dangermousie: (H/B laugh by bluebear_74)
[personal profile] dangermousie
Title: The limitation of knowledge
Fandom: BSG, Helo/Boomer
Disclaimer: Don’t own, don’t profit, blah blah
Spoilers: Nothing for anything that hasn’t aired yet
Summary: The memories have the vividness of dreams and that same disconnect from reality. She remembers but none of it is real.



Sharon isn’t sure how she feels about humans. Not yet. She remembers feeling love for the Chief-moments of bliss that made her feel as if she was made of air, as if she could pilot a Raptor blindfolded, as if she could survive in the vacuum of space. She remembers flying missions with Helo, their training exercises a routine, their patrols more so. She remembers their bond as only a friendship: jokes, and card games, and quick glances on his part when he thought she wasn’t looking, or when he was so tired or drunk or both that he didn’t care if she was. She remembers her initial awe of Adama, and her sharing a bottle with Starbuck, and passing Gaeta in the Mess.

These feelings aren’t hers, they never were, but a separate layer of the other Sharon’s memories is an ever present undercurrent, whispering steadily in the back of her mind. She has learned to separate it out, to let it run parallel and controlled, but the echoes of it still leach past the barrier, blend with self.

The memories have the vividness of dreams and that same disconnect from reality. She remembers but none of it is real.

What she knows is a much smaller pool. She remembers Galen, Starbuck, Adama. Love and friendship and devotion and the comfort of a team. What she knows is the wet of Caprica, seeping inexorably past the protective suit. The taste of blood in her mouth from Six’s elegant fists. The feel of pain from the wound in her shoulder, Adama’s hands around her throat, Starbuck’s gun looming in her face.

What she knows is Helo.

She knows the sound he makes when she bites his lower lip, a half smothered moan into her mouth which does funny things to her knees. She knows what comes after. She knows the smile he gives her when he wakes up for the first time with her in his arms. She knows the pattern of their banter and the texture of their silences. There is a small scar from a half-forgotten training accident on his left shoulder and she spends time on making sure she knows it too. She knows the feel of his child inside her, more than she knows anything else, even herself.

She is an interchangeable unit to everyone. A Cylon model identical to her hundreds of sisters, her mission the only goal in her life. A toaster enemy to be destroyed, wiped out without mercy, no different from the rest. She is interchangeable to everyone but him. He speaks to her and calls her Sharon. He looks at her and sees the woman he loves. She believes she is real and unique and apart because he does.

She knows so little: discomfort and pain and fear. She knows of memories that aren’t real and friends that aren’t hers. She knows the four corners of her cell, and the spare cool metal of her bed, and the ungainly shape of the prison telephone, and the rough threads of the blankets on her cot. She knows of distrust and hate and her otherness that marks her like a brand.

She knows Helo, and love, and the feel of his hands on her skin, and the look in his eyes as he holds her, and it makes it all worthwhile.

Date: 2005-09-23 06:23 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] betareject.livejournal.com
Aww!! this totally sums up how I imagine she would view the world at this point in her life. I'm so glad you explored her thoughts in this way and how she is coping with the memories of her other self and how she feels about him =)

Date: 2005-09-23 06:25 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
Thank you! I think it must be so odd, Cylon or no, to be so far outside of what is normal for your "kind."

Date: 2005-09-23 06:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] betareject.livejournal.com
*G* thats what made this tale to good to (forgot to mention that bit) is that you can really feel her sensations of being a stranger in a strange land ^__^

Date: 2005-09-23 06:29 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
I do wonder about her so: she must really feel for Helo to be willing to betray her own for a group of people that she knows will not trust her and treat her (understandably, on their part) quite awfully.

Date: 2005-09-23 06:37 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] betareject.livejournal.com
yeah thats putting it mildly i mean she sacrificed everything and put herself in enormous risk just to be near him. Man if he has any doubts about her affections for him Helo only needs to consider that to remove his fears...

Date: 2005-09-23 06:43 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
Yes, there is no way anyone can prove their love any better than she has, or actually than he has, either: everyone thinks he is insane for loving a Cylon but he never backs down or apologizes or wavers.

Date: 2005-09-23 06:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] betareject.livejournal.com
Thats what makes me love these two so much is that what they have is so unique and yet no one ever well the characters around them ever pauses to consider this...

Date: 2005-09-23 07:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
Or when they do pause to consider, they are (once again, understandably) freaked out, the way Lee was as in how can Helo love a thing? Because he knows her so well and doesn't see her as a thing, that's why!

Date: 2005-09-23 07:12 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] betareject.livejournal.com
I wonder too if they even consider that this could be the beginning of a new era. I mean though they are at war with teh Cylons themselves Helo and Boomer have created a bridge between two worlds nevermind the role their child is certain to play!

Date: 2005-09-23 07:15 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
Exactly. They can't seem to be able to hide from the Cylons, or run away from them, so they don't have supermany alternatives.

Date: 2005-09-23 06:31 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] repr0b8.livejournal.com
She is interchangeable to everyone but him. He speaks to her and calls her Sharon. He looks at her and sees the woman he loves. She believes she is real and unique and apart because he does.

Beautiful. Thank you for sharing DM. I loved it, I hope you don't mind If I archive a copy for my personal collection on my hard drive.

Date: 2005-09-23 06:32 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
Thank you! I'd be VERY flattered.

Love your icon, btw!

Date: 2005-09-23 06:58 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] weissman.livejournal.com
That was really good, I need a pick me up after listening to the POD cast, ugh! Thanks.

I love these characters so much , I get a kick when someone puts together such a nice piece, and explores Sharon as an indiviudual, again thanks.

Helo and her daughter are her world and thats all she wants to be with Helo and her daughter

Bob W

Date: 2005-09-23 07:03 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
Thank you.

I find Sharon utterly fascinating as a person: what makes her tick, what she thinks of her new life, etc...

Date: 2005-09-23 07:09 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] weissman.livejournal.com
I agree, I haven't had this much emotional investment in a character in more the 17-18 years. Thats why I am a member of HE. Well all want the same thing

Date: 2005-09-23 07:14 pm (UTC)

Date: 2005-09-23 06:59 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] weissman.livejournal.com
Same question I would like to archive a copy

Date: 2005-09-23 07:02 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
Yes of course. (And that goes for anyone who wants to). I'd be very flattered!

Date: 2005-09-23 07:04 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] weissman.livejournal.com
Thanks

after the POD cast any little bit helps

Date: 2005-09-23 07:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] raincitygirl.livejournal.com
This is such a cool way of looking at it. Very affecting, too. Really like this fic!

Date: 2005-09-26 07:43 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] raincitygirl.livejournal.com
Have I mentioned that my favourite part is:

She is interchangeable to everyone but him. He speaks to her and calls her Sharon. He looks at her and sees the woman he loves. She believes she is real and unique and apart because he does.


Because that passage is just gorgeous, not to mention summing up the essence of the relationship in a few short sentences. Helo's love for her is what allowed him to escape Caprica. His love also allows her to transcend her indoctrination and defect, despite the way she's treated in general after defecting. The show in general seems to be thematically all about love and its transformative/redemptive power. Not just romantic love, but love of family and so forth too.

Date: 2005-09-23 07:46 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sabaceanbabe.livejournal.com
That was perfect. Just perfect.

I needed to read this today, what with the spoilers I've read for tonight.

Date: 2005-09-23 07:48 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
Thank you. I read the spoilers too, but being angst-obsessive as I am, I don't mind them.

Date: 2005-09-23 07:53 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sabaceanbabe.livejournal.com
They've actually sparked quite a good conversation over on skiffy, at least where you can dig out the epi discussion from the abu graib discussion. :P

Tonight's ep is one I'm looking forward to in a major way and also dreading. Either way, though, I'm pretty damn sure to love it for the drama.

Date: 2005-09-23 07:56 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
I was reading the [livejournal.com profile] hidden_elysium discussion and I found it really illuminating and fascinating (and I agreed with everything said). I am rather not happy I won't be able to see the ep until Sunday.

Date: 2005-09-23 10:48 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] weissman.livejournal.com
Where are you located. I am getting a tremedious charge that this club literally has people in it from all over the world, US, UK, Austrialia, China, it's wild...

Actually I don't think I will be happy and I am seeing it tonight, in about 3 hrs

Date: 2005-09-23 10:51 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
I am in the US, I am just not going to have T access over the weekend. Oh well :)

Date: 2005-09-26 10:44 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] weissman.livejournal.com
Cool

Bob

Date: 2005-09-23 08:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cassand.livejournal.com
Hi. Great fic. I think you were able to capture the essence of Sharon, and why we find her so fascinating. And yes, it is uplifting considering the podcast and some of the discussions.

Date: 2005-09-23 08:26 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
Thank you so much.

considering the podcast and some of the discussions.

I think I remember reading your opinion on the podcast in [livejournal.com profile] hidden_elysium. I really liked that discussion and what you (and everyone else) had to say. BSG makes me think, and I love that.

Date: 2005-09-23 08:39 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cassand.livejournal.com
Exactly. I've tried to convince some friends to watch, but they think it's like the campy 80's version (which I did love too!) BTW, what is your pic of?

Date: 2005-09-23 08:41 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
I tried watching the old show on TV a few months back and was very surprised by the difference in tone.

My icon is from an Indian movie "Veer-Zaara" which is about a star-crossed love affair between and Indian pilot and a Pakistani aristocrat. It came out last year and I loved it. I am a Bollywood fan.

Date: 2005-09-23 08:44 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cassand.livejournal.com
Interesting. Did you know that Ronald Moore referred to Helo and Boomer as star-crossed lovers?

Date: 2005-09-23 08:46 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
Did he? I'd say it doesn't get more starcrossed than coming from different species that are engaged in an all-extermination war. If the first reaction of your crewmates to meeting your SO is pushing her out of the airlock (or putting him like rat in a maze), that's pretty star-crossed!

Date: 2005-09-23 09:54 pm (UTC)
ancarett: (Time Helo/Boomer BSG)
From: [personal profile] ancarett
She is interchangeable to everyone but him.

That was poignant. I enjoyed how you differentiated her memories from her experiences. Well-done!

Date: 2005-09-23 09:58 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
Thank you! Love the icon.

I keep thinking about how odd it must be to have someone else's memories.

Date: 2005-09-23 10:01 pm (UTC)
ancarett: Change the World - Jack Layton's Last Letter (Savvy Adama BSG)
From: [personal profile] ancarett
Lovely icons comes from lovely inspirations! Hee!

I think that there's a lot to be mined with Sharon's relationship with her Galactica counterpart's past. I'd love to see what more they do with it, though already having Tyrol come to her cell at the end of the last episode was very well done. . . .

Date: 2005-09-24 02:18 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] koalathebear.livejournal.com
Adds to my memories.

That was really lovely. I, too find the concept of Sharon's memories intriguing and how to distinguish between a memory of love and feeling that love itself.

Date: 2005-09-25 08:45 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
Thank you. It must be so odd to remember things you never actually felt...

Date: 2005-09-24 05:17 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] shadowserenity.livejournal.com
Beautiful, hon! I'm sitting here trying not to think about BSG torrents and how long it'll take to download an episode.

This sums up everything. Such perfect characterisation :). It would be hard for anyone to be separated from the norm of their own "kind". We've seen time and time again that Cylons are like humans. They have activities they love to do (hmm, those Cylon parties...).

Thank you for sharing! :)

Date: 2005-09-25 08:48 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
Oh, wow...*blush*

We've seen time and time again that Cylons are like humans

I find the concept of the fact that they are "Other" but they are beings with souls quite the most interesting thing on BSG. Because by any criteria you care to name, they are not just machines any more.

Date: 2005-09-26 12:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] shadowserenity.livejournal.com
The H/B obsessive inside my brain is asking for more, too :).

Date: 2005-09-24 01:07 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ship-recs.livejournal.com
This is lovely. Very beautiful.

Date: 2005-09-25 08:47 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] dangermousie.livejournal.com
Thank you. Love the icon!

Date: 2005-09-27 02:44 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] iynx.livejournal.com
NICE, the way you're describing it makes it sound like she has done the one thing that all the 12 models want to do...bridge the gap and become more human, love, procreate.

She's no longer an interchangeable unit. Love with Helo, choosing Helo changed that

Date: 2005-09-27 04:05 am (UTC)

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