The Water Babies

I wonder how many people will recognise the title of a short fic as being from The Water Babies? I remember reading it as a child -- unabridged version, I think -- and while I really couldn't care less about the hero, or about the heroine, Mrs Doasyouwouldbedoneby and Mrs Bedonebyasyoudid have always stuck in my mind.

Work's being busy and will be busier.

All that foretold rain hasn't turned up -- or, at least, hasn't turned up on my doorstep or upstream. Good, good, I have no problem with this.

(I hope the universe doesn't decide to get ironic.)

---

He opened the long case. Inside was a twelfth-century Japanese katana.

"Why this sword?" Old Sam had asked as they left the museum.

"If you humans have a strength it lies in your diversity," the Doctor had said. "Your culture is prolific and multifaceted. When it comes to an interaction with an alien culture there is always a facet of your own culture that puts you closer to the alien. Perhaps closer than you would like."

"Lucky us," said Old Sam.

"The problem," said the Doctor, "is that you are astonishingly bad at utilizing this diversity. Faced with an agrarian culture with a non-linear temporal perception, do you send in a crack squad of Zen Buddhists? No, the aggressive imperialists go in instead. The result is mutual incomprehension and a lot of unnecessary aggravation."

"Are you telling me that the Greenies are samurai?"

"Actually the bushido code is quite a bit different from Xss kskz, the 'path of correct behaviour in most situations', but close enough for our purposes. Symbols are very important, that's why you have to use this particular sword."

"How will they know?"

"They'll know."

- Transit, Ben Aaronovitch