Poem: "Not a Destination, But a Process"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem is spillover from the March 5, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from fuzzyred and chanter1944. It also fills the "Day Job" square in my 3-1-24 card for the National Crafting Month Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the Shiv thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It follows "Conscious of the Injustice" so read that first or this won't make much sense.


"Not a Destination, But a Process"


Liberty could hardly
believe her luck.

She had just gotten
into Omaha when she
met someone who had
helped her get a day job.

Shiv was a little weird,
sure, but he was solid --
and he didn't try to grab
her anywhere rude, so
that was even better.

Liberty was starting off as
an all-purpose cleaning girl,
since she already knew how
to mop and wash dishes.

That'd earn minimum wage,
which was enough to afford
a decent apartment, if she
could get some fake ID.

Meanwhile, Liberty was
set to couchsurf with
one of the waitresses.

She wouldn't be stuck with
cleanup work forever, though,
not if she wanted to learn more.

Cook had offered to teach her
actual cooking skills -- not just
recipes, but things like how
to use a knife so the slices
came out all the same size.

Liberty had pounced on that,
because job skills were valuable.

Right now, Shiv was showing her
how to fold napkins for the tables.

He had a binder with pictures of
the finished folds and lists of steps.

"See, napkins are cheap, and it don't
cost anything to fold 'em fancy, but it
makes the place look nicer," Shiv said.
"So we got the easy ones for every day,
the fancy ones for stuff like weddings,
and then all of the holiday styles."

"Bunny ears," Liberty said,
tracing the shape on the page.

"Yeah, them's for Easter,"
Shiv said. "We got flowers
too, and watermelon for
Juneteenth, a turkey for
Thanksgiving, and so on."

Liberty had to admit that they
looked cute, even if she wasn't
sure that she could fold them.

Then Shiv's head popped up,
and Liberty heard footsteps.

Coming toward them was
was a mousy-looking white guy
dressed in a woman's sweater
embroidered with sunflowers
and poppies, daisies and yarrow.

It even had a bunch of pudgy bees,
their tiny wings done in some sort
of shimmery thread that made it
look like they could really fly.

It was the silliest thing that
Liberty had ever seen, but
she wanted to touch it anyway.

Shiv bounded over and rubbed
himself along it like a big ol' cat.
"Hey, Dr. G," he said, grinning.

"Hello, Shiv," said Dr. G.
"Boss White thought that
someone here could use
a sympathetic ear."

"Ah yeah, Liberty's had
a bit of a hard time just
getting here," Shiv said.
"You want some space?"

"That would be nice, if
Liberty feels comfortable
with me," said Dr. G.

"It's a public place,"
Liberty said, shrugging.
"Sit down if you'd like."

"Thank you for the invitation,"
Dr. G said, and sat down at
the booth where they'd been
practicing the napkin folds.

"I'll go help Cook," Shiv said,
and skittered off to the kitchen.

"Boss White mentioned that
you've got your head in a bit
of a tangle," said Dr. G.

"Well, that's what he said,
and he's a telepath, so I guess
he should know," said Liberty.
"I don't feel any different, though."

"Do you ever feel like you want
to do one thing, but find yourself
doing another?" asked Dr. G.

"Yeah, sometimes," said Liberty.
"Doesn't it happen to everyone?"

"Possibly so," said Dr. G.
"What do you think about it?"

Liberty snorted. "That you're
another silly head-shrinker like
the guy at the community center."

"That's part of my job," said Dr. G.
"Can you think of anything that
you might like some help with?"

"Maybe fitting in here," she said,
tapping her fingers on the table.
"It's a mixed group, and I haven't
worked with white people a lot,
but I really need this job."

"Diversity skills," said Dr. G.
"Useful to know, applicable in
any career, and you couldn't have
picked a better place to learn them."

He popped open his briefcase
and passed her a few pages.

"These are some activities that
can help you stretch yourself and
learn more about other people,"
said Dr. G. "Start with fun ones,
and it will be easier to grow."

Liberty looked at the list.
Visit an art show from
another culture. Listen to
music in a foreign language.
Eat at an ethnic restaurant.
Read a book set far away.

"Really? This counts?"
she said. "It's not much."

"It's a start," said Dr. G.
"Don't overwhelm yourself."

"It's just ..." Liberty picked at
the corner of a page. "Boss White
made it sound like I'm kind of a mess."

"He saw some things inside you that
worried him," said Dr. G. "Ideally,
we'd like for a mindhealer to take
a look. Trouble is, neither of us
know one suited to this case. So,
I'm starting with simpler methods
that I already have in hand."

"And that'll work?" said Liberty.

"Whether it does or not, it will
tell us something useful about
the inside of your head," said Dr. G.

He pulled out a few more pages
and offered them to Liberty.

"These can help you think about
your beliefs and values," he said.
"You might find places where you
want something, but feel as if
you're getting pulled up short."

Liberty wrinkled her nose. "It
looks like homework," she said.

"It can be," said Dr. G. "Maybe
something more visual would appeal?"

Next he pulled out a colorful page
that made her more curious,
and text that explained it.

"A pie chart?" Liberty said,
leaning over to look at it.

She realized that the labels
were all about different parts of
her life and how they worked.

"Oh!" She tapped one of
the wedges. "I got a job!"

"Congratulations," said Dr. G.
"How do you feel about that?"

"Really great," said Liberty.
"I'm so proud of myself. I wasn't
sure I could get a decent job,
but I did. Cook even offered
to teach me some kitchen skills!"

"That's quite an accomplishment,"
said Dr. G. "That sounds like
your career section is doing
well. If you wish, you can think
about other parts of your life
and how well they stand up,
or what you'd like to improve."

Liberty looked at the pie chart
again. Family was a mess but
she didn't want to poke at it.
Romance didn't interest her.

Fun, well, she had a bunch
of new things to try out now.
Finances should be good
since she just got a job, and
social, sure, she had met
people who didn't suck.

"Yeah, I can work with this,"
she said. "You really think
this will get me to okay?

"Mental health is
not a destination, but
a process," said Dr. G.
"It’s about how you drive,
not where you’re going."

"I can't drive either,"
Liberty pointed out.

Dr. G chuckled. "That's
all right, it's another thing
you can learn if you like."

"Maybe I should start with
a bus pass," said Liberty.
"That's a lot easier to earn."

"An excellent goal," said Dr. G.
"That covers your transportation.
You have a job and income already.
Perhaps a fun goal and a practical one?"

"Cook's going to teach me knife skills,"
Liberty reminded him. She looked at
the pages again. "I could try eating
at an ethnic restaurant. It's gotta
be good to know the competition."

Dr. G made some notes on a page
of his own. "That's a plan," he said.
"I'll drop by here in a week or so, and
you can tell me about your adventures."

"Okay," said Liberty. "I think I'd like it.
I don't know many folks here yet."

"Then it's a deal," Dr. G said,
and so they shook on it.

* * *

Notes:

This poem is long, so its notes appear elsewhere.

Comments

Re: Liberty

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Ysabetwordsmith cooked up this particular puzzle. I'm just noodling the possibilities. <<

I'm enjoying the hell out of watching this discussion as you poke at the pieces. :D By all means, prompt for more. I don't know what next year's themes will be, but something should fit.

>> So, saying that, I'd also say that (a) there have to be several interconnecting factors all slanted the correct way to have the imprint repeat, especially so far down the reproductive path, <<

That matches my observations. Also, look at how scarily well it worked in local-America, and then imagine how much more it would work with actual superpowers.

>>and (b) having an incomplete imprint leads to "typically screwed up" thoughts and behaviors, not this... butchery.<<

I could imagine that, if someone put diligent effort into breaking free, their offspring would have less of the imprint -- would perhaps be missing the parts that parent worked hardest to overcome. So passing down through stubborn people, generations later you might just have a handful of average biases.

However, you also have to account for how society reinforces that imprint. A partial one might be increased through institutionalized abuses.

>>I keep coming back to that word. These effects are horrifying. Epigenetics writ large, with a blowtorch.<<

Yyyyeah. You can see why Boss White freaked.

I do think this manifests partly in epigenetics, and that's one of the easiest parts to clean up, if someone wants it combed into better orientation.

Re: Liberty

[dialecticdreamer]

One of the easiest ways to combat crappy epigenetics is with good nutrition. If there's a decent after school program with lots of fresh fruit and veg on the plates, that will help, but a program like WIC will do even more because they can start boosting nutrition in the womb.

Access to health care is another help, because it usually contains a large element of patients' education. (This is prediabetes, and this is how to adjust diet to help reduce the risk of diabetes, for example.)

Stress reduction and mental health care are another good way to reduce epigenetic influence, and eventually switch off the stress-activated genes.

So, even without knowing about this particular historical butchery, there are existing efforts that can help.

The problem first becomes connecting a descendant with the programs they can most use and then is influenced by quality of care and other incidents in their lives.

Which means, good news, that the imprint can be broken crumbling off bits of it one by one through improving the overall local culture. It also means, bad news, that people can inadvertently or unconsciously sabotage themselves by moving into less-enhanced areas, EVEN if the new area is considered "better" by the average income and crime rates.

Re: Liberty

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>One of the easiest ways to combat crappy epigenetics is with good nutrition. If there's a decent after school program with lots of fresh fruit and veg on the plates, that will help, but a program like WIC will do even more because they can start boosting nutrition in the womb.<<

WIC is a crappy program, it's too hard to get in, it kicks people out, and it puts way too many restrictions on what they can do.

T-America has better options. Most towns have an "eat healthy" organization. There's My Diet with all its bargain boxes. Doctors in many areas can write prescriptions for fresh whole foods. At events, food trucks with at least some healthy foods get the best slots, with junk food relegated to farther locations. And so on.

>>Access to health care is another help, because it usually contains a large element of patients' education.<<

Yep. Doctors there usually offer recipes and recommendations tailored to current complaints.

>>Stress reduction and mental health care are another good way to reduce epigenetic influence, and eventually switch off the stress-activated genes.<<

T-America has a lot more free health care available. You can visit any community clinic for a module on things like tolerance or self-esteem.

>>So, even without knowing about this particular historical butchery, there are existing efforts that can help.<<

That's because the efforts were designed largely for the wider problems, a blurrier version of the precise imprint. And the reason people demanded work on that goes back to the civil rights movement, which saw a lot of people breaking cultural and super imprints. They do connect.

>>The problem first becomes connecting a descendant with the programs they can most use and then is influenced by quality of care and other incidents in their lives.<<

True.

>>Which means, good news, that the imprint can be broken crumbling off bits of it one by one through improving the overall local culture. <<

There's been progress on that.

>>It also means, bad news, that people can inadvertently or unconsciously sabotage themselves by moving into less-enhanced areas, EVEN if the new area is considered "better" by the average income and crime rates.<<

Yeah, being around racism is especially bad for them.

Re: Liberty

[dialecticdreamer]

WIC is marginally better than not having it. Here, everything is incredibly regional, so one food bank might have nothing but canned goods and pork sausage, while another in the next city over is supplied by the local farmer's market and is 90% fresh fruit and veg, and more than half of it is organic.

Re: Liberty

[ysabetwordsmith]

It would be much more helpful to have a network of places that offer food or other services, so people could find what they need. And require all of them to have at least some things available for special dietary needs, which tends to make food half again or twice as expensive.

Re: Liberty

[dialecticdreamer]

Only one food bank that I have used in the last forty years had true choice. It was run like a supermarket, with a budget of points based on household size and the ages of kids. So, I took my "points" and shopped for grains, dry beans, canned goods, meats, fish, junk food, fresh fruit and veg, frozen fruit, veg, sometimes frozen pizzas, nuts, oil, flour, sugar, yeast, baking soda, et cetera. Really, truly like a grocery store in a space the size of an average living room.

One patron I knew made it a ritual to come in once per day to spend 1/30th of her points for the month. I had transport issues, so I would go on once a month and spend all points, and nobody said a thing.

Most of the food banks offer "choice" as take it or don't. You can't request something else, either. So I have to leave the milk, cheese, yoghurt, anything with cheese or dairy IN it, including things like breaded fish fillets.

Simply changing more food banks to the same kind of points system would help TREMENDOUSLY for those with allergies. One of the staff was connected to a university nutritionist program, and would help someone shop with their points to find foods that met their needs. I've been studying nutrition for myself and my family's needs for a very long time, but that would've been incredibly helpful the first year of dealing with my milk allergy.

Especially when I needed food banks regularly, I discovered that they were also limited by one's address, only serving part of an area. Which means that if there's only one yes-no food bank in the area, people with special dietary restrictions are even more reliant on SNAP and WIC, IF they qualify.

Re: Liberty

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Only one food bank that I have used in the last forty years had true choice. It was run like a supermarket, with a budget of points based on household size and the ages of kids. <<

I've seen that kind occasionally, and I agree it is among the best.

Ours is kind of a hodgepodge but it works pretty well.

* You can tell them stuff you're allergic to or otherwise can't use and they'll leave it out.

* They have a standard box of food items that most people can use, but you can leave out things from there if you won't use them.

* There's also a short list of things, both food and non-food, that they'll ask whether you want, like toilet paper and tampons. Usually there is a frozen meat of some sort.

* Then there's random stuff they'll ask if you want, like sometimes they get big bags of potatoes.

* There's a shelf where you can pick out an extra item per person.

* Finally, there's a table in the waiting area where they dump all the perishable donations, like day-old bread or garden produce, where people can take whatever they want.


>> Most of the food banks offer "choice" as take it or don't. You can't request something else, either. <<

I'm not sure it's on the books, but at ours, if someone has to leave out a bunch of things then they usually try to find some replacements.


>> Simply changing more food banks to the same kind of points system would help TREMENDOUSLY for those with allergies. <<

I agree.

Another effective approach is one that I've seen at a few food pantries and bargain-buyer programs. It's a bit like My Diet boxes in Terramagne where you state your theme and someone will set up a box for you based on that. So you don't have to hunt and peck to customize a "standard" box for your needs. Angel Food used to have a standard box, a gluten-free box (that was mostly breaded things and box mixes), sometimes a specialty box like Latin Kitchen or Grilling, etc. I still miss them.

>> One of the staff was connected to a university nutritionist program, and would help someone shop with their points to find foods that met their needs. I've been studying nutrition for myself and my family's needs for a very long time, but that would've been incredibly helpful the first year of dealing with my milk allergy.<<

That is so awesome. Hey, it never hurts to have an expert on staff even if all you do is swap news. I suspect that T-American food banks usually have at least one staffer with some sort of food-related credential so that they can make sure the food handouts are well-balanced and special dietary needs can be accommodated.


>> Especially when I needed food banks regularly, I discovered that they were also limited by one's address, only serving part of an area.<<

That sucks.

In our area, it's based on postal address. Whatever town you're listed as, you can tap their resources from food banks to free mulch. All you have to do is bring in a bill or other official mail with your address on it. And heck, the mulch yard doesn't even bother to check that. This is probably because we're a rural area and so many folks don't live in town.

>> Which means that if there's only one yes-no food bank in the area, people with special dietary restrictions are even more reliant on SNAP and WIC, IF they qualify.<<

That's so bad here, you waste more time trying to get or keep qualification than the piddly amount of money you get. It used to be better but has greatly declined. :( At the same time, the restrictions greatly increased so that people couldn't buy what they needed. SNAP is bad but WIC is so awful people just don't want to use it. WIC doesn't just restrict what you can buy but also the sizes. >_<

But some places have other programs. I've seen good ones (and bad ones) at farmer's markets. One nearby uses tokens instead of cash, where if you buy with SNAP, you get twice the tokens. Super useful.

I heartily encourage you to prompt for this in the February fishbowl, because the theme is a great match, and I have at least a couple of food banks already established, one of which is in the very popular Hanson Hall. And I'm sure that some of my characters like Shiv and Turq have seen both good and bad examples that they could discuss.

Re: Liberty

[dialecticdreamer]

You keep mentioning the SNAP money doubling at certain farmers' markets. One of the California farmer's markets did this, too.

But here's one way that the "safety net" is more like a safety tightrope: one can be well within the monthly/yearly income limits for SNAP --BUT-- not qualify because there's more than 2K in savings. So, one can be saving for a car to have a better chance to get jobs that pay more than minimum wage... but doing so means that they don't qualify for SNAP (or WIC, last time I checked), which is a HUGE problem.

Finding gaps like that isn't usually done systematically; some hapless person FALLS through the gap and then has to scramble to keep themselves afloat.

Re: Liberty

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>You keep mentioning the SNAP money doubling at certain farmers' markets. One of the California farmer's markets did this, too.<<

That's good to hear.

>> But here's one way that the "safety net" is more like a safety tightrope: one can be well within the monthly/yearly income limits for SNAP --BUT-- not qualify because there's more than 2K in savings.<<

That's deliberate. It's one of many provisions designed to keep people poor.

>> So, one can be saving for a car to have a better chance to get jobs that pay more than minimum wage... but doing so means that they don't qualify for SNAP (or WIC, last time I checked), which is a HUGE problem.<<

If they really wanted to help, they would provide a saving program for things needed to get someone back on their feet. You need a home address and a car to function in mainstream life, for instance. So saving for those things should be exempt. The system is just so abusive that lots of people avoid it, much like people would rather sleep under a bridge than be abused by a homeless shelter.

Re: Liberty

[dialecticdreamer]

I did find ONE program through a bank, meant for working poor (same income limits as SNAP, etc.) BUT
- the person must be working to qualify, and it's a matched-savings program.
- it is NOT an exception to the benefits qualifications, so blam, 2K cutoff hits EARLIER.
- the specific qualifications are set by the bank, which again excludes anyone who cannot work for reasons of disability, rather than available McJobs.

ETA: Such a savings partnership program would be PERFECT for Liberty. PLEASE don't let me forget that when prompting rolls around!!!
So, if it were a temporary setback due to unemployment, the program would work wonderfully to keep someone from sliding from "temporarily poor" to "totally effed by the multiple systems involved."

It's like once you hit the wrong chute, you're not deposited at the beginning of the Chutes and Ladders game, but three or four boards BELOW the official game.

Re: Liberty

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> I did find ONE program through a bank, meant for working poor (same income limits as SNAP, etc.) BUT <<

Which requires that the bank likes them enough to give them an account, and that they haven't been abused to the point of avoiding banks, or even that just prefer a credit union.

>> - the person must be working to qualify, and it's a matched-savings program.<<

Which not only lets out everyone who isn't able or allowed to work, it also creates opportunity for abuse if they don't dare leave their job.

>> - it is NOT an exception to the benefits qualifications, so blam, 2K cutoff hits EARLIER.<<

That makes it worse than useless.

>> - the specific qualifications are set by the bank, which again excludes anyone who cannot work for reasons of disability, rather than available McJobs.<<

0_o

One of the best descriptions of humans that I've seen came from an alien in fanfic:
"As Scorpius understands it, pity is an addictive emotional state for most of the Human species. Finding someone to pity and keeping them pitiable is very important to certain Humans, mostly those in power or in the medical fields. Those Humans not only want to feel the sensation of pity, but have a compulsive need to be needed. It's more important for them get a fix than to fix things."

>> ETA: Such a savings partnership program would be PERFECT for Liberty. PLEASE don't let me forget that when prompting rolls around!!! <<

Do you want me to hold onto that as your prompt? Or the food pantry one? *ponder* I might be able to fit both into one poem, but I'm not sure.

>> So, if it were a temporary setback due to unemployment, the program would work wonderfully to keep someone from sliding from "temporarily poor" to "totally effed by the multiple systems involved." <<

There are a handful of programs designed to prevent that kind of slide, but not many.

>> It's like once you hit the wrong chute, you're not deposited at the beginning of the Chutes and Ladders game, but three or four boards BELOW the official game.<<

Yeah, America's caste system is a problem. Thing is, rich people are like predators. It's a pyramid. They require a vast supply of poor people in order to be rich.

And they never, in all of history, figure out that if a castle can hold against 10:1 odds, the moment 11:1 people hate you, then you're doomed.

Re: Liberty

[dialecticdreamer]

After being born disabled, I've spent a LOT of years in frustration. (Tally up about 20% of fifty years for an estimate.) I consider myself lucky that only a LITTLE of that frustration has turned into bitterness.

But that's not true for everyone. People can run out of hope, patience, or confidence at different rates. When all the tanks are empty, what fills the vacuum? Bitterness, envy, resentment... NONE of which build UP the society, or the person going through it all.

As for the prompt... Pick one. I'd be happy with either, so choose whichever appeals the most.

Re: Liberty

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>After being born disabled, I've spent a LOT of years in frustration. (Tally up about 20% of fifty years for an estimate.) I consider myself lucky that only a LITTLE of that frustration has turned into bitterness.<<

I'm most prone to bitterness when I get dragged to events I don't want to attend, and I'm stuck with people I don't want to be around, watching them have fun, when I'm miserable. Why should they get to have an event tailored to their tastes, and people they want to spend time with, and I don't? Fuck that.

>> But that's not true for everyone. People can run out of hope, patience, or confidence at different rates. When all the tanks are empty, what fills the vacuum? Bitterness, envy, resentment... NONE of which build UP the society, or the person going through it all.<<

Well reasoned.

>>As for the prompt... Pick one. I'd be happy with either, so choose whichever appeals the most.<<

I've printed off both. :D

Re: Liberty

[dialecticdreamer]

OOH, an upcoming surprise! Thank you!

Re: Liberty

[see_also_friend]

>>I don't know what next year's themes will be, but something should fit.<<

Since the world's a mess, how about "Fix what's broken?"

>>Also, look at how scarily well it worked in local-America, and then imagine how much more it would work with actual superpowers.<<

The Hunger Games is a brilliant example of hoe American racism was invented...I have a rant on that. One of these days I should type it up.

>>So passing down through stubborn people, generations later you might just have a handful of average biases.<<

Maybe it's possible to redirect parts of the bindings at themselves? Frex, if we have "be obedient" and "hate other races" could you hack at the latter by, say, becoming a follower of an activist or joining a peace-and-love church? Also, what happens if your leader orders you to work on independence and self-improvement and you obediently do so?

>>However, you also have to account for how society reinforces that imprint. A partial one might be increased through institutionalized abuses.<<

Compare with how stuff like abuse, mental illness, and general personality cycle through families.

Re: Liberty

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> The Hunger Games is a brilliant example of hoe American racism was invented...I have a rant on that. One of these days I should type it up.<<

Go for it!

>>Maybe it's possible to redirect parts of the bindings at themselves? Frex, if we have "be obedient" and "hate other races" could you hack at the latter by, say, becoming a follower of an activist or joining a peace-and-love church? <<

Possibly?

>> Also, what happens if your leader orders you to work on independence and self-improvement and you obediently do so? <<

That should work. At least, it works with most magical bindings, so it should work with psionic ones. It's not necessarily comfortable, though -- when imperatives cross each other, that causes friction.

>>Compare with how stuff like abuse, mental illness, and general personality cycle through families.<<

True, and this issue feeds right into those.

Re: Liberty

[see_also_friend]

>>That should work. At least, it works with most magical bindings, so it should work with psionic ones.<<

That sounds like a possible avenue to explore, storywise, and especially since there is real-world data that can be used for research. I think it will be interesting!

>>It's not necessarily comfortable, though -- when imperatives cross each other, that causes friction.<<

Well, most things that complicated/ingrained aren't easy, though I imagine anyone trying to change will already be at a stage where the bindings are detrimentally chafing.

Look at The Best of Enemies - he didn't come around until he had a whole mutual respect thing with his nemesis, and that only came around because they had enough in common that she was helping to protect his family from stuff the rich folks (and rich white folks who were 'supposed' to be his leaders) didn't care about or really even notice.

Re: Liberty

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Well, most things that complicated/ingrained aren't easy, though I imagine anyone trying to change will already be at a stage where the bindings are detrimentally chafing.<<

Anyone for whom it truly doesn't fit will chew at it obsessively like an animal trying to escape a trap. It's just that most people aren't that wild.

Plus of course, anyone with farmemory should be able to ooze around it. Also, the stronger your personality and memories, the stronger the burn-in gets as you force traits to manifest regardless of what the blueprint says.

>> Look at The Best of Enemies - he didn't come around until he had a whole mutual respect thing with his nemesis, and that only came around because they had enough in common that she was helping to protect his family from stuff the rich folks (and rich white folks who were 'supposed' to be his leaders) didn't care about or really even notice.<<

True.

Re: Liberty

[see_also_friend]

>>It's just that most people aren't that wild.<<

I suspect that most people would go along with it, a smaller group would have one point that doesn't fit, and then only a very few would go against most/all of the bindings.

Re: Liberty

[ysabetwordsmith]

That makes sense, and would contribute to an ever-widening range of manifestations as different parts of the pattern broke and mixed together.

Plus of course, the slavers' tendency to kill visible rebels contributed to people not doing that.