-017- :: redux

[subject_e0057]

[A few taps of the pen proceed the entry, idly dotting before the words begin to appear-- though they look more like a list jotted down out of memory than anything else initially, with certain words scribbled out and some emphasized.]

age-shifting, laser tag, bottles, ants, goggles, steaks and flowers?, costumes, dreams, gravity, cars

Comments

[wartimenovelty]

A lot of those seem to involve alteration. You put on a costume and pretend to be someone else; dreams are other places entirely. Age shifting would fit there. [pen taps] Doubles seem relevant.

[subject_e0057]

...The doubles were rather distressing, to say the least. Nearly all seemed to have malevolent intentions and... my own had to be put down forcefully.

...A lot of pretending, then? Facades and the like. And.. the doubles would possibly fit. As per their nature they seemed to show.. alternate possibilities. many of us were able to see how we could have become them with different choices.

[wartimenovelty]

Facades--shadows? I suppose we could count ourselves; without our memories, most people would consider us lacking. It almost seems as if it should be connecting back to those memories, but I don't know why.

[subject_e0057]

I'm not sure if we're lacking, so much as-- [A jolt across the paper]
...as simply veiled. Even we don't really know about ourselves... and the Sphere seems to alternate between lending aid to the confusion, and leading us astray- oftentimes with the switching of dreams, or with the addition of other facades.

...In an event with costumes, Bastet received an outfit that I used to wear back home. Sn- Someone recognized the outfit from a memory they had of me in it. While beneficial, it's still misleading at times.

[wartimenovelty]

You're right; veiled's a better word for it.

Could the misleading be sometimes accidental? The events have been better, like you wrote. If it could count as something alive, then I'd say the Sphere was double-minded.

[subject_e0057]

Things are there, so we're not lacking anything... the trick, though, it to unlock it.

Perhaps. Perhaps the mixing up is to encourage recognition in others.. and therefore teamwork. But that could be baseless.

At this point, it's impossible for me to think the Tree isn't sentient. After having been stabbed by it of its own volition, Its hard for me to think it doesn't have an agenda.

[wartimenovelty]

That's the most important goal for everyone.

If this place didn't seem so set on confusing us, then I'd agree. But with the amount of newborns and disappearances, we've never had a chance to unite. The largest organized group is the guards, right? They're kept pretty busy.

Maybe it's responding to someone else's agenda.

[subject_e0057]

I suppose you have a point.

True. There's a small number who have been here for a length of time... but it's minuscule compared to the list of those who have disappeared. And the guards have been busy, especially now that people criticize them, calling on them to be a police force and judiciaries... but really, they are only charged with guarding the cocoons. Whoever set up the system finds them more important than anything else.

...Entirely possible. Sometime I'll tell you the story. Not over the journals, though.

[wartimenovelty]

It's been a long time. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that people's wants have changed. If they assume the guards are meant to keep us safe, they'd push for that. As long as it doesn't have the chance to reach the point of forcing the guards to stop being attention to the cocoons, I think it might work out. Of course, it still doesn't make it any easier for them.

I'd like to hear it.

[subject_e0057]

I'm sure how well it would work, to be honest. What sort of punishment would be enacted? What laws are there to obey here? There's a lot of fine technicalities.

Perhaps we could meet sometime to speak, then.

[wartimenovelty]

There are foundations; murdering could be held accountable, although that seems to be a fine line of its own here. The other issue would be ways to properly enforce whatever was decided, and whether the punishment would be enough to deter rule-breaking.

[pen taps] Most of this sounds way too complicated to me. Good thing I'm not a guard.

You're welcome to visit my house. There's plenty of room.

[subject_e0057]

True... It's something we can hope for, but I'm not sure the society here is truly large enough to have a formal and fair arrangement.

...Alright. I would like that. Where do you live?

[wartimenovelty]

We are still pretty small. It'd be hard to do anything formal with such a diverse group.

Section 3. I put up an invitation a while ago, but I think it got lost in the other entries. Serves me right for not writing enough.

[subject_e0057]

Perhaps something to keep in mind for the future, then.

I'll admit to not having been the most attentive on the journals as of late. Whenever you would be available, we can meet to speak on things.

[wartimenovelty]

It can't hurt.

It's become quite a bad habit for me to not pay attention, so I can't blame you there. I'm usually free in the evenings, so stop by whenever you can.

log/quicklog/whatev?

[subject_e0057]

Very true.

Perhaps we should both make an effort to be more attentive to the journals- It can be rather helpful to watch, and occasionally hazardous and worrisome to ignore.

I'll be over in the evening, then.