20200101
You know who you are. Nice try.
"Trust is inherently superior to Loyalty."
No more than humility is superior to honesty. The point here is that the statement is a false, needless, dichotomy.
"...Loyalty is inherently one-sided, Person A being willing to do anything asked of them by Person B, and stating that they believe a mutual "Loyalty" is basically... "Trust"."
When you pit the two against each other in this unidimensional analysis (that is, only examining the concepts as they are applied to the interpersonal domain), it does appear that trust could be loosely construed as superior to loyalty. But something that I think bears mentioning is the fact that loyalty does not only apply to persons, but also to values and ideas. You can be loyal to the value of compassion towards others, you can be loyal to the ideas embodied by the U.S. Constitution. You wouldn't necessarily say that you trust in the value of compassion towards others, or that you trust the ideas embodied by the U.S. Constitution. In this manner, loyalty has a wider scope as it can be applied to more things. This is the basis for personal integrity. As such, I'd be wary of anyone that discredits the notion of loyalty.
The assertion that loyalty is inherently one-sided I do agree with. By definition, loyalty is an attachment to someone or something, even if maintaining the attachment comes at great personal cost. This isn't a bad thing at all, as loyalty is integral towards forming identity: the reason why you are loyal to a value, idea, country, or person is because you identify strongly with whatever it or they stand for. So it is inherently one-sided because it's part of establishing identity of the practitioner of loyalty.
However, it isn't unusual in the interpersonal domain for two or more people to be mutually loyal towards each other. The functional outcome is something that can be labeled as a mutual trust, sure, but it should be recognized that trust can also be one-sided as well. So again...I don't see the point of asserting one is superior to the other when it comes to interpersonal relationships.
Some guidance, moving forward? Keep in mind that loyalties to values and ideas precede loyalty to people; you are loyal to individuals because they are representative of your own self-determined values and ideals. If these abstractions are precious to you, hold onto the people in your life that best embody them. People are subject to change over time, so if they come to no longer embody the ideals and values that you cherish or you yourself change up your beliefs, this is acceptable grounds to sever ties with them. You are not obligated to go down with their ship. It is not atypical for people to outgrow people; it happens.
And as an old supervisor of mine was fond of saying, “When someone wants you to do right, they appeal to your integrity. When they want you to do wrong, they'll question your loyalty.”. I always thought these were wise words to live by.
[end transmission]
20191230
20191227
"Goodbye, Reisen."
The words were barely audible. Such an expression carried a heavy finality that felt inappropriate for the time; her manner of speech betrayed her thoughts as a consequence. Then again, the strangeness of what had transpired would leave anyone at a loss for words. Regardless, the solitary YoRHa unit knew that she would cross paths with this newly-acquainted eccentric character again.
"Or maybe you hope that you'd run into her again." The thought invaded her consciousness as she sat on the building's edge, delicately running a gloved hand along her new, ridiculous acquisition.
A group of machine lifeforms wandered about aimlessly on the asphalt below.
She furrowed her brow at the sentiment. What was it about the chance encounter that was so perplexing? Sure, the apparent eccentricity of the girl could have been considered a bit much, but it wasn't as if she hadn't dealt with colorful characters before. And yes, the adversaries she had squared away were fierce, but she had contended with enemies easily ten times more vicious within her lifetime. "What on Earth was so damn special about this weird bunny-eared girl...?".
One of the Stubby-type lifeforms tripped off of its feet with an audible clank. The nearby machines paused in step to stupidly blink and stare at their fallen comrade.
It dawned on her. "Huh? Bunny? Surely you meant rabbit. Of course, the terms are interchangeable but 'bunny'? You were never one for cutesy talk. Let's keep that slip-up to ourselves.". What the proud, austere YoRHa unit felt was warmth; a seemingly unconditional form of kindness, familiarity, and acceptance that had manifested in such a brief, chance encounter. 'Seemingly' being the operative word. Suspicion but also curiosity roused in the YoRHa unit's mind; suspicion, for there was no shortage of records within the server's historical archives demonstrating that a large part of humanity's success was attributed to an engagement in fair, equitable exchange. It didn't matter whether this was in an interpersonal or economic domain: something was never earned or acquired from nothing. Pragmatic sensibility could not, however, quell the hopeful curiosity that began to grip her black box.
Out of the stillness of the group of machines, a Small Flyer-type hovered over to the Stubby that was futilely kicking its feet in the air. With a mechanical whir and two clacks, it had managed to right its incapacitated ally with its tow cables. As if no incident had occurred, the machines resumed their ennuic, clockwork patrol once more.
The YoRHa unit threw herself backwards onto the cold, hard concrete of the rooftop with an exasperated sigh. "Foolish girl.", she muttered to herself as she cast off her combat visor. She knew all too well that this was the natural order of things: a never-ending, ever-repeating mandala of intention, action, and consequence. Yet even on this 14th iteration, despite countless instances of failure, she felt her deontological programming compel her just as strongly as ever before.
"You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to desist from it.". The words crystallized within her psyche as she leisurely swung her legs back and forth from over the edge of the rooftop. The origin of this favorite mantra had long since been forgotten, but she knew it was something picked up from one of several late nights she had spent poring over humanity's archives. "Which database was it from?". She held the back of her hand against her forehead, squinting slightly as she traced the outlines of grey clouds penetrated by rays of light; their brilliance imbuing the surrounding bleak landscape with a dreamlike quality.
Unable to successfully retrieve the information from beyond the ominous forms in the sky, she closed her eyes, her thoughts turned once again to the girl and the recent incident.
"Stay out of it!"
She stopped swinging her legs. The soft mechanical whirring grew louder.
"You're like somekind of superhero, huh?"
Her countenance grew sullen. Gravel crunched rhythmically under heavy hydraulic footsteps.
"I'm a refugee from the moon."
Ichor ran through her veins. Steel noisily clanged against steel.
"I fled a war I didn't want to fight."
Her hand clenched tightly into a fist, her jaw tightened.
The YoRHa unit slowly rose to her feet. "Pod, initiate program R050.", she whispered as she shot a glance at the ground below. After a brief whirlwind of heat and flash, the asphalt was stained with machine oil and littered with broken gears, nuts, and screws. The bottom half of a Stubby-type machine chassis feebly stumbled a few meters before falling over itself.
"Contact Command, send a request for an Ho-229 unit.", she said, her voice filled with renewed conviction. "Relay a message to all local YoRHa forces as well; the mark is in her twenties, hair color: orchid, height: approximately 155 cm, distinguishing features: bu--rabbit ears and a smart blazer with necktie. We're going to need all the help we can get.", she added while refitting her visor. Her fingers caught on the rabbit ears she had forgotten she was wearing.
Reflexively, she scanned her surroundings for witnesses. Thankfully, there were none to be had. The YoRHa unit sighed a breath of relief as she slipped off the ears, clutching them tightly to her chest.
20191225
There once was an android.
She had one rule. No emotions.
One day, she was patrolling the wreckage that YoRHa calls a city.
The sunlight bathed the synthetic flesh that adorned her endoskeleton, warm to the touch.
Wild deer and squirrels ran about as usual, the faint chirp of birds behind it all.
And then gunshots rang out through the rubble of the buildings around her.
Even with her superior reflexes, some of the animals reacted just as quickly to dive for cover.
finding herself behind a pillar, the android known as 2B peeked out and a strange sight greeted her.
Rabbits? No. Androids? No… Her sensors confirmed it. They were approximately human.
Three of them floated above the skyscrapers, raining fire down upon another.
2B knew nothing of the situation before her but knew that it was her duty to investigate.
“Cease all actions!” she called out to the airborne bunnies, who looked back at her with confused stares.
“Stay out of it!”, they replied, continuing to fire.
It seemed that our heroine had no choice but to force them to stop.
In a blink, she leapt from rooftop to rooftop, soon greeting the assailants with her pod's gunfire.
Surprised, these hostile rabbits found themselves down by one member all too quickly.
As 2B dashed for these two, another zoomed past them, loud shots ringing out as a second plummeted.
This new individual had bright orchid hair and a ridiculous pistol adorned with rabbit ears like her own.
2B leapt from the rooftop and in a single swipe of her trusted Virtuous Contract, felled the final enemy.
She was joined in no time by the one she’d saved, much shorter than herself and grinning widely.
“You’re like some kind of superhero, huh?”
This question made no sense to the android, who responded with her own.
“Why were you being attacked and who are you?”
“Ah!”, the bunny chuckled. “I’m a refugee from the moon. I fled a war I didn’t wanna fight.”
“The moon...?”
Countless databases of information made it clear to the android that this story was impossible.
“I’m Reisen!”, she called out and extended her hand.
“You can call me YoRHa Unit 2B.”
The rabbit began to dig around in her bag, soon producing a pair of rabbit ears.
“Well, 2B. Consider yourself an honorary Moon Rabbit!”, she said, planting them on the android’s head.
And without another word, she’d flown off into the sky, disappearing from view.
2B stood there, perplexed by the bright and inherently ridiculous ears atop her headband.
Somehow, even though she had no idea what had happened, the deed she committed felt right.
“Goodbye, Reisen.”, she mouthed, sheathing her blade and dangling her legs over the edge of the roof.
The ears she’d been left with felt ridiculous. And she had no idea what they meant.
But somehow, she felt a bit warmer for their presence and decided to keep them.
The End
20191213
20191128
Despite today being an exclusively American holiday, I felt it appropriate to remind readers to take a small moment from their day to reflect on the things and people in their lives for which they are truly grateful.
It is often that I find people in either one of two states: either drunk off of the success of their own achievements that they fail to acknowledge and give thanks, or they are so preoccupied with their current struggles of life that they fail to take stock of the good things they have going for them.
Personally at the conclusion of my days, just before I settle into my bed for some well-deserved rest, I take a few minutes to reflect on what I do have. Most notably, I have an excellent bill of mental and physical health, shelter, enough food, employment, and a suitable group of friends. Yes, I might've gotten chewed out that morning at work, my car could have decided to fail in the afternoon, I could have lost a friend due to a disagreement that evening; quite a number of things could go poorly for me. But at the very least I am not rendered disabled, I am not under the threat of physical violence, my spirit is not so broken that I couldn't wake up tomorrow to try again. So before I fall asleep, a tiny bit battered, a little bit weary, I smile to myself and thank God for another day and for all the people in my life, since it easily could've been so much worse. So, so much worse; the fact that there exists an iota of stability is nothing short of a miracle in itself.
To the people in my life, both IRL and at Lunar, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for being there.
I can be a tiny bit difficult at times, I'm well aware. Thank you for your patience. I know it's tested daily.
And speaking of difficulties, thank you to the people that make my life troublesome, both well and mal-intentioned.
You keep this unit humble, vigilant, and learned. As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another.
[end transmission]
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