Discovering the differences. Part 1

The general premise here is that there are two Galactic societies - Earth and the Dominion. The Earth Federation has only been in existence for 200 years, since they found out how to create Faster Than Light engines. It covers a very small globe of space, based around the Solar System as the core. The Dominium has been around for thousands of years, and covers vast areas of space.
The point of First Contact was only 15 years ago, and it passed with no great event - no war was declared, nobody died. The Dominium leader, the Empress, is an intensely private person, and very little about her is known by any Earth agencies. The Earth President, on the other hand, is a very public figure. The two have never met, and it has been left to the assortment of ambassadors and political eorganisations to deal with the day-to-day workings of both territories.
The two groups have established a loose set of liaisons. Various people are assigned to talk to each other, across the divide. But it fails. Time after time, talks start and then just fizzle. Nobody can get to grips with what is being proposed, and nobody is capable of creating solutions. Thousands of people, from both sides, spend every hour of every day trying to get relations moving, but they fail, every time. This cycle is repeated, year after year, frustrating both sides.
During the the time that the two groups had been identified to each other, technology had changed quite a bit. So many people had so many ideas, and the exchange between the parties was extraordinary. One major discovery was using controlled black holes, in laboratory conditions. It was found that two tiny black holes could be ‘connectd’ and that communication between people could be sent from one, to arrive at the other in a microsecond. It had been discovered by chance and nobody really knew how it worked - only that it did. It meant that a phone call could be had between people who were literally tens of light years apart. The time lag was virtually impossible to notice.

In spite of all of this happening, trillions of people across all of the planets continued with their day to day events - they lived and died, went to work, got the kids to school, and much, much more.

So Philip Kingston is sat at his desk, headset on, working through the list of computer systems calls that have been recently raised.
There are software issues, in a number of different components, in different systems.
There are hardware issues, where people say 'My computer isn't working.' and other really helpful descriptions.
Philip has been doing this role for enough years to spot the clients that are taking him for a ride, and those that are good to work with, but don't have a clue about what is happening. They are all users, and Philip has seen them all, which is why he has made his reputation as being truly reliable.
He investigates, and he fixes. His office is part of the buildings that house the Ambassador Group for the Earth planets. He has been in this role for 10 years, and he enjoys it. He is left alone, and he is very good at what he does.
The fact that he has been working the night shift suited him down to the ground. He is a friendly enough person, but he likes the night time because it's quiet. He is good with his own company. There are no ambassadors or their staff around, and he can comfortably focus on the work.
He clocks in at midnight, takes a brief handover, reads through the outstanding issues raised, and proceeds to systematically work through them. He rarely gets any phone calls or emails overnight, as everyone else is asleep.

So it came as a small surprise when the phone for the Centre rang. As Philip was just starting his break, he wondered who it could be, at this crazy time, but he answered it.
"Good morning. This is IT Support. My name is Philip Kingston. How may I help you?"
He waited, but there was silence on the phone.
"Hello" he said, in a gentle tone. Maybe the person was scared...?
Eventually, a soft female voice said "Philip. Hello." and then went silent again.
Philip sensed something was up. He stopped what he was doing, and focused on the call. Was it someone nervous, frightened...?
"Hi, this is Philip. If you are nervous about the call, don't be. Relax, and take it easy, and start at the beginning. Breathe slowly. Do you have a computing problem, and if so just walk it through to me."
There was silence, and he said "If it makes you any happier, can I take a name, and where you are calling from?"
More silence, and slowly "My name is..." and there was a definite pause, as if she couldn't decide what to say. "Elena."
Another pause, then "I know this is going to sound...odd, but can I tell you where I am from a little later?"
By now, Philip was paying complete attention. He began to realise that this was not a regular call. She sounded confused, possible scared, definitely stressed, so he continued with the phone call. "Elena, my name is Philip. I don't know why you are calling me, if it's not an IT-related issue, but you now have my attention. I want you to know that whatever you might say to me tonight is between just you and me. Nobody else needs to get involved. I am currently on my break for the next few minutes, and I am alone. That means you can talk to me freely, and be sure that nobody is overhearing. Where are you, at the moment - are you alone?"
Another slight pause, then "Yes, I am alone. Thank you Philip, for your kind words. I am sorry to be bothering you at such a crazy time where you are."
"Elena, please don't apologise. It is nice to hear another voice, even if it is a crazy time." He chuckled, and smiled, even though he knew Elena couldn't see him.
Another slight pause, then "Philip, I didn't know who to call, so I rang the Ambassador's number, just to see who might be there."
"Oh dear" he smiled. "I am afraid they are all out. Elena, I am no politican, or ambassador, or even part of the complex security services. I don't know what they do, and to be honest I don't want to. I am a computer technician. I fix things that are broken, or arrange upgrades. Being here overnight is great for me because there is nobody to interrupt me - and before you jump in with another apology, I don't mean you. Like I said, it's nice to sometimes hear another voice."
"Now Elena - what is worrying you? I can tell a little from your voice, you sound stressed, so start small and tell me why you called. Oh, and before you start, remember what I said. Anything that you say to me stays between you and me. Nobody else needs to be involved."
He heard a silence on the call, and began to wonder if he had said too much.
Eventually - "Philip, are you serious? About the call being just you and me? I'm sorry, but there are so many things going on in my world, right now, and I'm... I'm really confused. Most of the time I don't know who I can really trust."
"Elena, it's probably difficult for you, but try to relax, even a little bit. I am someone who prides themselves on honesty. Trust is earned - it develops over time. What you see with me is what you get. Nothing more, nothing less. I have no time for lies, or liers, so I suppose that first of all, I need to know that this isn't some kind of silly joke on your part. You sound tight, wound up, and I don't think even a Grade A actress could create the tension that I am hearing, if it wasn't true, so tell me, Elena, are you and I good? Are we going to be honest with each other, and after that are we going to be secure? Nothing in our conversations will be plastered on Page 1 of any news outlet?"

There was a brief silence, and then laughter. She was laughing!
"Oh Philip, I wish you and I were in the same room. We would probably talk for hours, I’m sure. I'm sorry about the giggles, but where I am from, the people that I have to deal with are not known for relaxing or laughing. It's a tense world that I exist in, and it's nice to be comfortable, even if you are a gazillion miles away."
She stopped, realising that she had said too much.
"Philip, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. About the distance, I mean."
"Elena, what is it going to take for you to stop apologising?" he laughed. "You are too serious. It may be difficult for you to do it, but try to breath slow, and easy. And always remember that this is just you and me. Take a breath, and relax. Please. Now, as to the distance…” he paused. “Hmmm. OK, here's what I am going to do. And we take it slow, OK? Really slow. I want to ask you some questions - and you do not have to answer any of them. And then you ask me some questions. Like I say - we take this really slow. And Elena - if you don't like the question, please do not hang up the call. We have been talking for only a few minutes. I don't know you, and you don't know me. But - let's keep talking, OK?"
There was a quiet "OK." from her.
He was guessing now, but asked "Good. Right. Question one." Here he paused. "Are you from the Dominium?"
There was a definite sharp intake of breath from the other end of the call. It went desperately quiet, and Philip hoped that she was sensible enough to stay on the line.
After what seemed like a long time, there was a quiet “Yes.” followed by “Is that a problem? Please don’t make it a problem…”
“Elena, I wasn’t going to make anything a problem tonight. It’s just you and me. If you like, we are just two old friends, just catching up. I really need you to focus on what we are talking about right now. I am from Earth - but I suppose that you already knew that. You are telling me that you are Dominium. OK. Elena, I am no expert on this - I read and hear things, and know that Earth and the Dominium are having issues on the communication front, but we are not at war. I do not want to start a war with the Dominium, and I really hope that you do not either!”
“Elena, are we good? Are you and I good? We need to both acknowledge this. That you and I are good, and that we are happy to be talking with each other.”
”Oh Philip!” She paused. “You are funny. The idea that we are ‘two old friends…’. That is a lovely idea. If only we could make it so.”
She sounded desperately sad at that last part, and Philip had to wonder what was actually going on in her world.
“Elena, I will make a deal with you. We both know next to nothing about each other, but I would be delighted if we could at least try something new, something different. From my part it won’t amount to much because I am here five nights, each week. I don’t know your world at all so you will have to guide me.” He paused again, wondering if he was fishing too much, too hard. “What would you say if I asked you to ring me up at the same time, each night, while I am on my break at work? We don’t have to expect too much in the first few calls. I know next to nothing of the Dominium, the politics, the power-playing that goes on. I know of nobody important - other than your leader. I think her title is Empress. Do I have that right?”
There was a giggle, and Elena said “Yes, you have that right. That is the title.”
“Good. I see a whole lot of questions from me - if I was ever to meet anyone from the Dominium, how should I behave? What are the protocols? How do I address the various levels of people, for instance? Do I bow, and how far, or do I shake hands, or is there something else that I need to be doing? Do your people hate being stared at - is everyone supposed to avert their gaze? Elena, there are thousands of things that I would trip up on. I say that, because we sometimes have people from the Dominium visiting, and I keep well away, but if I was to meet someone, how am I supposed to handle it? I have no idea! I have a dread of doing something stupid, through ignorance, upsetting everyone, and starting some intergalactic war! That is not a good idea.”
There was a loud laugh from the other end. “Philip. Oh Philip. Such wise words. From what I know of things here, there is very little chance of any terrible wars starting, but you are correct that some people here might get upset. We have too many that are sensitive individuals, and yes, we have power plays all the time. I find it quite boring, most of the time.”
He ventured “Without wanting to know too much, is it a part of your world? Dealing with the politics, the daily grind of treaties and trade routes and more?”
Almost reluctantly she came back with “Yes, I have a daily involvement with that sort of thing. I can’t tell you specifics, but it is the world I live in, day to day.”
“Excellent. Now listen, Elena, and tell me if this could work. If you continue to call me, we can literally take this very slow. You can tell me one point of interest at a time, or we can just talk about the weather where you are, and we will compare notes on the weather where I am. It’s all up for grabs. We make it up as we go along. If we have more conversations, would you be willing to talk me through some of it? Some of the things I could get away with, and the things I absolutely must not do?”
“Like what?”
“Oh I don’t know. Let me think… Say… say you and I met, sometime in the future. It’s some formal party, with Ambassadors all around, political things being talked about. My common sense says I cannot meet you and give you a hug, or a kiss, when we meet for the first time. For all I know a dozen guards would jump on top of me - if I don’t get shot first. Here on Earth, we usually reserve hugs and kisses for close family, or some very close friends. I have two sisters, and a brother, and I always give them all hugs and kisses, but I have known them all my life. There are no people closer to me. The kisses tend to be on the cheeks, not the intimate lip-to-lip kind - that’s for married couples, or people who are not related, but are very close - but the message is clear. These are people very close to me, part of my immediate group. Ha! Imagine if I were to meet your Empress, and did that! ‘Ah, Empress. I am very pleased to meet you’, and then I jump in with hugs and kisses! I doubt I would get out alive. So - all of that, and more.”
She was laughing now. All Philip could hear was full laughter, and it didn’t seem to want to stop. After a few seconds, he tentatively voiced “Elena, are you alright?”
She managed to slow the laughing, a little. “Oh Philip, thank you. That was the best news I have heard in a long time.”
“News? Sorry - what news?”
“That we are going to continue these coversations, a little bit at a time, become your ‘old friend’, and I am going to bring you up to speed on what to do, how to say things, and more importantly, what NOT to do.” She paused. “And perhaps, most important of all, I am going to tell you how to survive. You have made me laugh Philip. I haven’t laughed in a long time - not like that. Thank you. Seriously - that was brilliant!”
He chuckled. “Elena, it was my pleasure.” He looked at the clock. “Look, Elena, I am sorry, but I think I need to go. I actually have some work to do for the next few hours. I have absolutely enjoyed this conversation. Really - I have. It has been what we call a ‘breath of fresh air’. Now, I have a serious question for you. Are you likely to ring me again, same time tomorrow? I suppose if that works for you. I have no idea of your schedules and other pressures. Is this a convenient time for you? I don’t want to put you under any pressure. If it doesn’t work, and you really, really want to continue these chats, then I could give you my private phone, and we could catch up over the weekend? But that’s up to you.”
“Philip, if it is alright with you, then I will try the same time tomorrow. I have a little flexibility in my schedules, so that should work. Perhaps if I could take your phone number, I could let you know if there is a complication. Sometimes I get called out at stupid times, during the day and during the night too.”
He gave his number, and finished by saying “Elena, it has been a pleasure. I mean that, truly. Thank you for the very pleasant distraction, and I look forward to finding out how things work in your world. Nice and slow, nice and easy. If this works, I see us in conversations for some time, but one day at a time. Good night, Elena, and thank you.”
“Good night, Philip. And thank you, too.”

He ended the call, and Philip started to wonder ‘What the hell am I doing?’ with a smile across his face.
Across space, Elena was wondering the same thing, but she got ready for bed, and lay down to sleep, with a smile on her face, for the first time in many years.