, if I remember correctly, and all we’re doing is turning it over and over and making new combinations of the same colored glass."
"That sounds about right. Look at Babylon 5," Ivanova said, gesturing to her quarters and the station by extension. "This is the fifth time we built it, for the same purpose, with almost the same structure. It is a literal kaleidoscope; we even spin, constantly. You’re not being very reassuring about this."
The telepath’s expression turned mischievous, and she took a sip of her tea. Ivanova wasn’t known for patience, and even that little pause was enough to raise the shadow of annoyance. "Well, here’s something to remember about Mark Twain," she said, and winked at Susan. "He never lived among the stars. There are hundreds of alien races out there, with their own kaleidoscopes, and we’re lucky enough that we get to look through some of them. The moment we run out of original ideas will be the moment the universe wipes the whole slate clean and starts over. At that point, it isn’t worth worrying about."
Now Ivanova mirrored Talia’s mischief, holding up her mug of tea in a toast. "I’ll drink to that. Dlya idey."
"Dlya idey," the telepath echoed.
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Funnily enough, the only B5 fic I've ever written was also for a challenge here =)
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/high-five for Babfics
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How far have you got watching?
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We're about a third of the way through season 3 right now.
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You have some great episodes still to come!
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