Aleph shrugged. "Of course there's others like me. After all, my species might be that old, but I'm certainly not. At any rate, what we want is, simply put, as variable as what many other demonic species want. Some of my kind would think the enslavement of humanity a fitting retribution, while others want the outright destruction of humanity, and not a few just want to torment and molest humanity at their leisure and aren't particularly interested in the grand scheme of things as long as it doesn't inconvenience them too significantly. And then there's a few who think the world would be so much more convenient if their great-ancestors were around to make everything so much clearer and to eat anything that disagrees."
He paused a moment, then added, with a snap of his tentacles, "Still, I do imagine that if the demons of the world ever got the upper hand in an area, civilization in that region would collapse. It's taking some time for the old guard of the demonic to adjust to the technological era - but just as there are bright young faces learning to use these computers from kindergarten up, there are young demons learning how to exploit the new technology. And if people become too reliant on it, if they become too reliant on anything, that can be subverted and exploited, whether that be the Slayer, computers, a particular ruler, a popular religion..."
He clicked his tendrils in amusement at the last question. "As for the hat, just because I don't have a highly active role in your society doesn't mean I don't acknowledge that it has holiday traditions. Plus, the idea of a strangely-garbed being who stealthily infiltrates homes in the middle of the night, fueled on the offerings of its youth, and supported by an army of the fae, is just amusingly demonic in nature. I'm surprised more demons haven't tried to take advantage of these legends. 'He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake' reminds me of a few telepathic demons who aren't welcome at the kitten poker table."
Now that she'd explained that she wasn't making fun of how the demon looked, Cassie hoped that her questions would be... treated fairly. Because truthfully, the girl was brimming with questions.
"Oooh! Is Cthulu real? I mean, I know 'The Call of Cthulu' is a fictional tale written by HP Lovecraft, but is the actual creature of legend real or fictional? And if he is or was real, are races like yourself in any way decendants of his?"
Cassie blushed, hoping she wasn't being offensive again.
"Honestly, that's a rather sore subject," Aleph said, snapping his tentacles. "I don't think there's really an Elder God named Cthulhu, if only because nobody would take an elder god seriously who ended up in mass market publication... though I suppose if there was one, there would be no better way to creep into society than to make his name so ubiquitous that nobody who worships him is taken as a threat. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if Lovecraft's ... stories weren't based upon relatives of mine, and the dark beings they serve, but the names are likely different."
Juice laughed. "Well, good... but no, I was just wondering why you had them. Like... I don't know, we have hair 'cause it's like dead stuff that grows out of our heads and kinda keeps us from being totally naked. So why do you have tentacles?"
"Because it makes it easier to pick up and manipulate things," Aleph answered, demonstrating by using his to repeat the prior performance of hat-tipping. "Technically, Architeutorians have more tentacles than you're seeing at the moment, but most places of education have strict laws against full nudity."
He paused a moment, then added, with a snap of his tentacles, "Still, I do imagine that if the demons of the world ever got the upper hand in an area, civilization in that region would collapse. It's taking some time for the old guard of the demonic to adjust to the technological era - but just as there are bright young faces learning to use these computers from kindergarten up, there are young demons learning how to exploit the new technology. And if people become too reliant on it, if they become too reliant on anything, that can be subverted and exploited, whether that be the Slayer, computers, a particular ruler, a popular religion..."
He clicked his tendrils in amusement at the last question. "As for the hat, just because I don't have a highly active role in your society doesn't mean I don't acknowledge that it has holiday traditions. Plus, the idea of a strangely-garbed being who stealthily infiltrates homes in the middle of the night, fueled on the offerings of its youth, and supported by an army of the fae, is just amusingly demonic in nature. I'm surprised more demons haven't tried to take advantage of these legends. 'He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake' reminds me of a few telepathic demons who aren't welcome at the kitten poker table."
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"Oooh! Is Cthulu real? I mean, I know 'The Call of Cthulu' is a fictional tale written by HP Lovecraft, but is the actual creature of legend real or fictional? And if he is or was real, are races like yourself in any way decendants of his?"
Cassie blushed, hoping she wasn't being offensive again.
"And this time I swear I'm only being curious."
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