The Cohen Loop
Rejects, Part 3

Mason had always found it gratifying to defeat the end boss of a dungeon in Dragon World Apocalypse, but something about getting the better of General Xig'Marku for what was probably the twentieth time felt like a hollow victory.  The teen often turned to DWA as a way of coping with stress, but the sensations he'd been feeling since being connected to a new Phin partner weren't the usual stressors he had to address.

Upon the completion of the dungeon, he and his party went their separate ways, all except for the group's necromancer; Gamer's character BlackAffliction, a spindly, lizard-like Hisstur race joined Mason's own in the Astral Plane, an alternate warp spot for those who wanted to stay in group.  The Human's character, a big burly DPS build Orc barbarian named Barbrarian was just about as different from the real him as it could be, but Mason liked to think it was a good stand in.

His musings ended the moment Gamer sent him an in game chat. "Okay... what is going on?"

Although Gamer and Mason hadn't shared a room for months, the Longos was apparently still good at reading his moods-- even if they were online.  He provided a nice, non-descript reply. "Just distracted.  It's weird gaming with you when we're not in the same room."

Gamer didn't fall for it.  "What is the real problem, Mason?"

Mason revised his answer.  "It's my Comparative Anatomy Physiology class... it's crazy how similar we are, but how different we are at the same time."

The Longos' typed reply was vague. "We are a lot alike but we are also very different.  That does not make sense to you?"

The Human let out a sigh, reaching over to pick up his head set so he could actually talk rather than type.  Hitting the push-to-talk button he had set up on he keyboard, Mason announced "You know... things were a lot easier when we lived together."

Gamer spent their first months together lamenting that there were no good gaming headsets for Phins.  By the third month he'd managed to make one; the Longos had always been skilled and creative like that.  His response also came through voice chat. "Because you could ask me to my face every time you needed help with something instead of circling-the-school?"

The term 'circling-the-school' was a Phin turn-of-phrase that Mason likened to 'beating-around-the-bush'.  He huffed. "That's not what this is about, Gamer.  I'm just... like I said: distracted."

As usual, Gamer read him like a book. "Is it about your new partner?"

Having been together for weeks at that point, Mason's 'new' partner wasn't exactly that, but compared to his established friendship with Gamer, the description was close enough. "Yeah... I guess.  I mean... he's fine and everything, but... I dunno... it's weird."

Gamer's click-chirp laugh only registered about 60% via the game's chat channel since a good portion of the sounds were difficult for the mic to pick up.  "You are dealing with another Longos Phin, Mason-- I had to learn how to interact with a female Human."

The response did get a laugh out of the Human; while Annya was about the most down-to-earth, relaxed, laid-back, easy-going girl Mason had ever met, Gamer had practically no experience dealing with the opposite sex, so it only made sense that the poor Phin would be hyper-stressed about it.  Still, Mason couldn't resist picking on the Longos just a little. "Yeah?  Well you got training wheels on that one, Gamer-- she's actually pretty cool for a chick."

As usual, Gamer managed to turn the discussion on a dime.  "It amazes me how many terms you Humans have for females.... 'chick', 'lady', 'girl', 'bitch', 'duckie', 'sheilah', 'dudette', 'woman', 'molly', 'dove', 'trixie', 'gal', 'lass'.... the list continues, and that was just English... but I am tiring of it already!"

Mason rolled his eyes. "Yeah?  Well I don't think I've ever even heard half of those."

The Longos didn't relent. "So you agree with me then!  You Humans have such complex usage of words that native speakers do not know all there is to know about a language."

The teen smirked. "I said English was my first language... I never said I was good at it."

The two shared a laugh and, just as thing started to quiet down again, Gamer started right back up with his questioning. "So what is wrong?  With Roller, I mean."

Mason tried to deflect the question. "Well... he's not a cool sociology chick from Taiwan to start."

Gamer's dismissive double-click made the Human realize that the Longos wasn't asking just to be polite. "I was not asking about Annya, Mason.  There is something bothering you, and, as your friend, I am concerned."

One of the things about Gamer that Mason had discovered was that the teenage Phin did not subscribe to the normal social methods of the average Human teenager; expressing concern was one of those things that often blindsided him.  Something HAD been bothering him ever since Roller had become his partner, but it really wasn't worth discussing.  "Uh... well.. I mean... not really?"

Gamer didn't relent.  "I believe that 'not really' is not 'no'.  Is the issue that you do not want to discuss it?"

Mason sighed. "It isn't really worth discussing."

The Longos was just too perceptive. "So if there isn't something worth discussing, then there is still something that is a problem... which means when you said that you were just distracted, what you really meant was that something is bothering you."

Realizing that Gamer wasn't going to let it go, Mason leaned back in his chair and rubbed the side of his head. "Roller's just... I dunno... a bit of a loner."

"When we first met you gave me the impression that you were the same, and were hoping for as much from me."

Groaning, Mason stood up, stretching his back as he considered a response.  It didn't take too long to find one. "Sure, but that's because I thought you'd be a jerk or something and I'd rather have jerks leave me alone."

Gamer was quiet for several seconds before asking "So... what if Roller is a jerk?  Why risk interacting with him?"

Not having thought of that angle, Mason didn't have time to censor his thoughts before answering "I haven't met any Phins my age that are jerks."

The clicking, chirping laugh from the other end came through the headset more as static as anything but Mason had long-since learned to identify it.  Although it continued for several seconds, when it finally did die down Gamer was serious in his reply "The Unity Programme looks poorly on having Phin 'jerks' at the Centre, but they are out there... same as with Humans."

Mason slowly sat back down, adjusting his mic. "Yeah... I guess so.  I mean... Roller is fine and all-- at least he isn't causing any problems, so I shouldn't look a gift Longos in the mouth, huh?"

It was obviously a deviation from the usual saying, but Mason had learned that Gamer had long-since been really good at metaphors and turns of phrase. "Well... have you talked with him at all?"

Slumping back in his chair Mason rubbed the back of his head. "Kinda?"

Gamer didn't relent. "You and I spent countless hours talking in the first week we were paired up.  Have you and--"

Mason interjected "You and I both play DWA!  We both do computer games and console games and we have a lot in common!"

"We also have a lot that is not in common, Mason.  You build rapport by finding commonalities and overlooking differences and you should consider doing the same with Roller."

The Human realized that they were done gaming for the night so he pressed the button that took Barbrarian back to his spawn location as he stated "Yeah?  Well that sounds like something someone studying comparative sociology would say."

Gamer, as usual, got in the last word "All the more reason to give it some thought."

The sound of the Longos disconnecting from the group chat was enough for Mason to realize that he the conversation had come to an end.  He was so focused on digesting what Gamer had to say that he was startled by the sound of a fluke splashing against the standing water in a sunken section of the room.  Roller further complicated things by indicating that he'd heard one part of the conversation. "Talking with Gamer?"

Mason felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "How long were you listening exactly?"

Roller stepped out of the water and made his way into the kitchen. "Long enough to know that you are not going to ask me to open up so you could look in my beak."

The statement was deadpanned to a point that Mason didn't know if the Longos knew it wasn't a literal concept.  Standing up from the computer, the Human turned to address his new partner. "Gamer just kinda gets me is all... he helps me think."

Taking a pan out from the cabinet, Roller set it on the stove. "That makes sense.  It is good to have someone with whom you can talk."

The whole 'emotional talk' thing wasn't really something with which Mason had any real experience or skill but he knew that Gamer was right; he was dealing with a Phin so he needed to get over his teenage-human-machismo thing.  "So... what about you?"

Roller looked back at him.  "What about me?"

Mason closed the distance, leaning down on the counter on the opposite side of the kitchen from his partner. "Who do you talk to?"

The Longos moved to the refrigerator and pulled out some peeled shellfish. "Other Phin.  I have not always had the best luck talking with Humans-- no offense."

The candid answer surprised Mason. "Really?  Isn't that what the whole Unity Programme thing is about?"

Roller offered an affirmative double-click even as he offered a faint shrug of his shoulders. "I have spent several years learning about Humans but I have realized recently that I still do not completely understand you.  I have been through two Human partners already and this is my last chance to get things right... I do not want to ruin it.

The statement was counter to what little Mason knew about the Unity Programme. "Two partners?  I thought they kicked both partners out of the Unity Centre when one failed... or something like that.  How could you've had two?"

The Phin shook his head, tossing the seafood into the hot pan and added in a small drizzle of algal oil as he started sautéing it. "It is difficult to explain and the situation was complicated enough that I am limited on how much I can say.  Why are you so curious, if I may ask, Mason Weston?"

The way Roller used his entire name didn't escape Mason's notice; Phins usually did that when they were trying to change a casual conversation to a formal one.  "You don't really like where this talk is going, do ya?"

He didn't really know how Roller was going to answer him; Mason figured the Longos could probably continue to deflect, or perhaps completely clam up, or maybe even click-trill growl at him and tell him to mind is own business.  Roller did none of those, instead turning to state simply "My second Human partner was almost raped by her Human boyfriend."

There wasn't really anything that Mason could have said to that; his brain kept it simple. "Uh... wow."

Roller didn't even bother to let him digest that statement before adding to it. "I intervened to protect her from him and I was expelled from the Unity Programme because of it."

Mason fell silent at that; he took a few seconds to digest what Roller had said; apparently the Longos had protected a Human girl from being raped, and was expelled.  "That doesn't make any sense."

Taking two plates out of the cabinet, Roller separated the shrimp. "You have not eaten dinner and it will soon be time for bed.  Here-- we can sit and eat and talk at the same time if you want."

Glancing to the clock, Mason was only partly surprised to see that it was almost nine; time always flew by when he was playing DWA.  Pushing that thought aside, the Human followed his partner to the table.  "Why would they expel you for stopping a rape?  That's bullshit!  It doesn't make any sense."

Roller calmly took a seat, gazing across the table at Mason. "It makes perfect sense; Phin are not allowed to harm Humans, and I hurt my partner's would-be rapist when I forced him away from her."

Mason took a seat, staring down at the food as he continued to object. "That isn't fair-- in fact, I think it's really stupid... they just expect you to stand there and do nothing while your partner gets raped?"

The Longos said nothing after taking in his first bite of dinner.  Several more seconds passed before he replied, and when he did it sounded more as though he were speaking with resignation rather than conviction. "Phins are not supposed to hurt Humans-- it puts all of us in danger.  If it had been a Phin trying something then yes... but if a Human is doing something to a Human we are not supposed to get involved."

Mason's food continued to go unattended as he stared at his partner. "Are you kidding?  Why in the heck would they make a stupid rule like that?"

Roller said only "You should eat your dinner... if this is more than polite conversation we can continue after we have eaten."

Not really sure how to take the statement, Mason simply looked down at his mostly uneaten food, and picked up a fork; it was the first time the Human could recall when Roller actually made a suggestion to him.  Although he wasn't quite sure himself whether he was talking just to talk or to seriously try and get to know his partner, Mason chose to go with the flow. "Uh... okay."

Once Mason started eating, Roller finished off his own meal quickly and began to talk, explaining his point of view while the young man consumed his dinner. "Humans and Phins are alike in many ways socially, physically, and mentally but we are also very much not alike in the same ways.  One of the biggest differences is how Phins and Humans handle fear and threat.  I am sure by now that you are at least somewhat familiar with our society?"

Having lived with a Longos focused on Comparative Sociology it was impossible for Mason to NOT learn at least a little through simple proximity.  Swallowing his most recent bite of food, the Human nodded. "Yeah."

Roller waited until Mason was eating again before continuing. "Then you know about three defining features of conflict for the Phins: Evading the Conflict, Embracing the Change, and Unity in Conquest."

They were three concepts that Mason had heard Gamer talk about time and time again but, having spent less time on sociology and more time on biology, he only had a passing familiarity with them.  When his partner went quiet, the young man tried to indicate how much he knew.  "I know that Phins don't like disorderly fights and have rules for that kind of thing..."

It was apparently the right thing to say; Roller wagged his beak in an affirmative gesture. "Yes.  It is in the nature of Phins to try and limit chaos... especially when it comes to disagreements or violent conflict.  Setting rules of engagement for both sides, then determining which side wins, accepting it, and then coming together in a more benevolent position for both sides."

Something about the way Roller completed the thought made something click in Mason's memory. "The winner in any kind of violence usually helps the loser... right?"

The soft, upward trill of Roller's response gave Mason the impression that the Longos approved of his statement, and the follow-up words confirmed it. "Yes, Mason.  You are correct.  Whenever violence takes place within Phin society the victor is responsible in caring for the loser... this can be in a singular one-on-one basis or may, as has happened in the past, be the course of action when an entire society of Phins defeats another in open conflict."

That made sense to Mason; he'd heard enough about it from Gamer to feel that the statement was mostly review.  That didn't answer his original question however.  "Okay... I get it... but what does that have to do with not getting involved when a Human is harming another Human?"

Roller let out a breath through his blow-hole and pushed his empty plate aside, resting his hands on the table as he gazed across it at Mason. "Humans do not practice orderly conflict... your disagreements and fights are messy-- your wars are outright hellish."

The tone and inflection the Longos put into the final words left no doubt in Mason's mind that the Phin was practically envisioning Human war; the young man himself had never been anywhere near a conflict zone and, ever since the ratification of Judicial Sovereignty however-many-years-it-had-been in the past, wars were rarely fought on the global stage.  Mason didn't know a lot about politics, so he didn't really have any thing to add.  "Yeah... I guess Human wars ARE pretty bad... which is why we try so hard to avoid em."

The Longos staring at him just blinked.  The silence began to grow uncomfortable after several seconds and only then did Roller say "Humans are warlike.  You fight... a lot.  Phins need to avoid that conflict because we are afraid of what will happen to us if Humans see us as a threat."

The statement went counterpoint to everything Mason had thought he'd been learning at the Academy about the Unity Programme and what they were trying to accomplish.  "Well duh!  Isn't that the whole point of the Unity Programmme?  We're learning how to live together as good neighbors and stuff... we're figuring out how to get along."

Roller's gaze never left him.  "True... but the risks for Phins greatly eclipse those that the Humans face.  The Phin do not know how to make war in the way your people do and if we cannot live peacefully then the Humans would be able to wipe us out."

Mason stood up from the table. "That's bullshit.  Why would Humans--?"

The Longos chirp-clicked and interrupted him before speaking over him "You asked about my past partners-- My first partner's name was Christina Valentine.  She was very afraid of spiders... I understand that is not an uncommon fear among Humans."

Not exactly able to tell where Roller was going with the sudden shift in discussion, Mason just shrugged.  "Yeah... I guess so.  Lots of Humans don't like spiders."

Roller continued. "Any time she encountered a spiders she would strike it with something, killing it."

Mason wasn't sure he liked where the discussion was going. "...okay?"

The Longos motioned to the chair and, with reluctance, the Human sat back down.  Once he had, Roller continued. "Christina was not afraid of flies, or bees, or mosquitos-- statistically, far more people die from these sources than spiders, and all of them are far more capable of getting to and attacking a Human... and yet she feared spiders.  She feared spiders, and so she killed them."

Going out on a limb, the young man ventured the Phin's point. "So... you think that if Humans are afraid of Phins that we'll try to kill you?"

Roller finally looked away, gazing down at the table. "Many of us feel that way, and so we are fearful... thus we focus on Evading the Conflict and Embracing the Change."

The cyclical style of the conversation finally began to drive home just what it was Roller was saying.  As a people, the Phin were far more peaceful than Humans; he had specifically noticed a lack of conflict in general among them and an overall willingness to get along.  Arguments and fights among Human students at the Academy happened almost daily, but Mason couldn't think of a time where any violence took place between any of the Phin students, and definitely not between a Phin and a Human. 

Everything slowly began to fall into place in his mind after that.  "Basically you're letting Humanity take the lead and determine where and how our races interact.  The Phins are watching for clues how to best integrate and satisfy whatever it is Humans want in the hope that we'll play fair and, like you said, be 'good neighbors'."

Roller offered a human-like nod. "That is the hope... but we also realize that Humans do not think like Phins.  We have elected to Embrace the Change in the hopes that your people are not as aggressive and violent as many Phins think they are... and, thankfully, the Unity Programme is doing its part to show those who are most fearful among my people that Humans can be peaceful when they do not feel threatened."

Mason began to feel sick to his stomach as the full realization settled in. "And that's why Phins aren't allowed to hurt Humans... even when a Human deserves to be hurt."

"Correct."

Grimacing, the young man stood up again.  "So you're basically getting the shaft because you did the right thing.  You didn't want a friend to get hurt so you stepped in and beat the heck out of a guy who was trying to rape your partner."

Roller continued keeping his responses simple. "Also correct."

Mason pressed further. "And this was Christina?  The girl who was almost raped?"

Something about the question must have struck the Longos the wrong way; his tail thrashed to the side, which indicated an emotional reaction.  "No.  Christina was my first partner-- Angie Mae Kline was my second, and it was she who was almost raped."

Although he couldn't figure out why, something about that little piece of trivia stuck in Mason's head and wouldn't let go.  "You had two female Human partners?"

Roller's tail lashed again to the side but his answer was very non-descript and monotone. "Yes I did."

The Human couldn't help but smile... just a little.  "Man... Gamer was so worried when he found out his second partner was gonna be a girl... you handled it okay though, right?"

The moment those words exited his mouth Mason regretted them immediately.  Roller's tail lashed to the side yet again and, although he maintained an even tone, it was obvious that his answer came out strained.  "I am here, rather than graduated from the Unity Centre after only having had a single partner... so perhaps I did not handle it as well as I could have."

Throughout Mason's life he'd had plenty of practice riling people up.  He had a knack for finding the right place to poke at them and then keep digging until he got a reaction.  Unfortunately, he never quite managed to learn the skills to calm someone down when he'd accidentally agitated them.  Clearing his throat, the teen looked down to his hands and began picking at one of his nails. "Oh-- I... didn't mean it that way."

The Phin's follow-up question was surprisingly tame and without any sense of challenge.  "How did you mean it?"

Mason realized that his answer would likely set the scene for their next several months together.  Taking a deep breath, he offered up the best response he could think of: honesty.  "Roller... if I were there, I'da done the same thing you did.  I think you handled things fine... it's the way Phins deal with Humans that needs to change."

Although it was evident that Roller obviously didn't completely agree with the statement, the little glimmer in the Longos' eye made Mason realize that his partner appreciated the sentiment. "We will see what the future brings."

It wasn't really success, but it was a start, and for Mason, that was just fine.