Amaranthus caudatus

[convallariaceae]

[If anyone is passing by and can see Yuuka's backyard garden today...they will bear witness to something quite odd. Yuuka is merely sitting on her back porch...and the laughter and giggles from a drone daughter of about 7 or 8 years old can be heard lilting through her garden. This drone daughter is the one who has been in the household since she

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[supremejudge]

[It is pretty odd. Enough to stop her from just simply walking by. But she couldn't just stand there and stare, because staring is rude.]

...Good afternoon. I could guess you have recently had something fortunate happen to you?

[convallariaceae]

Good afternoon, Yama.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by that. Do please explain.

[supremejudge]

I suppose I found it odd that you were allowing the child to run around in your garden. Unless, of course, it just happens to be a one-time occurrence on a whim.

[convallariaceae]

Well...the child has been in this house for quite a while.

I suppose weathering the impulses of her..."mother"...for so long warranted some sort of reward.

Don't you think?

[supremejudge]

[...]

That may as well be true, as she has barely had much of a chance to play outside. A child is, at their core, a child. One with much innocence.

[convallariaceae]

You aren't going to go philosophical on me, are you?

[Yuuka rests her chin in her hand, idly watching her veritable fores of sunflowers and listening to the laughter drift through it.]

Besides, the drones are merely autonomous shells. The innocence is a lie.

[supremejudge]

A child's innocence is there when they are that age, even if they happen to be ... like this.

I can barely stand looking those drones in the face because of how they act, as I see the emptiness in their eyes despite their 'happiness'.

But, the drones are those who are brainwashed to the point where they only can believe this lie and live this lie. I don't think they would want to be living like this if they were back to the way they were.

[convallariaceae]

Who's to say they were ever any other way?

They are likely creations of the town. There are an infinite number of them that can be used as placeholders...and they simply disappear when someone new replaces their slot in this town.

They are shades, and nothing more. However the act is convincing.

[supremejudge]

That could be true, but they are just as likely to be those who were once normal, living individuals with a mind of their own.

I don't doubt the drones could easily be replaced at the whim of the town, however. This act is 'convincing', but that is why those who come from other worlds like as are able to see through it.

[convallariaceae]

I do not think anything "real" would be so easily replaced.

They do not die, they do not move...they simply disappear. Illusions of our mysterious masters.

Like this child. She laughs, she plays, she calls me "mother." When a second child is assigned to my household...she will simply vanish.

She has suffered so much, lived through my behavior. And yet...when she is replaced...all semblance of her existence will be gone forever. Can you truly say such a thing is anything tangible? They are illusions...illusions which work as placeholders. They do not go to heaven or hell...they simply vanish.