The Tongs War

The refugees collected in camps on Galtern, and as they filled up the disagreement heated to a boil. For the most part each group was given a separate area, but interactions between them were inevitable. They were allotted space based on the order in which they arrived, not the manner in which they ate, and adjacent groups would often enough witness each other handling food. They would also come into contact while waiting for resource allotments.

At the height of the refugee population, several communicable diseases swept through the camps, prompting investigations into their source and spread. Community leaders concluded that cleanliness was essential to public health, and with this began mutual accusations. Tongs-users claimed that the cause was food contaminated by handling, while hand-feeders blamed the tongs-users for touching everything with unwashed hands.   For the most part, the conflict played out as shouting matches and empty threats. Rarely but not never did opponents inflict harm upon each other. In the most serious incident, someone serving food to a mixed group introduced gravel and fine splinters into the serving dish to prove that only those eating with their hands would be able to find and remove the debris. Tongs-users accused her of attempting to poison them. More than a ten-and-half were injured in the following riot.

The argument never was resolved; tensions eased only when groups left to settle on other islands. It was overwhelmingly hand-feeders, now beginning to identify as Tactilists, who moved away from the camps. Tongs-users stayed and founded the cities of Galtern.

To this day, every culture based in the Cluster Islands aligns itself wholly either with tongs or with fingers. Galtern and its nearest neighbors are the tongs stronghold, while islands to the north and west, including Mraydor and Scaetra, favor fingers. Tactilists have left their influence not only in eating habits but also in using manual alternatives to many mechanized systems.