(Untitled)

[triggered_it]

WHO: Adrian Veidt and YOU
WHAT: A day in the life
WHERE: Around the barge
WHEN: Beginning with breakfast ending with late night insomnia.
NOTES: Multiple threads welcome. Today is my day to do nothing, so I'll be around tagging. :X

Also, KimToo, I'm going to put his meeting with Martha in here, if that's okay, so they can talk about Watchmennn (and

Comments

DINNER

[triggered_it]

Still sitting alone, observing, and very properly eating egg plant parmesan and some vegetables.

[cautionarystory]

Elle's day had been a long, hard one of avoiding doing anything her warden wanted her to. Not that she didn't want to get out of here, but reading stuff and thinking about it was so boring.

That was when she spotted the guy who'd posted those philosophical questions, and he was all by himself. She wandered over and sat down next to him.

"So are you, like, a philosopher or something?"

[triggered_it]

Elle Bishop: the practical nihilist, as he remembered her.

Adrian greeted her with his standard 'I'm just so charmed to see you' smile. The key to being charismatic was making other people feel like they were the charismatic ones.

"Only an amateur with far too much time on his hands," was his reply.

He had read and studied literally 100s of philosophies, and he was philosophical by nature, but he was no professional. Then again, he was no professional at anything, yet he excelled in all fields. He was naturally far better at doing a job than the people with degrees, the people who spent their entire lives studying or learning how to do one particular thing.

In fact, he hazard to guess he could probably do the job of the wardens far better than they could. Not that that was saying very much.

[cautionarystory]

Elle returned his smile. Maybe she could get him to tell her the answers her warden wanted her to know. She'd been on the barge for nearly two years and it had been explained to her many times, but the whole right-versus-wrong thing still felt like a puzzle to her.

"So all those questions you posted...?" She'd let him fill in the rest of that question.

[triggered_it]

He probably could tell her the answers. Adrian knew the answers that were expected, the good and right answers, but he rarely believed in them. The world was not that simple, but no one else seemed to be able to fully grasp that concept, hence why he was still here, and why he would not be graduating anytime soon. No one liked admitting they were wrong, and Adrian certainly wasn't the one obligated to be admitting anything.

"Some interesting conversations were had, but more importantly, it was an annoyance to my warden. We're having philosophical disagreement."

'Philosophical disagreement' was putting it mildly, implying that utilitarianism remained a philosophy safely read about in books, something that could rarely be put into practice, and certainly not taken to the level and extremes Adrian had taken it towards.

[cautionarystory]

Elle leaned into Adrian and narrowed her eyes at him. "Is your warden being all 'killing people is wrong' the way mine is?" Purely out of habit, she rested her hand on his forearm. "What's with that, anyway?"

[triggered_it]

There was a girl, touching him. Great.

"It's very hard to argue that killing people is inherently wrong, although it has been done, somewhat convincingly, by men and women far more intelligent and educated than any warden here. In fact, the hypocrisy of many wardens undermines their own points." He was speaking to her like a college professor, distant, entirely removed from the subject. No one needed to know if he was here for killing someone or not. This was all academics.

[cautionarystory]

It didn't matter how detached Adrian sounded, Elle watched him as though he were the most fascinating thing she'd ever seen. He was pretty, and she liked the way the muscles of his jaw moved when he spoke. But her main interest was in what he was saying.

"How could anybody convincingly argue that killing people is inherently wrong?" she scoffed. Her fingers started absently stroking back and forth along his arm.

[triggered_it]

"My own version of pacifism involves simple respect for human life and dignity, along with the achievements that we have accomplished so far. Perhaps a better way for you to look at the question, though, is 'What makes killing okay?' instead of 'What makes killing wrong?'"

He paused as she began stroking his arm. Oh, enough was enough. He shifted his arm away from her, and then continued talking.

"I don't believe there's a single answer, of course. That's too black and white, for my tastes, but I do believe there are right and wrong courses of action, depending on the logic you use to define right and wrong."

[cautionarystory]

Elle mentally filed 'respect for human life and dignity' under things to parrot back to Howie later. This guy sounded like he knew what he was talking about. She smiled at him and shifted her hand up to his shoulder.

"So, take a couple of those questions you posted. What kind of stuff would you have to think about to answer those?"

[triggered_it]

"In looking at crime, the Romans would ask who benefits. I tend to do the same, though in a different context. I don't think anyone truly benefits from senseless murder. However, if the benefit outweighs the cost, well, then it's simple cost-benefit analysis, but even then, it's something I often despise in the business world. It puts a dollar sign to human life, something I find callous."

He stops talking, and then turns to look Elle in the eye with a sharp gaze, his voice dropping from 'lecture mode' to 'confidentiality, no bullshit, you can tell me anything' mode.

"You do know you can't fake redemption, don't you?"

[cautionarystory]

When his tone changed, Elle tilted her head, giving him an innocent smile with just a hint of confusion. She'd spent quite a lot of time in her teenage years practicing that look in the mirror until she had it perfect. "We're just having a conversation, Adrian. Who's trying to fake redemption?"

[triggered_it]

Please, Adrian was the master at faking absolutely everything, so next he faked a laugh.

"That was rude, wasn't it? I'm bored with philosophy, though, and it's much more interesting to talk about deception. Let's talk about what we would do if we could fake a redemption. What would we have to say about killing? If you were to make the argument too sophisticated, for example, your warden would never buy it. No one has sudden epiphanies out of nowhere. It would have to be done subtly and over time. Perhaps, he gave you something to think about, and you put your own twist on it without changing the fundamental idea. That would make it seem more sincere. Wardens like when we think for ourselves, as long as they can agree without feeling morally cheated."

He faked another little laugh. Yes, he was perfectly willing to give her advice on how to BS to her Warden. This was much more interesting. Plus, he wanted to see if she would stick with the 'innocent little murderer' act or adapt accordingly to the new conversation.

[cautionarystory]

Elle's smile grew absent as her eyes wandered over his face. He was being so much more helpful than she'd expected him to be. And he kept talking and it kept on being useful. Her eyes flitted to his and her smile widened again. "You're pretty cool."

The hand on his shoulder slipped down to his upper arm, and just to see how he'd react, she gave him a little electric shock through her fingertips.

[triggered_it]

Adrian had to mentally remind himself to show some sort of reaction so as not to appear inhuman. He gave a slight startle that came only slightly later than it should have. He wasn't immune to pain or shock, of course, but he had long ago learned how to deal with them in completely different ways, stoically, and without expression. Something that could be unnerving and useful when it was needed.

He didn't say anything, but looked at Elle, waiting patiently for her to explain.

[cautionarystory]

Elle was a connoisseur of reactions. When Adrian's was slightly off, she noticed. "What's the matter?" She touched the back of his hand and gave him another jolt, just enough to tickle. "Don't like it?"