pepper | I wish someone would offer me these options...

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I wish someone would offer me these options...

If you had to choose between --

a) a life on a spaceship (with artificial gravity and all that scifi jazz - think of, say, a Goa'uld mothership) and the freedom to go anywhere in the universe, but you were an exile from Earth - people back on Earth could contact you, but only rarely, and they might get in trouble for it. They can leave and visit you, but they might be arrested when they came back. There's a whole universe of planets out there, but they're not all nice. And you have a crew.

Or --

b) a life on Earth that was powerful, rich, and comfortable, with a job you love, position, rank, duties which it is your honour to fulfil, but no freedom to just drop everything and go...

Which would you choose?

(For those who know where this question comes from, no copying Miles. *g* Which would you find more fulfilling?)

(Edited for clarification.)

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a) Would this also mean I could never communicate or interact in any way with people from Earth? Does the space ship have navigational charts I can read so I know how to get places? Am I alone on the spaceship? Can I set foot on other planets?

Questions, questions! Okay, well, you can communicate with people from Earth occasionally, but it's a bit laborious, and they're not really supposed to talk to you, as you're in exile. They can leave Earth and come visit you, but they might have a hard time with the authorities when they go back.

The spaceship has navigational charts, and a crew, and there's a whole host of other planets out there. Some of whom aren't very nice at all...

(Edited for better icon. *g*)

And just to clarify, it could be months - or years, even, if you're far out of range - between messages from Earth.

And some of the planets may well be lovely, too.

I like to know what I'm getting myself into :)

Is the crew a bunch of aliens I never met before or can I pick the crew? Am I just a member of the crew or do I get some input on what we do and where we go?

The crew are a mix of aliens and Earthlings, but they're chosen by you - you're the captain (if you like, you might delegate the daily running of the ship to an executive officer - although how that works might depend on how well you chose your XO...).

Sheesh! ;)

Would I get to bring my boyfriend? :) What about books? My cats? Internet access?

If I can't have that stuff, screw it, lol.

Well, you can bring your boyfriend (it's up to you to persuade him to give up Earth, of course), and as many books as you can take whilst fleeing in exile (not many - but there may be plenty more out there in the galaxy, you never know). But interet access is pretty much out. :)

Much to my own surprise, my brain immediately lit on B.

I must now go sit in a corner while I contemplate why.

Interesting... Well, it might be seen as a choice between staying and working at something, or leaving it all behind for a roll of the dice. Perhaps? Doing a job you love can potentially be more rewarding than being rootless.

Oh, and I missed the cats - um... possibly, if you manage to take them with you in the scramble to depart. But it might be too difficult.

:)

That implies that roots require a physical earth though! The big question is how many years do I have to work before I can enjoy early retirement?? Because at 27, I'm all ready for retirement already!!

I've always been a pretty rootless person, though. Or thought of myself that way.

I suppose it's a combination of growing closer to my family as I get older, and wanting the intellectual challenge of a job I loved.

Gawd, I hope I'm not becoming a conservative. Eek.

Retire? But it's a job you love! Maybe you would't WANT to retire! And what about your duties?

...Okay, I'm thinking it's a job that goes on for a very long time. It's very varied, though. And you're pretty much your own boss.

Knowing me, probably the latter. Mostly because I'm already used to not having the freedom to just drop everything and go lol. And if it is something I would truly love doing.... I could live with it.

So... where did this come from?

And life as a space captain won't be all play and no work...

I'd go with A). It reminds me of the lifestyle I imagine the crew of Serenity have. Plus I need my freedom. :)

Heh. I get the impression that you're not in too much danger of that. :)

I guess it depends on how you view the options - whether staying on Earth seems too safe and boring, or if you can see options there that explore the space within...

Yeah, it could potentially be exciting - doing a job I love has become increasingly interesting to me. I still can't quite decide which I'd choose, though...

It came from the plot of a book I just read - 'Memory', by Lois McMaster Bujold. About whom I have babbled extensively in the previous post. *g*

Heh, yes - freedom comes with a price, though! They do look a bit battered, the Serenity crew. :)

True. I believe I would take freedom whatever the cost. (Well, just about.) They do, yeah. *luffs them*

Yeah, the latter. I am also assuming that any job I truly loved would give me intellectual stimulation, be fun at least sometimes, allow me to make a lot of my own decisions, and give me four weeks of vacation. :) And since you said we'd have plenty of money, I'd be able to see my nieces and nephew a lot more often than I do now.

Now, if the question had been between giving up my home and traveling on Earth for many years, unable to settle anywhere*, versus the job above, that would be a tough decision for me.

* ETA: and with very little money -- just enough for basic needs and train tickets and not much else.

Heh. I get the impression that you're not in too much danger of that. :)

I hope so! *crosses fingers liberally*

I would definitely choose B. I have simple needs. And if I needed to explore, I could do what I do now, read a book.

And Earth exploration wasn't off the map. Steady income, power to make changes, job I love...yep. I'm failing to see a downside with B. Like

nandamai said, if I love it, it's giving me stimulation, not being an anchor on me.

(But I've been loving abyssinia's all important questions. Heh.

It makes so much difference, doing something you absolutely love vs something you just do to do or you hate doing.

Ahh, I see ^_^

I'm going with 'B'. Very much a homebody and I'm getting to old to be going off and exploring the galaxy.

A. Definitely. I could potentially pass up the adventure of a lifetime if it were here on Earth, but give me space aliens and I am SO THERE.

Though B actually sounds pretty nice, really. Very cushy.

thanks :)

And, really, who am I kidding, there's a reason I identify so strongly with Sam Carter and a reason this is my default icon.

*jumps onto spaceship*
*waves good-bye to being stuck on a planet*
*soars off to explore the stars*

it's important to know what you're getting into before you abandon the planet!

Heh - well, I did notice that you were only asking questions about that one... :)

And Earth exploration wasn't off the map.

Yes, exactly - you could spend your life exploring Earth, and never see everything. Not that you'd necessarily have the time to spend your life doing that - I guess it depends on the job. :)

(Hee - yes, I'm enjoying answering them.)

I must say, I'm being quite persuaded by B, given people's takes on it. But going off to see the universe also appeals... Oh, I dunno. But yeah, there's no place like home. :)

Space aliens, indeed - roll the dice, take your chances with what's out there in the universe... :)

(I almost put A as "Life as a space pirate", incidentally, but I had a suspicion that I would be tipping the appeal of that one a little too much. *g*)

Quite possibly. And, to be fair, I'm pretty conservative in my life right now. Earth sounds pretty good sometimes.

B. Because I would want my family and the friends I already have more than I want adventure. I like adventure, but it does, as has been said, make you late for dinner. I'm a big fan of dinner. That's why there are novels: all the fun of Option A without the drawbacks.

I'd love to think that I'd say A, because that sounds like more fun, really.

But who am I kidding? I'd be a B. I don't need the comfort, riches, position, rank or power, but I do need the purpose. If I ended up with A, I'd mooch around a spaceport forever. And if it's a job I love then it will challenge me enough and be exciting enough for an entire galaxy (again: who am I kidding? There's really only the one job for me).

So, what did Miles say that was so eminently copyable?

i'm ready for the afternoon shuffleboard and bingo already (okay, not bingo, but hey, i could totally get into daytime soaps! (maybe not, but hey, that's what DVDs are for)) Did I mention I'm like a 70 year old lady in a 20something body??

If I'm my own boss, though... I guess I could do just about anything I want... haven't decided yet...

Well, the other one was pretty easy to understand and extrapolate from...

(though now I'm thinking that the job *I'd* love that could have that kind of description could be Sam Carter's job in which case....best of both worlds so A? :P )

You make a very good point there. :) And in fact, I got the idea of option A from the reading of novels in the first place. Travel is in the mind.

Ah, Miles made the choice between the two - but I can't say what he chose, because that would give away the plot, and someone on my flist is reading the book at the moment. :)

Mooching around in a spaceport sounds kinda fun... Maybe not forever, though.

Hah! Sneaky. I like it. :)

Yeah, well, there are aspects of B that appeal to me - specifically the part about the job I love and thus feeling like I have a purpose in what I'm doing and I enjoy it. I don't need the rich and actively don't want the powerful.

But I have wanted to be among the stars more than just anything for most of my life. And I think you could turn being on that spaceship into a fulfilling force for good and....I would give all this up for a chance to be out there and explore and see what's next, heartless as that may be.

Though I'm loving my sneaky compromise :)

For a week or so, maybe, but then... what do you do? What do you achieve? And then we're back to me being in need of a purpose. Wandering the universe, away from Earth, trying to do something important, now, that would be different, but wandering aimlessly is just.. yeah..

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hmm.

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