Fic: Observations, Ch 3
As is our habit, Nyota accompanied me to my quarters.
"Do people ever surprise you?" she asked as the door shut behind us.
"Daily. The rules under which human emotions operate differs so greatly from the tenets of Vulcan logic that I often find myself unable to comprehend human thought and action. However, humans tend to establish certain patterns of action, habits and personality traits, which allows me to anticipate some behaviors, though the principles guiding them, if they exist, are beyond any form of logic."
She smiled and sat down beside me. "No, I meant, do you ever think you know everything about a person, and then they do something unexpected?"
"No. I am rarely able to map the entirety of an individual human’s routines and character. Even then, a person who is completely predictable seems to be an anomaly among humans and, according to psychological studies of your species, a sign of mental illness. Some degree of the eccentric and unorthodox is considered to be necessary.”
A most perplexing quality, as those who fall on the opposite end of the spectrum are considered to be unsound as well.
“You are the only person with whom I have developed a significant relationship. Thus far, I make no claims as to knowing every aspect of you. Your behavior is familiar, but neither predictable nor unexpected."
“So, Dr. Spock, do you give me a clean bill of health?”
Her eyes were bright and laughing. I only nodded, right eyebrow raised.
She gave me a brief kiss. She often does this when we are together in private, and something I say or do effects her emotionally.
"Did this experience occur to you today?"
"Yes. In a good way."
"I would not be averse to listening to an account."
"Piqued your curiosity, have I?" she smiled, the expression generous and free. "I think I'll keep this to myself, for now. I want to make sure it's not a fluke."
"If you so desire. May I inquire, however, as to the identity of the individual who has surprised you?"
"The captain."
I had not anticipated that answer. Nyota laughed at my apparent surprise.
"That's exactly what I felt, too. But James Tiberius Kirk is nothing, if not unpredictable," she said wryly. "I promise I'll tell you about it later. I just need to think a little about this."
"Does this mean that you have changed your opinion of him?"
"Not yet. But ... do you remember the first time you studied pre-warp English?"
I nodded.
"Of all the languages on Earth, I thought pre-warp E was the worst. The underlying grammar has almost no structure compared to some other languages, there are ten thousand exceptions for every rule, it relies heavily on word order to convey meaning. Its origins and evolution are equally convoluted. On top of that, a substantial amount of the communication is actually done through voice inflection, facial expression, and body language."
"All human languages still depend heavily on non-verbal cues, Nyota. However, I do recall your frustration. The difficulty you had grasping the language was unusual among humans. Many of the students find pre-warp English to be much more familiar than, for example, Romulan, or any of the other alien languages we studied. The Federation's Standard has its origins in that language."
"I think," she paused. "It was the fact that it was so utterly pliant. Pre-warp E is one of the best examples of the dominance of descriptive grammar. The speakers dictate the rules, they change the meaning of words based on use, they essentially are able to create their own grammatical structures--and the language lets them."
"Which provides the reason why you excelled in languages more closely related to Hellenic Greek, standard Klingon, modern Vulcan. And fare very poorly with most of dialects of Orion."
"Exactly. Languages that are rigid, with specific and well defined words--such languages allow for incredible precision in expression."
Frequently in our conversations, Nyota abruptly begins to speak on a new topic, seemingly unrelated to the previous, or current, matter of discussion. She does not do it to simply change the subject. There is a common thread that ties it together. I find it puzzling, however, that a woman who is able to deftly absorb carefully constructed, highly grammatical languages has an extremely circuitous thought process. Just as my mother. She appreciated and gained an understanding of the Vulcan disciplines of logic, yet she herself never was able to fully implement them. I am unsure as to whether she failed because of inherent differences between the human and Vulcan brains, or because she did not desire the successful application.
"Nyota, what commonalities exist between your experience grasping pre-warp English and you opinion of the captain?"
Another pause. Watching Nyota craft a sentence, one that will capture the idea she wishes to communicate, is fascinating. I rarely see humans put so much thought into what they say.
"I went back and looked at some of the old literature and poetry of the time. I'm not sure why I did it, but I flipped through the textbook, and read through my old notes again. This time, I saw details that I missed. The flexibility of pre-warp E is its greatest weakness, but also its greatest strength. It gives incredible power to the speaker, who can use, or misuse, the language. But it also places a responsibility on the listener. They must interpret the message correctly, draw upon other knowledge to judge the truth and motives behind the speaker's words.
"It occurred to me that Jim might be the same way. All of his actions can be interpreted in the broadest possible way. You can make what you want of him-- you can make him a hero, you can make a delinquent. Some of the crew think the captain is their best friend, some of us can't stand him. And while he's aware of all this, he doesn't bother to correct our interpretations. He simply acts, he responds by giving exactly what is required of him."
"You have known the captain for longer than I have known him, and have had an ample amount of time to observe and analyze him. I was under the impression that you had formed all your conclusions. Yet all of these thoughts, which indicate a willingness to reevaluate your current opinion, were brought about by a single incident?"
She laughed. "Amazing, isn't it?"
Before I could engage her further in the conversation, she retrieved my lute and produced some Terran sheet music.
"Enough about work. Did you get a chance to look at the Bach I sent you? It has many similarities with the Sh'elath piece you played two days ago. The counterpoint that Bach develops in this seventh measure is brilliant, it reminded me of the twentieh makaam, right here."
The remainder of the time was spent on music, on Bach and Sh’elath. Nyota confessed that unlike her preference in language, in music she favored genres that allowed for improvisation, irregular rhythms, and dissonant sounds. Her favorite form of music is actually singing-she is quite adept at creating her own songs, complete with lyrics, melody, and harmony.
“Someday we’ll listen to Ella Fitzgerald and jazz singers of the Harlem Renaissance,” she promised. “You’ll love it.”
I raised an eyebrow at the word choice.
“It’s that good,” she smiled, and kissed me again.
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