Neko Girl Cultural Exchange (Catsfern and Las Palmeras only)

[Catsfern]

In Catsfern
"You mean the Grand Admiral? for him its surprisingly whats basically office drama." The general says with a slight chuckle. "You see the way the navy is arranged Admirals lead Armadas made up of smaller fleets lead by Commodores. Admirals and Commodores are personally assigned fleets or armadas to command by the Grand Admiral. This puts the Grand admiral in an interesting position of trying to group Admirals and Commodores together that actually get along and can actually work together without bickering"

In Las Palmeras
Oldhall was familiar with the use of color to help covey a scenes emotions, such things were common in film and theatre. "you said this is a traditional play right, how much has the screenplay changed over the ages?"

Morgan was meanwhile mentally noting down the similarities between the play and the real history of old fashioned court romances. He thought that realistically the scribe and the noblewomen's marriage would have been a political one rather than one with any real love involved, then again this is a different culture so maybe he was wrong, so he decided to ask about it later.

[Las Palmeras]

In Catsfern
"Haha, I'd have expected more inter-service rivalry instead of intra-service rivalry. Our nation's an island, so it's the Army the one that's the runt of the litter: the Air Force and the Navy get more attention." After a pause, she continued: "All right, for question number two...as you may know, the people in my land have a very unequal sex ratio. Women were always forced to do jobs that traditionally fell to men elsewhere. And well, designs for vehicles in our armed forces often have ergonomics in mind. Comfort, that is, for our height and lifting abilities. How has the mingling of men and women in your military affected this?"

In Las Palmeras
Tepka was a bit vexed over yet another question, but they sucked up the slight disturbance and rationalized that it was unfair to leave strangers in the dark; after all, she could always get the chance to see more plays. "For a while, the prose wasn't translated directly because the lines were poesy with a certain amount of syllables. But since 60 years, there's been a revival of the traditional form. So that's why some things that seem melodic, suddenly turn abrupt. It's not like Opera in that sense."

A scene of the scribe confronting his workplace rival after being caught red-handed embracing his older lover flared up in intensity, as the scenery turned red. The story's protagonist paces kept up with those of drums and his contorted face relayed a stylistically exaggerated anger. The two men began to mimic each other as they drew short swords. But, the the surprise of Morgan and Oldhall, they stopped fighting and sheathed their weapons in a rather anti-climactic manner, now sending praise to one another while still sizing each other up.

[Catsfern]

In Catsfern
"Comfort has never been the top priority of military design in Catsfern regardless of gender. That being said the mixing of men and women has caused a few design changes in gear. Chest armor has added space and support for the breasts, weapons were designed to better compensate recoil, and vehicle seats had more cushions added. Aside from that a few new items had to be added to the average soldiers kit. Tampons, pads, and other such feminine hygiene products. You wanna guess how long after women were allowed in military for condoms to become standard issue? Three months, only three months."

in Las Palmeras
Oldhall was a tad disappointed, if this play were to be adapted for a Catsfernian audience the scene would have had an injury or not a death, but she supposed different cultural sensibilities played into things. She nodded in agreement with the comparison to opera, as she began memorizing as much of the play as she could. with a few tweaks this storyline could catch on back home.

Morgan meanwhile was wondering if such duels were a common form of political posturing in the time the play was written, a way to size each other up and both come out looking like stronger and more proper people. This was another question he'd save for later.

[Las Palmeras]

In Catsfern
"I see", said García, " I always forget that we Palmerans, we Tohorinese, seem to be the exception and not the rule to such a conundrum. The segregation of work-spaces has always been the norm, even in the military. And along with it, the design of things, geared to be small and light, but with modest firepower. Ahaha...but enough about our people, what else is there to say about Catsfern? I know! Would you say your armed forces make extensive use of computers?"

In Las Palmeras
Montse could tell that her guests were either captivated by curiosity or unsure of what they were witnessing, but she was confident that both Morgan and Oldhall were at the very least entertained.

Meanwhile, the play continued, and the lighting switched back to more banal colors as the scene was changed to one of Tohatshi laboriously attentive to his scrolls and stamps. In poetic prose, he mused over his lot in life, successful but unhappy. Then, out of nowhere, the lighting changed back to the intense as a door slammed in Tohatshi's studies, it was his rival, Nopero, accompanied by his soon-to-be Father-in-Law, clearly enraged as could be seen by makeup that emphasized furrowed brows and scowls. The young bureaucrat was the first to unsheathe his small sword, and Nopero soon mirrored this response as his would-be in-law pointed: Tohatshi's affair with his mentor was discovered, and now, his fiancé's family was offended. A battle ensued between Tohatshi and Nopero, more intense and ferocious than the previous one. The one-sided blades shone on as the two actors swung and slashed at each-other in a choreographed manner. The drum-beat got faster and faster as if it were imitating the heart-beat of the bureaucrat, whom struggled to pick up the pace. Then, out of nowhere, silence : Tohatshi was struck by Nopero and his clear robes turned red, the hero collapsed.

[Catsfern]

In Catsfern
The general smiled "oh yes definitely, mostly for targeting and navigation purposes. we don't have any on base right now, but we have these big trucks that carry four guided missiles on the back that can target a location without even being in sight of it by using a global positioning program. We also have fully automated drones that when activated can take off, bomb a predetermined location, and land all on its own."

In Las Palmeras
Oldhall looks surprised and lightly gasps "wow your old playwrights had balls, not many creatives have the guts to kill off the main protagonist. also love the detail of the drum beats picking up pace like a heartbeat. If this gets adapted back in Catsfern that's staying in."

Morgan meanwhile had a different thought in mind "were political murders common back in your country's history, or this this just for added drama?"

[Las Palmeras]

In Catsfern
García went straight to the point with the next question: "For how long has Catsfern's military made use of computers? How many generations?"

In Las Palmeras
Montserrat smiled lightly at the commentary, it was a rare gesture by her part, considering how much she has a tendency to armor herself behind a façade of absolute expressionless warrior-like calm. The small crescent on her face turned into a grin, revealing her fangs; however, by then, the Prince's personal helper had only nodded.

The play continued on with a tone that had sardonic hints as a matter-of-fact narrator as he described Nopero's luxurious wedding, his doting in-laws, his beautiful wife, his beaming new promotion and bright future. The oddly upbeat voice then turned to Tohatshi's funeral a scene later; it was a traditional burial for the elite, with the body being slowly cremated inside a thin wooden coffin. The lighting effects made it clear that the event transpired throughout the night, with few of the disgraced Tohatshi's family and friends attending, though the most notable attendant was his wailing lover, Lady Fukazuho. At the end of the scene in dawn, she walked down a lonely road and was surprised by a highwayman...whom was none other than Tohatshi, bowing down and showing her a bota-bag he opened which spilled dyed water. The pair then embraced lovingly before walking away, his bag heaving around to the noise of rustling coins: the implication being that Nopero had sold him off and the two staged the battle. With that, the lights got dark and the story ended. Incidentally, the troupe did not say goodbyes, that wasn't the custom.

Monste turned to the two and revealed something: "In this genre, tragic endings are expected. This play stands out because it has a happy finale."

[Catsfern]

In Catsfern
"Well computer integration into military equipment started in the early 1980's with some basic target locators, but tech advanced quickly so were on to our third generation of computer tech. we've had some ideas for a fourth gen of tech, automated droids replacing foot soldiers for example, but robotics and programming that intricate is expensive. We have the tech to make it possible, just not economical."

In Las Palmeras
Oldhall was laughing a bit to herself "ah the old switcheroo, not a bad ending all and all, but I think I would have preferred him just actually have been dead. then again i suppose back in the day that's exactly what the audience would be expecting thus making the ending quite a pleasant surprise."

[Las Palmeras]

In Catsfern
García processed the General's answer. It was an odd reply, so she asked for more clarification: "They are a larger investment than a generation of flesh-and-blood soldiers? I admit, I'm kinda surprised by that."

In Las Palmeras
As the three were getting up from their seats, Tepka nodded at Oldhall's conclusion: "Yes, you are correct. This genre of dramas seldom had any particularly favorable resolutions for their protagonists; furthermore, this play is notable because it subverted the expectations of family and class over pure egotistical emotion. It may be a thing of romantic comedies now, but in the past, such an action was nearly inconceivable."

As they exited the cultural theater, the Prince and his staff were waiting around, their black cars stationed. Any hint of relaxation in Ms. Tajique disappeared as she went back to the icy persona and promptly slid behind her future sovereign the moment the three neared him. Charles glanced at the Catsfernians with a wide grin: "Mr. Morgan, I'm pleased to inform you that you have your audience with His Highness tomorrow at mid-day."

[Catsfern]

In Catsfern
"in Catsfern AI have citizenship rights, and any robotic soldier would require just as much pay if not more than a flesh and blood one, plus there's the cost of actually building the robots which we've calculated to be more expensive than outfitting a flesh and blood soldier. there are savings in the fact that we wouldn't have to feed the robots, but that is counteracted by maintenance costs for said robots. All in all from a pure economic standpoint the traditional flesh and blood soldier is just slightly less costly than an AI soldier. there are some ways AI is involved in the army though, we have been investing in AI controlled guns on aircraft and vehicles"

in Las Palmeras
Morgan steps forward visibly excited "this is excellent news, though I'm certain president Eden would want to be here himself, id like to send a message to any staff you have at the portal to have President Eden informed post haste so he can come as well, that is so long as the king would be willing to meet with him as well"