Scene #1421: Fear not, it's only New York City

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Alexander Aaron	Monday Evening at Empire State University tends to be sluggish. The students for a good bit seem to still be recovering from the weekend, the faculty often take another day to charge up and rebuild that rhythm of the week. And so the evenings after the first day back to school usually has a palpable air of malaise to it. Which, for the moment, suits the young man known as Alexander Aaron just fine. It's there in Washington Square Park with the sun only recently having set, that he's settled upon the park bench, claiming the space as his own for now with a sprawl of a backpack next to him and a few of his school books set out and to the side. Seated cross-legged upon that bench-seat, Alexander manages to continue reading with the halo of light from the nearby streetlamp, though as each minute drifts by it becomes harder and harder. At a glance he doesn't stand out. Just another youth in jeans and a t-shirt, though his jacket is rather nice. Brown and black with black leather sleeves, something actually fashionable that he's taken up wearing. But still provides him with a reasonable amount of anonymity in the city. But now, frowning to himself, he looks up and holds the book he was reading in his lap, partially closed and letting a thoughtful look on his face appear as he considers his surroundings.
Bobbi Morse	There are still the occassional joggers running down the path way at this time of night, but the traffic is considerably less. Agent Morse is wearing a curious mix of clothing. Underneath, her ops suit with its various armour and gadgets. Over that, she's wearing dress pants, a business jacket, and white blouse. It's a business look if you're not paying close enough attention. She's likely armed too. She saunters closer and leans against the lamp pole. "Nice night for a bit of squinty reading, wouldn't you say?." She glances his way, her hair down and a friendly smile on her face. Her hands in her pant pockets; the look is like someone who is between different parts of their job. Wearing civilian clothing so as not to cause alarm or bring too much notice to herself.
Alexander Aaron	The blond youth tilts his head toward her and meets her eyes, a small half-smirk settling upon his lips as she makes her approach and appearance. That book in his lap is pushed closed, though one finger remains inside of it as if to keep his place for now. "Ms. Morse." He offers, so as to not blow her cover, just in case anyone might be listening from afar. His curious hazel eyes rove over her form for a moment, though not like the occasional glance she might get from the curious passerby, and more noting the small tell-tale signs of where weapons might be hidden. Yet once that's done his gaze meets hers and his smirk slips more toward a smile. "That time again already, huh?" And as he says that he slips the bookmark into place, then reaches over for his backpack to start packing up and clearing off a seat on the bench if she's so inclined.
Bobbi Morse	"Mmhmm. Dinner this time I think," she says taking full advantage of the situation to hang out with the charming young man again. He's not the enemy here, she wants to keep his trust. She pushes off the lamp post and strolls over to him. "Perhaps Indian this time?." She begins walking down the path, a place already in her mind and asks him, "Had any exciting adventures with harpies lately?" It's only a half joke, that must have been quite a scary experience but also such a random and improbable one. She takes her hands out of her pockets, phone in hand. She presses her finger to a thumb print on it and the screen turns off. She slips it back in her pocket and says, "Don't mind the arsenal, it's not for you."
Alexander Aaron	That young man is always so wary with her, even though he does make an effort to be informal and at ease she might well get a sense that he can't entirely be otherwise. But when she makes that offer of a place to eat he perks up, no disguising the subtle enthusiasm for the idea of Indian food as he lifts his voice, "Chicken tikka?" And as easily as that she has him engaged, his attention in full as he quickly gathers up his gear and once it's set slinging the backpack over his shoulder. A few quick strides and he catches up, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jeans and matching her stride evenly so. "No. Not harpies." To be fair the youtube video that had gotten him close to being expelled or at least suspended from Happy Harbor... had satyrs. Angry ugly satyrs. But he doesn't elaborate, not yet at least, perhaps assuming that SHIELD agents are one giant hivemind and share all data amongst themselves. "S'alright," He says in reply to her mention of the gear she wears, not taking it as a personal affront.
Bobbi Morse	Gaining and keeping trust. She's good at this. She had an aptitude for it and it landed her in some tricky situations in the past. Every now and then in the midst of a mission she runs in to somebody who knows her by another name; or knows her by her real name but assumes her loyalties lie close to theirs. The truth of the skill is, she is just nice to everyone until they give her a reason not to be. "Chicken Tikka sounds good," she replies, "Perhaps some garlic naan?." That is the trick, just being genuine, there's nothing false about it. "With a side of satyrs perhaps." She grins over at him but doesn't elaborate. Spreading the idea that SHIELD is some omnipotent spy agency, all knowing and all powerful, is one of the fun parts of the job. It's not true of course, but they do have a long reach and an interest in the unusual.. such as Alexander. It's a few blocks walk as she chats to him, "Anyone new in your life, unexpectedly making friends, casually sharing common interests?" Ah, now the real questions, the ones that matter. The questions that let him know they have his back. Is someone trying to use him? ..they're the ones with the big databases, they can certainly check.
Alexander Aaron	"Mmmm, garlic naan." The young man grins a little and bobs his head, free food is never looked down upon by him. But this time she's totally paying. But when she mentions the satyrs he crinkles his nose a little and in some ways had been dreading the discussion. So he chews on the inside of his cheek thoughtfully for a time before he offers some hint of insight into the matter. "My uncles are sort of having a feud. So think that's what was causing some of the weirdness." But then she asks him a few more questions and his lips twist a little. "I'm always meeting someone new or interesting. It's..." He uncurls a hand in her direction, gesturing calmly. "The whole Fate thing that we Greeks deal with. But do you mean like..." He looks off to the side, away, letting his eyes distance. "Someone that seems set up in a way to simulate randomness? Not so much."
Bobbi Morse	She tilts her head and shrugs her shoulders. "Everyone. Think of it this way. You see one aspect of somebodies life," she says flicking her hair back over her shoulder to look at him. "What if they're doing something very uncharacteristic. Well, if we have the right data on them we can know that. We can compute the probability that they're being manipulated. But, the really interesting ones will be the people without any record what so ever. Those are probably sent by one of your enemies, or enemies of your family.. well, you put it better yourself before. A feud." She rounds the corner in to an alley and there is a tiny little Indian restaurant. It's a true hidden gem. There's a Ganesha statue at the end of the room, a tiny kitchen and only four tables. A young Indian woman wearing a sari speaks to them in Hindi, "Just two? take a seat." Bobbi sits down at a specific table, the one that gives the best access and vantages in the room. "Thanks," she replies and glances at their menu to see if anything catches her eye - it doesn't. "Two Chicken tikka, rice, two garlic naan thanks," she replies in ..okayish Hindi.
Alexander Aaron	"Bah," The youth says in a distinctly unlike him tone, perhaps picked up from his father. But there's still a small half-smirk there as he strolls along with her, one hand tucking up under the loop of his backpack on that one shoulder. But then their trip reaches the restaurant and he settles in a step to the side and behind her, then following after to that particular table with the good sightlines and angles. Idly as the woman departs, he tilts his head toward her and says, "I always get more bread." Because mmm garlic naan. He does, however, take a deep breath. "Alright, run down on things. So my uncles have a feud going, I'm sort of in the middle of it. There's a sort of ritual thing set to go down and I'm supposed to check it out and find in favor of one or the other. Apparently it's a ritual for one of them, that the other is footing the bill for but he's sort of twisting it so it's like... a cosmic screw you." He doesn't allow inquiry of it, at least yet, pressing on casually. "I met a very strong martial artist named Shiva, and we fought. I believe she wants me as her student." Alexander lifts a hand to the back of his neck thoughtfully, "Met a handful of new people at the school who seem interesting but nothing stands out hugely so."
Bobbi Morse	She signals down the host and says, "Two more garlic naans thanks." He nose crinkles as she smiles to the woman and then looks back to Alexander. "This is a pretty exciting time in your life. Figuring yourself out, what you're good at, what you love doing.. I suppose, it's more the people who orbit you that we might care about." Orbit, yep, she went there. "You have my card don't you, just in case?" She doesn't think she left one with him last time. She was far more nervous about meeting him because the agent handing the case over had made such a big deal about him being Phobos. "Contrary to conspiracy theories, we don't track your every move. If we did, we wouldn't need our little get togethers," she says motioning between the two of us as the dishes start to be delivered. "We preserve that violation of privacy for the big bads."
Alexander Aaron	The young man pays attention to her, watching her lips as they form the words, then looking back into the irises of her eyes. He nods at several points as she makes them, and gives a small shrug for the moments that he might only tacitly so. But when she asks about her card he nods, "Well, I have your number in my phone. Under MB. But yeah." He shifts his chair a little, instinctively angling it a bit better so that he's not as exposed and has a better angle on the door itself. Then he tilts his head back to her and says simply, "One more month until ESU and all. Still no idea what I'm going to major in." He pulls one leg up into his lap, almost like a half-lotus as he looks thoughtfully to the side and away from her. But then he looks back and asks her with a quirked eyebrow, "What are your thoughts on morality, Ms. Morse?" Likely that might earn a moment of silence as it's a big question so he narrows it down by adding, "I mean, in regards to there being a universal one, or is it all... societally based?"
Bobbi Morse	Bobbi actually laughs at the question she's asked. "Straight to the deep and meaningful and we haven't even been drinking." She grins and takes some of the garlic naan and digs it in to the sauce, scoops up a bit of chicken with her fork and eats. She's hungry and damned if she's not going to combine a work meeting with food if she can. "Mmmm dang, this is good. Dig in Alex." She licks her lips and then swirls the rice about in to the sauce and says, "I believe it's not universal, that it depends on the society. I believe morality evolves with a society. It often comes crashing in to other moralities when two societies meet and that can cause considerable and often painful growth for them both. Even here in the USA, some states have the death sentence, others have privatised jails, others are more focused on rehabilitation.. where do you draw that line? it comes down to the people living there. Now.. the people of Earth everywhere are facing new societies.. bit by bit, and those new societies are facing us. Whoever has to bend the most might be the one to break." She eats a bit more and continues, "Feudal Japan, prisoners were given tattoos to make tying them up in rope easier for the prison guards. They would return to their villages, shamed and to reclaim their honour they would have them transformed in to beautiful works of art, further tattooing. Fast forward to modern day, the country considers anyone with tattoos to be criminals.. oh, unless they're foreign white people. It's a strange double standard .. I predict it won't last forever, at some point one side will break, usually the less flexible side. I think in a decade or two, tattoos will just be a thing some people choose to have, rather than marking them socially as criminal."
Alexander Aaron	There's a slight rush of color to his features, small, but he looks away with a crinkle of his nose. "I don't feel anything when I drink." He offers to her, perhaps to distract her train of thought for a few moments. But then he seems to recall something as he adds, "Unless it's Asgardian." Points to the Nords. When she tells him to begin he takes that as freedom and the signal and digs into the bread as well, extending it over his plate of chicken tikka and then mixing the sauce and the rice altogether to create a nice orange consistency, then spoons enough of it on half of a slice of naan to create almost a naan wrap that he starts to eat with casual bites. Listening to her point of view he nods slowly and watches her steadily, following each word as he chews. Then he swallows and uncurls a hand toward her, "Societally based, but what about the... the aspects that seem to continue from society to society or a vast majority of them. Murder is frowned upon. Restricting freedom. But both are accepted when government sanctioned." There's a tilt of his head to one side as it seems to occur to him to ask, "Have you killed anyone, Bobbi?" The first time using her first name for whatever reason. At least in this conversation.
Bobbi Morse	Bobbi chokes a moment on the food in her mouth. She covers her mouth and holds it all in. Her eyes look at him wide. Chewchew, she swallows. "What a question. So, emergent morality is a concept I always thought was interesting. Given there are required properties for a society to thrive, would they always develop the same structures?.. wait is this just a question for school or are you genuinely interested?" She doesn't answer the question about whether she's killed people before. She eats some more chicken and rice, "The concept of murder first requires the concept of non-consensual death. It's possible to imagine a society where all death is consensual. Then one day, they meet humans and we murder one of them.. bam, now they have to contend with the concept of murder. But what if it's the other way around, what if we meet them and see their way of being and instantly, we all experience enlightenment and we all stop murdering each other.. is murder still a concept if it never happens again? It was once considered perfectly legal for a noble to kill a peasant picking fruit from their land. These days it doesn't matter what your socio or economic status is, that's murder for us. But we only got there because of other societal developments that flattened out the caste system."
Alexander Aaron	For a time there's silence. Quiet and blisfful and they're left with just the distant ambience of the city, the whisper of the few cars rolling by outside, the hint of wind pushing around the windchimes near. It allows them both to enjoy the Indian food and Alexander just continues munching on the sort of 'naan sandwich' he's created with the rice and sauce and chicken. His gaze has slid to the side for now, letting those hazel eyes shift distantly. Then he looks back to her. Once that piece of naan is finished he tells her, "I think it's... everyone eventually has to travel inwards. To think about these things themselves, figure them out for themselves. I'm... sort of looking for insight." But then he chews the inside of his cheek and asks, "What about, a society evolves with the concept of justice and the like. But the society also grows to create corruption, naturally inherent in any sort of... people with a sense of self. Since self-interest usually trumps interests beyond. So it creates niches of people that are inherently immune to justice socially speaking. Powerful enough people, rich enough people. You get a double-standard of justice." He tilts his head to the other side now, "Does it negate the concept of justice that this exists? Does it mean simply that there is no such thing ultimately, or does it mean that justice simply must assume a new form for it?"
Bobbi Morse	Bobbi dabs with napkin at her mouth and sits back in her chair. "I see. I can only really talk about what I know from human history, which doesn't necessarily apply to aliens. No offence. But.. throughout human history there's been haves and have nots. Sometimes the haves have so much they make themselves immune to the law, but the societal morality still exists. You'll have people who covet what they have, they want to be a have instead of a have-not.. then you have the have-not's who shrug their shoulders, after all what can be done. But the point here is, the society the have's lord over have a different morality to them. These two moralities will inevitably clash until one day... revolution. It's happened time and time again human history. That's why we have the bill of rights here in the USA. That's why the magna carta exists in Britain. We put in all these checks and balances to make sure someone isn't being a parasite, abusing the edges of the rules, or just flat out breaking the law. It's not always enough, but we know it's better than letting someone claim they get to live by a different morale code than the rest of us." She lifts an eyebrow, "I'm trying real hard not to dig in to biology here and explain my understanding with cells and DNA... but there's only so much I know about philosophy and history that I didn't learn from the history channel."
Alexander Aaron	Lip twitching up, Alexander is brought up short when she says that 'no offense.' To which he says, "I'm not an alien." Though he does add, "Half anthropomorphic manifestation of the latent psychic zeitgeist of humanity and half human." His nose crinkles at her slightly, but seems to like that term. For whatever reason. But then he hushes and listens, to her and for a time he sort of just looks at her, devouring her words even as he at times reaches over and dips a bit of naan bread into the chicken tikka. After a bit of time he takes a deep breath and looks away. But then he looks back to her and says quietly. "There's going to be a problem soon." As if that was all he had to say.
Bobbi Morse	Bobbi was starting to think of how she could explain military action, or the existence of SHIELD to Alexander. It was going to have to be done as part of the immune system in a human but, but it appears, for now, that isn't going to be necessary. "Care to elaborate?" She lifts an inquisitive eyebrow and leans forward. "I'm all ears for a half anthropomorphic manifestation of the latest psychic zeitgiest of humanity and half human."
Alexander Aaron	The tow-headed youth's jaw extends a little, then his teeth grind a touch as he ponders perhaps the right words to offer, the right way to phrase it. He tilts his head to the side and meets Bobbi's gaze as he murmurs quietly. "You ever wonder why... most of the gods didn't survive to this day and age? There are still some running around here or there. But a lot... are dead." He smiles a little, perhaps sadly. "Why? Lots of reasons, right? Clashes humanity, clashes with other pantheons, but the main reason? Clashes with themselves, or their family. Turning on each other, ancient lives lead to ancient spite." Alexander looks away and murmurs, "And really, when you get right down to it. We're all assholes." A small smile given back to her, apologetic. "But my grandfather, he came up with this idea a thousand years ago. To try and preserve my family. A sort of... set of rules, a great game, strict tenets to be upheld by the elders in the pantheon. To limit clashes, to limit insults and redress. All of that." Alexander uncurls a hand toward her, gesturing as he murmurs, "Dionysus and Hades have a feud."
Bobbi Morse	Bobbi nods her head, "Now I did a little reading.. so I know Hades is the god of the underworld, either a villain according to Disney or a nice guy according to fictions. Dionysus? I don't know who that is. But I'm guessing these two have decided to not follow the strict tenets. And you're saying their grievance will spill over in to our world?" She takes out her phone and writes down the two names for later research.
Alexander Aaron	"No, actually, they are." Alexander says as he tries to explain, "They've followed them perfectly. But the tenets are to make sure things are stable with the Olympians. Not so much with the people around them?" As he says that he stops eating and pushes the chicken tikka away a little. Perhaps not wanting to eat and munch while speaking to this matter. He lifts his chin and murmurs quietly. "Some hundred years ago, Dionysus, he came up with this idea. He's... the god of wine, celebrations. Sounds like a nice person right, while Hades god of the underworld is an asshole and all about death?" Alexander draws his water closer to him, touching a fingertip to the small beadlet of sweat upon the side and tracing a small design in the side of that red plastic cup. "Well Dionysus is all about the wild aspects of celebration, to a loss of control, to a frenzy of things. Hades, his main wish is for peace. It may be the peace of death, but he ultimately wishes rest for the fallen. Though, they both have their positive and negative sides." A breath is taken. "So hundred years ago, Dionysus decides to play a joke on Hades, all within the strictures of the rules. He creates a celebration in honor of his brother Hades. If it's done in honor, done for the greater glory of the family, of their compatriot, all is well and good. Only this celebration, it's... a horrible thing. And Hades does not wish it to continue. Yet he cannot ask for its cessation nor a redress of it. So that's when Hades comes to me and asks for me to play the role of arbiter."
Bobbi Morse	Bobbi steeples her fingers and listens carefully. "A horrible thing. When you label it like that, it sounds like you've already made up your mind? Hades has asked you to make the decision, whether this celebration should go on or not? and all this is part of the tenets too then I suppose." She takes in a breath and says, "The issue is, this celebration is going to cause a great deal of harm to other people all in the name upholding the tenets because Dionysus wants to prank Hades.. and you're wondering what right your family has to be so cavalier with the lives of others." She leans back in her chair again and says, "Well, if you're asking me.. they have no such right. They can set themselves a part all they like, but if they don't wish the same treatment in return, then they're just asking for trouble. If this is a question of.. how do you convince Dionysus to give up the gag.. sometimes the only thing that can stop a bully is a bit of their own medicine, just enough, that they are willing to reconsider their actions."
Alexander Aaron	"Well," Alexander turns to let his eyes drift away, gaze distancing thoughtfully before he looks back and answers her, "I haven't made up my mind yet, but Dionysus knows with my upbringing that I'll probably not find it as a positive thing. Which was... why he sent those Satyrs to try and dissuade me." And thus the reason for the youtube video of the fight. "But, you should know, Ms. Morse. I don't know if I have... any morality? Or a code of ethics beyond things that could be considered self-serving? I mean, I've done things that some people have considered heroic, right? Nothing huge. But does it count if you do the right things for the wrong reasons?" He looks away and ponders, then adds without looking at her. "Or does it count if you do things only because the alternative is more annoying or would take more effort? I dunno."
Bobbi Morse	Bobbi smiles a moment at his discomfort. "Call me Bobbi. And.. well I might have something that can help you after all. It's called the Custody of Morality." She places a finger on the plate, getting some sauce and savouring its flavour between her lips. "Consider self-serving ideology. I do the thing because it is good for me. Now, you make a family. You made the family because it is good for you, that is the thing, you did the thing, therefore it is good for you. So, now you do the thing because it is good for your family. This expands, again, to your community.. to your village,.. to your town, your city, your country, your nation, your society, your whole species.. multiple species, it keeps growing and growing as your awareness grows. You become aware that somethings that you do are not, actually, good for you - either in the first degree, such as stabbing yourself, or in the second degree, such as harming your family.. or the third.. the fourth, etc." She pauses to let that sink in a moment, "Now you consider the idea that there are other people who may have different levels of awareness, but at the very minimum have a self serving agenda. You understand that the thing they do that they think is good, may not be good, because you have enveloped them in to your understanding. You also understand that if you can pity this person, that others can pity you. You have now discovered that self service is a fallacy in any sufficiently advanced society. Congratulations, you now have the basis for a moral code."
Alexander Aaron	A slow exhalation comes from Alexander as he shakes his head and he murmurs, "That only can occur if you have shared values ultimately. If you place the survival of society beyond your initial circle of influence. Which is understandable if you feel it is important for the survival of your family to have that society to belong to. For beings such as my family... that is not entirely so. Not even to... delve into the hubris and narcissism that's rampant with us. And I do not exclude myself from that. I know I have flaws." As he says that he frowns and looks away, pushing one hand through his hair and then looking back to her. "I can't divorce myself from my family unit even for some nebulous concept as the greater good. Down that path lies... horrible institutions that come along with a supposed advanced society." A breath is taken and he flares his hands. "Just. I'm going to go to this event, and I think I know what I'm going to find and I'm worried how I'm going to react. Not just if I... get angry. But what if I don't? What's the worse situation?" He crinkles his nose and then leans over and /steals/ a piece of her naan bread, smiling a little at her as he indulges in that low level robbery.
Bobbi Morse	"Mm." She taps her finger tips together thoughtfully as she sits there. The server comes by and leaves the bill. Bobbi opens it up and puts some cash in, then shuts it. "If you don't feel anything. Well, perhaps you're doing all your feeling up front. Anxiety is a feeling too. I tend to do that, when I'm going on mission. I will get very anxious and I will go hit the running machines until I've spent up all my pent up energy - then when it comes time to do what I need to do, I can. So, either you're exhausting yourself now worrying about it, or you have more depths to plumb when you get there. Either way, the fact that you're grappling with this issue already tells me you're not the monster you seem to think you are."
Alexander Aaron	"I'm not so sure about that." He munches his ill gotten naan bread as his eyes wander away, following the server for a moment for some reason, then slipping back to her. "Not sure if this is anxiety, that would... imply an element of fear. Could just be considering the repercussions, not being able to map out the course of events." A hand uncurls as he murmurs, "And if I go to this event, and they are doing horrible things. Recognizing where my... condemnation comes from is important. And if it motivates me to some reprisal even though perhaps they are... doing this thing in the strictures of whatever land they're in? Or perhaps it's in a lawless place? Does that not then put me in the wrong for taking action if morality is societally based." And then finally he scowls and looks away and growls a low, "Ah fuck it." Which might lend an element of emotion to the matter that he had been denying.
Bobbi Morse	Bobbi reaches out and places her hand on his, "Yeah. That's the problem with moral codes. They infect you. You have it in your head now - even if you go to some foreign strange land where there's no laws.. you still know, inside you, that you won't forgive yourself if you don't hold yourself to the standards you've seen elsewhere. Sure, your family might be jerks, this other land might be lawless.. but you're part here, now. We have our flaws too, you can surely see that, but that makes you the one whose perspective keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger..." She smiles and sits back, "Hey you aren't going to feel better chatting philosophy with me Alex. But, if you find you need someone to talk to again, you have my number."
Alexander Aaron	A glance at her hand, and he smiles a little though perhaps a touch sourly as he tries to maintain that sort of grim manner for the moment. But she is able to coax from him at least a, "Yeah," Then his nose crinkling a bit. He takes a deep breath. "No worries, I'll call if needs be." Though she likely knows that it's unlikely he'd ever find anything where he /needs/ to call. But that could just be the stubbornness inherited from his father. "I'm gonna stay here for a bit, and eat your leftovers. Unless you take them with." He warns her properly.
Bobbi Morse	She shakes her head and motions to the spread, "I remember what it was like to be a student. Help yourself, it's on me... well, actually it's on uncle sam." She winks and stands up. It's important not to leave a mood like this too serious, so she leans over and ruffles his hair, "You're going to do great, I can tell. You have all this introspection going on." She waves to the server and says to Alex. "I'll be seeing you around..."