Empire Reborn (Taran Empire Saga Book 1): A Cadicle Space Opera by A.K. DuBoff (jenna bush book club TXT) 📕

“In all fairness, though, there’s infighting within the Taran Empire.”

“True, but maybe we’re numb to the scale.”

“It’s possible,” Michael agreed.

“The people of Earth will have a lot of work ahead of them,” Wil continued. “We’ll need to strategize about how best to roll out the information, but I feel it must be done. Honestly, we’ve probably already waited too long to begin.”

“They might hate us for having sat on our hands while the world went through wars, pandemics, and natural disasters. So much of that would have been mitigated by our technology.”

“Yet, it wasn’t our place to intervene. We’ve remained at a distance because we’ve wanted to give them a chance to come into their own—despite the missteps.” That had been a particularly difficult part of life on Earth for Wil. There were a lot of smart, compassionate individuals, but society as a whole had taken some questionable actions. But, as his friend had pointed out, Tarans weren’t without their own issues, as the current unrest exemplified.

“Not to be a pessimist, but dropping the ‘there are aliens’ truth-bomb isn’t likely to fix those issues,” Michael said.

“No, but it can show them a model for coexistence on a scale that they could never have imagined.”

“It’ll be a new scale, all right! Most people probably won’t believe it.”

Wil leaned back in his chair. “Convincing them we’re for real will definitely be an initial challenge. But as we build trust and respect, coming from such different places, I hope some of that will transfer to how humans think about each other. Too many social movements have taken on a ‘you’re either with us or you’re against us’ stance. In the end, those tend to create further divides rather than bring people together. To unite, there must be mutual respect—even when someone holds a viewpoint in fundamental opposition to yours. For everyone to be on equal footing, you need to respect your enemy’s perspective and recognize that they hold their opinions with as much conviction as you hold your own.”

Michael frowned. “But some ways of thinking are just plain evil. Not to mention actions to put groups at odds—like what happened to Alkeer. How can we be friends after that?”

“It’s either find a way to get along or go to war. As difficult as it is, we need to look at things from the other side. Our viewpoints probably seem just as misguided to them.”

“That doesn’t make them correct.”

“Regardless, as a society, Tarans decided long ago that it wasn’t okay to silence or kill someone just because you disagree with them,” Wil replied. “But, getting along with others when there are profound differences in fundamental philosophies isn’t easy; that’s how we ended up with so many disparate worlds. It’s exponentially more complicated when other alien species are introduced to the mix.”

“I suppose the different territories on Earth were formed for many of the same reasons.”

Wil nodded. “I imagine so. That is why I’m hopeful that we can show humans that there is a way to come together while still protecting personal autonomy.”

Michael drummed his fingers on the armrest. “Civil disputes rarely resolve without hurt feelings—or bloodshed.”

Wil nodded, his heart heavy. “It still comes down to perspective and opinion, though. It’s unreasonable to expect that everyone will hold identical beliefs, so instead we need to find common ground.”

“Respect differing opinions.”

“Exactly. If you ask others to accept you as you are and respect your viewpoints, doesn’t that mean you should extend them the same courtesy?” Wil asked.

“Ideally,” Michael said. “But it’s a lot more complicated than that.”

“Oh yes, no doubt. Yet, we can always strive to better ourselves and find ways to coexist. Of course, remaining open-minded isn’t really in our nature. So, most Tarans gravitate toward others with similar ways of thinking, and they create a shared value framework on a world where they can live life how they want to. Don’t like your current planet’s culture? Rather than try to change everyone around you, go somewhere more suited to your intrinsic way of thinking.”

“Except that can breed hatred and ‘othering’.”

“Only when there’s a loss of mutual respect,” Wil replied. “There’s a fine balance, since one person’s rights cannot impede another’s. But it’s possible to create a community of like-minded individuals while still teaching acceptance and tolerance of outsiders. The key is to differentiate between common areas and private spaces—no matter if we’re talking on the scale of a home, a planet, or the galaxy. We need to agree on a commonly understood code of conduct.

“In any common space, there needs to be a shared language of values—things like don’t kill, don’t steal. Most people can get behind those restrictions, so they’re written as law. Murder and theft may be acceptable on some remote planets, but try that on one of the Central Worlds and it’s straight to a prison cell.

“But, even the planets who’ve embraced their own cultural norms recognize the value of economy of scale when it comes to certain matters, such as transportation and technology. They dislike the idea of centralized Tararian rule but love the quality-of-life increases it affords them.

“So, we find ourselves engaged in an eternal balancing act, a dance of courting one another and pulling away with the swells and contraction of societal whim. I see the discontent in the Outer Colonies now and think back to the countless times we’ve been through this same argument. Apparently, our ancestors went through a similar struggle on a galactic scale with this same enemy we now face again. I have no doubt that balance will be restored at all levels eventually, but the question is how much strife will we endure before then?”

Michael crossed his arms. “In other words, maybe the best we can do with this new enemy is ‘agree to disagree’?”

Wil nodded. “I know it’s not a satisfying statement,