The ECB

Today again I found no confessor. Archbishop Baracca is away on some secret mission - the Societas' peaceful reclaiming runs in mysterious ways. Father Macauley has to rest after being overworked from taking over 200 confessions already. I don't trust any other baseliner priests to listen objectively to a capsuleer as myself.

So, my need for confession being high, I tried an ECB. The Emergency Confession Booths are cabins with a fully automated, computer-run confessor program, offered for nearly free by the Ministry of Internal Order (only 1 credit token per minute, the confessor beeps when you have to add tokens). They usually line an outside wall of your local MIO station, which has led foul mouths to claim that the Seal of Confession is not guaranteed by these booths.

I sat down, inserted a token, and wanted to start. I was interrupted by a voice that listed a menu, as a keyboard was displayed on the wall next to me. "Press L for sins of lust, B for blasphemy, A for anger, J for jealousy, ...". 

It went on and on and on. I think that it is telling that the list starts with lust, probably they use statistics to see what is most common. After fifty seconds, it had barely started the list, and it beeped already for another token. I inserted five tokens and waited. I was confused as to what category I would have to choose for allowing heretical works sexualizing fellow capsuleers into our library. That's not one of the canonical sins.

After a few minutes, finally the sin of Pure Thought was mentioned, I had to press PT. However, as soon as I pressed the first letter, P, the voice said, "You have selected the sin of [PRIDE]. Please state your confession."  So, I started saying "No, go back. Revert. Escape. Cancel."

The booth answered, "Since when have you started to experience [No, go back. Revert. Escape. Cancel.] ?"

"It's the wrong sin. Menu, please."

The booth answered "Wrong format. Please state a date.", and beeped to signal that I should insert another token.

I inserted another token, and, desperate, mentioned the date on which the automatic purchase of the New Eden Writer's contest books and holoreels was placed. Then I tried, "Restart."

The booth didn't react to my request, but said, "Do you feel contrition for [No, go back. Revert. Escape. Cancel.]? Please indicate your level of contrition between 0 and 9 with 0 being no contrition and 9 being absolute contrition."

This was wholly unsatisfactory. I tried to exit the booth, but found that it was locked. I was locked inside a small confession booth! "Booth in use, do not exit before absolution.", the booth said. I tried "Open door. Emergency."

The booth answered "Wrong format. Please state or type a number between 0 and 9." Defeated, I pressed 9. I do feel very contrite for having hurt ms. Griffiths and exposed our baseliners to heretical pornography.

The booth continued "How strong is your resolve not to perform [No, go back. Revert. Escape. Cancel.] again? Press a number between 0 and 9 with 0 being unresolved and 9 being most strongly resolved." And it beeped for a token again.

I inserted a token and pressed 9. I am very strongly resolved never to make this mistake again. 

The booth beeped again. "For absolution of the sin of [PRIDE], insert [19 TOKENS]." That seems wrong to me, I didn't feel listened to at all, and it just wants money? But, the door was locked, and I wanted out. I'd brought enough tokens with me, thinking that I would have to explain myself in detail. I paid and used up the last few tokens I had on me. From a slot that I hadn't noticed before, a printed ticket appeared. "Absolution granted for the sin of [PRIDE], more specifically [No, go back. Revert. Escape. Cancel.]."

I was glad it was over. Then, the booth asked, "Do you want to confess another sin?"

I answered "No."

The booth said "You selected 'Yes'. Press L for sins of lust, B for blasphemy, A for anger, J for jealousy, ..."

I panicked and started rattling the door. The booth bleeped again. I shouted for help, but no passer-by would stop and talk to me. 

Ten seconds later the booth said, "Insufficient funds." and the door lock clicked open. 

This is the last time I try an ECB.

Soul searching

I did not sleep well. The affair with the "Scent of Faith" holoreel kept bugging me. I tell myself that I should have reviewed its content. I then started to worry about the other contest winners, whether there might be more heresies in them. Aren't there some Electus Matari authors amongst the winners or the honorable mentions? But then, I can't read every book before it goes to the shelves, can I? There's just too many, that is why we have the Index, right?

And yet, as continued to I interrogate myself in the dark of night, I realized that all this discourse about reviewing and about the Index are just excuses I conjure up. 

Had I not heard beforehand that it was hurtful to ms. Griffiths? Yes, I had. Did I not know who Nauplius is? Yes, I knew. Have I not decided to include it anyway just for the sake of completeness of a library collection? Yes, I have.

Pure Thought is the Instigator of Sin.

I have committed the sin of Pure Thought, giving the intellectual primacy over the moral. I need to find a confessor. Why am I the only capsuleer confessor around? I'll try to contact my co-chaplain, Archbishop Constantin Baracca. I haven't seen him around as he is away on Missions but perhaps we can connect virtually.

Awarded and censored

I disapprove of personal censorship. Censorship should be left to the Theology Council, to groups of experts who decide what can be harmful. But individual persons, no, they should not impose their views.

That being said, I might have made a mistake by allowing the award-winning movie produced by the heretic Nauplius into the bookshelf of New Eden Writing Contest award winners. 

I mean, the main sponsor is the Societas - and the thing did get an award. So we have a tradition of automatically ordering the winning works and putting them in the prize winner shelf there. And we do get weird stuff there all the time. What to think about "Geology, Particle Physics, and Cheese in the Neoclassical High Ancient Precursor to Rouvenor Hegemony on Luminaire" ?

However, I neglected to realize that this particular work "The Scent of Faith" was hurtful to one of our own ranks, ms. Griffiths. Apparently, it sexualizes her in an inappropriate way. That is perhaps also why it was such a hit with many baseliners, as they tend to idolize capsuleers and fantasize about them. I am sure an academic discussion and critique of the work would have put it into context and help deconstruct it to reveal it for what it is. But, in this case, the Directix put a stop to it and exerted her powers to excise this work from our library and cancel the debate. 

She was probably right, the thing will be on the next edition of the Index anyway. Also, I need to look at the library from the point of view of the chaplain as well as the librarian...

Hauling

Drill bits. OP insecticide. Small sealed cargo containers. Fertilizer. Construction Blocks. Tobacco. Frozen plant seeds. Mono-cell batteries. Kameiras. Viral Agents. Holoreels. Crates of small arms. Coolant. Mechanical parts. Oxygen.

I've been working hard for the Empire, to bring all sorts of stuff from one place to another. And yet, it does not seem to make much of a dent to my Empire standings, they are crawling up at a pace so slow tectonic plates overtake them.

Career orientation test was right, this is not really a job for me.

History tour

Yesterday, I enjoyed the history tours, bringing capsuleers to the commemorative sites and statues that tell a story about our past. 

My fresh crew for the Vectrix, somewhat intimidated by the Amarr home world, stayed on board and read manuals and watched on-line courses about... being a crew. It amazes me how little they ever learned aside from the craft that they had as a slave. Those skills are useless now that they are manumitted. The simple fact that they are no longer slaves excludes these jobs, that they knew well, from them. They have to find commoner jobs now, like spaceship crew, and they haven't been trained in them. I start to understand why manumitted slaves have such a hard time fitting in to society.

Mission completed

I got in touch with Mr. Jepen. He is very embarassed and could not have imagined that I would go through with the career orientation programme. He tried to bend himself in all sorts of directions to apologize and explain himself.

I reassured him it was an interesting experience that I would tell about to others in a positive light.

He appeared very concerned and did not want me to relay this experience to anyone else. 

I think me made some sort of professional mistake. I'm not sure where they would demote him further down to if they knew. Anyway, on the upside he marked all my missions as completed and awarded me the standings and the hauler certificate.

Missed calls

It appears mr. Jepen has been trying to reach me desperately for the last few days. 

He must have sobered up.

I left him hanging as I was going trough the career orientation test, but I think I will release him from his worries and meet up with him tonight. He put me through this ordeal, now he owes me.

Hauler crew

In the end, the whole experience was quite interesting. After we got our results, there was a group discussion with a career coach. The others in my group were staring at me, and having a hard time to keep their mouth from falling open. I do not think they had ever seen a capsuleer, let alone have a career orientation breakout group discussion with one.

The coach was also stunned. I told him I was a librarian as well as a chaplain, for a rather large but not to be named corporation. He'd never had a chaplain looking for career orientation. He asked what I was doing here. I told him I'd like to start a career in distribution - hauling mostly - and he almost fell of his chair. He told me that my personality traits do not match that career turn at all. I told him I knew, but in order to retrieve relics, as instructed to me by God, I needed to this career orientation thing.

It's strange how he reacted when I told him God gave me a mission, I could swear he thinks I have mental issues. This career orientation thing must be run by Caldari, if they do not understand how God guides our way. The others in the group seemed to be completely okay with this, and even relaxed when I explained myself in this way. 

The coach didn't know how to react, so he just turned to the others. They didn't respond to him, but turned to me in stead. I had mentioned that I needed a crew for my hauler, somewhere in my explanations to the coach. The others in my group were all manumitted slaves, as I had guessed. They have mostly experience in manual jobs, grain havesting (John-Josiah), basket weaving (Kimberlay), and maintenance of farming equipment (Ghust). They complain that after they have been freed, there are no jobs for them. The kind of things they know how to do are slave jobs, and hence not for commoners. The kind of jobs that are for commoners require skills that they don't have. 

The coach tried to mention some jobs that came up for them, including the chicken sexer, but they were fully focused on me, asking for jobs as crew members.

I found myself incapable to refuse.

They will learn while doing, they are very motivated.

Top jobs

The day began with a holopresentation explaining the virtues of the career orientation model, which is based on personality traits and how well they match jobs. I dozed off quickly, it was utterly boring.

Then, we got our results. With a 92% match, my career recommendation is consultant social worker, I think that is a Caldari term for a chaplain, or something close. So that was satisfying. 

More suprising was the number two job, a 89% match: audiologist. I did say that I'm a good listener, but perhaps I misunderstood one of the questions.

Tied for spot number 3 on the list were psychologist and immunologist, with both 87%. Again, a good chaplain should probably know a little bit of psychology. But immunology? Well if it's machine learning that says it, it must be true, right? Unless they captured and use a rogue drone for this.

And where's librarian? Perhaps that is not mentioned since I listed it as my current job - before realizing I could only input one current job. 

Stranger still was the insistence of the rogue drone, or the AI, to ask me questions about farming. Despite the questions pushing the farm life on me, one has to go to number 12 on the suitable jobs list to find an agricultural career: livestock advisor (76% match). It's hard enough to advise humans, I'm not going to switch to yaks. Although that would surely grant me job security for life at LUMEN.

Next will be a discussion session to "critically reflect" on these jobs and what we've learned...

Career orientation test

After we were instructed to fill in the test, all the baseliners started immediately on their task, hunched over their datapads in a way that reinforced my impression that they were manumitted slaves. The hall had banners to encourage us, with slogans such as "Reach your career development goals by learning your natural talents and strengths", "Recognize your optimal career direction" and "Unlock your personal potential". All that definitely gave the impression of a detention center.

I filled in the questions from the career orientation test. It took a very long time, there were many questions. 

The first large batch of questions asked me to rate on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) some statements. Some have a clear link with a job, like "Would you like to repair damaged farm equipment?". I don't.

Other questions are better answered by friends than by myself, like "Do you radiate joy?". Or, "I am patient with people who annoy me." If that includes the ones that make me take this test, I have the patience of a Sefrim.

The next batch had a bunch of job descriptions, again to be rated as to how much I think I'd like to do this kind of job. Honestly, that feels like cheating, that way I can also give career advice. But I also learned new things. I learned that there is a job called "Chicken Sexer", which is a person who distinguishes the sex of chicks and other hatchlings.

While machine intelligence will now process my answers, I should ready myself for the second day. I've received a workbook to help me reflect on my strengths and priorities. Tomorrow, there'll be a two hour virtual retreat with prerecorded holopresentations, breakout sessions, and coach-facilitated reflection, whatever all that means. 

What have I even done to mr. Jepen to deserve this?

 

((OOC: for this mini-arc about Dozey in career orientation, I enrolled in a free online career orientation program, and will go through it fully IC for Dozey. Questions and recommendations are all taken from this IRL test. So, yes, I was actually asked to rate the job of Chicken Sexer, which I felt was not a job Dozey would be particularly thrilled to do.))

A strange new mission

After going to the appointed location for mr. Jepen's next mission, we were herded into a hall. It looked like a cross between a large classroom and a detention center. There were small, well separated desks. The desks were suitable for one person each, and were spread out over the entire floor of the hall, there must have been many hundreds.

The desks had simple datapads on them and the overseers yelled at us to a seat at any desk without delay. The overseers, who looked as if they were bored of patrolling the hall, also told us not to talk to each other. Everybody complied.

I was the only capsuleer, all the others were baseliners, scared and startled by my presence. Looking around me, I realized that most of them, or probably all of them, were recently freed slaves. They were suspicious of me, probably thinking my presence was part of some sort of strange final test following their manumission. 

In reality, I was to be subjected to the same procedure as they were.

A booming voice, reverberating in the large hall announced our fate via hidden loudspeakers:

"Using advanced machine learning, psychometrics, and career satisfaction data, we’ve reimagined what a Career Orientation Test can be! Welcome to the first day of your orientation! Please fill in the questionnaire on the datapad in front of you."

Mr. Jepen's demon

I thought I managed to bond well with mr. Jepen. He seemed to enjoy the possibility to tell me his story and hear my counsel. He asked me to go for a drink again tonight, after I would finish some other missions he had for me. I agreed, if I was allowed to refuse another ship he said he was obligated to give me.

Mr. Jepen's disappointment with his demotion from level 3 agent to career agent runs deep. It has become a demon that clouds his judgment. He drinks far too much. I tried to cheer him up, saying that the prestige of a job does not matter to God, the only thing that matters to Him is doing our job in the very best way we can do it.

He then got this crazy glint in his drunk man's eyes. I don't know if he was angry about what I said but before I could ask, he stood up and shouted "I'll be the best career agent EVER!", after which he downed his final drink. He turned to me and said "I have a brilliant idea! The most brilliant ever! I'll send you the mission coordinates later, be there on time tomorrow!" After that, he  stumbled towards the exit and shouted a slurred "goodbye and good luck!". I thought he went home. At least that's where I hoped he was going, as ideas hatched under the influence of two bottles of wine only seem brilliant until the hangover.

But instead he went back to the office. I know, because forty minutes later I received the coordinates and there was no way to opt out of the mission, Jepen must have faked my approval. Does he want to help me or hurt me (or both, he's Khanid)? Only one way to find out: I'll go there tomorrow.

Career agents

I met up with mr. Jepen at one of Conoban's dining establishments, a place that makes soups in front of you with fresh ingredients. Mr. Jepen mostly gets the attention of starting capsuleers. More experienced ones look down on him. These older capsuleers rarely go back to career agents, and if they take and do missions from him, they complete them in an instant, they don't even look back as they finish the career track. 

He seemed happy that I showed respect and some humility.

We talked about the career office, and mr. Jepen explained me that he was a level 3 agent before. He messed up. Two times in a row, he sent the capsuleer to a wrong deepspace location and got them podded. It was the stress of delivering good enough missions that got to him.

There's a sort of hierarchy in agents: the higher the level, the more esteem they get. The higher-ups get to deal with more experienced and more reknowned capsuleers. When one messes up... badly... you end up as a career agent. The lowest rung on the agent ladder. He does feel bad about it and wants to go back to high level missions. I tried to tell him he was reaching a lot more capsuleers as a career agent, and dutifully doing God's work, but that didn't seem to provide comfort... 

It's often so strange, where people get their worth from.

Free junk

I've gotten into a heated discussion with mr. Jepen. He insists in giving me frigates and useless modules and a bunch of isk. I have tried to explain to him that I operate under a vow of poverty, and I am not going to accept ships. 

He can keep his Venture and his Sigil, the gesture is appreciated. Less appreciated are all these civil-grade modules, like the civil data or relic analyzer. I showed mr. Jepen that I have a data II and relic II analyzer on stand by and hence no need for this cheap junk produced in some Caldari megafactory at a discount price. 

It was to no avail. I have no choice but to accept a package delivered to my hangar... I think I will donate these things to the first new capsuleer I get to chat with in Conoban, that is the only way to get rid of it.

Mr. Jepen

My career agent is mr. Jiekan Jepen, a middle-aged Khanid man who made me fill in a bunch of forms and provided me with some simple missions. I explained to him that I am no longer a starting capsuleer, and he reassured me that many of his clients are actually more experienced capsuleers. Either looking to boost standings or get a quick injection of skill points, due to a new rewards programme that started recently.

Mr. Jepen agreed that in principle my standings - given my background and recent history - should be higher and that this little bureaucratic dance is rather superfluous. But there's little he can do, in order to get me certified as a hauler (even though no-one asks for these certificates anyway) I have to go through various training missions.

Conoban

It's a bit of a weird vessel, the Sunesis. Looks like a fly impaled on a tiara that was made for electroshock therapy. But all in all the fly flies well, and is very agile. It aligns and warps out almost immediately. So, after the test ride, I decided I'll take the vessel. It will be my third ship (apart from shuttles or corvettes), and I'll baptise her the "Vectrix" or transporter.

With a bit of fitting she has a cargo hold of over 1000 cubic metres, and still allows for probes, and drones as defense against prossible pirates attacking me. 

The next piece of advice I got to bring up my standing quickly, is to ... go to career agents. It's again a bit humiliating, I already have a career. But I guess this is a lesson in letting go of my pride and so I will go to the Conoban system to learn how to be a hauler for Empress and Empire.

Sunesis

I got lots of good but often contradictory advice from friends, as I told them my plans to increase my standings through delivery missions. I'm grateful they also allowed me to vent vented my anger and disbelief at having to start at such low standings.

For the hauling and delivery missions, the Bestower and Sigil obviously received good reviews, but surprisingly I was also recommended the Sunesis. It's a vessel that was designed by the Society of Conscious Thought, so Jove influence. Casting aside my initial worries, it seems a decent vessel, with a fairly big hold. Enough for simple hauling missions, at least. It's agile, with a very fast align time. And what convinced me is that it is bonuses for scan probes. So - if I do find some interesting signature, and can still to a little bit of exploration with it. 

I've got an appointment with a salesperson at the Empire Family Academy to go for a test run...

Space trucker

Back in Nasreri, with the crew this time. I'll be doing the occasional wormhole exploration in the future, with them if it is for a longer expedition, without them if it is for a short probe.

So, contemplating the strategy for my quest - it seems like I do need to improve my standings. That would allow me to visit the Museum Arcana and the Labyrinth. These are well known Takmahl sites, but they are guarded by the Empire and only accessible to those with high standings. 

I've complained about this before, I am a loyal subject but still I must somehow grind missions to gain standings. Moreover, my vow of non-agression pushes me towards pacifism. Although the vow only forbids violence ("DPS") against other capsuleers, I try to extend it to non-capsuleers as well. This kind of restricts me to delivery missions.

I'm going to be a (part-time) space trucker.

Return home

Time to bring the crew back home and end the expedition in Anoikis. We've been out here nearly a month, and I can feel the crew aching to return home. They are getting a bit grumpy about me jumping back and forth to Nasreri several times while they waited in Seclusion.

And, to be honest, we did not find Takmahl relics during this month. Nor Talocan ones for that matter. There was a very nice find of an ancient space cathedral at the onset of our expedition, but nothing as enthralling came up later.

Still, I believe it is worthwhile to organise further expeditions here. We've barely gotten acquainted with this strange new part of our universe and its network of unnatural wormholes. I am sure here many more secrets are hidden.

Jason's manucision

I was back in Nasreri late yesterday evening, for the ceremonial manucision of Heir-Lord Jason Moradian. Jason only recently found out about his Ardishapur heritage, and wanted to impress friends and enemies by following the Ardishapur Decree to the letter. This law states that the male members of the Ardishapur family must have their right hand removed. 

It is not a very pleasant ceremony. Lots of blood and pain, accompanied by scripture passages about sacrifice. Bill Cypher was the surgeon at hand (no pun intended), and he wielded the ceremonial catlin knife with great skill. He fitted Jason's new bionic arm as well.

Many noble houses close to the Ardishapur court also follow the Ardishapur Decree. Indeed, most of these houses are intermarried in complicated ways over the millennia to House Ardishapur, and consider themselves linked to the extended family. House Moradian is part of this inner circle. Seeking acceptance from his peers, Jason underwent the rite...

Meanwhile, my impression is that the Ardishapur family is holding off any judgement as to when exactly Jason can claim his Holdership and regain control from the lord-regent. It was telling that they did not send a family member to attend the manucision, as they usually do. Lord knows they have enough family members. But they did send a representative, a clerk from the Ardishapur Family Bureau, which is sign that they do not reject his claim either. I think they're keeping their options open. And, it will probably remain difficult for Jason, given his Gallentean upbringing, to ever fully fit it. Then again, he doesn't have to.