You didn't ask

The favorite joke of the Ane. On one hand a joke and on another, a function of the All itself.
==The Joke==
Ane will let you stand there and allow your assumptions to kill you if you are assuming your assumptions are correct, with out asking. They will set up bureaucracy the role-playing game and allow you to abuse yourself as long as you like, if you don't ask.
The prime example given is of the bull-headed Captain, one Ironhead Squarjaw, that was transported to the backside of Oz, naked no less. He played wilderness survival for two months because he didn't ASK one of the many Aneilogs he passed where the nearest comm terminal was. He walked right by several. His assumption that the Ozain population were primitive bumpkins that could not help him was quietly catered too. He Didn't Ask.
The upshot is that if you ask, they are forthright about it. "Is this bureaucratic song and dance truly necessary?" Well if you ask the answer is no. But again, you need to ask.
==The Function==
The All it is said is a huge repository of knowledge. The problem is that it is a repository of first and second person accounts without an indexing system. In spite of the common assumption (There is that word again) every Ane does not know what every other Ane does, they are not a mass mind. However, some careful questions, that is asking, can get you the knowledge if it exists. They don't have to be anything esoteric even. "Do you know anything about pre-spaceflight Kings of Vic Ar?" for example. Your question gets knocked around the All, and if someone knows, you get an answer. They are not niggardly with knowledge, but they don't know what you need If You Don't Ask.
The Memory System is one solution in progress to the unindexed nature of the All. It is taking a lot of time to turn the haphazard nature of Ane racial memory into a searchable index. But, you still have to ask.
Category:Lexicon
Category:Ane Space
Category:Epiphany Trek