-017- :: redux
[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 ( Read more... )
age-shifting, laser tag, bottles, ants, goggles, steaks and flowers?, costumes, dreams, gravity, cars ( Read more... )
Fantasies. And they're all temporary--you get to try something out for a while, then it's over and on to the next thing, many times with no lasting effect.
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Ah- Bastet.
[He continues writing his response, occasionally glancing over his shoulder at her. She has a point, and he pauses after a moment.]
...Fantasies, or the reoccurring theme of dreams- or even our of memories and existences here. They all sort of fit in a general theme. I just wish I could figure out exactly why that theme is in place. Nothing is purposeless.
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The theme is entertainment. We're here to assuage someone's boredom. Loneliness. Whatever. All of our actions may not be directly controlled, but there are triggers that generate more action than others. Like varying the sizes of pebbles dropped into a pool.
[Her voice sharpens, just a bit as she reads Range's writing.]
Double-minded...he's determined quite a bit for having been here so short a time.
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...If it's someone's entertainment, that means that it's someone with a sense of human that we can understand. Either the Tree is a very humane plant, or it's the instrument of someone else.
And... I'm sure there's hint to be picked up on everywhere. [He smiles faintly.] ...Though it might not be as obvious without California dying for us to see how the Sphere deals with these things.
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I believe it was once under someone's control. But not anymore.
[She was taking a chance. But if Justice could transcribe old journals in his home without harm, she should be able to tell Raise this much without anything happening to them as well. It was a calculated risk.]
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...When I was impaled by the tree, it was in reaction to Snow and several others attacking him. But.. he seemed like he was almost in a trance.
[He was curious as to how Bastet had this information, but knew better than to ask. She was the type who would let him know if it suited her.]
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[She runs a finger over where Raise has written Whoever set up the system finds them more important than anything else.]
Because we're in charge of seeing people safely here. There's no entertainment otherwise. [She pauses] But the Guides are given even higher importance.
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[He paused, glancing down at the journal.]
...Well. It's quite clear that he remembers it very well. But that was.. different, I suppose.
[He glanced at her again as she pointed out the line.] The guides are given the highest priority for the most important job? But what's the point in having us come into an existing society. If the jobs were created and have always been here, what entertainment is gleaned from a pseudo-utopian society? You'd think it'd be more amusing to watch people struggle with no explanations at all.
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[She drummed her fingers idly on the journal]
If you were setting up an ideal society, it's not unthinkable that you'd give yourself the most prestigious job. One that allows you to gain the trust of new arrivals, setting yourself up as a benevolent authority figure.
It all goes back to the idea of fantasies. Facades. Pretending.
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[He frowned, stiffening slightly.] With the way people tend to come and go, staying for as long as we have is a luxury. After too long here... [He shook his head.] I can't decide if losing memories with each death would be terrible or a blessing.
[Again he looks back at her, idly lifting a hand to rest on her arm.]
But how does entertainment key into it? Either they would see us as playthings, or as people who needed a bit of a kickstart. Setting themselves up as an authority figure leads to trust and manipulation, but at the same time it makes you a target.
...I can't help but think that Fugue isn't the be-all end-all answer of the Sphere. Perhaps it's because I haven't seen him but for the one incident, really... but for how intricately laid out the Sphere is, it would be senseless to make the stupid mistakes he has.
[He moved his hand to run through his hair, frowning for a moment.]
There's a lot of perfectly good points, but I can't make them fit into one another.
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[She settles herself more comfortably, kneeling on the air behind him and hooking her chin over his shoulder.]
I'd rather be aware. No matter how much it hurts. [She shrugs] I suppose I can see the attraction in ignorance, though.
We're something to watch...like a play of some sort. And if you initially had all the control, and the game was tilted in your favor, you wouldn't worry about being made a target. Besides, if you'd convinced yourself that this was paradise, it might not even occur to you that anyone else would object.
[She sighs]
If he isn't, then he's at least the key. There's a reason California always targeted him, after all. But again, that's where the memory degradation could play in--if you forget you're in charge, forget what power you hold--then how can you run anything?
The events that fit a pattern could be left over from when he did have some design. Everything else might just be an effect of the system spinning out of control.
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[He taps Justice's responses, tilting his head for Bastet]
Distractions make it fit a little better. We're here for entertainment, and the distractions keep us from ever truly settling. When we can't really settle, we can't peek behind the curtains. When we're distracted, we can't get our minds around the whole picture. And when we're distracted, it keeps us doing thing,s instead of endlessly mourning our losses. That would lead to more entertainment.
[His fingers drum for a moment on the paper. When he finally speaks, it's quieter, questioning.]
....You think he's lost his memories too? If he is the one with the key to the answers... you think he's forgotten like everyone else? Just like us?
So the system was set up, put into practice, and abandoned. Which... means that answers are much more scattered than I thought.. if they all even still exist.
[He gives an annoyed ( ... )
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[She follows his finger, scanning Justice's replies]
He and I have had a similar conversation before. You have to admit, this place does a good job of keeping us frustrated in terms of searching for answers. [She pauses.] You'd have to be supremely detached to be able to ignore all the events, in addition to the death and disappearances and focus on the Sphere's mysteries.
[She nods]
I was told he might have. And the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. I'm not saying it's impossible for me to be fooled--he could just be that good an actor. But he just doesn't strike me as being in control. Not really.
[She tilts her head]
And what else does Praise think?
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[He sets the journal down on his stomach as the replies have paused for some time.] ...I think he's like us, to be honest. When... when Snow led an... I don't want to say assault, but that's the best description of it... against Fugue, he seemed to go into an almost catatonic state while the tree defended him. Whatever hold he may have, it's unknowing.
And... I don't think I'm fit to judge someone who does these things without being conscious of it.
As for Praise... you know how he is when he sees a target to exercise frustrations upon.
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[She draws the corner of her lower lip into her mouth for a moment]
He's not exactly like us. He still knows how to get to the library--he's the one who showed me. There have still been conversations inked out in the journal. He's still in charge of the Guides, and the Guards answer to him. He's still afraid of 'the exile.'
He may not know why he's driven to maintain the status quo, but he still does it.
[She'd been hoping Praise had some further insight to offer--he sometimes did. But no matter.]
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...Perhaps it's his home here. Even if he doesn't remember, he still gets flickering nostalgia and can piece it together. If we went home, we would pick things back up. Things would ping us, strike us as familiar, as 'right.' He could originate from here.
...Have you ever heard the story of Inferno?
[He settled back against the arm of the chair, considering making some coffee- he was sure they would be conversing for a while.]I remember I told you about the Garden of Eden and the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and how it could apply to Edensphere... it's another religious concept I'm familiar with. In this one, a man journeys to Hell ( ... )
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