principles of abstraction

"Don't be ridiculous. You're either a girl or a boy. And I think I know which one it is, my dear. In fact, I'm sure you know yourself."

Perhaps touching, this display of apparent confidence in Juniper's ability to self-realize. U didn't insist that they were "confused" or even particularly "obstinate" in their assertion. In fact, most of the time no clues were given as to a cognizance of gender identity (and this considered deviant) whatsoever. The consul simply directed a group of soldiers with suggestion as necessary, and referred back to Juniper in clear terms.

"What is the most important attribute of a soldier, to you, Consul?"

"Why-" U frowned, though Juniper couldn't see. "Obedience to their consul, of course. Adherence to order. All soldiers know this from the cradle."

Juniper, of course, knew what this sidestepping answer was meant to bind: was it most important to be a boy or a girl, as U said? No, U knew that that wasn't the case. But you could get two for one if you exposed your true motivation.

Usually, U would be all over a feigned "individualism" and the step from consequences to actions. She knew what she wanted and manipulated with a classical eloquence to get it. Always.

"I consider myself a part of nature," Juniper said. Not breezy nor snippy. "It's not so complicated as you're making it out."

"Oh, I am perfectly aware, my Junebug. We are all constituent threads bound within the canvas of Aionios. But we are not birds, trees, are we...?"

Notably, birds and trees were beings of contentment.

"No. I'm a person. The gathering of resources, the sustenance of our colony; that is much more real to me than any concern about being a girl or a boy. That's all."

Their aim was not to manipulate in kind, to stalk and snipe at a perceived weakness in U's logic. Juniper knew the consul would never understand, or at the very least would never accept. It was just more information. Among infinite variance, a little practical unassumption never hurt.