> > Actually it would be two Eastern cultures clashing, if you consider modern sensibilities. Liu Xi likely looks up to Chiaki as an example, since Chiaki comes from the most similar culture - and Chiaki is strong, independent, irrepressible, and impossible to push around, while still being polite, friendly and while she denies it, somewhat heroic.
>
> It's a reflection that Liu Xi might want to have "on screen" sometime. On the one hand, her "grandfather" is filling a void she must have had in her disrupted and somewhat lonely life, offering all those family belonging/protection moments she's never had. On the other, the price he demands for it is that she surrenders up the contemporary and Western perspectives she's been exposed to.
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Liu Xi also remembers that her family sold her. So she's generally suspicious toward them anyway.
> > Though because of that, Lara will most likely let him go about his business and watch quietly until he does something to justify the 'creepy' vibe.
>
> Then she gets to live.
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Would the Carnifex really kill her over a few questions? Lara is extremely unlikely to crash into his place and fight him. She might ask questions or disagree with him but it would be civil. After all, she recognizes him as one of the Parodyverse's cosmic forces, and since he's "creepy" but seemingly sane, she's not going to fight him over anything.
> > In this case, Lara probably recognized the constant Shee-Yar escalation every time they've been defeated by the Lair Legion, and their obsession with destroying Earth. It's quite simple to "do the math" at that point - sooner or later, the Shee-Yar would get some kind of edge and destroy Earth.
>
> Actually, I think the Shee-Yar has only ever been aggressive against Earth twice before this, when they and many of the star-empires were under the control of Lord Resolution, who had an ability to lock into a genetic obedience code designed by the Celestians into almost all life, and when they were enslaved as part of the Parody Master's dominion and troops had to fight because their homeworlds were hostage for teir endeavours.
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But they don't take defeat well, and they are fairly advanced and war-like. That's not a good combo.
> > That's why Lara, while she might not like the solution the Carnifex had, she might reluctantly agree with it. The currently Lair Legion strategy with the dangerous Shee-Yar was to occasionally defeat them somehow and then turn a blind eye to their military advancement until they tried to hit Earth again. Lara sees that as an unsound strategy, because sooner or later it'll be too late. Of course, that's where Lara's biggest fault comes into play - she doesn't really have the heart to do drastic "necessary" things like wiping out an empire.
>
> It's the classic situation of picking on a big bully and flattening him to warn others to back off and not disturb you.
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That's something Lara never really managed to do unless *really* pushed into it. She sees it as a fault, but ironically it's why Shema chose her - because being proactive can be dangerous as well.
> I'm looking forward eventually to chronicling the effects of the sudden removal of arguably the most powerful remaining local galactic civilisation. There's certainly going to be some territory-grabbing, but it also opens the way for us to introduce new races from the space on the far side of Shee-Yar territory. We need some new star-faring villains anyhow.
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I thought of doing something like that once, but then I worried it might upset the balance of the Parodyverse.
> > Chiaki never needs to lie - the truth hurts more, after all. And if someone asks her a question she doesn't want to answer, she just ignores it.
> > She might make excuses in certain cases though, that aren't lies. For instance instead of "we're rifling through your files" she could have said "I needed to use your computer" and dispense with the detail.
>
> Evading his questions probably isn't the way to get Graham's co-operation.
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Chiaki doesn't evade questions, she just doesn't answer them. Vicky and Jack have dealt with that a few times.
