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Rho hasn't told anybody yet, but he saw the door last night. Glad as he was to know it really did phase in as easily as it phased out, he didn't get up to try it yet. If it opened he'd be obliged to pass through ASAP. And frankly, he has obligations here. Human (and non) ties that he's not going to cut prematurely. He's had enough of that. The curse the Other's been distributing left, right, and center might not be the sort of thing he normally works with, not by a long shot, but something like that left unfinished is going to fester. And then it's going to get bigger. And then the one responsible will find a way to parlay it into some kind of multidimensional power base, and sooner or later that's going to mean that it'll end up in his bureau's lap again- no. No, he can't let that slide, no matter how much he wants to go home.
The Other's messed with a creature from a time somewhere in the future when humanity's grown up as a species, or at least grown up enough to be in full communication and contact with the rest of the galaxy on an equal footing. Might not be Rho's future, but it's the kind of future he wishes were his, and that's as good as the same thing. The Other's messed with humans, too- from many worlds but one planet- and that, really, was a mistake.
Everyone who winds up passing the last test, everyone who puts on the last suit they'll ever wear, has a different private reason for it. You don't ask why, but you can sense it. Some guys do it because it's the ultimate challenge. Some guys do it because they don't see any difference between this and what they did before. Some guys do it for personal reasons, though, and while there aren't a lot of them they make up a small, tight nucleus within the organization, one that's relied upon with a kind of implicit trust that goes beyond words.
Zedd noticed that streak of motivation years ago. Wasn't too hard to spot. It usually came up in the ones who had the hardest time cutting ties and letting go. They were the ones who came from strong families, generally. They weren't used to letting go of that, to standing on their own. It took an ex-Marine to point the way: the Corps is mother, the Corps is father, he said, and Zedd knew what he was trying to say.
The Corps is mother didn't apply. The Corps is father wasn't entirely right either. But-
The planet is my neighborhood. The city is my home.
The species is my family.
Snatch a guy from his farm in Montana, and you've snatched my brother. Forcibly impregnate a woman in Kazakhstan, and you've violated my sister. Lead one single human child astray and you've signed your death warrant. You've laid your grimy alien paws on the human species. You've messed with my family.
Zedd approves of that attitude. It makes sense, and it's more reliable than curiosity or revenge or adrenaline seeking, and it's better than a mere sense of duty. The human race is blood, and the blood-bond is forever. It leads to problems once in a while but it always brings them back in the end. He encourages the attitude where he finds it; he gave the sentiment a word, even. Terranan. It's from the language of the natives of Cottman IV, who've kept genealogical records since the day the first chieri stood upright and spoke words. Means 'the Earth children', 'born-of-one-mother'. Another word for it might be 'Earthclan'. It's a word chock-full of implications and emotional charges and it always, always means more than just 'humans from Earth'. Took the MiB a long time to learn that, but they learned it in the end, and added their own implications, as is always the way.
Rho is here, and not on the other side of that door, because by striking at so many different people from so many different timelines, the Other has fucked with Terranan.
And the thing with the Men in Black who use the word Terranan is. . . implicit in that phrase are four words that go unspoken. They don't ever need to be spoken. The ones that use the word Terranan all know how that phrase ends.
It ends with the words, for the last time.
The Other's messed with a creature from a time somewhere in the future when humanity's grown up as a species, or at least grown up enough to be in full communication and contact with the rest of the galaxy on an equal footing. Might not be Rho's future, but it's the kind of future he wishes were his, and that's as good as the same thing. The Other's messed with humans, too- from many worlds but one planet- and that, really, was a mistake.
Everyone who winds up passing the last test, everyone who puts on the last suit they'll ever wear, has a different private reason for it. You don't ask why, but you can sense it. Some guys do it because it's the ultimate challenge. Some guys do it because they don't see any difference between this and what they did before. Some guys do it for personal reasons, though, and while there aren't a lot of them they make up a small, tight nucleus within the organization, one that's relied upon with a kind of implicit trust that goes beyond words.
Zedd noticed that streak of motivation years ago. Wasn't too hard to spot. It usually came up in the ones who had the hardest time cutting ties and letting go. They were the ones who came from strong families, generally. They weren't used to letting go of that, to standing on their own. It took an ex-Marine to point the way: the Corps is mother, the Corps is father, he said, and Zedd knew what he was trying to say.
The Corps is mother didn't apply. The Corps is father wasn't entirely right either. But-
The planet is my neighborhood. The city is my home.
The species is my family.
Snatch a guy from his farm in Montana, and you've snatched my brother. Forcibly impregnate a woman in Kazakhstan, and you've violated my sister. Lead one single human child astray and you've signed your death warrant. You've laid your grimy alien paws on the human species. You've messed with my family.
Zedd approves of that attitude. It makes sense, and it's more reliable than curiosity or revenge or adrenaline seeking, and it's better than a mere sense of duty. The human race is blood, and the blood-bond is forever. It leads to problems once in a while but it always brings them back in the end. He encourages the attitude where he finds it; he gave the sentiment a word, even. Terranan. It's from the language of the natives of Cottman IV, who've kept genealogical records since the day the first chieri stood upright and spoke words. Means 'the Earth children', 'born-of-one-mother'. Another word for it might be 'Earthclan'. It's a word chock-full of implications and emotional charges and it always, always means more than just 'humans from Earth'. Took the MiB a long time to learn that, but they learned it in the end, and added their own implications, as is always the way.
Rho is here, and not on the other side of that door, because by striking at so many different people from so many different timelines, the Other has fucked with Terranan.
And the thing with the Men in Black who use the word Terranan is. . . implicit in that phrase are four words that go unspoken. They don't ever need to be spoken. The ones that use the word Terranan all know how that phrase ends.
It ends with the words, for the last time.
