Medb's Eulogy for Team Girl

Copyright (C) 2010 by Kevin L. O'Brien

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is my proud honor and sad duty to oversee today's dedication of the new wing of the Cruachan Independent Institute for Pure and Applied Research, even as we mourn the passing of its greatest intellect.

The woman whom the press has labeled the Einstein of the Twenty-First Century, and whom the people of the world call the Savior of Mankind, Sonne Hiver passed away yesterday just an hour after the passing of her partner, spouse, and lifelong friend, Eile Chica. Sunny deserves all the accolades and tributes that will be heaped upon her biography in the coming months, and she has ensured her place in the Valhalla of Great Scientists for as long as the Memory of Man persists.

But this tribute is not for her.

There will be hundreds, thousands given in the days and weeks to come; one less will make no difference. But lost in the flood of adulation and eulogies will be Eile's memoir, if mentioned at all then only in passing, as a footnote that piques a moment of interest and is forgotten just as soon. Sunny would not have wanted that, and thus today I wish to make one small panegyric in Eile's honor.

Eile was an ordinary girl, with an ordinary, if somewhat deprived, life. She tragically lost her parents before she was a year old, and was raised by her uncle. A poor man, he could give her little beyond the basics, except for love and care. As a result, she had to work for everything she obtained. Her career began with great promise, but again tragedy derailed her dreams, when her uncle suffered a stroke. She could have left him to state sponsored care, inadequate as it was then; why not? What did she owe him? Had he not simply done his duty as her surrogate parent? But that was not how Eile saw it. He was family, she loved him, and her heart refused to allow her to abandon him. She took out loans to pay his medical bills, though that put her deep into debt. She suspended her career to take care of him, even though that destroyed whatever prospect she had for a good life. Not one to take charity, she struggled on her own to meet her obligations, sometimes going without food or utilities so that she could pay her bills and provide for her uncle.

And she succeeded! Against all odds, she re-established a life for herself and began to build a future.

When Sunny entered her life, she brought with her trouble. Desperate and in danger, she believed Eile was the only person she could turn to for help. Eile could have turned her back on her, could have left her to her fate, hopeless as it was. But again, that was not Eile's nature. Her heart refuse to allow her to abandon Sunny, and at the risk of her own life, she hid Sunny, protected her, and cared for her, as if she was family. And in return, Sunny saved her life, both literally and figuratively. Together they discovered they were meant for each other, that each could provide what the other lacked and needed. Eile supported and nurtured Sunny, gave her stability, companionship, and unconditional love. She encouraged Sunny to finish college after their children had started their own lives. She supported her decision to go on to graduate school, provided the confidence she needed to pursue her many projects, and gave her the love she required to encourage her and drive her to succeed.

Sunny is the proof that one mind, dedicated and disciplined, can change the world! And she provides the eternal example of how anyone, from any walk of life, may aspire to that goal. Yet Eile is the proof that one heart, loving and supportive, can inspire the dedication and discipline needed to start the journey and reach that destination. Without the heart of Eile, the mind of Sunny would have lain dormant when the world needed it most! Indeed, one can argue, and I shall do so, that the true genius of the Savior of Mankind lay not in Sunny's mind alone, but equally in Eile's heart. Furthermore, Sunny would be the first to declare that the real genius behind her discoveries lay in her partnership with Eile. If there must be an Einstein of the Twenty-first Century, she would say, let it be Team Girl! For only in Team Girl! were all the elements needed for true genius brought together, forming an emergent whole that was greater than the mere sum of its parts.

I would now like to invite Sunny and Eile's greatest legacy to assemble behind me on the podium: their daughters, Constance and Elizabeth; their children; and their children's children. Three whole generations have sprung from Team Girl!, with a fourth on the way. I ask that the family gather around the capstan at the far end. When they are ready, I ask that they turn it as one, so that the dedication may be revealed.

Among my people, there is no greater praise that can be said of anyone than that he or she is generous, loyal, and brave. Generous: in that he or she is willing to sacrifice any or all of his or her wealth, sweat, blood, or life to help the less fortunate, and does not count the cost. Loyal: in that he or she unfailingly lives by his or her principles, and unfailingly stands by his or her friends, even in the teeth of death. Brave: in that he or she will, without fear or concern for personal safety, defend even unto death all persons unable to help themselves. As their friend, mentor, and surrogate mother, I am proud to say that Team Girl! more than deserves the dedication generous, loyal, and brave.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, the Team Girl! Memorial Annex, dedicated to the same principles of Loyalty, Courage, and Generosity that the girls embodied throughout their lives. In this case, Loyalty to the principles of scientific investigation, which uncovers the secrets of the Universe without interference by ideology, and to the humanitarian principle of love for one's fellow man; the Courage to pursue scientific and humanitarian goals in the face of all opposition, and to confront evil in all its forms; and the Generosity to bestow the knowledge we learn and the devices we invent unto Mankind for its benefit, without seeking financial remuneration or monetary reimbursement.

You know, I had my doubts when I first saw the design for this façade. The smooth, white marble, concave face, the bronze relief portrait of the girls overlooking the eternal flame in its recessed bowl, the embossed gold letters that spell out the dedication; it seemed vainglorious to me, as if the girls were demigods that demanded worship from on high. I doubt this would have pleased them. But as I stand before it now, I realize just how fitting it really is. Team Girl! is not looking down at us, but watching over us, as they watched over each other, and their growing family. They do not demand adulation, but ask us, implore us, to follow in their footsteps and emulate the example they set.

For you see, in a very real sense, this dedication ceremony is not for a new building, but for us. The object is not to dedicate a lifeless structure, with no heart or soul. It is rather for each of us assembled her today, for all persons throughout the world, to dedicate ourselves to these same principles, in the name of Humanity. That is what Team Girl! would expect. In our darkest hour, when it seemed to many that Mankind had come to its end, when it seemed to many that all hope was gone and nothing could pull us back from the brink of extinction, it was dedication to these principles that saved us all! If Team Girl! is not to have lived in vain, let there never again come a day when fear, selfishness, and perfidy sabotages our will to survive and prosper even in the face of Armageddon. Let us all, at this moment, raise our hands and swear, in the memory of Team Girl!, to forever remain Loyal to the hope and promise of Mankind, to Generously work for the continued fulfillment of that hope and promise, and to Courageously fight to defend it against anything that threatens it, whether it be our own fears and uncertainties, or the whims of an indifferent, uncaring universe!

For that is the true legacy of Team Girl!: the realization that through our own will, we can create meaning and purpose in our lives, that we can leave a lasting monument to our existence in this world, and that we can force the universe to recognize and accept our own worth as a species and a civilization!