[Stephen]

The outer calm of the average type nine is an illusion, as others have said. Instead of true calm, it is silence. Nines seek peace, but the average nine will achieve this through subversion of the self, something that I'm so glad @cyamitide brought up. My girlfriend is a nine, and it's taken some time to demonstrate to her that true peace is achieved through conflict, rather than by avoiding it. She's been ignoring and denying her needs and desires since childhood. It has taken a serious toll on her self worth. We were just yesterday discussing her expectations for our relationship, and how she has not dared to hope for a relationship where she was valued and attended to in the past, even while she would dream of one.

I think I'm a six integrated at nine, and my calm feels very authentic. Through a feeling of preparedness, and an extremely pragmatic view on what really matters in my life, I've managed to reach a point where I know I can handle anything that comes along, for myself and for others. I've become a peacemaker. It's hard won though, and hardly bulletproof. I'm intensely invested in my relationship, and anything I see as a threat really puts me off balance.